Passive 65ive "Shambolique"

More and more it seems like almost everyone I talk to is a rapper or a producer, maybe it is just me, but they are everywhere. But then sometimes you come across someone who is neither and on a few rare occasions you come across someone who is neither but still makes hip hop, one such person is Passive 65ive. But wait, you may ask, what does he do then? He is an artist who lends his vocals to create pieces of hip hop art. How is that different from a rapper? For one, a rapper feels the need to fill as much of the song with lines, Passive 65ive knows sometimes, you need to let the instrumental breathe for a while, even between lines or at times...words. This is probably not making sense to a lot of people (unless you have heard an artist who does the same thing) but I shall try and explain it to you, I will tell you that Passive 65ive's newest album "Shambolique" is a quality album that you need to check out, but let me explain it to you like a normally do, track by track, so here it goes.

The title track "Shambolique" begins with what sounds like a rain storm or waves softly hitting the beach and some soft hollow drums with a bit of synths that continue throughout the track. Right away the listener comes face to face with the concept of letting an instrumental breathe a bit before Passive 65ive speaks on the track, a full 30 seconds has passed. Now I am sure many of my readers are wondering what the heck the title means, well thanks to Merriam-Webster I know shambolic is "chiefly British" and means "obviously disorganized or confused." And guess what ladies and gentlemen that is exactly the scene that is set by this track. "Prices rising to the point of stupidity, debts of the third world eradicated, spent externally. Ends not meeting unless protests due to their last robbery, its coming to a head now, credit crunching, monopolies, atrocities funded by governing autocracies" and that is just the first half, so by now you should have a rather clear picture of what this track is all about as well as were Passive 65ive is coming from on the album.

"Think of random access memory, think of random thoughts of choice," these lines begin (with the exception of some music fading in) "Random Thoughts of Choice." Trying to describe the beat created by Insted is rather difficult, the best way I can think of is just what the chorus says, Random Access Memory, almost computer like, pieces of information flowing through your ears, rough cuts, no smooth fades, but infectious. At points the vocal samples almost compete with Passive 65ive's voice for your attention. Almost how there are so many different ideas out there all trying to dominate one another. Which ever you focus your ears on can easily dominate the other, but if you just sit and don't choose sides you can hear them crashing into one another, almost canceling each other out...sound familiar to any arguments or debates you've heard recently?

Fellow The Hinderance member, Issuez, joins Passive 65ive on the self-produced track "ProperGander." The beat fades in and out almost pulling me closer and closer into the computer, forcing me to take a "proper gander" at the situation (just happens that situation is my review.) Does Passive 65ive blame the general population for not seeing all the problems surrounding us? Well let me quote you a few lines, "even with my eyes squinting and I'm severely brain dead, I can still scrutinize, decipher the brainwash." What do you think? Maybe Issuez has a more optimistic view of the situation. Or not, "if this is freedom I'd hate to be locked down." There are also some rather funky and almost mind distorting effects added to Issuez's verse, with the final word of each line riding in on the abstract fades of the beat. It may sound distracting, but sonically it is incredible.

The DJ for The Hinderance, MrManOne makes an appearance on the 1s and 2s for the Dig Dug (Agartha Audio) produced "Spyware + Scratch." Any regular reader of the blog or twitter follower of mine is well aware of my appreciation and fandom of Mr. Dig Dug and his beats, and he does not disappoint on this beat either (and MrManOne just adds to the quality with his work.) A very layered track (sirens, horns, drums, guitar, etc) form around Passive 65ive's vocals about everything that "like Spyware influences data mining." While going in on the government, fake people, and all other lizard like creatures, he still mixes in some very dope references such as "The Twilight Zone" and "Icarus, Perseus, and the Golden Fleece."

"Glacier Mint" has Gold Panda returning to the production (also produced the title track and a few others) and offers a more of that whispery smooth and mellow beat with some very spaced out synths. The vocals, softly spoken match the sound of the beat "I have no currency in my hand, right now all I have in my hands is air, atoms, from nuclei, composed of many things that are decomposed." Then fades into silence and
once again, Passive 65ive lets the track grow on its own until it transforms at around the 1:30 mark and hits you hard before slowly fading back. But by this point, the vocals are in full effect, with Passive 65ive taking a much more aggressive approach than earlier in the track. But then again, Passive falls back, almost like he has released what anger he needs and the beat goes on its own for another 30 seconds before it hits again. Instead of putting in some unnecessary chorus, the beat takes its place, letting it really sink in.

Sometimes I read a track title and think that either an MC or producer needs to be o it. Such is the case with "Slimeballs," I automatically think, "this needs to be a Dig Dug track." (no I am not in anyway calling Dig Dug a slimeball.) What makes this occasion rare is that I was actually right, and to make it even better, MrManOne adds some wonderful scratches to the Dig Dug beat. The ominious beat could easily have fit in to "The Hollow Earth". After Passive 65ive provides us with a lecture of all the instances of slimeballs and what they have done to control the world, his final lines are "If this has been figured out, then perhaps you are a slimeball with the craving." Makes you feel all warm and fuzzy inside right? Then again, who would want a track called "Slimeballs" to be an uplifting track right?

Speaking of cheerful tracks, "Darkus Howe" begins "this is beat is darkus howe, this beat is darkus howe, how dark is it suppose to be, as dark as you like it." What does the beat actually sound like? Imagine the Friday the 13th and Halloween music mixed together and made more hollow and echoed, that is the beat of "Darkus Howe." "Artistry in many ways is subject to creativity," a great line, is the first actual line from Passive on this track. Then the details of the song start to take shape as the picture of just a few of the world's evils are painting by Passive 65ive and all those who help to make them grow and thrive.

On the next track, "Slider" there is a notable absence, that of Passive 65ive, instead, it is, as Passive 65ive describes it "This is a journey into sound led by ManOnes spooky turntablism and Gold Panda's soundscapes," and that is a perfect description of the concept. A beat drum and synth beat crafted by Gold Panda, with some alien type of scratches from MrManOne plus a distort voice, set the scene for this captivating track. Picture hiphop from Mars, assuming Mars is how the Flaming Lips imagined it in "Christmas on Mars" then you will have this track.

Sometimes I say something in a review that I wish I would have saved for another track, such as the case on "Real Play" another Dig Dug produced track. What should I have waited to use, this track belongs on "The Hollow Earth" in fact if there was a "The Hollow Earth 2" or "Lost Earth" this track has to be on it. It will make you look over your shoulder searching for all the reptiles who reside above the surface. Both producer and MC bring their A game to this piece, highly recommend you check it out, even though I did not say too much about it.

A dream like waiting room sound kicks off "The Wild Key" while a spaced out beat continues throughout, Passive 65ive and Mystiq (who is new to me but a very talented MC who happens to be female) go in about addiction, vices, and drugs. The feeling is summed up to near perfection by Passive 65ive, "reality only exists in one form of pain relief." If there is a flaw to this track, it is the apparent disconnect between Passive's verses and Mystiq's. While Passive takes the negative viewpoint of the vices, Mystiq's verse (when she speaks as marijuana) paints a much more positive picture. Then again a drug will have a much more positive feeling about itself than the addict. To give you a taste of Mystiq"s verse (just a taste, after that you have to pay) she concludes with, "All four elements are there, I die in flames, bringing your mind the most uplifted air." The track then rides out on the spaced out beat by Nac 1.

Just in case this album did not have a diverse enough sound, the beat by Lex aka Alex Larelli for "Cradles and Chainsaws" brings an Indian music feel to the table, but picture the music being performed in an empty church, then you have the right sound. This time Passive 65ive decides to take on the health care and education systems, "being of sound body and mind is a very hard ambition, it would be idealistic for someone like myself with a high level of cynicism to worry about healthy, wealthy." But what really makes this track shine, is once again Passive 65ive's ability to realize when to not speak and let what he said before sink in and let the listener really experience the music as a whole.

The closest thing to a straight up boom bap track is the Gold Panda produced "Bitangai Bop," but in reality it is no where near your standard boom bap track, it is Passive 65ive's version of boom bap, instead of abandoning his style and rhyme concepts he meshes the two to create a sound that is unique and certainly his. First off, the beat is certainly Gold Panda, with a ethereal feel that instead of using heavy drums, uses a soft clap, giving a different feel. Personally my favorite few lines are near the end, "Might consider performing at SoHo Square with 38 howler monkeys and a purple circus bear, all with permits and prior permission, warning and seating, as long as the bear knows that the monkeys aren't for the eating." This is a perfect example of how while many MCs claim to be "abstract" there are only a few who really fit that, and Passive 65ive is one of them.

Gold Panda brings us the most minimalist beat o the album by far, and one of the most minimalist you will hear with "Beastmaster." A light airy woodwind instrument with a faded drum is all that composes this beat. While in a soft but strong voice, Passive 65ive begins, "Charmed by aristocratic serpentine charmers, taking more than enough pleasure from choking farmers, the infant scapegoat bombarding brains with fear, the ending is always supposedly near, but never close like tears." He goes in more on how humans destroy the earth without thinking of the consequences, for animals, plants, and human life in general. Instead of chorus, we are greeted by some more high quality scratches by MrManOne and the track ends the same way, before it fades out.

The album ends with another sound scape created by Gold Panda and MrManOne, entitled Outro (I Know you don't I.) I think sound scape is a great explanation of this track, because it wouldn't fit into most people's definition of a song, there are a group of sounds created by both, whether it is a beat, vocal samples, their own distorted spoken words, and of course scratches. The track is sure to throw you around your own head as you try to piece it together and try to figure out just what are the two trying to say in this wonderful sonic piece of art, I have yet to figure it out, but I will tell you I thoroughly enjoy it, whatever the message might be.

As I said in the beginning, this is not your standard hip hop album and Passive 65ive is not your standard MC. Instead we are given a piece of sonic art and asked to digest it, I did what I could to help you but in reality, this is something you have to experience for yourself, each listen you find something new and interesting that may change what you thought was right before. If you are interested in hip hop for the hard hitting beats and quotable everyday lyrics, this album is not for you. But if you are into hip hop and music in general because it pushes boundries and does things that the normal person wouldn't think of doing, if you are into music because it is art then "Shambolique" by Passive 65ive is certainly for you. I recommend you give it a listen and do so with open ears and an open mind and prepare yourself for a great sonic journey.

You can stream and download the album here.