The latest releases reviewed.
MADLIB Beat Konducta Vol 3-4: Beat Konducta in India Stones Throw ****
A prolific bunch, the Jacksons of Oxnard, California. With little brother Oh No hitting all the right buttons in his recent Dr No's Oxperiment, it's time for underground kingpin Madlib to load up once again on the samples and deliver more head- nodding, slo-mo, hypnotic and horizontal grooves and beats. While it can be hard to keep track of his whereabouts (Madlib's career-long run has seen him bed down with everyone from J Dilla for the Jaylib "Champion Sound" joint to MF Doom for some choice Madvillainy), his Beat Konducta fix is all about turning seemingly unworkable samples into gold. Here, Madlib takes it to the Bollywood bridge, aiming to score the imaginary movie in his head with hooksome and funky sitars, frantic drums and vocal samples. Few tracks stick around to develop any character traits, yet such cameos are well worth watching out for. www.stonesthrow.com JIM CARROLL
Download tracks: Indian Hump, Freeze