NEW MUSIC: MONOMETRIC by KOGNITIF

Put aside any and all preconceived ideas of Abstract Hip Hop. What, you may ask, IS Abstract Hip Hop? If you know artists Definitive Jux, Anticon and Ninja Tune, then you know Abstract Hip Hop. However, let’s take the stance that this is new terminology for most of us (including me) and define what it is: Abstract Hip Hop is the experimental use of structural elements outside of hip-hop considered unconventional within the larger hip hop music genre, such as Trance (Trance-Hop), Acid Jazz elements, even some Downtempo.

Other ways to describe Abstract Hip Hop are experimental hip-hop, avant-garde hip-hop and avant-hop. Some conservative hip-hop fans claim that it’s not truly hip-hop. It’s been part of the underground hip hop scene since the early 2000s with the focus on abstract ideas such as existentialism or social institutions rather than everyday problems or the arrogant boastfulness.

The reason for the genre-bending lesson? Kognitif. I happened across a video while, well, looking through videos, and came across Kognitif feat. Jeanette Robertson – “So let’s begin” and was so taken by the sultry, bluesy, jazzy sound that crackled with the subtleness of vinyl that I searched further. The search led me to Soundcloud, where the next installment in my lesson was Kognitif’s “LUNACY”, from the January 24, 2014 album release “MONOMETRIC”. Even the artwork, by Outläw Gräphic, is much like the flow of this album.

Kognitif released the fourteen song, multilingual album via bandcamp initially, and then on iTunes. There isn’t much as far as a bio on this French based producer, but if this album is any indication, we’ll be hearing much more from him.

The elements used to put this album together make each song a unique experience that you have to go back to, just to make sure the first experience was what you thought. Yeah, it’s like that.

Looking for something with an edge that isn’t all sharp and hard, this is the step in that direction.

Support the artists involved in this project and purchase the music.

In the meantime, click play, follow Kognitif and open your mind.

BONUS VIDEO