Hey everyone,
Joe here with episode 98. Funny enough, it seems I've unintentionally chosen three artists from Australia. While some great music comes from the land Down Under, I didn't try to theme the week. In any case, though, the fourth track rounds out the lineup with an anonymous artist, so let's dive in.
Kwame takes dead aim at the rap scene and bolsters his own success in "WOW." I think the confidence is deserved; this track slaps. The meta word play and flow are great, but it's the instrumentals that are really neat.
He draws inspiration from typical hip-hop instrumentation, but the arrangement and rhythm are unique; while a strong baseline lays a rhythm for the vocals and organizes the song around a common beat, other elements are off-time, fall on the downbeat or cross bars. I don't know enough about music theory to break it down... but it's cool.
Though Hiatus Kaiyote were on an unofficial... hiatus... since 2015, they have announced their third studio album, Mood Valiant, will be released at the end of June. Their first two albums carried a common instrumental and tonal theme, calling on elements of soft rock, jazz and R&B to underpin trippy, colorful and esoteric lyrics. The band describes their sound as "multi-dimensional, polyrhythmic gangster shit," which is quite fitting.
There are two versions of "Nakamara" on their first album Tawk Tomahawk. As a fan of A Tribe Called Quest, I had to share this version for its feature of Q-Tip.
I assume everybody knows Kimbra (ha?), but I'm often surprised at how little attention she actually gets. I often have to introduce her as "the female singer from 'Somebody I Used to Know.'"
She has been able to pull together consistently great pop R&B albums, so I had a lot of trouble choosing a single track. Kimbra's catalog has some really diverse and out-of-left-field vibes, but "Everybody Knows" represents her well. It opens with intimate soundstage, with soft vocals pulled in close before the bass drops in the the song opens wide. The track builds on a relatively simple, groovy recipe with neat little production flourishes throughout, making 3 minutes 44 seconds feel like a mere moment.
The enigmatic Spark Master Tape has been releasing singles and mixtapes since 2012. His music would (mostly) stand on its own but the anonymity is definitely key to his success.
As an independent artist who tones-down his vocal tracks and obscures his face, no one knows who he actually is. One leading theory is that Last Standing Poet reinvented himself as Spark Master Tape, but remains unconfirmed. With over-the-top lyrics referring to violence, drugs, and other illicit topics, it's not music to take seriously, but it is guilty fun.
Of course, don’t forget to reply with what you liked, didn’t like, and what you’ve been listening to.
And, as always, this week’s tracks are added to the collectors for all weeks' tracks on Spotify and Apple Music.
Adios,
Joe