Ancient Astronauts – Into Bass and Time
Reviewed by Sadie O., 2/25/11
Funky old-school-meets-new-style Hip Hop by a production duo from Cologne, Germany. (I thought they were outa the Bay, given their guest list, but it’s a small world, eh?) Big funky beats (did I mention funky?) merged with sound collages, electronics and big screen musical sounds, and some “world” sources. Interesting and cerebral – but still funky!
Kinda mellows out and gets less interesting for last half few tracks.
FCCs on 3 (sheesh, Azeem…)
1. 1:50 *ponderous cinematic chords, sci-fi announcement, then midtempo funky groove, spoken word collage.
2. 3:49 ***pretty chimes – a bit Pink Floydy – but not for long. Funky beat, aggressive but relaxed. Snippets of Hip Hop vocals, cinematic strings.
3. 3:47 (multiple FCCs) **big chords, then very clear and forceful chat from Azeem.
4. 2:00 **groovy midtempo beat with almost a spaghetti western feel to the chorus.
5. 5:02 ****cool swingy, sort of Caribbean/Highlife percussion, way funky beat.
6. 4:01 ****lovely funky midtempo groove, vocals by Raashan Ahmad.
7. 4:05 **melancholy strings, but a solid beat.
8. 3:56 ***the sun appears to be coming out after the rain. 4/4 strings, solid guest rap.
9. 3:28 ****sound collage intro, very exotic sounding strings, sort of anxious (yet somehow relaxed) vibe, but really cool – some sounds like sitar.
10. 3:33 ***slow and BIG. Almost like early Gorillaz.
11. 4:51 ***dancehall, but of the new Euro style. And that’s fine!
12. 3:49 **sound collage, slow and definitely with a hint of robotitude. Goes through phases, in many senses.
13. 3:34 **kinda stoned female spoken word, mellow and smoky.
14. 5:25 **burpy electronics, slow and quite melancholy strings, pretty female singing. Bitter and hypnotic, yep.
15. 3:53 **slow and relaxed, but not unhappy, just pretty. Chimes and unidentifiable voices, and even a bit of harmonica…