Ancient Astronauts – “We Are To Answer”
June 20, 2009 by Dennis Amith
Label: ESL Music
Release Date: 29th June 2009
Catalogue Number: ESL147
Stop the press – golden era hip hop reinvents itself and lands in Cologne in the guise of Europe’s funked-up hip hop space duo Ancient Astronauts.
‘We Are To Answer’ blends spaced out vibes and atmospheric soundscapes, trippy interludes collide with deep bass and dub to create some classic head-nod moments. ‘Classic’ itself showcases the Ancient Astronauts sound perfectly: flutes and bass expertly ridden by hip hop dons The Pharcyde, manifesting in a homage to the golden-era of hip hop that has obviously influenced the pair.
‘Dark Green Rod’ provides a shot of organically funky drum & bass, while the downtempo trip hop vibes of ‘A Hole To Swallow Us’ and ‘Lost In Marrakesh’ will have you sinking into the sofa and blazing another fat one. Jazzy boom-bap is the order of the day on ‘Risin High’, featuring the rhyming styles of Raashan Ahmed (of Crown City Rockers fame), before Reggae legend Tippa Irie adds his toastings to the summertime vibes of ‘All Of The Things You Do’.
Heavily influenced by the funk, soul and jazz heavy hip hop of the mid-nineties, it’s no surprise to hear Ancient Astronauts list the likes of De La Soul, ATCQ, Madlib, Pete Rock and J Dilla as inspirations, and flashes of this sound can be found across the album. Melding old school hip hop, funk and dub-reggae with forward thinking flair and production, the duo of Kabanjak and Dogu come from Cologne with a fresh take on quality, contemporary hip hop with soul.
The pair also find the time to run their own label – Switchstance – and through this have championed quality sounds from Germany, working with the likes of Fort Knox Five, Jungle Brothers, Zion I & The Grouch, Kid Loco and more. Now ready to step out from behind the production desks and DJ decks, Ancient Astronauts present an LP that we’ll leave them to sum up in their own words…”a musical trip through the cosmos returning back to earth with spacey flutes, intergalactic lyrics and earthy drum beats”. Sounds good, hitch a lift with them from June 29th.
www.myspace.com/ancientastronautsswitch
www.switchstancerecordings.de
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