Beat Hotel (Digital)

Beat Hotel is the latest release from Josh Hey, the Philly-based underground vet who’s shared stages with Juicy J, Joey Badass, Knxwledge, Sir Froderick, Devonwho, Count Bass D, & Swarvy to name a few - but with Beat Hotel, he cements his singular sound and puts his versatility on display.

The hotel is split into two "floors" containing compositions connected with immaculate flow; at the same time, each track has a different flavor from the last and traverses a wide range of moods. Get lost in Josh Hey's arrangements, machines full of moving aural parts. Hear drums waltzing with samples, cut up like snippets from a dream. Floating notes brought to earth with voices from past and present. It's a surreal play of sonic density.

Here Josh is the architect of a reality shaped by ideas instead of material forces. From one cut to another he's tracing memories, evoking history, drawing blueprints of the subconscious. You can use its tapestry of sounds as a palette for escape and live in it for a little while.

The release is deftly accompanied with art by Dewey Saunders, who's making waves providing intoxicating visuals for other bold artists like Anderson Paak and Nxworries.