Customer Reviews

Angles Without Edges

5 star:		(8)
4 star:		(6)
3 star:		(1)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

People shopping for this cd may or may not have heard the other YNQ album or Madlib's Blue Note thing, and they may or may not be acquainted with Lootpack or Quasimoto and the Jaylib and Madvillain compilations. Whatever you know or don't know about Madlib, the smoky, jazzy and barely disconnected vibe of this album is both totally unique and long overdue. People have been trying to catch this vibe for fifteen years, but most producers and musicians don't have enough respect for the genres they try to loot, or get too bogged down in the lofty ambitions of their projects to let the music happen. Angles Without Edges is jazz, and it is hip hop, although it is not too wrapped up in reaching the audiences of both genres to lose touch with its singular identity.
Madlib is the quintet, in case you don't know yet, and his keyboard skills are fairly rudimentary, but this just means that he doesn't plan to give himself tracks to show off on, but just focuses on using what he does know to make great songs. He uses hip hop style drums and bass along with mostly Rhodes and Clavinet parts over that, and not too much else. This nether region between rap and jazz is tricky because it pretty much lacks melody. What passes for a song's defining motive is usually a simple "ensemble" riff or maybe just a groove, but the groove is always there, and this always feels good. Maybe not everybody will appreciate it, but it is the beginning of what could be a very important development in modern music.

...imagine shock g, dj premier and ali shaheed muhammad gettin together to do a jazz album and this might pretty much be what they come up with!
i still prefer my jazz organic/original...but ever since i got hooked on dj cam's 'mad blunted jazz', then this is the kinda stuff i been lookin for...
i've been burned with some of my purchases lately, but this one omost pleases me and that has been somethin extremely rare lately! this aint nothin laid back, kinda like some new age thelonious monk or mingus...this has that free jazz feel, i think folks here are callin it abstract, but whatever it is it's nice...caution tho: if you aint got the ear for the "not-usual", then you may be better off with somethin else...but if you like any craig taborn or clifford gilberto or even some art blakey, then you might can get with this...jump on in, the water's fine...

So you're searching for something a little different. Someone that pushes the envelope right off the edge. Well look no further. YNQ has teased listeners with three impressive EP's (Elle's Theme, The Bomb Shelter, and Uno Esta). But who is YNQ? Well, hip hop enthusiasts will recognize the producer, the always busy Madlib. As YNQ, Madlib masquerades as Malik Flavors, Monk Hughes, Ahmad Miller, Joe McDuffrey and his true namesake, Otis Jackson Jr. But you've heard Madlib before producing and Mcing on Quasimoto and Lootpack projects. YNQ's first full length, "Angles Without Edges" takes the listener on a jazzy, hip hop, funky voyage that could sound like the soundtrack to anyone's typical day. Throughout this mostly instrumental 19 track journey, Madlib also educates. On tracks like `The Birth of YNQ' he breaks down the different instruments (Fender Rhodes, vibraphone, electric bass, kalimba, arp odyssey, arp string ensemble, 8 track synthesizer, SP12 & MPC 2000 drums, percussion & thangs, electric guitar, electric clarinet E7, Wurlitzer electric piano, samples & loops, omnichord, EPS Ensoniq Workstation, and a electric band synthesizer) used on the album as well as the musical direction of what actually happens when all five of his alter egos comes together. Besides his intoxicating original material Madlib has a few funk injected renditions of some classics... Ramsey Lewis' "Sun Goddess," Walter Bishop Jr.'s "Keeper of My Soul," and the always appealing "Daylight" by Ramp which is very recognizable from A Tribe Called Quest's Bonita Applebaum. With all the sample based albums that have and will come out (Welcome to Detroit, Petestrumentals, Time to Chill, Lost Change et. al) it's nice to five guys can come together as one, literally, and put out a tight album.

Although seemingly an obscure musical quartet, this is actually another alias for one of Hip-Hop's busiest (and consistently Excellent) producers "Madlib". By taking a decidedly jazz approach to the composition of songs (with all the instruments played by Mablib himself), and then carefully overlaying, or in some cases very subtly layering fragments of Hip-Hop alongside the prominent jazz improvisation. This rough cut N Paste approach to the development of tracks, allows Madlib to wildly vary the degree to which the tracks are imbued with beats & grooves. With some tracks sounding more in line with contemporary jazz (albeit with a decidedly abstract feel), and several running along similar lines on his other jazz/Hip-Hop Fusion album "Shades of Blue" with the layering of instrumental downbeat Hip-Hop grooves clearly audible, and creating a far more fusionist sound...and its probably these tracks that are the most accessible tracks on the album, creating a largely carefree & freewheeling sound. The later segment of the album touches on the more experimental end of Jazz with creative arrangements and doubled up sampling, and a refined element of Avant garde instrumentation quickly finding it's feet. Jazz Purists may bemoan the lack of coherence throughout the album (skipping from style to style in a decidedly carefree manner), but the rest of us that welcome the idea of a predominantly instrumental album, will find much to enjoy....highly recommend.

I first heard 4 of these songs as soundtracks to "Bumps" during Cartoon Network's "Adult Swim" line up. There would be a random shot of somewhere in Tokyo and these songs would play. The last "bump" listed the artists. I finally found the songs that I was looking for on this album.

This is going to be one of those CD's that you always want with you. "Papa", "the One Who Know", and "Paladium" are infectious. You can't keep your head from nodding and feet from tapping. This album is fused with so many element. Jazz, R&B, and Hip Hop. This is a keeper.

Madlib is one of the most innovative musicians or [producers] in today's hip-hop and jazz scene. Going by different aliases and names all with the same sound, Madlib has gathered new and old music alike, to give to listeners of every age. With obvious jazz percussionism and rhythms, the sound of Yesterday's New Quintet, uses arrangements, intermissions, and hidden vocals to stir up a lounge feel. The beginning track, Prelude, starts us off with a serious laid back mood. The bass and drum effect prepares you for a chillout session, though this isn't really labeled as a chillout CD. The 2 tracks, Uno Esta and Hot Water, with the harmony and creativity of the Fender Rhodes reminds of the hip hop feel. Almost every track places you in either a mood to move with the three stripes of Adidas or write a hook of your own. The last track is an excellent way to seal the album shut; Broken Dreams is a bland yet haunting ballad with a repeating harmony. Angels Without Edges may have to grow on you, but eventually you'll be able to curl up and chill, write, vibe, open up, and converse to rhythms of the creative and innovative, MADLIB.

but i would just like to point out (because i've not yet read a review where this was mentioned) that the song Paladium is a nifty little reworking of Palladium by Weather Report. you can even hear Jaco's funky @ss bassline (apparently sampled then somehat buried). that's all.

It is every bit worth of 4 stars. When I first heard this album, I thought it would be a rap project of some sorts; but it wasn't. It was an instrumental album. The first couple of listens, I didn't care for it and didn't play it. Some 3 months later, put it in the deck and listened to it while cleaning house, and loved every bit of it. Favorite stand out track "Little Girl". I gave the cd more props when I heard "Mestizo Eyes" on Adult Swim.

All and all, its a nice album.



P.S. I hear Stevie is better.

Simply put, I really like how this record grooves.
A lot of instrumental hip-hop-ish records tend to just run a beat
for two or three minutes, but not Madlib (performing here as YNQ though he plays everything himself). He plays on top of the grooves on various instruments and gives the tracks a lot of life and breath.

Not that this is a hip-hop record, instrumental or otherwise;
this belongs in the jazz section, just not next to the Coltrane or even the George Howard. It's different and funky. Unlike the album title, the music has MAD edge. Definitely for fans of DJ Shadow and his ilk.

I've listened to this recording several times now and I've concluded that it has a very mysterious appeal. It's not quite jazz, although it certainly utilizes some jazz harmonies and improvisatory freedom but Angles Without Edges walks the line between jazz and hip hop. As a matter of fact, this album would sit quite uncomfortably on the record shelves if it were surrounded by recordings by the likes of Miles Davis, John Coltrane or Wayne Shorter. One man band and producer, Madlib, really comes up with some excellent grooves and uses them to good effect and gets a wide range of interesting sounds out of his synthesizers. Unfortunately, as is done in a lot of hip hop, these grooves are basically driven into the ground by being looped over and over, without variation. Worse, Madlib is not a skilled keyboardist, resulting in some questionable solos. All in all, this album is an interesting experiment and does make for some compelling listening but it doesn't bear comparison to any of the recordings released by jazz's great inventors and pioneers.