Though you may not have heard of Karriem Riggins, the list of artists he's associated with in includes some recognizable names. The Stones Throw drummer/producer has worked with everyone from Paul McCartney to Common and tours with Diana Krall, a fellow mentee of the late jazz bassist Ray Brown, who, in turn, played alongside Dizzy Gillespie and pianist Oscar Peterson. Though his new album Alone Together is his first solo offering, it sounds like the work of a vet and is a grand addition to the ever-expanding canon of instrumental beat tapes. Because the producer is such a talented chameleon-- evoking with the 34 tracks here a whole range of his fellows-- the album ends up functioning as a sort of survey course: every piece, based on its distinct construction and influences, will lead the curious listener down a rabbit hole of wonderful sounds.
As a hip-hop instrumentalist, Riggins hews most closely to the Dilla format, taking miniaturized loops and samples and scrambling them together to come up with the eminently digestible sketches now immortalized as "donuts." This approach frequently yields tracks that sound time-stamped by certain periods of Dilla's progression, as if Riggins reached into his fellow Detroit native's seemingly bottomless vault in order to gain inspiration for his own meanderings. "Round the Outside" could be a great, lost sketch from the Ruff Draft sessions and the 40 second dream "Orbitz" contains that encoded whispering that marked Donuts as a distinctly spiritual experience. "Double Trouble" evokes Dilla most strongly; its woodwind flourishes and tonal progressions may as well have been produced by Jay Dee's ghost.
But Riggins is more than just a convincing Dilla clone. The producer's interest in exotic instrumentation also recalls some of Madlib's more far-flung forays. "Moogy Foog It" (think Beat Konducta in India), "Esperanza" (which incorporates a trilling flute), "Africa", and "Back in Brazil" are spread throughout the album, and each time one pops up, it makes for a peregrine treat, providing an outré extension to some of the more familiar sounds.
Though it works in many places, the scattering of sound-alikes is symptomatic of Alone Together's principal downside. There appears to be little thought put into sequencing-- tracks are placed back to back with all the personal investment of the iPod's shuffle function. "Stadium Rock", though aptly titled with its gladiator ululation, is a little jarring, coming as it does after the melody of "Oooooaaaaa". Meanwhile, the anxiety-inducing "Because", contains a jagged section of electric guitar which describes a tension that's altogether absent from the rest of the album.
For the most part, the analog warmth of live instrumentation is employed thoughtfully, reminiscent, in some places, of some of the best tracks on Oddisee's fantastic Rock Creek Park. The sketches come alive when they incorporate dulcet bell tones on "Ding Dong Bells", reedy harpsichord on "Harpsichord Session", and alto flute on "Alto Flute". (It's a minor complaint, but Riggins clearly needs a crash course in the art of naming things: There's a good chance his household pets are named Dog, Cat, and Bird.)
Complementing the warmth of the instruments are the voices. Riggins particularly excels when he incorporates live vocals, as on "Tom Toms", where a mellow voice adds warmth to the smooth surface of the track. And on album highlight "I Need Love", a trio of singers provides backing for an amorous chanteuse, a brief interpolation of that early Motown sound. But, even when vocals aren't present, Riggins gives almost every track enough musical complexity to stand on its own. Everything here would sound great with a rapper over it, yet none of the tracks feel handicapped by the absence of lyrics.
The death of the MC is all too common a conversation, but the current ascendance of instrumental hip-hop producers is a phenomenon that's been ignored for too long. More and more artists (Thundercat, Knxwledge, and Eb7#9, to name a few) are combining the rigidity of traditional rap structures, with the progressive tendencies of jazz to create instrumental music that appeals to fans of both genres. Though Riggins occasionally explores the margins-- "Water" recalls the complex ambitions of someone like Flying Lotus-- he mostly keeps things simple, content to unleash tracks that, frankly, sound as if they could have been made by others. That said, it's a beautiful album, casually constructed and surging with an uncommon warmth, a success that will hopefully prompt Riggins to continue working alone, eschewing collaboration to deepen his explorations into unknown territory.
