Wonky for Dummies

There's this sound that crept in on tiptoe at the start of this decade. Almost by chance. Almost as if, at a certain point, we found it already standing right in front of us, pretty well developed, without even realizing that an evolution of certain sounds had been underway — one that would go a long way. A very long way, if we think about where it started and where it ended up: in practically two or three years, we went from hip-hop to trap. And in between there was this indefinable but supremely elegant sludge, which at the time was a real puzzle to name. First we used the term abstract hip-hop. Then that wasn't enough, and someone coined the name wonky, which did indeed catch on. Then things evolved in such an elusive way that definitions started piling up: aquacrunk, purple sound, street bass. The most hipster term of all was coined in the Scandinavian countries: skweee.

But words aren't what matters. Not this time. This time it was the idea that was truly exhilarating: experimenting with the rhythmic sections that revolved around highbrow hip-hop (the kind made by Madlib and J Dilla), pushing it into a new dimension full of elegance and building, through jazzy sensations and ingenious use of synths, the beats of the future. Modern beats is in fact the term that best embraces all the realities we're talking about here. Realities that developed on this side of the ocean and on the other, in a distant parallel that carried on while keeping in mind the peculiarities of each side: European productions were more elegant and aristocratic, American ones more pronounced and concerned with finding a way to connect with an audience. A mosaic that offered both the hyper-abstract side and the concrete one, and that gave the generation of the time the tools to come up with the next big thing.

Next big thing which, later on, turned out to be trap, a sound that can be traced back to the results achieved mostly on the American side, confirming the fact that, in this whole upheaval, the side that won out was the one most concerned with hooking an audience (isn't it always that way?). Indeed, because wonky was in some ways a spectacular sound, and yet an interrupted one: interrupted by the fact that the perfect record, the one capable of winning everyone over and enduring in time and in everyone's esteem, never came out. Which was a shame, but then again maybe not. Because several records of extremely high quality did come out, and the perception of them was made all the more precious by the fact that they remained essentially known only to a few. Perhaps by names that would soon become far more famous, but for other reasons. In their "wonky moment", very few people were talking about them.

It was the forge from which some of the talents we most admire today emerged. And together they formed a kind of small handbook on future-facing thinking applied to music production: don't worry about short-term results, think big and focus your vision. Someone will get it. Someone will come around to it later. Someone will never get it, and yet will love the direct fruits of your work. Who cares. The ten records we'll be discussing on this journey touched on some of the highest points of imagination and visionary thinking of the current decade, with direct involvement from the Italian scene as well.

As you scroll through the ten records below, we suggest keeping the overall trajectory in mind. The original starting point is that J Dilla who was widely celebrated a few days ago, for the tenth anniversary of his watershed album "Donuts" and for the enormous influence he had on the beatmakers who would go on to invent wonky. The end point, on the other hand, is today's rhythmic enthusiasms. The ones we now christen trap, and which set off precisely in the form of nastier evolutions of the wonky experience. Use these two reference points as a compass on the journey, just so as not to forget where the ideas we're about to dig into ended up flowing. Everything that happened in between, we'll dig into with the records that follow. Stay with us.

Flying Lotus – Los Angeles (2008, Warp Records)

In this story, as in every other musical story, there's an indirect forefather and a direct parent. The forefather in this case is “Donuts” by J Dilla, released in 2006, the key reference record for all the artists about to come up in this piece and for the entire wonky sound. The direct parent, on the other hand, is the one who set the direction: Flying Lotus, first with “1983” and then with “Los Angeles”. The latter in particular is the record that sealed the promotion of that sound from experiment to a movement in full swing. Released just two years after “Donuts”, it already contains within itself everything that would later be explored and developed in the years to come. It officially marked the emergence of an artist who has produced countless inspirations (Flying Lotus would later change tack and immerse himself head-first in jazz sound, but early on he was the master of beatmaking) and of a genre that, at a certain point, would change the course of events, which otherwise would simply have carried on down the usual hip-hop paths.

“Los Angeles” had several faces. Some perfectly cerebral, in line with the directions the genre developed most. Others more aggressive still. Some bordering on the tribal, others 100% Western. Practically a laboratory experiment, yet one that came out sounding as compact and stimulating a listen as few others. A record to revisit today, almost ten years on, like an isolated vision from a distant tower looking far into the distance. So far, in fact, that if you pick up a record of the same kind released years later (like the ones that will follow in this rundown), you can hear very few differences.

Hudson Mohawke – Butter (2009, Warp Records)

The story of wonky began in the United States, sure. After all, we're talking about something that embraces the hip-hop world, and it's well known that hip-hop is one of those things where the US looks down on everyone else from above. But we're also talking about a sound that favors ingenuity and imagination, so of course Europe made itself heard right from the start. And at first it really was a showdown between imagination and substance, you know. Because in the UK came along someone who would later make imagination and instinct his defining traits: Hudson Mohawke. Yes, the same one who later made “Thunder Bay“, founded TNGHT with “Higher Ground” and invented modern trap. But back at the time of “Butter“, the 2009 record that promoted him to leading man of modern beats, he was a volcano of ideas and inventions aimed at a discerning audience.

A very strange record, "Butter". It probably can't even be considered fully successful, given the thousand directions it takes and its fragmentary structure, which in the end never leaves you fully satisfied. But what a wealth of ideas, folks. Some fall into that elusive dimension that made wonky so fascinating to the more analytical ear, some are cheerful, almost funky, and others have that melodic sense and boldness that would later become the stylistic signature of another heavyweight of the genre, Rustie. Probably the most complex record of the batch we're working through. Wonky was becoming increasingly elusive.

Lukid – Chord (2010, Werk Discs)

Chord was already the third album by an artist who for years had been exploring abstract beats. And with results that were quite well received by insiders, let's be clear (the previous album, "Foma", got a 4.5/5 on ResidentAdvisor). That's because the style was remarkably evocative and intelligent, as befits a contemporary-minded release coming out of London. Yes, "Chord" could well be the emblem of London's contribution to the wonky cause: exquisitely refined, abstract and visionary, a painter of landscapes that would only fully open up much later. And without even the pressure of hype, unlike, one way or another, the two records we've looked at so far, "Los Angeles" and "Butter".

And yet, as we said at the start of this journey: the perfect wonky record never came out, because every record was always burdened with too many thoughts and worries about how the sound itself should actually sound. And that made every record quite complex. "Chord" is basically a record made by engineers (you've seen the cover art, right?). Those who were already deeply immersed in the sound, or simply thirsty for experimentation (and the person writing this was firmly in both categories back then), loved that record. The rest of the audience probably didn't even know it existed. And listening back to it today? Well, in hindsight, yes, its appeal should be clear to everyone now. There was a visionary yet sturdy elegance to it, it was convoluted but concrete, it oozed enthusiasm but never let instinct take full control. It's a record that has endured, but one that many have forgotten. That's exactly why we're rediscovering wonky today. It's the right moment.

Samiyam – Sam Baker's Album (2011, Brainfeeder)

"The Most Underrated Wonky Records" section, episode no. 1: the second album by Samiyam, released in 2011 on Flying Lotus's Brainfeeder (who at the time was pushing the wonky sound with considerable energy). A record worth revisiting and appreciating properly. Because now, today, it's easy to say Samiyam is one of the leading figures of modern beats. Back then, nobody said that. Back then Samiyam was one of those underground names known by very few and appreciated by even fewer. Partly because "Sam Baker's Album" was a record that seemed to head in a different direction, full of thick electro verses and gangsta attitude. Something that wasn't immediately associated with the elegance of the wonky sound circulating at the time.

Listen to that record now, though. It now seems like the record that understood things best, among those we're discussing. Because it was firmly planted in the urban made in Usa sound, yet it expressed itself through essential cuts and only barely sketched moves. It wasn't an arrogant record. Add arrogance and you'd have gotten a classic trap record from a few years later, but no, that record had a different intention. It was a little instruction manual on what you could do, and above all what you couldn't do, with gangsta beats. Practically a warning. Which today sounds a lot like "take this and put it to good use". With the small detail that nobody ever did put that sound to use again. Except him, the unheeded prophet of a sound all his own.

Onra – Chinoiseries pt. 2 (2011, All City)

"The Most Underrated Wonky Records" section, episode no. 2: Onra's "Chinoiseries", specifically part two. A minor record by a minor artist who, throughout his career, has always had his mind on other things. Because on paper, Onra should never have set foot in the wonky niche. Based in Paris but deeply immersed in American sounds, he started out as an exponent of a fairly classic r'n'b, and even in his most recent work (last year's "Fundamentals") he's done nothing but revisit the most classic hip hop character. In between, however, this gem emerged, unknown to virtually everyone, which, in spite of itself, represents one of the most complete expressions of wonky in existence.

For one simple, all-encompassing reason: it brought out the side of wonky that knows how to look beyond, discovering sounds from far-flung places, combining a genre's sturdy, imaginative rhythmic foundation with a highly ambitious upward reach that scanned the horizon in search of the most distant element still compatible with the mix. In simple terms: this record was meant to be his personal reinterpretation of Eastern musical traditions, but what came out instead was the most cultured side that wonky was able to display. And no one can even claim to have truly intended this outcome for this record. It was basically an accident. Some things simply emerge on their own, as entities unto themselves. The credit here lies in daring to attempt such an improbable mix.

Lapalux – Forest & Many Faces Out Of Focus EPs (2011, Self-released)

Lapalux's trajectory from his beginnings to today is a very strange one. He came out of nowhere as a young experimenter with advanced sounds on his early EPs (which we'll get to in a moment), first discovered by the press and then by FlyLo, who signed him to Brainfeeder in 2012 (just to pursue his aim of monopolizing the beatmakers of the moment). Then came "Nostalchic", which was basically a glo-fi record with a few extra ambitions, and the reactions were lukewarm at best, to the point that nobody expected much from him anymore. Finally, last year, "Lustmore" arrived, bringing the surprise of a perfect balance between intelligence and rhythm. In short: promise, decline and resurrection within the space of three years, without even the anchor of stylistic consistency. For a long time all he did was follow his own spontaneous instincts, which mostly resulted in records that were only partially successful.

The first two EPs, however, were remarkably futuristic. The subtle, abstract melodic sections that would come to define him as an artist were already there, but alongside them were noise passages, sometimes even aggressive ones, synth forays and dreamlike moments. Back when wonky was barely talked about at all, he was already producing tracks like "Quick Kiss" and "Peafowls On The Carousel", hard to fully grasp because they had their hands in too many different directions at once. The classic way of introducing yourself to an audience by intriguing them with future potential. Which, in fact, never fully tied itself to wonky, also because wonky itself widened its own boundaries almost immediately, making it extremely difficult to pin down the scene. Lapalux was there, though, in his own way. That is, hidden behind a semi-transparent white sheet. And moving elusively, as he would in every one of his subsequent records.

Clams Casino – Instrumental Mixtape (2011, Self-released)

One of the hardest figures to pin down among those featured in this journey that began two weeks ago. On the scene since 2008, albeit sporadically, producer for many hip-hop artists and others (Lil B, A$ap Rocky, The Weeknd, Blood Orange, FKA Twigs), Clams Casino can be considered the ghost producer who inspired wonky. Working mostly behind the scenes on other people's music and stepping into the spotlight only for a handful of remixes and the "Instrumental Mixtapes". Three in total, but the standout is the first one, in which he manages to connect three different trends that were hot at the time: new r'n'b (this was the period of great ferment when Frank Ocean had just emerged, for instance), the darkwave that would later make Tri Angle's fortune (who, in fact, signed him to their roster as early as 2011), and the new rhythms, precisely.

It was a fairly acclaimed record, it must be said. Still within niches (the discerning hip-hop crowd and the abstract crowd keeping an eye on wonky), but within those niches it became a minor cult item. And listening back to it now, the record has a wide-ranging appeal, precisely because it's easy to spot the various directions that would later blossom. Among its moments most closely tied to wonky is the "Rainforest EP" and that "Gorilla" track that got so much play back then, while the first "Instrumental Mixtape" yielded several top-tier tracks, always balanced between melancholic vocals and abstract rhythm. A record that remains embedded in the moment when the wonky sound was approaching maturity, even though it doesn't let itself get too swept up in the matter. Like a good observer. Listening back to it now, it flows calm and easy, and it's a pleasure.

Shlohmo – Bad Vibes (2011, Friends of Friend)

Emerging in a way very similar to Lapalux around the same time, Shlohmo is Flying Lotus's most accomplished protégé. His early EPs (all of extremely high quality, and a listening pleasure that has endured over time) came out as far back as 2009-2010, and sit perfectly within the sound of the moment. His work is one of the most ingenious expressions of the wonky sound of that era, so thoroughly steeped in the jazzy nuances and glo-fi sensibilities that were sweeping through that period. When they came out, "Camping", "Shlohmoshun" and "Places" became a small, fast-spreading phenomenon among talent scouts, and the name Shlohmo began reaching the ears of anyone on the hunt for something new.

Then, in 2011, came his debut album, Bad Vibes. It earned another 4.5/5 on ResidentAdvisor and confirmed that this was a thoroughbred talent. The record had a thousand shades and just as many soft edges; it was accessible to any kind of listener, yet it still delivered strong stimuli to trained ears. Once again, this wasn't one of those records you simply appreciate for the feelings it stirs up. You could pinpoint with surgical precision all the reasons it was an exceptional record: the reuse of certain rhythmic sections usually considered experimental, which here came across as effortlessly enjoyable; chillwave sensations freed this time from stereotype; and, weaving through the tracks, that future-jazz spirit — the one that always floors you, because only two or three people in the world can really pull it off, and pull it off well. It was one of the peaks of the wonky sound at the very best moment of one of the genre's visionaries, and it's a shame that it's remembered far too rarely today.

Rustie - Glass Swords (2011, Warp Records)

Greeted with thunderous applause from critics and audiences alike — with some later crediting it as the record that invented trap in Europe, Simon Reynolds coining on the spot the term "digital maximalism" for it, and pretty much everyone declaring it the pinnacle of modern beats — Rustie's "Glass Swords" is the most discussed (and debatable) record among those featured in this journey. This writer, at the time, wasn't all that enchanted by it. Mostly because of how it compared, in terms of sheer inventiveness, to certain things Rustie had done on his EPs, which were better at capturing the UK's irreverent imagination in the face of new post-everything sounds. In terms of context, then, "Glass Swords" was an irreverent, in some ways disrespectful, parting shot.

But analyzed today with a cool head, as a thing unto itself, "Glass Swords" was a volcano of ideas. Ideas that in the following months were repeatedly recycled and essentially became the main blueprint for the European approach to beat music. At the same time, it was the record that strayed furthest from the defining spirit of wonky, turning it into more of a young dance-music affair, rejecting its hip-hop roots and piling on the breakbeats, effectively giving birth to one of the first fully-formed shapes of European trap. Which is, in fact, the end point of the journey we're making: right at the moment trap emerges, the true value of wonky already belongs to the past tense. Take a listen, for instance, to the track above. You're perfectly free to place it already outside the wonky cauldron, and yet it's essential to understanding the evolution of this sound. We started out back in 2008 with Flying Lotus and the J Dilla influences. Here we are in 2011, and we've already moved on to trap.

Various artists – Beat.it – This Is Not A Revival (2011, Self-released)

Here it is, the gem to keep in mind. It came out in early 2012, as an attempt (perhaps a bit belated) to spread the word about the quality and dedication of the Italian scene within the wonky phenomenon that had exploded in the preceding years. And folks, the compilation "Beat.it", which gathered together the best beatmakers active in abstract-leaning research in our country, remains one of the finest and most ingenious records among the ten featured in this journey. Because the Italian scene at that time was a whirlwind of enthusiasm and talent unlike almost anything else that had happened in our country. And, worse still, it has remained one of the least-known homegrown expressions of all time. Because, alas, back home that wasn't exactly the sound that could become a listening trend, and getting noticed abroad in a field that was fundamentally niche remained an impossible task with the resources available.

The paradox is that if you listen to "Beat.it" (you can do so anytime on Bandcamp), you'll realize that the artists on the record were the ones who had best understood the true original spirit of the wonky sound. One that shouldn't get dragged too far by an aggressive futuristic streak (are you listening, Rustie?), nor get too caught up in the other trends of the moment (glo-fi and darkwave, the main weaknesses of Clams Casino and Lapalux, are absent here). The sixteen tracks on this collection were rich in imagination yet uncompromising in their premise: the scope of action was the beat, and dirty laundry gets washed at home, without asking anyone else for help. In fact, this is where wonky found synthesizers at their very best. It was also one of the high points for several producers who would go on to establish themselves in the years to come: Digi G'Alessio, Kappah, AD Bourke, Colossius, Morpheground, Grillo, ContaineR, Manuele Atzeni. If you don't know them, it's not your fault — it's simply a matter of unfortunate circumstances stemming from the nature of their music, and shortcomings in Italian music journalism. But now is the time to make up for it.

Journey's end. This was an examination we felt was worth undertaking, of a sound we feel is increasingly present among today's releases and some of the currently trendiest revivals. Because it's always a pleasure to celebrate J Dilla or Madlib all over again. But we always feel a pang of regret seeing that the fruits of certain of their insights gave rise to some of the most exciting expressions we had in the first half of this decade. And plenty of people have forgotten about them. Take this long overview for what it is: a moment to pause and reflect on something, and a place to return to in order to discover and rediscover certain sounds lost to time.

(Article originally published on Aural Crave)

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