An-ten-nae presents Acid Crunk Vol. 2 is an essential component to the musical lives of those who love West Coast sound. What West Coast sound exactly IS, no one can really say- but listen to this album and you can practically hear the crushing waves of the Pacific Ocean, the strange sizzle of city streets, and the hyped-up yet laid back ethos that pervades the culture in this slice of the world.
Acid Crunk Vol. 2 never relies on an accelerated tempo to deliver its energy or to make the dance floor move, yet accomplishes both feats with flying colors. It has a bass backbone made of steel from which it draws its strength, allowing for exploratory extremities and a head of feral fire. The compilation album features some of the most talented producers in the world today in the realm of dubstep, glitch hop, experimental hip hop and all of their mutant cousins. It is a cocktail of styles- a Long Island Iced Tea, actually, with each component just as strong and kick-ass as the next. When you finish it, your brain will be buzzing and your limbs will be loose. And you will want another round.
Mimosa is an integral part of the underground electronic music movement in San Francisco, an area whose thick history of artistic and technological innovation has made it a fertile land for the exploration of experimental street bass future sound.
With Flux For Life, Mimosa takes a quick trip around the unknown universe, solidifying his important place in West Coast Sound by delivering a unique take on the crunchy, twisted basslines, sick-man samples and enveloping breath of the back space. Deep yet soaring sounds combine with grinding bass and face-slapping vocals to make for an engaging, zero gravity experience.
Flux for Life takes your hand and starts of unassumingly with “Dead Like Me.” Like a man with no soul, this track is shadowy and unobtrusive as it leads you to the water’s edge. Filled with negative space and empty breath, it lies with wide wings over the earth and then backs out of the room.
The title track, “Flux for Life,” sends a shot of electricity down the spine with its buzzing beat layers and feeling of rich expanse. If this track were a photo, it would be panoramic. Just as you sense your body floating off into oblivion, the slicing vocal samples jerk you back to right now with a ‘woot woot!” A short leap takes you to the next track, “F.T.A.M.F.”, and after a light-as-air intro, heavy drums thunder in with a chewy bassline to pull you further into another world, like a froggy fat man dragging you away while his young cousin skips along beside with a funny look on his face saying, “Yep I’m a muh-fuhhah…” You laugh as you are being hauled off through the dirt, unconcerned as to where you might be going.
“ETG” brings back trippy lasers on a space-plane and injects the album with a juice-shot of energy. The bass sounds almost cubed, so deep and horizontal and heavy that it inhabits you. Crispy sounds of an unknown alien language and sharpening swords pick up the vibe; this music would be equally at home in a dark forgotten forest or on a slick silver moon station. “Serious” unrolls like a multicolored staircase from a childhood dream, existing only for you to climb. Where it ends, no one knows- except for the crawling creatures that poke their heads through the smoky haze to watch you ascend.
The album closes with a gallop and a distinct dubstep feel with “The Unseen.” Childlike vocals add a layer of creep to the filth, and with a clean bounce Flux for Life flies off into the ethersphere, bound for the next listener, the next party, and the next planet.
Acid Crunk Vol. 2 never relies on an accelerated tempo to deliver its energy or to make the dance floor move, yet accomplishes both feats with flying colors. It has a bass backbone made of steel from which it draws its strength, allowing for exploratory extremities and a head of feral fire. The compilation album features some of the most talented producers in the world today in the realm of dubstep, glitch hop, experimental hip hop and all of their mutant cousins. It is a cocktail of styles- a Long Island Iced Tea, actually, with each component just as strong and kick-ass as the next. When you finish it, your brain will be buzzing and your limbs will be loose. And you will want another round.
