The Content Label Vinyl, CD & Tape 5 Items

Hand numbered pressing!

The Content Label presents an evocative album titled Mirror World by Budapest based beat-maker Kovacs the Hun. Born Nándor Kürtössy in northern Hungary, Kovacs is known for his groundbreaking album Five Finger Discount under the name Savages, and his involvement with the musical project Savages y Suefo. Mirror World features a sonic palette of hip hop, jazz, and eerie soundtracks mixed colorfully with experimental treatments and traditional musical influences. Mirror World reflects all of Kovacs’ fascinations — sounds and genres coming together on a collective surface. At times, Mirror World resembles chamber jazz — or, perhaps, ‘free jazz’ — with brushed drums, lurking horns, and cunning keys providing the backbone. Flavored drops of percussion, turntable scratches, or rhythm hints at contemporary roots, but Kovacs presents something that is outside-of-time. He stretches out on the instrumental tracks, displaying moods that move freely from ominous to reassuring. Guest artists add to this bubbling concoction. World-renowned Saxophonist András Wahorn adds instrumentation to the creeping strut of “Manimals” and “Glimpse of Hope”; The Audible One drops quotable verses on “Phoney”; guitarist Márton Süto plays spacious guitar on the worldly “The Countdown”; and the Minnesota based poets & activists, Guante and See More Perspective inject social commentary into “Long March.” Kovacs’ Mirror World is a distinctive statement, not sounding quite like anything else. The album’s ten tracks, impeccably produced and musically proficient, are an adventure in listening. Embark now on a sonic journey. The project is executive produced by Dday One and features original artwork and design by Dckne.

Years in the making, Notes From The Underground is an essential and evocative album from acclaimed producers Gone Beyond and Mumbles. The journey began when Cut Chemist enlisted the duo to participate in a 2007 concert series titled Pravda, held at the Walt Disney Concert Hall in Los Angeles. The series was a tribute to the Russian classical musicians living under the rule of Joseph Stalin, primarily Mosolov, Shostakovich, and Prokofiev. One night featured DJs and producers incorporating these works into their beats and included the likes of DJ Spooky, and Amon Tobin. Gone Beyond and Mumbles spent months scouring through hundreds of recordings from various classical performances and put together five tracks for the show.

Ten years later and the spark of this performance has ignited into a full album, made even more relevant by current events and the socio-political atmosphere. Notes from the Underground is named after Dostoyevsky's classic existential novel, pointing the way to the themes presented by the music. The album is an artistic commentary on the ability of the human spirit to overcome oppression, adversity, and fascism. Gone Beyond and Mumbles have remixed and given a modern, empowered voice to the great composers of Russia who wrote under the yoke of Stalin during the early 20th Century, exposing the struggles and this compelling music to a new generation.

The remarkableness of the project is transmitted in how natural the contemporary beats sound accompanying these vintage compositions. Take “Apropos for the Wet Snow” which uses a melancholy piano motif and flavors it with dusty rhythms, subtle, staccato horn blasts, and echoing soundscapes. Rather than obscuring the feeling of the original piece the production embellishments serve to enhance. “Knight In The Panther’s Skin” is another extraordinary moment, including lush strings, gentle piano, and an operatic vocal over the drums for an, especially dramatic effect.

Gone Beyond and Mumbles previously collaborated on the 2005 album S.E.V.A. for Mush Records and on 2012’s A Duet For Space And Time 10” for The Content Label. Both producers are revered as beat-making legends, with an expressive sonic palette that takes the listener deep into the duo’s mindset. Notes From The Underground is a startling and important document from Gone Beyond and Mumbles, and a welcome return of this collaboration to The Content Label. Hip-hop sampling and remixing is a powerful way to interpret classic themes, and Notes From The Underground is meant to stir the listener toward thought, motivation, and empowerment in these challenging times.

The Content Label presents a dynamic new split EP from Lex (de Kalhex) and Dday One, titled “Parallel Presence”. The EP’s title reveals some clues: ‘parallel’ refers to something similar to another, while ‘presence’ imagines a thing that exists but is not seen. These two producers, as kindred spirits, strive to work on this deeper level. Parallel Presence is an expressive step forward, presenting intricate beats, thoughtful samples, and otherworldly vibes colluding towards a mesmerizing whole.

Los Angeles based producer Dday One bookends the EP with “Key Signature” and “Moving Force”, displaying his undisputed acumen for rhythm construction and skillful arrangement. The opening track, in particular, is a beat-head’s manna, featuring a serpentine bass line, staccato vocals, and heavy piano riffs, all synchronized at a headnodic tempo. Alex Besikian aka Lex (de Kalhex) is a visual artist, producer, and MC, known as the co-founder of Paris’s Akromégalie Records and 1/3 of seminal French hip hop group Kalhex. His cuts “Brilliant Circles” – with its night owl drum beat, tinkling electric keys, and gentle horn line – and “Solstice” – featuring ringing tones, bluesy guitar riffs, velvet saxophone, and some serious rhythm play – uncannily compliment Dday One’s contributions, cementing “Parallel Presence” as an EP best ingested from front to back.

Visual and audio art also come together in the project’s cover design, which was a collaborative effort of the two producers. The Content Label aims to bring together distinct forms of expression, with sound, thought, and visual art combining through the imprint’s releases. “Parallel Presence” is just the latest evidence.

The Content Label, Los Angeles’s ‘experiential’ hip hop imprint, rarely signs an artist based on a demo, but an impressive delivery from Japan recently broke the trend. Recorded by Salty – AKA Tokyo-based producer / videographer Naoya Ninomiya – the demo arrived as a nearly complete object, ready for dissemination to the global hip-hop headz-space. The songs have been mastered by legendary Japanese hip-hop studio engineer ‘The Anticipation Illicit’ Tsuboi and, with Dday One acting as executive producer it is now ready to be unveiled as the thirteen track album Camera. It’s a fantastic audio journey that gives a glimpse into Japanese beat-making prowess while sitting proudly within the instrumental hip hop echelon. With “Camera”, Salty showcases a diverse set of styles and an acumen for rhythmic patterns and tone, developed through his years of crate-digging and experimentation. And there are many moments to claim as highlights … “Remonoganac” with its gentle piano, atmospheric textures, and tough beats; the laid-back hip hop funk and scratches of “ADSL”; the smoky downtempo vibe of “The Sea Came At Midnight” is reminiscent of sounds of classic Dj Krush; and “Melting In The Dark” with its cinematic layers and haunting vocal. These all qualify for honors, among other possible choices. With Camera, a compelling portrait of Salty as a rising star on the beat-making scene has emerged and The Content Label is on the case.
Vinyl version is limited to 300 copies worldwide. The executive Producer is Dday One.