The new EP from bayamo. "Slow is Fast" intoxicates with it’s mellow vibes and technical prowess

Experience rich soundscapes and lofi beats in a west coast style

bayamo. is a LA-based producer and multi-instrumentalist. He is a self-taught, and talented performer, cited by great artists such as Thundercat, dimlite and Makaya McCraven.

His debut EP "Slow is Fast" has just been released on German label Jakarta Records. He’s incorporated a variety of musical genres such as breakbeats, jazz, funk, hip hop and electronica to create a rich, mellow sound, the result of hours spent honing in the studio. 

It's a contradictory title, "Slow is Fast," but his organic sound is a chilled out mood that you'll feel in no time. From the opening "First Light", you’ll be drawn into an enthusiastic groove that feels the influence of jazz. Also, the remarkable track "Tailwind" starts with a funky breakbeat followed up with smooth guitar licks. “The Morning on Laurel Canyon”, which has a soft mellow vibe like waking from a good night's sleep, pays homage to Laurel Canyon, the sacred site of West Coast rock created in the 1960s and 1970s. Impressive with the glittering synthesizer sound, "Honey" has a beautiful floating melody, reminiscent of the carefree feeling of young lovers falling for the first time. The emotional sound of the gorgeous "detach" that concludes the end seems to fall deeply into a sweet dream that cannot be escaped. This work, which contains these eight tracks, expands into its own universe when you close your eyes.

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Tranquillity in motions, 9ICKS’s Reworkedmilk’

Classically trained and inclined towards lofi textures, 9ICK drops a breezy two track EP ‘Floques’

9ICK is the moniker of up and coming artist Nicolas Hamilton Stephensen, a growing presence in the downtempo hip-hop scene in Denmark. Alongside collaborator Justin Christopher, 9ICK has been applying his talents as a producer to gently rhythmic beat tracks with potential to soothe the soul and ease the mind. His sound emerges from a variety of influences; 9ICK displays a clear appreciation for carefully detailed atmospheric instrumentals, built up from pop inspired patterns of trip hop and lofi. Twists of the artist’s own originality consistently find their way into the mix, creating chilled out vibes imbibed with personality.

Although it often melts into his discography rather than rising to the surface, 9ICK also has a wealth of experience to draw on as a classically trained pianist, bringing just a splash of jazz piano to the final product and making use of his informed understanding of composition to finalise the arrangement.

The latest track from 9ICK is ‘Reworkedmilk’, one of the two songs featured on his new Floques EP released in early March. There’s an easy comfort to be found here, light percussion and compact beat loops helping to explore mellow emotions.

Stream the release on Spotify.

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A long awaited LP from a secretive artist; ‘Filmhouse’ delivers

Provided to YouTube by DistroKid Ecdysis · Filmhouse The Curtain ℗ Filmhouse Records Released on: 2020-05-15 Auto-generated by YouTube.

Filmhouse is not a producer who presents an easy to identity social presence. His online identity seems only to be defined almost totally by the artistic work he makes public.

Instagram appears to be Filmhouse’s most active space on the net, where the artist has built up a gallery of experimental clips over the past two years. Scrolling through you’ll find tracks which range in length and content, taking on small creative themes in small doses, and sometimes moving up to works more adaptable for a full release.

While social media is recognised as a conventional way to generate publicity, a decidedly unusual habitat has been developed here. Taking serious effort to avoid a detailed understanding of his background, Filmhouse has taken the Daft Punk style approach of hiding his face behind an elephant mask. Visit the page and you’ll find monochrome videos of experimental electronica, created by an elephant using a wide range of instruments including guitar, synthesiser and percussion.

In addition, you’ll notice the cult following building up around Filmhouse, who have been waiting for the recently released debut LP ‘The Curtain’ for a while now. I think that the nine track release of lo-fi, melancholy melodies and stereo placed vocal samples is just what they’ve been hoping for.  

Support the release on Bandcamp or stream it on Spotify

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Red The Chef does lofi a little different on 'Is This It?'

It would be easy to throw Connecticut producer Red The Chef’s latest EP into the catch-all “lo-fi hip hop beats to chill/study to” bin, because it certainly fits the aesthetic. But that listening environment, of filling the background with something to keep your mind on anything but the music itself, tends to mute subtleties and flatten differentiation. Yes, the beats on this EP, titled ‘Is This It?’, have the same warm, vintage processing that has come to define the genre, and yes the melodic samples are fuzzy and pitched around in the same way, but there are also elements that are squarely Red’s. Most notably, his tendency to drench every element in dreamy reverb creates a unique space for the tracks to sit in, as well as the presence of detuned acoustic instruments that float in and out of each track. The effect is something like listening to music blasted distantly in the park on a warm summer day, instilling a feeling of limitless boundaries, inspiring those nights of aimless exploration. It’s liberating to move about without knowing where you’re going, and this EP might just be the perfect soundtrack to make it happen.

Stream the title track ‘Is This It?’ above, and hop over to Spotify to hear the full EP.

— review by autonomy

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Bmbu digs deep into the memory banks for '#throwback'

‘#throwback’, the latest album release from Philadelphia-based beatmaker Bmbu, takes us deep inside his MPC-shaped brain, to a vivid past full of memories, chopped, sampled, arranged into a set of beats, and polished with the same patina that accrues on your own fondest mementos from days past.

Bmbu samples artfully, from jazzy brass to solo piano, and evokes a distant idea with each track. The beats swing and swagger about, providing plenty of structure, but never bombastically enough to overshadow the rich musicality he conjures. It’s a pleasant environment to sink into, one that feels personal, and at the same time relatable. This is particularly evident on #snorlax, which you can stream above, and fall into your own nostalgia…

If you’re feeling Bmbu, you can find the full album on bandcamp, as well as a 12” vinyl release over on Vinyl Digital.

— review by autonomy

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Jakspin consults the heavens for new EP series 'Zodiax'

JAKSPIN announces the March 29 release date for his highly anticipated ZODIAX EP series via Chillanthropy Music. ZODIAX I is his first EP, following his two beat tapes, "The Chillhop Era" and "Levitation", and sets the direction for the Zodiax quadrilogy dedicated to the star signs and the four elements. "ZODIAX I" is all about the zodiac signs of pisces, cancer, scorpio and their common element water. JAKSPIN delved deep into the abyss, the emotionality, their kindness, the melancholy, fluidity and sensitivity of water signs. Reduced to the core elements, each song is an intense stirring journey to underwater soundscapes, always entwined around concisely knocking hip hop beats.

German producer Jakspin harnesses the power of the stars for the first of four EPs entitled ‘Zodiax’. The release series focuses on ancient knowledge presented through the 4 basic elements alongside traditional aspects of astrology. The first instalment of the series entitled ‘Zodiax I’ takes pisces, cancer, scorpio and their common element of water and boils them all down into easily digestible lofi landscapes.

Featuring not only a well-thought out cohesive concept but also some tightly-knit sonic terrain, ‘Zodiax I’ cruises through a series of 4 tracks, each with their own unique shimmer and shine. Water, being the unifying element, seems an appropriate opener to the album and serves as a firmly rooted beat amid layers of well-crafted distortion and melodies. ‘Pisces’ then continues the interstellar experience with a steady foundation of low frequencies set against a backdrop of bubbling aqua and gently placed textures. ‘Scorpio’ finally concludes the orbital journey with a thumping beat next to floaty xylophone notes tied together with an overall air of repose.

You don’t have to be an astrological expert to know that the future of this series brings nothing but solid listening and good vibes.

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Blink and you'll miss Instupendo's stunning winter elegy, 'Persona'

Modern music, especially electronic-based music, has a tendency to try to pull you in as soon as possible. This is of course not surprising, or even a bad thing, considering the incredible explosion of new music over the last decade or so, combined with the nascent expectation of instant gratification in our daily lives. But it certainly puts music that ignores this tendency on shaky ground — will compositional patience pay off, or will it end up devoured by the deluge of new music that presents itself to us every single day? For ‘Persona’, Instupendo doesn’t seem to care about any of that.

Instead of trying to lure you in, Persona creates its own emotional space, perfectly content in its own world. If you blink you’ll miss it, but if you approach it with care and attention, suddenly it’s impossible to ignore its delicate, detuned chords calling out to you. Winter is a season to slow down, and hopefully reflect thoughtfully on our lives. Instupendo, inspired by the season for this track, shows us why it’s worth it to do exactly that.

— review by autonomy

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Less is more with Sweden's lesspoint

really happy with this one, hope you like it! <3

With the seemingly limitless possibilities of today’s DAW’s it’s easy to understand how the modern producer can become bogged down by options. Endless samples, routing options and sound design possibilities can be both liberating and overwhelming at the same time. Despite all the technology in music production today, it really all just comes back to what matters most which is the music.

Enter 20 year old Swedish beat producer- lesspoint. The Computer Science major explains that when he’s not studying, “in my free time I make beats.” Originally learning from online tutorials and making house music, lesspoint describes his recent shift in tastes: “My love for chill/downtempo/hip-hop beats has been growing a lot over the last few years, some of my biggest influencers right now are Freddie Joachim, DJ Grumble, Ian Ewing and Quickly, Quickly.”

Despite his humble attitude, lesspoint’s productions are uncluttered and well-crafted dream pieces that sit perfectly on a chillout playlist or as background study music. His recent track ‘thepoint’ fits this description perfectly featuring crunchy drums, floaty pads, and chopped up samples, and is just the thing to toss on when in need of some decompression. lesspoint describes his production mindset - “When I made this beat I tried to make a beat that you can listen to whenever, something that can be played without interrupting your thoughts, maybe I am unconsciously making my own study music.”

With beats like this who needs study breaks?

Hit the books with lesspoint
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Ambient Longplayer from New York's John Thayer

How long should a good ambient track be?

5 minutes? 10 minutes? 15 minutes?

New York composer and musician- John Thayer and Washington DC based record label- Surfacing Records both agree it should be somewhere up the double digits. Which in itself, is quite the feat. To create a sonically engaging, varied and dynamic arrangement that can not only hold the listeners attention for that amount of time, but gradually and subtly pull them into a world of warm tape loops and organic field recordings.

Thayer’s release ‘Regarding Wave’ from earlier this year has exactly this drawn out, engaging effect. Featuring 2 tracks of 14 and 17 minutes in length, the release takes an unhurried approach into a world of soft synths, lofi vibrations, and delicate drones. It’s the perfect unobtrusive soundtrack to accompany a good book or a quick mental reset. Regardless of the musical pairing, John Thayer’s thoughtful and effortless compositions should definitely be on your ambient music radar.

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Chilled out Naptime from California's Young Citrus

Something sleepy.. free dl under "... more"

Creative inspiration can come from just about anywhere. Other musicians, childhood memories, nature or just a particular sample you can’t get out of your head.

For west coast beat producer ‘Young Citrus’ it’s often a certain sound or sample that he just knows he wants to work with or chop up. As Citrus explains about his recent release ‘sleep’ -
”I was really inspired by the piano sample - it's so chilled out and relaxing. Oftentimes, I turn to music when I need a break from the stresses of day to day living. It's honestly therapeutic.”

Young Citrus grew up listening to ‘The Album Leaf’ and ‘Nujabes’; their chilled out, peaceful sounds can be heard as a definite influence on his own productions today. Also working with sample based techniques, Citrus creates beat-heavy sound collages, layering chopped up clips with original riffs and basslines. For his latest track ‘sleep’, Citrus started with a sample and ran with it. “Once I heard the sample, I knew I wanted to chop it up and build around it. I added some drums, a bassline, and a wavy guitar with a bunch of reverb on it to give it a surf-rock inspired chill vibe.”

Grab this lofi siesta as a free download over on his Soundcloud

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