Anti Pop Consortium vs. Matthew Shipp

What sounds great as a concept isn’t always a great sound in reality. One such example is the merging of experimental electro-hip-hoppers Anti-Pop Consortium with avant-garde jazz pianist Matthew Shipp. Shipp’s band mixes bass, drums, vibes, trumpet, and of course piano, with synthesisers and programming from APC, to create interesting instrumentation. Unfortunately, the beats are sparse and probably not suitable for the Consortium, who never quite seem comfortable rapping here. To add insult to injury, my favourite member of the trio, M. Sayyid, is nowhere to be found, and Beans and Priest don’t even bother to get down together on any single track. Buck 65 and jazz drummer Jerry Granelli collaborated with much better results a few years back, and MC 900 Ft Jesus has pulled this off a lot better on his own a couple of times. Best kept contained to the fans.