When I first purchased Prefuse's first offering on the Warp label (which turned out to be a very pleasant surprise, as I was anticipating a sound more Warp-ish, that is before they began to dabble in hip-hoppery), I was floored by that amazing concoction of heavily-processed hip-hop samples and analogue synths. I found this sort of sound the perfect marriage between the grooves of hip-hop and the complexity of IDM (or whatever you feel like calling it). I was extraordinarily happy when I found out that Prefuse was releasing a follow up album. I was even more happy when I found out that he was coming through Atlanta on his CD release tour. Though the show was the best I had ever been too, and though I actually listened to many of the tracks before they were released, I found that I was somewhat dissapointed. I was expecting another "Vocal Studies," or, in other words, an offering where the clicking and processing of samples deferred to the driving hip-hop groove. Though this, in my opinion, was reversed in "One Word," "Extinguished" appears to carry on the more focused direction that was found in "Vocal Studies." In this album, which proclaims itself to be "Alternate Takes and Beats from One Word Extinguisher," the songs progress in a gloriously rump-shaking manner. There are absolutely amazing tracks which, fortunately for us, capture the direction of "Vocal Studies," the mania of "One Word," and the analogue playfulness of both. And the album, or EP rather, is just plain fun to listen to throughout. Again, I find this EP to be much more accessable than "One Word," and I will almost certainly be listening to "Extinguished" much more than I will "One Word." Prefuse 73, please keep up the good work.
A rare large disc of outtakes, from another single disc which helped this creative hip-hop beatsmith get recognized, that is surprisingly worthy, if not entirely necessary.
What a supurb album. Warp are without a doubt the most important label in the business. I have to be honest, I was expecting this to be perhaps a little self-indulgent and difficult to listen to, but it is not. The album is drenched in emotive beuty with cool as beats. This is the way all music should sound. Standout track: coming into something better (a difficult choice in an album with no fillers and loads of great tracks). Almost so good it is frustrating.
![Disco de Prefuse 73: “Extinguished [EP]”](http://www.rapmusiczone.com/covers_prP/prefuse-73/2008_170_170_Extinguished%2520%255BEP%255D.jpg "Disco de Prefuse 73: “Extinguished [EP]”")