Jon Brando

Edmonton, AB producer Jon Brando composed this instrumental opus on his MPC, chopping rare breaks and programming woozy kicks. Brando crafts a kind of minimalist, instrumental hip-hop, with off-kilter bass lines, stuttered samples and sloppy, thick drums ― think Madlib, DJ Babu and Flying Lotus. "Brando Jazz Swarm Pt.1" breaks a big band down into their constituent parts then stitches it back together. "M.Dope" toys with an eerie flute sample, pitching it around stumbling drums, while "Blue Shadow Hustling" dices an enigmatic vocal loop. "No Bummer Cut" is the lone vocal performance, a fun posse track uniting Modulok, Baracuda and Conspiracy over a clicking, jazzy beat. Perfect when under the influence in the wee hours, No Laptop is an easy recommend to fans of Madlib (quoted on the self-explanatory "MF Madflip") and J Dilla.