Hip-hop is where the various music languages most easily find exciting new ways to intersect and produce beat-oriented acceleration. And while this is no breakthrough theory, it's still amazing that someone can achieve such a prolific dialogue at an early stage. "Three Way Intersection" is the debut album of a trio of producers hailing from Washington, DC but with an array of musical and geographical backgrounds that help us better understand this hip-hopped neo-soul/jazz conglomerate.
There's no accident in Ave.To. You just can't assemble countless variables and build up to a sound that is both cosmopolitan and incredibly true to its various roots by accident. No, this is meticulously drawn to take the pulse of the afrobeat while saluting the boogie nights of Western cities. Producers Oddisee and Unknown ventilate just enough air for reed specialist Kolai to accommodate his flute incantatory drawings.
And if Oddisee manages to incorporate a certain Sudanese heritage into the creative soup, Kolai, an African-raised Frenchman, takes the beat for a little walk through the massive Eastern traditions. That inter-cultural crossover can be heard on "Gallery Place" and "Natural", the latter consciously aimed at two sides of the dance floor: the festive, overexcited heat of any decent club, as well as the more contemplative, early-morning call for a tiresome last dance.
In the steam of things, it's easy to drool over any cross-cultural subtext emerging from an ensemble that simply desires to punch above its weight class. Nevertheless, after the glorious, jazz-scented "Glow Nights" or the soulful, beat-centered "Abuja", scepticism is rapidly booed off the central stage. But while both numbers are sure to satisfy even the most demanding palate, it becomes evident that Ave.To changed the rules midway through the game.
The second half of the record is arguably more inclusive than the first, evoking the tempered demons of jazz (as on "Future Funk"), but also the vacant spirits of colourful African rhythms (heard on "Unmandyax"). And even if "Three Way Intersection" is a record I'll always sing the praises of, the only (fatal?) flaw has to be its duration. Over 70 minutes of overloaded music is perhaps excessive – there's material here for two great albums, material that compressed as it is in just one will probably lose a good share of its potential.
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