Infinite Sounds UK: Album Review: Belterz by Conscious Route

Belterz

Conscious Route

It’s good to finally be able to bring you another release from one of Scotland’s premier Hip Hop artists, Conscious Route, with his new album Belterz.

I want the man himself to give you the lowdown on this new project before I delve any further into it:

Belterz, the new album project by Conscious Route is a social exploration of his personal experience of a changing society and culture, highlighting the insights of an ageing person living life and being an artist in the music Industry.

Conscious Route draws upon years of experience in the music industry as he casts an eye over the state of hip-hop culture and the trials of getting noticed as an underground artist. His vocals mesh perfectly with those of his guests, bringing an array of vocal styles and accents as the music flips from hip-hop head-nodders to a UK Garage throwback, some soul-tinted melodies, dub, and beyond.

The feature-heavy project boasts guest appearances from some of Scotland's finest, with tunes featuring Empress, YBxgtown, Kryptik, Lynzie Dray, Milles Better, Gluco, Jennifer Anne Todd, One Oz, Mistah Bohze, MacKenzie, JabbaThaKut, Wends, Becci Wallace, Solareye, Queen of Harps and Pro Focus.

The album musically and lyrically navigates a range of sounds and social topics, uniting the introspective with social observation, as we have come to expect from Conscious Route. Most of the production is handled battle rapper/ producer MacKenzie, with just two tracks (‘2 Guys’ produced by Tzusan and ‘Essence’ produced by Vagrant Real Estate) produced by others. Guest musicians, Chris Greive & Scott Bathgate also appear across 5 songs. With Scott Bathgate adding subtlety to ‘Ducks in a Row’ and an eerie edge to ‘Underground’, while Chris Greive brings extra trombone to the subtle style of ‘Late’, nuance to ‘Heart on Sleeves’ and a mix of Jazz influenced keys and trombone with the track ‘2 Guys’.

With all that said, it is also worth noting that the album also features the talents of John Dyer for the artwork. Now, there is probably enough info there to get your pulse racing with anticipation, so join me know on a journey through the album and what it brings to mind…

The thirteen-track album kicks off with Amorphous Shape, which features Empress, the melodic beat is backed by keys and guitar vibes, this gives the sound a deep reflective air. There is a distinct difference between the vocals of Conscious Route and Empress, where Route brings a more relaxed flow while Empress has far more pace to her flow. This track really seems to speak on reflecting on their careers to date and how there is this amorphous nature to being an artist, allowing you to mould yourself to whatever sound comes your way and still being able to be 100% you and 100% authentic in the delivery. Next is Pretentious, featuring YBxGtown, this one has a head nod quality from the heavy beat, while it is backed by some guitar and keys that also bring a slightly chilled edge to things which allows the sound to guide you along to the words. This one focuses on the desire to bring more of the roots and the authentic nature of Hip Hop back to sound. A lot of the rappers and ‘so-called’ Hip Hop acts that are promoted in the industry are so far from the roots of the culture. There is that pretentious air to these acts, trying to be more than they are, whereas the true nature of the Hip Hop sound is to be yourself, be authentic and reflect what you see around you in your lyrics. Kryptik now joins Conscious Route on Carry On, this one has a more modern feel to it with some nerve tingling electronic notes helping to mix things up. This track deals with how artists perform live and the fact that there are a lot of those artists who perform their music over the original track and not to an instrumental version. Hip Hop was always about performing live music to the fans and delivering that music with energy and a pure love of what you do, without that does it really show a love for the music or simply a desire to make money?

Ducks In A Row, features Lynzie Dray and Milles better alongside Scott Bathgate on guitar, The deep drum beat with bass and live guitar gives this a heavy, emotive vibe, and your only kept from sliding in too deep by that trap style ticking. The soulful chorus adds more to the emotive nature of the track which brings focus to the diverse nature of the world around us, the challenges and nature of the stigma and discrimination this brings. In a society where there is such a diverse range of people on so many levels, it is important to remember to move with the times and always be aware of the changes around you and how you approach situations, even in your music. Sugar Coated, features Gluco and has a soulful air about it with the guitar and strings that provide a background to the drum beat and bass. Here we find that a sugar coating is one thing that you can’t do with the authentic underground scene. When you do something for the love of the culture and the music, it is difficult to get you name known, especially because this is where the artist speak on what matters, there is no sugar coating the words they say in delivering the stark realities of live through music. Essence is the first track that is not produced by Mackenzie, being produced by Vagrant Real Estate, and featuring Jennifer Anne Todd. This one has a definite Garage feel to it with the up-tempo drum beat, keys and bass. The message in this one is all about staying true to the roots of any genre, as the essence of what you do. There are so many differing sounds these days that it is often hard to know what you are hearing (as a reviewer that is definitely something I can struggle with). There are so many modern sounds that use rap but, are not Hip Hop in there essence, and sometimes those modern sounds can be very alike that it is hard define them.

Day Ones has features from One OZ, Mistah Bohze and Mackenzie alongside Jabbathakut on the cuts. With a lineup like this you just know it’s gonna be pure head nod Hip Hop, and you won’t be disappointed as the beat hits with bass and guitar vibes. This one has that posse cut vibe about it as each emcee goes in big time, dropping the kind of verses that show exactly why each one of them stands out as some of the best to pick up the mic. Late finds conscious Route joined by Wends on vocals and Chris Greive on trombone, for a reggae dub vibe and soulful chorus. Now, I might be wrong here but, this one seems to speak on the pressures of being an artist, writing, recording, and getting your music out into the public domain where it can be heard by as many people as possible. It's not an easy task but, the rewards of hearing it on the radio and knowing how many people are listening are priceless. Underground features Becci Wallace on vocals and Scott Bathgate on Guitar and Keyboards, the beat is heavy with an eerie, melodic edge. This one speaks to me of the nature of relationships; they are part of everything we do in life and extend from personal relationships and into professional ones. How we see and manage those relationships is often key to some of the most important decisions in our life but, they are also key to who we are and how we are able to develop as a person. Positive relationships can life us up and help us move in the right direction, while negative ones can bring us down and set back our life’s journey.

Original features Solareye and brings up-tempo sound that mixes electronic 8-bit style sounds with a heavy beat and rapid trap music style ticking sounds, this creates a weird balance between the old and new, the fast and slow, finishing with a change of style as a heavy bass vibe carries us out of the track. The title of the track speaks volumes here, this sound might not be for everyone but, the message here is that there are times when you have to bring a style that is ‘original’, just to keep the listener buzzing. This one does just that drawing on many influences to bring an original sound to might no be expecting. Hearts On Sleaves sees Queen Of Harps and Lynzie Dray feature on vocals with Chris Greive on Trombone. The sound mixes melodic guitar, a heavy drum beat and bass, with an almost reggae trombone and that more modern Trap style ticking sound, it all comes together to create this deep multi-layered vibe. There is a deeper aspect to this track as you get the idea that this one speaks on emotions, especially those brought up as you move through life and look back on the choices you made in the past and the regrets often attached to them But, at the same time there is an air of learning from those mistakes and moving forward regardless. It is ok to have regrets as long as we learn from them and not wallow in them. The penultimate track is Two Guys and features Pro Focus on vocals, Chris Greive on trombone and keyboards, and is produced by Tzusan. Here xylophone notes mix with piano, over which is a drum beat and this multi-layered sound of horns and electronic elements. This creates this sound that seems to combine grime, hip hop, and soundtrack vibes, it’s hard to pin this one down really. Conscious Route and Pro Focus bounce off each other spinning stories of two guys living in the rap dimension. It’s all about cleaver wordplay and weaving stories that may have their basis in fact and may not, does that really matter when it’s that enjoyable. The album ends with a bonus Day Ones (Remix), the remix turns the head nod vibe of the original into an out and out boom bap banger, with an infectious beat and some recognizable guitar samples thrown in for good measure. This one should have the clubs and airwaves bouncing for sure, so turn it up…

Belterz is some ride, that’s for sure. It is a genre breaking album that doesn’t pin itself down to one genre, except that the one thing linking all the tracks is rap. From top to bottom this album demonstrates the versatility and quality of Conscious Route as an artist. He shows that his amorphous rap nature gives him the ability to stretch himself to a variety of rap flows and styles, showing just how much of an accomplished artist he is, no matter which genre he applies his skills to.

Mackenzie’s production reflects the versatility of Conscious Routes rap styles, as he mixes up the genres within the soundscapes to provide the perfect platform for Conscious Route to bounce off. The addition of additional production from Tzusan and Vagrant Real Estate, just adds to depth and diverse nature of the project.

With the project having such a guest heavy element, it was spot on adding this wealth of talent that each adds their own depth, style, and accent to the project, helping to add that element of icing to the cake, as it were.

It has to be said that there will be those who will not gel with all the sounds and genres featured here and that is just one of those things as you can’t please all of the people all of the time. But this album does appeal to a wide range of listeners, many of whom do enjoy a wealth of cross genre vibes.

Overall, this is an underground rap album that draws on elements from many genres to create a highly enjoyable listen. Production and vocals are all top notch, not just helping to cement Conscious Route as one of Scotland’s finest and most accomplished artists but, at the same time the album showcases some of Scotland’s finest underground artists. There is also that element of the live instrumentation that gives extra depth to the sound too.

Belterz shows that Scotland has a lot to offer in underground rap music and Conscious Route is one of those accomplished artists that are singing the countries praises from the highest rooftops.

Belterz is out now on True Hold Records.

Time for me to be out.

See Ya,

Steve.

LINKS

Get Belterz on Bandcamp:

https://trueholdrecords.bandcamp.com/album/belterz

Streaming Links via the Conscious Route Website:

https://consciousroute.com/belterz-album

Conscious Route Website:

https://consciousroute.com/

Conscious Route Social Media: