Today (Feb 15th), San Francisco DJ/producer Mophono releases the genre pioneering new album Cut Form Crush on CB Records. On it, the artist presents the three genres he calls Dirt Wave, Thug Jazz, and Skip on Beat. Last year Mophono, who also goes by the name of DJ Centipede, did a record with a project called Mophono's Halftone Society on Bastard Jazz Records, a cool small label out of Brooklyn that another Bay Area DJ/producer/remixer DJ Platurn has also recently released a record through.

For Cut Form Crush, which should appeal to fans of instrumental hip-hop and glitch-hop type beats, Mophono is joined by San Francisco's MC Subverse on "Rep," the album's only non-instrumental track, and by famed LA producer Flying Lotus on the track "Cut Form Crunch." Another LA based DJ/production talent, Gaslamp Killer, will be joining Mophono, along with Citizen Ten, in San Francisco this weekend when the artist will be throwing a record release party for Cut Form Crush on Saturday, Feb 19th at SOM Bar. Meantime, the album (which will be released on both CD and vinyl) arrives in Amoeba Music today. Recently I caught up with Mophono to talk about the new record and his career to date.

Amoeblog: For those who don't know about you, can you give us some history about you as an artist, including releases that people should be aware of?

Mophono: I grew up DJ'ing hip-hop and instrumental, experimental, and electronic music at raves and underground warehouse parties throughout the Bay Area since 1995. Before that it was just a hobby that started from listening to shit like the Beastie Boys, EPMD, and the Art Of Noise. I also definitely was inspired by my older brother, who played me a lot of rap, punk and industrial music, sandwiched with my mother and father's psychedelic folk background.

Just Announced: The HARD LA show featuring MIA, N*E*R*D*, Die Antwoord, and Flying Lotus on Sat July 17 has been canceled. From their website:


We're not yet sure what the HARD Summer Music Festival lineup will look like with this change -- will some of the artists from HARD LA be added to the August date? We also do not know why Saturday's show was canceled. Security concerns? Low ticket sales? Hopefully we'll have more information soon. What's fairly certain is that South African sensation Die Antwoord will likely not be at the August show, which is a darn shame.

BUT, the good news is Die Antwoord has scheduled a show for Sat, July 17 at the El Rey in Los Angeles. Get your tickets here before they're sold out!

What an amazing and well-deserved rise to fame and recognition it has been for the super-gifted Los Angeles producer/musician Flying Lotus, who performs for free at 7pm tonight (May 6th) at Amoeba Music Hollywood in support of his highly recommended brand new album Cosmogramma.

Only a matter of years ago the now globally respected FlyLo (as he is fondly known by fans, but was born  Steven Ellison 26 years ago) was clocking hours as an intern at Stones Throw Records and, in between doing mundane mail room chores, was just trying to get people to listen to his demo instrumental hip-hop productions.

Fast forward to 2010 and he has just completed a US tour (that culminated in a celebrated Coachella set) opening for Thom Yorke's Atoms For Peace. Yorke, a major fan, personally chose FlyLo for the much coveted opening act slot just as he had hand-picked another California producer, DJ Shadow, to open for Radiohead many years back. Not only that, but Yorke also supplies guest vocals on Cosmogramma on one of the album's many jaw-droppingly brilliant tracks. The album, the artist's fourth release and his third for the respected Warp Records label (following 2008's Los Angeles & the previous year's the Reset EP -- his 2006 debut full-length was 1983 on Plug Research), was released on Tuesday this week Stateside (Monday in the UK). And if you don't already have it, go cop it right now at Amoeba. Better still, if you are in Southern Cali today, head over to the Amoeba on Sunset for the instore so that a year and more from now you can gloat to friends, "Oh yeah. I seen em play at Amoeba for free back in the day!"