Adam Deitch - Age of Imperfection (2020)

Here's what's obvious about drummer, producer, multi-instrumentalist Adam Deitch: he does not quit. His induction into music came through a musical family at an early age which parlayed into a life-long dedication to exploring and enriching contemporary forms of funk, jazz, electronica, and more.

What's resulted is his own cross-pollination of styles as he buzzes between psyber-funk squad Lettuce, electronic duo Break Science, his own jazz element Adam Deitch Quartet as well as countless side projects. In his latest solo album Age of Imperfection, he spotlights golden era hip hop with an edge of electronic-organic orchestrations. And if that's not enough, he's released it via his own new label Golden Wolf Records.

There's a lot of detail to be discovered in this release from the NYC-area native, brought up in the era of 80s/90s hip hop. We get submerged into his ocean getting anything from organic chillhop and rude, funk-infused instrumentals to electrified beats reminiscent of the electro-soul explosion of the 2010s.

Here, Deitch creates all of his own instrumental samples and drum breaks from scratch. Opening tracks "Space Dust" and "Meeting of the Mystics" put his talent as a composer immediately on display. He goes full multi-instrumentalist throughout, notably in ever-unfurling track "Meeting of the Mystics" which brings explosive synths completed by juicy Rhodes keyboard solos.

Each track in this album develops story lines through each layer, like "Catch A Groove" where subtly abrasive beats and coarse bass synths bring some grit to the tracks preceding it. The album also brings the necessary contrasts in style, like in "Linden Blvd", where we get sun beams from the golden past through an orchestral J Dilla ambiance both appreciating and re-envisioning the past.

His roots in Break Science and Lettuce glow in a few corners of this album, but we get an identifiable Adam Deitch style in "Nothing Like The Sun". Deitch gets to work on a funk-hip hop infusion that bursts like sunrays through a tall treetop canopy. Closing track "Premium Green" speaks a lot about this album -- rough-edged basslines, boom bap flavor, but undoubtedly chill and groovy. All throughout, the multi-layered melodies, technical drum breaks and auxiliary percussion provide a remedy for the inner buzz of our minds.

Adam Deitch shows true craftsmanship as a veteran in an era of bedroom production. Age of Imperfection builds a mosaic of electronic hip hop that quenches our thirst during the hiatus of electro-hip hop & soul don Derek Vincent Smith AKA Pretty Lights. He bridges the human feel with the electronic synthesis, the golden era of hip hop with the golden era of EDM. And we can put much aside, like genre classifications, to just plug in to the sonic messaging during this confusing and chaotic era.