TranscendNoise

This review is a change of pace and topic for me. I usually don´t really get into much German Hip Hop. The themes most of the time seem one-sided and while in terms of sonic diversity there might be much going on, the expressive quality for the most part doesn’t exceed superficiality. But, and this is the one thing I admire the German side for, there is a certain kind of introspection and critical outlook on the world, that is unique to this locality. There are many imitators and imposter's of the American expression: the turn-up idiocy, the gangster and hard-ass narrative, but moving beyond that, most central to a unique expression in German hip hop seems to be a deeper struggle with the sense of self and achievement in life and society.  Most prominently, I´d put Casper’s 2011 album XOXO : A multifaceted expression of aggression, melancholy and frustration that lives from Casper channeling his generation and its perspective on live through songs dealing with suici...

Nguzunguzu - The Perfect Lullaby Vol.2 They best comment to start this one off: I´m not the mix kind of guy – Remix or a compilation of original tracks. Not only because most mixes tire me out, but additionally seem to have a lack of depth or originality.  Missing their first mix and even hearing about the DJ duo Nguzunguzu, my first introduction to their unique sound was through various productions work for the likes of Le1F or last year’s excellent debut by Kelela. As one might tell from those releases, Nguzunguzu stand for some forward thinking production combining dance music, r´n´b with a huge amount of quirkiness. And that is exactly what to expect from Perfect Lullaby . Clocking in at nearly 50 minutes, the shifted vocals and droning bass at the beginning indicate that you´re in for a ride. The duo mixes and matches everything from house beats, reggeton, old and current r´n´b vocals together with great expertise and sense of atmosphere. The bumping...