Koushik
Koushik Koushik specializes in making that hazy, hip-hop-based downbeat sh*t that you could easily compare to contemporaries such as Four Tet (who released Koushik's first single on his Text label), RJD2, and DJ Shadow. What sets Koushik apart from the others is a beautiful '60s psych-pop element that tends to pervade throughout. It shows itself in the spacious panned strings, acoustic guitars, and harpsichords that fall in and out of each other; and the beats have a harder regimented classic true school hip-hop sound, that Fourtet and Prefuse tend to stray away from. But what I truly love about this record is Koushik's voice. His singing is soft and mixed way down in the center of the track, sounding like the voice choirs you'd hear on one of those old Percy Faith or 101 Guitars from the late-'60s. If you're a fan of any of the aforementioned artists, you need this record. – OTHER MUSIC, NYC