New LA Adds: Nosaj Thing, Zeroh, Canyon King and Sleepyeyes
Hip-hop heavy this week because I discovered the "Los Angeles" tag on bandcamp and it's all people who make beats I swear to god you might think there are a lot of people making lo-fi post-dilla beats but you have NO IDEA
Nosaj Thing - Home: Bleepy, fuzzy, floaty idm/hip-hop from (former Fest co-headliner!!) Nosaj Thing. Puts you in a very dreamy, half-asleep state. Lots of subtleties that I probably need to listen to a bunch more times to pick up on. There are all these little things going on beneath the surface, like picking up a rock and watching all the bugs scattering. Super-cool Autechre-y drum programming on the last track.
RIYL: Lapalux, Shlohmo, falling asleep listening to one of the less noisy Aphex Twin albums
Zeroh - A Beginner's Guide To Zeroh (fanmade mixtape): 16 tracks of what makes the la hip hop/beat scene my favorite thing in the entire world probably. Blunted and heady production from the usual Low End Theory staples and just words on words on WORDS... Zeroh rapping is like a monk in a trance. It's focused, precise and it just keeps coming and coming. I've listened to "peace and light" 20 times in the past 2 days.
RIYL: Jeremiah Jae, MF Doom, Flying Lotus, meditating, taking good care of your body, astro-travelin'
Canyon King - Canyon Music: Draggy ambient/sample collage music from some kid in Pasadena who probably watches a lot of anime and skateboards and has a tumblr and stuff like that. That sounds kind of off-putting I guess, but this is really cool it's like this weird slurred look into someone's life and mind.
RIYL: Oneohtrix Point Never, if you were really into odd future at one point but deny it now, bucket hats, prescription drugs
Sleepyeyes - seven: A really short, hazy, hissy beat tape but that's how we like them, right? All the tracks are named after streets in la and it feels like riding the bus through the city in a blurry haze on a late afternoon.
RIYL: Madlib, Ras G
Hope everyone had a good first week back. Remember to stay positive and go out and explore when you can.