DRONGOMALA: Elemental

Drongomala

Elemental

© 2006 Flying Mountain Records (634479198618)

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Elemental veers from straight ahead grimy minamilist hiphop to more jazzy jams. All mixes and jams are from improvs done with the verbalist.

tracks

1 Hi Frequency Warfare
2 Semi Auto Eclipse
3 Just Live
4 When I Was Young
5 Hey
6 Darth Fader
7 Painkiller Principle
8 Adbuction 3AM
9 You Cat's Don't Know Me
10 Sad Sheila
11 We Know What's On Your Mind
12 Colorado
13 This Is How We Roll
14 Fucked Up Like This
15 Bow Down Like A Prostitute
16 Quotes
17 Feed 'Em Fish
18 Countdown
19 Dirt of The World

notes

Drongomala and 4D met in London, 2003 and worked together for a short period but only recently (Sep/Oct 2005) did they get the time to get down to a full collaboration. Perfectly timed as Drongomala was in San Francisco mixing his genre busting debut album 'Scale' which was recorded in Kerala, South India. The fruit of this new partnership is the eponymously titled 'Elemental'.

Taking place on the kitchen table of 4D's apartment in SanFrancisco the pair got to making music and writing the candidate tracks for the record. Gear was minimal, Vibes were great and the speed was quick - within a few weeks a host of rappers and musicians came through the door to improv and knock it back and forth. The kitchen had become a resteraunt where all kinds of plates were being served up.

Guest rappers from the Bay and nearby Oakland shine in the Elemental sessions. Azeem, Blaccsmyth, Folklore, Hanif and Tiye Selha all guest on the album.

reviews

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  • Rich underground offering from the Elemental crew
    author: Closing Time

    The wonderful cover, by someone called LeJon500, helps set the scene for an album full of characters. Produced by Drongomala and 4D there are 20 songs on here and they are a mix of styles due to the variation of rappers on the record. This makes for a healthy mix and an interesting ride. Azeem provides deep street authority while Blaccsmyth provides fire very reminiscent of Busta Rhymes. Turntablism, by TheCreos, is used as an instrument rather than for 'spot pieces' and I like the feel it gives the album - the sound of vinyl among the controlled chaos of the production is well balanced. The record was made during the New Orleans disaster and the tone of the album is flavoured a little by this - Azeem especially sticks his oar into political waters. If you are sick of hip-pop and want some real jams from the undergroung - this is it. Drongomala and 4D are one's to watch out for.

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