previously known mainly for his showstopping dj skills, dj kentaro steps up the production plate and sorts out a guest list busting album that showcases his talents in the modern studio.

with such names as spank rock, pharcyde, and fellow ninja tune artists, new flesh dropping in to add some welcome words of depth, it’s very clear kentaro is both a product of his love for old school hip hop, and the more forward thinking aspects of beat production.

while the album sounds great, and does indeed hammer the speakers with its deft sonics, the problem is that kentaro is not a writer of tunes, so a lot of the album falls down on the old holding attention aspect. a viewpoint probably underwritten by the spread of styles, which, given the plentiful supply of jungle styled beats across the albums 16 tracks, makes the flow of the album somewhat uncomfortable. 

though bearing in mind i was never a big fan of drum-n-bass, this factor could be easily disregarded as not a fault of kentaro but my own narrow-mindedness.

i will definitely be spinning handmade gift as often as possible, as the big rolling orb styled dubby bass, steel band loops, and easy float away vocals, make this a soundsystem classic of the future, and the straight up hip hop tracks are all rather good, in the case of let it go (feat. fat jon), hatsuyme totally wonderful.

i would love to think that the album will impress a lot of folks out there who are looking for a beat provider for their forthcoming rhymes-n-beat projects, and in that respect, this album has done exactly what kentaro wanted, as it’s very clear that he has a serious level of skill in the studio, and with the right choice of collaborators i reckon his credits will easily be appearing on some drop dead classics in years to come.

the journey has only just started with this fascinating (and at times frustrating !) debut.

 

more detail : here