Seamlessly weaving a multitude of genres of electronic music into a compilation album is a daunting task. Particularly when trying to create a collective sound and whilst still showcasing the intricacies of each individual artist. It is a challenge that is superbly met by the seventh instalment of the Free The Beats (FTB) series, Free The Beats Vol. 7. Delivering an assortment of tunes by bedroom producers from Sydney and all across Australia, ranging from future beats, leftfield hip-hop, experimental glitch, and sample-based electronica, Daniel O’Toole (aka Ears) and Jack Prest’s FTB collective is doing incredible things for local electronic music.
This release presents a significantly more mellow undertaking from the usual hard beats that FTB has come to be known and loved for. The first track ‘Melting Paraiso’ by Adelaide producer Oisima, opens up proceedings with waves of escalating ambience, dropping into a solid head nod-able groove when the beat kicks in, with effected vocal samples dotting the soundscape sporadically. More laidback and ambient efforts are put forward by Dance, Candles with the song ‘Mae’, a bell and chime ridden track that is so deeply ethereal, it’s impossible not to sink into the most enveloping state of relaxation. ‘Driftwood ft. Evan Jones’ by Forcefields is a bass-heavy yet soulful song that will easily please the true dubstep purist.
One of the more noticeable and established names on the compilation, Jonti, offers up a much more conventional track in comparison to his recent releases, with ‘Nagoya Train Station 3am’. Maintaining the regular instrumental hip-hop form, with scattered bips and bleeps and saturated synths gives it the stamp of his signature blend of psychedelic and electronic.
The track which jerked me out of my head nodding, forcing me to pay attention and actively listen, is ‘As You Wish’ by Stackhat. Utilising field recordings and samples of everyday noises to build the rhythmic base, lying beneath layers of glitchy beat-repeated melodies and reverbed drums, it achieves a perfect balance of authentic nostalgia and escalating intensity.
A compilation that is sure to please lovers of all forms of electronic music, as well as introducing new musical styles and Australian producers, Free The Beats Vol. 7 is limited in hard copy to a run of 30 CDs housed in one of a kind material packaging, but is also available from the FTB Bandcamp as a free download, where you can also pick up the first six instalments free of charge.
Joshua Millar
