Illy B Eats Vol. 1: Groove, Bang and Jive Around

This is Volume One in a series of breakbeat and percussion samples intended for DJ use and originally performed by funky drummer/painter Billy Martin of NYC groove trio Medeski, Martin & Wood. Produced by Scotty Hard (Wu-Tang, Jungle Brothers) and available only on limited-edition vinyl, the album features 13 (too brief) tracks that showcase the head-nodding, ass-shaking rhythms of Martin, an incredibly skilled drummer known for his experimental use of everything from a piccolo snare to a nubby wooden toad and tiny cymbals of Third World Origin. Martin covers a lot of ground here, from the dub-influenced "Dub stylee" to the JB groove of "Funky iller," the densely layered bass/snare work on "ill-Hops," and the post-modern tribal funk of "Max Moon." Rarely can an album of solo drumming (with a few tripped-out studio effects) rock the party like this. Martin intends the beats to be used collectively by DJs and other musicians in original compositions that may be submitted to illy B Eats for possible inclusion on a forthcoming double compilation. So DJs out there, if you want some tight shit to work with, here you go. This is public domain.