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CD review: Madwreck's Elementality Instrumentals
Independent; Release date: Nov. 19, 2013
By Clifton Golden
For the past few years, Charlotte's Dirty Art Club has been crafting mind-bending music that defies the structural limits of genres. Dirty Art Club is the moniker taken by two stellar producers, Madwreck and Matt Cagle. While the duo finishes working on their forthcoming full-length, the two have each been fairly busy on their own. The fruits of that labor have finally come to fruition with Madwreck's latest solo effort, Elementality Instrumentals.
Elementality Instrumentals finds Madwreck reworking old tracks he made with Elementality Productions, and mixing in some new works as well. The album displays Madwreck's effortless finesse and flair, bringing 48 minutes of non-stop head-bobbing, toe-tapping and musical exploration.
Madwreck's productions frequently combine soulful vocal samples and hip-hop break-beats, meticulously melded with atmospheric synth lines to create a densely packed wall of sound. Pulsing bass and snappy percussion duck in and out of the mix to breathe life into the works, while vocals are chopped to serve as both textural and melodic foundations.
While Dirty Art Club typically showcases a darker, more introspective brand of beat music, Madwreck's solo work wastes no time in settling into a groove. The album's opener, "Hawking's Cortex," swings with staccato synth lines, throbbing bass and swirling, psychedelic samples. Throughout Elementality Instrumentals, listeners can get lost within the overwhelming intricacies or simply soak in the surface level of these tunes.
Whether you favor tracks that beckon an MC to run wild on the beat like "Iron" and "Here We Go" or experimental romps like "Scarred Boroughs" and "Time-lapse," Elementality Instrumentals offers plenty of variety. So, while you bide your time waiting to soak in the sounds of a new Dirty Art Club record, Madwreck's solo endeavor provides an equally entrancing outlet to immerse yourself in.
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