DEBASER exclusive: Living In Kaoss

I don't know if Good Brains, the new moniker for resident guy-who-knows-everyone and good friend of Debaser Jake Teitelbaum's creative output, is an homage to the legendary punk band Bad Brains or if it holds another meaning entirely, but I do know this: this shit is hot. An intriguing mix of analog instruments, computer-generated synths and carefully selected samples, "Living In Kaoss" shines as a further welding of the boundaries between electronica, instrumental hip-hop and DIY psychadelia.

The first two tracks take snippets of the Amelie soundtrack and beat you over the head with them, creating short, masterful glitch-hop tracks out of sprawling accordian. Track 3 adds synth and a bass-heavy beat to a clip of Pete Townshend's "Behind Blue Eyes" guitar, drawing comparisons to The Field's minimal style of sampling and layering. Just when you think it's settled into a schtick, however, "Living in Kaoss" dives into a number of diverse, original compositions which call to mind Boards of Canada, Clap Your Hands Say Yeah instrumentals and Amnesiac-era Radiohead. Track 8 sounds like a Jon Brion score, while Track 11's beat scampers frantically across the sound boards, recalling some of Aphex Twin's more beat-heavy work. Track 12 rearranges Beirut's album-closing "After the Curtain," while Track 15's organ and loopy synth combo call to mind a more rhythm conscious Dan Deacon.

A variety of instruments are employed across the mixtape, acoustic and electric guitars, a variety of keyboards and pedals, steel drums and horns, all to ensure the sound is frenetically different but stylistically similar. With his past work, Mr. Teitelbaum has proven that he knows his way around a beat. With "Living in Kaoss," he takes a sonic step forward, proving his ability to encorporate intrinsically different styles of music into a cohesive whole. Good Brains has given us permission to post his entire mixtape below, so please, please do yourself a favor and snag it. It's the best five minutes you'll spend downloading all week.

Good Brains - Living In Kaoss mixtape (22 tracks)