Looptroop (2) - Fort Europa

This record is technically more advanced than any previous Looptroop release. Both beat and rap-wise. The producer, Embee, has moved from loop-oriented beatconducting to creating thick layers of sounds with unusual instruments and other noises. The effect is two-sided: on the other hand the beats themselves are more interesting, but on the other they lack the same groove and "streetyness" as the previous ones, especially the "Modern day city symphony". The rappers have honed their techniques and are now rap machineguns spitting hellfire, but they too, have lost much of their original relaxed and witty style of a special kind-of chatter, which portrayed a way of life dodging authorities and having fun. They now portray and other, more rude, perspective, telling sickening tales of drug abuse and such. The record itself is front-loaded, and this can be seen especially on the vinyl version (2xLP), where the first record is hard as steel and the other you don't even necessarily want to listen. This album is a move towards a different kind of Looptroop, which I personally do not like. The humour that made the rough-edged storytelling bearable is now gone missing, and the stories repulsive and hopeless. I would recommend the previous albums, if you are new to Looptroop.