ol' burger beats: loft
Francisco Espregueira
Acclaimed Norwegian producer Ole-Birger Neergård (aka Ol' Burger Beats) rises from the depths of jazz to present Loft, an instrumental hip hop album inspired by New York’s free and spiritual jazz. In the '60s and '70s the city was going through difficult economic times, with poverty and crime on the rise and this, as in so many other places, turned out to be the touchstone for inventiveness in many areas of life. The city's Loft movement spanned this period and encompasses some of the biggest innovations in the genre - a kind of homemade jazz in which musicians often recorded their own sessions to cassettes. It is in this context that Ol’ Burger Beats reimagines these cassettes (using the same recording method), dimming the space, lighting a thoughtful cigarette and letting it play.
Loft is an album that makes the most sense when played from the first song to the last. It is, in addition to a set of songs, an experience of reflection that requires time to immerse ourselves in it. Written and produced during the first year of the pandemic, the album is deeply connected with the movement it honors, not only in the choice of instruments, but also because it’s the result of difficult times. Imbued with a DIY spirit, it’s in its high intellectuality that we place ourselves to praise this work. Ol’ Burger Beats invites some of free jazz’s greatest legends, such as Idris Ackamoor, Ralph Thomas or Wendell Harrison, and over 12 tracks opens the door to spaces we visit infrequently. Released by HHV and available on vinyl, Loft is a conceptual album that will please both instrumental hip hop lovers and jazz fanatics.
Ralph Thomas plays flute, alto saxophone and vibraphone.
Wendell Harrison plays clarinet, bass clarinet and tenor saxophone.
Idris Ackamoor plays tenor saxophone.Ol’ Burger Beats plays: Fender Rhodes and Wurlitzer 200A electric pianos, Sequential Prophets, ARP Odyssey and Moog synthesizers, ring modulator and delay pedals, tape loops, vinyl percussion samples, drum machines and various percussion instruments.