ALWAYS EVERYTHING

YUK. // A D W A

Leaving Records

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One of the most fascinating aspects of the Los Angeles beats scene is the sheer diversity on offer. Far from a Brainfeeder-plus-biters scenario, there are innumerable pockets of producers furrowing unique paths that are theirs, and theirs alone. Whether its the abstract, afro-futurism of Ras G, the space age funk of Take or the madcap sample-collaging on display from P.U.D.G.E, it goes without saying that there’s a hell of a lot of pioneering beatmakers stretching the boom bap in some pretty dizzying directions- All City’s incredible (and ongoing) LA 10 series is testament to this. Delving further, an even weirder underground is unearthed. Hip hop is merely a template after all, and there are some lo fi noiseniks pulling abstractions of that structure to breaking point. One such character is ethereal newcomer Yuk.

That Yuk. is releasing his debut album via sonic compatriot Matthewdavid’s excellent Leaving Records should give anybody down on the LA underground a good starting point for the sound: an anything goes, avant garde take on beat science that could as easily be slotted into a Volcanic Tongue mailout as jammed alongside Dilla records. Where Matthewdavid’s productions border on aquatic noise and label mate Dem Hunger injects noisy futurism with oddball humour, Yuk.’s beats are characterised by a gorgeous, hazy music box quality, with hypnotic chimes and sampled sitars ebbing in and out with a looseness that has an almost freeform approach. At times the addition of disembodied vocal harmonisations give the tracks an oddly spirtual quality, with titles like “Oh Shaman” and “Greenflash (ritual)” only lending further to that aesthetic.

The texture based approach and slight noisiness give off a cursory (and superficial) nostalgia of very early Animal Collective at times, but a more intimate connection might be drawn to the densely-packed, soundscape psychedelia of James Ferraro, he of daunting discography and cult acclaim as part of unplaceable ritualists The Skaters. Teebs collaboration Onlywhenshesmiles might even find its way onto a release by Ferraro-labelmate Julian Lynch with its tangles of guitar samples. That isn’t to say that this is some difficult mess of noise that people down on instrumental hip hop will struggle to get to grips with. Given a little time the Los Angeles chemistry shines through. Adept-Ation For Dev brings to mind a sun-frazzled Flying Lotus, peaks of Sun Ra organ surfacing midway through and a bassline that you might imagine to be monumental if it wasn’t trapped in a jungle of thorny cassette fuzz. There’s no doubt the lo fidelity will be an issue for some, but its all part of the record’s idiosyncrasies, with everything layered in a decaying tropical veneer. A D W A is probably the most coherent statement of intent Leaving Records have put out to date, a brilliantly well-realised bridge between two worlds that have more in common than one might think.

Simon