march four - dimes

I got put onto this gem from inspectah k whose been on a tear diving into march’s catalogue, all the way from their first projects in 2015 through to 2020 where they’ve seemingly disappeared (but I could be wrong). dimes was one of their first tapes but equally seems like an artist confident in their sound; both in skill and feel, but mostly how they want their ideas presented. It kinda caught me off guard the first time I heard it because he’ll dish up these beautifully evocative loops brimming with soul and jazz, akin to something you might hear lazily drowned in lofi lowend with the anime girl studying away, but march four chooses to do something entirely different in tone. There’s a punch and drive to these beats, simple as they might seem these gorgeous loops paired up with crunchy hard-hitting drums, like the slow piano runs of ‘unearth’ against heavily-struck rim clicks and bassy kicks, or wind-swept flutes on ‘bag’ against claps that seem to echo differently on every bar. Sometimes drums will be driven by adrenaline like the off-kilter hat and snare patterns on ‘onyx’, or march might play them completely straight to let the keys speak on ‘rain’. Even with the loops being as engaging as they are, march four injects each with so much character; little hits of rhymes spit in the background, cackling vinyl static ducking between the drums on ‘spend the night’ or this occasional highend feedback scratching in on ‘exhume’. They have an ability to keep things simple without ever getting stagnant, with dimes a prime example of letting the sample speak with drums that compliment rather than steal the show, each beat lulling you into a trance that only makes you want to play it back again.

KEY BEAT: exclusive plane - dragged drums sway these lightly distorted horns, holding the pace in place while dizzying cymbals and pianos compliment the loop. There’s a lot going on but march four plays it straight and head knocking.