Instrmntl, by Dabrye

Instrmntl

by Dabrye

supported by

mcwuzza Play this loud/look to the middle distance/they will form a Q

Thibaut Devigne Minimal hip hop that starts more electronics and finishes more jazz influenced. It remains consistent overall, and though short is excellent in its compositions Favorite track: No Child Of God.

UNLIMITED FREAKOUT IS LOVE. From the days when Prefuse 73 ran a record label. This might just be my favourite Dabrye record. Favorite track: Prospects (Marshall Law).

more...

	/

Record/Vinyl + Digital Album
- Standard weight blue vinyl housed in a 3.5mm matte laminate jacket
- Design by Peter Rentz
- Download card included

*Ship Date Subject To Change

Includes unlimited streaming of Instrmntl via the free Bandcamp app, plus high-quality download in MP3, FLAC and more.

ships out within 2 days

Purchasable with gift card

$19 USD or more
Streaming + Download

Includes unlimited streaming via the free Bandcamp app, plus high-quality download in MP3, FLAC and more.

Purchasable with gift card

$8 USD

1.	Intrdctn. 01:13	buy track
2.	Won 03:35	buy track
3.	No Child Of God 04:09	buy track
4.	D-Town Tabernacle Choir 04:20	buy track
5.	You Know The Formula Right? 03:32	buy track
6.	Evelyn 04:36	buy track
7.	This Is Where I Came In 03:26	buy track
8.	Prospects (Marshall Law) 03:26	buy track
9.	Take Me Home 01:45	buy track
10.	Gimme Lowlands 04:05	buy track

about

The early 2000s were a time of upheaval for hip-hop. The underground and mainstream divide that had defined so much of the previous decade was showing the first signs of irrelevance. Timbaland and The Neptunes made radio rappers sound futuristic while independent artists struggled in a quagmire of backpacks and misguided claims to keep it real. Away from this, in a misunderstood middle ground between hip-hop and electronic music, a new generation of artists were busy imagining a new sound for hip-hop.

One such artist was Scott “Prefuse 73” Herren, whose perpendicular MPC chops on his 2001 debut for Warp Records set curious minds racing with possibilities. That same year Tadd Mullinix released his debut as Dabrye on Ghostly International, a sonic wildstyle that appealed to both hip-hop heads and IDM nerds. Sometime that same year Herren and Mullinix met after sharing a bill in Detroit. CD-Rs were exchanged and a year later Eastern Development, Herren’s newly launched label, released Dabrye’s Instrmntl, a short album with a big impact. On its fifteenth anniversary Ghostly International is reissuing Instrmtl on vinyl and making it available digitally for the first time.

Instrmntl is a continuation of the beat experiments Dabrye began with One/Three and a bridge to the diverse textures that would define Two/Three four years later. About half of its nine tracks (ten if you lived in Japan) were created at the same time as One/Three while the rest were newer or made specifically for the album. Once again Mullinix looked outside of hip-hop to techno, house, and drum & bass for stylistic and technical ideas while embracing the blissful minimalism of a good hip-hop instrumental and the rhythmic nuance of Detroit.

Despite the similarities between Dabrye’s debut and this follow up, Mullinix didn’t simply replicate what had made One/Three so arresting. He pushed and pulled further between the two cornerstones of his approach to reveal more potentials. Instrmntl takes you deeper into electronic depths — the rugged synth stutter of ‘Won’, the tumbling, wobbling bass in ‘No Child Of God’, the electro get down of ‘Prospects (Marshall Law)’ — while also treading more organic grounds by letting samples breathe and moods unfurl at a gentler pace (‘Take Me Home’, ‘Evelyn’, and ‘You Know The Formula Right?’). And then there are the moments where this push and pull finds balance and the result becomes more, as it does on the mournful march of ‘D-Town Tabernacle Choir’ and the twinkling daydream of ‘This Is Where I Came In’.

At just over 30 minutes, Instrmntl offers a snapshot of a time when potentials seemed infinite, when lines could be drawn between jazz, ragga jungle, techno, and hip-hop and the resulting shape divined an exciting future.

credits

released February 16, 2018

license

about

Dabrye Ann Arbor, Michigan

contact / help

Contact Dabrye

Streaming and
Download help

Redeem code

Report this album or account

If you like Dabrye, you may also like:

Sound Ancestors
by Madlib

supported by 20 fans who also own “Instrmntl”

I'm a bit anoid with my silf that I only just found this fantastic album yesterday, but also chuffed to fuck that I have at all. Love it so much what a wining collaboration 👊🔥🔥 Toblermone
go to album
Black Focus
by Yussef Kamaal

supported by 19 fans who also own “Instrmntl”

I feel now like I have 10 arms and 10 legs. Powerful and energetic. Griffyn Louis Denizard
go to album
ITLP04 - Compro
by Skee Mask

supported by 18 fans who also own “Instrmntl”

I didn't realise breakbeats and ambient techno could go so well together, but Skee Mask achieves awesome stuff on this record. humongouslomghonogoufungus
go to album
Bells and Whistles
by Blockhead

NYC producer Blockhead steps out with a self-released, soundtrack-worthy, sixth album of exotic instrumentals. Bandcamp New & Notable Nov 18, 2014
go to album
Togetherness.
by Various Artists

This new beat tape compilation from Onda Tapes showcases the hard-knocking rhythms of producers from around the world. Bandcamp New & Notable Oct 29, 2023
go to album
ILLMAHAL
by ILL SUGI & TAJIMA HAL

featured on Bandcamp Radio Apr 23, 2021
go to album
TAKEN AWAY
by Moodymann

supported by 18 fans who also own “Instrmntl”

Moodymann creates innovative soul funky music with deep 70s inspiration. The vocals are simply outstanding. A step back in time, 50 years ago! Superb. jef37
go to album