TeV95 Not Dead (Ft. Coldplay)

I'm floored. TeV95 seems to be producing track after track of winners. The best part of listening to hip hop isn't when you find a great song, not even a great artist -- it's when you find a great collection of music.

Listening to Crime Loops the whole way through is an experience. You aren't just picking out and choosing singles that you like; it's about process, it's about creation, it's about experience. It's also about quality sampling -- the wealth of music TeV95 draws from is really impressive. I'm always keen for artists who put earnest thought into their music samples and cultural references, so it's no surprise to find yourself tapping your feet right away to this music.

This featured track features a sweet cut-up motif of Coldplay's "42" repeating "those who are not dead/are not dead/they're just living in my head" accompanied to a repetitive beat build up that speaks to TeV95's love of loops. Spooky stuff. Also have to name drop "Mind Waves" and "Stars Are Born" as absolutely fantastic tracks that illustrate TeV95's ability to switch between ambient and jazz-y sounding sample tracks.

Crime Loops is the stolen gems of masterpieces put out by Brooklyn producer TeV95. When I say stolen gems, I literally mean stolen gems -- TeV95's Crime Loops follows the concept that artists need to break the law to create their art because today's artistic masterpieces are nearly impossible to release for sale because of outdated intellectual property laws. The concept, just like his music, is clever. While he already had me at kitsch-inspired album cover featuring Brittany Murphy, it was the immense thought put into Crime Loops that really won me over. Not to mention the fact that he puts out all his stuff for free download on bandcamp.

Crime Loops was released over a year ago but still bumps. Luckily, TeV95 continues to produce quality material, with Crime Loops 2 (the beat-edit-loop collage sequel to Crime Loops) continuing his exploration of sampling (from the classic to the obscure). His music, in his own words, "exudes a taste of urban culture with a hint of Brooklyn's art renaissance." No doubt about that; this loopy music demands you to be dancing those tapping feet around somewhere as atmospheric as Bed-Stuy.

Be sure to check out his website for a host of other cool stuff, from his Tumblr page (aptly titled "addictedtofresh") to his YouTube account that features intriguing video compilations.