Home > Album Review > Mecca:83 “Sketchbook Pieces” | Solar Sound System

Mecca:83 “Sketchbook Pieces” | Solar Sound System

September 30, 2012 Leave a comment Go to comments

Mecca:83 of Manchester, UK is an incredible producer whose works represent an earthly and organic vibe that recalls the soulful shades of 90′s hip hop production and the forays into the electronic world J Dilla shaped. Sketchbook Pieces is one of the latest free collections from this talented producer and reveals a body of work that is truly timeless. The modern influences are present but there is an energy and purpose that can only be sourced back to one man, that man of course being Mecca:83. The accumulation of the producer culture has created an entirely new sub movement within hip hop and Mecca:83 has the type of music to push this world even further.

Much of Sketchbook Pieces is steeped in a modern soul vibe that calls upon synth sounds that you can only hear today. The album begins with the groovin’ R&B inspired “Aura” and has the collaboration of Bobby Blount on vocals. It sounds like the male counterpart to what Erykah Badu has been doing for years and brings in a really nice feeling to the album from the beginning. The angelic keyboard intro on the next piece “Midnight Kids” is transfixing and shows a producer whose vision goes far beyond the normal pallet of sound in the electronic/hip hop producer world. The ending of the album is presented as a homage to one of New York’s most respected mc’s Nas with a reworking of his “One Love” acappela laced over one of his own beats. It’s a organic 90′s influenced hip hop production that matches the verse just as well as the original. The influence of J Dilla can be felt on almost every track, something that shines through more clear with Mecca:83 than it does with most other producers.

The two songs that really elevate my mind and make me listen to Sketchbook Pieces time after time is the pieces “One For Irvine” and “Swilkqa Night”. Both tracks are spiritual walks into a world where nothing else matters. Deep drum breaks, exotic washes of background sounds, elegant piano, soul drenched keys, lush samples; it’s a mesmerizing collection of music that really speaks of a deep purpose. The vibe I enter when experiencing these songs takes me to all of my most important bright moments with music.

Sketchbook Pieces from Mecca:83 is a phenomenal collection of music that can sit right along side any contemporary producer album as a record that is just as invigorating and timeless. The detail and beauty crafted into this album shows a producer whose talents and creative ingenuity have come to a centered balance. This is what the phrase “a joyful noise” is all about.

-Erik Otis

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