With Voices

Thanks to the efforts of outfits like the Low End Theory, Los Angeles's underground hip-hop scene feels a lot like a lens, focusing influences from abroad (like dubstep) and beaming its local figureheads (Flying Lotus, Gaslamp Killer) back out upon the world stage as bearers of a progressive, fusion-minded sound. Beginning in the early '00s, Ammoncontact were early adopters of that internationalist model, releasing densely packed post-boom-bap epics on labels like London's Soul Jazz and Prefuse 73's Atlanta-based Eastern Developments along with LA's own Plus Research. After a string of mostly instrumental albums, in 2006 they got down with a host of MCs to create With Voices, a record whose title is self-explanatory. The varied styles of guests like X-Clan's Brother J, Organized Konfusion's Prince Po, Abstract Rude and Dwight Treble keep the mood dynamic, and the beats frequently push at the limits of hip-hop itself, running from soul-jazz fantasias to house-inspired broken beat. Mixing up psychedelic strains of avant-garde jazz with distorted synths and drum machines, Ammoncontact and friends create moody, unusually immersive soundscapes that sound just as good on Sunday morning as they did the night before.