Lo-Fi Sundays 088 - Kazumi Kaneda

Once you’ve heard a handful of licks from the Tokyo-based pianist and producer Kazumi Kaneda, you won’t be able to forget his warm, one-of-a-kind sound and feel. When those minor chords start to jingle around like a set of keys, you know Kazumi is on the track. He’s a visionary jazz pianist who knows how to work with hip-hop material, too, and blend both worlds effortlessly. Listen through to the end because we saved the best knock for last this weekend.

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JadeStation: The Last Great Electronic Gig at Playstation Theater 

The cream of the crop in contemporary US glitch-hop - Jade Cicada, Detox Unit, Mickman and 5AM - will soon share the stage together on October 26th at the PlayStation Theater in Times Square. All these producers have great history in New York, so it will be a crescendo of sorts: a great leap forward for Jade Cicada and his cohorts and a fitting way to close the books on an endearing venue. 

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Lo-Fi Sundays 087 - Hip Chimp

Fusing lo-fi textures and a plethora of downbeat genres, Hip Chimp channels lucid compositions and smooth, cerebral beats. As a multifaceted instrumentalist and producer, he has dug his hands through a wide variety of musical styles, and the Hip Chimp catalog reflects an appreciation for numerous attitudes and atmospheres.

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NINETOFIVE Worldwide Beatmakers Releases Max I Million's "We Own the Night" LP

The veteran Swedish producer Max I Million returns with a diverse collection of hip-hop gems called We Own the Night, his second LP on the NINETOFIVE Worldwide Beatmakers imprint. Every song on this album is great, straight up, although we’ve come to expect nothing less from Max I Million, one of the best representatives of Sweden’s potent beatmaking culture.

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Lo-Fi Sundays 086 - beatmaschine

There’s a thriving beats culture in Germany. We’ve covered several German producers in this column and for more, check out Millenium Jazz Music’s On The Radar Vol 2 - Made in Germany. But we haven’t found a German producer who captures the “golden era” boom-bap sound of hip-hop so well until stumbling across beatmaschine, who represents labels called Krupplyn and Papier & Bliestift from Dortmund.

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Jade Cicada Channels Melody & Harmony on Little Creatures EP

Reaching back to the harmony-centric compositions that first put one of bass music’s most venerable arthropods on the map, Jade Cicada channels vivacious moods and melodies in Little Creatures. Taking a step back from his intense, low-end saturated music, Little Creatures is a vibrant and refreshing expansion on the compositional richness of Jade’s catalog.

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Lo-Fi Sundays 085 - S-ilo

Bringing a warm, soulful spin on traditional lo-fi and hip-hop flavors, S-ilo is a production powerhouse from Malmö, Sweden. His music has an unmistakable connection to R&B, utilizing smooth harmonies and groovy bass lines in abundance.

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Lo-Fi Sundays 084 - Prgmat

One of the more talented producers working in the somewhat strict, traditional lo-fi style is Prgmat from Riga, Latvia. His music is often one giant wash of ambient pads, steered by muffled drums, and punctuated by discreet, well-cut samples. It’s some of the music one would put in a time capsule in order to show someone 500 years from now what lo-fi hip-hop in 2019 sounds like.

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Inspected Drops "1992" Mix, Previews Powered by Inspected 3

The London-based independent label Inspected has released some of the most progressive electronic music of the 2010’s from artists like Koan Sound, Culprate, Monuman, COPYCATT. Few if any imprints have pushed the neuro sound so aggressively yet with such nuance. Yesterday, to celebrate the launch of their “1992” merchandise line, they dropped a scorching hot 30-minute mix featuring many of their hits plus remixes/VIPs and unreleased delights.

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Cloudchord & Soul Food Horns Switch Tempos on Moon Fortune EP

Cloudchord has maneuvered all over the musical map since he first began releasing about five years ago. The producer and guitarist has proven himself difficult to pigeonhole and marketable in many different contexts, from lo-fi hip-hop and instrumental R&B to future bass and house. Once again he’s linking with Soul Food Horns, and together they’re switching it up to deliver a four-track four-on-the-floor EP Moon Fortune.

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KOAN Sound Levels Up in Potency on Intervals Above EP

With the summer coming to an end, and a series of long-awaited KOAN Sound tour dates locked in throughout the fall, the pair have unleashed a veritable surprise for their fans; Intervals Above, a five track EP filled with audacious fidelity and production nuance. It builds on the production developments found within Polychrome, but channels the classic KOAN timbres with a focus on intensity and raw power.

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Lo-Fi Sundays 083 - outcrowd.

Hip-hop and Detroit have a visceral history between each other, and the indelible impact the city had on its homegrown artists and creators continues to flow through modern veins. outcrowd. is an upstart Detroit beatsmith who’s been knocking breaks and warping samples for the last 5 years and running.

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