L.W.H. – Tape Hiss Hooligan (2011) [Self-Released] // Grade: B+

L.W.H., aka Aerobiz, a frequent Green Ova collaborator (you may remember him as one half of the production duo responsible for Main Attrakionz’ Chandelier) brings his first full length offering. Hailing from Texas, his sound often references what we’d expect from Texas hip hop, but most often it’s reaching for something a bit more uncanny. The samples range from Gary Numan-sounding hard-driven synths, to the subtle invocations of Erik Satie’s Gymnopédies, and everything in between. Hodge has an approach to making beats that’s certainly innovative, but it’s also in good company. To me this record seems to come at a time when an alternate wave of hip hop is not only emerging, but mounting, becoming recognizable, and to an extent developing commonly identifiable features. From XSkywlkr, to Keyboard Kid, to Squadda B, to Clams, to Silky Johnson, to Beautiful Lou, Nems270, and others there is a new sound of hip hop beginning to take shape. It isn’t mainstream. It isn’t underground. It isn’t backpack. It isn’t screw. To me it seems most like the earliest times in hip hop when Bambaata was pulling sounds from everywhere, and hip hop resembled Ray Johnson’s uniquely American irreverence and pastiche, moreso than Piet Mondrian’s obviously-old-world strict adherence to the rigors of the grid and the control of pre-ordained colors.

We’re exiting an era where the sound of hip hop was determined less by someone’s surround, and more by the adoption of a single imagined archetype. We’re re-entering a time when hip hop is a representation of the world around us, in sound, as presented by artists with a certain approach to their arrangement of those sounds. It’s the passing of two eras in one lineage as the last 10 years of strict adherence to rules, norms, and expectations have led to the rise of folks who don’t give a fuck, experiment with sounds, and generally just make music. Hodge is certainly fading in, and not out. His music is the perfect example of just taking what’s around you and making it hip hop. Dude doesn’t give a fuck if you think his samples sound like hip hop, he makes sure the drums are tough and then he does it how he does it. The result is a soundscape that reflects the value system of hip hop—drums playing a central role, engaging melodies repeated hypnotically, the ethered out atmosphere of pitched down sounds — but breaks with the idea that the sound of hip hop is only going to happen by repeating the tired mantra that produces the hip hop sounds we already know. Nah bruh, here goes proof.

I’ll be honest, some of the songs on here are stronger than others, but the album doesn’t suffer for it. I mean obviously, if the whole album had achieved the same affect as its most impressive parts it would have been better, but as it stands it’s still a strong release full of engaging material. In addition to making the beats, Hodge also picked some pretty great rappers to rap over them, and surely here, his affiliations add another level of complexity to his music. On the cover of the record Hodge looks like he just stepped off of a Roxy Music or Brian Eno (Party Eno) record next door before he arrived at Tape Hiss Hooligan. All that glam era Eno stuff with Fripp, Manzanera, Bowie, and god knows who else, had a strong social element to it. And while Hodge may not be in the same geographic location as his collaborators (Shady, Tink, Mondre, Squadda, Astrronomy, Friendzone, and) it is obvious that they share a conceptual space when it comes to music. Through social networking sites they have developed dynamic relationships that yield collaborative fruits like these. So, while they may not be partying together all the time they’re still able to produce music that they both party to at the same time, produced by partying in the same ways.

If you’re into the sounds you’ve heard from Shady, Tink, and Main Attrakz so far you’ll definitely wanna get a hold of this release. I started typing out all the songs I’m vibin to off of this tape, and I had listed at least half the tracks when I realized that it would be pointless. While this is a great record, in the end it leaves me feeling like I’ve barely begun to see what Hodge is on. It’ll be interesting to see where he goes next, and where hip hop goes next as well. Either way I’m sure there’s gonna be some overlap.

- Zachg