Quite.The.Treat Pt. 8

Casual listening on the internet is always a win. Check out mt.marcy's newest track available for streaming on Soundcloud. Don't let the cover art fool you: sweaters features light hearted tones sitting on top of textured drums kicks and a myriad of ambient goodies.

2 Cents: Celadon City

Beat Culture and Beat-Makers...

Make the Music World go 'round

With some notable artists and hype surrounding Florida, I myself delved deeper into the scene and found COUNTACH. Hailing from Jacksonville, FL, this artist has amassed a slight following of just over 100 with only 8 tracks.

Originality

This track's cover art is really nifty- all Poke'heads know where the name of the single comes from. The badge on the green background pays homage to the fictional Pokemon city and the track title.

Production

The sound is crisp and unfailing. The baseline is not overwhelming but warm, tying the beat together. The muffled 808 kicks that come in during what is, arguably a nice place for a bridge of a song, are also clean and not overwhelming. All percussion (hi-hats included) are so smooth that the beat rolls along easily. Celadon City illustrates all the great parts about beat-music while leaving the tired parts alone.

Overall

COUNTACH flexes his composition dexterity in Celadon City. What could have been a very flat loop is easily the grounds for a riveting alternative R&B song, content heavy rap, or just a very easy-listening instrumental track. Celadon City will have you bumping your head, every time. Stay up-to-date on everything COUNTACH through Souncloud or their social media.

Twitter

That Nu.Nu Pt. 3

Went scouring the internet for some new music...

Heja Rames (AKA Jake Barkley) released the ambient track **rshndra** through Soundcloud for streaming towards the end of March. This track is still gaining momentum through the month of April, much like Heja Rames' following on the internet. **rshndra** makes use of textured loops, emotional vocal samples, as well as, an even meter at which the song cresendos into a climax- then rolls to a stop. With original sounds like this, I'm looking forward to more music from this artist that doubles as an emcee and composer. Make sure to peruse Heja Rames' social media and music to stay up-to-date. 

Bandcamp

Instagram

Twitter

2 Cents: NIGHTMARE FROM HEAVEN

JUST WHEN YOU THOUGHT IT WAS SAFE...

Trance-pop artist, MAK 11, gifts his listeners some nunu with the fresh project NIGHTMARE FROM HEAVEN. The mixtape sits under the 30 min mark with 8 tracks. Peep MAK11 on Instagram!

Flow

Mak11's flow is unique to him; his deep vocals come across as guttural, methodical, emotional, and trap-like. Mak11 has a flow that allows for his grittier songs to be taken seriously, while his softer tracks sound smooth. DESTRUCTION illustrates Mak11's vocal dexterity- he can go bar for bar without having to stop for a breather.

Content

The meat-and-potatoes of the mixtape aren't hard to finger: NIGHTMARE FROM HEAVEN dances around romantic and drug-glorification themes. Of the 8 tracks, 6 mention women in some capacity, all 8 mention drugs, and at least 2 mention his collective, PORTAL. Mak11 recreates the situations/imagery of his interactions with the ladies flawlessly. Compared to his emcee peers, Mak 11 sounds pretty adept at songwriting. Conversely, I think his lyricism has room for wittier wordplay, expanded vocabulary, and different themes.

Production

NIGHTMARE FROM HEAVEN features full sounds, no doubt. The tape is mastered adeptly, allowing for Mak11's vocals to mesh with the heavy beats. Being that Mak11's vocals are deep- I appreciate the layering and distortion of the emcee's bars. This makes for a more dynamic sound as opposed to a monotonous and low droning. There isn't much diversity in beat selection on this tape but that isn't necessarily a bad thing. The bass-heavy tracks are sure to test all car-sound systems.

Overall

Having written on Mak11 before, I find it hard to not be nit-picky on his latest release. In the past, my blog has listed Mak11's obscure flow pattern and sloppy production as sore spots. With NIGHTMARE FROM HEAVEN, Mak has shown tremendous finesse in both areas. His flow is easy to sonically digest and his production is a high-point on the mixtape. Ticos2Cents stamp of approval.

That.Nu.Nu Pt. 2

Boosting Nu Music 

OM. (also known as Frass Dad) collaborated with the emcee Max Krowntz to lay down some minimalist lyrics on a simple, yet deliberate, beat. C'EST LA VIE (prod. KASHTA) is successful in that the lyrics, nor production, overpower each other. Instead, the two complement each other. The lyrics are succinct, short, and to the point. OM. Max Krowntz, as well as KASHTA all hail from the 804; the single has been accessible through Soundcloud and has amassed just around 2.9K plays.

You can catch OM. on Instagram as well as Tumblr.

2 Cents: ONE LAST GROOVE

Rest In Paradise Maurice White !

A producer borne from the east coast, Billy Capricorn, celebrated the life that was Maurice in his Earth Wind & Fire Let's Groove flip. ONE LAST GROOVE is complex in its building of synths, if albeit slightly sloppy in the vocal sample. The base of the track definitely shows an appreciation for the original song while the beat switch-up in the 2nd half of the track exudes originality. 

I'm excited to hear more from this producer in terms of full projects and collaborations.

You can check out Billy Capricorn on Twitter and Soundcloud !

Quite The Treat Pt. 7

Ataraxis The Ace calls upon the prowess of his collaborators to bring the public a pristine visual. Autumn Leaves (sitting at just over 5 minutes) brings the viewer on an adventure through the obscure emcee's day. I got the chance to chop it up with Ataraxis The Ace and he likened the experience to: "shooting in Narnia,". The video for the single Autumn Leaves is a teaser for his upcoming EP;

 Lone Wolf OTG: Winter Solstice.

What do you think?