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Sango 2009-2012 Tapes
Sango 2009-2012 Tapes

Sango Shares The Massive New ' 2009 — 2012 Tapes' Collection

Lenny Kravitz, Grace Jones, Lauryn Hill, Lion Babe, Thundercat, SZA & More Rock The Afropunk Festival 2015 in Brooklyn, NY.

Digging into his personal archives and coming back with brilliance, Sango has shared a massive new compilation of material, dubbed 2009 — 2012 Tapes. Comprised of 37 tracks that all come bearing specific dates, rather than titles, the release equates to Sango opening both his rough drafts folder and personal diary. Here, we can chart his growth as a musician by the rulers of time's passing and kick drum pangs. Some of the earliest tracks were made while the young Seattle producer was still in high school.

Sonically, Tapes opens with a series of vocal flips buttressed by simple beats and keyboard overdubs. Sango samples Dilla sampling Gene Chandler and Jerry Butler, and it's easy to picture the young producer hunched over the family computer, discovering his own talent amidst the infinite pathways of music composition. But it's not long before things change; "July 21, 2010" packs a crisp handclap track and foreshadows what will become his signature style. By fall of that year, Sango's hi-hats were already rattling. The trap arrived.

"I still feel like this year was my most productive year in beats. I made around 240 beats that year. I also was super busy w/ sports. I ran cross country and track during high school. I was a decent athlete and had some pretty amazing accomplishments," Sango wrote of his 2010 work. As time passes and the compilation continues, we hear his signature Brazilian samples appear and the snares tighten even more so. The highs climb higher, the moody lows sink deeper and the entire tape continues to get better with each passing cut. Rarely do listeners get the chance to so intimately follow along with a producer's progress. You can purchase the entire compilation for free via Sango's website or stream it below. This comes highly recommended.