MC Conrad

LTJ Bukem's Good Looking Organization presents a DJ/MC partnership with a ten-year history in the form of MC Conrad's new release. Many of these tracks have made their presence felt elsewhere in the Points of View or Logical Progressions series. But that was minus the rapping efforts of Conrad. Bukem's sophisticated ambient sounds and thought-provoking musical stylings may at first glance seem inappropriately coupled with Conrad's own background as a freestyling vocalist. Though Bukem might have hit a plateau in his innovative efforts, his continuing creation of a symbiotic relationship between jazz sensibilities, breathtaking jungle beats and ambience meets the requirements to try something innovative. The result works because Conrad's heavy, resonant voice is made unusual via lots of delay on the vocals. The opening track "Words" takes a long time to weave its way in, but becomes compelling. Similarly, "Orchestral Jam" places Conrad's vocals more backstage to allow string-laden compositional material to take the stage. Bukem is always pushing into new turf with his efforts, though some would say he has failed to push his own limits much further since his creative ingenuity in the mid-'90s. This release is a tangential project that may prove to be fruitful to both artists.