Beat Dimensions, Vol. 2

Copped this comp a few weeks back and it's been on steady rotation in my car ever since. It may be winter and miserable outside but it's never too cold for your stereo to do its thang. This is seriously great, an example of how helpful a solid compilation can be in introducing you to truly dope stuff. 75% of the artists here are new to me and they're 100% amazing.



The CD's a collection of tunes from a series of 12"s put together by Jay Scarlett and Cinnaman, repping Munich and Amsterdam, respectively. And the artists on the disc range from everywhere (well, if the throughout the USA and Europe counts as "everywhere"), a decent number hailing from the beat haven Los Angeles has become.

LA's Nosaj Thing kills it early on. "Fwd" descends into a sinister, lilting rhythm. Feels like the beat's falling right out from under you. I just want to loop those first 5 seconds over and over.

Tiago, part of Scottish collective LuckyMe, is on some Star Wars shit with "Babel Fish." You know the wonderful bass of a Death Star explosion, that huge sound that just obliterates the "pow pow pow" of laser canons and X-Wing jets and repair droids? (Yeah yeah, no sound in space, whatever.) These huge swells of sound go down on this track and they just dim out everything else for a few seconds. Brilliant.

Back to Los Angeles for Exile's "Super Robot." Dude samples the best track ever to hit #2 on the UK Singles Chart. I was so psyched when I heard that first "ah" come in.

Nosaj Thing, "Fwd"

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Tiago, "Babel Fish"

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Exile, "Super Robot"

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Beat Dimensions, Vol. 2 is out on Rush Hour. Here in the states, grab it from Turntable Lab.