So, about the same time I was working on The Bar Wars Project I was working on this project with Micronaut a.k.a. the Microphone Astronaut hailing from San Francisco.   This was my first ACTUAL release on physical media, a.k.a. CD’s.  This project was done through our squad, MLA.

I “met” Micro on the Sphere Of Hiphop message boards and listen to his song Testify.  He flipped the old school Nintendo Metroid sample, but that’s not what caught me…it was his distinctive voice and delivery.  From about 2003 or so we always talked about putting out a project together and in 2006 it happened.  I wanted to do something fairly unique, so what I did was I went record digging.  I took a weekend and bought about 30-50 records and all the beats you hear with the exception of Days Of Yore were sampled from those particular records from that weekend in 2005.  I think it took me 2 to 3 weeks to create all the beats, and that was with throwaway beats as well.  What you hear is the finished result.  This project is very special to me.  WE endured a lot.  I went through a very tumultuos time with my then wife, Micro and I were broke (we had to keep pushing back the release date time after time due to that…), and then it FINALLY drops.  Even though we had lost our little “buzz” or whatever, I think it was worth it, and it’s at least worth you checking out.

Here’s the Sphere Of Hiphop Review from this year:

The Knownauts - Nauts Landing
(Indie)

This has the best intro song I’ve heard in a long time. It’s straight hip-hop with a prog rock feel with the organ leading in. It catches you off guard, but in a lovely way. I miss intros like this.

In “Complex Composition”, Microphone Astronaut rides the beat perfectly. I really do feel that he found his “voice” on this track, and the track fits his lyrics and timbre perfectly with the haunting piano and the ticking of the clock in the background. By far, this is my favorite track on the album.

Another element that makes me jump for joy with this album, is the fact that they include the instrumentals with the album. In Holy Hip-Hop, we have great producers/DJ’s/Beatmakers, and I (and I hope others) really appreciate their hard efforts into creating a musical canvas for emcees to flow upon (rookies and veterans). With the inclusion of the instrumentals, one can rhyme over some of classic HHH beats, or mash up the vocals of The Ambassador with a dust beat.

Overall, this album includes six tracks (including the intro) with the instrumentals of five tracks. This album gives us a taste of what the The Knownauts can do. So give these guys a try.

For fans of: The Insomniaddicts, Bar Wars 3 out of 5 stars

Eh, it was reviewed in 2008….2 years after it came out.  I’ll take it though.

1 - Intro - We actually had 2 intros slotted for this EP.  This one we chose was 2 or 3 samples deep with the organs, drums, and bassline.

2 -  Rise And Shine - This track was the banger that we wanted to set it off with.  It’s dated (2005, 2006, 2007), but it still comes off fresh.

3 - Crosswalk -  This, for some reason, seemed to be the favorite track in the opinion of the crew.  This one went one the M.L.A. Mix CD we gave out last year @ Paid Dues.  I had left some of the closed hihat in the snare on accident, so when I put in the closed hat it came out with this double hit that sounded fresh.  You can definitely hear it in the track.

4 - Goodwill Hunting - Yes, this is my voice in the beginning and hook.  One of the reasons I should never touch a mic.  EVER.  This track is hot though.  This is my second favorite since it deals with record digging and crate hunting.  Forget Matt and Ben KN is goodwill hunting!

5 - Complex Composition 192 - This was my LEAST favorite beat when I sent it to Micro, but it turned out to be my favorite track on the EP.  Micro absolutely MURDERS the last verse and the beat just fits him to a tee.  This was a hodge-podge of samples just thrown together and I debated not sending it to him, but I did anyhow.  I’m glad I did!  Oh, by the way, the 192 in the track title?  That’s the bitrate of the mp3 I sent him originally.

6 -  Days Of Yore - The only non sampled track on the EP.  With Micro being from the bay, I wanted a TR-808 bass heavy track.  The melody, or lack thereof, is just a chopped up and pitch shifted sample.  Micro kills this track too.

7-11 - I debated about putting the instrumentals on, but I think you should hear the project as it is.

Here it is. - Rapidshare

Here it is - Micro’s site - permanent location (I think) - Will be WAY less aggravating than Rapidshare.