| 10 Seconds, the latest album from Jel, takes quite an innovative approach to a hip-hop album - it is entirely instrumental. While at first this might seem rather boring, it really allows the artist to focus all his attention on what is really the most important part of a hip-hop album - the beat. And as you can guess that is the most important and most pivotal part of the entire album. A native of Chicago, Jel has performed for the past seven years with the likes of Dj Quest, Atmosphere and Various Blends. His latest album is a tribute to hip-hop's past and the album's title makes reference to the small amount of sample time used by the SP-1200 - an extremely important instrument in the evolution of hip-hop. All twenty-three tracks on the album are not given your usual song titles; rather, they are given more technical names like "Multi Pitch" and "Midi Parameters" just adding to the interesting idea Jel is going for here. And the tracks are not very long - the longest is a hair over six minutes, while most are under two minutes. Tracks like "Dynamic Button" and "Select Mix" add a new dimension to the hip-hop sound by using live drums rather than electronic beats, while other tracks such as "Decay/Tune Selection" and "Special" are more ingrained in the traditional hip-hop sound. I also really enjoyed the more experimental tracks like "Define Mix" and "Subsong" that use a lot of guitar and other elements that truly add to the experience and show that the whole hip-hop concept can be expanded into other musical areas for great results. - FM Sound |
2XLP/Out Of Print