Review Coyote Beatz – Coynstrumentals Vol. 1
Coynstrumentals Vol. 1 is the first solo offering from Belo Horizonte’s Coyote Beatz. Completely instrumental, the album takes it’s cues from hip-hop and skate culture. Full of bold beats and varied textures it’s an outsider’s bet for album of the year.
The album opens with “Elavamosnois”, a powerful opener whose staccato keyboard stabs and arpeggiating organs carry a huge DJ Shadow influence. The mood continues onto “Stand Out”, where things begin to get interesting thanks to unusual samples and the flickering of activity on the borders, such as the occasional distorted guitar riff in the background. Coyote Beatz uses the same mix of strong hip-hop beats and textural intrigue that we love so much from the Dilema Industrias crew in Chile.
Some of the tracks on Coynstrumentals Vol. 1 originally featured in the soundtrack to the skate film Original Expresso” (released by De Rua Skate Shop) and this specific influence can be felt on the atmospheric “The Perfect Beat” and the slightly g-funky “Keep Clean”, two tracks that could only be of benefit to any skate scene. Major album highlights come in the shape of “Namadruga” – it’s melody line is a beautful thing – as well as “Allfya”, a track that adds a bit of a soul jazz vibe to proceedings.
Coynstrumentals Vol. 1 succeeds through it’s adventurousness and attention to detail. If you were to judge the album by the first few tracks you might think that this is just an instrumental hip-hop beats album, a DJ Shadow or Rjd2 wannabe, but the rest of the album ensures that it’s so much more than that. Tracks like “Namadrugada” take the listener to completely new places, where maybe they have no right to be, with shimmering organs, flute samples, lazy reggae bass lines, off-key backing vocals and all manner of rhythmic touches ensuring the album keeps rejuvenating itself, before finishing with the most regal of tracks in the shape of “Finale” and what feels like a self-congratulatory slap on the back.
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