Nonwrestler Blog

Weekly mp3 # 11: Lukas Nystrand & Karl Johansson – Untitled R&B Instrumental

The net label Ageema Music Club mainly seems to be a vanity press for one guy, Lukas Nystrand, with a couple of friends in tow. I could’ve linked to a bunch of different things here, cos there are plenty of good pickings, from Lukiss’s Gameboy-in-dub stylings, through the J Dilla-gone-glitchy / Avalanches territory of Glenny #417, to Julien Love's punky dub-disco tracks.

I’ll be cheeky and link directly to the MP3 , because the page is a bit hard to navigate. It’s on We Shall Not Be Moved from 2005.

The track title should give you a good idea of what you’re in for, but given that R&B extends over the past 40 years and most recently seems to include stadium trance (looking in your direction, Timbaland! ), I’ll make some notes anyway. It’s downbeat and grubby, and sounds to me like they digested what ?uestlove unimaginatively called the “dirty sound” the Soulquarians were reaching for on D’Angelo’s Voodoo and Common’s Like Water For Chocolate. It’s grubbier than that, though, much more of a 4-track home recording vibe. Live bass guitar, by the sounds of it, wonky keys, programmed strings and beats. Always been a fan of those oomf and clap beats and this kind of slightly awkward, staggering rhythmic feel.

Overall, the track has the kind of vibe I always hope to hear from Madlib, but, frankly, he’s about the most over-hyped producer working today. Ridiculously inconsistent anyway.

No idea who Lukas Nystrand & Karl Johansson actually are, other than that Lukas seems to be a designer by trade and they’re presumably both Swedish.

Labels: music, weekly mp3

Posted at 13:10