Space Is Deep - abeatchemist (Hiphop) We’re taking a trip through the galaxy this week with veteran producer abeatchemist. New to our blog, but not to the music scene, abeatchemist has shared his latest LP, “Space Is Deep”, with us for our thoughts. But before we dig into the album, let’s start with a bit about the man behind the music.
Hailing from Chicago, abeatchemist began producing in the early 2000s as half of the now disbanded group Soul Survivas. Frustrated by his dependency on other producers for beats, abeatchemist took it upon himself to purchase his own gear and begin producing for himself. In addition to producing his own work, he’s worked with many other Chicago artists to bring their dreams to fruition. The self-produced “Space Is Deep” was created to be a cosmic journey through the galaxy, addressing heady concepts of geopolitics, mortality, pain, grief, love and more.
We found, however, that “Space Is Deep” turned out to be a lesson in not judging a book by its cover. On first approaching this work, we noted the large number of tracks and self-described metaphysical subject matter, concerned that we might get weighed down in something overwrought or bloated—a common issue in self produced works. We were happy to find, however, that “Space Is Deep” is a tightly constructed 30 minute journey that, while certainly reaching into broader concepts, more often than not hits on deeply personal stories of loss. As much as abeatchemist may portray this work as a journey through the universe, we think it is much more of a journey inward, and listeners will certainly come out of the experience feeling connected to abeatchemist on a personal level.
With a Nas-like flow, the production feels steeped in mid-90s East Coast hip hop, and often made us think of the Biggie records of the era—”Drugs” in particular. The sound is consistent with few outliers, and certainly works as an ode to that gold era of hip hop. abeatchemist’s pen game is on point, with thoughtful and interesting lyrics that often take several listens to truly unpack. As stated in the intro track, hip hop is an art form used to educate, and that is clearly what abeatchemist is doing on this project. The production is lush, using hard hitting drums, vocal samples, swirling synths, sparkling rhodes and a bevy of ear candy stabs to create dense sonic atmospheres that soar on big speakers.
Stand out tracks include “The Big Bang Theory”, the first autobiographical record on the project, where we start to get to know a bit about abeatchemist’s story and point of view. Similarly, title track “Space Is Deep” touches on the last moments abeatchemist had with his father in a way that is both touching and uplifting. Finally, “Sound Waves (Testimony)”, the album closer, is our favorite production sonically, with the dreamy keys working like a hypnotic music box. But overall there are no skips on this one, and the project deserves a straight through listen as constructed to get the full experience. This is not a collection of songs, this is a holistic work that deserves the proper attention.
TRACKLIST
Speaker Notes (Intro)
Forever
The Big Bang Theory
Lethal
Strip Down
Drowning (WTF)
Tuning
Frequency
O’Hare
Space Is Deep
Its Been Clear
Letter To Heaven (ft Matte Black and Martin Grow)
Beyond Understanding
Streaming
Transmission
Sound Waves (Testimony)