The Tape Vs. RQM - Public Transport

Kitty-Yo



Things used to be very limited and stale in hip-hop a long while back. Rappers seemed to always follow the same template and work from tired, worn-out rhymes and samples (some still do). It took a while for artists to learn that hip-hop could incorporate more than pagan poetry and aimless beats. However, to name the blessed precursor of this infected approach to the genre is a matter of who was born first, I'm afraid.

Besides, hip-hop has the same genetic code, aiming at diversity, since its heyday. It was just waiting for someone to decipher the data. Fortunately, some Arquimedes screamed "Eureka!" way before 50 Cent was even born. The Tape vs. RQM have inherited this infectious take on all things hip-hop. The duo's latest release is a conundrum of black and white rhythm, neo-funk, soul, loose synths, pale but determined IDM glitches, and, oh well, hip-hop.

Still, Estonji's rework of "Innocent" is not as inspired and promising as the rest of the album – it's definitely not the best track to start things off. There's a proverbial, sutured level-jumping attitude that is somehow incompatible with what's left of "Public Transport". (Actually, the album was first meant to be called "Black and Bruised: The Mixtape For Suicidal Lovers". We can only thank the guys for giving it a second thought.)

Berlin's producer Robot Koch (of Autodrive and Jahcoozy fame) makes the bed where emcee RQM (I-Wolf, Stereotyp), hailing from New York, puts his words to sleep. It's a fructuous, juicy combination, really. And it does apply for bus/subway-listening. The Tape vs. RQM seem to have read from the same compendium used by Aphex Twin but, on tracks like "Gunplay", and its constant advise "this is not a love song", they kind of make shadow over their alleged mentors.

"Public Transport" has a sound that is more streetwise and thus street-friendly and yet, they pull the right buttons so you can feel warm and cozy. Go to the title track and experience four minutes of slow-motion deflowering. A decelerated discovery that will have you hearing some cricketing noises throughout the song, as well as a disenchanted (but inspired) piano leaning against a teardrop of static electronics.

I would say this album is haunted in a way, but that would give the wrong impression of the whole mood. It's a thrilling experience, for sure, capable of inducing pant-wetting excitation ("7 Hours") and tear-dropping sympathy ("Robots Cry Too" and "Another Lover"). A pleasant experience that you will not find on CD or vinyl format. It's a digital and limited cassette edition only. And each tape is hand-designed or repackaged by a different artist. Yummy, that is tasty!

http://www.properlychilled.com/music/release/profile.php?view=469

Stade - The Tactile Sessions

Kitty-Yo



The writer's block is the perfect excuse, the most distractive alibi when doing an underground hip-hop album. If words don't fit or just don't come out of your mouth like torpedoes, you can always rely on the beauty of instrumental recording. It is mind-freeing and, above all, well-accepted by critics and the streets. It's been a while since the lexicon of the 'hood mattered like anything else in a hip-hop release.

Luckily, the Swiss duo Stade's watermark is neither stream-of-consciousness verbose nor boring soundscapes that go beyond reasonable human standards. In "The Tactile Sessions", pianist Pierre Audétat and drum sampler Christophe Calpini pay a secret tribute to a certain European hip-hop sound that never had the chance to surpass the fetid, long-gone and never-to-be-missed Europop.

Especially in the UK the underground soil grows immensely cohesive fat tracks, as delivered by The Herbaliser, Roots Manuva, Mark Rae, and Smith & Mighty, to name just a few. The Swiss territory is not as productive but Audétat and Calpini may now be named ambassadors of hip-hop in a country better known for its cheese and its white mountains.

"The Tactile Sessions" is a reworking of the duo's previous record "Tactile". Like its predecessor, it features the gallantness of polished neo-jazz (that for late-night, underneath-the-sheets consumption), sparking electronics and distant but steady vocals. And it does so by inviting as many guests as each track seems to demand.

Infinite Livez is almost everywhere in this album, and co-writes some of the grooviest cuts, from the opener "Feu" to the charming, reggae-scented "Reverse Charge Blues", and the mathematical assault on "Looking For". Nevertheless, "Car" has to be one of the most inventive tracks in Swiss hip-hop. It kicks off as the perfect wake-up call for all Bronx sleepyheads, only to, a minute later, punctuate the tone and pace with a cool jazzy extravaganza.

Stade's "The Tactile Sessions" may well be the tightest hip-hop/jazz intersection ever since Mike Ladd put out "Negrophilia". But if you remain skeptical after eleven tracks, the great finale "Your Fire feat. Arvin" will definitely knock you out. A sweet, sweet track – the kind of sweetness that would certainly rot your teeth.

http://www.properlychilled.com/music/release/profile.php?view=462

Erdem Helvacıoğlu - Altered Realities

New Albion



Rating: 8/10

Hailing from Istanbul, Turkey, Erdem Helvacıoğlu is a propulsive acoustic guitar performer, with a crush on live electronics. But what's most amazing about him (besides his own name) is the method: how he records directly to the tape, in real-time, no overdubs, mixing or post-production involved. The result of this, say, eremitic process is a voluptuous, embracing mesh of gentle guitar finger-picking.

Sometimes trembling, bulbaceous and almost spooky ("Dreaming on a Blind Saddle"), and very often chilling and crepuscular ("Sliding on a Glacier" or even "Frozen Resophonic"), Altered Realities is a record for slow, attentive consumption; its long, persistent notes, knotted with creaking, resounding silences, always give a powerful last gasp to each track.

However esoteric it may sound at first listen, Helvacıoğlu's latest work is a feral, teeth-rattling chamber of glistening noises, which is always more than willing to offer a chill of terror down your spine. Take the sixth track, "Pearl Border", for instance - its scraped strings and prolonged shimmering moments make you embark on loud chants of isolation.

Altered Realities is the proper title for an album that salutes you with slow electronics memorabilia, only to, a few minutes later, take you on a late-night walk through the nebulous secrets of the nearest harbour. Not only does Erdem Helvacıoğlu delude you in a hypnotic swirl of tangled chords, he does so in a never-ending unclothing of the notes he plays.

It's not a pretentious move that every track exceeds the six-minute mark, it's just the length of the river he wants you to cross. Does it sound good? Yes, but also provoking and tormented. And that may well be the fair price to pay the boatman. One could not expect less than a passage over the waters from a multidisciplinary artist like Helvacıoğlu.

Besides his records, he also composes for film, theatre, and multimedia productions. And remember: what you hear is exactly what was recorded. Oh, the method! It teases us, it deludes us but, at the end of the day, it feeds our starving souls. And what a brilliant cook this Turkish guy is!

http://www.lostatsea.net/review.phtml?id=465312795467858c0e93e6

Samurai Champloo: The Way of the Samurai Vinyl Collection

Ample Soul



It's almost impossible to greet a release of this caliber without a certain degree of apprehension. Music from a popular anime series that mixes hip hop culture with Japanese samurai memorabilia is not exactly the daily diet for the average customer. But it sounds really good, especially in moments like Force of Nature's "Nightshift" and Tsutchie's "Numbernine (Back in TYO)".

Both tracks are taken from side A of a triple vinyl set, a limited edition of just one thousand copies, exclusive of Groove Dis. Side B opens with an instant classic, Force of Nature's "Just Forget", a sonic pearl that languidly discharge all its vicious energy and its incandescent wash of swirling, relaxed moves.

The album's grip on cohesion never slips, even when things get a bit directionless with numbers like Fat Jon's "Olé". "Samurai Champloo" never truly strays from the downtempo signature that Nujabes trumpeted on the open track, "Battlecry feat. Shing02". And although it could turn out to be a monotonous yawn after two or three tracks, "Samurai Champloo" rarely lapses into lazy rehash.

Sure the record has a couple of missteps but, on the other hand, it displays a knack for glimmering sketches that will keep your ears glued to the headphones.

http://www.properlychilled.com/music/release/profile.php?view=452

#38: Sabores do Brasil

1 S-Tone Inc. Saudade
2 Orlandivo Onde Anda o Meu Amor
3 Reminiscence Quartet Onde Anda o Meu Amor
4 TM Juke feat. Alice Russell Playground Games (Diesler Remix)
5 Al Hirt Music to Watch Girls By
6 Chet Baker Let's Get Lost
7 Underwolves Let's Get Lost
8 Nicola Conte Bossa Per Due
9 King Kooba Fooling Myself (Easy Access Orchestra Remix)
10 Groove Armada At the River
11 Stan Getz, João Gilberto e Astrud Gilberto Corcovado
12 Brazilian Girls Lazy Lover
13 Towa Tei Funkin' for Jamaica (Shinichi Osawa Remix)
14 Bebel Gilberto Aganjú (Latin Project Remix) (inc.)

emitido a 31 Julho e 4 Agosto