Insideamind

Toronto turntable technicians iNSiDEaMiND have long been stretching the creative limits of hip-hop’s most consecrated music instrument with their moody, sample-based soundscapes and surgically spliced rhythms. With Scatterpopia, the didactic duo further expand upon their already impressive cinematic sensibilities, crafting a would-be film score to the exploration of a distant planet. Beginning with the cockpit chatter and subsequent landing of the cautious "Yellow, Orange & Red Lightning,” the record’s diverse sonic toolkit opens to reveal sounds as divergent as inquisitive flutes, echoed fazer scratches and splashing water before more conventional beats and grooves slowly seep into the fold. From there, stoic spoken word, dank, plodding rhythms and gritty horns are juxtaposed with the bristling drum & bass inflections of tunes like "Bright Side Bounce,” as the majority of the set is dedicated to overt experimentation. Though a certain lack of a few more animated highpoints becomes increasingly evident as the disc progresses, Scatterpopia is a definite mandatory late night listen that further reveals itself with each spin.