Sofies SOS Tape

California-born Sofie Fatouretchi is a former employee of Stones Throw, a creative director at global music streaming network Boiler Room, and a DJ at London-based online station NTS Radio. Sofie's SOS Tape is an expansive 24-track double LP of underground heat, ranging from brief beat sketches to spaced-out neo-soul. A handful of the names will be familiar to avid fans of the Stones Throw/Leaving Records universe -- Mndsgn pops up a few times, and artists like Jonwayne, GB (Gifted & Blessed), and Pyramid Vritra are also present -- and several artists on House Shoes' Street Corner Music make appearances as well, but plenty of other artists are new discoveries. Many of the tracks feature the type of crunchy, off-kilter beats normally associated with the underground beat scene, with the crackle of dusty old records ever-present. Some producers go for flanged-out, fuzzy psychedelic tones, such as DJ Harrison. Others favor mellow jazz/soul-inflected sounds, like the gentle guitars and drums circling around the booming beats during TUAMIE's "Prettybrowneyes." PoptartPete emerges as one of the more impressive up-and-comers. His solo track "RedBeanBun (One4Sofie)" rearranges a sentimental soul vocal into something hectic and scattered, pulling apart its yearning message into something more intense than the singer originally intended. The producer is also responsible for "L7 (Inspiredorbiting)" by Oliver the 2nd, surrounding the MC's laid-back rhymes with sluggish beats, smooth guitar licks, and chimes. Stimulator Jones and Charlotte Dos Santos contribute sensuous R&B numbers, and Clark & the Community (who previously surfaced on Seven Davis, Jr.'s Future Society compilation) serves up a supremely warped slice of acid gospel titled "Dahmers Boy." Near the end of the set, American saxophonist Braxton Cook stretches out with a seven-minute jazz-funk odyssey called "Ooooo." Needless to say, there is a lot to feast on here. ~ Paul Simpson