Omar-S: Side Trakx Vol. 2 EP

One of the coolest things about Detroit producers is that they’ll blow you away with a hard techno track, then a melodic house number, then some ill downtempo beats… all under the same alias (sometimes all on the same record). Omar S demonstrates this dynamic with his second volume of impeccably produced downtempo beats. “Efilive” is drop-dead-gorgeous, reason alone to buy this shit. Omar drops some delicate jazz drums and gets his boy to drop live piano licks (Ob Ignitt that dropped 2012’s anthem “Oh Jabba”) . “Meziere” follows with a bastard mix of heavy dub and modern hip-hop production. The flip switches styles once more with the Nintendo beats of “Leave Luck To Heaven” and the Ghostly-esque “I Know Chun Li.”

• music label: FXHE Records 2008

reviewed by the mgmnt 12/2008