- Special Offer is a full-length collaboration by Queens-based producer Madteo (AKA Matteo Ruzzon) and Brooklyn weirdo-rap veteran Sensational. Both artists wander the outskirts of their chosen genres: Ruzzon's been plying an outsider version of house long before it became fashionable to do so, and Sensational's been freestyling madcap rhymes over experimental beats since the early '90s. Special Offer makes it clear that both of them draw primarily from the streets for inspiration—not in the typical hip-hop sense, but from the bodegas, the neighborhood characters and dog-eared 12-inches of New York's past.
Sensational is best known for his work within New York's '90s illbient and experimental hip-hop scenes, and has more recently been associated with artists championed by Bill Kouligas's PAN label—most of his solo releases have come through Spectre's Wordsound Recordings, and he also worked with NHK'Koyxeи on a 2010 LP. It's unclear how Ruzzon and Sensational linked up, but their work together spans back to Madteo's debut single, Basiado Beatdown. Indeed, their opaque approaches go hand-in-hand—in an interview with The Wire's Derek Walmsley, Sensational described his music as full of "the fog shit i be in and about," which could work as a description of Madteo's music as well.
Released on DJ Sotofett's Wania label, Special Offer is a stylistic grabbag that'll make you feel like you're surfing the FM dial in some alternate reality. Madteo moves through narcotic dub ("$ 0.99 intro") and corroded boom-bap ("Anastrophy," "Party People Love Me"), while Sensational throws out improvised-sounding wordplay that's dense but direct. The highlights are a couple of tunes solely credited to Madteo. "Moretones," which features effects from Sotofett and guitar from neo-dub classicist Tapes, is a meandering psych-rock track that sounds like a synth obscurity from Düsseldorf or Mexico.
"La Giungla" is another serpentine piece of psychedelia, this time embedded with disco loops. "48HRS Bliss (I Got Groove)" sees Ruzzon and Sensational at the height of their collective powers, offering up their abstract version of a golden-era rap jam. As Sensational shouts, "Play them keys!," Ruzzon brings in a clanging set of Rhodes chords, making clear the vital chemistry between these two margin walkers.
Tracklist01. $ 0.99 Intro
02. Anastrophy
03. Blast It Off
04. Moretones (Mix)
05. Party People Love Me
06. Be-Sides $ 0.99
07. 48HRS Bliss (I Got Groove)
08. Safety Trance (Edit)
09. La Giungla
10. Registrated (Interlude)
11. Party People Love Me (Instrumental)