(Photo By Band Camp)
Standing (preview)
Another beat tape was sent to The Illixer courtesy of our family over at Producers United. This producer goes by the name of MisterrCha and he is repping for the UK. At just 17 years old, he skillfully blends the genres of: Hip-Hop, Trap, and EDM/Electronica. This can be experienced along with the Euro influence he brings to the boards on his latest EP, Standing. Released in November of last year, here are some of the tracks that stand out on the abstract project.
“Simba”
This track is like African tribal music meeting a video game level. The vibe starts off with tribal chanting, before dropping into a Polka sounding synthesizer that carries on for almost the entire track. The percussion is made up of a light kick, static shocked snare, and small congas in the background. The song switches up a bit after every 8 bars, and the chorus seems to fit where the breaks/synth solos are. The chanting comes in a few times throughout the song as an added drop which plays on the feel, although I would have liked to hear those types of sounds used more frequently to add more layers to the song.
“Final Showdown”
One of the more Hip-Hop tracks on the EP, this one has a nice new school meets old school vibe to it. Built upon a boom bap break sample, he does a great job layering the existing sounds with the proper computer like kicks and stretched snare. He laces it all with little bouncy background shakes and synth choir voices , a la Kanye West during his 808s & Heartbreak period. There is a nice soft melody added with backing piano and a nice break down towards the end, where he adds some airy synth sounds before wrapping up the track with the piano and another powerful vocal sample. It’s probably one of the most polished tracks on the project.
“All Out”
Though this one is late in the beat tape, it shouldn’t be overlooked. This is a nice little groovy joint which puts you in the mind of a Pharrell or Neptunes track. It opens with a spaced-out synth, then leads into a 8 bar section of a dope guitar with a salsa-esque set of percussions. It builds on this for 8 more bars adding computer blips for a nice layering of sounds. It ramps it up during the chorus by adding strings and ending the chorus with a breakdown that adds the perfect spacey synth. The track shines after the second chorus as it switches up to synth and heavy kicks, adding so much more to the mix; likely my favorite track on the entire tape.
**Final Thoughts: Overall, this is definitely not just Hip-Hop but a genre blurring effort. The songs all fit together and work well with one another, however some of the tracks are left a little thin in terms of sounds and layering which take away from the entire production. There are other tracks on the tape that are dope (“Casket” and “Cosmo Adventurus Girl”) and they show the potential in MisterrCha as a producer as well. -Real McCoy
