- Rephrase is the brainchild of Sydney based producer Jamie Olsen. Jamie has previously worked and released material with local Sydney act db Chills who, like NuBreed, present breakbeat, hip hop and drum & bass in a live format with shows featuring a drum kit, live bass and Jamie on the boards playing with melodies and samples. His Rephrase project is a funkier and mellower affair to the dark tones of db Chills and Jamie puts together all he’s learnt into his first solo debut, Beatcoaster.
Deep relaxing hip hop beats take to the stage for the first part of the album, from the jazzy double bass bassline in Cellfish to the spoken word help guide on The Concert Begins highlighting the connections between making good music and being a better lover! For fans of artists like Katalyst and Ninja Tune’s Coldcut and The Herbaliser will easily associate with the latter.
The album then picks up tempo for Cold Logic moving onto acid jazz territories featuring a sexy female vocal sample, fluttering flute melodies and subtle rolling beats which all make for a very calming tune. Way Of Life is one of the highlight tunes on the album and is a mish mash of styles as it straddles and crosses between the sounds of deep disco, dub-reggae and hip hop breaks on top of a disco beat. Deep house master Miguel Migs had shortlisted it for one of his nite:life CDs on NRK, however it never made the final cut. Master teams up a funky 80’s style slap bass line with a funky uptempo hip hop break and a Kool Keith like vocal sample to good effect – with proper rhythm and riff changes used for good measure.
Killer starts to decrease the tempo slightly and is reminiscent of the spy theme craze artists like the Propellerheads were experimenting with back in the late 90s – deep sinister bass lines, moody synth lines and dark beats with hip hop vocal samples dropping in for good measure before closing out with the laidback atmosphere and melancholy piano arpeggio of Dead Man Walking.
Rephrase has certainly put his production knowledge to good use on Beatcoaster – the album features catchy melodies, infectious rhythms and loaded with the funk. While it’s based around deep and funky grooves it is interesting to note the many hip hop samples and breaks that play a part in each tune – linking the various styles and elements back to hip hop… and the cover can also be used as a placemat for your beverage.