Depakote Tummler

So I gotta admit... I've been in a bit of a musical rut lately. Nothing has really sounded good. You know those times where everything sounds the fucking same? Welcome to my life for the past few weeks. It took randomly stumbling across a beatbaker from my hometown area to really reignite my ears and remind me that there is actually fresh stuff being put out there.

This featured track, "Tummler," will surprise you. It starts off with a quiet, incredibly depressing sample that talks about suicide but then totally flips and jumps into a fresh remix of Jose Gonzalez's "Heartbeats." I was absolutely floored to hear his take on the track -- a completely revamped remix that has awesome drops and swings.

What I loved is that he totally destroys the original, but doesn't do it in your typical Hypem-esque way. He actually takes the time to rethink the song altogether, enhancing its sound by adding samples, claps and extra beats rather than just simply speeding it up or clashing it with another artist. There's some serious, quality DJing going on here. A new bar definitely set by Garden Grover Erik Lopez, the creator behind Depakote.

Depakote's The Gummo Album is a winner, a beautiful mix of heavy and smooth that brings together jazzy elements, underground hip-hop beats and rare samples. Songs like "Chloe Sevigny" literally made me stop in my tracks (I was biking when it came on and needed to check the title). Favorites like "One 4 Pat" reassured me that Erik picked the perfect name for a drop like this, since listening to these tracks would just be like doing depakote. Seriously, it's a manic mix that may induce dizziness and possible hallucinations. That's a good thing.

You can download all Depakote's stuff for free by checking out his Last.fm page, but make sure to support Erik's work by following him on Facebook and Twitter.