One of the greatest things Fat Beats has done in recent years is to introduce the Baker’s Dozen series. For each volume, the label selects a different producer to compose an instrumental album, twelve tracks long, with one extra track to be pressed on an additional flexi-disc, to push the total to thirteen and make it a baker’s dozen. Past contributors to the series include Badumunk, Marco Polo, Daedelus, Ras G, Wun Two, Ohbliv, and Dibia$e. Now, for their eighth entry in the series, they turn back to the West Coast to L.A. producer Exile, best known for his work with Fashawn and Blu, amongst others.

One of the first things that hit me upon listening to this album was how much energy this music has. A lot of the time, when you hear “instrumental hip hop,” you think “downtempo,” but that doesn’t have to be the case. Exile keeps things fun, funky, and exciting over the course of the album. This was an album that was clearly informed not only by Exile’s years of experience as a producer who has worked with some very talented emcees, but as someone who has performed in public. It sounds simple on paper, but it makes a big difference, getting that experience and learning what people respond to, and how to keep things flowing. Exile translates that knowledge into a collection of songs that will make you want to turn up your speakers and get your body moving. He finds a nice balance between samples you might recognize and more obscure source material, but even when you hear a familiar element, Exile is chopping it and flipping it in a way that makes it sound fresh. He’s also keeping his music in motion. He knows when to let a good groove ride for a while, but he knows to let things get stale, so there’s always a chord progression and melodic elements that are developing, even if it’s in a subtle way that you don’t notice at first. It’s there, and it makes a difference between something you bob your head to for a while but forget about later, and music that really moves you and stays with you. Exile is crafting that dance party that you’ll remember fondly long after it’s over.

Baker’s Dozen has emerged as a really fun and enjoyable series from Fat Beats, and Exile’s addition is no exception. It’s really well crafted by a veteran who knows a lot of tricks of the trade, and deploys each one at just the right time to make music that is compelling, memorable, and entertaining.