electronic / experimental / hip hop
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We're still in France. We're once again dealing with something surprising, something stubbornly following its own path. Yet, this time, the music is something completely different, deviating from anything I usually listen to and certainly from anything I review. Right now, we're in the urban electronic hip hop scene, listening to beatmaker Al'Tarba and his gloomy tales of pariahs, sidewalk survivors and anti-heroes.
Al'Tarba has been influenced by Mobb Deep and Wu-Tang Clan but also by audiobooks, field recordings, street dialogs and the sounds of everyday. Those influences are now being thrown into a intense and stunning album, 'La Nuit Se Lève' (which translates as 'The Night Rises'). The album is a mesmerizing blend of beats, electronics, weird soundscapes and a multitude of vocals. Hip hop and dubstep, they seem to fit perfectly together.
Now, my knowledge of both genre is quite limited. So I'll throw in a few names that come to mind when I listen to most of the songs on this album. Cypress Hill is one, especially the ep they recorded with Rusko. The Herbaliser also comes to mind, along with Wu-Tang Clan, Eminem, Nas, you know, the in-your-face version of the rap and hip hop scene. In that aspect, 'Guillotine' is a brilliant angry hip hop track.
Now, I don't often listen to either hip hop, rap or dubstep but this album will definitely end up in my day-to-day playlist. I don't think I've ever heard these genres being this interesting, this varied and this immersive. Who to recommend it to? I don't know, I really have no idea. I'm not sure if fans of these genres read this website but if so, I recommend it to them, along with fans of weird electronics. This is the kind of variation you need in your collection, believe me.
Serge
Al'Tarba has been influenced by Mobb Deep and Wu-Tang Clan but also by audiobooks, field recordings, street dialogs and the sounds of everyday. Those influences are now being thrown into a intense and stunning album, 'La Nuit Se Lève' (which translates as 'The Night Rises'). The album is a mesmerizing blend of beats, electronics, weird soundscapes and a multitude of vocals. Hip hop and dubstep, they seem to fit perfectly together.
Now, my knowledge of both genre is quite limited. So I'll throw in a few names that come to mind when I listen to most of the songs on this album. Cypress Hill is one, especially the ep they recorded with Rusko. The Herbaliser also comes to mind, along with Wu-Tang Clan, Eminem, Nas, you know, the in-your-face version of the rap and hip hop scene. In that aspect, 'Guillotine' is a brilliant angry hip hop track.
Now, I don't often listen to either hip hop, rap or dubstep but this album will definitely end up in my day-to-day playlist. I don't think I've ever heard these genres being this interesting, this varied and this immersive. Who to recommend it to? I don't know, I really have no idea. I'm not sure if fans of these genres read this website but if so, I recommend it to them, along with fans of weird electronics. This is the kind of variation you need in your collection, believe me.
Serge
