Yury
entropy.
(self-released)

NY-based, Grammy-nominated Yury has been producing hip ­hop and electronic music since 2008, and has seven full albums to his credit, all released in the past half-decade. His new self-written, recorded, mixed, mastered and produced entropy. is a solid bunch of tunes presenting a more-than-bleak worldview. From the slinky swirl bass bed of “Moments,” Yury is rapping hard about his tortured-soul present day. I love the semi-Moroder echoey backing keys of  “Growing Pains” and again Yury providing a slightly bleak outlook. He slips in some arpeggiated key blurps here as the snap of this tune progresses, again reminding me of early dance synth work. “New Beginnings” hits harder with its snapping beat and roiling synth bass, though I’m not sure this one goes as far in lyric and layered musical production as the others here. I would have liked some more of just the high hat trilling and very low synth of “Unhidden Agenda,” not that Yury’s rap here isn’t spot-on (its one of his better ones, to be sure), I just like the sounds he creates on this tune. This song could have easily made a good instrumental, as Yury certainly has the ability to layer sound and use just the right beats in the right place. “Dogma,” my favorite, big, dark and bad, from the low-spoken vocals at its beginning, to what I feel is the most rockin’ beat here (a nice, layered percussion sound) and certainly Yury’s most adept rap of all of these tunes. Yuri certainly know his game well and has some very dark things to impart.

You can listen to the album here.