To sum up 1996, this is the 44-track double album HB96 / HB96OG.
The first half of this release picks up the production where the previous HB95 left off and consists of unreleased beats from 1996.
In addition to instrumental beats, the release includes pieces from Roope’s productions in the form of sessions, radio shows, live performances, and songs — including the first recorded track by Iwere, a Tavastia live clip by Frontpage, Celes’ 96 dlo instrumental, several excerpts from Ceebros, and other random moments captured on tape.
In that same year, Roope became homeless, along with his studio, gear, and records. That period have birth to the original Homeless Beats instrumental album – the second half of this release – made in Merirastila, at Matti’s place in Munkkivuori, and in a temporary home on Iso Roba. It was released under Ceebrodukshons in early 1997-
In 1996, our music took off to a new level – from weekly work to daily creation. Production shifted from MiniDisc and cassette recordings to our first 8-track recorder. Gear expanded, Roope started stacking beats, rap styles were developed, practice intensified, and weekends were spent recording – “Sessions are long so keep the mic on from dusk til dawn.”
The number of gigs also increased, with new events and clubs popping up in Helsinki and across Finland: DJ sets at OG Jump Inn, Nuera’s warehouse parties in some industrial spot in Tampere, jams at Tampere’s YO-talo… That same year, we played the first Tavastia show with CBR at Sampo and Didi’s Worldwide.
This era is captured in HB96 / HB96OG, continuing Murmur’s Homeless Beats series. Rather than a single album, Homeless Beats was always a continuum: a diary of Esaar/RPK’s evolving production, reflecting different turning points, life situations, and musical influences of each era.
Purchase Cassette: Homeless Beats – 1996 / 96OG
Joyful Union Cassette Resource 