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Earlier this year, my man Bless 1 passed along an instrumental tape from a French producer named Powell, Beatnicks: Tape 02. As both a solo producer and as part of Bless' international crew, The Digital Invaders, Powell has spent the past few years putting out sounds that are just on the edge of what might traditionally be defined as "hip hop." For his latest release, he's moved even further in the direction of experimental music (which caused me to originally hold off on posting this, as I suspect it may be more experimental than many readers of this site are willing to accept). Scattering the background of each track with electronic glitches, bleeps and an occasional 8-bit sound effect, Powell's put together an instrumental album that is equal parts robotic and intergalactic. If the machines ever take over the world - something that seems all but inevitable now, what with the United Nations recently negotiating with Cylons - this might just be their soundtrack of choice.
It is not an easy listen by any means, but give it a chance and you might just find your auditory horizons expanded. To ease you into it, I'm putting up two of the more traditional beats:
Powell - Fabric
Powell - Rise
And here's one of the more experimental beats:
Powell - Riding
The second Digital Invaders album was originally planned for a February release, but it is now on hold. Whenever it is ready to go, I'll post an update on it. In the meantime, he's working on an official release for Up My Alley, and is also working with Bless, German producer Flako and New Orleans emcee Noir on a group album, due out some time in the near future.
Futher Listening:
Free download link for Powell's Beatniks Tape (zShare link)
Powell on Myspace
Digital Invaders on 33Jones
03/30/2009 09:30:01 PM posted by Fresh