By the end of 2014, when Wun Two released his infamous Penthouse project, the idle German beatmaker was just beginning to gain recognition beyond, possibly, his intention. With millions of monthly streamers now in his grasp, the crate digger now has more opportunity in his musical journey.
He had recently released Medicine Lake, a project which exemplifies the warmth of the sun through his sample-heavy beat production. It seems that the producer plans to extract something different from the instrumental beat scene, to father a sub-genre of sounds from the sun, and intertwine cultural noises together.
Vinyl pressing for ‘We Talk Tomorrow.’ Artwork by Ratakie for Wadada Records. Image from https://wadadarecords.bandcamp.com/
Wyl plans to do the same with jazz, adding onto hip-hop loops with their jazz instrumentation. The jazz trio is composed of Leon Mache on bass and guitar, Marco Zugner on saxophone and keys, and Leon Raum on drums. It seems that the group has seen initial success with their debut project, Introducing, which includes Wun Two on two tracks.
Now Wun Two and Wyl have decided to work on a collaboration project together, which took place in a five-day studio session. The result is their upcoming project, We Talk Tomorrow, which displays how both acts amplify each other’s musicality.
Artwork by Ratakie for Wadada Records. Image from https://wadadarecords.bandcamp.com/
This ambition is realized right from the start with the first track, “Walk Together.” For the first minute, Raum’s cymbals sporadically dance around a sampled chime, which then bursts once the drums pelt and the Rhodes freely soars back and forth. When Mache’s strings take center stage, the other instruments whisper around them. The warmth of Mache’s guitar strings with Wun Two’s vintage sample makes for a sunny and calming instrumental.
On the track “Pockets,” Wun Two’s gritty sampling conflicts with Zugner’s chords and Mache’s strings, but they seem to pedal side by side smoothly. From here, the theme of Wun Two’s vinyl, Latin-inspired noise leads Wyl’s Jazz improv. The fact that Wyl, considering their focus is on improvisation, manages to adapt to Wun Two’s structured style is nothing short of impressive.
The track “Isa” has Zugner’s saxophone smoothly revolve around Wun Two’s delectable, hazy loop. This highlight results in euphoric play between machines and instruments, which goes to show how there are no ends when experimenting with sound. In the five-minute composition, Wun Two loops some Rhodes chords, which allows each instrument to take the limelight and encompass the loop in its own way.
The project is twelve tracks long, and each composition is just as sultry and cozy as the other. The samples are melodic and simple, and the instruments never rush to their part. Each musical choice is tempered and carefully calculated. Whichever quirky, vintage sample Wun Two chooses to use, Wyl manages to ripen the sample with their jazz palates without losing its original feeling.
Wun Two has found a counterpart to not only add on to his obscure sampling choices but to add another dimension of recorded jazz instruments over his loops, which is a nice stepping stone for both of them. We Talk Tomorrow will be released on November 12th on all platforms under Wadada Records.
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