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epigram 28.02.2023

Artist Spotlight: Danny Chaska don’t get upset about it. "

Up and coming Bristol based producer-rapper Danny Chaska is one to watch in the UK rap scene, as he slowly but surely samples, chops and spits his way forward. Oscar Ross

Taking time to chat with epigram about his thoughts on the UK rap scene and his next steps as a musician, Chaska sipped his beer and gave us his thoughts on gatekeeping and ‘underground rap’: “It's not so much gatekeeping, it's people saying stuff is underground. It closes it off, it makes it feel like it's not going to break out, which is obviously not great for artists like me. I’m not trying to underground forever.”

Editor

idden gems are a strange concept to me. Alongside terms like 'underground', even the long lost meaning of the now overused 'indie', there is an implication of hiding from the spotlight, of staying off the musical grid. Well, Danny Chaska is not a hidden gem, because he's not hiding. This local artist is making waves in the UK rap scene, working with MC's here in Bristol and across London. Chaska produced breakout single 'Madrid', with rapper Hal Shallo recording his bars in Chaska's makeshift bedroom setup, using sheets for sound

dampening and stopping every so often to let the nearby trains pass. 'Madird', now with nearly 3 million streams, merged into Chaska and Shallo's collaborative 2021 album: VICETOWN. 40 minutes of jazzy beats and interweaving bars from the two young MCs, VICETOWN is the sound of nostalgia, of growing up and growing out of things, with tracks like 'Rose Gold', 'Plan C' and 'BRB' effectively capturing the feeling of the album.

Chaska now works either out of studios at DBS, his sound engineering school in Redcliffe, or working with MCs in London. Similar new talents David Armada and Cassius Gray have recently been working closely with Chaska, with some fresh new tunes bound to be on its way this year. Chaska's latest release, 'SE17' shows off his production with bars from South East London MC, Stacy N.K.R. The producer combines stylish sample chops with his own guitar skills and drum loops to create an individual, distinctive sound.

"(Laughing) Then again, if u like a song: post it on your story, send me a message and then maybe hit me up on hinge." Chaska is currently working on a solo project to be released later this year. Working with other local musicisans as well as Mc's from Lodnon, this project could well be right up your street. So when it comes out, don't keep it to yourself, don't put it on your underground playlist, but most of all, definitly don't hit up Danny Chaska on hinge.

Chaska also relayed stories of people DM.ing him about how much they like the songs, laughing about the ways in which people share and don’t share music: "I’ve seen artists saying stuff like ‘don’t gate keep my music’ on their instas and I just think, that’s not your job. Just make the music and play the shows,

A b o v e : Danny Chaska @ Breakroom Launch © Mo's Lens / Featured Top © Oscar Ross

Editors' Picks: Best New Releases SPACE 2 by Marlon Craft Oscar Ross, Editor

This Stupid World by Yo La Tengo Josh Templeman, Co-Deputy Editor

Desire, I Want To Turn Into You by Caroline Polachek Jake Paterson, Co-Deputy Editor

The sequel to Craft’s 2021 album, SPACE, SPACE 2 is well, more of the same. For those who don’t know, Marlon Craft is an east coast singer-rapper combining rusty sample beats with hard-spat and sang bars with old-school flows. While Craft’s earlier work was closer to Action Bronson than Jack Harlow, SPACE 2 sees Craft move more towards the sound of Mac Miller, and before you spit your iced latte all over your ‘Swimming’ merch, please take this comparison with the smallest pinch of salt. Craft is moving towards conscious, less sample-focused work, drawing more attention to his vocals and his songwriting, with the closing track ‘Human First’ showing this move the most. Give it a listen and see if you agree.

Their first full-length studio release in five years, Yo La Tengo return with This Stupid World, a project that deftly demonstrates the band's versatile abilities. The album is both crisp and concentrated, with instrumentals and lyricism that are undoubtedly some of their best in a long time. This Stupid World can only be described as a musical triumph. The album was released February 10 2023, and is arguably the livliest album they've produced in a while, which is saying something given that they've produced 17 studio during the time .

So captivating in immense detail, Caroline Polachek turns the simplest refrain into something outrageously irresistible. The album’s far-reaching pop ambitions are grounded in the personal longing for hopeless romance (see ‘Smoke’ and ‘Blood And Butter’), and tracks like ‘Bunny Is A Rider’ take tens of listens to fully work out just how it manages to send you into a trance. Polachek doesn’t sit still, shifting from avant-garde pop to flamenco between tracks effortlessly, including features from Grimes and Dido whilst upstaging them completely, and Desire is a career highlight. the most. Give it a listen and see if you agree.

Fragments Time Out of Mind Sessions (1996-1997): The Bootleg Series, Vol. 17 by Bob Dylan Sam Cox, Digital Editor Bob Dylan’s bootleg series has been rolling out steadily for over thirty years at the time of writing, and gold from the deep, dark Dylan mine shows no sign of letting up yet. The latest addition contains over five hours of remixes, outtakes, and live cuts attached to 1997’s Time Out Of Mind. The appeal of these over-stuffed bootlegs is that between one take and another Dylan’s delivery can change his songs’ meanings so drastically that they become unrecognisable from their more familiar counterparts. Sure, you won’t sit down with this thing in one listen, but at this point, the bootleg series serves as an important archiving project for one of America’s great writers.