Gangrene (The Alchemist X Oh No) – Vodka X Ayahuasca (Video)

Today is the day: Vodka & Ayahuasca, the second album from Gangrene, is out now on Decon. To go with it, The Alchemist and Oh No have a video for the title track, and it is just as twisted as the name suggests.

Two Producers on the Mic

Gangrene is the duo of The Alchemist and Oh No, two West Coast producers who also rap. Their debut Gutter Water came out on Decon in November 2010, and last year they followed it with the Greneberg EP together with Roc Marciano. Vodka & Ayahuasca picks up where those records left off and goes even further into the strange side.

The Title Track

Oh No produced "Vodka & Ayahuasca", and it sounds like a bad trip in the best way: record scratches cutting into screaming rock guitar, off-kilter samples and both of them rapping right through the chaos. The concept of the album is right there in the title, getting wrecked on vodka and the jungle brew ayahuasca, and the music follows that mood with prog-rock riffs, moody piano loops and psychedelic sound effects.

My Take

As a beatmaker, Gangrene is a lesson in how much character you can squeeze out of samples. Alchemist and Oh No are producers first, and you hear it in every detail. The bars are fun, but the real reason to press play is the sound. If the title track is any indicator, this album will be in heavy rotation here for a while.