Exile – ‘Baker’s Dozen’ LP [Fat Beats]

Last week we spoke about Field Research: Malaysia – the beat tape from Malik Abdul-Rahmaan constructed from records and field recordings collected on a two week holiday to the Southeastern Asian country. It was music made with purpose from a specific set of restrictions, designed to capture an authentic sound, executed beautifully. Conversely, the Baker’s Dozen series from Fat Beats approaches things from the other side, “giving artists carte blanche to capture their sound.”

Launched two years ago with Dibia$e, the series has seen some of the top beatsmiths and producers in the scene delivering full length LPs of fresh, personalised material. Alongside Dibia$e’s dope offering the likes of Ras G and Ohbliv have delivered highlights for Baker’s Dozen to date, though truth be told I’ve still a few to check.

And now Los Angeles mainstay Exile steps up for the eight installment, and he’s done killed this one.

I first came across Exile through Emanon – his collaborative project with Aloe Blacc – with the release of The Waiting Room in 2005. Their live show at Sonar in 2007 remains one of my all time favourite festival memories; a lunch time slot on the main lawn stage with Blacc blasting his trumpet as the sun started to creep around the corner of the clouds. It was pure vibes. As a side note you can check an interview I did with Aloe back in 2010 in which he touches on songwriting and specifically live performance.

Shortly after the Sonar experience I got lost in Exile’s debut full length Dirty Science, and then the concept album Radio in 2008, proving he can make tunes better than most no matter what you give him to work with. In between the two albums he officially started releasing with MC Blu as Blu & Exile, releasing his most widely known work, now three  album deep as a group. The video recording of his 2003 beat battle with Oh No was released on DJ Dusk’s Rootdown At The Soundclash in 2007, at the height of the beat scene spreading globally, and Exile was cemented as a king to any of those that had been sleeping.

Despite what can safely be called underground prolificy Exile only dropped heavily on to my radar again about eighteen months ago, through a chance encounter with another dope album Zip Disks and Floppies, which was already a few years mature by that time. It’s a different era now, and he’s since become one of my favourite MPC drummers / beatmakers to watch on youtube.

So about a decade and a half from first discovering his music we’ve gone full circle and are bugging out over one man’s beats all over again. His Baker’s Dozen release lives up to the hype you’d expect such a name to be presenting. Deep samples that you’ll never find sit alongside the best flip of ‘Bam Bam’ I’ve ever heard. Soulful and uplifting, his beats bang, taking you to a good place almost effortlessly.

In a time where dirty beats seem to be what I’m stacking my collection with it’s a necessary reminder that good clean production can still trump all when in the right hands. Just check ‘I Say It’s True’ for proof. Whether Exile’s pulling the best parts of a handful of records and manipulating in to live sounding layers or filtering out samples from all over the place I can’t work out. Either way his end result is a pleasure to listen to.

No one without decades experience in the game could release a record like this, a record that stays on rotation consistently.

Get on it quick, as it’s coming to us through Fat Beats in a limited pressing of 500, with the first 250 coming with a bonus flexi-disc that rounds off thirteen tracks on offer. Big ups all involved in this series past, present and future, can’t wait for more.

Eight copies left on bandcamp at time of writing…

Fat Beats Records is proud to present Baker’s Dozen, an exclusive series that shines a light on the best minds of instrumental hip-hop, ambient, and electronic music. Each installment gives one artist carte blanche to capture their signature sound.

Every volume’s limited vinyl pressing features one artist and twelve tracks, and comes equipped with a 5×7” postcard insert that features a photo of the artist’s workspace along with the equipment used in their music-making process. Visually cohesive and packaged with the utmost attention to detail, Baker’s Dozen is a series that speaks up for artists whose craft renders voices superfluous, whose instrumentals alone suffice to make a statement.

Volume eight highlights LA producer Exile, who breaks down his creative process below:

“Making music from nothing, pre-internet you had to teach yourself or make homies with the local legend to drop gems on their process of making beats. Now you can take classes on how to make beats. It doesn’t matter if you use a Roland MS1 or MPC 2000XL, sampling records or sampling yourself playing the keys… get lost in the music, stay thankful, and remember the feeling of why you do this. That is my process. ”