Though using less organic instrumentation than in his Beat Pharmacy project, Brendon “Echologist” Moeller serves up a nice variation on a never-too-old theme. With its Mood II Swing stabs and tribal/dub-oriented beats, “Echology” is not your typical 4/4-smasher, but an aural experience. The 3AM Mix of “Dub-Minded” works magnificently on a large soundsystem and features an early morning mood reminiscent of Danny Tenaglia‘s more experimental sets.
DJ Shadow Endtroducing-Deluxe Edition
Most of the reasons why this album moved me are too irrational and sentimental to be written here. Josh Davis‘ classic ‘96 debut proved that instrumental hip-hop could arrest the imagination in ways that the English language cannot. How he translated literal piles of discarded funk, soul, jazz, and classical records into music that seemed so futuristic at the time is a mystery. This reissue-which digitally polishes the original album and throws in a bonus disc of demos, overdub-free mixes, B-sides, and a live track-is best when it leaves that mystery unsolved. Listen to the bonuses just once; they are crumbled up sketches, with the exception of Cut Chemist‘s golden touch on “The Number Song.” While Endtroducing‘s turntable-mixed beats sound rather sluggish in our DSP age and not every idea has aged well, this album still makes hip-hop‘s future look bright.
TBA Annule
Tusia Beridze (TBA)‘s Annule is an uneven slew of listless vamp ballads, Aphexian synth tinkering, fragmented examinations of her soul, and trip-hop excursions. There is little here that has not been done by many others in their bedroom studios, but some moments haunt. “Urs” is a deathbed lullaby, as Beridze struggles to paint verses with her last breath, and her whispers draw blood in the moribund dub of “B>lan.” She also executes some fine swordsmanship on the title track‘s broken beats and an acute sense of tomfuckery on the Gameboy jumble of “Dread.” Keep her under watch.
Various Artists 4 Women No Cry
One could immediately jump to the conclusion that this all-female, post-techno comp is very “motherly.” However, the roughly 15 minutes given to the four international artists here all evade such a generalization. Tusia “TBA” Beridze simmers voices and melodies in the ether; her keyboard ballad, “Late,” is full of missed notes and false starts, yet is immaculate. Rosario Blefari lets her songs get lost in recordings, both real and mimicked, of street bustle. Eglantine Gouzy wanders into a playroom cluttered with music boxes-except for the “Who here is on their honeymoon, tonight?” lounge serenading of “Zone A.” And then there is Catarina Pratter‘s “Policeman,” a sublime digital-dub trance that summarizes the high class and intelligence of 4 Women No Cry at a time when so much electronic culture seeks nothing above the shoulders.
Giant Panda Fly School Reunion
The members of LA-based Giant Panda wear their affinity for hip-hop‘s past proudly on their sleeves. With Fly School Reunion, this multiracial crew certainly makes their forefathers proud-especially when they shout out their favorite decade in hip-hop on the A Tribe Called Quest-ish cut “90‘s.” Even when they humorously regurgitate modern racial stereotypes on the outstanding single “Racist,” they still sound like a blast from the past. Much like their collaborator Thes One of People Under The Stairs, they know how to produce carefree, party-starting hip-hop that celebrates a time when the music wasn‘t so solemn.
Boom Bap Project Reprogram
The verses on Reprogram, the new album from Seattle‘s Boom Bap Project, couldn‘t be more different from the diary-like raps of their Rhymesayers label mate Slug. But while MCs Karim and Destro don‘t pour their hearts out, their elemental yet precise wordplay and heavy beats are often just as captivating. Even without getting too pensive, they‘ve got the gusto to keep heads nodding. With the assistance of fellow Northwest reps like Jake One, Mr. Hill, and Lifesavas, BBP drops 15 flavorful tracks of unadulterated hip-hop.
The Herbaliser Take London
With over a decade of work and a handful of albums, the UK‘s The Herbaliser still has yet to really catch on in the States. Taking over London isn‘t a bad idea for now, but they‘re capable of more. If all goes well, the addition of MC Jean Grae on numerous tracks will help them awake the majority of sleepy American hip-hoppers. However, whether they have an MC on board or not, The Herbaliser‘s cinematic blend of organic jazz and funk makes for an enjoyable and often suspenseful listen. Take London is soundtrack-worthy hip-hop for the new millennium.
Various Artists New Zealand in Dub
These are the sounds of paradise. On this nearly 80-minute compilation, some of New Zealand‘s top instrumentalists show us how they seamlessly meld elements of reggae, downbeat, trip-hop, and more to deliver an entirely fresh take on dub-straight out of one of the southernmost countries on the planet. Surely the lush and remote NZ environment helped inspire the inherent tranquility of these selections. And amid the chill vibe of these instrumentals, the occasional use of vocals (on “Politician,” for example) proves that these sharp New Zealanders are far from being socially unaware.
Populous Queue For Love
Queue For Love, Populous‘ second album, is unusual in that it features hip-hop at its most abstract-there are drifting, soundtrack-style cuts here, plus a glitchy beat bath featuring rapper Dose One. The record also explores the the age-old formula of fusing heavy beats with killer jazz samples, as executed with aplomb on “Pawn Shop Close,” “Sundae Pitc,” and “The Dixie Saga.” The best track, though, is the closer “Drop City”-a glorious collision of both old and new.
Studio Pankow Linienbusse
Studio Pankow marks the return of pioneering UK producers David Moufang and Jamie Hodge, alongside German artist Kai Kroker-the trio takes their name from Kroker‘s Berlin-based studio. Despite visiting the German capital three times to record Linienbusse, the Brits claim to have spent less than one hour in total outside the studio…and it shows. The majority of the dub-oriented tracks here are claustrophobic in the extreme and crackle with an all too rare intensity.
