Music Review: Atropolis – ‘Shuffle Mode’ EP

New York-based producer Atropolis, aka Adam Partridge, recently dropped his new EP, entitled Shuffle Mode, on the Cumba Mela imprint.

The EP took almost three years to complete, and reflects Partridge’s submersion into the music scene of NYC.

Atropolis says, “This EP is a collection of intimate collaborations, it feels like a playlist on shuffle mode, a reflection of how music is being experienced by the masses.”

Shuffle Mode features the vocal talents of Latasha, Zuzuka Poderosa, Vivian Garcia, and Ani Challa, as well as Slavic Soul Party.

Made up of five tracks, Shuffle Mode opens with “Cada Manana,” featuring Vivian Garcia. It’s a Latin-flavored love song about the experience and emotions associated with rejection. The overall feel of the music is Latin-pop, with flavors of hip-hop-lite running through it. “Violencia Policial” rides the vocal gifts of Zuzuka Poderosa and travels on a compact Latin hip-hop tune seasoned with psychedelic colors. Poderosa’s flow is skintight and rife with ominous timbres.

“The Take Back” features Latasha on vocals, and opens with spoken words over glowing, simmering synths. When the beat enters, the tune assumes a dark hip-hop energy with droning synths hues riding overhead. Latasha’s flow defines her as an experienced rapper because it is smart and smooth and tough.

The fourth track is “Barbes,” featuring Slavic Soul Party. The song opens with crisp percussive effects followed by stuttering horns and a Latin-reggae-hip-hop feel. A potently deep bass line gives the song a rumbling rhythm as the horns shimmer and ooze overhead. A tasty trumpet infuses the music with smoldering textures. The thumping line of the bass dominates the breaks, prior to the horns and synths jumping back in with blaring hues.

The last track is “Immigrant,” featuring Ani Challa. The song opens with mystical chanting moving into a numinous Eastern-magical hip-hop tune. Surfacing, discordant synths give the harmonics a snug, tinny resonance, as mechanical effects infuse the tune with a kind of intractable essence.

Shuffle Mode is superbly innovative, merging various textures, colors, and rhythms into novel hip-hop flows. If you’re into hip-hop, but resent its current derivative status, then Shuffle Mode should please you.

Follow Atropolis on his official website, Facebook, and Instagram.