Instrmntl – Dabrye

Released as a tangent from his trilogy of LPs for Ghostly, Instrmntl finds Dabrye temporarily linking up with Eastern Developments for another half-hour of abstract instrumental hip-hop. The producer sits the ice block that encased 2001's One/Three out in the sun, lets it melt, and tweaks the formula used for that record such that words like "glitch" and "chilly" no longer have any possible relation -- at least not for this release. And, while not quite as superb as One/Three, Instrmntl has a wider range of sounds to offer. The painfully short "Intrdctn," with its snappy standup bassline, crisp but rounded beat, and lovely keyboard vamps, grabs the ears instantly. Unfortunately, it fades away after a little over a minute, but it's a clever ruse that pulls the listener in. The following "Won" holds many examples of Dabrye's ability to place disparate elements alongside each other and have them fit with positive results. A pleasant stomp is accompanied by handclaps, cowbells, bleeps, and synth zaps, the latter of which is most prominent. At the three-minute mark, the song drops out completely in favor of radio static. When the song reappears a second later, the zaps are gone. A flute that previously made one-note punctuations perks up and coaxes out a lovely filigree to finish the song off. "Evelyn," while much less complex, is the deepest, warmest track Dabrye has created yet, based on more rich keyboards, thick drum kicks, and extra touches that glimmer and swoon. As to why these records are so brief, who knows? Perhaps Dabrye likes it short and sweet. Or maybe he's trying to avoid being slapped with lawsuits by people in neck braces. After all, an 80-minute Dabrye record could have fatal results for even the most flexible of necks. ~ Andy Kellman, All Music Guide