Low Budget Environments Striving for Perfection

Sam Lunsford returns to Stones Throw not with an R&B head-trip in the vein of Exotic Worlds and Masterful Treasures, his 2018 full-length debut for the label, but with a classicist beat LP. Having already delivered a more organic and jazz-oriented instrumental set in 2021 for Mutual Intentions, Lunsford continues to flit between modes with zest, though the material here was actually produced from 2004 through 2018 and compiled with help from Stones Throw boss and veteran beatmaker Peanut Butter Wolf. Low Budget Environments is strictly comfort listening -- a glowing collage of two-minute tracks inspired by the work of revered, sampler-armed producers such as DJ Premier, Pete Rock, and J Dilla, to name a small fraction. Many familiar breaks and other sample sources and techniques are present and applied, and either tweaked or recombined with just enough ingenuity to sound fresh. Lunsford covers all the bases, from cascading electric keys on Chill & Sip, sleigh bells on Blowin Gold, and smeared strings on Errybodyguh to comically stretched vocals on Side Step and echoed horns on Flow Speed. Hes clearly more a student than an innovator, but his work here is too enjoyable to be dismissed. Its ideal for a summertime drive that clears the mind. ~ Andy Kellman