check the genre-slashing new 88 days of fortune mixtape feat. the ooohh baby gimme mores, bizzarh, amenta & more. #soundcheck

Art collective 88 Days of Fortune has spent the past few years creating a space for adventurous alternative culture in Toronto. The collective’s mission to “challenge the stereotypes that surround urban arts/music culture, and to promote underground art culture in the city of Toronto and beyond,” so it’s no surprise that there’s a lot to love on their latest mixtape.

By Nathan Leigh, AFROPUNK Contributor

Opening with the chillwave / R&B of duo biZarh, the collective showcases a commitment to breaking down the borders between genres. The artists pull from hip-hop, indie, glitch, R&B, and a healthy dosage of acid jazz, making it impossible to describe any artist in the group as “they basically sound like [band x]” The must-hear tracks here are the immaculately produced electronic soul of Amenta’s “Eleutherios,” which grows from ambient to impossibly deep jittery groove. MFP’s “Theme for the Movement” updates acid jazz for the chiptune generation, with a bassline that wobbles just enough to add some human feel. “bLack heLicopteR” from abstract Random indulges in a little surveillance state paranoia. (just because you’re paranoid, don’t mean they’re not after you…) And while I may be skeptical of the chemtrails theories suggested in the track, you can’t be skeptical of that deconstructed beat.

The mixtape ends with the most aggressive track, courtesy of The oOohh Baby Gimme Mores (showing that the collective is bound by a love for both analog synths and creative capitalization). The 2 minute explosive burst of punk rock is a perfect period to 16 tracks of often ambiance heavy experimentation.

The mixtape is available for free download through the bandcamp player above.