Chow Down : 011 HighMarks

Welcome to Episode 11 of our weekly guest mix the Chow Down curated by me, Scizzorhands. Each week I'll bring you a different DJ as we travel all over the world, across loads of different genres.

If you ask the average person (as long as they aren't your average music head) what hip-hop is, they'll probably gravitate towards what's on commercial radio. But far from the common perception, hip-hop like all genres has it's sub-genres. Some people love these niche styles so much they live, eat and breathe that sound. For example, you could have a friend that loves hip-hop as much as you do, but not be into a majority of the same hip-hop artists.

One niche genre to gain traction in New Zealand in recent years is Lo-Fi. But what is it? My perception is that it dates back to the Wu-Tang Clan's album Enter The Wu-Tang (36 Chambers) which was released in 1993. There are many other influentual records from that era also that used samples from dusty records complete with the record crackle, but RZA's production on Wu-Tang's 36 Chambers gave a completely new sound.

The sampling machines of the era also had distinct identites that made samples sound "punchy" or "gritty", giving a low fidelity sound. In recent years a machine called the Roland SP-404 has made its way into the hands of young aspiring producers who have and re-spawned a movement. They have some form of access to 90's hiphop, taking notes and inspiration from producers such as J.Dilla, Pete Rock, RZA and Madlib (just to name a few). This new generation gives us Lo-Fi.

As a tutor and a happy on-looker of the new generation, I have hand-picked up and coming hip-hop producer and rapper HighMarks. Peep his mix below.

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