Sixtoo - Jackals And Vipers In Envy Of Man

Sixtoo is an MC, producer and remixer whose association with the likes of Sage Francis, Mush Records and Anticon goes way back to the start of his career. Based in Montreal (also home to Godspeed You! Black Emperor and lately, Amon Tobin), Sixtoo has pioneered his own brand of dark, intricate, instrumental hip-hop since the release of his underground classic Antagonist Survival Kit. New offering Jackals And Vipers... doesn't disappoint. Sixtoo's production has little in common with the baroque drum architecture of DJ Shadow, nor with the indie-influenced, glitch-ridden beats of his Anticon collaborators. The drums on Jackals and Vipers... range from distorted boom bap to heavy jazz, while the melodic components move lithely between John Carpenter horror dynamics, echo-led dub experimentation, raw funk, and post-rock atmospherics. With each of the 13 tracks simply called Part 1, Part 2 etc., Sixtoo takes the listener on a purely instrumental journey. So much of modern hip-hop is throwaway, with easy samples and familiar hooks - with Sixtoo, the quality of the music speaks for himself. This is hip-hop as art. [Bram Gieben]