Second only to Kool Keith, Madlib is fast
becoming the most prolific hip-hop stylist
around. Now he further explores the rhythmic
possibilities layed out on his recent album as
the character Quasimoto ("The Unseen"), and
notable work in Lootpack with a home made jazz
ensemble.
Taking the cut and paste aesthetic of
DJ Shadow, Peanut Butter Wolf, Greyboy, and Cold
Cut (etcetera) into cloudy, uncharted waters,
Madlib creates fully realized and ready tunes from
snippets, morsels, and fragments of four and five
note keyboard phrases, guitar plinkage, brief sax
lines, kalimba (whatever that is), vibes, snappy
percussion, bass, and tasty, yet tasteful drums,
making actual songs),
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rather
than simply choosing to run the same two records
together on a turntable, and create a loop.
The
Beat Conductor made these "borrowed bits"
completely different from their original
versions, which drags the very idea of sampling
out to its farthest reaches. You'll think that
the rogues gallery of characters Madlib has put
together as a band are real people with real
pasts, but Monk Huges, Otis Jackson, Jr., Malik
Flavors, Joe McDuffrey, and Ahmad Miller are all
actually figments of one very talented man's
imagination. Fans of spacey jazz, and
instrumental hip hop fusion (ala Cinematic
Orchestra, Amon Tobin) will absolutely love this!
By Jason Thornberry, CanEHdian.com
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