Suite Grooves Review

Inkswel is an Adelaide based DJ and producer who started out in the Adelaide Hip Hop scene. After jaunts in London, Amsterdam and Berlin during the 2000’s he’s now a prolific producer with multiple albums out on multiple labels including his own label Inner Tribe Records. He calls himself a “Purveyor of all things soulful” on Bandcamp and that’s exactly what you can find on his latest album ‘Follow The Stars’. Lots of collaborations with vocal duties ranging from hip hop to funk. On ‘You & Me’ – Wallace and Jsoul cook up killer beats with dreamy vocals. Jeswon from Australian hip hop crew Thundamentals drops rhymes on the ‘Crew’. Both Tableek and Moniquea are smooth and catchy on their tracks.

Bandcamp:

To follow the stars, a symbol of mystery and wild nature, a journey through the beats and ideas that lay the foundations born out of Hip Hop. A heartfelt and inspiring message of looking forward into the manifestation of creation. A puzzle piece collected in the fragments of moments and memories from childhood then beyond, the culmination of influences and vibrations.

Inkswel started his journey enamoured by the beats, in love with a culture from far away that had traversed boundaries and sprinkled its influences to every corner of the globe. The beats initiated this captivation, and have been the back bone ever since. From humble beginnings in the local rap scene, making beats for up and coming crews, to travelling the world as an in demand DJ, to collaborating with heavyweights like Lee Scratch Perry and Talib Kweli – Inkswel’s fast forward work ethic mirrors his dedication and this is seen in the Hip Hop focussed LP “Follow The Stars”. Always looking beyond our humble planet, an intergalactic theme is intentionally carried through the space in each song.

“Follow The Stars” draws on the myriad of influences that have sporadically yet poignantly created the sound Inkswel is renowned for – P-Funk, 80’s Pop, Boogie Funk, classic 90’s Hip-Hop, and Contemporary Soul, stitched all together into a seamless, multi-colored package.

A DJ first and foremost, Inkswel tips his hat to the turntablist foundations he grew from, inviting Scratch Perverts member DJ Prime Cuts to lay scratches on “Hey Love” featuring Bay Area funktress Moniquea. Reeling it back home, Adelaide DJ veteran and life long friend DJ Nixon does the same on “Koopa” featuring Fat Beats rising star J Scienide. A worldwide theme runs deep on this record, but points of respect are brought back home with local features from Australia’s cream of the crop appearing on the record in the form of Jeswon of Thundamentals, Soul Elixr, and Theodore Moon.

In its essence this is a Hip Hop record, but it sea-saws on the soul spectrum, with a heavy dose of raw drums and funk throughout. This lays the foundation for lyrical contributions from Minneapolis MC I Self Devine, MF Doom hype man John Robinson, Ohmega Watts, Pugs Atomz, Wordsworth and Tableek from Maspyke. Additional soulful leanings are contributed from Jah Tung, Jsoul, Nimbus Sextet, Lailah Reich, Erin Buku (Planetself), and Wallace.