Pete Flux & Parental - Traveling Thought (2LP Deluxe Edition)

The transatlantic collaboration between emcee Pete Flux and producer Parental has taken their music to a new level on their first full EP Traveling Thought. Right from the get go, the twinkling keys and adamantine kick drums on the opening track Science set the tone for a strong 90s boom bap throwback experience. While the sonic stylings are most reminiscent of hip hop's golden era, the beats and raps never sound remotely dated. Parental's production edges more towards pristine cleanliness than guttural grime, yet he maintains raw 90s flavour through the timbre and layering of jazzy samples. As for the rhymes, Pete Flux flows over the instrumentals like a cloud front over mountains. Flux artfully juggles cadences to match and accentuate the rhythmic patterns of Parental's beats on top of dropping countless quotables that get stuck in your head for days.

Dope from the first listen, the EP only gets better with replay as the cleverness of the lyricism and the depth of the instrumentals sinks in. Warming Up is an infectiously catchy stand out track with Pete Flux on a particularly dextrous verbal attack over sublime drums juxtaposed with a reverberating guitar sample. A real sense of honesty and passion is felt throughout the project, perhaps exemplified most with True To Your Art featuring Kalhex. A direct ode to the art of music, Le Makizar and Lex join Pete Flux to bless the mic en français, reaching deep into their souls to portray their personal perspectives on hip hop.

Closing out the record is Illness, featuring Rob-O of the legendary InI, a cut that wouldn't sound out of place if it was released in '95. Sleeping on this duo is strictly forbidden, so ingest mad stimulants, keep this EP on the turntable, and look out for the next chapter of the lethal connection. — Kamir Hiam (The Find Magazine)

The Deluxe edition includes the album and the instrumentals on disc two.