Favourite Releases of 2012: Beats Antique - Contraption Vol. II (Antique Records)

My first thought upon hearing Contraption Vol. II, my introduction to Beats Antique, was, "I never knew music could sound like this." Even though I'd heard a lot of "eclectic," "genre-bending" music before, I couldn't help but feel that such overused terms could not do Beats Antique justice. The only alternative I can think of is "world music," and even that term is too widely tossed around as a broad stroke to refer to seemingly any music made outside of North America and Britain. Maybe "world fusion," which I've also come across in reference to Beats Antique, is more apt, as generally repulsive as anything that ends with "fusion" may seem without even being heard.

At least the word "fusion" gives a sense of how seamlessly Beats Antique blends a vast array of musical styles. One moment, you're being seduced by the sounds of the Far East. The next, elements of dubstep and drum 'n' bass join the polyphony, and you're cast into a trance by a steady, bold electronic beat on top of dramatic strings ("The Allure"). Or you're rocketing across vast dune vistas in the Middle East ("Skeleton Key"). Hip-hop scratches and fades also pervade Contraption, such as on the Indian-influenced "Crush," and by the end of the album, you may find yourself oafishly box-stepping to the fat, gypsy waltz of closer "Bloody Bones." Often, such shifts in imagery, scenery and mindsets occur organically, sometimes even within seconds of the same song.

At once exotic and familiar, antiquated (exactly as the group's name describes) and contemporary, Contraption Vol. II transports listeners into an atemporal space where concepts of culture and regionalism don't exist beyond the words we seemingly arbitrarily assign to their associated sounds. Where Contraption takes listeners, the world is one, truly a melting pot - truly a unique listening experience.