Low-Life | UK Hip Hop Story | Ed Eckersley

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Ed Eckersley - For The Cause CD [Demo]

Tracklist:
01. Track 1
02. Track 2
03. Track 3
04. Track 4
05. Track 5
06. Track 6
07. Track 7
08. Track 8

Ed Eckersley is 20 years old and is based in South London. He has been producing a wide range of styles for the last four years including instrumental Hip Hop, Funk, and Drum n Bass. This is Ed Eckersley's latest demo which is self released, available now and he has dropped off a copy for a quick summation. At the present time he is conducting a number of gigs in and around the South London area. Although this demo is instrumental Ed states that for the live shows he is getting some MC to feature.

The eight track demo gets going with an gentle mid tempo track which is swept along with the rocking beat and quietly mixed melodies of Zithers and the odd horn. This track beat in this state is just begging to be be blessed with some lyrics and with a bit of a retouch to bring out the instruments over the drums a bit more would make a great ambient track. Track two injects a whole heap of leg shaking funk into the equation with a heavy bass line and a repeating chopped guitar lick. Augmented with some keyboard pads, ghostly celeste and a simple but very effective beat, this one grabbed me where it should.

A heavy and rapid kick drum pattern heralds the arrival of track three for a more clubby Miami Bass feel of a groove. Assorted electronica fills the verses and the change is supplied by a piano and tin whistles as the arrangement progresses towards the end of the track. Track four feels more like a proper instrumental with more orchestration which could compete with an MC. As such this sounds a bit more like a come down trip hop track rather than a full on Hip Hop instrumental.

Track 5 continues to demonstrate Ed's versatility for a well crafted instrumental with a relaxing vibe to it. Muted bells, rim shots and a keyboards melody intermingle for a thoroughly pleasing Tribe-esq offering which is perhaps marred with some distorted bass drops towards the end. Track 6 mixes up some samples from a variety of sources for a bit of a jumbled experience where a funky piano sits uncomfortably against a distorted guitar. This guitar is later replaced by one with some wah wah and sounds better for it.

The penultimate track, number 7 again is largely beat driven for an up tempo rocker which samples a familiar sounding guitar and overlays a piano for a summery floor filler. What has been a successful showcase of beats is rounded off with number 8 which starts off as a bit of a plodder before the hectic hi-hats get going. The bass has a bit of an indie feel and even though the beat built slowly I didn't really have the patience with this one to see where it was going. Unfortunately this one was 7 minutes long and didn't really go anywhere.

Overall Ed has dropped some bombs here and seems to be able to both touch on different styles whilst forging his own sound. He has a good ear and can appreciate how to arrange differently for both an MC and for an instrumental. He says that he is always on the look out for MCs to work with so if you need some beats, hit him up.

http://edeckersley.proboards40.com :: edeckersley@hotmail.com