AESOP ROCK Schallplatten & CDs

Review: Long Island's Aesop Rock takes listeners deep into the everyday moments that blur the line between the real and the surreal on this, his 11th LP. Self-produced, the album's intricate beats and complex structures provide a perfect canvas for his expansive lyricism. Tracks like 'Movie Night' and 'Send Help' explore this liminal space, mixing reflections on the mundane with eccentric, dreamlike imagery. The production pushes boundaries, channeling a sense of both experimentation and coherence, while tracks such as 'Black Plums' evoke a quiet, wistful nostalgia. Aesop balances cerebral exploration with emotional depth, pulling the listener through his introspective world with both precision and spontaneity. Hailing from New York, his work continues to reflect that city's blend of chaos and contemplation, navigating between complexity and raw instinct. The album's guest featuresiLupe Fiasco, Armand Hammer, Open Mike Eagle, Homeboy Sandman, and Hanni El Khatibiadd distinct layers to the project, each bringing their own energy to the sonic landscape. '1010WINS (feat. Armand Hammer)' and 'Charlie Horse (feat. Lupe Fiasco & Homeboy Sandman)' are highlights where the collaborations are seamless, blending each artist's style with Aesop's own. Throughout, the work showcases his most technically accomplished efforts to date, weaving together complex ideas with an instinctive flow that makes for an album as ambitious as it is enthralling.

Review: Aesop Rock has long thrived on twisting the ordinary into the uncanny, and his latest full-length after 2023's irony-packed Integrated Tech Solutions hears him deepen that fascination. Examining the unseen mechanisms that guide daily life - dream logic, half-formed memories, fleeting emotions - he now blurs the lines between perception and reality with densely packed verses and meticulous self-produced beats. A brooding, cinephilic album recalling the atmospheric street wiles of filmmakers like Wong Kar Wai, the playful 'Send Help', contemplative 'Movie Night' and dusky 'Black Plums' chart strange emotional terrain, brought to life through warped sonic forensic architectures and sharp lyrical precision. Joined by Lupe Fiasco, Armand Hammer, Hanni El Khatib, Open Mike Eagle and Homeboy Sandman, the album pivots constantly, driven by intuition but grounded in detail Speaking on the record's emphasis on public bareness, Rock remarks on 'Checkers', a song "about the neighborhood outside your home being the great leveller. You can't show up feeling one way because the world will show you otherwise."

Review: Aesop Rock were a fixture of the New York underground hip-hop scene throughout the early 90s and began writing and honing his rapping delivery, culminating in his first album in 1997. Daylight came out just a few years later in 2001 to critical acclaim, including later being ranked at number 68 on Fact's "100 Best Indie Hip-Hop Records of All Time" list. The title track showcases the talents of the producer, largely recognized as one of the last links of the 90s New York style of the genre. Being respectful of his roots, Aesop Rock samples in some classic parts of other 80s tracks onto his sublime downtempo jazz foundation for a perfect example of the style known as Conscious. Not to be outdone, 'Nickel Plated Pockets' is the perfect B-side to this EP, bringing a harder sound to balance out things. Included are the instrumentals for each of the three tracks to make this DJ friendly.

Review: The tenth full-length from the literal most verbose MC in the hip-hop genre Aesop Rock, has been described as "A concept album about an organization offering lifestyle and industry-specific applications designed to curate a desired multi-experience." Following on from 2020's exceptionally dizzying Spirt World Field Guide, some of the core themes of the absurdist search for peace and tranquillity resurface across Integrated Tech Solutions but in a new guise of app placements, corporate speak and artificial goals that keep the masses confined within digital, monitored bubbles. Predominantly self-produced like the majority of the artist's recent output, the beats fluctuate from eerie minimalism to hallucinatory, overwhelming sonic stews, all dictated by humorous yet reliably virtuosic bars and flow. Ten LPs in and Mr. Aesop (or Mr. Rock) sounds as confident, concerned, curious and crazed as ever.

Review: Aesop Rock x Blockhead's Garbology album was a huge success and so it makes sense that the label now follows it up with a new issue of the instrumentals. It's a tidy package across four sides of coloured vinyl in a nice spot-varnished sleeve. Musically it is a brilliantly mixed bag that takes in myriad niche sounds and styles. The opener is a deep soul cut with pensive chords while 'Jazz Hands' (Instrumental) suspends you in swirling synths and spring-day optimism and 'Wolf Piss' (Instrumental) has heavier, darker beats and more menacing string sounds.