Spekulation is an emcee and producer from Seattle who has been releasing music for a few years now. He has especially made his name through his blend of live instrumentation and sample-based production. Nowhere is this more prominent than his latest project, the instrumental album called The Crossover Event.

The idea behind The Crossover Event is that Spekulation wanted to make the soundtrack to his favorite movie that didn’t exist yet. In his head, this is a comic book movie, and there are visuals available on his Facebook page for anyone that is interested. However, I think it’s just as fun, if not more, to just let the music conjure up whatever movie pops into your head while it’s playing. For me, it was a seventies crime film, if only because the album is full of this fantastic gritty soul, jazz, and funk paired with orchestral strings that help give it that cinematic feel. Whatever pops into your head, you’ve got a great instrumental score to accompany it. This isn’t just a beat tape with a couple of good samples. This is a really well thought out album with a lot of care put into the compositions. Not just in the individual songs, but in the bigger picture of the entire album as well. Spekulation does a great job of steering you through this cinematic journey with his score, with rising and falling action and everything in between. Most importantly, Spekulation does a great job of creating melodies and motifs that stick with you long after the album is over, which just helps to paint this lasting picture in your head.

The Crossover Event isn’t a crazy idea for a concept album, but it is a good idea when done well. Spekulation has done it very well this time, helping to create an album that will have your imagination running wild as you bob your head and tap your feet to all the funky goodness he’s laying down.