Future Crates 2
By
Chess Moves
A couple of months ago I treated you to my take on Chess
Moves beat tape, Future Crates 1, a 29-track monster that mixed up the vibes
and gave you one hell of a look at the creative mind of the London based producer.
Well, now he is back with Future Crates 2 and this is even more of a monster
than the first with massive 36 tracks but, this one will be a little easier on
the fingers as 13 of those are interludes.
I’ll let the man himself tell you what it’s about “A crates, vinyl
sampling excursion of drum breaks excavated from deep in the basement through
the dust and cobwebs and hauled into the studio for a re-awakening. Polyrhythm
time structures in the beat assembly process and use of LFO's and filters combined,
bring forward moving dynamics to give the tracks motion. Others hit hard like a
heavy boom bap sound reminiscent of the 90's Hip Hop Production sound through
grain, saturation, and compression. 36 tracks of Hip Hop / Crate Digging
Instrumentalism goodness for those in the game that are firmly embedded in the
culture and art as well as those that are getting introduced to it with fresh
eyes and ears.”
With that in mind, let’s get into it…
It all kicks off with the Intro (Interlude 1) with is a few
seconds of heavy drums and cut up samples to whet your appetite before things
really heat up with The Calling, this one is a heavy pulse pounding
sound with a background electronic element that just eases the impact a little
but, not enough to stop you needing to catch ya breath. Interlude 2 hits
some classic drum samples that sound straight out the SP1200 with Trouble Funks
‘Pump Me Up’ cut up over the top for good measure before it’s straight into Fundamental
Techniques, more heavy boom bap drums with guitar and electronic samples
mixed together to give you the fundamentals of putting a beat together. Interlude
3 takes that cut up Pump Me Up section from the previous Interlude but,
adds a different drum program to it, just to mix things up.
Independent Part Movement has heavy drums and guitars
that has this reverb effect placed on it, this means this one hits with less
intensity, which is in complete contrast to the following beat, Overlapping
Parallelism, with its mix of rough bass sound and button pushing goodness,
this one messes with your head while still making bob your head. It has more of
an action soundtrack vibe to it. Multipart Phenomena is just that with
multiple elements of drums, percussion, keys, drums and sampled vocal bits, all
mixed into one multi-layered vibe. Distinctive Elements is, again, aptly
named as there is this distinctive sound to each element. There is one drum
beat over which are several orchestral / soundtracks samples that produce this
almost eerie sense of anticipation.
Interlude 4 is another host of cut-up samples with a
sampled drum loop, just giving a little boom bap pallet cleanser between beats.
Heterophony almost seems to overload your awareness until you understand
what it is, the definition of this type of musical texture as a simultaneous
variation on a single melodic line. Now you can soak up the drums and
electronic vibes safe in the knowledge you now understand what it’s all about.
Next up is Of The Chamber, a jazzy mix of drum elements and piano notes
with a few strings just to add to the depth and which leaves you wondering
should you nod or sway to this one and the reverb here gives you feeling it was
recorded in one, a chamber that is…
Interlude 5 takes us back to the SP1200 vibe with
cut-up samples, taking you back, back into time. From the old skool, we are
dragged back to the present with Prodigious Harmonics, which seems to
open up the mind to new styles of boom bap music with this extensive display of
Hip Hop harmonics to tease both your ears and your mind. Blurred Monody
gives us a classic boom bap drum beat over which is these orchestral samples
that have this emotional depth, a single melodic line, which is blurred by the
head nod sound that carries you along. Interlude 6, once more, takes us
back to the classic Hip Hop sound with percussion and cut-up vocal samples.
Homorhythm is a texture of music where all parts have
a similar or very similar rhythm. Here there is this mix of drums with an
occasional electronic note, all of which do appear to follow a similar rhythm,
well they do to my ears anyway but, I’m not as young as I used to be. Superimposition
is the art of layering things over the top of each other so that all elements
are still evident, and you can hear this here with the drum layers. Structuration
is the act of giving structure to something. Here there is a plethora of sounds
all brought together in a way as to give structure to this particular beat,
giving it an almost futuristic sound. As will the previous Interlude’s, Interlude
7 gives us our classic Hip Hop pallet cleanser of beat and cut-up samples
as we move deeper into the second half of the album.
Ostinato Variations is a nerve shredding, electronic
and drum sound which shows the very definition of the Ostinato musical pattern,
where a short musical pattern is repeated persistently throughout the piece.
Also, ostinato is Italian for stubborn so, it could be said this short
repetitive pattern is also stubborn in its repetitiveness. After having your
nerves tweaked in that way, you might be in need of Interlude 8, with
more of its classic Hip Hop vibes and cut-up dope samples. How you compose your
music says a lot about your creativity and, Modes Of Composition shows
just that with a very heavy, pounding beat alongside a wealth of multi-layered
sounds. The vibe of this one is so heavy it literally vibrates you to the very
core of your being. Interlude 9 provides a welcome boom bap Hip Hop,
head clearing vibe from that heaviness.
Homophonic is very much an electronic sound fest with
a drum beat but, as with other tracks this reflects a specific musical texture
which, in this case, is based on Homophonic or chordal music where the chords
move together at the same speed. Interlude 10 now provides us with
another brief reminder of the foundation of the music this album is built on. Contrapuntal
Sketch is another track that merges electronic vibes with a heavy bassline.
This sounds very much like a mixture of electro and John Carpenter and reflects
the contrapuntal musical texture of using two contrasting melodic lines with
different rhythm patterns. Heavy pounding drums and horns catapult us into Modal
Framework, very much a headbanger vibe there are some orchestral elements
that give this one a version on the Hip Hop soundtrack sound. This one reflects
the type of music that uses modes in place of the more traditional harmonies.
Interlude 11 takes us back to a more electro vibe for
our Hip Hop pallet cleanse and wiping the slate clean prior to listening to how
the layers of sound, within a piece of music, interact on Interweaving
Patterns. Here we have drums and different electronic sounds all weaved
together to create a cohesive track which, once again, has a kind of soundtrack
vibe running through it. Interlude 12 hits, for the penultimate interlude, to
reset our minds to the classic Hip Hop vibe before Contrasted blasts
into our ears with pounding drums and electronic sounds alongside this
contrasting, dull repeating sound that acts like a weird siren trying to draw
your attention away from heavy sound you want to nod your head to. The drumbeat
takes a back seat on Schematics as the synthesizer sound steps to the
forefront. This electronic soundscape takes you back to the work of Kraftwerk
and the sound that inspired the electro sound of Hip Hop.
Time for one last Hip Hop drumbeat and cut-up samples to get
you buzzing on Interlude 13 and then we draw back into The Presence Of
Sound with a drum heavy track that sounds almost fractured in its initial
sound until you realise that fractured sound is some kind of string instrument,
tricking your ears and, for a brief moment, your mind too. With the focus on
sound, now our only awareness, the final track Solfeggio treats us to a
solid banger of a beat that makes you wanna get up and bounce around or, at the
least, nod your head. There is also a more orchestral sound backing this which
also holds your attention and reflects the ancient Solfeggio tones that were
used from the 8th century up to 1600’s. The original six note scale
and the associated frequencies are said to keep the mind, body and spirit in
perfect harmony.
Overall, what can I say about this beat tape?
It once again demonstrates the quality and creativeness of
Chess Moves as a producer. Across this entire album there are is such a mix of
styles and vibes that all originate from what Hip Hop producers and DJ’s did so
well in digging in the crates of old long lost vinyl to resurrect those tunes
and give them a new lease of life in a new genre of music.
But, more than just showing his expertise as a producer this
album also shows how much Chess Moves knows about music itself by creating
beats around different musical textures as well as styles and influences. What
this does is demonstrate that it pays to know your music in depth so that you
can create sampled music that reflects the style and texture of music that has
been created for centuries. For instance, Contrapuntal or counterpoint was a
musical style used by Johann Sebastian Bach in his compositions. Reflecting
these differing musical styles and textures here, on what is far from a
classical music album, shows a desire to show how Hip Hop influenced music can
be just that and so much more. Chess moves has a knowledge and understanding of
creating music that far expands on what I have heard done before. Even bringing
in the ancient solfeggio tones is amazing, and I could have written a whole
page just to explain what that is all about.
Future Crates 2 is not just a journey through beats inspired
by Hip Hop music and the art of crate digging. Future Crates is a deep
exploration of the association Hip Hop music has with the very roots of music
itself. It might actually be future crates for future generations to dig in but,
I can never see these crates going dusty anytime soon. There is a far deeper
musical aspect to this beat tape than just being music to listen and be
inspired by.
The future aspect of the album is also reflected in the
artwork by Sentinal One which has this 2000AD, mega city One vibe about it.
This is one to listen to and make your own mind up about
but, I have to say that I have learnt a lot about music in the research for
this review which has opened my mind up somewhat.
Future Crates 2 is out on Bandcamp now and everywhere else
on 14th April.
My humble thanks to Chess Moves for sending this one over to me.
And on that 432hz note,
I’m out,
Steve.
LINKS
The only link you need for Future Crates 2 and Chess Moves:
