#Experimental Hip-hop

[haveyouheardthisband]

[reckonslepoisson]

Cold Visions, Bladee (2024)

Back on 2018’s Icedancer – what feels like an age ago, six years – Bladee shifted from a trap-based sound to a pop one; on Cold Visions he returns  – only everything is different. In recent years trap has hardened, been brutalised into ‘rage’, and Bladee has become more lyrically impressionistic and emotional, more versatile in his delivery and much more famous, more exposed to the pressures of fame. As a result, Cold Visions is monstrous, immense, a disorienting storm of regret and resolution, absurdity and clarity, darkness and optimism. A Bladee landmark. 

Pick: ‘Flatline’

[thejoyofviolentmovement]

New Audio: Angry Blackmen Team up with Fatboi Sharif on Brooding and Nihilistic "Dead Men Tell No Lies"

New Audio: Angry Blackmen Team up with Fatboi Sharif on Brooding and Nihilistic "Dead Men Tell No Lies" @ANGRYBLACKMEN_ @deathbombarc @pitchperfect @fatboyprospect

Chicago-based hip-hop duo Angry Blackmen — Quentin Branch and Brian Warren — features members, who individually spent their time stretching their creative arms and tapping into different sounds for a couple of years, before Warren suggested that they collaborate together as a duo towards the end of 2016.  Branch and Warren exploded into the underground and experimental hip-hop scenes with their…

[berlysbandcamp]

When I made my first album "The Force Aching", I knew it was the part of and the beginning of a trilogy and the journey to that point would help me arrive at a point of clarity about what sonic world I was building. Once I started recording these songs after I released my 2nd album 'Nothing Is Sacred', I found a common thread of resilience, overcoming, taking stock of loss and the celebration of the continuous creation of the self. And while mixing it, I began to think about myself - a Ghanaian who grew up on golden era hip-hop, now carving out a space for my own brand of music. This was when the vision of Jollof Warrior crystalized. In his/her/their DNA, there was the scope of cinema, the ambience of dark science fiction, the politics of the personal, the futuristic of ancient traditions, the poetry handed down from masters of ceremonies and the transmutation of pain into joy.

[strobarium]

big on low-fidelity ambient hip-hop vignettes? come with me...

"droid" by netajin.

okay, okay! i'm back. been away for a while both toiling away at trying to find some way around having stable income, and also getting my ass beat by psychosis stuff. kind of realized i might be schizoaffective versus just bipolar, ...lot of things. but i have a newfound attitude and commitment to routines that shouldn't falter. future-proofed a lot of diff things. we will see the rest.

anyway, i think i kind of want to start posting about my dreams. i've never talked about my dreams before.

wait. i've never talked about them before...

the most interesting of the 3 formulas to how mine are structured i can lay out here, for you.

not sure what to call this kind of dream i have other than noiseworlds. so i guess i can call it that. they're marked by,

scattered, chaotic but not very loud sort of gen. texture of noise. collaged together from songs, ambience, speech & other things i've heard i think in recenter contexts. there's harmonic resonance throughout or it comes and goes.

visual aspect involves a sort of slideshow-esque rapidly (yet slowly) crossfading set of images and stills from different parts of the day, or recent days. sometimes there are flashes of color or i see gradients and other color swirls come and go but there's a consistent sort of reoccurring... rainbow? effect? of some sort, on. it's subtle.

being, very actually short. the duration of the dream itself is no more than 20 seconds or so but they've been as brief as 10 seconds in the past, if i recall. but by the time i wake up, i've gotten my full 8 hours (or...less... xwx) of rest.

i'm not sure what causes this phenomenon but i feel like it is due to the sort of super-charged feeling my brain just has by default, whether or not i am classically manic. but this song reminds me a lot of it.

the noisiness to it all and the CRUNCH really gets me going. i've had it looping the entire time i've written this. i derive a lot of joy from looking into sound design and found audio and figuring out cool sampling techniques. art is FUN!!!!!!!!!! but it has always been fun, haaahaha. but i might start logging my dreams here, though. coff coff.

~h.KSG

[newleasemusic]

Song of the Day: Wile Out - TC & The Groove Family

Song of the Day: Wile Out - TC & The Groove Family

Ten-piece UK afro-fusion outfit TC & THE GROOVE FAMILY continue the rollout of their ‘We Have Each Other’ EP with simmering, jungle-tinged hip-hop cut ‘Wile Out’. Released via Bridge The Gap, the track is a cross city collaboration, bringing together two of the UK’s best underground hip-hop MC’s, BBCR1Xtra and SXSW-backed Birmingham MC SANITY, and Sheffield wordsmith Franz Von. Building off of…

[thebandcampdiaries]

sensoryDEPT. has released a new album: "times_new.wave (beta release 1.0)"

June 2024 - sensoryDEPT. has recently released a new work titled "times_new.wave (beta release 1.0)". 

This new release exemplifies what it means to explore the vast possibilities of hip-hop as a genre. Many rappers gravitate toward the same sounds, samples, and styles. However,  sensoryDEPT. fully understands the potential of hip-hop as an open canvas, where music can stretch out to different directions and explore a greater variety of sounds and styles. 

The album features ten tracks. Each song has something different to offer, allowing the full length to be a very mercurial and creatively dynamic experience for the listener. Brad “Future” Frere, the musician behind  sensoryDEPT. is more than just a rapper. He shines as a very full-rounded, creative artist with the ability to seamlessly explore a wide range of sounds and ideas, using hip-hop mainly as a springboard for him to create something that’s quite one of a kind.

 All the songs on this album are a perfect example of that. sensoryDEPT. crafted a compelling set of tracks, bound together by a set of aesthetics that brings so much vibe to the album as a coherent, artistic piece. Each song also stands out on its own, meaning that the album isn’t only strong as a full-on listening experience overall, but each single has enough power to impress even a standalone track. This isn’t always easy to do, as it requires artists to consider the overarching concept of the album and each song as a unique component in its own right. 

Today, many artists, especially in the world of hip-hop, neglect the full album experience in favor of fast-paced singles and short format EPs to keep up with the demands of streaming platforms, pushing artists to release music very quickly. There’s nothing wrong with releasing singles or EPs; but the downside is that the amazing experience of an album is progressively getting lost, and people are missing out on such compelling musical narratives and content. However,  sensoryDEPT. managed to go against the grain with this release, hitting the market with a very well-made record that will stand the test of time. 

The opening track, “Theme Song For The Other Side Of Forever,” is the perfect mood-setter. This tune has some intricate ambient sounds in the background, and the Lo-Fi rhythm adds warmth and character to the mix. On this opener, the vocals are quite sparse, making for a very immersive introduction to the spirit of this album overall. 

The set list goes on with the second track, “California (What Will We Become),” which brings a different twist to the table. The drum beat is quite fast and driving, at an faster tempo that you wouldn’t normally find within the context of a rap album. In conjunction with the psychedelic ambient synthesizer sounds and the distorted lead lines, it makes for a unique instrumental with a personal touch. It’s apparent by now that the artist decided to consciously try something different with every song on the album. With each new track, there comes a different style and a different set of ideas to set it apart. For example, the third song happens to be one of the most distinctive and catchy tracks on this release, and it stands out for the artist's ability to combine appealing vocal hooks with his signature, immersive instrumental style. The following track, “Live from the MoMa,” is just as enticing, but this time, it offers even more melody through some soothing keyboard patterns and very personal lyrics. The next song “Modern Dilemma” is also easy to relate to, combining experimental ideas and classic sounds in equal parts. 

Moving on, “Human Resources Interlude” is another opportunity for sensoryDEPT. to further expand the sonic palette of this record with some unexpected melodic ideas and vocals that fit within the music in a very spontaneous and organic way. “… In A Distant World I Need You Closer” is one of the most distinctive songs on the album, especially because of the way the drum pattern becomes busier, but still leaves enough room for the vocals to unfold.  

sensoryDEPT. has a very original style because it is not only about trying to cram as many words as possible into a bar. His flow also brings melody to the table, and it is very expressive, at times reminiscent of legendary contemporary artists such as the great Mac Miller, but also channeling the artist of experimental acts, such as Dead Rituals, outside the realm of rap music. Having said that, it is not quite easy to compare sensoryDEPT. to other rappers because he genuinely succeeded in creating a sound that escapes easy categorizations.

“A Theory About Us” is another exciting song combining minimalistic electronic music elements with old-school hip-hop, almost as if J Dilla had decided to explore techno back in the 90s! The result is unique, and it is one of the most distinctive components of this release. The next song allows a dreamier soundscape and glistening melodic tones to take over. This release almost has influences from trip-hop, shoegaze, and other styles of music that are not commonly associated with hip-hop. However, the combination of sounds works wonderfully, bringing yet another element of originality to this release. Last but not least, the closing song brings a completely different approach, this time focusing more on the rhythm. As the title of this track might suggest, the patterns of the drums are almost tribal in nature. This means you can expect punchy, big drums that add a lot of depth and a lot of size to the mix.

This allows the album to end on a more ambitious note, which highlights the artist's grand scope of creativity. To conclude,  sensoryDEPT. truly did manage to create an extremely rewarding album, especially for listeners willing to take a deeper dive and immerse themselves into the full setlist from start to finish. As mentioned earlier, all the songs will stand out individually. However, if you want to make the most of this album, it’s highly recommended to listen to it from start to finish and allow sensoryDEPT. to build his full musical narrative with a well-executed record with so much ambiance, energy, experimentation, and passion.

[tunesalad]

Nathy Peluso - Aprender a amar

I have two favourite surprise albums this year so far and GRASA is one of them. Check it out if you crave something eclectic and ROSALÍA-adjacent.

[walkinwithoutreason]

song

i make a song, idk where to advertise it.

Stream TAKE IT BACK by walkingwithoutreason | Listen online for free on SoundCloud

[reckonslepoisson]

I Lay Down My Life For You, JPEGMafia (2024)

JPEGMafia’s music is always a battle between his quality and annoyingness; the latter is inevitable – perhaps even intrinsic to his art – though the former is undeniable, occasionally spectacular so. On I Lay Down My Life For You quality firmly triumphs, even overcoming the formidably cringe expectations of rap rock.

Pick: ‘I’ll Be Right There’

[nyaambxrradio]

"NEW MAGIC WAND" by Tyler, the Creator

from at UNIX_time=[1677700614]

[thejoyofviolentmovement]

Live Concert Photography: Shabazz Palaces with KeiyaA at Mercury Lounge 10/4/23

Live Concert Photography: Shabazz Palaces with KeiyaA at Mercury Lounge 10/4/23 @shabazzpalaces @subpop @subpoplicity @fdnieto @keiyaa_ @MercuryLoungeNY @mercuryeast

Live Concert Photography: Shabazz Palaces with KeiyaA at Mercury Lounge 10/4/23 I’ve been busily attempting to catch up on my photo editing and a few other things before the close of 2023. The last quarter of this year featured one of the busiest quarters of live music in quite some time, which included several weeks in which I went to shows 5-6 days in a particular week. Back in October, I…

[haveyouheardthisband]