"Wermonster – Beats from the 4th floor" review by Apocolypse

Today I have the privilege of checking out Wermonster’s – “Beats from the 4^th Floor”. It was released on the 26^th August through the Australian based label, Uncomfortable Beats via Wermonster’s Bandcamp page exclusively.

This beat-tape “diary” follows the beat-focused “Katalyst Sessions vol.1” and “Solar Tales EP”, both were released in 2014 and 2015 on Australian electronic music imprint Uncomfortable Beats. The makers behind the music decided to offer this as a free digital release before Wermonster drop’s his next work which is planned to drop sometime in November.

OK… Time to tuck-in. This album consists of 12 tracks and is purely instrumentals. (Push’s play) Aaaahhhhh, the initial beat drops and we are back in Wermonster’s wonderful land of eclectic compositions. From the onset I can see why the album is considered a continuation of the previous releases. The sounds and overall ambiance is directly relatable to his previous work.

What starts out as a spacey, I just took some acid and now I’m astro-travelling intro, it moves into a playful melodic pantomime. Now we’re getting into the thick of things…. Yessssss! The second track brings some of that boom-bap smooth criminal type of music. As the tracks progress I find myself moving through different emotions. Various sounds and samples dictate the environment Wermonster wants your head-space to be in. I really like how he builds up some of his breaks, it’s execution is that “eye of the storm” type moments and really emphasizes his musical expressions. Each beat has its own realm and emotion to offer, for some you automatically fall back into the scene previously illustrated on his Solar Tales EP. His unique sound and understanding of production run rampant across this beat-tape as he solidifies the direction the instrumentals subtly suggest your conscious towards. Awwwwwwwwwwh…. the outro already? I guess I just lost myself in the music…

From boom-bap, to your more bluesy type of melodies, this beat-tape delves across multiple facets of this wonderful universe we call Hip Hop. I’ve always felt that French producers (Yes I haven’t forgotten that Wermonster live’s in Berlin, he is French by birth) have their own unique sound and perception of the craft which more often than not truly enhances the genre’s diversity throughout continents, and Wermonster really illustrates how far one can go and still neatly fit-in with its contemporary counter parts.

Mmmmmmmmmmm, now comes the hard part. It’s difficult to compartmentalize my favourite track on this beat-tape. The ones that really stood out and connected with me personally were : Four Four, L’Amour Monstre aka I know U got Soul & Castle. The double bass sample, the bappy snare and the driving bass-line of, “Four Four” caught me immediately and prompted me to bop along, like it or not. The string loop and “live” sounding drum kit of L’Amour Monstre entice a malevolent part of one’s psyche, when I close my eyes, I picture myself as a gremlin wearing my fitted with some hella-dope sneaks and tearing through one of Tim Burton’s graveyard scenes. With Castle, the composition of the horns and beat just screams – READY FOR WAR, it’s one of those beats that automatically induce a left-right, militant movement that your head is compelled to follow. If I have to be a stickler for favourites, I’d have to go with – L’_Amour Monstre, from my initial encounter of the track, I knew from the first four bars that THAT’S MY SHIIIIIIIIIT!!!!

My sentiments towards Wermonster’s new offering are positive*, my only two criticisms would be – 1. Vocals were sorely missing on this album, I feel it could of really rounded off a couple of tracks and captured your attention, that said, this album was never intended to include vocalists and purely made as a “beat-tape”, so I understand the reasoning behind his decision to exclude the extra element. 2. I think the track list/compositioning is a little off, a couple times I found myself in no-mans land whilst transitioning between two beats, almost disconnected and lost because the flow was disrupted. Don’t get me wrong, my sentiments by all means are not a repercussion of shoddy work, its just my two cents worth on the situation. I give “Beats from the 4th Floor” 2.5/5 Punchlines, and it leaves me eager to encounter his next offering.

All in all, “Beats from the 4th Floor” is a good listen, there’s different tracks for different cats (booyah I just coined that shit), and if you’re looking for some instrumentals to play in the background or for some music that will induce deep thought and personal reflection, download this album and push play.

Get your copy here:

[bandcamp width=100% height=120 album=2447609853 size=large bgcol=ffffff linkcol=0687f5 tracklist=false artwork=small]

Beats from the 4th Floor trailer: