From StonesThrow.Com:

French National public radio Radio France has partnered with Blogotheque (Take Away Shows) for a series “Vinyl Radio” where they take producers and artists into Radio France’s massive collection of 450,000 records in its “discotheque” warehouse to pull, play, and talk about whatever records they like. Here’s Geoff Barrow of Portishead, Beak and Stones Throw’s Quakers digging’ through the crates…

Playlist:

Moondog “Bird’s lament” (Moondog, 1969)
Public Enemy “Public Enemy no. 1” (Yo! Bum rush the show, 1987)
Can “Vitamin C” (Ege bamyasi Okraschoten, 1972)
Charles Penrose “The Laughing Policeman” (Comic Cuts, 1926)
Serge Gainsbourg “Melody” (Histoire de Melody Nelson, 1971)
Massive Attack “Unfinished Sympathy” (Blue lines, 1991)
Herbie Hancock “Rock It” (Break Dance, 1983)
Madvillain “Meat Grinder” (Madvillainy, 2004)
Suicide “Ghost Rider” (Suicide, 1977)

Guilty Simpson & MED featured MCs. Quakers is a 35-person hip-hop collective, centered around three producers – Fuzzface (Geoff Barrow), Katalyst (Ashley Anderson), and 7Stu7 (Stuart Matthews). Quakers 41-track album is out now on Stones Throw.

Video Director: Eric Coleman; Cinematography: Jerry Henry; Editor: Laith Majali; Cameras: Jerry Henry, B+, Mike Park; Producers: Marybell Chavez, Eric Coleman.

Stones Throw describes Quakers as  “a hip-hop collective boasting 35 members which orbits around a core of three producers: Fuzzface (Geoff Barrow), 7-Stu-7 and Katalyst.” For those that don’t know, Geoff Barrow is the backbone behind classic “trip-hop” pioneers Portishead, making the prospect of a hip-hop full-length produced by him quite exciting. Yet with so many members in the mix, can Quakers be looked at as truly a cohesive album?

As perhaps one of the year’s most off-kilter releases, The Quakers LP prides itself in experimentation, with a more-dusty-than-digital approach to production. It’s success or failure largely depends on it’s collaborators, as it’s wide array of talent never strikes the same chord twice. The opening track, “Big Cat”, featuring Synato Watts is a fitting introduction – a seemingly random topic built around the tracks growling jaguar, as Watts spits venom on top of it. This leads into perhaps the album’s best track, the Run DMC sampled, cinematically infused “Fitta Happier”, as Guilty Simpson and MED tear it’s raucous horns to shreds. Jonwayne makes an impressive showing on “Smoke”, where he straight abuses the track with a breathless flow that leaves him waiting to exhale.

Some fans might not appreciate the album’s more experimental collaborators, such as Coin Locker Kid on “Russia With Love” or the ODB-inspired “What Chew Want” with Tone Tank. Yet after a few listens, tracks like these settle into the consciousness and work perfectly with the rest of the album. But for such a lengthy LP, it does seem to run together in places, as lesser-known artists seem to get lost in the shuffle, or some old favorites sound past their prime. Still, the Stones Throw alum do the Quakers brand of beats justice on all fronts, such as Aloe Blacc – who shows yet another side to his style with “Sign Language” or Frank Nitty who does Dilla proud on the obvious homage “Dark City Lights”.

If the album has a major fault, it’s in it’s length, as at 40 tracks they maybe didn’t leave anything on the cutting room floor. That being said, the flow of the LP gets interrupted several times throughout with it’s more experimental, instrumental interludes, which may turn a lot of regular rap listeners off. However with this many cuts on the playlist, they also managed to show remarkable consistency, with  heavy handfuls of paired-down, sample-driven beats, which is a long lost art form in itself. Make waves.

From the Quakers LP, out now on Stones Throw. Directed by Shane Sakanoi.

Quakers is a 35-member hip-hop collective centered on a core trio of producers – 7-Stu-7, Katalyst and Fuzzface, aka Geoff Barrow of Portishead. This comes from their self-titled debut, out now on Stones Throw.

Read more: http://www.rollingstone.com/music/news/free-download-quakers-rhythmically-ambitious-russia-with-love-20120329#ixzz1qbB4HBKu

Quakers is a hip-hop collective boasting 35 members which orbits around a core of three producers: Fuzzface (Geoff Barrow of Portishead), 7-Stu-7 and Katalyst. Self titled album due April 20th on Stones Throw.

From StonesThrow.Com

Quakers is a hip-hop collective boasting 35 members which orbits around a core of three producers: Fuzzface, 7-Stu-7 and Katalyst.

Fuzzface is better known as Portishead’s Geoff Barrow, a long-time Stones Throw supporter in touch with Peanut Butter Wolf since championing the Jaylib album back in 2004. 7-Stu-7 is Portishead’s engineer and in-house producer at Invada Records in the UK. Katalyst is one of the most respected producers in Australia and a partner in Invada Records.

Disillusioned with much of the hip-hop around them, the like-minded producers set out to create the type of rap record they’d want to listen to. That meant gathering one of the most varied arrays of talent ever seen on a hip-hop record. Rather than just sending beats to the hottest names of the moment, the producers sought out genuine collaborators, regardless of whether they were legendary or simply stumbled upon around the world wide web. Invitations were sent out to golden era legends such as Prince Po and The Pharcyde’s Booty Brown, indie rap titans such as Dead Prez and Phat Kat, and of course some of StonesThrow’s finest: Aloe Blacc, Guilty Simpson, MED and newest signings Jonwayne and Dave Dub all make memorable contributions. There are also some lesser known talents present: band-favorite Coin Locker Kid, Lyric Jones, Estee Nack & more hold it down with their more celebrated peers.

Yet for all the vocal talent, it’s often Quakers’ stellar production that takes center stage, tying together the albums 40+ tracks into a cohesive whole. Heavy beats come thick and fast, from the horn-heavy stomp of “Fitta Happier” to the devastating synthesizer abuse of “Belly of the Beast” and beyond.

Quakers music first appeared in Banksy’s 2011 film Exit Through The Gift Shop and, in case you’re wondering, the name comes from ‘earthquake’. They’re here to shake the foundations.