Ash Tre Jenkins (sometimes AshTreJinkins or Ashtre Jenkins) has dropped two digital releases this week via his Bandcamp. The Compton native first came across our radar as Brown Irvin in 2015 with a limited run, two-track cassette of deep dubby techno released on Motion Ward. Killer tracks that stood out on the radio show at the time. Under Ash Tre Jenkins he released wax EPs on NCA and Apron Records last year, crafting an abstract sound that would push the most experimental DJs to play to the floor and for most beat heads to break a neck to.
BaRz_Vol_2 is a follow up to last years Vol 1 and features a few tracks with sampled hooks and verses (most notably The Eastsidaz) as well as some live lyrical contributions from Maxo, RobinBongLoad and a few other cats I’ve also not heard of. It’s a heavy listen, filled with slow-moving dark energy that demands concentration and results in appreciation for the instrumentality. It’s weighted down in it’s own beats and as a dirty, primitive approach to drill tempo’d rap may not be an easy listen but is certainly appealing.
Floor was released two days later and as the name might suggest sits within deep house structures in terms of consistency of the beats, but is still murky as hell. This for me is the standout. Eleven tracks in total and more akin to the type of leftfield techno sounds that Ash Tre Jenkins has been releasing on records to date. It’s raw and dirty and addictive if you like your music that way.
Both digital albums are available for ‘Name Your Price‘ ie free, but they’re definitely worth something.