Although I neglected to include it in my year-end list back in December, Brooklyn label Astro Nautico’s Atlantics Vol. 2 compilation was one of my favorite albums of 2012. There are over 40 tracks on it and every single goddamn one is incredibly dope. I’m sure the “Most Played” filter on my iPod would show at least seven of the top ten occupied by Atlantics tracks. The release of Vol. 2 sort of triggered a personal phase of being obsessed with minimal instrumental hip-hop, footwork, and vaporwave, which is something that I am still going through. So when I heard Vol. 3 was coming out on 4/20, I got pretty stoked.
When I first sat down to listen to the whole thing (32 tracks clocking in at just under two hours), I was so excited to hear each track that I don’t think I got through the entirety of any of them. Damn Bandcamp with all those little play buttons just staring at you. That’s why you gotta just download it — for free! I’ve now listened to all of it, and it’s even richer and more diverse than Vol. 2. Like Astro Nautico says, “There’s sure to be something for everyone.” Okay, maybe not for your Bieber-fevered cousin or your neighbor with the stick in his ass, but there is truly stuff from all across the beat-oriented board.
Some randomly generated highlights: juicy jazzy hip-hop beats from Italian producer Morpheground, downtempo R&B reworkings by Rimar, ghetto minimal tracks from Tom Richman and Kon, abstract noise grooves from htrspltn and Lotide. Oh man, and that first track by Morgan Hislop is sooo good. Feels a bit like Merriweather Post Pavilion at the start there, no?
• Astro Nautico: http://astronautico.com
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