(CAVE)

Well, at the risk of sounding like I’m repeating myself, this is another example of something that I didn’t expect to hear this year and a collaboration I now cannot unsee and don’t ever want to see without! Two of the most interesting and unique underground players right now coming together for an elaborate project that is sure to bring a wave of originality back into the scene!

This is the latest album by MC/Producer AU, who this time around has sought out the help of fellow dynamic producer DJ Krooked to the scene on a few tracks, and with nine new tracks across fifteen minutes of content, this thing is fresh and ready to be consumed!

Starting with the production first! This thing starts off HOT. With the intro track produced by Krooked, who provides this noise-inspired/experimental vibe with uncomfortably loud and abrasive sounds and noises that challenge the listener and provide a punch into the face and hearts of the audience!

From there, we get tracks like ‘Tricknology’, which is just as ambitious and risk-taking as the first! With synth chords that sound like an alien invasion and cut scratches and an underline base formation that legitimately sounds like a sub-human creature crawling its way through the headphones into your brain to eat you from the inside out!

A truly creepy song with a sinister vibe behind it, showcasing AU’s most diabolical and yet creative prowess! 

From there, we have ‘Golden Eye’, which provides our most ‘Hip Hop’ themed track to date, and even that still has layers of experimental features and structures attached to it! Whether we are talking about those high-pitch spiralling chords in the background or that distorted vocal range that sounds like an alien has abducted AU and taken over the track itself! 

But there are actual rap elements such as those booming cuts and scratches as well as delicate keys in the background that remind me of classic ‘boom bap’ influence!

The other DJ Krooked song, ‘Paranoia’s a bitch’, is another dive into the dark realm of Krooked and AU’s collaborative mind. 

You’ve got those heavy organ chords, those thudding drum patterns, and those light, what sound like sticks hitting a bass drum (like the clown from Slipknot) in this overall haunting/Dracula vibe track that gives the most eerie atmosphere imaginable!

I think this goes without saying that instrumentally this is definitely AU’s darkest project yet. This is what I love about this man (and Krooked), both men aren’t afraid to get experimental and try different things! AU himself has done like five different sounds and themes across five different things I’ve reviewed on him, and it’s those ‘boundary-pushing’ artists I respect the most!

As far as the MC work goes here, I think the same critics apply here too! Because across these nine tracks, we are hearing a more distorted, fluctuating, and out-there version of his bars than ever before. It’s as if he’s presenting himself as this robot that has been plugged into the studio and programmed to rap! 

His verses barely feel human, and yet there’s such energy, static, and dynamic presentation across them that I can’t help but become entranced in the offerings!

Maybe he got inspired directly by Krooked and thought ‘fuck it, I’m gonna go all the way to the extreme of the spectrum’, but regardless, it’s definitely a side of AU no one has heard before!

He still lays down his classic wordplay, excellent deliveries, fantastic cryptic vocabulary, and pen game; it’s just now it sounds like it’s coming from a satanic Daft Punk then AU himself, which is very unique and addictive if I’m being honest!

With all those distortions active, we see a more chilling and complex side of him we’ve never seen before. It’s as if he’s hiding his true self and the emotions behind it for a more sinister purpose. Maybe he’s secretly ashamed of this darker path, and masking it with synthesiser filters is easier for him to expose this ‘alter ego’ side of himself.

Maybe he’s come to the concept and conclusion that his normal voice and personality can’t co exist with this more devilish and anarchy driven persona on this album.

Whatever is the case here, I love every second of it. I love the creativity behind it, I LOVE that he paired with DJ Krooked and I love that he’s taking a leap into territory that the majority wouldn’t even be brave enough to set foot into!

This project ain’t for the weak, but it is for the curious and adventurous! 

https://open.spotify.com/album/3fVSN0dcMuDn50SyzaKzXa?si=Qu2NCnpjQM-5njI-gSoi0Q