Funk(Soul)Hippie/Santería Vinyl 12, Witch?Crafter

Witch?Crafter The mysterious masked conductor hailing from everywhere and nowhere simultaneously, Witch?Crafter wields a drum and bass style deeply rooted in the traditions of global mystical philosophies, utilizing the widest range of sonic textures and moods to initiate audiences into elevated trances that enliven and challenge consciousness. Drawing from his extensive experience releasing vinyl, cassette, and CDs of underground hip-hop recordings internationally amidst the who’s who of the genre under another moniker which may be very familiar to the underground hip-hop fanbase if mentioned, Witch?Crafter takes to the DnB production arena with an arsenal of sounds and ideas coalescing in the speakers in ways that imply nothing short of the highest levels of shamanic sorcery. His sophomore purple vinyl offering is simply a short sample of the plethora of work he’s extended in his Puerto Cortes, Honduras lab, but has yet to reveal, to loosely draw from the words of MF Doom. Back from an 8-year hiatus since his highly-acclaimed and sold-out 2009 white label vinyl EP, Shades of Deception, Witch?Crafter is finally back in the driver’s seat with some solid dancefloor sorcery. “Funk (Soul) Hippie” Featuring the vocals of San Diego, California’s classy singer/writer duo No Recognition, Witch?Crafter “crafts” a smooth and jazzy yet full and hard-hitting liquid funk tune equipped with rolling rhythms and intelligent composition, arranged in part by none other than L.A jungle legend 6BLOCC/R.A.W. Its lush, melodic guitar-based atmosphere is the perfect region for No Recognition vocalist Stephanie Nicole (of B.B.E Records notoriety) to express in song the beauty of the heartbreak of love, which is its lesson to value self so much that the devaluing of self by a significant other is not only unacceptable but also transcended, as the “hippie” frees her “soul” to find the zest of life’s earthy passions. “Santería” In “Santería,” the “Witch?” of the Crafter is in full manifestation, as he lays out an audio cauldron within which the spirits of African ancestors who endured the slavery of the Caribbean and so-called “Latin America” return to bless us. Utilizing an unorthodox and sporadic sequencing technique of drum programming that ranges from underlying breakbeats to huge congas that are almost too blatant, Witch?Crafter sets up an eerie out of sound of experience full of the darkest synth lines and provocative vocal samples. Throughout the length of the track, Crafter gives us a crash course in the West African practice of Ifa, succinctly tracing its arrival to Cuba, Haiti, Brazil, and other places as Santería, Voodoo, Obeah, and other manifestations. He skillfully delivers this history lesson not relying on narration, but through feeling, with any linguistic accompaniment serving only as a highlight of the museum of visceral indigenous religion the “Witch?” is “Crafting” for our enrichment, not our enjoyment.