Blockhead: Interludes After Midnight (Ninja Tune)
“Never Forget Your Token”
[audio:https://alarm-magazine.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/04/Blockhead_Never_Forget_Your_Token.mp3|titles=Blockhead: “Never Forget Your Token”]Now five albums into his solo output, Tony “Blockhead” Simon is still more known as a hip-hop producer to the stars — well, perhaps the underground stars, producing for notables such as Del, Murs, and Aesop Rock. But ever since being asked to create a fully instrumental album, Simon has proven just as interesting on his own, offering down-tempo, sample-heavy, and (mostly) rhyme-free rap tracks (all while increasing brand awareness).
Interludes After Midnight is Simon’s tribute to his formative years in New York City, capturing assorted urban vibes with samples that span funky, electronic, and worldly sounds (with a dash of psychedelia for good measure). Manipulated and otherwise out-of-place vocal samples create a deeper sonic blend, one that weaves together disparate elements in a weird but addictive way. It’s strange and dreamlike — sort of like falling asleep while your TV and iPod are playing different songs and coalescing into an indecipherable whole.