Da Meanz of Production [CD]

Tulip Tiger plants a flag in 1998 Tulip Tiger's Da Meanz of Production harkens back to the rebellious and uninhibited electronica from the turn of the century. Tulip Tiger, the electronic moniker of Augustus Watkins, has always defied conventions and avoided easy categorization. Until now. Back with his fifth full-length, Watkins has his sights set on the heavy breakbeats of 90's and early 00's electronica, inspired by classic big beat bands like The Prodigy and Chemical Brothers and genre-shaping soundtracks from films like The Matrix and Blade. With massive breaks, fat bass synth, and freewheeling samples, Da Meanz of Production hits like a backhand of déjà vu from 1998. Muscular opener "Prophetic Word" gives way to the dreamy melodics of "Feeling Good Now Yes," before heralding the expansive, driving two-part "Keep On Moving." The back half of the album features the trip-hoppy "Lord Reform" which contains echoes of early Moby, and closes with the energetic "Robert Redford Macro-Nod," sounding like a lost track from The Crystal Method's Vegas.