Cream of the Drop: Seattle Downbeat
Various Artists
ZEROBPM
Cream of the Drop is a collection of trip-hop tracks from virtually unknown artists. Most of these tracks are so slow and down tempo, you’d be wise to keep another person around to remind you to breathe from time to time. Aside from that common link, these songs represent diversity within the genre. The album begins with “Stasis II” by EVP, one of the spoken word tracks. “All Angels” by Nikol Kollars leans more toward the drum n’ bass style, with female vocals akin to Roni Size. Most tracks are instrumental, but several include segments of rapping, such as “Suffocation” by Subdwellers and “Smoke 1” by Penguin. The highlights here though are the jazz-infused songs, such as “Bugged Out” by Tone Scientist and “After Hours” by Penumbral Glow. If you’re not going anywhere for a while, pop this disc in, but don’t forget to breathe.
ZEROBPM Recordings, 1122 East Pike St., PMB #814, Seattle, WA 98122; http://www.zerobpm.net
