(Casa del Discos/Creative Vibes)

Beatcoaster, the debut album from Sydney boy Jaime Olsen a.k.a. Rephrase seems to go out of its way to be inconspicuous. Not only does the cover design resemble a well used beer coaster, Jaime even encourages it to be used for this purpose. Yet despite this unassuming façade several of the tracks have found their way into the record bags of international luminaries such as Miguel Migs, John Stapleton and Gilles Peterson; clearly a coaster worthy of closer inspection then.

An initial listen notices many similarities throughout the album; slow to mid-tempo breakbeat relying primarily on rhythmical basslines underpinned by smooth drum beats, given emotion and atmosphere through the judicious use of samples and effects. Further attention discovers that the album may in fact be broken down into three flavours; the warmly ambient album openers contrast in mood with the more melancholic and atmospheric closing tracks while the middle section is aimed squarely at the dance floor.

The first five tracks are characterised by slow thudding bass and drums made gentle by warm sweeping tones. Soothing and fairly simple in nature, they nevertheless mostly manage to remain distinct and interesting due to some excellent vocal samples and effects. Cellfish sounds like a group of sea mammals performing jazz, complete with whale song, dolphin clicks and double bass (played by a walrus no doubt). Toke and Cold Logic are no less distinctive for featuring the more traditional human vocals – the former being a down tempo hip-hop gem reminiscent of British producer Aim while the latter features female jazz vocals – a style I think warrants being used more frequently in the future as it complements the production beautifully. With its twanging porno guitar and sex-ed sample The Concert Begins is probably one of the more memorable tracks on the album, while Summerthing fails to shine noticeably due to too many similarities with it’s predecessors.

Easily the most diverse bunch on the album, the closing tracks ditch the warm summery vibe for colder, more atmospheric sound scapes with a distinctly cinematic feel. Killer’s rising sense of paranoia and menacing vocal samples could quite easily be the score to an espionage thriller, likewise Dead Man Walking’s ominous bassline and haunting melodies would not be out of place in a tense scene of a supernatural horror flick.

Separating these two bodies of differing atmosphere is a wall of funk. The middle tracks are a lively bunch of pure and simple funky-ass breaks. As with the more ambient works there is a fair bit of similarity throughout, with up-tempo drums, funk guitars and superb basslines custom-made to get the dance floor moving. Way of Life’s success in this regard can be seen in its inclusion on Miguel Migs latest addition to the NRK Nitelife series. My award for best booty-shaker definitely goes to Mink and I challenge any listener to resist at least nodding along to the throbbing bass.

Without a doubt bass is definitely the best feature of this album, whether it be the warm languid melodies of the openers, the funky rhythms of the dance floor packers or the deep menacing hum heard at the albums close. The similarities within each of these sub-groups and the album as a whole means that there isn’t too much here to challenge the listener, but also creates a lovely continuity of sound that flows down the ear like a cool beer down the throat on a summers day. And if you happen to need both aural and liquid refreshment, you’ve even got a place to rest your beer.