So Skifcha has dropped an EP ^__^ and I'm sure all of the head-bangers out there are probably pretty hype (time for a Docta Philth Retwerk perhaps?). Mostly this is due to the simple fact that like most Skifcha work, this shit hits fuckin' hard as shit; pounding bass drums that test the limits of your headphones; twisted and contorted synth lines that make you question your sanity, all the things that you would probably expect from a Skifcha package of late.
But when we take in this release as whole we begin to get the idea that this isn't some "run-of-the-mill" dubstep album; it's the display of evolution for a producer whose trying to throw off the shackles of his previous work. This kid seems hell-bent on not trying to pigeon-hole himself into any one genre, everything from tackling mid-tempo beats to straight-up polling his facebook page as to what type of production he should tackle next (which, if I recall correctly, ended up with some very odd skifcha-esque dutch house). So, "experimental" is probably what I'd say most about these tracks, for yes, they still have the same build-up/drop outline but within this framework this kid is really trying to fight and struggle against the limits of what his mind can think up.
You have to kind of wonder where this kid gets these samples... Like where the fuck do you find this crazy shit? As I sit down and fire up Mr. Philth's latest retwerk of Luzcid's "Bangn" I'm left to sit mouth agape at the mental ward worthy array of off-beat sounds this producer has collected into a single track.
Now when we look at the overall encompassing umbrella of "real trap shit" one does have to wonder what differentiates this track the multitude of others that I'm sure are out there with similar beat structures and 808-heavy drops and breakdowns; is it the slight flare in build-up he showcases before the second drop? Or is it simply the tenacity to lead off a track with such a weird synth array?
To be honest I'm not quite sure, but I find myself of the general opinion the Doctor was putting as lot of effort into the heavy attributes of this track, rather then the original twists he could have brought to this banger. But all in all the track accomplishes what it sets out to do, although I would love to see if this producer can get more creative in some of his upcoming original tracksd
Let's talk for a bit a bout the concept of a "release" because these days it's an often muddled concept which some friends of mine would go as far as to say is nothing but a relic from ancient times. For the majority of the lifespan of underground music songs get released on their own; whether they're released as "Singles" to then lead into a full album release, or simply on their own to generate as much hype as possible. This has been the format for a looooooooooooooooong time, if people like one song from an artist, then they release another; if people like that song then maybe release an EP to showcase their talents with a broader brush-stroke as it were. For that is where that term comes from, "Extended Play" as in we heard a little and we like it so give us more.
But this has also led to a lot of disappointment, I feel especially in electronic music as of late; because the emphasis has fallen so greatly towards the individual track hype and fallen so vastly away from making a cohesive album as a total. Examples are abound but lets focus in on one I'm sure we're all familiar with; RL Grimes recently released debut "High Beams" EP, when this came out everyone was fucking hype as shit (as they should be) because RL Grime (aka Clockwork) was probably one of the most celebrated trap artists to come out of LA last year; he had the prior experience in other genres, the Diplo/Mad Decent pedigree, all the youtube love and blogroll in the world, so when he finally drops his debut release it should change the fucking world right?
But it didn't... Because the moment anyone heard the EP they realized that all of the tracks had been leaked all year long, and anyone who had any interest in this producer probably already had all of these tracks...
So that's why I got so hype for my label-mate Bwi-Bwi's new release; firstly, because although this producer has had a lot of hype around him from his work with M&C's "Japanese Folies" release he had resisted the temptation to leak any of these songs before they released, so the whole thing felt fresh. Secondly, with a well thought out intro and outro of well placed house-y vibes with a clear intention to round out the entire listening experience one felt they didn't have to just skip through to the good parts, but could sit down and take in the entire thing as whole, hearkening back to as someone put it "...the days when Bloody Beetroots were kings..."
Well folks, it's been over a month since our last post, so you know it had to be a special track to be able to drag us away from our crazy schedules. There's a word in french; "Doux" it means like gentle, warm or sweet (fyi I failed french so don't take my word on that) and once in a while I come across a track which likens to such explanation where all I can use to describe it is said word; and Ahmi's new track LOH fits this scenario perfectly.
You can try to pick apart the song, try to dig down deep to find the particular substance that causes this emotion in the listener, but it's quite the challenge I must warn you. For with some styles it's simple; one can easily point to the modulated basslines in generic dubstep, or the heavy 808's in 'real trap shit' (-__-) and say "there, that's the defining sound you have to go for." But as with a lot of Ahmi's work this is difficult; can one honestly put there finger of the diffinative part of this track?
The synth lines are mellow and warm, over a simple bass line, all gliding along chill trip-hop patterns that clock in at around a standard 120bpm; yet one still gets the feel that only Ahmi could have produced this track, and that if any other were to make the same track it would end up sounding different; the slight tribal feel to the percussion, the slight stuttering to the bass before the beat kicks in. These little things just scream under-rated, and it seems to be here where Ahmi tends to leave his most personal mark on his tracks, for only those chill enough to pick up on them.
So for anyone planning a hang-out session this week, do I have the fucking gift-of-all-time for you today :)
The one and only Nenjah Nycist, lead vocalist for the shaolin hip-hop group Rising Sun All-Stars, has teamed up with the reclusive trip-hop warrior Ahmi and brought us a fierce exploration of a record; it's called Ahmi, Me and Chopstix and as a collaborative work this EP brings quite a satchel of diversity along with it's switched up beats and solid lyricism; you can download the record below the interview for free (or be really cool and throw them some bread for it...) To be honest we were sort of blown away as this record seemed to have come out of nowhere, so we went off into the wild to find Ahmi and have him explain some of the background as to how this record came about:
Sup Ahmi! So how long have you guys been making music together?
Hey what's up, I met Nenjah around last February during an intermission at one of the
Rising Sun performances at Rhythm and Brews. My cousin Rah Zah Ade (dope
lyrical emcee) and I had been drinking so we came up with the idea to
meet the band, some more drinks, some conversations on music, calling my cousin
on stage to spit and a beat-listening session later we decided we'd try
to work together.
So, what's up with Chopstix? Is it a pseudonym or a tag, or what?
The name and theme of the EP came about while Nenjah and I were actually
hanging out and eating sushi one night. We had some tracks laying
around that we recorded over some of my older and very new beats and
started thinking well we might have something here. Some re-recording and
editing later Chopstix was born.
You ever spin a set together?
Nenjah and I have yet to spin a set but that's definitely in the plans. Still have other stuff no one's heard yet.
A lot of these tracks seem to be pulling influences from vastly different directions; which artists did you guys find yourselves listening to the most when you were making this record?
I can't speak for Nenjah but I remember were both diggin the new Big
Kritt that had just dropped over the summer during, and I was listening
to a lot of xxyyxx, Joey Badass, Giraffage, and Kendrick Lamar.
If you had to pick a track that "sounded like stuff you guys
used to make" the most and a track that sounds completely new for you
guys, which would those two be?
A track that sounds like our older stuff would definitely be No
Country...I was way more of a traditional hip hop beat maker back then
when I made that beat and the theme of the song is
familiar...REVOLUTION!!! From all the absurd norms of current society,
greed, robotic group-think, and the other abuses we're gifted with from
society. A song that I'd say was very new for both of us was Mona
Lisa...I actually hadn't been making trip-hop beats before the summer,
but once I started it felt right and luckily I had recently ran into a
rapper that was down to rap over stuff like that.
Alright, time for the dirt, what's an annoying habit one of you guys would have during recording?
It's funny he's called Nenjah but I know I would disappear a lot during
the making of this...it's a classic bad habit of an introvert and I know
I can be a huge bit of a recluse at times, but shout to him for putting
up with it.
So say it's a lazy afternoon and you guys are gonna go chill; Northshore? or South?
Definitely Northshore...that goes without saying, we just need to decide on what spot.
So, real talk...
Say the earth would enter some sort of nuclear
apocalypse, and between the symbolic Chopstix, Nenjah and yourself one of you
would be absolutely in the wrong place at the wrong time and get obliterated, one of you
would mutate into a ferocious pile of slime and radiation, and one of
you would escape on the last shuttle with the remnants of humanity...
So, whose which?
I have shit for luck so I can definitely see
myself being in the absolute wrong place at all the wrong times. I'm
assuming Nenjah would then try to escape the city in Gaiden fashion but
the irradiated fog I imagine would be a bit much for anyone so
he'd probably go out the mutated way, and I'd pray to the Universe that
Chopstix made it; I think other worldly and dimensionally beings have been
waiting on such a thing for a while...they told me that one time over a
5th of Haitian Barbancourt rum...I think...
When it comes to atmosphere in this scene, one rarely has to look past JTTG and his fellow producers from the Temple; the clear attention to detail and mood setting put into almost all of his beats are enough to explain the widespread respect he has garnered from his peers as of late. For whether your tastes stray from the straight ambient Cashmere Cat devotees or over to the more crunk-oriented hip-hop side of the outer boroughs these days, you'd be hard pressed not to find at least a single beat from this kid on any given bass-head's ipod.
Personally, I might consider killing people in order to get access to his and The SHRNK's wide array of formulated pads and sample library. This beat in particular doesn't announce it's arrival in any bombastic way; it glides into existence of waves of metallic vocal cuts and rolling hi-hats and then fades as quickly as it came. Another trill puzzle piece to the ever growing cacophony of sound that is JTTG's lonely journey through the misty hills and lonely mountains of the ancient land known to the few as shaolin.
Think I'm getting way too poetic, huh? Well, how about this; give this track a listen and see if you still think so. Because honestly, when reviewing this kid's work, I'm starting to think you really can't get poetic enough.
A unique voice is a clever trademark in rap music; I'm not an expert or anything, but with the recent drop of Danny Brown's album "Old" this has become clearly apparent to me. Because over the last week or so I've been dragged into a lot of conversations (which more often then not soon turned into arguments) over whether originality was a favorable characteristic in it's own right, whether be apart from the general pack of rap artists was a sign that you were ahead of said general pack; if an artist's work clearly differentiates itself from the standard of the day does this immediately that's it's better then the standard? My personal opinion is somewhat skeptic, because it's easy to take any track and say "OMG that's soooo different; it must be the fucking future." But this can't be 100% true can it?
What's more likely is that being unique in one's style allows his product to be heard above the rest; whether or not it is genuinely above the rest is completely up tot eh listener, but it does allow the opportunity for their music to be heard in a vacuum, without critics debating who produces that style better, because there are few if any to compare it to. Case in point is this freestyle from Morrison: this kid has a style to his flow (and consequentially a vocal structure) that's pretty unlike many others I've heard from this scene recently, he lackadaisical attitude about his skills and lifestyle tend not to focus too heavily on any one area, which is the sign of an artist who can gravitate fans to his story without overselling it. Top all of this off with a weird funky, tribal sort of beat and we get a pretty dope refreshing tune that should be getting people excited to hear more from this kid.
