Infinite Sounds UK: EP Review: Branches Of The Same Tree by The Black Mavericks Produced by Pandamonium

Branches of the Same Tree

Black Mavericks

Produced by Pandamonium

Branches of the Same Tree is the new EP from The Black Mavericks which is also produced, mixed, scratched etc by the UK’s Pandamonium, who also provides the artwork too.

Now regular visitors to this blog will be very familiar with my reviews for Pandamonium but, you might not be so familiar with The Black Mavericks. A duo from the US consisting of Tobias Black (Chicago, Il) and 1.To.Dial (Charlotte, NC), The Black Mavericks are heavily influenced by the ‘Golden Age’ of Hip Hop. They also work extensively with file sharing services to create and record their music. This collaboration with Pandamunium (Exeter, UK) has already spawned two singles, Ah Yeah and Highland Games.

If you have caught the two singles then you will have a good idea of what to expect from this EP but, with that said, let me take you through the EP from top to bottom and give you my humble thoughts…

The EP’s intro is an upbeat vibe of big beats and big string notes that you can feel in every fibre of your body. Now this might just be giving you that Y’All Ready (Intro) but, more than that is setting up the vibe for what is to come, and it does that in typical Pandamonium style.

As we get into the EP proper it kicks off with the first single Ah Yeah! A straight up party vibe full of Drums, piano and xylophone notes, that see’s Pandamonium getting you up out your seats and your body moving. That party vibe is the perfect stage for The Black Mavericks to step up with a classic call and response style track where they introduce themselves, let you know what they are all about and what they came here for Ah Yeah! The mood becomes a bit more reflective with a chilled out beat and a heavy banjo sample. The guys focus on those times people are not thinking before they act and ending up in situations that are not what they intended. The message is simple just Slow Ya Roll and think before doing something or you will end up with someone slowing you down instead.

Next, we head into the head-nod drums and electronic synth vibes of the EP’s second single, Highland Games. This posse cut style track see’s The Black Mavericks joined by Whichcraft, LS, Kwote and Reemo to drop some impressive bars. This is one of those tracks where each emcee drops it in their own style, knocking it out the park and getting those heads nodding, fists pumping and everyone jumping around to the pure Hip Hop energy, all fuelled by Pandamonium’s nitrous injection. From that high energy we slide into a jazzier vibe of drums and flute notes which is the EP’s title track and see’s Tobias Black and 1.To.Dial joined by Canadian emcee ES to drop a track that is rooted in Hip Hop. It makes you think that nearly 50 years ago a seed was planted that would give rise to a blossoming tree, one that we call Hip Hop. That tree continues to grow and flourish and all those emcees, DJ’s, Producers, breakers, graff writers and the fans of the true Hip Hop sound, together we are one thing and that is Branches of the Same Tree.

Now if you thought the EP was over, then you’re sadly mistaken as we have a couple of Bonus tracks quite comically introduced by Pandamonium himself. First up we are treated to a remix of The BLK MVKS Drop Cypher Bars appearance on the Dizzy Dustin and Pandamonium 40 emcee Drop Cypher. The remix has a laid-back jazz funk vibe and mixes up drums, keyboards and flute notes which carries the guys drop bars perfectly. Finally, and as Pandamonium says ‘Sod It’, we get one last bonus, the Highland Games Remix. Here Pandamonium jazzes up the track with some horns and banging drums. This might have a different vibe from the original but, the effect is the same, you gotta get up for the get down…

So, overall, this EP gives you proper Hip Hop bang for your bucks. The ‘golden era’ Hip Hop influence on The Black Mavericks really shines here with slick lyrical delivery that easily hops between bringing you a message to ponder or just dropping some bars in a straight up party vibe for nothing more that the enjoyment of good Hip Hop. By mixing their vibe with Pandamonium’s signature jazz funk Hip Hop production it gives this EP an upbeat feel-good vibe that is hard not to get moving to, it’s kinda infectious.

The featured artists all prove they have the skills. I might not have been familiar with all those emcee’s who featured on Highland Games but, after that posse track, I will definitely be looking out for all of them. It was also good to hear ES here as well who has collaborated with Pandamonium before, and he always brings the dopeness.

I am looking forward to more from The Black Mavericks and more from them in collaboration with Pandamonium. I felt that infectious upbeat vibe that came through on the EP is the sort of sound that we need more of right now, just to balance things a bit, with all the deep personal music that is out there. It all has its place and touches us in different ways and having some of this feel-good music touches us and raises us up in different ways so, all credit to The Black Mavericks and Pandamonium for dropping Branches of the Same tree.

The EP drops tomorrow, 12^th October, on Kamikazi Airlines Records so go grab it. There will also be some dope CD and T-Shirt packages so, what more do you want…

On that note, till next time,

Peace Out,

Steve.

LINKS

Get Branches of the Same Tree on Bandcamp:

https://theblackmavericks.bandcamp.com/album/branches-of-the-same-tree

Highland Games Single on Bandcamp:

https://theblackmavericks.bandcamp.com/track/highland-games-ft-whichcraft-ls-kwote-reemo

Ah Yeah! Single on Bandcamp:

https://theblackmavericks.bandcamp.com/track/ah-yeah

Pandamonium on Bandcamp:

https://djpandamonium.bandcamp.com/