Hypetrak's Weekly Set - Volume 20

On top of our latest Weekly Set we find an interesting example of musical diversity. The Converse-sponsored track “All Summer” combines the distinctive talents of KiD CuDi, Vampire Weekend’s Rostam Batmanglij and Best Coast’s Bethany Cosentino. Obviously, the resulting track is hard to classify but in all honesty, who cares? The song is jamming and the blend of Cleveland rap, afrobeat-influenced indie rock from New York and lo-fi pop indicates new creative possibilities that could open up new paths for already established or up and coming artists.
Some songs of our current set clearly nurture this notion – most notably the CSR remix of Kanye West’s “Diamonds From Sierra Leone”. This rework also mixes us up different styles as a a melody from Diana Ross’s “Friend to Friend” and drums from Melvin Bliss’s Synthetic Substitution are used to back up Kanye’s vocals. However, there is also proof that already tested musical formulas are not only reliable but also sound good – as in “Lock It Down” by respected Detroit-vets Slum Village. Hence, the ten tracks below give you a short and clear message: accept the new and embrace the old!

Photography: Suzi Pratt