Portland, Oregon artist Lucas Dix has been part of a lot of different projects under different names over the years, whether it be Claude Six, BCxLD, R4PC4MP, or Jellyfish Brigade, just to name a few. Way back when, we he first moved to Oregon from Wisconsin as a young man, he did so with friend and collaborator Gavin Theory. Together they performed under the name of Hives Inquiry Squad. Unfortunately, their window of friendship and music was tragically cut short when Theory passed away in 2012. Fast forward to now, and Dix has gone back and pulled together the best of their unreleased material from their time together, split into two volumes. We now get Open Mind Sessions: Part 1.

Sometimes a project doesn’t need to be perfect to be exciting or fun to listen to. Case in point, Open Mind Sessions: Part 1 could be more polished, but there’s so much fun and excitement coming through the music as these two throw all of their musical ideas at the wall to see what sticks, you won’t really mind. Over the course of ten songs, Theory and Six are covering the gamut from college jam sessions to early anticon., from big sing-along moments and pop leanings to hardcore abstract lyricism, and everything in between. Six you might be familiar with, but the real joy of this release is getting to hear all of the talent, passion, and potential that Theory had. He’s not only rhyming and singing on the album, he’s also responsible for the music. Listening to this collection, you really get a sense of how he saw the value in all sorts of different types of music, and wasn’t really beholden to any rules about genre or style. He didn’t seem to care about what was or wasn’t supposed to work, he just seemed to want to try out anything that moved him and let him express himself. So that could mean picking up an acoustic guitar and leading a campfire-esque chorus, but it could also mean making some weird, dense, electronic beats with bleeps and bloops and just start rapping stream-of-consciousness style. Most importantly, you get to hear the chemistry that these two had together, as two young men with a lot of ideas not just about music, but also figuring out their philosophies on life.

There are a lot of artists going to the vault right now, and it’s more than understandable why. It should be noted, though, that this is not your ordinary B-sides and rarities collection. This is material that got shelved when Theory passed away, and just never had the proper platform until now. This is a great tribute from one friend and bandmate to another, and just a fun collection of hip hop from another era that still resonates today.