Found Sound #4 Subtle

As I write this article I am listening to the new Regina Spektor album, so keep that in mind if any of you are rap purists. I was first attracted to Subtle based on their cover art to their new album for hero: for fool, as can be seen above. Rarely do I see a hip hop album with something that could be considered art on the cover, most often it consists of the emcee with some sort of muscle shirt and jewelry. Anyhow, after reading the Pitchfork review I thought I should check them out on Wikipedia, unfortunately they don’t exist there and so my information for you is limited. First though, listen and watch this video, it will be the hook to draw you in to the rest of the article.



Okay, so here is what I know about Subtle, they consist of emcee DoseOne and five other guys who make up the live band, this includes a cello player. They consistently make quick paced, almost frantic hip hop and yet there are times when the music shifts into something that could most nearly be called electronic ambiance. It is exciting and loud. In the end it is hard to define or even explain the music so check it out for yourself, you can listen to a variety of tracks from this and previous recordings at their website.

Subtle are from the Anticon collective who has brought us other great hip hop artists such as Why?, Sage Francis, Slug and Ant. Anticon seems to be the avant garde answer to mainstream hip hop, pushing the envelope with members introducing electronic, ambient even progressive rock elements into the usual fair. What makes them especially interesting is that they also have a consistently intelligent and inovative lyrical style to their ryhmes, in the same vein as many of the Minnesota based Rhymesayers emcees.

So if you dig local artists such as Atmosphere, Brother Ali and Heiruspecs be sure to check out some of the artists from the Anticon group. Finally, enjoy this live performance from Subtle, wait a few seconds, there is a small introduction but the video and music are well worth it.