Two Maritime hip hop producers – Sean One and Uncle Fester – teamed up to release an instrumental album for the Halloween season. …Never Dead is available now on Bandcamp and streaming services.
Matt Carter
The creative relationship between producers Sean One and Uncle Fester goes back more than twenty years at this point. Between their respective home bases – One in Fredericton and Fester in Halifax – these two Maritime hip hop originals have collaborated on numerous projects and in doing so, have inspired and supported an entire generation of beat makers and rappers on Canada’s east coast. That is not an exaggeration. It is a fact. Look it up.
Knowing the respectable background both these musicians bring to the table, …Never Dead deserves more recognition than simply being known as “a halloween album.” Across the ten instrumental tracks that make up this release both artists deliver a mix of beats, moods, and tempos for your listening pleasure, each with a touch of darkness that stands in contrast to their influential outgoing personalities. From the eerie lurkering of Fester’s Candy Corn to One’s soul inspired rhythm that backs the album’s closer The Darkness, …Never Dead finds warmth in its cold beats and cooler spook vibes, full of clever, tongue in cheek samples and hidden references. On the track Horned Melon Fester even uses a dial tone as a structure for cuts and samples, channeling one of commercial horror’s biggest tropes (the call is coming from inside the house!) as a form for his own creative imagination.
If you are a fan of east coast hip hop, …Never Dead deserves a listen. The same goes for anyone curious about beats from the east. Here are ten from two of the best.
