Instrumental hip-hop albums seem to have seen a sudden burst of interest, ranging from so called lo-fi aesthetics to progressive sounds with an electronic vibe. Jumping onto the scene is Flip, one of Austrian hip-hop's godfathers, with an instrumental album of his own. The title Experiences has been chosen not without reason as it both reflects the personal experiences the artist has gone through in his 25 years plus career but also hint at the influences and musical aspects that went into this album...

Even if you're not overly a fan of hip-hop, you'll find it hard to resist the songs on Flip's new LP, Experiences. It opens with the infectious and hard to get out of your head 'Friday's Live at Home'.

Over the course of this LP's 16 tracks (43 min, 11 sec), Flip has tried to give insight into his musical influences that began in the '80s with groups like Public Enemy and EPMD, into the '90s era with sounds ranging from Native Tongue territory, DJ Premier, Pete Rock and the DITC producers, when he started making beats on his own for his rap group Texta.

The spirit of production wizards like J Dilla, Hi-Tec and Madlib can clearly be felt. These artists were instrumental in changed the sampling techniques post 2000 with albums like Donuts, Hi-teknology and Madvillain. But don't for a second that this is a lazy homage to a bygone era, as Flip delivers a modern approach, offering up original basslines, keys and guitar riffs - all of which he played himself.

If you've yet to sample it, instrumental hip-hop is a genre that is much deeper and satisfying than you'd imagine. This is a great place to start.

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Nick Smithson