K-Murdock: iMANGANation Vol.1 (2009) album review.

Listening to music is one of my favorite things to do. I listen to a variety of different types of music. Most of the artists that I have become fans of in the last few years are underground artists. I found out about many of them strictly through the Internet. There are a lot of good underground artists out there who don't receive a lot of exposure. I'm always looking for new artists and genres of music to discover and listen to. When I come across someone that I feel is talented, I feel it's necessary for me to spread the word about them. I'm going to be giving a review of an album called "iMANGANation Vol. 1". It's an hip hop/anime album by one of my favorite producers named K-Murdock. Please read on.

K-Murdock is one half of the hip hop duo "Panacea". He is a producer from the DMV(D.C., Maryland, Virginia) area. Before hooking up with the other half of Panacea(Raw Poetic), K-Murdock frequently worked with D.C. area artists like W. Ellington Felton, and Raheem DeVaughan. K-Murdock is a video game fan, and often incorporates gaming into his productions. Another thing that K-Murdock often incorporates into his beats are anime movies. He often takes quotes and stories from these Japanese cartoons, and use them on his albums. This is exactly what K-Murdock does with the album iMANGANation Vol. 1. He just does it on a larger scale this time around.

iMANGANation Vol. 1 is an album that features various beats from K-Murdock. There is no lyrcis on the album. However, the album features the production with anime voice-overs. Many of the beats on the album are from Panacea albums. There are beats from Panacea album such as; "Thinking Back Looking Forward", "A Mind On A Ship Through Time", and "Ink Is My Drink". There are also other beats on that album that I had never heard from K-Murdock. They are probably beats he made previously, but never used on a studio album. This hip-hop/anime fused mixtape is available for free download on K-Murdock's Neosonix website. I personally didn't know what to expect when I downloaded this free album, but I've been a big fan of Murdock's productions since becoming a Pancea fan in 2008. I was a bit surprised when I first heard the anime backdrops and voice-overs. I've never really gotten up on anime movies, so this was new for me. I greatly enjoyed the new instrumentals that I had never heard, and I will never get tired of the ones that were on previous Panacea albums. After a few listens of the album, the anime story-telling and sounds grew on me. For awhile I was listening to this album on a daily basis.

In my opinion there are only a few type of people who would probably like this album. First, those who are already fans of K-Murdock and Panacea who may had never heard of this album would enjoy it. Secondly, those who like watching anime would probably enjoy the story aspect mixed with the productions on on the album. Finally, people who are looking for something different to listen to would most likely enjoy this album. I find that a lot of the story aspects on this album are motivating to me. I actually listen to it sometimes while I'm writing. It's something about K-Murdock's beats that inspire me, and I've read posts from others who have said the same thing. If I had to rate this album, I would give it a 4 out of 5. The stand out songs on the album for me are; Flying Free, Star Stories, Invisible Seas, Treasuretown Cats(Parts 1,2, and 3), Orange Penicillen, and Legend of the Hokage. Due to the anime fusion, this is one of those albums that it's best to listen to all the way through. I will admit that this type of music isn't for everyone, but give it a listen and you might be surprised at what you hear. I'm just spreading the word about talented artists who don't get much mainstream attention. I saw an interview that K-Murdock done where he said he was surprised at the feedback he received from this album. He said that it was so positive that he may do a volume 2. If this does happen, I will definitely be looking out for it. Thanks for reading.