NEW ADDS: Ziúr, Madlib, Clarence the Kid

Ziúr - Now Now

Now Now… this is probably the most iconic album I’ve listened to all year. Ziúr is a Berlin based electronic producer/musician, who wrote this experimental dark pop album in 27 hours, then dropped it unexpectedly while announcing the start of a new label. In an interview with Mixmag, she says that, “[t]he 5-track EP mirrors a feeling where indoor mood lighting is battling the prevailing state of winter. Written in only 27 hours, it couldn’t be more current in its execution and raw in its transportation. As the title suggests, it’s happening ‘Now Now.’” Even as it breaks all the conventions of songwriting, this album feels weirdly relatable in these ultra change-packed times. There have been times these past few months where I’ve felt like I was on an alien planet or in a scene from The Matrix; so even though her music sounds out there, I don’t consider Ziúr to be that far off. Quite the contrary actually: when everything else in our lives has changed, it’s hard to imagine that our music wouldn't change too.

With the song “Bleak,” Ziúr is reimagining our emotional landscape as it arrives: “like a shellfish carry the wall, never show beauty, distracts from a norm… so many shades of the same dark grey, makes it hard to speak while the future's bleak… this is the air you breathe, without substance unable to speak.” Like a shellfish, we shrink ourselves to stay home, to breathe in the same artistic substances in lockdown without fresh inspiration from the outside world. There is a kind of beauty in returning to ourselves: in the melodic synths and echoed beats that pull us deeper and deeper inside ourselves. The album moves in a kind of circle, with Left and Leaving opening the door to the self-exploration of the middle three songs through chaos and dissonant bells. By the end of the album, I feel turned inside out, releasing frustration and anger with the grating metallic sounds of “Reignproof” until I emerge out the other end changed. Hopefully that is what will happen to us all by the end of this madness, but Ziúr definitely seems to be leading the way.

- Maya Elimelech, DJ

RIYL: Arca, Oli XL, Yves Tumor, Antwood, RUI HO
Recommended Tracks: 2, 4
FCC: Clean

Madlib - Sound Ancestors

2021 has brought about the seemingly unexpected collaboration between DJ, producer, and MC Madlib and electronic artist Kieran Hebden, more commonly known as Four Tet. While these artists are musically different, the two have in fact known each other for close to twenty years. Their friendship quickly flourished, and one of their first commercial partnerships was the Four Tet remix album of Madlib and the late, great MF DOOM’s masterpiece Madvillainy. For Sound Ancestors, Hebden acted as the facilitator. Hebden was sent hundreds of samples and beats over the course of a few years with which he was tasked to arrange into a complete and flowing album. While the individual tracks on Sound Ancestors come to us from just a couple years of work between the two artists, the album as a whole is the result of the duo’s long standing musical connection.

Sound Ancestors is an almost psychedelic journey through the world of instrumental hip hop that offers insight into the wide array of influences Madlib uses in his music. The samples in Sound Ancestors range from obscure soul music (“Road of the Lonely Ones”) and Spanish guitar (“Latino Negro”), to a 1959 recording of kids from Harlem singing (“Duumbiyay”). While these are impressive, they do not come out of left field for Madlib. His whole modern career has been built upon his nearly unmatched ability to incorporate odd samples and sounds into an audibly pleasing hip hop package. The album has many songs that are more straightforward and accessible, like “Theme De Crabtree” and single “Hopprock,” but the songs that get really weird are the ones that I think will stick with me. For example, the title track “Sound Ancestors” opens with a rhythmic chorus of some sort of mallet instrument before divulging into spiritual jazz you would expect to hear from Pharoah Sanders.

Though Sound Ancestors is a testament to Madlib’s skill as a crate-digging sampler extraordinaire, it ends up feeling more like a victory lap rather than a bold step forward. For those of you that are fans of instrumental hip hop, Madlib himself, or are just interested in the genre, Sound Ancestors warrants a listen due to its unique samples and strong flow. However, due to the minimalist, repetitive nature of sample based music, the more straightforward songs on Sound Ancestors often feel lacking without a vocalist on top. I am happy that Sound Ancestors has been put out into the world and have enjoyed listening to it (particularly the more experimental songs), but the album primarily makes me wonder more about who Madlib is going to produce for next rather than when a new solo album might come out.

- Nick Calahan, DJ

RIYL: J Dilla, MF DOOM, Knxwledge, Freddie Gibbs
Recommended Tracks: 7, 9, 10, 12, 15
FCC: Clean

Clarence the Kid - “Six Months Later”

"Six Months Later" is the final video installment from Clarence the Kid and his extended storytelling centered around the Black Lives Matter movement. This song was the lead single to CYHUN2 (Can You Hear Us Now 2), the sequel EP put out back in December. The video was shot with the direction and help of 941 Media LLC.

The song features vintage camcorder-style footage and interlude moments from CTK’s childhood. Between soft synths and light drum machine fills, CTK tells a story about the sheer loss of innocence that came with growing up in America. He raps about allies and individuals that are still fighting their good fight, trying to overcome systemic racism. Clarence references the temporary beauty that came with BLM going mainstream in summer 2020, but now, six months later, he recognizes that maybe it was only a trend and not a new mentality.

6ML is a song on reflections, expressing Clarence's clear disdain for the fetishization of the BLM movement and lack of response to police brutality. After six months, our lives are still inundated by social media performativity and innocent black lives are still being taken in the streets with few or no repercussions. Clarence also drops a hook about the LGBTQ+ black community and the mass injustices being committed against black trans lives.

Feel free to check out the rest of the CYHUN2 project here and be on the lookout for the next round of singles from CTK in the coming months.

- Mitchell Alcoser, External Street Team Director

RIYL: JID, Saba, Mick Jenkins
FCC: Explicit