Cold Busted is pleased to finally cozy up with familiar label artist Zac Love for a much deserved album release. Lend Me An Ear marks his first full outing on the label, having previously contributed to multiple various artists compilations. There's obvious 'Love' in Zac's name, and the love in his sound is equally so … it comes from lush strings and atmospheric touches laced with drum break beatdowns. He grew up in New Jersey and is heavily influenced by the Golden Era boom bap sounds of the East Coast. Also a member of the Belmar Sol trio and record label, Zac is not afraid of spreading his musical ideas across straight-up instrumental hip-hop, chill downtempo tracks, and uptempo funk jams. Lend Me An Ear follows suit featuring the snappy drums and chopped up bright melodic content of "Choppy Waters Ahead", the vibe-laden and soul-drenched downtempo of the title track, the slightly more jazzy swing of the funk filled "Crazy Meters", and plenty of other highlights for those in search of feel good beats with plenty of traction.
DJ Moneyshot (Solid Steel Radio / NinjaTune) - "Iller than a week in bed with the flu."
Kid Loco - "Real hip hop beats."
Sunshine Jones (Dubtribe) - "Lovely soul music."
Mark Farina - "This is nice!"
Danny Massure (Spring Strut) - "Nice and groovy!"
Stereo 77 (Plimsoll Records) - "I'm almost expecting to hear Q-Tip appear in one of these tracks. Solid work!"
Dom Servini (Wah Wah 45s) - "Quality beats."
Monk-One (Names You Can Trust / Wax Poetics) - "Nice stuff. I'm digging the classic '90s boom-bap style."
Trotter (Royal Soul Records) - "Dope! I love it."
Quincy Jointz (Timewarp Music) - "I love this fresh downtempo stuff."
Yogi Haughton (Scottish Soulful Weekender) - "Killer album … right up my street."
Adam Warped (Whiskey Pickle) - "Another excellent release from what as quickly become my favorite downtempo label."
Aja Allsop (Ketch-A-Vibe Radio Show) - "These beats are magical from the start to finish … this my cup of tea."
Joan Ribas (Ibiza Soulstice Music / Cafe del Mar) - "Excellent breaks and downtempo vibes."
Marc Lacasse (sHIFT Radio Show, Canada) - "Stellar instrumentation that delivers a wicked punch of soulful driven vibes in each track."
Lemar Soulflower (Soul Deep NYC) - "Hard to pick a favorite … all of these are super well done and some sprint fast towards the 'stone cold classic' category."
Deadbeat Disco Radio Show - "Whoa, this is wicked! Top quality selection of breaky beats and deepness … the whole thing rolls along with ass-shaking, head-nodding bumpiness."
DJ Nartak (Nightflight / Klassik Lounge) - "Cold Busted at its best."