Calamalka

This is the second solo-effort from Vancouver-based producer Calamalka; it is lurching dub (without the step) meets proto-hip-hop backbeats ― an album that is worth a good head snap, rather than a deep shouldered strut or an exhalant hand to the sky. Calamalka pulls what sounds like dirty South hip-hop production through the fugged-out lens of some solid West-coast weed ― the results are the kinds of beats you'd want to hear A$AP Rocky rhyming over on his next effort. Album highlight "Toni" is where it all comes together, matching washed-out half-samples with the bang, tweak and drop dominating the album, bringing the track to a downbeat disco climax. All The Way Up translates the energy of Calamalka's acclaimed live sets well, even when listened to in the solitary comfort of your biggest, bass-enhancing headphones. You can definitely "get low" to this one, either on your own or with 5,000 of your closest friends.