There is two sides to Robby Moncrieff, but both sides are born out of a shamanistic approach to being a studio rat. The Raleigh side is a hip hop producer that concocts instrumentals akin to the L.A. beat scene thunder clapping with 8-bit cloud levels , while the Robby side collaborates with Zach Hill and lends a helping hand to end-of-the-year list topping records like Dirty Projector's Bitte Orca. Neither side cares to decide whether to spell his last name with one or two “F”s.
Today's debut is of the Raleigh ilk, pulled from his recently released Carpal Tunnels beat tape. Several of the Carpal Tunnel selections come in as though he's trying out a DJ Premier beat chop, like the piano tones on “Cramp'd Whips,” then instead of crafting a 90's Tunnel banger, he goes left field into some Dam-Funk-like Casio synths. The track “Ell,” which he gave us permission to give out for free, is the closest Moncrief gets to his 8-bit persona. The heavy synth line pulsates into airy blip tones that feel like Mega Man battling stardroids in Cloud City.
The project can be downloaded here for $8 and while you're there pick up the Combed Over Chrome EP.
