It’s immensely satisfying when two converging styles can conjure up audio gold on every release. Daily Bread and Artifakts swing for the fences on their third collaboration “Find a Way” on Philos Records and locate another wildly bluesy strain of electronic boom-bap.
These are hip-hop producers in the truest sense. As Daily Bread, Rhett Whatley has a tuneful knack for conjuring up golden-era rap production, 50’s blues samples, tape crackle, and turntablism with enough low-end to press the soulful collage to form.
Wisconsin’s Artifakts, known for his take on Pretty Lights song “Hot Like Sauce” and collaborations with the likes of Griz, plays by a thundering electro-soul groove. His catalogue of original work frequently veers into trip-hop territory, favoring airy, organic samples by way of Emancipator or Boards of Canada.
On “Find a Way” these complimentary flows blend into each other seamlessly. The driving synth really does recall the heyday of Pretty Lights, while the layered soul samples sound faithfully dug from the back of dusty crates. Even more than previous collaborations “Wadsworth Sta.,” and “Next Level Style,” this song sounds wistful, calling for salvation or an end to hardship.
Rather than walloping with a hard-edged funk, “Find a Way” instead delves into the emotional heft that showed impressive artistic growth on both Daily Bread’s “Navigator, Standby” album and Artifakts’ “Glow Up” EP. Truly, the core of the track is pulling from the blues. There’s plenty of hope. There’s some anguish, too. It’s more striking and impactful than your average electronic funk, and that’s commendable.
Given their collaborative chemistry, it comes as no surprise that Daily Bread and Artifakts have teamed up previously for live performances. Thankfully, we’re about to see their brand of old-soul electronic flair when they play back-to-back at BUKU Music & Art Project early Friday afternoon. Color us plenty excited to see these grooving, prolific producers turn some heads at the Ballroom stage.