Manchester’s Opal Block—a producer said to have been raised “on a diet of analog synths and 8-bit MIDI software”—dropped his debut release, the genre-hopping Tyson, late last month as part of an ongoing tape series from the fledgling Astral Black label. Opening the 10-track effort, “Star of David” is a production seemingly at odds with itself—its stuttering boom-bap and precious melodic adornments seem to come from two entirely different worlds. Still, Opal Block manages to make it all fit together, lacing the tune with FX and manipulated sounds that come and go in the blink of an eye, and even managing to sneak in just a hint of G-funk in the tune’s low-swung bassline. For those who find themselves adaquately enticed by this teaser, Opal Block’s full Tyson cassette can now be streamed over on Bandcamp.

Star Of David