There's a certain amount of irony in releasing an instrumental versionof an existing hip hop album. I have always liked the sounds that camefrom both the Automator and Kid Koala but when I saw Deltron live lastyear, the rap somewhat turned me off of the collective. Thus, I wasexcited at first to hear 75 Ark were releasing an instrumental versionof the debut full-lengther. I was blown away immediately at the startof the album's opener, '3030', the production is seamless and combinesa healthy blend of orchestral samples to some pretty fine hip hopbreaks. The sad yet grand themes could easily provide the underlyingscore for a film crew's survey of the post-apocalyptic remains of afallen society. As the album progresses, the production never weakens,mixing a whole host of other styles and influences. When the patternsand sequences repeat too many times within a song, there is a sensethat there is indeed something missing. I thought I was taking the easyway out by only sticking to the instrumental version, but I find myselfthirsty to uncover the original myself.
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