DO call it a comeback! After no less than 22 years, Vienna’s veteran beat maestros Urbs & Cutex release their third album “On Our Way”. Full of laid-back vibes and dope beats this surprising release finds them in fine form, staying true to their trademark sound while subtly expanding and evolving to create a unique blend of HipHop and Downtempo.
Urbs & Cutex are a duo from Vienna specialising in laid-back instrumental music that combines classic East Coast Hip Hop with elements of Triphop and Downtempo. Both started out as DJs in the early 90s making their first steps in production separately before connecting to form what is considered one of the defining groups out of Vienna’s rich electronic scene of the period. The two albums released in the early 2000s are being rediscovered by new generations of listeners and have accumulated millions of plays on various streaming platforms. After a hiatus of 22 years, several solo albums and dozens of singles, remixes and collaborations they join forces again to find their mojo still fully intact, continuing exactly where they had stopped two decades earlier.
With charming stubbornness they create music that will sound retro to some and timeless to others. “We search for everlasting truths” they calmly state. The album begins with the familiar style of their 2003 album “Peace Talks!”, combining soulful and jazzy loops with dope Hip-Hop beats, even surprising us with what is the first rap part on any of their albums courtesy of New York’s T.R.A.C. (of Visioneers fame). A few songs in the style evolves into something new and entirely unique, as they use elaborate arrangements and artful layering of samples to create songs that go beyond mere loops prevalent in Hip Hop.
Over the duration of 14 tracks Urbs & Cutex expertly balance uplifting moments with deep and hypnotic sequences. They create a laid-back atmosphere but manage to avoid the dullness of chillout music and the stale uniformity of modern Lo-fi and Boom Bap.
