When someone drops music that’s far and away his or her best work to date, it makes it much easier to write about. That’s why we thank Kazumi Kaneda for taking his jazz hip-hop to the next level on Morpheme Tone. It’s the fourth full-length release from the Tokyo-based pianist and producer and his third on Inner Ocean Records.
Read Morepheel. & parkbreezy Premiere “Morning Coffee 3” Through all:Lo Collective
When Phil Gallo and Parker Williams aren’t busy manning the helm at all:Lo Collective, they’re often combining the musical output of their respective projects, pheel. & parkbreezy. They’ve paired up once again to present a full course adventure for beatfreaks of all shapes and sizes; Morning Coffee 3.
Read MoreNINETOFIVE Worldwide Beatmakers Releases Max I Million's "We Own the Night" LP
The veteran Swedish producer Max I Million returns with a diverse collection of hip-hop gems called We Own the Night, his second LP on the NINETOFIVE Worldwide Beatmakers imprint. Every song on this album is great, straight up, although we’ve come to expect nothing less from Max I Million, one of the best representatives of Sweden’s potent beatmaking culture.
Read MoreMaru Blends Rhythm & Melody on Small Sips LP
In June of 2018, Reso unveiled his dusty alter ego, Maru, switch-hitting between his usual low-end driven music and a foray into faded beats and lo-fi chord progressions. One year on, he’s released a sophomore Maru LP of dewey bumps and aqueous frequencies, affectionately entitled Small Sips.
Read MoreSaltfeend - Balboa EP
Bringing prime cuts and street-inspired style to the table, Portland based Saltfeend is a multifaceted producer with a knack for all things head-nod. Expanding upon his quickly growing catalog, his newest release is a collection of dusty boom-bap sonatas; the Balboa EP brings a detail-oriented approach to Lo-Fi soundscapes, delivering a refreshing interpretation of mind-swelling hip-hop.
Read MoreSweeps - Not Just One Thing [Single]
“See hip-hop is not just one thing. As long as it feel good and it hits you in the heart, and you can feel what the person’s saying in that type of way, then that’s hip-hop.” So says Nasir Jones aka Nas, as sampled by Sweeps in the Boston-based producer’s latest single “not just one thing”. Sweeps hits on a special sound in his latest tune, a cerebral take on hip-hop.
Read MoreManyColors - Gladys [Single]
Travel to Denver, Colorado to the small basement studio run by upstart label Color Red and you’ll find guitarist Brant Williams and his four-piece ensemble ManyColors recording sparse, low-slung hip-hop grooves direct-to-tape. Their first single “Bangs” used jazz modalities to riff over stuttering beats, and with their second song “Gladys” the group does the same but with more chemistry and confidence.
Read MoreEs-K - ReCollection
Burlington-based beatmaker Es-K releases music at a blinding clip without compromising quality. So it’s no surprise that following his spellbinding Continuance LP from February he’s back with another full-length album ReCollection, this time on Cold Busted.
Read MoreKiefer - Bridges
Following the release of prolific LPs in each of the past two years, the Los Angeles-based pianist and jazz hip-hop producer Kiefer is back with his third drop, a smooth yet experimental six-track EP titled Bridges on the stalwart Stones Throw Records. Kiefer has more than earned his stripes in Los Angeles’ happening beat scene.
Read MoreManyColors - Bangs [Single]
Manycolors is a new four-piece band that opens up new musical space by using a hip-hop format to explore chords and motifs usually reserved for jazz on their debut single “Bangs”. Soft and sure, “Bangs” combines the twinkle of contemporary lo-fi aesthetics with the electric groove of older, more acoustic styles. This is a new sort of notch in the catalog of Color Red, a Denver-based label run by Eddie Roberts, the guitarist from The New Mastersounds.
Read MoreØDYSSEE - Desired Things
There’s an old axiom that says, “It’s not what you do, it’s how you do it.” The music of ØDYSSEE exemplifies this axiom. On his new six-track release, Desired Things, he borrows bits from different styles then arranges them like a florist creating a beautiful bouquet. This unconventional take on hip-hop, presented by NINETOFIVE Worldwide Beatmakers, is entirely composed and arranged by ØDYSSEE himself; there’s no sampled material here.
Read MoreSimiah & The Phantom Ensemble - Connections
Simiah & The Phantom Ensemble is an open-ended jazz ensemble that folds together live sampling, keys, saxophone, and a bevy of guest instrumentalists in the live sphere. On February 15th, they unveiled their debut LP, Connections, establishing their particular fluidity in studio format. The blend of sampled percussion and zoned-in conventional tones creates a smoke-screened aesthetic behind the eyes, gently touching on the senses.
Read Moreall:Lo Collective - all:Lo Compilation Vol. 1
Surfacing out of the vast musical wilderness that is Colorado, all:Lo Collective is a burgeoning label steeped in all things low fidelity and low frequency. Striving to connect hip-hop and bass music with an especially swampy flair, their top priority is to inject Colorado and the music scene at large with refreshing perspectives on the common musical tropes and pathways of these genres.
Read MoreBoukas - The Coffee Tape Vol. 1
The talented and abstract beatmaker Boukas returns with The Coffee Tape Vol. 1 dropping as per usual on NINETOFIVE Worldwide Beatmakers. Boukas aka Dennis Boukas of Stockholm, Sweden has been working on these compositions throughout the autumn. This is reflected in the album’s jazzy motif and sparse compositions, which swing in the breeze like gangly trees removed of their leaves.
Read MoreGramatik - Street Bangerz Vol. 5
Ten years to the day since Gramatik dropped Street Bangers Vol. 1 and began turning a new sub-section of music heads on to boom-bap instrumentals, he returns like the long-lost hero Odysseus bearing SB5, or Street Bangers Vol. 5, a capstone for his hallowed series of high fidelity hip-hop compilations.
Read MoreFanu - Whack Lack Vol. 3
Creeping up and out of the atmosphere of Gastropodia Prime is perhaps one last slug for the year of 2018, and like all the rest, he's a real slime ball; Straight out of the gate, Fanu flips the script right on it’s head. Combining low fidelity textures with pounding bass lines and massively compressed percussion, Whack Lack Vol. 3 is perhaps the most ferocious battlewax release from the slugs to date.
Read MoreLo-Fi Sundays 052 - Axian [Interview]
To mark one year of Lo-Fi Sundays, we’re publishing a conversation with an eminent representative of beat music, Alexander Fjellerad Thomsen, better known as Axian of Aarhus, Denmark. In addition to covering who Axian is and how he makes his spacey, sample-cut music, we ended up discussing beats music generally, the “lo-fi community” at large.
Read MoreDust Collectors - Seasonal Sounds 5: Fall
In its curation efforts, Dust Collectors is true to its name. Their new compilation Seasonal Sounds 5 helps establish this label in the realm of the rough hewn, in-the-pocket, dusty shuffling beats. They aim at and strike this specific nerve in the beats world with a dazzling array of beatmakers big and small from among that world.
Read MoreWISDOM - SKYVUE
Coming in at exactly 30 minutes long, SKYVUE from Texas-based beats producer WISDOM is a meditative journey. WISDOM uses thumping rhythms and spaced out, distant melodies to activate strong psychological currents within his listeners.
Read MoreGaddy - Mixtape Mentality Promo Mix
You’re high-stepping through candlelit caverns in the Himalayas, aligned as hell, scoping out monks who may or may not be trying to get over on you. In the back corner of the cave Gaddy is spinning fat breaks, old vinyl and Houston Texas hip-hop. Heavy bass and dangling synth chords start rocking the cave, with fresh samples ringing out. You’re getting into the groove with Gaddy, whose next release Mixtape Mentality, drops Tuesday, August 7th right here on The Rust Music.
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