no longer a secret to everybody! A close relative of vaporwave, “Lo-fi Hip Hop Beats” is a postmodern music genre spawned by Youtube algorithims. As I write this, over 15,000 people are are listening to Chilledcow’s stream, an endless melange of anonymous downtempo samples and rain-on-your-window breakbeats, united by a staticy vinyl hiss. From early Fairlight experiments by Trevor Horn (Art of Noise, Yes) to Kanye West and Daft Punk’s pop hit "Stronger", sample-based music has been dominant for decades, appealing equally to underground crate diggers and pop music interpolators. A more recent development in this tradition of musical recycling are Chiptunes, which consists of music inspired by the limitations of the FM synthesizer chips in vintage video game consoles. Zelda & Chill is a merging of these two contemporary traditions, featuring smooth takes on BGM from across the 2-decade old Legend of Zelda series. The sounds here range from up-front Tribe snares, monophonic keyboard lines, and moody Rhodes piano washes, transforming these indelibly nostalgic melodies into something familiar yet new. This is Mikel's 2nd album of Zelda-laced beats (1st one here), pressed on blue vinyl.

• aqua blue colored vinyl
• limited edition
• music label: GameChops 2021
• also available: Zelda & Chill 1

reviewed by philip's seedy eye 04/2019