English producer SBTRKT has been making waves on the blogosphere over the past 5 years with his quirky beats. With a trajectory that is truly modern, his popularity has grown slowly and steadily by playing ravey DJ sets, collaborating with rappers and singers, and most recently landing a BBC Radio 1 residency.
Since this is a hip hop site, you might know SBTRKT best as the dude who produced "Wildfire," the remix of which Drake hopped on, or "Voices In My Head," an A$AP Ferg-assisted closing cut on his newest LP Wonder Where We Land. He also had Atlanta flower-child Raury crushed some of his finest bars to date on that album.
SBTRKT has also worked with the likes of Sampha, Jessie Ware, Ezra Koenig, and Warpaint, a who's who of indie and R&B royalty. Here's his 10 essential cuts.
SBTRKT - Hold On (feat. Sampha)
SBTRKT's debut self-titled album had five features from Sampha, helping to launch the English singers career. Sampha has gone on to work with Drake, Jessie Ware, Katy B and more, but cuts like "Hold On" are where he was discovered by many.
SBTRKT - Wildfire (Remix) (Feat. Drake & Little Dragon)
Jumping atop of SBTRKT's "Wildfire" was one of the first big moves Drake pulled for some underground credibility. The track exploded, and is an essential cut for both artist's catalog.
SBTRKT - Something Goes Right (Feat. Sampha)
SBTRKT and Sampha really struck collaborative gold with their efforts on SBTRKT. "Something Goes Right" is a testament to the level of output these two can reach when working together.
SBTRKT - Pharoahs
The dance-floor cuts that SBTRKT produces fall somewhere in between dubstep, garage, and house music. "Pharoahs" displays elements of each subgenre, but if you don't think about it too much, you'll just dance.
SBTRKT - New Dorp. New York (featuring Ezra Koenig)
Linking up with Vampire Weekend's Ezra Koenig for a freaky, weird house single was an interesting choice, but it worked. The song is infectious and different, two of the things you'll love about SBTRKT if you're a fan.
SBTRKT - Highter (Feat. Raury)
Raury is the weirdest artist to come out of the blossoming ATL rap scene, so it's no wonder that he links up with our masked producer. SBTRKT extracted some of the dopest bars the young Raury has delivered to date.
SBTRKT - Temporary View (Feat. Sampha)
SBTRKT employs a variety of vocalists for his tracks, but the best is definitely when he links up with Sampha. The two have some real chemistry on these cuts.
SBTRKT - Living Like I Do (Feat. Sampha)
Here's another one off the debut, with some groovy drums that will kick any party into hyperdrive. Sampha blesses it with the vocals, creating another masterpiece.
SBTRKT - Voices In My Head (Feat. A$AP Ferg)
The closing track of Wonder Where We Land grabs Cali's Warpaint and Harlem's A$AP Ferg to really make it pop. Ferg deliveres some emotional, and truly phenomenal, bars to make it count:
"Oh, lots of thoughts running through my brains
Don't want to be caught like Kurt Cobain
My mind's a Porsche, switching lanes
All of a sudden I'm feeling all of this guilt and pain
Kids is dying from drugs they buying
Popping a molly, get feeling like Iron Man
Shit is like lighting a fire inside of them
Fuck is you thinking kids trying to get higher than?
Higher than Mars, killing ourselves cause we live in a fucked up environment
Dreams of becoming doctors and firemen
Shouldn't give in to these early retirements"
SBTRKT - Trials of the Past (Feat. Sampha)
And we had to end it with some more of that collaborative fire that SBTRKT cooked up with Sampha on his debut album. The critically acclaimed SBTRKT is a must-own for anyone into electronic music, forward-thinking R&B, or tasteful modern pop.