The Opus' Mr. Echoes and the Isle of Weight are two of the most brilliant beatmakers working in hip-hop circa 2003. The duo, who has collaborated with artists including
Aesop Rock,
Murs,
Meat Beat Manifesto, and Slug (of
Atmosphere), uses its signature chopped drums on
Breathing Lessons, but they layer it with strings, untuned piano, analog synths, and bass to create a haunting and disturbing vision. Hardly related to popular dance-based hip-hop (their sound is actually closer to dark drum & bass), their intricate drum programming still manages to be engaging ("Mission Control"), propulsive ("Earthwalker"), and old-school, despite its relentlessly forward-thinking, spacy groove. Maybe far less accessible then their productions for MCs on Rubberoom's Architechnology and their own debut,
First Contact,
Breathing Lessons is still a moody and original hip-hop record that hints at the broad scope of the genre. These guys should be scoring Hollywood's biggest and best sci-fi films. ~ Charles Spano