Not sure the story behind this one or how Andrew (Fresh Kils) hooked up w/ Ali Shaheed of the iconic A Tribe Called Quest (was it during his most recent trip to the city to spin this past weekend or during Red Bull Thre3Style last Fall, I wonder??)
Track from Guelph, ON broken beat/hip-hop producer, Elaquent‘s new 8 track Green Apples and Oranges EP. Here’s the promo blurb:
Canadian hip-hop sensation Elaquent returns with the Green Apples and Oranges EP—another vibrant exhibition of ahead-of-the-curve production and musicianship from one of the great young producers in the game. Following his excellent 2012 EP Parallel, the Guelph, Ontario-based artist says he sees this new collection as a diverse, challenging attempt at furthering his skills as a composer.
“I wanted to flesh out certain ideas a little further and play with a few new synths I was testing out,” he explains. “Like most of my albums, all of the songs hold some type of meaning to me on a personal level, and I’m always challenging myself to express myself as honestly as possible with every record.
“All in all, I definitely believe more thought and effort went into this album,” he adds. “Furthermore, I was real happy to team up with a couple producers I have the utmost respect for on a pair of songs, in Esta (Soulection) and Budamunk (Jazzy Sport).”
In the past, Elaquent has described his own style as “wonky,’ highlighting his penchant for off-kilter rhythmic foundations and twisted samples of sounds and vocals that seem to buzz in and buzz out of frame.
“I think this one exercises a little more restraint, rather than keeping things sloppy just for the sake of being sloppy,” he says of the new EP. “All of the tracks are approached more like full songs than some of the earlier works. Definitely has its share of wonkiness though, but the focus of this album was to be a little more melodic than Parallel.”
Green Apples and Oranges definitely has its melodies in check (check out “The Official”) while maintaining Elaquent’s gifts for keeping fans guessing (“Treehome 94’” could make you go crazy). It’s infectious and catchy all right but this isn’t to suggest it’s no less challenging than the work he’s best known for.
“I think there are a couple songs that may surprise people, given what people are used to hearing from me,” he says. “I think people will see that I did try to experiment a little more on a few songs and I’m proud of the fact that I did step outside of my comfort zone on a few songs.
“I’ve always been very unapologetic regarding my sound, but I think a couple songs may catch a few people off guard,” he adds. “Nevertheless, I’ll let the people be the judge.”
Intrigued? Check out the whole Green Apples and Oranges EP HERE.
#Latepass on this one: this is the Day 25 Christmas track giveaway from the UK’s Lucky Me records. I don’t know if this really makes sense but if I was a beatmaker/producer type, I think this is the type of track I’d be making tbh….
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Thanks Anupa for the heads up on this one. You might know Illangelo‘s name from his production credits on the first, seminal Weeknd House of Balloons project. Dig the London Broken Beats or West Coast Experiemental Beats scenes? Then this might be up your alley. From the History of Man album out now on Bromance Records.
Track on the bonus 45 that comes with the double vinyl edition of 14KT‘s brand new Nickel & Dimed album which just dropped today.
14KT – Nickel & Dimed: Listen via Bandcamp on Facebook | BUY on itunes