Ill Mondo – Bay Area Production – Est. 2009
MP3 PLAYER
ABOUT ILL MONDO
Ill Mondo – De Novo FREE DOWNLOAD
CLICK HERE FOR THE DE NOVO CREDIT LIST
MUSIC VIDEO FOR UNBLINKING EYE:
MUSIC VIDEO FOR BUDELLO:
Gentlemen Prefer Blunts (Pt 2) FREE DOWNLOAD
Gentlemen Prefer Blunts FREE DOWNLOAD
MUSIC VIDEO FOR BE BAD (PT 1):
Ill Mondo – Be Bad FREE DOWNLOAD
Ill Mondo / Neal Rames – Self-Titled
Get the MP3s from iTunes, Amazon, or directly from CIS
Ill Mondo is a hip-hop production team based in the SF bay area. Influenced equally by hip-hop legends like DJ Shadow and Mobb Deep, and also by classic 70’s artists like King Crimson or David Axelrod, they record and mix on all vintage gear which gives their music a unique timeless quality, rare in modern music.
Their debut release featured LA rapper Neal Rames, legendary guests like Percee P, Prince Po, Sean Price and local professional musicians including Mike Rinta, who played for Sly Stone. Dusty drum breaks coupled with blazing live Hammond organ and distorted wah-pedal guitar, with string sections and funky horns.
Ill Mondo followed up the first LP with a free 2-part megamix. Be Bad (Pt 1) is an epic, soul mega-mix, a 12-minute long exploration of all things funky. The heavy drums and tight horn hits work great alongside hip-hop or soul DJ sets, and will get any dance floor going! Be Bad (Pt 2) is a groovy Egyptian medley, working through a broad range of tempos and rhythms. Middle-Eastern Belly Dance styles are mixed with a great variety of drums, including MPC, heavy funk break-beats, and original drums!
Ill Mondo’s second full-length, De Novo, is a psychedelic exploration of epic proportions. Recorded on classic, vintage equipment in authentic 70′s style, Ill Mondo employed dozens of studio musicians and a variety of vocalists to complete the album. The recordings started with a Kraut-rock influenced studio jam session, and the sessions were edited down before extensive overdubbing; Mellotron flutes and strings blend with live horn and string sections, latin percussion accents against the funky drums and a full choir section complements the space echo guitars.
Get De Novo for free from Circle Into Square:
http://www.circleintosquare.com/item/de-novo
E-MAIL ILL MONDO: JOHNNY@ILLMONDO.COM
YOUTUBE: YOUTUBE.COM/ILLMONDOMUSIC
FACEBOOK: FACEBOOK.COM/ILLMONDO
TWITTER: TWITTER.COM/ILLMONDO
MYSPACE: MYSPACE.COM/ILLMONDOMUSIC
UPDATES
October 28th, 2011
Got a nice write up in Skope Magazine, thanks for the good words! Check it out here
August 31st, 2011
We did an interview with “What Duvet Said About Music” check it out over here!
Duvet Blog Post
Direct link to Podcast
Thanks Bob, it was good chatting!
August 30th, 2011
It’s finally here! Ill Mondo’s second full-length album, De Novo, is out now! It’s available for free download from Circle Into Square, get it here:
http://www.circleintosquare.com/item/de-novo
We also have a killer new video for Unblinking Eye, featuring Ken Flagg on vocals. Magnificent Feast did a great job on the video, it looks like a vintage 70′s Italian horror movie!
Music Video for Unblinking Eye
August 17th, 2011
We got an older track of ours featured on a video from Es Skateboarding, check it out! Our song Sound Sharp drops at the 1 minute mark:
August 12th, 2011
Ill Mondo is up for Deli SF’s “Local Artist of the Month.” Please vote for us here. Thanks!
August 10th, 2011
We’ve been uploading stuff to Youtube, so that download-wary listeners can check us out! Here’s our channel on Youtube with mixtape excerpts and videos, more to come so stay tuned!
August 2nd, 2011
New free mixtape is out today! Gentlemen Prefer Blunts (Pt 2) is the second Chopped & Screwed mix, featuring all 45s played back at 33. Washed Out, Brothers Johnson, Tame Impala, Dungen, and Dennis Coffey all get the slow treatment on this slow head-nodder. It’s free so check it out!
May 22nd, 2011
We released a free download of the instrumentals from our first LP with Neal Rames! Check it out:
Ill Mondo – Illstrumentals
February 1st, 2011
New Free Mixtape is out! Gentlemen Prefer Blunts is a funky soul mixtape; all vinyl, all 45′s, all slow! Free to download, check it out here!
June 21st, 2010
Big thanks to FWMJ for the link from Rappersiknow.com Good looking out man!
Also got a nice shout from Better-Blends.com for the new single, check it out for the full review.
ELSEWHERE
Shout from UGSMAG.com
“This is a fun one! Ill Mondo’s new free mixtape is their take on Chopped & Screwed music, featuring old 45 rpm soul and rare groove at 33 1/3″
Impose Magazine’s Best New Music of 2009:
Ill Mondo / Neal Rames got #26 on Impose Mag’s Best New Music of 2009 list. You can even download a song at the bottom of the page.
Shout from Hiphopdx.com
“Bay area collective Ill Mondo has teamed up with Los Angeles based emcee Neal Rames for a 70′s inspired Hip Hop project.” Thanks for the love!!
Rago Magazine (UK): Exclusive Interview
Excerpt: “What’s more important a mixtape of jacked beats or a single on original production?
Its two different things. I love original production if it’s good, but mixtapes are a hip-hop tradition and I want to see that continue also.”
Platform 8470 HipHopZine Exclusive Interview
Excerpt: “The story of Jeff and Johnny from Oakland began at a record store. This couldn’t have taken place at a more symbolic place. Their music is packed with funky live instruments and prog rock references. For their debut album, they collaborated with promising rapper Neal Rames, who, alongside Percee P, Prince Po and Sean P, easily tackled the particular production…”
Platform 8470 HipHopZine Year End Wrap Up
Excerpt: “We’re wrapping up a couple mega-mixes, that we’ll release for free online, along with a video, so look for that in the next couple months. Keep your eye on the website!”
Ill Mondo on DJ Premier’s radio show
Ill Mondo / Neal Rames feat Sean Price – Suicide Doors on DJ Premier’s XM radio show “Live from HQ.” You can hear the track at 59 minutes!
Ameoba Blog:
Billy Jam posted on the Ameoba Blog:
“And for the best new album cover art tribute to a bygone era album cover, Ill Mondo & Neal Rames‘ self-titled debut (dropping digitally on Nov 17) on Ill Mondo Records wins hands down for its nice reworking of Joe Jackson’s post-punk/new wave 1979 debut Look Sharp”
Joe Jackson - Look Sharp!
Shout from UGSMAG.com
“The self-titled album is out now and features legendary guys ready to rock the mic like Percee P, Prince Po, and Sean Price.” Thanks for the link!
Circle Into Square Records
Digitally Distributed through Circle Into Square. Click here for more info, pictures, and soon, purchase through the CIS webstore!
Terrorbird Media
Thanks, Terrorbird for the great radio campaign!
Neal Rames Myspace
LA-based MC, Neal Rames. Ill Mondo’s debut album is a split with this fine gentleman!
PRESS
Impose Magazine
“Making a case for our best new music list two years running. Be Bad Pt.1 is a climb to greater heights of foot jiving as the sample mashing will take those feetsies from a two-step to James Brown-esque hot potato-shucking. The flipside is a journey into funk’s infiltration into the poly-rhythms of Egyptian and Middle Eastern belly dance styles.”
HiphopDX.com – 3.5/5
“If you love Beastie Boys’ Paul’s Boutique chances are you’ll find something to like in the new record from Ill Mondo and Neal Rames. Ill Mondo is obviously in love with ’70s Rare Groove and it’s a joy to listen to the duo ground their tracks in heavy bass and crisp drums and then slather organ riffs and horn stabs over top of it all. It’s a thrill to hear extremely skilled musicians create a track from spare parts and emcees that are having fun playing with words with little care for current trends. This record is thoroughly enjoyable and worth your time.”
Cool’eh Magazine
“If you listen to Neal Rames tell it, Cali is still the place to be. Gold Rush shot way up on my list of favorite Cali Hip-Hop tracks of the last decade. There is still good things happening out West.”
Better-Blends.com
“One of the funkiest mixes that I’ve heard in years. There are moments in these mixes where you will say to yourself ‘That’s like some scene music from Coffy or Truck Turner, right?’”
Artist Feature in Juice Magazine (Germany):
Sascha Weigelt gave us a great write-up in the German hip-hop magazine, Juice. Thanks man!!
Impose Magazine
“It’s always reassuring when a crew can show up and make heads take notice based solely on the verbal spit and production grit. It’s an amalgamation of deep crates, dusty fingers, and confident wordplay that may stun you upon first listen. There’s always one album each year that completely catches you off-guard and ends up being one of your favorites. Ill Mondo and Neal Rames could claim that distinction for 2009.”
Treble Zine
“Rames’ confident flows come from an old school approach, while Ill Mondo drops some outrageously funky production. Ill Mondo steals the show with their organic, crackly, bass-heavy beats. This is, quite simply, one of the funkiest things I’ve heard all year, and that makes it pretty fantastic.”
TGIFJams.com
“Ill Mondo are back for round two of their triumphant careers here on the jamz and deliver a perfect party mix. More of an instrumental mashup/sample session, this whopping 12 minute track could just be what you were looking for. The truth of Oaktown presented via hip hop beats and carefully extracted 70’s licks.”
Grindmodeconnect.com
“With a rich and deep feel the production certainly stands out as funky guitar and lush keys seep through the beats. Compares to the best moments on The Beastie Boys’ ‘Check Your Head.’ Neal Rames’ lyrical ability would not be out of place on a Hieroglyphics album. If hip-hop was judged purely on musical quality, ‘Neal Rames and Ill Mondo’ would be flying off the shelves. Underground? Yes. Independent? Yes. Quality? No doubt. Don’t sleep.”
Potholesinmyblog.com – 3.5/5
“Funky production with plenty of live instrumentation pepper the tracks that the capable Neal Rames handle with ease; the melding of minds retains a purity somewhat missing in today’s climate. Ill Mondo and Neal Rames should be applauded for making a record that retains a soulful, musical bent yet stays firmly rooted in Hip Hop’s core. This LP is one of the more pleasant surprises in 2009 to date.”
Urbnet Magazine – 4/5
“A successful collaboration that mines the past to create a new, exciting hip hop release. Ill Mondo create a funky 70s vibe to go with Rames’ 90s style. Their debut demonstrates how well they work together. Fans of Percee P and Edan would be wise to keep an eye out for their work.”
RapReviews – 7/10
“Ill Mondo lays down a soulful mixture of horns and somber R&B over the tom-tom percussion… Neal Rames has definitely got that laid back Californian vibe. This album’s got enough good going for it to get my recommendation
Aightgenossen.ch (Germany)
“Neal Rames and Ill Mondo provide a mix of Eric B & Rakim, and Dilated Peoples. New York City meets the West Coast, pop locking, break dance hits, Snoop Dogg meets Slick Rick.”
Racket Magazine – 7/10
“It’s always good to get a Hip Hop record that cares more about lyricism and expression than creating dance cuts and “getting that dolla.” Ill Mondo’s production, coupled with Neal Rames’ fluid vocals wind their way through a variety of tempos and styles… It sure as fuck will find it’s way onto my party mixes”
Bluesandsoul.com Review
“Absolutely every track on this album is worth repeated listening. The production is consistently funky throughout, utilizing real instruments and samples expertly with a RZA like precision while still maintaining a relaxed Cali style.”
FishandSpaghetti.com – 3/5
“Neal Rames displays deft wordplay and a flow that is remarkable. The other stand out is the production by Ill Mondo. They have a very funky sound that reminds me of the soundtrack to a blaxploitation film, married to the Barney Miller theme song (hotness) without sounding corny. It doesn’t overpower Rames and he sounds very natural over Ill Mondo’s soundscapes.”