Lost Albatross (Side Trak'x Vol 4), The

solo synth funk/inst hip-hop/ambient

A new non-techno EP from Alex O. Smith. One funky R&B tinged track, one murky instrumental hip-hop track, one beatless ambient track. All great, all relatively short by the standards of the artist/genre(s). Gritty, punchy, detailed and well put together but of course doesn't feel fussed over at all. Lots of textural and mood similarity to the new Kyle Hall but rhythmically more like KH's less tethered stuff, no four on the floor to be found on this EP.

RIYL: Kyle Hall, Brainfeeder/Low End Theory, Dam Funk, non-techno Omar-S

1. old drum machine shuffle ticks along. bouncy bass, glowy 16 bit racer synths, blips and bubbles. eventually loopy piano lines, sounds live, then piano trades off with swaying synth strings. drum patterns click along evolving, drop out for a bit and come back sparser in home stretch. a little melancholy, but sunny. (shorter than you might expect for an "extended mix" of an AOS track) 5:15
2. reverby steady quick cymbal pulse, sparse bass/guitar loop, snares and the rest step in, offbeat RZA shuffle, but deeper bassier kicks. all sorts of ticky stuff fading in and out, some run through phaser. nervous. like DITC via juicy j, or maybe an old DJ shadow b-side circa "diminishing returns". 4:01
3. beatless. big rich 303, but deep and not squelchy. squelchy synth lines up top, fluttery moog type sounds, starry sparse keyboard hits. unsettling found sound fades in and out, roars, the laughter from "i luv u alex". then a buzzing, evokes a drone but could be any small electric motor. constantly rising, like hi-def adventure game end credits, but a little uneasy. the highlight for me on this. ends a few sec early. 4:41

recommended: 3, any