Various Artists/Peanut Butter Wolf – Chrome Children (Stones Throw/Adult Swim/Creative Vibes)

It’s hip hop beats, slightly twisted, warped under the sun yet funky as all getout, it’s the Stones Throw teaming up with US cable animation program Adult Swim for a compilation of funky groves and not quit right beats. The big names are here firstly Peanut Butter Wolf as executive producer whatever that means, MF Doom, the late J Dilla, Madlib, Percee P, Quasimoto, and Oh No amongst others. Of courser Madvillian’ Monkey Suite is a highlight, the music itself is strangely pitched falling in and out of key yet never losing tempo, with the man in the mask spitting out some strange riddles above it all. Roc C gets all motivational over some old soul records, Gary Wilson combines some porno wah wah guitar with almost evangelical synth coming out with a laidback funk number, new hope for soul Georgia Anne Muldrow offers an ecstatic vocal based number called Simply a Joy, and Baron Zen offers an interesting percussion jam that feels like it should be existing on a world music cd. Madlib’ cut Take it Back with it’s never annoying though highly repetitive Kazoo action effortlessly draped over episodic beats and low key delivery is a further example of this innovative crew tearing at the conventions of what hip hop can be. There’ also a second DVD disc from a concert at SXSW, which heavily features the rosters two biggest stars MF Doom and Madlib bouncing happily around the stage.