Album Notes

Snaps! is a compilation of recent work by Seattle beat-builder Mr. Hill. The CD's 12 tracks feature guest performances from leading, regional MCs, including Anaxagorous, Onry Ozzborn, JFK, and Boom Bap Project. Mr. Hill's reputation primarily rests on the music he's produced for the members of the Oldominion universe. In the way that RZA's sound defined the Wu-Tang Clan, a large part of Oldominion's sound, and by extension much of the Pacific Northwest's sound, is defined by Hill's musical instincts and ideas. Strings are his specialty, which he employs for cinematic effects and moods that correspond with Gothic architecture and the dark factories of the industrial revolution. But as Snaps! makes clear, Mr. Hill is not confined to the cathedral aesthetic that he regularly programs for associates of Oldominion—particularly Greyskul, Onry Ozzborn, and Barfly. (Mr. Hill's new collaboration with Barfly, Niteowls, is worth checking out.)

Some of the beats on Snaps! are jovial ('Saloony'), others are catchy ('As I Talk'), and many are surreal ("English"—a track that successfully loops a Northwest thunderstorm with vocals from a Bollywood score). The disc's peak points are occupied by the Silent Lambs Project: as a group, "Runnin Traffik," and as solo efforts, Jace Ecaj's "Workshop" and Silas Blak's "Unorthodox Skill." Mr. Hill and Silent Lambs Project must never end their working relationship. Nor should Mr. Hill, who is currently building beats for Kool Keith, ever abandon the boom-bap gothika that he helped to create—it so accurately captures the spirit of a part of the world that has too many serial killers, too many days without sunshine, and too many people jumping to their deaths from the Aurora Bridge. CHARLES MUDEDE