I've been completely aware of this group for a minute. I saw the posts here, read their feature in Wax Poetics, watched random video clips. I even *saw them live* back in 2013 (accompanying a friend who was a fan). I liked everything I heard, so why didn't I take the time to do a proper deep dive?

I dunno. but last week, while diggin' in one of my regular spots, I heard some audio bliss over the store's speakers and went to the counter to see what was playing. Choose Your Weapon.

why did I sleep on this??

I'm only on 2 full spins so far, but what's interesting is that things actually *pick up* halfway through; by the time you get to side C (circa Atari), it feels like the party is just getting started. and The Lung?! uuunngh~~ disgusting.

hand me a late pass. not sure why I held off, but I'm kinda glad I "discovered" them organically and away from the hype (as I remember there being quite a lot of it).

addendum: I still need time to digest this LP, but what's the consensus on Nai Palm's solo?

Nai Palm's solo record is okay. But really just makes me want another HK record.

I wish Nai Palm the best and hope she makes a full recovery

When/if they tour again...get to a show

All those switches and changes are even more impressive live.

>I wish Nai Palm the best and hope she makes a full recovery

wait, what?

(I remember really enjoying the show, which makes it all the more strange that I didn't follow up)

And her mother passed from it

n/m

Nai covering Curtis Mayfield (along with Paul Bender on guitar) from her hospital bed post-surgery >> https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7eC9MHadZt0&app=desktop

I'm still sleeping though. Don't know why.

well, stop sleeping. give them 10 minutes of your time. you just might love it, take it from me.

Check out the track "Nakammara" (sp?)

I Shazam'd it during a DJ set (it was the remix w Q-Tip) a few years ago and the rest was history for me

>Check out the track "Nakammara" (sp?)
>
>I Shazam'd it during a DJ set (it was the remix w Q-Tip) a few
>years ago and the rest was history for me

Yes,this did it for me too, the original, never heard that remix.

And Nia's album was very good, but doesn't top a Hiatus album, imho

this is the alias project of the HK drummer and producer (forgot his real name)...

if you are into beat scene type of vibes, this tape is one of the most unique that i have heard in that lane...

it is NOT HK regurgitated... so if you don't like "beat tapes", don't bother...

https://cleveraustin.bandcamp.com/

www.Tupreme.com

I like the 'out there'-ness of it. copped part 2 from this as well as his track from an Australian comp called Drum Suite that Bandcamp recommended.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PNm0jfYCZn0

HK keyboardist Simon Mavin has a side project with a funk & soul band The Putbacks on Hopestreet Recordings.

They have an album backing a singer called Emma Donovan from 2014 but The Putbacks album just came out and is produced by HK's Paul Bender.

The lead single features Bilal and is this crazy psychedlic funk record not like anything I've heard from Bilal before:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=56ju0JS8gA8

https://theputbacks.bandcamp.com/album/the-putbacks

this is good stuff, and only a few weeks old.

the HK well goes ever deeper!

Anti-gentrification, cheap alcohol & trying to look pretty in our twilight posting years (c) Big Reg
http://www.Tupreme.com

This is another offshoot project comprised of the 3 band members (minus Nai Palm). A mixtape was due in 2018 but this track from 2016 is all I can found so far:

https://wondercoreisland.bandcamp.com/track/swooping-duck-feat-sampa-the-great-live-improv

Remixes by Shafiq, MdCL, Miles Bonny & loads more...

https://hiatuskaiyote.bandcamp.com/album/tawk-takeout-tawk-tomahawk-remixed

Can you talk a little more about not catching on during the "hype"? I hear a lot of people talk about this. Does what people think/say affect if you like something or not. Or do you just not want to be listening to something everyone else is listening to?

it wasn’t a case of the buzz driving me away; as I said, I liked everything I heard. I guess it just didn’t make a big enough impression to motivate me to seek out more of their stuff. I think this second time just happened to catch me when I was more open to their music. stars in alignment, n’ all that.

what I meant by discovering it organically was that hearing it “in the wild” and independent of any friend's or tastemaker’s recommendation or via a forum post provided a nice, clean slate to fully form my own opinion. thinking about it now, I think that’s becoming more of a rarity because of the internet; it didn’t pop up in my Soundcloud feed or in someone’s Spotify playlist, I didn’t hear it in a show or movie I was watching and no one told me “you need to listen to this.” the staff in the store could’ve played literally anything and I just happened to be there when they played this. it’s like serendipity.

to be clear, I don’t think there’s anything wrong with those other methods of discovery, but something about this just seemed really *pure,* for lack of a better term.

to your point, I definitely think I’ve avoided some records/artists because of hype in the past, maybe subconciously, maybe not. I can't tell you exactly why; I don't really care what others think about what I like. in this particular case, after already hearing and liking the music, finding out it was by a band I’d heard so many great things about in the past made it that much easier to break out my wallet.

for music nerds, maybe there really is a sweet spot for buzz — just enough people talking about something so that you still feel like one of the cool kids who catches on early. it's silly, of course, but that doesn't mean it doesn't play a factor for some.

Understood

Listening to Robert Glasper's Miles Davis tribute (Everything's Beautiful) and got mesmerized the vocal performance on 'Little Church'.That lead me to 'Breathing Underwater' and it's been a wrap for me ever since.

resurrecting this thread because after finally listening to Tawk Tomahawk, I now know WHY I slept on them: Nakamarra.

Nakamarra was the joint that everyone was talking about and really blew them up. I listened to it back then and while it was cool, it wasn't really anything wildly different or exciting enough to make me wanna hear more from them.

now that I've heard TT in its entirety, I'm actually a bit frustrated that Nakamarra's the joint people recommended because, IMO, it's the most "regular-"sounding song in their catalog, and is therefore a bit of an outlier.

I mean, I can't get mad at folks for liking what they like, and of course they're gonna pick the joint with the catchiest hook for the single, but had someone introduced me to this group via Malika or Breathing Underwater, I never woulda slept like I did. THAT'S some stuff I've never really heard before. diff'rent strokes, eh?