Digitalcasm Daily Play #41

TeamSurpreme Vol. 41 by Nalepa

About this artist

Nalepa is the monicer for LA based "music producer, composer, professor, DJ, VJ, Dubspot Instructor and Ableton Live expert" Steve Nalepa.  He's got some incredible videos on his website including one he made for a Virtual Boy track.
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Why this is good

This track is Steve Nalepa's contribution to the 41st volume of TeamSupreme's weekly beat cypher.

TeamSupreme, and several contributing producers curate a sort of weekly production challenge.  Someone from the group picks two samples, and a BPM and forwards said samples and rules out to the masses. Participating artists then have roughly an hour each to create a beat around the samples, and designated bpm.  At the end of this, TeamSupreme publishes a youtube video compilation with all of the tracks and artists who, I'm assuming had the balls to follow through, on a weekly basis.  Surprisingly from what I have listened to thus far, most all contributions are very well done (especially if all contributors are actually abiding by the strict guidelines).  Also surprising is how Nalepa has managed to contribute in someway to every single volume.

Beyond the extreme discipline in which this track has been made, Nalepa's Vol. 41 is also rad.  Things start out with, what I think, is one of the designated samples.  Then we're immediately thrown in to a funky head-phasy riff that has some cut up vocals, from what is the second mandatory sample .  The drumbeat is great.  It's slow, and filled with lots of  little extra sounds while maintaining an excellent groove.  The squashed pads are accompanied by a very analog sounding bassline, and a perfectly atmospheric IDM lead for about a minute before things wrap up.  The track then bookends itself once more with the same sample it started with.  I can't recommend this enough.

Please check out other work by Nalepa, and keep an eye on TeamSupreme.  I've contacted them, and will hopefully be giving this a shot myself in the coming weeks.

More soon.