WHAKAOHO 005: scallops hotel - too much of life is mood (2016)

 

WHAKAOHO 005

scallops hotel - too much of life is mood (2016)

2016 was a hectic time. I was an emotional teenager and hip-hop like this was something I was really looking for. Introspective, calm, sample-based and indie. A few of these songs have some of my favourite bars to quote every now and then. I say the words: "He put the magic in my left hand" all the time, which is weird, cause I don't know what that means. 

Scallops Hotel is the alter-ego of renowned rapper R.A.P Ferreira, previously known as milo. His voice is infectious to listen to, and occupies a pretty unique space in hip-hop music in my opinion. His scallops hotel projects are, as he claims: "written without the audience in mind" which is a pretty interesting way to go about that. This tape is messier, honest, open and is half instrumental. When I make music, I am often VERY preoccupied with how it will be heard, or interpreted, and that can often get in the way of the actual creative process, so I imagine this to be a very freeing process for him.

"too much of life is mood" is formatted for cassette tape. It is presented on bandcamp as a single 40min track, so encourages itself to be listened to as such. It has some really great moments. "2" is an Elucid led track with expertly crafted lyricism. "Hank dumas's thoughts" takes Henry Dumas poetry and flips it to fit the sound collage nature of the tape. This as a format was influential on me as a young music artist, it really opened up my perspective on what an album/mixtape could be or sound like. Especially on a platform like bandcamp and in a DIY way. It is for this reason that I would recommend it to others, as I think it has a lot to offer in terms of comfort or inspiration.

- R

"While my own shallow soul feel like a quick sandpit, 

At the table of life like where's the mixed man sit?"

 

Favourite songs:

"2"

"Niopo Tree Stipend"

"A Handful of Mullberry Berries"

"discussing lanquidity with the moor"

Listen:

https://afrolab9000.bandcamp.com/album/too-much-of-life-is-mood

WHAKAOHO 004: Yo La Tengo - I Can Hear The Heart Beating as One (1997)

 

WHAKAOHO 004

Yo La Tengo - I Can Hear the Heart Beating as One (1997)

If you took away every album that Max has ever recommended to me, my all-time list would be half as long. Aside from my parents and my brothers he is a huge influence on my taste. He would have put me on this album in 2017, and it must have slipped through the cracks and never found its way to my ears. I have spoken about this album on here before in my short lived orange m&m series, where I properly dove into this record as a full listen head first, I have had it on repeat over the last little while.

This is really really something. Sitting in a record store with no one to talk to, practising driving on your own as the sun is shining, doing the dishes. When I hear the opening track: "Return to Hot Chicken" (potentially the greatest song title of all time), I am taken back to 2017. My friends and I would spend our time after high-school hanging out, eating cheap snacks from jadan near Max's place and (as far as my brain is capable of remembering) the sun was always close to setting. I have been thinking a lot recently about how much I have changed since this period of time, and getting older can be quite unnerving. This album really helps with that feeling. It is a deep breath.

The whole thing dances around the edges of the various sub-genres that indie rock takes, with songs that are slow and somber, some that are shoegaze-y and noisy, and some that are twee-pop. All of them work cohesively together. No track feels out of place and yet they are all different. Indie-rock albums often have a tendency to get old, or have a lack of creativity among the tracklist. But this album does not suffer any of those problems. 

Please listen to this album. It is very very very good.

- R

"Well it's One PM again

I guess I'm ready to begin,

And it's reeling, there's a feeling,

Let's not make any sudden moves"

Favourite songs:

"Sugarcube"

"Damage"

"Shadow"

"Stockholm Syndrome"

"One PM Again"

Listen:

https://yolatengo.bandcamp.com/album/i-can-hear-the-heart-beating-as-one-25th-anniversary-deluxe-edition

https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLfqWkY7RIxIVM8wJM4nT41RWgQBdMl2Ai

WHAKAOHO 003: Cormega - The Realness (2001)

 

WHAKAOHO 003

Cormega - The Realness (2001)

Cormega was off my radar for a long time. When I was younger and I leapt head first into 90s Hip-Hop, I was needlessly strict and ignored most albums released past 2000 for a long time. This is a great great album. It is calm and poetic and makes no excuses for being underground. In this album he makes it crystal clear who his music and life is dedicated to.  The sound is tight and focussed, the production, the rhymes, it all moves forwards at a steady pace. Production credits on this album include Havoc, J-Love, and The Alchemist. 

I first listened to this album while cleaning my kitchen and found it really sat in my head along with the mood of that day. It was a cloudy day, and doing an aimless task tends to let my brain soak everything in a lot more. It was melancholy, this album lives up to its title, it does not shy away from sad stories and lyrics about people Cormega has lost. 

"Thun and Kicko" feat. Prodigy is a Nas diss track, and I had no idea until I actually went out of my way to look it up. Happy to find out through research that they had all made up eventually, especially before Prodigy's death (RIP). Also a great track on this album is "Fallen Soldiers" with its iconic bass line. I would say this album is definitely worth a listen, as too many of these kinds of releases tend to be left behind when it comes to recommendations from other people. I wish I had come across it sooner.

- R

"I treasure our memories together, hard to believe

I'ma never see you again, but i'ma make you breathe with the pen"

Favourite songs:

"Fallen Soldiers"

"Thun and Kicko"

"Rap's a Hustle"

Listen:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dOtBcjPRH8A

WHAKAOHO 002: Mirrorring - Foreign Body (2012)

 

WHAKAOHO 002

Mirrorring - Foreign Body (2012)

It has been a while since I have come across an ambient album that pushes it's way to the top of my favourites. It is no surprise that this album was made in part by Liz Harris, who I would consider one of the finest musicians to ever touch the genre. I initially came across this album in Feburary in 2023 and have thrown it on repeatedly whenever I've needed it.

Mirrorring is a duo made up of Liz Harris from Grouper and Jessy Fortino from Tiny Vipers. The latter of which I was not aware of before listening to this album. It has an element of folk music and jangly guitars that accompany the drones we would come to expect from an album like this very nicely. The use of vocals and lyrics stand alongside the ambience and neither take away from any of the song as a whole.

Layered, textured and easily kept me in tranquil state for it's full length.

"Mirror of Our Sleeping" stands out as my favourite, because of the strong build and emotional intensity of the song.

- R

"Rising light amongst the trees,

Metal shows amongst the clove,

Turn the sail towards the emptiness,

Orphan hollows and never close"

Favourite songs:

"Mirror of Our Sleeping" 

"Silent from Above"

"Drowning the Call"

Listen:

https://mirrorring.bandcamp.com/album/foreign-body

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TRraLwpE79I