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ABSTRAKT DISTORTION- AWAKENING THE DEAD (EP) Paramanu Recordings

There are those listeners out there who long for the good old days, living in a world of fantasy nostalgia wishing for a time that once existed, once in its purest form, to come back. No matter how bad you think things are right now, shit has always been this bad artistically in the music industry and has been this way for some time. Abstrakt Distortion was born out of the disdain, and their hatred for the nonsense that surrounds them in the Hip Hop genre. These men, whose talents are severely underrepresented, forced them to set out to make the most uncompromising music possible. Hip Hop is naturally prone to horror due to the circumstances that inspires so much of it, so what makes this EP so different? It’s the intention behind it.

When they found themselves disillusioned with the business side of Hip Hop since early 2000′s, emcees Quest the Unborn Child and Voider One (who also produces) decided to unleash the rage boiling inside them via some of the scariest and most aggresive music ever created. They soon joined an up and coming record label named Paramanu Recordings and set their sights on making the most noise (literally) on the whole musical landscape. At first glance, some might be fooled into thinking that what they do is just an act but, they’re not a gimmick so don’t refer to them as anything other than Hip Hop not Horror-core. Like Metal legends such as Slayer or a band like Fear Factory or Hip Hop pioneers Public Enemy, these guys are 100% real, injecting a much needed boost to the industry.

As a group, AD consists of Quest, Voider and Short Rock on the cuts. “Awakening the Dead” is a concept album and along with the above participants, they also invited some friends (Kiltoy718 lyrically and Mephisto on guitars) with equal issues to add to the least commercial and nastiest album the genre has ever seen. The only issue one may have is the length of the EP because it’s only 7 tracks deep and would have those craving for more. From the opening Evil Dead sample and dark drums of the first track “The Awakening”, lays an ominous voice that warns of the experience about to unfold.

Debut albums tend to allow an artist(s) to not hold back, and these ghouls don’t ease up on the reigns of ill-ass verbals. Hate is an emotion commonly found in Hip Hop but when you look at this EP, where hate is a metaphor for murdering the mindless drivel that infected Hip Hop in late ’90s, early 2000’s, its timelessness comes out. The tunes can be epic and one can imagine how it would inspire reverence among a certain crowd. The pieces revolve around the use of layering vocals and all the lyricists building off one another and production wise, there isn’t too much harmonic complexity. The beats are dissonant, juxtaposed and meant to get under your skin. Voider creates face melting beats and with him and Quest trading lyrics, you’re sucked into this Zombie infested world. The aesthetic is creepy yet supremely effective and leaves you at the edge of your seat in anticipation of what is next. The addition of Kiltoy718 and his cryptic style adds to the mix and the unexpected highlight is the guitar-work done by Mephisto on the first track and the second track “Souls Harvest”. Short Rock has and always will be the best at cuts. He has a long history and is often overlooked but shines on this EP.

As I stated earlier, this EP is a concept album so, you must read between the lyrical assault and excellent production to fully understand the message being relayed. Although Voider One is in charge of the production, he undoubtedly holds his own on the microphone. I foresee a bright future for him. Quest the Unborn Child is one of the best lyrically and this release should draw a mass amount of attention to his ever growing skills. Ironically, this EP was released digitally last October before Halloween, but it’s now available as a Digipak for only $5 with a free poster. If you want the FULL experience, cop the whole package cause, it’s definitely worth it. Please support Abstrakt Distortion by checking them out on Bandcamp or Facebook.

Thanks, C73 Eternal aka KOOLCYPHERALLAH

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PROJECT SAVE C.A. HIRCUS- COLLEGE RADIO (The music Beck wishes he had made)

There are two risks involved with making innovative, exciting Hip Hop nowadays, first, you’ll either bomb miserably because the elements just don’t fit together or you’ll achieve near perfection but it will be so new that everybody will mostly likely sleep on it. Project Save C.A. Hircus have managed to create eight tracks of entertaining, feel-good, head-bop and sing along hip-hop that provides a great listen from start to finish. These cats simply know how to write good music with great hooks and choruses and pull all this creativity from multiple influences.

Project Save C.A. Hircus are primarily a duo coming out of the doldrums of central Florida. These two talented members are Jon Ditty on vocals and D-Rok mostly on production and handling the cuts. Despite the abundance of more hyped-style joints on this release, Jon Ditty manages to drop a handful of personable verses that let the listener in on real life thoughts and feelings of this emcee. While Ditty may live in the material world with the rest of us, his spirit soars to higher planes on songs like “Fanmail to Self” (although short at 51 seconds) and “(I) Run on Sentences” produced by Rob E. Rob. Rob’s production also shines on the track “Legislative Superfluum” and should be considered for future projects. Lyrically Jon D strikes the perfect balance between playful fun and verbal skills, never going too far over the listener’s head but not refusing to dumb down the lyrical and musical presentation. A perfect example of this equal tuning between sublime and silly can be found on the outstanding and long titled track “Soapbox Politician Dictating Nonsense from a Three Foot Radius” with a light D-Rok produced musical backdrop and scratching to boot.

This euphoric, breezy feel permeates the album and infuses the proceedings with a genuinely irresistible accessibility. You could cite numerous and varied individual examples of this group’s dopeness throughout, but suffice it to say each song is carefully crafted and produced with thought, not only with what the words say but how well they’ll be said when flowed to a beat. The surprise is that the track that Jon Ditty produced (Star Song) is just as good as the rest of the tracks and he should consider producing more. It can be equally said about D-Rok and his cuts. His cuts are not featured enough and it would be cool to hear a track with just him cutting it up just like the DJ’s in the past did. There are so many good tracks; it seems almost ridiculous to select individual ones. The whole album is built on skills like this, and is a treat for those who don’t know them but take a chance on them anyway. This is what I call a sleeper classic for the rest whose radar it goes under completely. “College Radio” is definitely worth picking up and easily one of the standout unique, fun, and comprehensive underground hip-hop releases of the year. Check them out for yourself and support at http://pscah.bandcamp.com/album/college-radio-the-music-that-beck-wishes-he-had-made or Facebook. By CyPhEr777 aka C73 Eternal

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