Favorite tracks : Night Owls (feat. Tima), Wavelengths, 5 AM

Lucy in Disguise ‘Distorted Memories’ is out now via Bandcamp.

Favorite Tracks : Sun and the Moon ft.Elisa Devane, Pastel Skies

 L’Avenue ‘Riviera’ is out now via Bandcamp.

Morgan Willis ‘Feel it’ is out now via Bandcamp.

Rammellzee (stylized RAMM:ΣLL:ZΣΣ, pronounced “Ram: Ell: Zee”; December 15, 1960 – June 28, 2010) was a visual artist, gothic futurist “graffiti writer”, painter, performance artist, art theoretician, sculptor and a hip hop musician from New York City, who has been cited as “instrumental in introducing elements of the avant-garde into hip-hop culture”. Since 2021, Rammellzee’s work is exclusively represented by Jeffrey Deitch.

Many of think of MF DOOM as the first man to don a mask and make an impact in HipHop but, that isn’t the case. Doom may have been the illest ‘Supervillain‘, and one of the greatest HipHop artists of all time, he wasn’t the first. That title may rest on the crown of Rammellzee.

As much of an iconoclast as he was a contributor to the culture of HipHop, Rammellzee started as a graffiti writer in the late 1970’s writing on the A trains but, became associated with the wild style writers of the East Village; using near illegible lettering, inspired by the gothic script of Medieval manuscripts. Running around NYC with the likes of Jean Michel Basquiat, Lee Quiñones, DONDI, OU3, doctor REVOLT, INK 76,  and others. He was a contributing factor in making what’s considered the most valuable (collectible) HipHop album of all time – “Beat Bop” with K-Rob and a cover by Basquiat. Beat Bop was featured in the graffiti documentary STYLE WARS. He would eventually record more albums and collaborate with Bill Laswell and William S. Burroughs.

He has stated that his name is derived from RAM plus M for Magnitude, Sigma (Σ) the first summation operator, first L – longitude, second L – latitude, Z – z-bar, Σ, Σ – summation.

• www.peoplepill.com/people/rammellzee

His signature style was Gothic Futurism. Gothic Futurism was his own brand and the embodiment of his art. Gothic Futurism summarized as the conflict between the symbolism of letters against the structures of the alphabet and mundane conceptions of language. He would perform wearing self-made masks either as himself or other characters representing the mathematical equation that is his name. When his graffiti style became more mainstream, he morphed the language by making the letter more mechanized, cybernetic, militarized with a new style he called , “Iconoclastic Panzer”. He unlike Churchill had visually weaponized the English language. Letter Racers was another version of “Iconoclast Panzer” where each letter was locked in a galactic battle against one another.

Rammellzee’s description of the Letter Racers is as follows:

“Humans…in the 14th Century the monks ornamented and illustrated the manuscripts of letters. In the 21st and 22nd century the letters of the alphabet through competition are now armamented for letter racing and galactic battles. This was made possible by a secret equation known as THE RAMM:ELL:ZEE.”

Rammellzee is celebrated in Big Audio Dynamite’s song, ‘Come On Every Beat Box’. In 2010 Buckethead released a tribute song called, ‘Rammellzee: Hero of the Abyss’. March 2021, DJ MUGGS (Cypress Hill) and Queens rapper FLEE LORD named their collaboration album after Rammellzee; who is a major influence on the album and features clips and footage of him in their long music video for the record on Muggs Soul Assassins youtube page.

Rammellzee has shown in galleries throughout New York City and Europe. His work is in the collection of the Museum of Modern Art, New York. His live/work loft studio space on 46 Laight Street in the TriBeCa neighborhood, which he shared with his wife Carmela, was named Battlestation. It was a frequented by artists and art enthusiasts looking to absorb the energy of his costumes and artwork.  After 9/11, the building was sold in order to build luxury condos and this forced Rammellzzee and Carmela to move to a smaller place in Battery Park City, and relocate his 20 years worth of artwork into a storage unit. Some of this stored work was included in the 2011 art exhibition, Art in the Streets at Museum of Contemporary Art Los Angeles. In May 2018, Red Bull Arts New York opened its exhibition RAMMΣLLZΣΣ: Racing for Thunder, billed in its press release as “the largest survey to date of one of the most influential yet overlooked artists of the 20th century.”

Rammellzee was married to Carmela Zagari Rammellzee. He died in New York City on June 28, 2010, at the age of 49, having suffered from the exposure to glue, paint fumes, resin and other toxins through his work and from liver problems. The official cause of death was listed as heart disease

Mad Bull 34 was adapted into a four-part original video animation released from December 21, 1990 to August 21, 1992. A sequel manga, Mad Bull 2000 (マッド・ブル 2000) began in 1999.

Daizaburo “Eddie” Ban, a Japanese-American police officer assigned to the 34^th Precinct located in the Washington Heights neighborhood of NYC. Daizaburo is young, ambitious and soon to be partnered with John “Sleepy” Estes otherwise known as MADBULL.

The pairing seems like a mismatch from the get-go.
Mabbull is a take-no-nonsense, hair-triggered, maniac with a badge. He runs a prostitution ring and has no hesitation to murder suspects and criminals. That being said he isn’t a complete sociopath. He takes the earning from the Prostitution ring to donate to charity and he does after-all look out for the little guy. He’s the typical cliché late 80’s antihero with a shotgun and a grenade jockstrap. Madbull as a character and anime is a critique of western culture and entertainment; violent, misogynistic, amoral and full of raunchy language.  This is what anime once was. No BS. No restrictions. No rules. Anything goes. Amen.

Not as violent as Genocyber or ANGEL COP but, the realistic setting and over the top action is the icing on this cake. The english voice acting is just as over the top as the action. The accents are thick and at times cartoonish, even for a cartoon. The villains are run of the mill Streets of Rage bad guys and the buddy cop dynamic helps to sell the story. There’s nudity and sex and drugs and bullets. It might as well be a 42nd street anime. The four movies are a hoot. Not for the squeamish.

I can see why this anime is both revered by those old enough to have seen it and never heard of by casual fans today.   

 Mad Bull 34 (マッド★ブル34, Maddo Buru Sanjūyon) was based on  a Japanese manga series written by Kazuo Koike and illustrated by Noriyoshi Inoue, serialized in Shueisha‘s Young Jump between 1985 and 1991, and collected in 27 tankōbon volumes.

ALL FOUR OVA’s can be seen below.

Link: PART 2 SCANDAL
https://youtu.be/uYEWBrMEkvc 

Link PART 2: Manhattan Project
https://youtu.be/Ra0Wn0S4a1s

Link Part 3: City of Vice
https://youtu.be/mQ9-RVJ7QeA

Link Part 4: Cop Killer
https://youtu.be/kMQge6te_v8

Stay clean and keep your finger on that REWIND button.

Favorite Tracks: Maelstrom, Voyager, Stranded Vision

Dameron ‘Stranded Vision’ is out now via Bandcamp and Spotify

Scintillating soundwaves wash over starlit shores of bittersweet memories, shrill resonances sing lonely melodies and distant bittersweet memories echo as you sink deeper into the Ryan Key’s dreamy soundscapes.

Willam Ryan Key ‘Everything Except Desire’ is out now on all streaming platforms.

10.) Evangelion: 3.0+1.0 Thrice Upon a Time

 – It’s about time we received the final installment of the new Evangelion mini-series. That’s all I ‘ll say. Go see them.

9.) Brand New Cherry Flavor
 – An underrated mini-series on NETFLIX  based on the novel of the same name by Todd Grimson. The cast includes Rosa Salazar, Catherine Keener, Eric Lange, Manny Jacinto and Jeff Ward. The series premiered on Netflix on August 14, 2021. A mix of Clive Barker, Gregg Araki and David Cronenberg. Plenty of Body Horror and pyschological suspense and gore. It’s LA at night and drenched in neon candy. I was surprised by this a lot. A great throwback to 80’s horror when creators threw everything they could afford into the pot and unknowingly strike gold. I kind of wish there was a season 2.

8.) Midnight Mass (mini-series)
– Created and directed by Mike Flanagan and starring Zach Gilford, Kate Siegel, Hamish Linklater, Samantha Sloyan, Rahul Kohli and Henry Thomas. The plot centers on an isolated island community that experiences supernatural events after the arrival of a mysterious priest. It was released on Netflix on September 24, 2021. The best Stephen King mini-series not written or made by Stephen King. Mike Flanagan (Doctor Sleep, Oculus, Haunting of Hill House) is one of the best Horror directors we have here in the United States. The perfect alternative to all the trash coming out of blumhouse and such an homage of Classic Stephen King tropes. I highly recommend this. For fans of Salems Lot, Fright Night and 30 Days of Night.

7.) Godzilla vs Kong
 – directed by Adam Wingard. A sequel to Kong: Skull Island (2017) and Godzilla: King of the Monsters (2019), it is the fourth film in Legendary’s MonsterVerse. One of the highlights of the year. Basically, Kong is your protagonist and Godzilla your anti-hero. They are Kaiju beasts with motivations and conflicts. The humans are there only to progress the storyline. The fights are great and what you expect, a Godzilla movie with creature battles and destruction. I loved it.

6. )Blade Runner: Black Lotus 
 – If you want to explore the Cyber Noir world of Blade Runner then I suggest you watch this bridge between the original film by Ridley Scott and its sequel Blade Runner 2049. Animation is similar to REBOOT but, the environments and and lighting make up for the limitations of the animation choice. It is a co-production between Crunchyroll and Adult Swim. Black Lotus takes place in Los Angeles in 2032, 10 years into the aftermath of the Black Out, and centers on a female replicant protagonist.

5.) KATE
 – A marvelous modern cyberpunk action film filmed in Japan. A good time. Better action scenes than MATRIX 4. Yes, I said it.
directed by Cedric Nicolas-Troyan and written by Umair Aleem (Atomic Blonde). The film stars Mary Elizabeth Winstead (Scott Pilgrim, Death Proof), Miku Martineau, Woody Harrelson, Tadanobu Asano, Michiel Huisman, Miyavi, and Jun Kunimura. The film follows Kate (Winstead), an assassin, whose mentor and handler (Harrelson) assigns her to kill a high-ranking yakuza boss. During Kate’s final mission, she finds out that she has been poisoned and has at most a day to live, so she uses her last hours to get revenge and find out who set her up. SO CYBERPUNK.

4.)You’re Watching Video Music Box (documentary) 
 – A documentary directed by NAS and showcases the greatest HIPHOP tv show that still exists. The untold story of the world’s longest running video show, Video Music Box. A hip hop mainstay since 1983, VMB gave a platform to artists like Jay-Z, Nas and Mary J. Blige before they hit it big. Host Ralph McDaniels’ archives — amassed over 40 nearly years — reveal the show’s importance to numerous big-name musicians, as well as to the kids that grew up watching.Now streaming on SHOWTIME.

3.) Tokyo Revengers 
 – A mix of BACK TO THE FUTURE, and The Warriors. A young man with no motivation and no ambition goes back to 1990s Japan to save the people he loves by joining a juvenile delinquent Bōsōzoku gang in the past before they evolve into a major criminal syndicate. Lots of fighting, lots of delinquency and lots of heart.  I love it.

2.) DUNE
 – Although only 1/3 of a complete story. The scale and world building combined with exceptional acting and cinematography is out of this world. So far the best adaptation of FRANK HERBERTs vision and proof that director Denis Villeneuve is a master of cinema. I ‘m impatient and eager for them to complete PART 2.
For an in-depth assessment of DUNE go read my Movie Review here on New Retro Wave. directed by Denis Villeneuve and written by Villeneuve, Jon Spaihts, and Eric Roth. It is the first of a planned two-part adaptation of the 1965 novel by Frank Herbert, primarily covering the first half of the book. Set in the far future, it follows Paul Atreides as his family, the noble House Atreides, is thrust into a war for the deadly and inhospitable desert planet Arrakis. The ensemble cast includes Timothée Chalamet, Rebecca Ferguson, Oscar Isaac, Josh Brolin, Stellan Skarsgård, Dave Bautista, Stephen McKinley Henderson, Zendaya, David Dastmalchian, Chang Chen, Sharon Duncan-Brewster, Charlotte Rampling, Jason Momoa, and Javier Bardem.

1.) VERZUZ: THE LOX vs DIPSET
 – The number one nostalgic event that happened this year was the Verzuz between THE LOX vs DIPSET. Nothing was talked about and hyped after the fact than this. Local radio stations across the country started playing LOX and Jadakiss songs in their rotation. More people actually started looking at bars and what it really means to be an MC after the dust was settled. And Nothing recaptured the feeling of being young in the late 80’s -90’s & 2000’s like this battle. At first glance it seemed mismatched when it was announced however, worthy of a viewing.
It was hosted in Madison Square Garden the mecca of HipHop with a packed house and streamed online for thousands. Dipset being the expected winners were easily dissected by The Lox; each member of D-block playing their parts like pieces on a chess board with no lip syncing with hit after hit after hit and the presence and energy that embodied NYC. The Lox and more importantly JADAKISS reminded the world who they were and what HIP HOP, especially NY Hiphop, is as a culture and artform.
A FLAWLESS victory and truly better than any movie, show, concert or event that happened in 2021.  

Cinematic, heavy and irresistibly funky, this latest iteration bears the unmistakable mark of the enigmatic space-lord. Loyal fans will no doubt shiver and shake it utter delight at the disco-funk riffs of ‘Culture’ or ‘Lovebeats’, basking in the awe-inspiring magnitude of ‘Gutter’ and ‘Satellites’ along their sonic journey into deep space. Between these familiar marks, however, lies an entirely new land to discover and marvel at. The esoteric twists and turn truly start to take over on the album’s fourth track ‘ Cannibal Gods’, which enters to the sounds of eerie detuned synths before kicking into high gears with distorted basslines, scintillating synth leads and middle-eastern instruments.

The record keeps throwing fresh ideas at you, adding a fresh, exciting touch to each track whilst keeping a purposeful, coherent flow throughout the album’s runtime. ‘I Demoni’ acts as the album’s narrative culmination and will without a doubt go down as one of the craziest Starcadian songs to date.

With Radio Galaxy, the masked synth lord marks the grand return fans have been waiting for

whilst indulging in some of the project’s most progressive and experimental pursuits to date.

Rather than cater to the songs he’s built his name on, Starcadian has dropped a record full of twists and turns that you simply cannot do without after your first spin.

Starcadian ‘Radio Galaxy’ is out now via Bandcamp and Spotify.

Favorite tracks : Glow, The Path, Abracadabra

Arcade High’s ‘Kingdom II’ is out now via Spotify and Bandcamp.

Passage marks Parisian producer Drich’s first release under the Cartridge 1987 since 2012’s Last Escape, one in a series of grandiose comeback releases to have been unveiled in 2021.

Presented as a set of twelve tracks each representing their own separate realms, the album is filled with the sense of mystery and wonder of eighties fantasy and adventure films and TV shows whilst also carrying a healthy dose of that electrifying, highly addictive French touch. Drich’s sound design deserves a particular mention as Passage’s strongest feats; with fuzzy lead melodies and acid basslines, every track is impeccably arranged with a tasteful balance between grit and groove that keeps a steady momentum going throughout the album’s tracklist.

Whether you’re after a heavy night-cruising record or a cinematic experience to send your mind back to a time when reality took the backseat in a young child’s mind, Passage is a moreish listen with a solid case to defend its merits as an instant classic.

Cartridge 1987 ‘Passage’ is out now on Nowadays Records Spotify and Bandcamp.

Neoslave ‘Unparallel’ is out now via Lazerdiscs Records via Bandcamp and Spotify.