Future Crates 1
By
Chess Moves
It’s been a little while since I last featured anything from
UK producer Chess Moves. I first featured the work of the London based Producer
across 2020/2021, firstly with his work on the Debut Concrete Pad from Choco Doobs in 2020 and then in 2021 with the Brutal Live at the Guillotine 88 and
the Remix project, both featuring Junior Disprol and DJ Mada, and ReadilyEquipped featuring DDubble Impactt.
Since that time Chess Moves has not been letting up on his
work ethic and has dropped a string of releases. Many of these have been
instrumental beats but, alongside these have been more releases with DDubble
Impactt and the odd appearance from the likes of J.Zone, Statik Selektah and
Ruste Juxx.
Future Crates was originally released on 3rd
February on Bandcamp, with YouTube and all other streaming services going live
on 3rd March, and is, as Chess Moves describes, 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. 29 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 all that in mind and the fact that this one is some 29 tracks
deep, I better get started…
The album kicks off with Makeshift Recording Setup, a
mixture of drums, electronic sounds, bells and more which combine to give this
almost cinematic Hip Hop vibe that immediately sets the tone of the album by
getting your head nodding. The sound immediately flicks into the nerve
shredding sound of Stack of Records and A Laptop. More head nod drums
and that nerve shedding electronic sound grabs your awareness by the ears,
almost stretching it to limits. There is no time to assimilate what you just heard
before heavy pounding drums and more electronic sounds hammer your already
fragile nerves on Create Sounds Heard in the Mind. The pounding drums do
not let up as Changing the Ways Beatmakers View the Art hits with a
sonic sound and some well-placed samples that begins to almost mess with your
normal view of reality. Before you can even contemplate your view Hip Hop
not as Hip Hop drops with a drum infused sound that is exactly what the
title says, it’s Hip Hop made in a way that is almost not Hip Hop but, can that
even really be a thing?
No Raps, No Hooks seemingly builds on that Hip Hop not
Hip Hop vibe with its drums, keys and electronic sounds that merge into
something that is almost akin to what Hip Hop would sound like if invented by
Kraftwerk. Heavy drums, strings and horns merge next to create a sound that is
more Familiar to the Hip Hop Enthusiast. Just as you were getting into
that Hip Hop head nod sound, it completely changes with Song Careen and Crash,
a mix of drums and brutal sonic sounds that, once more, attack your nerves,
bringing a sound that is like a scratch DJ on speed (am I even allowed to say
that…) cutting up random sounds. Just as you are contemplating what you just
heard Starting and Stopping Without Warning hits you with another sound
that fits no genre. Electronic and sampled sounds mix and merge together to
create a sound with appears to have no cohesion but does at the same time. In
fact, it almost gives a sound to how your brain works with anxiety, I say that
as someone who has an anxiety disorder. Just as the mind will switch from one
mood to another, the vibe switches into this Hip Hop drum infused heavy sound
that is peppered with samples. More of a boom bap head nod sound this one is
definitely open to Giving the Listener Opportunities.
Elements in Front of You once more flips the vibe
into a sonic sound loop that seems to be waiting to go somewhere, gearing you
up for a ride but, then leaves you waiting. Align Your Perspective is
the ride you were seemingly waiting for as a plethora of sampled sounds get
your head spinning. The looping vibe might appear to be going nowhere but, it
carries you along, making you wonder what’s next? Flipping Crates on You
has you questioning reality once more as sampled vocals, drums and other sounds
scream into your ears, making you feel like your mind is being lifted from your
existence and dropped down the rabbit hole. Drums and electronic vibes create
this effect almost like you were Scanning Radio Stations to find just the right
sound or, perhaps, this is what it sounds like to fall down the rabbit hole?
Who knows…
The album pivots on the sound of Half Broken 45’s,
which catapults you back into a solid Hip Hop sound of drums, bells and other
percussion while bringing it to you with that scratchy sound drop of records
that appear to be well past their best but, you can still bounce to this for
sure.
Now past the pivot point we get into the second half of the
album with Wax Buried in the Basement, a heavy banging sound with drums
taking the forefront and some bells sneaking in to. It really puts in mind of
sitting in a dusty basement finding unique sounds to create the next beat from.
Having found those unique samples, the next thing to do is to get them Chopped,
Pulled and Mutated into something new and that is what is happening here
with sampled sounds forming the building blocks of something new. The sound
begins to take shape with Indecipherable Aural Pastiche, as the drums, guitars,
samples and more all coming together with a more boom bap sound. With things
coming together Straight Up Music would appear to be just that but, the
drums, keys, xylophone and other sounds all mix together into something that
appears to be a musical juxtaposition. With that thought in mind Source
Point appears to be taking us back to the foundation of another new sound.
Electronic sounds and a drumbeat come together creating another template that
might just be ready for some slick vocals to be added.
Technique Checked takes a Hip Hop beat and layers it
with a looped electronic sonic vibe that cuts into your mind, removing wafer
thin slices of your awareness and allowing them to float into the ether. The
assault on your mind continues with Essential History which takes
multi-layer drum sounds, firstly allowing them to play but, then mixing them up
to pound relentlessly for a period, mashing your mind to a mush. Suddenly Hip
Hop’s Spirit drops in to save you, with a classic vibe of drums and bongo
beats with an electronic vibe that takes you right back to that electro sound.
Time to get that head nodding once more. One of those foundations of the Hip
Hop sound was the SP1200 and we continue that resurrection with the Hip Hop
sound on Samples Crammed into the SP1200, which is just that and this is
the resulting sound.
Discovering Music takes a drum beat and mixes it with
some orchestral notes to produce this filtered soundtrack vibe that keeps the
head nodding and raises the adrenaline a little too. From there, Fresh Joint
keeps that orchestral undertone with a solid drumbeat, keeping you moving and
grooving to the beat. Drums and a deep piano vibe form the basis of Seminal
Props which has this darker edge to it, seemingly having you casting one
eye over your shoulder every now and again. Dropping into the penultimate
track, Addiction for the Heads, exposes us to flute note, drums and a wealth of
electronic and sonic sounds that mix together to bring this rough almost jazzy
vibe that seems to be gradually bringing us back to some semblance of reality.
Pantheon of Hip Hop Art, takes us out of the album with more of that good
SP1200 style sound giving us something fresh to move to as we begin to
contemplate what we have heard across the last ninety minutes or so…
First off, I have to admit that was some ride, 29 tracks and
more vibes than you can shake a stick at. But what was obvious here is that the
first of these Future Crates was an exceptional trip into the creative mind of
Chess Moves, as a producer. This might be a beat tape release but, for me at
least, it shows not just the music that can be created by one person but, it
also shows how all those different styles, vibes and pace can elicit different
feelings and visions in the mind of the listener. This is something I always
enjoy with instrumental music, you can listen to it and there is almost no
limit as to what it can bring to mind, it just depends on the BPM and the
overall sound that has been created. It will also create different things for
each of us.
But don’t let me digress here, Future Crates is a solid
display of the creative ability of Chess Moves. The different sounds and
influences here are many but, the foundation of the real Hip Hop sound does
shine through, throughout the course of the album. It is the kind of album that
other producers and artist love, because it shows that this is a beat
maker/producer who can drop the goods across a wide variety of sounds, genres
and moods. Whether he is dropping a beat to chop up or producing a beat ready
for vocals, there is so much Chess Moves has to offer and Future Crates is
destined to become just that, a crate diggers dream but, in a digital sense I
guess.
I kept my words on these tracks shorter than normal, due to
just how many tracks there were to get through. But, just as the music creates
visions in the mind it also helps words to flow and some of the words are more
than others showing just how that works, sometimes you can say as much with
fewer words as you can with many and it’s all down to the power of the words…
This is the first of two in the Future Crates series. So,
grab and digest this one before the next one drops.
My thanks to Chess Moves for sending this one to me.
On that note, I need a rest,
See Ya,
Steve.
LINKS
All the Chess Moves Links you need Here:
Chess Moves on Instagram:
https://www.instagram.com/chessmovesproducer/
