Future-beat NYC producer Josh Abramovici, better known as Snacs, released his third album, Swim Tape, this morning, and we're already reeling from its immaculate, unpredictable tracklist. Staying ahead of the curve in a genre that is rooted in doing such can occasionally ring as paradoxical, but Snacs attempts to do just that with Swim Tape—and he does it well. As you enter the tape, the first sounds you'll hear are a mellow underlying deep tone and an accompanying saxophone, an instrument that gets a pretty raw deal in most music. Utilizing the sax to good effect, though, shows Snacs' adroitness. Moving along through the songs, low pitch-shifted vocal samples in the vein of the late J Dilla begin to show up, and eventually we fall into a twisted and improved mix of “Loving You” (perhaps as a tribute to South Park's return last night?) and each is finessed so delicately that it can only be left up for the listener to interpret. The natural rhythm of cicadas chirping lies underneath a blanket of warm synths and guitar tracks on “Blueberry Part 1”, the mix's sure standout, and you'll find yourself lost within a pulsating drum machine. The end result of listening to Swim Tape is something between a lullaby and a vision of the future.
Swim Tape is available digitally with a limited 25-cassette online sale, as well as 25 being sold in person by the man himself.
