Elaquent - Baker's Dozen: Elaquent (Digital)

Fat Beats Records is proud to present the ninth installment of Baker’s Dozen, an exclusive vinyl series that shines a light on the best minds of instrumental hip-hop, ambient, and electronic music. Each installment gives one artist carte blanche to capture their signature sound.

Every volume’s strictly limited vinyl pressing features one artist and twelve tracks, with the thirteenth track -- the eponymous “baker’s dozen bonus” -- on a flexi disc. The LPs also come equipped with a 5x7” postcard insert that features a photo of the artist’s workspace along with the equipment used in their music-making process. Visually cohesive and packaged with the utmost attention to detail, Baker’s Dozen is a series that speaks up for artists whose craft renders voices superfluous, whose instrumentals alone suffice to make a statement.

Since the beginning, my philosophy has always been that perfection is boring, so despite all the changes that have occurred with my equipment and system, that main philosophy remains the same.

In the beginning it was all about flipping samples with FL Studio and just my computer keyboard, and over the years, I added the MPD and Masterkey in order to be able to jam out drums live and play keys, which speeds up the workflow. I like the effects on the 404, and there’s a lot of dope ways to integrate my iPad into it, but at the end of the day, it starts with a melody or sample, and I kinda just let the vibe take over.

-ELAQUENT