Access Rhythm [EP]

Jimmy Edgar had yet to exit his teenage years by the time he signed to Warp and released Access Rhythm, a four-track prelude to a full-length, after having developed several pseudonyms -- two of which were put to use at the same time -- for releases on labels as disparate as Merck, Poker Flat, and Audio.nl. (The only bullet point that appears to be missing in his bio might as well be his stint as a cowbell player in Channel One, at the age of two). On this brief release, he delivers instrumental hip-hop that is distinctive from most others, though it's stylistically similar to producers like Dabrye and Prefuse 73. The first three tracks have a combination of ruggedness and wooziness that followers of those two can appreciate, while the closing fourth track is more in the experimental techno vein. Opener "No Static" is the most memorable, helped in part by a random fellow Detroiter who is likely taking part in his debut and his swan song here. ~ Andy Kellman