Album Notes

In the heart of the Midwest, off U.S. I-80 in Iowa City, Iowa, hip-hop producer Tim Tack a.k.a. Tack-Fu returns with his 3rd compilation release titled: "Tack-Fu Presents the production team: 85 decibel Monks." His previous efforts "Yen & Slang" 1998 & "Chained Reaction" 200 were reviewed in nationwide hip-hop publications such as URB, Insomniac & Elemental. Several of Tack-Fu's instrumentals have also appeared on MTV's Cribs & Making the Band.

In 2002, Tack-Fu formed the 85 decibel Monks; a production team consisting of several bedroom beat producers, DJs, and musicians in the Iowa City area.

"Ninety percent of the tracks I've recorded in the past were collaborative efforts," explains Tack. "It just made sense to give the group a whole new vibe." Tack's job description, because of his work with local artists throughout the city, is half musical visionary and half ambassador to the musical collective. "It's my goal to complete tracks, adding my work to the work of others, no matter the time, place, or day," he said.

"It's kind'a crazy, the stages that some of my instrumentals go through. Hours upon hours spent in home studios across Iowa, renting commercial studio space to transfer [the media] and mix those recordings, with the finishing touches done on a computer." The careful ear of DJs, musicians and sound technicians craft every nuance of every track, but not everyone can be in the same place at the same time. "The way it's all pieced together, some of the guys have never met each other in person," he joked.
The collaborative efforts have moved Tack-Fu's style from a loop based "boom-bap" foundation, to a more jazz orientated brand of hip-hop that skillfully blurs the line between major label rap and independent hip-hop. "The musical snippets and odd tempos consistently add tension and drama to the mix," says Steve Horowitz, music critic for the Little Village.

The recordings with the production team feature a few guests that most underground hip-hop fans will recognize such as DJ Vadim, Blueprint & Illogic, ManChild of Mars Ill, Sev Statik, Braille, DJ Skwint, Lord 360, spoken word poet Rachel Kann, and Iowa City's very own Bad Fathers just to name a few.

So...you are scanning this web page.
You are looking at the words.
You are thinking: is it worth it?

Take action hip-hop headz, beat junkies, music connoisseurs, and hemp cats...check out why Tack Fu and the 85 decibel Monks ensure that the beat lives on!!!