Freddie Joachim QSTN Mellow Orange DOPPELGÄNGER art square
Bass so gooey it's seemingly made of molasses is how Freddie Joachim and QSTN's new collab track begins. Dubbed "DOPPELGÄNGER," the one-off single quickly reaches its top speed over a dusty drum loop, and with each passing bar Joachim and QSTN add synthesizer lines and wafting vocal loops, cooking up a layer cake of groove.
And it all nearly drifts away after only two minutes. Rather than ride their stacked instrumental hip-hop off into the sunset, things tumble upon gossamer jazz cymbals for a few semi-perfect seconds, only to regroup over an even heavier, more aggressive live drums chop. It's a perfect demonstration of Freddie Joachim and QSTN's tasteful styles--a high standard that we've come to expect from the duo's Mellow Orange Music Group collective. "DOPPELGÄNGER" is a sunny and dense bit of futuristic beat sound that should please old-school heads and neo Soulection-ites just as readily. It's just sheer dopeness.
Those eager to catch a bit more of Joachim and QSTN in action can check out their regular "vinyl podcast" live video mixtape series here, where you can catch the two selectors fade some of their favorite classic hip-hop cuts in and out of the samples that made them all possible. Dive into "DOPPELGÄNGER" below: the water's mighty fine.
