Various Artists - The Content Label - Sampler 5 (The Content Label)

The Content Label is a Los Angeles project-based record label and worldwide collective. As the logo illustrates, over the years various elements have combined to produce works that have contributed to the lineage of sample-based music with an emphasis in electronic and hip-hop production. Curated by critically acclaimed recording artist Dday One, the LA-based boutique label’s exclusive catalog is exquisite and experiential.

This fifth label sampler is an overview of The Content Label’s latest exploits and the variance of the artists involved. Parisian producer, visual artist, and MC Lex (de Kalhex) sets the scene with “Solstice,” transforming from a jazzy boom-bap experience to spacier realms partway through the cut. Salty, the accomplished Japanese beat-maker, delivers on “ADSL,” showcasing an introspective hip-hop terminology via phased electric piano vibes, timeless vocal drops, and shimmering atmospheres. Dday One, The Content Label’s guiding force, next drops “Cielo Azul.” The track features layers of intricately assembled sound for a melancholy, worldly take on the sampler’s overall vibe.

The next two artists hail from Russia, underscoring The Content Label as a global affair. With a deft, strings-laden soundscape, Fiji unveils his “Sketch,” a sonic imagining of moodier, distant climes. LTF then shows the funkier side of Moscow with “Soviet Groove Machine,” an upbeat stew of drum beats, plucked guitar rides, and dubbed-out horns. Returning the artist roster to the USA, but inspired by Soviet-era classical music, the duo of Gone Beyond & Mumbles exhibit their poetically constructed “Apropos For The Wet Snow.”

Enigmatic Los Angeles producer Marques Lafelt adds a dreamy four-on-the-floor flavor on “Love Unlimited,” complete with night-scape chord pads and an echoey, bass synth lead. The innovative electronics continue with audio/visual quartet Von Neumann Effect who close out the sampler. “A.I Assisted Climax” is descriptive of its sound, evoking possessed circuitry and sentient rhythm.

Dj Halabi (Reversion Records) “Solid stuff from Dday One on Vol.5 of this label sampler. For me, Lex really shines on this project. Top Stuff.
Mr. Bristow (Subtek) – “Heavy business. Nice work.”
Andrew Emil (Glenview Records) – “So damn good!”
DJ Friction (Bodymovin / Complex) – “Dope beats. Solstice and ADSL are my faves, but all of these are really good.”
Renegades of Jazz (Agogo Records) – “Absolutely love this.”
DJ Wash (Butter Music) - “Nice release, especially feeling the Soviet Groove Machine track.”
Rory Hoy (Howlin’ Records) – “ Absolutely stellar release.”
DJ Osric (Black and Blue Show) – “Top notch work from all involved.”
Dr. Best (Radio Z, Nuremberg) – “A true 5 star deluxe package.”
Aja Allsop (Ketch A Vibe Radio Show) – “A real box of musical goodness. They cover all the beats!”

Available Now From: Bandcamp, Beatport, Apple Music, And Spotify.

Jazz Echo: LTF Talks Russian Hip-Hop and His New Album

Russia’s stand-up-bass-playing, DJ’ing, crate-digging, music-producing b-boy LTF (‘Light The Fuse’) has just released his fantastic Jazz Echo album through The Content Label. Jazz Echo simmers with the bebop attitude of its namesake, brimming with heavy bass riffs, crucial breakbeats, truncated vinyl exclamations, and an adept ear for melody. The ‘echo’ could be the time travel partaken with the album’s disparate sound sources. With fastidious regional crate-digging, LTF discovered many obscurities for his samples and constructions. “You search for the records and listen to them all day,” LTF explains. “And then you find yourself not listening to the music, but you’re listening to the musicians separated from one another. The more you listen, the more greedy you become for the sound that was born to be found and reimagined. That’s the trip. And this trip flows through the jazz records of Soviet Russia and Eastern Europe.”

We caught up with LTF to ask a few questions about the hip hop scene in Russia, the roots of Soviet jazz, and mixing live contrabass with his productions.

How did you first hear the sounds of hip-hop and learn about b-boy culture?

LTF: I first heard the sounds of hip-hop in the mid-‘90s on the Beastie Boys cassette Ill Communication. Later that decade we had huge breakdance hype in Russia because of the b-boys from Da Boogie Crew. All of the hip-hop artists and events that I saw at that time were so soaked with a spirit of revolution, freedom, progress, and the future. It fit perfectly with my mind.

What is the hip-hop scene like in Omsk and southwestern Siberia? Do you feel that it is different than other Russian hip-hop scenes and sounds?

LTF: Omsk’s scene is very small scene but has all the elements of hip-hop culture. It’s run by true enthusiasts. Because of the internet, physical borders don’t really matter. All the scenes are combining from different people in Russia and from whole world.

Did you enjoy jazz before discovering hip-hop, or did you discover jazz through samples used in hip-hop? And what is different about jazz from Soviet Russia and Eastern Europe, and how does it make your sound unique?

LTF: I had a reverse music evolution experience. I started with hip-hop and then went deep into its roots. Back in the day, Soviet musicians had little access to information and recordings from abroad. The words like "bebop,” "cool,” and "free jazz" were unknown here, so artists had to create everything by themselves. Lack of information, a socialist regime, and huge classical and folk roots lead to a unique approach to playing jazz music.

Can you recommend any Eastern European jazz artists that people should check out?

LTF: Start you day with the jazz-funk maestro Jaan Kuman from Estonia!

How has your experience as a contrabass player influenced your hip-hop production? Do you ever play the bass live with the beats in a club performance?

LTF: When a contrabass appeared in my studio in 2013, I decided to make instrumental hip-hop music closely related to that instrument. That's the heart of the Light The Fuse project. As far as using the bass live, I might in the future. Now I just use turntables and a sampler in my performances.

What are your other passions besides making beats and DJ’ing?

LTF: Besides lovin' my wife I'm running turntable/record shop in Moscow. So for me it's 24/7 spinning records.

What are your future plans? Will you tour for the Jazz Echo project?

LTF: A tour would be nice! Any interested promoters out there? Hit me up!

Listen to LTF’s Jazz Echo on Bandcamp:

LTF - Jazz Echo (The Content Label)

Hip hop’s influence has permeated territories far removed from its Bronx origins, spawning creative and surprising fusions that strengthen the art form’s global reach. Case in point: Anton Ivanchenko, residing in the southwestern Siberian city of Omsk, has been obsessed with funk, hip-hop, and b-boy culture since the ‘90s. Presently, he’s been channeling this obsession into his exciting project LTF (Light The Fuse). Aided by deft skills on turntables, acoustic bass, and digital sampler LTF has produced a handful of sublime 7” singles. Now he’s turned to The Content Label to reveal his debut full-length album, Jazz Echo.

Jazz Echo simmers with the bebop attitude of its namesake, brimming with heavy bass riffs, crucial breakbeats, truncated vinyl exclamations, and an adept ear for melody. The ‘echo’ could be the time travel partaken with the album’s disparate sound sources. With fastidious regional crate-digging, LTF discovered many obscurities for his samples and constructions. “You search for the records and listen to them all day,” LTF explains. “And then you find yourself not listening to the music, but you’re listening to the musicians separated from one another. The more you listen, the more greedy you become for the sound that was born to be found and reimagined. That’s the trip. And this trip flows through the jazz records of Soviet Russia and Eastern Europe.”

Among Jazz Echo’s many highlights is “Ritual,” showcasing LFT’s contrabass prowess and an arrangement that confidently sits beside the ‘70s jazz-funk classics. There’s “Space Bop,” combining a vintage sound with modern production techniques and the flutterings of a dusty Soviet-era synthesizer. A cosmic interpretation of the ‘quiet storm,’ played over some serious beats, manifests in “Meteo,” while “Release Your Reflection” fills every available sonic space with orchestral flourishes, heavy drums, and a helping of space echo and mind-expanding effects.

LTF’s Jazz Echo is released on The Content Label on vinyl and digital formats. Original artwork and design are by Lautaro Pesano and the project is executive produced by Dday One.

DJ Love (Stellar Music) – “I actually listened to the promos on repeat about three times before downloading. Got sucked into this, some really nice stuff here. I got a nice playlist for every track on this release.”
Trotter (Royal Soul Records) – “Great stuff, solid grooves guys. Big up!”
Aja Allsop (Impact Radio) – “An epic debut album with some superb big beats!”
Jeromy Nail (jeromynail.com) – “Dope release. Looking forward to playing all of these.”
Stereo 77 (Plimsoll Records) – “I love everything about this release!”
Quincy Jointz (Timewarp Music Radio Show) – “Really good jazzy downbeat here.”
Stickybuds (Goodgroove Records) – “Good funky stuff and jams to scratch to.”
Adam Warped (Whiskey Pickle) – “Really digging "Light The Fuse". Delightful grooves!”
tOtALcULt (Cult Music) – “This is some lovely, groovy, jazzy material. Fave tracks are Soviet Groove Machine (with its excellent vocal sample) and Release Your Reflection (loving the atmospheric smoked-out vibes and rolling breaks on this one).”
Floored Kapri (Kane FM) – “An awesome collection of jazz-infused hip hop conscious instrumentals. Solid beats, bouncing b-lines, progressive and emotive. For what more could a b-boy ask?”

Available Now From: Bandcamp, Beatport, Apple Music, And Spotify.