Review Summary: Keepin' it poppin, keepin' it phresh.
Alright, here it is guys. After a few years of lurking, I am finally ready to contribute to the site. What better way to enter in the world of music reviewing than with a band I discovered not even two weeks ago; but have already felt such a connection with the music it's as if I have been listening to them for years. In a way I actually have been because what Tom Strauch and Ingo Möll have done is take the best aspects of hip hop, reggae, funk, trip hop, and rap and fused them together in a masterful mix for the ages.
When listening to the samples so finely tweaked to fit the exact specifications of the music, it sometimes feels as though there were musicians in the studio recording these tracks specifically for the songs on the album. The drumming is impeccable, the violins are tight, and the horns are brighter than the sun (yea, that's a lyric from the album and I used it). When a guest appears as they do in six of the tracks, their voice floats majestically over a plethora of layers designed to keep you enthralled with the music whether a voice is there or not. These beats are incredibly catchy yet not overdone as you have never heard anything exactly like them.
What helps draw the music together is that all the beats are so damn cool. You could drive up to just about anyone as you blast Into Bass and Time and you will not be ashamed rocking out. Any human head can instinctively bob along with the drums as you relish in the nature of the beat. You could argue that this makes the music rather simple, and in that case you would be correct. Minimalist is not a good word to describe this music but even with all the subtle layering and undertones the music does tend to wear on you as there are not many secondary layers of sound experience waiting to be unlocked on the 17th listen. In this case it is slightly disappointing but it does allow you to immediately dive into the waves of hip hop and still relish the experience.
As your ears find their way through the separate tracks, they are often pleased with an entire array of amazing songs. As you reach their eighth track, eternal searching; your mind has already been exposed to eight separate melodies all worthy of their own recognition and you start to wonder if it is possible to have an album so full with excellence that it can continue to amuse you and allow you to walk away with even more memorable tracks. Into Bass and Time delivers that possibility, and it is simply incredible. I never realized it was possible to leave a hip hop album and truly enjoy every single track as simple and catchy as they are. People have told me of such an experience, but I never fully comprehended their viewpoint until now. They are able to keep the entire album interesting by incorporating a fusion of styles. There are both male and female vocalists, a reggae song is included in the mix, and a song even draws upon eastern influences. Yet even with such a variety of music the songs find a magical way to flow into each other in a way that the album itself can be considered a single entity of music.
