I feel there is no need for me to say how much I enjoy when one MC and one producer work together and actually collaborate on an album, but I will anyway; I LOVE IT. When done correctly they are incredible pieces of art. I won't lie, when I first heard that Denku was doing an album produced entirely by Agartha Audio, I was little nervous. I wasn't sure how the two would sound together. I don't know why, but I was just uneasy about the pairing, would Denku be able to handle Agartha Audio's left field beats, would Dig Dug be able to create beats that allows Taiyamo Denku's lyricism to shine? I can tell you right now that I have NO IDEA why I was worried. I mean you take one part Agartha Audio aka Dig Dug, who if you do not know is one of my favorite producers out, and one part Taiyamo Denku, incredible lyricist and member of W.A.S.T.E.L.A.N.D.S., and sprinkle in some monster guest verses from a variety of top tier MCs and you get the beast that is Quadrofiendia and this album is a living, breathing, mind fucking, sonic creature. But you probably want a little more detail than that possibly disturbing image, so here it goes.
Right away your ears find out that this album is something different, a real mesh of the instrumentation of Agartha Audio and the lyrics of Denku as "Welcome to NeverLand" is a mixture interlude and song, depending on how you hear it, before Denku takes over. And really, that sort of idea continues throughout the album, it could work as a straight ahead boombap album if you change the producer, you know Denku could alter his flow to work beautifully and Dig Dug could let this breathe as an instrumental piece but together it is something extra special. This is very evident in the almost call and response between Denku and the beat on "Here Lies Lyricism."
Even what I usually see as a negative in such a tightly knitted sounding album, such as guest verses, works perfectly on this album. Whether it is Masai Bey and Atari Blitzkrieg obliterating the masterful beat (picture a Just Blaze track on acid) on "Predator" the perfect mix of Bey, L.I.F.E. Long, Teddy Faley and Denku (talk about four unique voices that know how to body a verse) on "Storm Drain," or when the legends Sadat X and Craig G close the album with "Road is Ruff." The guest verses are wonderfully done, you don't feel like you are being ripped off because Denku isn't on the songs enough or wish there were more guests.
Quadrofiendia is that rare collab album that lets each artist really explore what they love and put their stamp on it without one artist dominating the discussion (think Madvillainy, yes I know that may sound crazy to some of you, but the comparison is apt.) Each time you find something new and different to really enjoy about this album, sometimes you find yourself getting lost in the production, other times the lyrics are the stars, then eventually you will hear it all together and realize just what this album is, so put on your headphones, or turn your speakers up and let this monster really live.
You can stream and download the album here.
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