Conrank Brings Down the Walls on ‘The Big Smoke Beat Tape’ LP for Bassrush and Insomniac Records

The stars have aligned as Bassrush and Insomniac square up and knock out a massive eight-track LP from the rising star known as Conrank. Having served up a healthy dose of genre-bending beats for the likes of Circus, Saturate, and Wakaan, the Los Angeles–based UK transplant ain’t holding nothing back as he drops his aptly titled The Big Smoke Beat Tape album project on Bassrush and Insomniac Records.

Citing an eclectic range of influences that span from UK grime to dubstep to West Coast bass, Conrank goes all in and flexes hard alongside collaborators like Dirty Monkey, Zean, Bohan Phoenix, Illaman, Holly, and Onhell. The result is a wild ride through Conrank’s wide-ranging love of all things that go boom in the night.

As he tells it, “The Big Smoke Beat Tape is like a cross-section of what goes on in my studio on a day-to-day basis—a melting pot of tracks that maybe wouldn’t necessarily be put together on a record normally… That’s the beauty of it.”

Speaking of studio, with a sound so technically tight and precise, we couldn’t help but ask the man what kind of advice he had for young bloods out there hoping to follow in his footsteps.

“Fill your brain with info. Watch Pensado’s Place, YouTube vids, read magazines, and then put it into practice. If I had to give a tip, it would be to get off really cheap monitors as quickly as you can. You don’t need to spend thousands, but get something solid—move away from those KRK Rokit 5s (I did, and it was a revelation)—and you will elevate so much quicker.”

And for those of you thinking that production life is all champagne wishes and caviar dreams, Conrank will be the first to tell you his success and unholy level of productivity is related to his work ethic.

“I’m a bit of a hermit. Sometimes, I don’t really see anyone for days… I love it. I know what I want, and I know that the only way to get it is hard work, and that only excites and motivates me more.”

It’s a passion that can definitely be felt on The Big Smoke Beat Tape, as each tune feels designed to bring on the dancefloor quake and shiver as only Conrank can do. Check it below.

Follow Conrank on Facebook | Twitter | SoundCloud
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