09.03.2010
Replicants on the dance floor
It’s been a little while since I posted up some muzak, and indeed, Def Jux founder El-P’s Weareallgoingtoburninhellmegamixxx3 could easily be what you would listen to while on hold with your insurance company, or riding the elevator to your office, in some far flung, totally awesome version of the future that’s absolutely never going to happen. Although I guess it wouldn’t be that awesome if you still had to deal with insurance company goons, or even still had to take elevators for that matter, instead of just, you know, teleporting everywhere. Man, even in the cool versions of the future things still suck. It’s hard to get excited about shit when you view the world with pessimism-colored glasses, I guess.
Nonetheless, I’m not convinced that we are all actually going to burn in hell either. After all, hell is just the evil, entirely black licorice version of Candyland that you go to if you don’t follow all of King Kandy’s stupid rules. And the logic of pessimism doesn’t really apply to the illogical world of fairy tales, or religion, whatever term you prefer.

Moving away from that particular train of thought, as its sole destination is the township of heated arguments and hurt feelings… if there’s anything that could easily distract you from an uncomfortable conversation about religion, it’d be El-P’s newest monster of an instrumental album. Known for his method of throwing equal parts boom-bap and Blade Runner in a blender, and seeing what kind of electronic hip-hop mutant comes out, Megamixxx3 is probably El-Producto’s most refined work to date. Paranoia and menace run thick throughout the album’s 46-minute run time, as entire dystopian cityscapes throb in your mind. This is a soundtrack for the type of sci-fi that’s drenched with smog and sin, providing the impeccable bassline behind the urban sprawl’s evil, mechanical heart.
El-P - Meanstreak (in 3 parts)However, this is far from an ambient album — lush walls of sound are constructed with meticulous care, dripping with synths, strings, and the chirping of small robotic insects. All the while, truly inhuman, lumbering beats march out of your speakers, keeping your head bobbing and no doubt inspiring some genuinely mean bass faces across the nation.
Staying faithful to his own ultramodern microcosm, El-P’s tracks have the attention span of a future raised on streaming video and smart phone apps. Most of the segments clocks in around the two-minute mark, masterfully evolving into the next section to create a relentless, ominous atmosphere with loads of sci-fi swagger. Highly recommended for that last post-apocalyptic themed pool party of the summer.