Scott Herren's first few releases as Prefuse 73 (along with Travis Stewart's work as Machine Drum) were landmarks in hip-hop production for me. They set new standards for what you could do with the hip-hop template, and created songs so interesting, not only were MC's not needed; in many cases it would have been insulting to add them. But as Scott continued, the volume of his output and the sheer number of his projects increased exponentially, and his last two albums as Prefuse certainly suffered as a result. I thought maybe Scott was spreading his good ideas too thin with all his different projects (the latest is Diamond Watch Wrists, coming soon on Warp). I hoped Ampexian would be a return to form, but it's not. It's an entirely new form for this project, but a good one. Scott isn't attempting to take you by the throat anymore with hyperkinetic production; with Ampexian he's produced a diverse beat tape that goes uptempo, downtempo, and everywhere between. I'd say this record is actually more of an instrumental hip-hop record than any he's made before, as it's just beats (no vocalists or MC's) that show all the different sounds he's exploring. No frills. And it sounds like exactly what the Prefuse 73 project needed. It may not be as impressive as his first two records (or the EP's that came out around then), but it's solid and it's a grower. You'll keep coming back to it and falling in love with different parts of the record. Welcome back, Prefuse 73.

Style: Instrumental Hip-Hop

RIYL: Odd Nosdam, Sixtoo

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Download: Nature's Uplifting Revenge

Tags See All Tags

2009  Everything She Touched Turned Ampexian  Instrumental Hiphop  Odd Nosdam  Prefuse 73  Sixtoo  Warp  onecaseman 

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