Sydney hip hop producer Chasm has released his third album, which is his on Australia’s largest independent label Obese Records. Without the dramas of working to sell as well as make the music he has put his head down and churned out a quality LP. Kicking off the year with a bang is something Obese has perfected, although Beyond The Beat Tape is quite different from your stereotypical Obese release. In the past Chasm has dropped a quality EP as well as making up one half of the production duo (along with Sir Robbo) behind Astronomy Class. Indeed, it’s the same Triple J and Elefant Traks type of fan that Astronomy Class appealed to that will love what Chasm has done here, and hopefully the shift to Obese will open up plenty of new ears to his talents.

The lyrical guests in Beyond are a selection of old and new faces. There are a couple of Astronomy link ups in The Niceness and Cop A Lesson where Ozi Battla grabs the mic and Sir Robbo assists on boards. There is also a link-up with Urthboy and typical of Chasm, a reggae number that Diafrix catch wreck on in Let The Beat Go. Far from sticking to one sound throughout, Chasm morphs what he is doing to suit each guest, his beat for Vicious Circle perfectly melding the laconic Muph with the somewhat sci-fi electro styling of Ivens. While Mantra shines on the uptempo Nobodys Enemy, hopefully this is a partnership we hear a lot more from. For mine the lyrical star throughout though is Dialectrix on Down Under Beats Crew, his crew work may have been slept on by some but his voice commands your attention on every track featuring him. With a solo LP produced by Chasm on the way, he appears ready to take the scene by storm.

Production wise, it is vintage Chasm with a little more variation. If you are familiar with his Reggae influenced sounds with Astronomy Class then you have the right starting point. The main difference here is there are more what I would term ‘pure’ hip hop beats, stuff more typical of what Australian hip hop is used to, as well as more shifting in paces of tracks. Chasm clearly at ease with his sound. I wouldn’t call this a classic release, or particularly groundbreaking, but it is thoroughly enjoyable and very much worthy of you spending your hard earned.