Inspected Drops "1992" Mix, Previews Powered by Inspected 3

The London-based independent label Inspected has released some of the most progressive broken beat electronic music of the 2010’s from artists like Koan Sound, Culprate, Monuman, COPYCATT. Few if any imprints have pushed the neuro sound so aggressively yet with such nuance. Yesterday, to celebrate the launch of their “1992” merchandise line, they dropped a scorching hot 30-minute mix featuring some of their best music from the past several years plus remixes/VIPs and unreleased delights.

Deep heads have become accustomed to awaiting Inspected’s Movember drop each year. Some of the most wicked tunes in the game have come from their Powered by Inspected compilations. According to the cheeky vocal sampling in this mix, the unreleased music within is forthcoming this Fall on Powered by Inspected 3. Review tracklists for the first two volumes of this compilation, and you’ll realize big things are in store. Ambitious trainspotters in the comments section of the Youtube upload have compiled an impressive tracklist so far for the 1992 mix.

Tracklist

Vellum - ID
Culprate - Jelly and Ice Cream VIP or remix
Emperor - Jackhammer
Chee - ID
RefraQ - Necromancer
Ekcle - Serene Mont Garde
Sorrow - Want U Back
HELP, Refraq?
Monuman - If You Want
Vorso - Waterfront VIP
HELP

The gnarly garage opener is a highlight, as is the remix or VIP of Culprate’s fantastical “Jelly and Ice Cream”. The sequence in the latter half of the mix featuring Sorrow into an unknown tune into Monuman’s “If You Want” is sublime. Inspected is one of those rare labels that never disappoints. On top of that, they produce bold, fresh merchandise and judging by the marketing strategy and vocal samples on this mix, they’re also a bunch of cut ups to boot.

Those who attended Down to Earth Festival in upstate New York during the weekend of the total solar eclipse in 2017 were treated to a rare Inspected showcase, featuring the North American debut of the label director and DJ Inspector. One can only dream that this will ever happen again in the states. For now, jamming this mix and following for news of Powered 3 is the next best thing.

FOLLOW Inspected: Official / Spotify / Soundcloud / Twitter / YouTube / Facebook / Shop

Universal Language - ANKO [Interview]

The same ingredients that construct music also construct linguistics in everyday speech; pitch, rhythm, and tempo. The column Universal Language was first inspired by a deep appreciation of music that speaks on emotional levels. The concept blossomed into a practice of collecting thoughts from musicians about how the music culture and scene in their country may impact their sound and artist persona. Sometimes, listeners may misinterpret cultural differences and miss concepts that are beyond an individual’s awareness. The intention of this column is to bridge that gap by sharing artists’ insights.

To kick off this project, Nicolas de Ferran and Antoine F. Martin, based in Paris, France and better known as ANKO happily boarded the journey of Universal Language. Nicolas and Antonie started their career together writing and producing music for primetime TV shows and documentaries in France. The duo came together to birth their creative brainchild ‘ANKO’ to begin sharing an original, personal song sculpting.

In March 2018, ANKO released their first EP titled Waved. This five-track release offers various sound textures that unfold eargasmic sensations.  Synthesized electronic sounds are coherently blended with raw acoustic instrumentation, allowing us to travel a wide spectrum of emotions through the duo’s music. Projecting light to heavy and soft to powerful within their music,  Nicolas and Antoine are true audiophiles who understand sound engineering and composition. We were honored to share notable words them.

The Rust: You two started working together as songwriters and producers for primetime TV and documentaries in France. What are the notable differences in approaching sound design as work versus a personal project?

Nicolas de Ferran: Both are very interesting, and even though we have more freedom when working on personal projects, we still need to create under some kind of constraints that we set for ourselves. We need to match a style, a structure... I think that constraints are good for creativity. So in a way, the process of composing and producing music for ourselves or for someone else (TV, etc.) is kind of similar! The real difference is that you have more room to express yourself when you do a personal project.

Antoine Félix Martin: It's true, to work under constraints or search for a musical direction as a band is pretty similar. Even though the goal is different, in both cases you need to adapt to the project's aesthetics and be at the service of the music. You can say that ANKO is kind of a "auto-commission" haha!

The Rust: The music of France reflects a diverse array of styles. What it’s like to be musicians/producers in France working with the musical style and direction ANKO has taken?

Nicolas: I think we are very lucky in France to be surrounded by a bunch of amazing artists. Our musical style is pretty roots when you think about it: we play everything ourselves or record additional musicians that bring their own personality to the project. It's nice to be surrounded by so many influences.

Antoine: Yes, there's a lot of good musicians from every horizon here, we're lucky to live in a capital for that. It's easy to connect to a lot of people. We've got everything we need to make good records in every style, so no excuses!

The Rust: Are there particular styles/soundscapes you guys are interested in exploring musically, other than your current direction?

Nicolas: Yes, we would like to explore even more acoustic textures. In "Waved" there are a lot of beatmaking and synths and even though we like it and are proud of what we produced, we'd like to dive more in the acoustic realm. I studied classical and jazz for years and Antoine has been working as a sound-engineer with some of the greatest jazz musicians in France so we feel very comfortable working with acoustic elements.

Antoine: Exactly, we'd like to take a little break from the computer on which we spend too much time and come back to a more acoustic sounds for the next release. As we were saying above, we've got tons of excellent musicians here, it'd be a shame to not take advantage of it.

The Rust: Can you elaborate on the music scene and culture in your country? What kind of characteristics are found in the scene that are unique to France? Are there any recurring events or collective movements that congregate the community?

Nicolas: I think we are lucky in France to have a big heritage that influenced the music industry worldwide, from classical composers to electronic musicians. And you can feel that music is an art that takes a huge place in the everyday life of French people and on a larger scale as well: recently we have the Philharmonie de Paris which opened and this is one of the most acoustically amazing concert halls I've ever been to. Jazz clubs are going strong, there's a lot of festivals all year long, orchestras are getting more and more attention... I think it's a good country to live in to be a musician.

Antoine: Yeah, no doubt. The French mentality has a tendency to think that "the grass is always greener elsewhere" but in reality we all agree on the fact that it's an amazing place for artists.

The Rust: Could you speak on the relationship between the two of you? What clicks between you two, and what caused you to pursue an original project as a team?

Nicolas: We originally started as a composer/sound-engineer duo in the TV field. We really liked to work together and we realized that we had a lot in common and one day we decided to create ANKO because we both wanted to do a trip-hop project for a long time. I guess I'm more on the composition side for this project, I come to the studio with ideas, sketches or even fully composed tracks and we work together on it. Antoine is more focused on the production side of things, which a huge part of what makes this music good. The composition alone is definitely not enough. But we both equally make decisions on anything. It's a real collaboration, we work together closely on every aspect of our music.

The Rust: Can you walk us through ANKO’s workflow? What are some of individual roles you guys take under the project? What digital tools are used in the process of executing ANKO music?

Nicolas: As I said above, I usually wear the composer's hat. I come to Antoine's studio with my ideas and we work together on them. Sometimes I take what we did together back in my own studio to do some additional strings or brass arrangements. I also do all the scores/parts when we need to record musicians.

Antoine: For this first EP our main DAW (Digital Audio Workstation) was Pro Tools. We sketch, record, produce and mix with it. For beats and synths, I use Ableton Live in parallel which is more powerful to create loops. I do all the beats myself with an Akai MPD to obtain a more natural result.

The Rust: I noticed that you utilize a combination of hardware instruments in conjunction with conventional production methods. Could you share the process of capturing audio from organic instruments? Do you collaborate with other musicians during the process?

Antoine: Hell yeah! They come to Krispy Records —my own studio— and we give them directives on what we want. But we like to let them bring their own view to the music. We value greatly their input and that's why we like to collaborate with other musicians. They bring their own musicality to the project and it makes the music even richer. For "Waved" we recorded strings, brass, woodwinds, percussions, drums, electric bass, double-bass, acoustic guitars...

The Rust: ANKO’s first EP ‘Waved’ was released on May, what are some concepts behind the EP?

Nicolas: It was a bit experimental because it was our first release. We wanted to create a sound that was powerful and soft/chill at the same time and explore our influences whether they are jazz, classical music or electronic music. What was important for us was to have a consistent and homogenous music, we wanted the EP to feel like a whole, not just a simple train of tracks. Also we wanted to avoid using samples as much as possible.

The Rust: What are your collective visions for the future of the ANKO project?  Do you have any plans for live performances in the future?

Nicolas: Yes! We are starting to work on a new release, maybe a full album. We don't know when it'll be finished though because we are both very busy with our careers besides ANKO, but now that we have already one EP under our belt the process will hopefully be faster! We don't have any live performances planned for now, ANKO is a studio project. But we're not against the idea! We'll see what the future holds for us!

Antoine: Of course, we got tons of plans! It's just the beginning so stay tuned!

-

We thank ANKO for opening up their world to help us understand the visions behind their musical playground . All the songs featured on Waved were executed, produced, recorded and mixed in Krispy Records Studio. The studio is also open for up-and coming-musicians in Paris to get some professional aid from the duo themselves. It’s apparent that ANKO is a group worth knowing and staying connected to. If you appreciate music that holds extraordinary life forces by channeling a full-spectrum of sounds that your ears can grasp, stay chooned to ANKO.

FOLLOW ANKO: Soundcloud / Bandcamp / Facebook / Instagram

Gaddy - Mixtape Mentality Promo Mix

Hip-hop is foundational for so much music and art in the United States, especially contemporary electronic music. The United Kingdom’s contributions by way of Jamaica, or the tempos coming from houses in Chicago, any of the multitude of influences, all have their impact. The layering, rupture, and flow that define hip-hop music are thick clay, foundational motifs, for contemporary bass and glitch hop music.

According to George Nelson in Hip Hop America, hip-hop isn’t a style of music at all. “Hip-hop is used to refer to culture, language, and behavior….while rap is the musical form that emerged from this culture.” Especially here in New York City where hip-hop is as thick in the air as the smell of garbage, it’s as much a state of mind as a style of music. At least that’s how it began. “Hip-hop emerged as a source of alternative identity formation and social status for youth in a community whose older local support institutions had been all but demolished along with large sections of its [South Bronx] built environment,” author Tricia Rose wrote back in 1994. As much as the music, there’s the mentality.

There’s a universal, elemental feeling. Kick and snare thump the same speed as your footfall. The bass is swinging and its got you swinging, too. You’re stomping down broadway ten feet tall because you’ve got the fattest beat in your headphones (or boombox). You’ve got the juice.

Picture that feeling, but instead of broadway you’re high-stepping through candlelit caverns in the Himalayas, aligned as hell, scoping out monks who may or may not be trying to get over on you. In the back corner of the cave Gaddy is spinning fat breaks, old vinyl and Houston Texas hip-hop. Heavy bass and dangling synth chords start rocking the cave, with fresh samples ringing out. You’re getting into the groove with Gaddy, whose next release Mixtape Mentality, drops Tuesday, August 7th right here on The Rust Music. Today, we’ve got a promo mix that highlights some of his favorites off the release as well as some older Gaddy cuts with some choice Hip-Hop peppered in.

@gaddymusic - Mixtape Mentality - Teaser #2 Promo mix + profile drops tomorrow Full Release coming August 7th via The Rust Music on ALL PLATFORMs . . . #therustmusic #therust #hiphop #beats #foodtruckfugitive #gaddymusic #glitch #bass

A post shared by The Rust Music (@therustmusic) on Aug 1, 2018 at 1:15pm PDT

Coming out of east side Austin, Texas, Gaddy drops the funky and furious styles from hip hop’s past into the computerized bass music of the future. Sometimes referred to as the Food Truck Fugitive, Gaddy runs among the talented underground electronic circuit that calls Austin home, including the Create Culture crew. He can rock a crowd with a mixture of performance styles. With a couple crates of vinyl he performs frequently in Austin, dropping the needle on some soul, hip hop, oldies, g-funk, electronic. When Gaddy fires up the software, he’ll play all original bass music.

As a youth growing up in Houston Gaddy learned the guitar well, idolized Buckethead, and put out an album at 18 years old on which he played every instrument. He was also raised into hip-hop, basically “force-fed chopped and screwed music” as he puts it, either from fake thugs in high school art class or from cars bumping on the streets of Houston. After stumbling onto electronic music he, like many, was floored by its forceful presentation. “This is power right here,” he said during a Road to Damascus moment in front of the speaker stacks. “To be able to just rip through a sound system, that led me to put down all that stuff,” Gaddy told me. “I don’t even own a guitar anymore.”

Gaddy’s approach to bass music reflects this crate-digging ethos and cut heavy performance style. Thick programmed drums pound out fundamental drum breaks while low-slung, funked-down basslines tip-toe and slide along. He cuts and assembles samples to make melodies and collages of color. He’ll wade deep into warped worlds of sound synthesis but the beat always leads you back to hip-hop. Indeed, both styles collide constantly in his compositions like some urban electric shamanism.  

“Hip-hop’s the first electronic music, to me, really. It’s just a kick and snare and some dope-ass bass.” It’s hard to argue against hip hop’s influence on contemporary electronic music, especially after listening to music from Gaddy and his contemporaries. “I feel like hip-hop is the soul, and the roots, and the blues of electronic music,” he says. “Call me crazy, and I know techno and house are in their own field. I’m talking about our little sliver of bass music.” Gaddy may be crazy, but not for this statement.  

Somewhere between an album and an EP, Mixtape Mentality boasts seven tracks, one of which was premiered last week courtesy of Aquatic Collective, and another of which drops tomorrow via euphoric.Net. One can also get into the mixtape mentality by bumping this tremendous mix Gaddy put together for The Rust Music that includes material made around the same time as Mixtape Mentality plus a few choice vinyl selections. It highlights Gaddy’s raw, stylish approach; rugged but full of the juice. Mixtape Mentality will offer the same sound and vibe, only refined. It’s pure juice concentrate if you will, so stay chooned.

Pre-order Mixtape Mentality here to receive the full album mix ahead of release.

FOLLOW Gaddy:   Soundcloud   /   Facebook   /   Instagram

Tracklist

Tela - Survival (Gaddy Instrumental Bootleg)
Gaddy - Jumbalaya Juggernaut
Gaddy - Elastic
Gaddy - Sway (Edit)
Gaddy - Twisted
Gaddy - Delirious
Gaddy - Style From The Boondocks
Gaddy - The Nod
Mad CJ Mac - True Game / Ras Kass - Order out Of Chaos (Interlude Mashup)
South Circle - Attitudes (Instrumental)
Gaddy - Approbation
Gaddy - Golden
Gaddy - H.E.R.

Staff Picks - 2017

Our collective has an insatiable appetite for new music. We compulsively sift through the depths of the web for tunes we can share with each other and ultimately with you. The sheer volume of music released on a daily basis can be overwhelming. We wouldn’t have it any other way, but after all is said and done there's so much music we never have an opportunity to spotlight. So for a moment we are looking back on 2017 to remind ourselves and our readers of the best drops that went unmentioned in our publication. Each staff member has chosen to share one album, EP, or compilation. Maybe you'll discover something new, or end up reflecting on a favorite of your own from 2017.  

Thanks for staying chooned with us.

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YISHAI | DUFFREY - THE WORLD THAT YOU KNOW (3/1)

Woody Klann’s mindbending adventure through irrepressible dub and stretching tempos was a huge career move for the Bay Area artist. Rarely does a psychedelic LP get dropped on the electronic dance scene, with so many gems that have been playing out for years. Duffrey struggled searching for a label to release his material to a wider audience. To see him release on Shanti Planti is a joy I experienced as fan and friend. Finally, the artist I love was exposed to the world; go check him out!

FOLLOW Duffrey:   Soundcloud   /   Bandcamp   /   Facebook

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MALAKAI | LUSINE - SENSORIMOTOR (3/3)

Lusine has been a longtime favorite of mine since discovering the Ghostly Internationalrecord label a number of years ago. His music really satisfies something that I don’t find in many other places. It has a sort of elegance, simplicity and spaciousness to it while still maintaining a strong, driving energy that is no small feat of balance. Sensorimotor is a masterfully crafted sonic journey that walks that line flawlessly, taking you from the dance floor into the clouds and back again. Composition aside, the sound design and production on Sensorimotor is some of the more evocative, articulate and engaging work I have heard in a long time. It truly lives up to its title, offering a fully immersive sensory and motor experience through sound.

FOLLOW Lusine:   Soundcloud   /   Bandcamp   /   Facebook

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PASQUALE | ALFA MIST - ANTIPHON (3/3)

My foray into the world of jazz music is a long-standing passion and musical influence that I've chased after for about four or five years now. Sometimes, in the course of listening through countless LPs, EPs, and singles, you stumble across that one particular record that forces you to take a step back, re-engage, and find yourself completely immersed in an aural headspace. Antiphon by Alfa Mist is one such record, and really solidified my current approach to and appreciation for avant-garde directions in jazz and other instrumental music. It is a conscientious mosaic of tonal relationships and organic rhythms. Each track on the album takes on a unique and effervescent form, and feels like the culmination of decades of jazz theory and stylistic development; it is distinctly jazz in the 21st century.

FOLLOW Alfa Mist:   Soundcloud   /   Bandcamp   /   Facebook

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KATIN | THE BUG VS. EARTH - CONCRETE DESERT (3/24)

I am a huge fan of droned out guitar riffs and dubstep. That’s why I thought the collaboration between Earth and The Bug was too good to be true. Instead, Concrete Desert makes a statement, and the two styles coalesce to form more than the sum of their parts. Dark and heavy bass music is lifted up with melodic ambience and distorted guitars. The music has a theme that could place you on the American frontier, or appear as the soundtrack to an eerie thriller movie. It is the duo’s debut LP, and follows the Boa/Cold EP that put these two on the map, excellent in its own right.

Two icons, both Earth (Dylan Carlson) and The Bug have each pursued their sounds for more than twenty years. It is to our luck that they saw the potential of forming this collaborative project. It's not for the faint of heart, but certainly is for those keen on the organic meeting the technological in music.

FOLLOW Earth:   Soundcloud   /   Bandcamp   /   Facebook

FOLLOW The Bug:   Soundcloud   /   Bandcamp   /   Facebook

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WYLER | ISZLAI - ROTUNDA (5/27)

Little can be found about Jozsef Iszlai, aside from his Romanian origin and hometown of Csikszereda. He currently resides in Cluj Napoca, the de facto capitol of Romania’s Transylvania region. I managed to gather that he plays guitar left-handed, and has since his mother brought one home when Jozsef was nine. One thing that really stood out is that he produces music for television and film, and is even currently scoring for theater. 

“Rotunda” was released in May of 2017, and is Iszlai’s first full-length release. The album fuses elements of trip-hop, idm, ambient music and deep house whilst also weaving in gorgeously succinct stringwork and organic percussion. A minor eastern influence is also present throughout the release, with interplay between Iszlai’s guitar and alluring asian string melodies. In the past, Iszlai has used foley sound from the city of Cluj Napoca in his music. I’m not sure if that method was integrated into the creation of “Rotunda,” but the slight industrial influence and texturing leads me to believe it was. “Round-up,” my favorite tune from the release, includes what sounds like a Subway car careening along it’s track - an instantly captivating element for a New York City native. The careful rocking of the train is almost soothing in it’s off-kilter cadence and seamless incorporation. 

Each track is narrative-based, with a melodious dialogue between elements that tells a tale of mystery and paradox. Ultimately, “Rotunda” is an impressive first release from a young, dextrous artist with a massive range and a penchant for creating emotionally charged music. I eagerly await a future release.

FOLLOW Iszlai:   Soundcloud   /   Bandcamp   /   Facebook

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FRANCESCO | FOUR TET - NEW ENERGY (9/29)

Kieran Hebden aka Four Tet recently released his ninth studio album, New Energy. New Energy explores a rich combination of acoustic melodies blended with tranquil yet forward moving beats. I instantly fell in love with this album's ability to simultaneously soothe and stimulate the mind. When listening, I find myself in deep contemplation, but with a sense of acceptance.

FOLLOW Four Tet:   Soundcloud   /   Bandcamp   /   Facebook

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MAX | KURSA - YOU CAN EAT WHATEVER YOU WANT FOR BREAKFAST PT. 3 (THE FINAL COURSE) (12/5)

You Can Eat Whatever You Want For Breakfast Part 3 (Final Course) is the final album from Kursa’s recent breakfast-themed trilogy. As one of the pioneers of Neurohop, the Bristol bass legend has gained significant attention in the USA with launch of label SLUGWIFE along with his collaborative project K.L.O. Y.C.E.W.Y.W.F.B. PT. 3 starts off spoon feeding the listener a dose of distortion, glazed with metallic foley sounds, and organized around an assortment of heavily swung '90s boom-bap drum patterns, halftime, and traditional drum and bass breaks.

With a seven-minute “Introduction”, Kursa brings us into a dissonant abyss of thick, watery textures and glistening high ends. Heard in songs “Flabby Fries”, “CANYATHO” and “Green Steal Spork” he uses chopped, distorted, and interwoven bass sounds to carry the melodies of his tracks, turning off-kilter glitch noises into harmonic trip-hop collages. The album tansitions into a sixth track “Wifey” which uses sonic elements similar to “Introduction” to create a cohesive intermission from the hardcore elements of the album. As the record progresses, Kursa's drum and bass roots seamlessly emerge from songs “Dustika” “Coldest Blue” and “Itago” while he continues to interweave the spicy neuro elements that define his style. Although Kursa's breakfast regimine remains highly classified, it is safe to assume that like this record, it is extra chunky, nutrient rich, and uninhibited by societal norms.

FOLLOW Kursa:   Soundcloud   /   Bandcamp   /   Facebook

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MARK | MICKMAN - MENDING THE RIVEN (12/6)

Mending the Riven is the third LP overall, and the second of 2017, from the elusive Illinois-based glitch wizard Cameron Ingraham aka Mickman. This release, Mickman’s longest to date, delves deep into downtempo and traverses time signatures with abandon on songs like “The Human” and “Entelechy” (this unfamiliar word means “the realization of potential”). Mickman’s straightforward and intelligent psychedelia is given fresh room to breathe on “Mending the Riven” with relaxed, low-bpm atmospheres. The record escalates in intensity, however, as it rolls along, with Mickman opening the filters and finally letting one rip on the last song, “Contact”. This progression, the thematic song titles, and a consistency of sound design make “Mending the Riven” extraordinarily cohesive. Despite words appearing in just one track, “Now Exist”, a story undergirds the album. These twelve tracks are an effort to sew together the riven, meaning “that which has been split or torn violently”. But what, exactly, is it that’s been split apart as to need mending? That is for the listener to interpret. 

FOLLOW Mickman:   Soundcloud   /   Bandcamp   /   Facebook 

Classic Albums 002: Lusine - Serial Hodgepodge

On November 30, 2004, Lusine released Serial Hodgepodge, an aptly named exploration of the intricacy of sound in music. The third release from the Texas bred producer, Serial Hodgepodge can be viewed (or heard) as a true stream of consciousness. This album moves you through highs and lows - moments of chaos juxtaposed with moments of tranquility. It pulses between ambient soundscapes and hard-hitting dance tracks, exhibiting the wide range of styles which Lusine seamlessly weaves together. Lusine maintains an exciting tempo, and showcases his signature use of ethereal female vocals.

Formerly known as L’usine, which is the French word for The Factory, Jeff McIlwain has proven time and again that emotion-driven stories can be captured and portrayed through manipulating frequency. There is no denying the life that Lusine breathes into each track. The multifaceted layers of each tune on Serial Hodgepodge invite the listener to explore the depths of industrial, mechanical beauty, and with each subsequent playthrough of the album, the sheer level of detail begins to unveil itself.

Lusine is able to jump back and forth among mood and manner while still maintaining a cohesive, complete work. Beginning with the tranquility of ‘Ask You’, Lusine then kicks things up a notch with ‘Slur’, as tempo increases and the mood shifts from peaceful to excited, even frantic. This pattern continues throughout the album, as the tracks alternate between calming soundscapes and mechanical, grungy house bangers.

Both this album and the rest of the Lusine discography have become a staple in any experimental music collection. This is the sound we've come to know and love from Lusine, and with Serial Hodgepodge he has left a significant imprint on electronic music.

Co-Written by Sophie Judson & Katin Shalit

Classic Albums 001: Nujabes - Modal Soul

On November 11, 2005, Hydeout Productions released Modal Soul, the second LP from the revered Japanese producer and instrumentalist Nujabes. Since its release Modal Soul has been enshrined in the canon of classic hip-hop, cherished by a dedicated following that is modest in number but unparalleled in passion. Nujabes is usually referenced as a hip-hop producer, but Modal Soul blends such disparate influences as to become a new, one-of-a-kind world music transcending all musical, physical or temporal boundaries. While each Nujabes project is a masterpiece in itself, Modal Soul is undoubtedly the producer's most dynamic and most popular effort. 

It’s not uplifting lyrical content or the producer’s technical virtuosity that distinguishes Modal Soul, though the album has both in spades. What distinguishes Modal Soul is its mood, its essence. Splicing together a beat and a piano sample is no longer revolutionary, though Nujabes, real name Seba Jun (February 7, 1974 – February 26, 2010), does so with a master’s grace. Flipping the samples and aligning the sound to make the listener feel with such great depth – that is the revelation of Modal Soul. If you don’t feel the music, that’s okay. But for those who do, it is healing sound. It is fuel for imagination, a foundation for dreams, no less important than any music ever made.

Modal Soul can be seen as a quintessential product of the 21st century. Follow me. Access to music has never been as horizontal as it is in the new millennium. In the past, musicians were limited by time and space to those resources at their direct disposal. For example, French pianist Claude DeBussy sparked a compositional revolution by experimenting with a semi-tone scale at the turn of the 19th century. DeBussy would have never used this Eastern scale - opposed to the whole-tone scale and foreign to all Western conception of what music should be - had he not heard a gamelan orchestra from the island nation of Java perform at the 1889 Paris Universal Exposition.

These geographic and temporal boundaries no longer exist for composers, and they don’t exist on Modal Soul. Nujabes was able to access musical threads from across the globe and across time - Latin sambas, Japanese jazz, African drums, American hip-hop, disco, blues, Miles Davis – and weave them into something not heard before or since. 

Take for example “Music Is Mine”. A sample of jangling, hollowed-out wood evokes the East, as does the lead piano melody played in a semi-tone scale. A trombone plays a bluesy New Orleans lead, and the piano carries an enchanting dialogue through to the song’s conclusion. Is this hip-hop? Jazz? Soul? A scholar might tell you these three terms really describe one sound, but Modal Soul actually dissolves the boundaries between these genres, making that scholarly theory a musical reality. 

The response to Modal Soul is also a 21st-century phenomenon. Nujabes' music never caught fire commercially in the United States, so how many fans would know Modal Soul without YouTube? Appreciation for the album is found less in measurements like album sales and more in the words of listeners shared online in subreddits, blog posts and youtube comment sections.

Almost exactly 1 year ago from today, my life took a huge shit and it seemed like everything I cared about was stripped from me. I listened to this song compilation [Modal Soul] almost every day for 3 months. It kept me going, it kept me from sinking too far into sadness, it saved me. -  Fortminorfan12

This is DEEP music and should not be underestimated with all of the evil being put out nowadays. - Suki Aff

“This album is life.... I listen to it almost daily.... Nujabes was one of those artists that had it right.... R.I.P man. I hope his soul knows how much his music has affected us all <3”  - Melissa TheLonelyEvaPilot00

Six songs on Modal Soul prominently feature vocals, four are purely instrumental. The rest are primarily instrumental though they include vocal samples, except “Music is Mine” on which we believe Nujabes himself performed the half-intelligible lyrics. 

Seba Jun in his studio

The messages offered by the featured performers are truly timeless, but also timely. “Feather” featuring Cise Starr and Akin and “Luv (sic.), Pt. 3” featuring Shing02 can resonate across time and space and apply to almost any situation. In the dystopian spoken screed “The Sign”, Pase Rock offers a desperate diatribe on the downward direction of our world at this moment (2005), but echoes of his prophetic message can be heard throughout the ages. This song is haunting, and rather unexpected as one cruises through Modal Soul - an unavoidable reality check in the middle of the album and one of the only instances in Nujabes’ career of an explicitly ‘conscious’ song. 

Some of us are lost and will not find our way no matter what the signs say

Some of us do not see the signs because we are too busy shopping

Some of us do not see the signs because we can't help but stop and look at the accidents and stare

We are in a daze, we are amazed by the world's displays

Some of us do not see the signs because we are giving spare change to the homeless

We are getting gas, we are volunteering for duty, and we are watching television

We are driving around in circles on spinners and we are working eight to six

We are on our way to the club, we are high, we are drunk, and we are sober

And we do not see the signs

I fear there is no U-turn and that this road dead-ends

Because we cannot read the signs

Do you not see the signs? We must read the signs

And we must turn around. We must turn around

We gotta turn this shit around, and we gotta read the signs

The title track is the album's most stunning instrumental. No one makes music like this, so full of life, besides in fact the featured performer Uyama Hiroto whom every lover of Modal Soul should check out immediately. Dissect if you can the percussion; samples of rimshots, toms, kick, ride, and hi-hat blend so fluently into a whole that the listener is blissfully unaware of the detail required to create these drums. This quickened world beat - distinct from the producer’s hip-hop-rooted composition - is Nujabes at his best and most inventive, breaking from almost all convention. Hiroto’s piano and clarinet are pure magic.

The final four songs on the album form a musical landscape. There’s “Flowers” in the foreground beneath a “Sea of Cloud”. Then, “Light on the Land” appears on the “Horizon”. Each song evokes imagery. The rich and chromatic piano sample in “Flowers” depicts with sound a broad, rustling field of pink, white and red carnations. “Light on the Land” - has samples of a cricket on every second upbeat, and echoing sample recalling a seagull’s yawn in the half darkness of daybreak. The rising, ethereal timbres of “Horizon” settle like beams of light thrown across the sky breaking through the dawn. 

Webster’s Dictionary defines “Revelation” as the divine or supernatural disclosure to humans of something relating to human existence or the world. Modal Soul is a revelation. Its lyrics strike at our core human dilemmas. Its music transports us to colorful worlds apart. The message is that the music itself is the medicine, the answer. The music is mine, and it’s yours, and as hundreds have said before me all across the world, it will never fade away.