Beetz by Konejo

Avec "Beetz" et ses 35 vignettes adeptes du contrepied dont les atmosphères cathartiques laissent de l'espace aux beats ludiques et aux mélodies immédiates, Konejo tente de trouver l'équilibre entre sampling, instrumentation et textures, à la croisée de l'electronica versant lo-fi, du hip-hop instru bricolo, de l'ambient, et des musiques de films qui continuent de nourrir son imaginaire par boucles interposées. Un album initialement conçu comme une "beat tape" pour faire évoluer dans un format plus court et percutant les soundtracks clairs-obscurs de son premier LP "Snapping Back In", et aussi riche en guests talentueux qu'en télescopages improbables !

Konejo liner notes :

« I always hated beet, nearly as much as the Beatles... but i love beetles, beats and collage of bits and pisces (especially on April's Fools') so i guess you could say that i have a bitter/sweet relationship with those bits and pieces of personal stories and imaginary films focused on beats - and yet, still very much shaped and textured by bits of vintage B movie samples. But hey, no sweat ! I actually don't hate any of it, the bitter part being mostly about a few memories and situations from another life that inspired me some of those instrumentals and most of my previous record "Snapping Back In". With a little help from my friends and guests, i even came to consider most of these "Beetz" like sweets for the ear... which i hope you'll do too, despite the relatively intentional lack of consistency that "fake beat tape" tries to play with ! »

Chronique IRM (Elnorton) :

"Extrêmement prolifique - il a déjà sorti l’excellent "Friendly Faces EP : The Error 404 Tape" entretemps - Konejo fait varier les plaisirs et explore, après un "Snapping Back In" plus cinématographique, un univers teinté de beats percutants, de collages astucieux, de mélodies immédiates et de guests talentueux parmi lesquels Noventa, Klimperei, Otrno Slvani et bien d’autres. Long, puisque composé de trente-cinq titres, "Beetz" n’est cependant jamais redondant, le nombre d’invités et les centres d’intérêt élargis du Français lui permettant de s’aventurer dans des ambiances variées allant d’un hip-hop lo-fi aux musiques atmosphériques, en passant par des missives percutantes et des expérimentations abstraites. Bel exercice de style."

Tracklist

1.	Here Comes the Pain	1:07

2.	A Man With A Plan	1:29

3.	Soul Trippin'	2:30

4.	Chased After	0:56

5.	Never in the Moment	1:56

6.	Initiating Night Time Mode	1:55

7.	Films Noirs (feat. HeAD)	2:03

8.	Puppet Without a Ghost	0:56

9.	More of the Same (feat. Collapsology)	1:38

10.	Fear Over the City	1:19

11.	One Minute Thirty Against Sobriety (feat. V)	1:38

12.	Dial 310 For Murder	1:03

13.	The Last Screening	1:10

14.	Itchy & Slashy (feat. Otrno Slvani)	1:46

15.	Blending into the Crowd	1:13

16.	Run Fool, Run (feat. Keolhan)	1:26

17.	How I Started to Worry About the Bomb Again	1:50

18.	Portended Demise (feat. Noventa)	2:00

19.	FX Warfare	1:20

20.	A New Face	2:42

21.	Deaf and Demanding	1:27

22.	Manic Piano (feat. Valgidrà)	1:02

23.	Let It Flow	1:04

24.	As a Kite in a Cab (feat. Klimperei)	1:43

25.	Clemency of the Uncaring	1:16

26.	A Million Ways to Lie in the West (feat. Keolhan)	1:41

27.	Above Retribution ?	1:51

28.	Hint Ravenous (feat. B-Maltais)	1:49

29.	Dawn with the Wind	1:31

30.	Writhen While I Cry	1:03

31.	All I Want for Xmas is You Leave Me Alone	1:56

32.	Neos Sisyphos	2:09

33.	Beyond	1:06

34.	So... What Now ?	2:01

35.	Poverty & Friends	1:45

Credits

released February 6, 2021

Recorded between August 4th, 2020 and January 28th, 2021. Over a hundred samples, mostly from beloved cinematographic sources, were pillaged and desacrated in the making of this album.

Konejo : sample collages, Maschine MKII (live drums / beats / synths / basslines...), Casio CDP-130 (digital piano), Yamaha PSR-E403 (arpeggios), Yamaha PSS-390 & PSS-290 (keyboards / programmed drums / synth modulations), Casio SA-46 (lo-fi keys), Korg Volca Kick (drones / basslines), whistling, beatbox, vocals.

Extra credits :

Track 7 : sample loop by Konejo, beat and everything else by HeAD
Track 9 : sample loop by Konejo, beat and everything else by Collapsology
Track 11 : sample loop and sample arrangements by Konejo, beat and everything else by V
Track 14 : sample loop, bass and post-production by Konejo, beat and everything else by Otrno Slvani
Tracks 16 & 26 : featuring Keolhan on guitars
Track 18 : sample loop and sample arrangements by Konejo, beat and everything else by Noventa
Track 20 : originally composed for the M.A.D. compilation (musicanalysisdiscussionsrecords.bandcamp.com/album/m-a-d)
Track 22 : digital piano and keys by Valgidrà, everything else by Konejo
Track 24 : sample loop and sample arrangements by Konejo, everything else by Klimperei
Track 28 : featuring B-Maltais on Casio SA-46

Artwork by B-Maltais & Konejo.

Kindly and brilliantly mastered by Anatoly 'Tokee' Grinberg (www.discogs.com/artist/3790715-Anatoly-Tokee-Grinberg).

Dedicated to the Maestro, Ennio Morricone.

License

CC BY-NC-ND 3.0. See the Creative Commons website for details.