Shlohmo

experimental

L.A. native Henry Laufer, the 30-year-old producer better known as Shlohmo, is a lo-fi beat junkie and field-recording enthusiast, whose crackling, low-BPM compositions update Boards of Canada's filmstrip-soundtrack wooziness. An LA native, Laufer grew up listening to stuff like DJ Shadow, Amon Tobin, M83 stuff with some sort of cinematic vision. He started making beats when he was 14, but didn't really do it with any sort of purpose until [he] was like 17 or 18. That was also around the time he and his friends, already fans of Flying Lotus, discovered Low End Theory. Shlohmo has rocketed onto our radar screen in recent months with his lo-fi, psychedelic mix of abstract hip-hop, bouncy synth-funk, breezy trip-hop, and what sounds like lost Mo' Wax gems from an alternate future. His tracks swarm from dirty textures, strange sounds and obscured samples. It's not hip-hop what you hear, but the echoes are clearly there. He also part-runs the WEDIDIT Collective. His Shlo-fi EP is available for free download at Error Broadcast label website. In 2011, Laufer released a full length LP called Bad Vibes, which was drenched in the obscure sounds as his first EP. However, it was evident that Laufer refined his sound and created a more atmospheric environment for his listeners. The tracks have a more definitive beat and rhythm as well as barely audible sounds which become the center of the track itself. Most reviews of Bad Vibes have raved about how this young, talented DJ is reall...