Urban Click : Dry Season

Since their work on Verb T’s last remix album, this triplet of talented Slovenian producers have been busy assembling another fine instalment in their series of seasonal releases. Offering a varied and expansive sound, their musical mood draws from every corner of the arid sonic landscape they channel for inspiration; making for a quick, entertaining listen that’s thoughtfully well assembled.  Kings begins with an immediate departure from their previously boom-bap sound, incorporating rolling southern snares and fizzing electronics that soon dissolve into Pa-Neck The Serpent; the second track as much of a curveball as the first, finding the crew juggling loose timpani and swinging hats over a stomping bassline.

Sandstorm moves to distinctly Indian climes through warming strings fortified by melodic vocal chops, while Gauld is a personal highlight for it’s simple, effective organ loops that amble along under more perfect voicings; calmly echoing the sweltering soundscapes they invoke, before they increase the heat further on Bloodrun. Red Pyramid‘s triumphant tones close out the album as strongly as it began, neatly illustrating the group’s ability to make beats that both scream out for an MC to come destroy them, and stand alone as interesting compositions. On Dry Season Urban Click have raised the bar they previously set themselves through this sequence of inventive instrumental EPs, elevating their sound every time they serve up a fresh batch of beats.

Get it for free, here.

5/5

Peace.

Verb T : Reverb

Drawing primarily from his recent I Remain LP on High Focus; Reverb features a host of dope remixes of Verb T’s tunes by some of the finest beatmakers worldwide; and boasts a varied beat selection that’ll not only knock the dust off your brain after a heavy weekend of drinking/Jesus but will have you fiending to revisit the MC’s back catalogue immediately. Slovenian trio Urban Click set it off with three back to back bangers; Dawn takes a soulful stroll though one of Verb’s best tunes, with dynamic drum changes that disperse the verses and give the strings even more impact. A complete re-imagining of Lost strips the tune back to neck-snapping breaks and buoyant basslines; while their Power Within remake does the opposite, taking the original’s nebulous notes and reforming them into an up-tempo tramp that explores a maze of stuttering hi-hats as vaporous vocal chops claw at the track’s bottom end.

Jehst puts together a funky, bass-heavy remix of Sound The Alarm off the YNR-released Serious Games album; which also serves to inspire Ghost Town’s electronic arpeggio’s that back Verb’s nimble rhyme schemes on Extra Fried. Talented Glasgow-based producer Konchis backs deep bars from half of the Four Owls on Look Now, with siren-like horns that bathe the track in strobes of sound; then Pete Cannon’s OG beat gets the Leaf Dog treatment on Where You Find Me, bringing that soulful bump he’s known for, and making the song an album highlight in the process.

The self-produced Less Old Less Grumpy blends a new chorus with the original tune’s accapella over a catchy piano loop that keeps your head nodding; as does the original mix on All That Exists; which is a real interesting listen. Alternate vocal takes and a different wording on the chorus are set to a more reserved sample; with Verbs still perfecting the flow you end up hearing on the album version; providing a rare insight into the writing process that shows how much time and effort T spends when creating his tunes.

BMRN ( pronounced BoomRuin if you’re not fluent in cool kid internet linguistics ) end the LP by taking The Power Within and shifting the previously serious tone into an epic, yet sombre track that packs Eternal Sunshine Of The Spotless Mind levels of upliftment meshed with depression. For new fans looking to explore Verb T’s music Reverb is as fitting introduction as any, but for long-time listeners the real gems are found when placing the tracks into context. They show progression, and demonstrate the malleability of the man’s rhymes, as they sit comfortably on nearly any beat they’re placed upon.

Reverb came out today! You can get it for whatever price you feel, here.

4/5

Peace