Thomas Odumade typically keeps time at A.M. 180. He is contributing to PoW as part of an elaborate scheme to help procure Canadian health care for the American contingent.
Since 2008, English gentleman/producer Dean Bentley, has released a steady string of singles on his own label, DMB Records, featuring such oft-overlooked talents as Phat Kat, Nature, Guilty Simpson and Craig G. Bentley too has been similarly overlooked, which I suspect can be attributed to his unwieldy stage name: Lidget Green Position, which sounds like the name of a company that manufactures complex marijuana smoking devices. Capable of refining beats until they yield a perfect balance between playful experimentation and cool restraint, LGP’s recent work has found him embarking on an eclectic solo project — one capable of silencing any doubts that his style isn’t fully formed.
The aforementioned release, the appropriately-titled Not My Style EP, covers a wide swath of ground over its seven tracks, dipping into comfortably “old school” hip hop beats, 80s R&B, and even alt-rock. Thankfully, no awkward rap-rock alchemy occurs, with the two rock-leaning tracks–“Blue Water, White Death” and “Tuesday’s Child,” materializing as searing blasts of fuzzy guitar riffs, that strike a solid groove even if they seem slightly conceptually undercooked.
The title track — the only non-instrumental on the EP — features Chicago rapper Jay Who, bemoaning the state of popular hip hop. Though it reeks of laziness and cliche, it’s arguably the only track on the EP that does so, with LGP’s beats emerging as the star — full of acoustic drums, day-glo synth textures, and the warm, hazy analog atmospher. Standout track, “Teenager”, recalls the production aesthetic of fellow UK native HudMo–all neon synthesizer and crumbling, heavy bass splattered with treble (bells, whistles, sirens, chirps), twinkling arpeggios, sped-up R&B vocals, and Nintendo racket– the basics. But for every hyperactive jam like “Teenager”, there’s the comfortable swing of a track like “Home Again” or “Green”, which closes the record on a contented note with a simple, sun-stunned sample. Hopefully, it’s a sign of what to expect on LGP’s full-length, Gun In A Suitcase, which should be dropping later this year — as is the style at the time. –Odumade
Download:
MP3: Guilty Simpson (prod. by Lidget Green Position) – “Guilt Trip”
MP3: Lidget Green Position – “Teenager”
