Well out of my depth with 1 Above Minus Underground (VENTIL RECORDS V_031), but even if not steeped in the genres of trip hop, rap and beats as much as I should be, I enjoyed this avant-ish mix which is credited to Kœnig (i.e. Lukas Konig) and features an international herd of talents from America, UK, Iran and Austria. Matter of fact there’s a different rapper / soloist on each track – Nappy Nina, Moor Mother, Sensational, Dälek, Guilty Simpson, Elvin Brandhi – and for me with not a familiar name in sight, I hide at the back room of this party and try my best to fade into the wallpaper. Some of these raps are in fact so forceful and won’t-take-no that my “wallpaper” plan is already working too well – I’m now being pushed slowly past the layer of paper and directly into the fabric of the bricks.
Sonically this is also quite a box of jumping jacks, and while most of drums-perc and synths are played by Konig, there are also guest honkers on brass, guitar, sax, electronics, more synths, and something called “needle nails” played by Victoria Shen on two cuts…said nails sounding like something you may not want making contact on your turntable any time soon. Underpinning every vegetable in the broth is a heartfelt protest, a deep sense of unrest, informed by the current political and social turmoils currently burning across the globe, and reported on this record with a directness and honesty you won’t get on your telly nor in your social media feedbag. Apparently the whole crew assembled for a world premiere of this music at the Donaufestival in Krems in April 2023. One “Full Mantis”, please! (28/04/2023)