Various Artists

Steampunk Experiment: Mechanical Cabaret

CIA

Street: 03.12

Steampunk Experiment: Mechanical Cabaret = S. Maharba x Men In Burka

This album is a beat junky’s playground. As soon as I hear the buzzing bass and tweaked Eastern strings of “Sweet Talk,” I can think of multiple ways to sample the music. The songs would also work well for some trippy scenes of a low-budget film in the desert. Most of the bass is warbled and resembles dubstep, but with the sounds of the Middle East. I like to call it “techno-jihad” or “gypsy dubstep.” This is supposed to be a combination of electronic production and “old world” sounds, so I’d say they nailed the point. Beats Antique provide “Battle,” a hip hop-friendly track with drums and a mean guitar lick straight out of India. That’s the only track I really dig on the album but this compilation may interest anyone into beat production or dubstep. –Justin Gallegos