Keys N Krates give us and idea of what hiphop might sound like if it were played by jam band. That description however is flawed--The phrase "jam band" has connotations of noodling and musical masturbation, and KNK do not participate in such antics. What they do is live remixing of hiphop songs--the dj generates the acapella vocals and scratching, and the instrumentals are left up to the Keyboardest and Drummer, which are generated on the spot. Dont beleive that this is awesome? Check out their version of Talib Kweli's Get BY. It will force you to edit your concept of live remixing.
I first witnessed the magic of Keys N Krates earlier this year at the Brooklyn Hip hop festival, where they finished their first set and then, because they were so gosh darn good, came back for a second set. They are based in Toronto, which was fairly surprising to me...i guess we shouldnt totally discount Canada as a place from which to get credible hiphop.
KNK do a lot of things right--Their music is available online for free, their live shows are fun, and they seem be the perfect medium between Girl Talk(whose remixes are rapid fire), and conventional mashups (one song, one mashup). Some have said that they should incorporate a rapper into their sound, and to them say, a rapper could not deliver the vocals to these songs better than the sampled artists, so why mess with that? If you are looking for a band to make you bob your head like its 94', give KNK a chance, they will not dissapoint.
Check out their version of Fu Gee La!
No comments:
Post a Comment