Uncut Gems

by Max i million

Listen On: Spotify - Apple Music - Bandcamp

“After a brief period of genre crossover releases, leaning towards jazz, funk, and electronica, I wanted to get back to the basics. Strictly hip-hop. Coalmine is all about that.”—Max I Million on his new instrumental album, Uncut Gems, with indie label Coalmine Records

Swedish producer Max I Million is back on his hip-hop steez with Uncut Gems, an instrumental album that blends left-field creativity with boom-bap vibes. It’s equal parts futuristic and nostalgic, a distinctive combination of sounds that never gets too comfortable, nor too experimental. Pulling that off is no easy feat, and neither is making it sound this damn good. But that’s just what Max does with this project.

Uncut Gems is pure audio dope that’s loaded with musical layers. And it turns out that Max actually produced these tracks with that concept in mind, so that listeners would play it again and again to unearth new sounds and production techniques with each spin. “I want to elevate minds and make them feel inclined to, in the words of Dilla, ‘Turn me up another notch in your system!’,” he says.

It’s for those reasons that it’s easy to get lost in standout tracks like “The Cat,” which is as unpredictable as the animal it’s named for, and “Jazzitorium,” a piano-laced tribute to The Pharcyde that’s brimming with ideas. That’s not to mention the Quasimoto-esque “Let Em Know” and emotional “Cold Blooded.” These four tracks alone are enough to make Uncut Gems a must-listen, but when you combine them the rest of the tape? You’re looking at pure brilliance from a truly gifted producer.

The 12 track instrumental project has arrived for both digitally and on vinyl in a limited blue and white splatter configuration, with album artwork designed by Joe Buck. Various bundle options are available with slipmats, t-shirts and sweatshirts, via Bandcamp and through our online store. Can you digit?