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Sachiko Kuru, c. 1980s

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the art of fashion accessories - joanne dubbs ball + dorothy hehl torem (1993)

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A Deep Dive Into The Beat-Tape "reflective" By Aerate and Areyetee

Written by Me, Malik (aka kingmalik)

On November 3, 2023, the beat scene world was shocked by storm when rising producers aerate and areyetee dropped their surprise collaboration project "reflective". Till this day the project stands as one of the most cohesive and groundbreaking projects of the post-dirteesoulhop era beat scene. And with aerate (aka PSICOSE) gaining some extra traction in the scene after winning Dibiase's beat battle, I think it's about time we shed light on, in my opinion, one of his best projects to date, a partnership/collaboration made in heaven resulting in "reflective"

We are introduced to the project with what sounds like clips of random vhs samples, and then a sampled house track, which instantly lets you know what the inspiration and direction of the project will be.

Words from the producers : 

Malik - “so what was the thought process behind the tape?”

Aerate -” Honestly like i was in the mindset of like trying to keep it as coherent and smooth as possible. From my POV it was like putting pieces of a puzzle together”

Areyetee - “i kinda just sent chops and made beats and let roy do the busywork so yea what he said lol”

Malik - well it definitely did come out cohesive. With that being said was there any moments in the tape, whether it be transitions or sample choices that were purposeful?

Aerate -"Im glad you asked that cuz frankly i rarely see appreciation for like skits or transitions

The art of finding random vhs rips on youtube and finding that little piece of audio gold is most of the time completely accidental LOL

you never really know when youre going to find a little piece of audio that sounds absolutely perfect and i live for that really” 

Areyetee - “yea all the transitions and skits n shit were heavily scrutinized i would say. i did do all the transitions and skits on my side of the tape so I guess that's my contribution to keeping it cohesive. just making sure it sounds clean and there's a good balance between music and downtime was all basically”

On sample choices 

Aerate - And as for this i mean.....im a house fanatic so most of the chops and samples i sent were of house songs LMFAO”

“im on a road to making sure everyone flips house at least once”

Areyetee - “on the other side of that though i feel like you’ve carved your niche in this scene with to the point where to me it sounds like im biting u most of the time i try to flip house LOL

Aerate - “Its kinda funny cuz like whereas im not that great at flipping rnb and i dont flip it often, most of the niggas in this scene are like fuckin pros at it

"Its the status quo atp”

The first track, whatsmissing is what sounds like a soul sample accompanied by fast kicks & heavy sidechain, giving it a stutter-y feel. as if the voices on the sample are struggling to breath, but just pushing through and the catchy drum pattern guides u through it with a bounce .

Appealing to the cohesion of this project, onme is seamless transition from what’s missing, the beat takes you aback by its complete abstractness. you just got hit by surprise. and just as your getting used to the beat , the drums disappear and the beat is broken down and there's a tv ad esque transition into the next beat

The third track righthere is a simple flip of the airy intro to singer Olivia's "its on again” from the early sounds of 2000’s r&b gives the audience a moment to take in what was just heard. this is probably my favorite out of the whole tape as the snare rolls keep the accelerated beat pattern thru the first few beats continue, and what sounds like bird sounds give off the feeling of being one with nature, floating.

getyou is another fast kick heavy beat, drum pattern carrying the groove of the track. and throughout you hear what sounds like a female voice coming in and out which reminds me of that house/disco sound. To further the musical ride we are on with this project, the beat is broken down and a vhs rip is brought in to transition to the next beat

The track fun sounds just like its name, I might be reaching but the voice in the sample it sounds like he’s saying fun at some moments, one of my personal favorites off the tape.

On sequence we get a lowpassed sample that is a pleasurable contrast to the chaos heavy part of the tape. not much to say abt it but its repetitiveness was addicting and you get lost in it's sauce, one of those tracks you upload an extended version of 10 minutes up on YouTube to.

Next up, the beat for spring is introduced gradually with a spaced out sample before we get those avant-garde drum patterns we all know good and well from aerate. as the beat ends we hear the words “spring” shouted out as it dissolves to nothing but white noise..

The track aura, brings what sounds like a more jazzier approach to the sampling in this project, with the closed hat and snare combo clashing against each other it feels like the drums are having a conversation with the sample, with more drums being added to the track as the song progresses, definitely one of those tracks you have to put both earbuds in to fully grasp what's happening. This track feels like the beauty behind chaos.

The interlude marks the end of the first half of the tape, where aerate’s distinctive drum and mixing style flourished.

On Excellentmecha we instantly hear a change in mixing choices, the drum pattern sounds completely new. We’ve reached areyettes side of the tape

On Wayward the beat starts with just the kick and the sample before the rest of the drum pattern comes in one by one. And once it reaches a climax, white noise is introduced, the drum pattern is taken out and the kick and the sample are left in. the detailed yet simple sound of this beat is reminiscent of the “soulhop” sound like that of ohbiliv, yet with a house inspired take on it.

The track heaven is a house sample chopped and sidechained by the kick in a way that keeps you hooked and addicted to the weird vocal placement. The vocal sample makes it one of the more standout tracks from this tape.

On Incomingfire areyetee shows off his crazy side with a groovy chaotic beat that quite literally sounds like.. incoming fire 

With the track Deject, this might just be my ears making its own comparisons but this track has a heavy benja influenced sound to it. 

And continuing the common theme of cohesiveness, the stuttering end of Deject takes you into backhere .

off the strength of the stuttering transition, backhere's never ending snare rolls work well with the beat and the transition as it all feels in one with each other. With this track the project got somehow even more experimental, with the snare rolls acting as ear candy reminiscent of gun shots. The piano and ambient sounds coming in and out keep u hooked, before the beat is slowed down and video game esque transitions come in flowing through both backhere and the next track

glad (remix) marks one of the only tracks where we get a definitive female voice present in the track, a noticeable contrast in aerate’s sample choices . fun fact, this was a spin on a previous beat called “glad” by aerate. The reason for the remix - “I just felt the original beat was lacking in its impact and i knew areyetee could do the chops way more justice than i did so i sent them his way” - aerate

The track aqua comes as one of the more laid back calmer beats of this project, the (as what i like to call them) “michael jackson chords” keep u relaxed throughout the track. Before the beat ends and the transition comes in. Looking at this track and its placement retrospectively it could be signaling the end of the road-trip this beattape serves as.

The penultimate track Train feels like the accumulation of all the inspiration the project pulled from. after all the house samples and influences throughout the tape, we finally get that staple “kick on the 1 2 3 and 4” drum pattern on a track.

On The outro the tape closes out with yet another vhs rip and brings to an end to a very cohesive and smooth tape. 

To me, this tape sounded like a statement, aerate and areyetee staking their claim as one of the best producers out, this project was the result of chemistry and synchronization between the two. In my opinion the tracks aura and heaven are the defining tracks of this project as they serve as aerate and areyetee's coordination at it's finest points.

If you haven't heard this project yet, this is your sign to check it out.

Peace, Malik