Sound Ancestors
{{Use mdy dates|date=May 2025}}
{{Infobox album
| name = Sound Ancestors
| type = studio
| artist = Madlib
| cover = Madlib's Sound Ancestors front cover.jpg
| alt =
| released = {{Start date|2021|01|29}}
| genre = {{hlist|Boom bap|instrumental hip hop}}|
| length = 41:15
| label = Madlib Invazion
| producer = Madlib
| prev_title = Pardon My French
| prev_year = 2020
| next_title = In the Beginning, Vol. 1
| next_year = 2021
| misc = {{Singles
| name = Sound Ancestors
| type = studio
| single1 = Road of the Lonely Ones
| single1date = December 14, 2020
| single2 = Hopprock
| single2date = January 4, 2021
| single3 = Dirtknock
| single3date = January 22, 2021
}}
}}
Sound Ancestors is a studio album by American musician Madlib. It was released on January 29, 2021, via Madlib Invazion. Produced by Madlib, it was arranged, edited and mastered by Four Tet. The album debuted at number 153 on the Billboard 200 in the United States.
Release
On November 24, 2020, Four Tet announced that he was in the process of making a collaborative album with Madlib during a YouTube livestream.{{cite web|url=https://www.thelineofbestfit.com/news/latest-news/four-tet-says-first-single-from-lp-with-madlib-dropping-before-end-of-2020|title=Four Tet says first single from collaborative album with Madlib is arriving before the end of 2020|website=The Line of Best Fit|last=Kenneally|first=Cerys|date=November 24, 2020|accessdate=March 9, 2020}}
Four Tet then announced on his Instagram account that he and Madlib were ready to release the studio album for January 2021.{{cite web|url=https://www.instagram.com/p/CIv3jvGHaRr/ |archive-url=https://ghostarchive.org/iarchive/instagram/fourtetkieran/2463431869503218795 |archive-date=2021-12-25 |url-access=registration|title=Album Announcement|publisher=Instagram|accessdate=March 9, 2021}}{{cbignore}}
The album's tracklist was revealed on January 11, 2021.{{cite web|url=https://www.thelineofbestfit.com/news/latest-news/madlib-four-tet-unveil-tracklist-for-collaborative-album-sound-ancestors|title=Madlib and Four Tet unveil tracklist for collaborative album Sound Ancestors|website=The Line of Best Fit|last=Kenneally|first=Cerys|date=January 11, 2021|accessdate=March 9, 2021}}{{cite web|url=https://twitter.com/madlib/status/1348321264339808257|title=Sound Ancestors - January 29|publisher=Twitter|accessdate=March 9, 2021}}
=Singles=
On December 14, 2020, the first single to be released was "Road of the Lonely Ones".{{cite web|url=https://www.thelineofbestfit.com/news/latest-news/four-tet-officially-announces-madlib-collaborative-album-sound-ancestors|title=Four Tet officially announces Madlib collaborative album Sound Ancestors|website=The Line of Best Fit|last=Kenneally|first=Cerys|date=December 14, 2020|accessdate=March 9, 2021}} The official music video was released on YouTube the same day.{{cite web|url=https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Y52M28WQu2s|title=Madlib - Road of the Lonely Ones|publisher=YouTube|date=December 14, 2020|accessdate=March 9, 2021}} Rolling Stone described the single as a "simple but immersive track built around vocals that seem pulled from some forgotten soul 45 gathering dust in a crate."{{cite magazine|url=https://www.rollingstone.com/music/music-news/madlib-four-tet-road-of-the-lonely-ones-new-album-1103277/|title=Madlib Drops 'Road of the Lonely Ones' From Upcoming Album With Four Tet|magazine=Rolling Stone|last=Blistein|first=Jon|date=December 14, 2020|accessdate=March 9, 2021}}
The second single "Hopprock" was released on January 4, 2021.{{cite web|url=https://www.thelineofbestfit.com/news/latest-news/madlib-and-four-tet-release-second-sound-ancestors-single-hopprock|title=Madlib and Four Tet release second Sound Ancestors single "Hopprock"|website=The Line of Best Fit|last=Kenneally|first=Cerys|date=January 4, 2021|accessdate=March 9, 2021}} The music video was released on YouTube on January 9, 2021.{{cite web|url=https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iOmgkVF5Anw|title=Madlib - Hopprock|publisher=YouTube|date=January 9, 2021|accessdate=March 9, 2021}} Stereogum described the single as "a warm, hazy instrumental that Madlib and Four Tet wrote together. The track has a neck-cranking beat, a warm bassline, and a few samples chopped into the mix."{{cite web|url=https://www.stereogum.com/2111969/madlib-hopprock/music/|title=Madlib & Four Tet Share New Collaboration|website=Stereogum|last=Breihan|first=Tom|date=January 4, 2021|accessdate=March 9, 2021}}
The third single "Dirtknock" was released on January 22, 2021.{{cite web|url=https://pitchfork.com/news/madlib-and-four-tet-share-new-song-dirtknock-listen/|title=Madlib and Four Tet Share New Song "Dirtknock"|website=Pitchfork|last=Bloom|first=Madison|date=January 22, 2021|accessdate=March 9, 2021}}{{cite web|url=https://www.thelineofbestfit.com/news/latest-news/madlib-and-four-tet-share-new-sound-ancestors-single-dirtknock|title=Madlib and Four Tet share new Sound Ancestors single "Dirtknock"|website=The Line of Best Fit|last=Kenneally|first=Cerys|date=January 22, 2021|accessdate=March 9, 2021}}
Critical reception
{{Music ratings
| MC = 87/100{{Cite web|title=Critic Reviews for Sound Ancestors - Metacritic|url=https://www.metacritic.com/music/sound-ancestors/madlib/critic-reviews|access-date=April 25, 2021|website=Metacritic|language=en}}
| rev1 = Albumism
| rev2 = AllMusic
| rev2score = {{Rating|3.5|5}}{{Cite web|last=Simpson|first=Paul|title=Sound Ancestors - Madlib {{!}} Songs, Reviews, Credits {{!}} AllMusic|url=https://www.allmusic.com/album/sound-ancestors-mw0003469576|access-date=February 17, 2021|website=AllMusic|language=en}}
| rev3 = Beats Per Minute
| rev3score = 80/100{{Cite web|last=Grech|first=Seb|date=February 2, 2021|title=Album Review: Madlib – Sound Ancestors {{!}} Beats Per Minute|url=https://beatsperminute.com/album-review-madlib-sound-ancestors/|access-date=February 17, 2021|website=Beats Per Minute|language=en-US}}
| rev4 = Exclaim!
| rev4score = 7/10{{Cite web|last=Keating|first=Daryl|date=February 2, 2021|title=Madlib's 'Sound Ancestors' Is a Well-Assorted Bag of Aural Treats|url=https://exclaim.ca/music/article/madlib_sound_ancestors_album_review|access-date=February 17, 2021|website=Exclaim!|language=en-ca}}
| rev5 = God Is in the TV
| rev5score = 8/10{{Cite web|last=Wiggins|first=Richard|date=February 3, 2021|title=Madlib - Sound Ancestors (Invazion)|url=https://www.godisinthetvzine.co.uk/2021/02/03/madlib-sound-ancestors-invazion/|access-date=February 17, 2021|website=God Is in the TV|language=en-US}}
| rev6 = Pitchfork
| rev6score = 7.9/10{{Cite web|last=Cush|first=Andy|date=February 2, 2021|title=Madlib: Sound Ancestors|url=https://pitchfork.com/reviews/albums/madlib-sound-ancestors/|access-date=February 17, 2021|website=Pitchfork|language=en}}
| rev7 = Rolling Stone
| rev7score = {{Rating|4|5}}{{Cite magazine|last=Ihaza|first=Jeff|date=February 1, 2021|title=Madlib's 'Sound Ancestors' Is All About the Ecstasy of Discovery|url=https://www.rollingstone.com/music/music-album-reviews/madlibs-sound-ancestors-1122003/|access-date=February 17, 2021|magazine=Rolling Stone|language=en-US}}
| rev8 = Spectrum Culture
| rev8score = {{Rating|3|5}}{{Cite web|last=Heilman|first=Max|date=February 10, 2021|title=Madlib: Sound Ancestors|url=https://spectrumculture.com/2021/02/09/madlib-sound-ancestors-review/|access-date=February 17, 2021|website=Spectrum Culture|language=en-US}}
| rev9 = The Guardian
| rev9score = {{Rating|5|5}}{{Cite web|last=Amin|first=Tayyab|date=January 22, 2021|title=Madlib: Sound Ancestors review – hip-hop visionary tells wondrous stories in sound|url=http://www.theguardian.com/music/2021/jan/22/madlib-sound-ancestors-review|access-date=February 17, 2021|website=The Guardian|language=en}}
| rev10 = The Line of Best Fit
| rev10score = 8/10{{Cite web|last=Culp|first=Leo|date=February 11, 2021|title=Sound Ancestors is Madlib revelling in his love of music|url=https://www.thelineofbestfit.com/reviews/albums/madlib-sound-ancestors-album-review|access-date=February 17, 2021|website=The Line of Best Fit|language=en}}
}}
Sound Ancestors was met with universal acclaim from music critics. At Metacritic, which assigns a normalized rating out of 100 to reviews from mainstream publications, the album received an average score of 87 based on ten reviews. The aggregator AnyDecentMusic? has the critical consensus of the album at a 7.6 out of 10, based on twelve reviews.
Tayyab Amin of The Guardian praised the album with perfect five-out-of-five stars rating, claiming that "Madlib channels a deep, intertwining lineage of Black music through Sound Ancestors like folklore oration, storytelling with the sorcery of a beatmaker who knows how to make an instrumental really sing". Seb Grech of Beats Per Minute described the album as "a realisation of what the Madlib and Hebden are capable of in tandem. It's bold, different, and takes the genre of instrumental hip hop to the next level". Richard Wiggins of God Is in the TV found "this record further cements his status as one of the most creative and inspirational producers of today". Jeff Ihaza of Rolling Stone wrote: "Like Akomfrah's Data Thief, Madlib sees the connections between the past and future. On Sound Ancestors, he manages to give us a sense of what those connections feel like". Leo Culp of The Line of Best Fit wrote that the album "isn't anything new from Madlib, but it only further cements his status as one of the great producers, artists, and minds in hip-hop". Andy Cush of Pitchfork wrote: "Hebden's arrangement of Sound Ancestors shows deep and intuitive engagement with Jackson's weed-scented sensibility, which has no use for presumptive distinctions between the beautiful and the funky, the silly and the profound". Jesse Ducker of Albumism stated that "Madlib has certainly started 2021 on the right foot musically". AllMusic's Paul Simpson wrote: "while Sound Ancestors as a whole seems as lifetime-encompassing as Donuts, it doesn't feel quite as focused. Still, it sounds recognizably like both Madlib and Four Tet while taking their music into directions where neither artist has ventured before, and its highlights are life-affirming". Daryl Keating of Exclaim! called the album "a mixed bag if ever there was one. It's funky, it's psychedelic, it's jazzy, dirty, clean, and mean. It's Madlib". Max Heilman of Spectrum Culture gave the album 3 out of 5 stars, resuming: "Sound Ancestors amounts to cool sonics that fail to leave a lasting impression".
=Accolades=
| class="wikitable mw-collapsible sortable plainrowheaders" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; border: none;"
|+Sound Ancestors on year-end lists ! scope="col"| Publication ! scope="col" class="unsortable"| List ! scope="col" data-sort-type="number"| Rank ! scope="col" class="unsortable"| {{Abbr|Ref.|Reference}} |
| scope="row"| The Guardian
| The 50 Best Albums of 2021 | {{center|25}} | {{center|{{cite web |url=https://www.theguardian.com/music/2021/nov/30/the-50-best-albums-of-2021 |title=The 50 best albums of 2021 |last1=Beaumont-Thomas |first1=Ben|last2=Snapes |first2=Laura|date=17 December 2021 |website=theguardian.com|access-date=4 January 2022}} }} |
|---|
| scope="row"| Paste
| The 50 Best Albums of 2021 | {{center|19}} |work=Paste |date=29 November 2021 |access-date=30 November 2021 |author= |archive-url= |archive-date= }}}} |
Track listing
{{Track listing
| all_writing = Otis Jackson and Kieran Hebden
| title1 = There Is No Time
| note1 = Prelude
| length1 = 1:16
| title2 = The Call
| length2 = 2:05
| title3 = Theme de Crabtree
| length3 = 2:16
| title4 = Road of the Lonely Ones
| length4 = 3:38
| title5 = Loose Goose
| length5 = 2:21
| title6 = Dirtknock
| length6 = 2:14
| title7 = Hopprock
| length7 = 3:27
| title8 = Riddim Chant
| length8 = 1:58
| title9 = Sound Ancestors
| length9 = 2:50
| title10 = One for Quartabê / Right Now
| length10 = 2:42
| title11 = Hang Out
| note11 = Phone Off
| length11 = 2:15
| title12 = Two for 2 – For Dilla
| length12 = 2:51
| title13 = Latino Negro
| length13 = 3:36
| title14 = The New Normal
| length14 = 2:28
| title15 = Chino
| length15 = 1:57
| title16 = Duumbiyay
| length16 = 3:13
| total_length = 41:15
}}
Personnel
- Otis "Madlib" Jackson Jr. – primary artist, production
- Kieran "Four Tet" Hebden – arrangement, editing, mastering
- Errol F. Richardson – art direction
- Richard Foster – photography
- Bernie Grundman – lacquer cut
Charts
| class="wikitable sortable plainrowheaders" style="text-align:center"
|+ Chart performance for Sound Ancestors ! scope="col"| Chart (2021) ! scope="col"| Peak |
| {{album chart|Flanders|116|artist=Madlib|album=Sound Ancestors|rowheader=true|access-date=February 17, 2021}} |
| {{album chart|Scotland|25|date=20210312|rowheader=true|access-date=March 13, 2021}} |
| {{album chart|UKR&B|10|artist=Madlib|date=20210205|rowheader=true|accessdate=February 17, 2021}} |
| {{album chart|UKIndependent|42|artist=Madlib|date=20210205|rowheader=true|accessdate=February 17, 2021}} |
| {{album chart|Billboard200|153|artist=Madlib|rowheader=true|accessdate=February 17, 2021}} |
| {{album chart|BillboardIndependent|21|artist=Madlib|rowheader=true|accessdate=February 17, 2021}} |
References
{{Reflist}}
External links
- {{Discogs master|1938645|Madlib – Sound Ancestors}}
{{Madlib}}