German Hip Hop 502 Items

“Einsteigen Bitte!”

After more than six years of collaboration between label and artist, Feines Tier and Luca Musto bring to you the highly anticipated first full length LP “Nice Place, Bad Intentions”.

Musto’s first LP “Nice Place Bad Intentions” departs from the conventional 4/4 time signature. Instead, the album’s structure and the tracks themselves are reminiscent of a 1990s/2000s Hip Hop long play release. This becomes evident in the fact that the LP not only features 17 tracks, including skits and interludes, but also that they make up the framework of a conceptual album. Here, listeners will be encouraged to follow the track list and listen to “Nice Place, Bad Intentions” in one go.

“Nice Place, Bad Intentions” was produced over a period of 1,5 years. Besides the majority being original samples and vocals from Luca Musto, the LP also features a number of studio musicians, including bass players, trumpeters and guitarists. Cologne-based guitarist Simon Bahr can be found on several tracks, including the three singles “Infiltrate”, “Boogie Angst” and “Real Name, No Gimmicks”. Moreover, the skits and interludes are spoken by professional voice actors from the US and Canada.

The Berlin-themed album follows the characters Mick and Richie, who are all about partying and come to the city for one weekend in hopes to have the time of their lives. When the characters’ expectations meet reality, their naiveté (or bad intentions) lead them to getting screwed, robbed and even arrested. These stories about their journey through Germany’s capital are found in the interludes and skits. Listeners can follow them passing infamous places and metro stations in the city based on sampled BVG announcements, which gives the album a radio play vibe.

Sound-wise, Luca Musto’s unique sounds include scratched hooks that meet original lyrics and melodies, resulting in distinctive genre-bending tunes. As Mick and Richie stumble through some of Berlin’s most in-famous places, their expectations repeatedly clash with the reality of the capital’s nightlife. Similarly the liste-ners’ expectations are twisted and turned. Yet, the soundtrack underlining the characters’ journey never disappoints and brings its listeners on a rhythmic trip of old and new sounds. From rapping on downtempo as in “City of Grind” to merging the classic structure of electronic music with funky guitar licks and unconventional chord transitions as in “Infiltrate”, the LP feels at once like a daring experiment and like the beginning of a developing new genre.

Maura & Fred Red: one of those absolutely romantic producer and MC connections, making you feel the bond far beyond e-mail conversations like „just sent you a new folder of beats“!

Branding the artists simply as „bedroomproducer“ and rapper appears already after the first track on „Grimus“ almost blasphemous, because what those two deliver is way too big to be pigeonholed.

Hard-hitting breaks, subtle grooves led by jazz brushes, funky synthesizer solos, meet one of the most charismatic front women our young German hiphop-scene has to offer. Maura moves playfully in her universe between soulful head voices and heavy rapflows which put everybody considering themself as being able to compete in their place. Punctiliously and lovingly arranged, stylishly orchestrated and, at the same time, uncompromisingly edgy that there is – with all humbleness – nothing left but to speak out the Madlib/Erykah reference out loud.

Ten years ago, we would not have dreamt of such exquisit demos falling into our laps. Fred Red and Maura deliver with “Grimus“ a long overdue souljazz LP being a perfect match for Sichtexot.

What have they done?

Limited to 150 copies. Since the release of their second LP »Untergang /// Wiederaufbau« (»Demise /// Reconstruction«) in 2009, 88:Komaflash have swallowed down ntheir dissatisfaction with how things are, found it to be indigestible and now spit it back in the world’s face. With their third album »Eremiten im Wohnzimmer« (»Living Room Hermits«) the Munich-based rap crew takes inventory of what’s happened in the past ten years, whether in Neomuc, their own four walls or the jungle out there, with concise proletarian rap. While Omega Takeshi’s lyrics dismantle the status quo, Mars (bass), Aqua Luminus III. (beats) and Al Rock (turntables) blaze the trail with ten tracks that are as sharpedged and on point as they are complex.
About the band:
88:Komaflash sind Omega Takeshi (MC), Mars (Bass), Aqua Luminus III. (Beats) und Al Rock (Turntables). Seit der Debüt-EP »Tapeflash Eins« im Jahr 2000 ist die Münchener Crew der Stachel im Fleisch des Rap-Materialismus. Nach einer Reihe kleinerer Releases veröffentlichte das Quartett in den Jahren 2005 und 2009 die Alben »Verteidigung der Zukunft« und »Untergang /// Wiederaufbau«, die den fordernden, ausdefinierten Rap-Sound der Gruppe perfektionierten. 2019 erscheint mit »Eremiten im Wohnzimmer« das erste Album der Band seit zehn Jahren, eine scharfkantige und komplexe Abrechnung mit dem Status Quo.