S▽ch 0 is all about weird spelling, mostly because it hides his typos.
Anonymity comes standard in the world of electronic music and to me, it’s a major plus. At a time when rappers compete to see who can dress like the bigger douchebag rather than who’s got freshest rhymes, it’s a relief to hear music that’s all business and 100% swag free. ▽NKOWN SHΔPES push things to the limit though, in addition to the symbol-ridden and awkwardly spelled project name, the only information floating around about him/her/them is that they’re under the wing of abstract beatmaker Blue Daisy. Or that they are Blue Daisy. Either way, this free EP is fresher than this morning’s produce.
Working in the same sphere as Redlight and Girl Unit, these five tunes take 808 driven Crunk and reshape it for those among us who fail to see the genius of mentally handicapped rappers tatooing ice cream cones on their faces. “Used to Give a FK” is the most directly indebted to US Hip-Hop with it’s screwed vocal but for the most part, these beats use the slow-and-low aggression prevalent in Atlanta Hip-Hop. only to launch the style into space with neon synthesizers and additional percussion to fill the space occupied by emcees. It’s an interesting new space, incorporating additional Hip-Hop elements into the Dubstep matrix without falling victim to poorly unquantized drums (leave them to Dilla guys, him and Lotus are the only ones who truly rock that style) and polite ambiance. We’ve all learned to avoid the “wot you call it?” trap of assigning ridiculous genre tags like “aqua crunk” to new music, but if anyone wants to go ahead and throw the prefix “astro” in front of bass/step/whatever, I won’t be mad.
Download:
MP3:▽NKOWN SHΔPES – The World Keeps Turning
MP3: ▽NKOWN SHΔPES – If I Should Die EP (left click)
8 comments
D says:
January 31, 2011 at 6:34 am (UTC -7)
ah, nice start to a Monday morning, thanks Mr. O.
Can you tell me anything about this Blue Daisy? Perhaps also worth checking out?
Sach O says:
January 31, 2011 at 7:27 am (UTC -7)
Blue Daisy’s dope, in a totally different way mind you. His stuff lands closer to Low End Theory blunted beats and he’s got a single out with Tonkimonsta that I’d been meant to check out but never did. I’m under the impression that he’s the kind of artist that I’d prefer in the full-length format but then again, revisiting his stuff this morning also made me want to check out the singles/remixes he’s done that I missed.
trent says:
January 31, 2011 at 8:09 am (UTC -7)
“At a time when rappers…”
And that’s when I stopped reading.
D says:
January 31, 2011 at 7:00 pm (UTC -7)
Can’t imagine why. Did you at least listen to the music?
Will J. says:
January 31, 2011 at 8:16 pm (UTC -7)
Astro Step… I can get w/ that.
hasan says:
January 31, 2011 at 8:45 pm (UTC -7)
hate, hate, hate, hate!!!
Sach O says:
February 1, 2011 at 6:21 am (UTC -7)
I won’t apologize for calling it like I see it, particularly when this site goes out of its way to break new Hip-Hop artists and promote rappers who wouldn’t get shine otherwise.
If the fact that I think current major label Hip-Hop is mostly bullshit gets you mad son, I can’t help you.
Hasan says:
February 5, 2011 at 9:22 pm (UTC -7)
Sach O, I’m not asking for an apology, just less judgment. Just because I like Gucci doesn’t mean I can’t like up-and-comers. The way I see it, it’s all love. I’ll play any music as long as it feels good to me and provides emotion. I can’t help people that tell me what is ‘good’ or ‘authentic’ music. I no radio nazi, except when I’m in my car!