Stan Forebee - Second Home (Cold Busted)

Music surrounds the life of Stan Forebee (AKA Bastiaan van der Vlist). Raised by a musical family in The Netherlands, Stan started young with classical piano, moved onto jazz, and then settled into the hip hop and neo-soul beats and textures inspired by artists like J Dilla, Flying Lotus, and Bibio. Many tracks were released another alias — Beatsofreen — and Stan’s tunes found their way on the likes of Vinyl Digital and Chillhop Music. Now, with the 4-song Second Home EP, Stan Forebee joins the Cold Busted fam for the third installment in the label’s Jet Set series.

The vibe is laid-back and melodic, as “Flying Dew” opens the Second Home EP with a filtered piano floating into a pensive beat concoction. A cool jazzy bass line is here to get the heads nodding. “Two Faces” follows with an especially catchy shuffle, adding muted guitar riffs and electric piano runs. “Dilladong” transmits its influence in its title, with tremelo’ed e-piano and plucky synth melodies playing over a chill boom-bap beat. The title track closes it out the EP in a dreamy style — it’s got that reassuring warmth of arriving after long travels. A second home is still a home, and it feels so good.

Peter Kruder (Kruder & Dorfmeister) – “Great tracks. Love the vibe and production.”
Kid Loco (Flor) – “Brilliant and clever. Thank you for this one.”
Ohmega Watts (Ubiquity Records) – “Proper headnod effect across the whole EP. Solid all around.”
Stickybuds (Goodgroove Records) – “These are great songs. Really nice production, loving it.”
Silenta (Roca Records) – “Great feel. Guru had these kinda tracks back in the day. Love it!”
Jon Fugler (Fluke) – “Lovely late summer vibes. Excellent.”
Mr. Bristow (Subtek) – “Really feeling this. Nice jazzy vibes, great work.”
Anatoly Ice (Funk and Beyond Radio Show) – “Perfect, groovy, laidback and jazzy beats.”
Floored Capri (Kane FM) – “Dusty, Jazzy, with exquisite head-nodding beats reminiscent of hazy times exploring Amsterdam.”
Aja Allsop (Ketch A Vibe Radio Show) – “This just moves along at a pace that suits a slow long walk through some long forgotten city back streets.”

Available Now From: Bandcamp, Juno Download, Apple Music, And Spotify.

Sixfingerz - Silent Storm (Cold Busted)

Antwerpian beat-wrangler Sixfingerz returns to Cold Busted for Silent Storm, his latest crucial long-player. Sixfingerz has established himself through six albums (also for the likes of Wegrowwax and Pragmatic Theory), with his last full length adapted into a theater performance. Sixfingerz also has the distinction of winning the legendary Stones Throw Beat Battle series around 20 times in a three year period. It goes without saying — his beats are strong.

Silent Storm continues Sixfingerz’s fascination with atmospheric textures and warm, vintage sounds. His influences are global, drawing upon instruments and styles from all over the world. Sixfingerz aptly describes his tracks as “an adventure into somewhere” — he’s merging disparate influences to create new territories. This is heard on the album’s “Breeze,” uniting potent hip hop beats with traditional Asian flavors to a dreamy effect. There’s also the gentle, guitar-strummed “Sol” which helps to bring out the sun in the darkest night. “Derecho” is a cinematic piece that’s part spaghetti western, part folk song, and part bass-beat concoction. And there’s “Heart Of The City,” which revs things up with a big rhythm but keeps the musical wonder intact.

Sixfingerz continues to stretch boundaries and Silent Storm is a bold and enjoyable statement. Take this adventure into somewhere exotic and groovy.

Kid Loco (Tromolo Records) – “What a trip. Really great beats.”
Tal M. Klein (Aniligital Music) – “Loving the Balearic vibes on Sol.”
Apostolos Argyris (The Zuzu Club) – “Lovely chill out EP.”
Floored Capri (Kane FM) – “Right up my street. Dopeness.”
Robert Lochmann (Jazzmadass Radio Show) – “Another nice cinematic EP.”
Jon Fugler (XLNT Radio Show) – “Great selections. Breeze is my fave by a whisker.”
DJ Morpheus (Lysergic Factory Radio Show) – “Derecho and Oceanbound are the tracks that I’m digging here.”
Salvo Borrelli (Garam Masala Radioshow) – “Great atmosphere on this one.”
Hober Mallow (Mighty Reel, Sydney) – “Love the washed out feel on For The Rain. Great EP.”
Matt Sonzala (Radio KAOS) – “Why is Antwerp one of the coolest musical cities on the earth? I want to live there for a while. It's so amazing and so is this EP.”

Available Now From: Bandcamp, Juno Download, Apple Music, And Spotify.