MOLASSES
"MADNESS (CONVERSATIONS WITH MY SANITY) EP"
Molasses
was born and raised in the middle of a corn field in lonely small
town Indiana, Molasses (Michael van Olden) had quite a different
perspective on the music world. With no hip hop clubs to hang out
in, Molasses lived much of his hip hop years reading trade magazines,
watching Soul Train, YO! MTV RAPS and BET. He has worked with a
handful of well established acts, including Cypress Hill. A renowned
break beat archivist, he is the man behind the popular Drum Crazy
series and the Finger Juice - Broke Beats album. Madness was recorded
at The Glue Factory, Automator's private home studio where records
by DJ Shadow, Dr. Octagon, Blackalicious, and DJ Q-Bert were born.
"Madness is one of the most stark ambient records in some time."
-CMJ
"Headphone symphonies."
-NOW Magazine, Toronto
"Acid Jazz is dead, ambient is cliche, and everything else
claims to be hip hop these days. So what am I left with in trying
to describe a mini-LP that could easily and lazily be described
as any of the above? This record is about mood, broken down into
two sides entitled 'Darkness' and 'Light'. The difference is minimal,
but the standout is the beautifully composed 'Curiosity (What It
Is),' an instrumental track begging for a Terry Callier vocal overlay.
All five tracks on this EP invade your subconscious, subtly grabbing
hold and shaping an emotional response with the use of cleverly
layered pianos, woodwinds and guitars, molded perfectly to head-nodding,
slo-mo beats. This is an emotional and spiritual journey of textures
and beats, as perfect for rainy days indoors as it is on a park
bench in the sun."
-Alternate Press
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