Earth Day was a good reminder that we shouldn’t be slaves to the corporate world. We really need to try to do better. But, who doesn’t love the latest and greatest even when we don’t need more shit? I can remember throwing out my vinyl and tapes decades ago when compact discs were the next best thing. Buy yourself that new 5 disk player and you were on top of the world. Now, vinyl is king again. Go figure.
Fortunately, it’s now hip to recycle. Just like fashion can rework what styled before, so too can music reuse those classic beats of the past. On his new record, Alcynoos takes us on a look back at a golden era. His creation will reset your sensibilities so you can break out those bellbottoms stuck in the back corner of the closet.
Weeks ago we were tempted as he released his first track, 3ast5ide, from his yet to be released Nineties, an acknowledgement of the great generational hip hop. The first visual thing noticed then is this release made it into the EXPEDITion series. This speaks volumes about the volume. It was a sign that it should be well respected because this French beat officiando is in good company with the likes of Bugseed, El Jazzy Chavo, Figub Brazlevic, MZ Boom Bap, and many solid acts that have been lucky enough to join the pack. Each new release to this Vinyl Digital series gets 100 pressings of aural bliss instrumental beats.
If you are familiar with Alcynoos and his works to date, like his pairings with Parental, Type.Raw, and many others, the next thing you will notice on Nineties is an all together different step for this Parisian. That first track was a good choice to let us know what was coming. It quickly made into rotation here at the station and on our Sidewinder Mix. It’s a drawback to the times of great beat making, modernized as he paired his impeccable sound quality with more rawness and enough jazz influence to let you know he isn’t off his rocker. Alcynoos must have had this record brewing for years just waiting for the right moment to attack. Apparently, there is some truth to that because he says he took his time to get this right spending over three years in the making.
Of the 30 or so he is said to have produced during that time, he selected 15 timeless tracks for Nineties. Let us do it justice and highlight a few. The intro, Nineties Cats, is a solid take on his view of the world of hip hop. A catchy sax is laid throughout delivering an upbeat melody that ends with a stiff scratch courtesy of DJ Soul Intellect. Next, Alcynoos rolls in some soft keys on Break Your Neck with a killer vocal loop. Each track on this record just doesn’t let up as he takes you down his creative path to Concrete Jungle. Subtle lyrics and stylistic kicks develop. Just as quickly as it shows brilliance, it leaves all too soon. There just isn’t anything to complain about with this record, except for maybe short track durations that leave you yearning. And maybe that my home needle now needs a switch.
For sure, we now know vinyl is essential to our health and daily lives, right? Well, that’s my excuse anyway for dropping this in the collection. The truth is that sometimes we need to be reminded of how good things were to justify not being truly sustainable.
Track Listing:
- Nineties Cats 03:08
- Break Ya Neck 02:57
- Bugg’n 02:25
- As Never Before 01:50
- Funky Doobie 02:13
- 3ast5ide 02:16
- AM1 01:56
- Concrete Jungle 01:55
- Always Swaggy 02:56
- Street Life 02:24
- Rock It 02:22
- Cha-Ching! 03:30
- Roll Out 02:55
- Take A Chill Pill 02:32
- Peace Out 02:55
Listen here.
