Top Ten of 2007: Oh No - Dr No's Oxperiment

J Dilla's somewhat posthumous release 'Donuts' was basically a critically adored record. to be completely honest, i wasn't very much of a fan. sure, i do enjoy my share of instrumental hip hop, Flying Lotus, DJ Shadow, and the record this post concerns are all in heavy rotation in my playlists, but 'Donuts' seemed lacking. J Dilla is also probably mostly known for his work with Madlib and associations with the artists on Stones Throw and in those avenues i really enjoy alot of his work, but 'Donuts' seemed like a bunch of half finished ideas thrown together to form some kind of 'beats no one wanted' collection. i guess it is strange that i appreciate 'Dr. No's Oxperiment' so much since essentially it just follows in the same structural footsteps as 'Donuts'. or maybe it isn't strange, since Oh No draws on a vast collection of european rock music, instead of twiddling away with hip hop cliches that have been around since 1991.

oh no

the album can basically be summed up in the first cut, 'Heavy' a swirling combination of a steady riff on a guitar and some middle eastern vocals. at first this will make any seasoned hip-hop head call bullshit since in fact Madlib (Oh No's brother) released his Bollywood devotion Beat Konducta Vol. 3 and 4 this year. call it brotherly rivalry or whatever, but Oh No is clearly a step ahead when it comes to dealing with this type of mixing of contemporary hip-hop with middle eastern influences and rock music. to build upon that, in my opinion Oh No is probably the most successful hip-hop producer to mix the two medium of rock and hip-hop in such a seamless way. every track on 'Dr. No's Oxperiment' is a combination of a few basic things like most sample based music, but Oh No makes you believe that it isn't, and there in fact lies the success.

oh no's 'dr no's oxperiment'

while this album doesn't get alot of play when i'm not inebriated or around other people, sometimes albums are simple good for those types of circumstances. this certainly is no 'Sixty Metonymies', it isn't sparse or complex in that type of sense. this is feel good music and music to move to, there are no lyrics so obviously the enlightenment of a record like 'Desire' isn't here. but, this is difficult music to compose and how Oh No has managed to do it impresses me the most. a great record and probably one of those records in my collection that will get endless play when i'm creating playlists for when i'm around other people.

(removed due to artist's wishes)

graf orlock show, i'm the douche in the v-neck

seattle was quite the experience. i attended a Graf Orlock show who i don't really enjoy, but i'd heard things about openers Ghostlimb and Dangers. lets just say those two groups didn't disappoint one bit and deserve much much much more respect and awareness than they seem to be given. Ghostlimb is sort of a cross between Ampere and His Hero is Gone if that even makes any sense, Nick uploaded one of their records a couple days back so check that out. Dangers was lyrically intelligent hardcore in the vein of a group like say Modern Life is War. as for records i picked up and was into i got the first Richard Youngs record and found a more developed love for the Sole and the Skyrider Band release. a fun trip which involved alot more than what is listed here.