ProEf All Eye Know EP

"New State of Consciousness" is the theme of Toronto hip-hop producer ProEf’s new EP, which is a rather lofty statement for such a brief collection of beat snippets. But it’s an interesting allusion to themes of liminality which seem to have historically pervaded leftfield hip-hop, from cLOUDDEAD to Company Flow to DJ Shadow. This preoccupation with consciousness is reflected in ProEf’s creative use of found sound, all of which was recorded on his European tour with Pursuit Grooves, and which is my favourite thing about All Eye Know. He allows fragments of urban noise to oscillate in the backgrounds of his beats, to subtle but hypnotic effect, most cleverly on opener Fading DeLights. It contextualises the sounds of this EP, focusing ProEf’s music into the shared conscious experience of the city.

But it’s essentially an EP of sketches. It gives you an idea of ProEf’s shtick, and it kind of comes up short beyond that. It’s oddly restrained – mostly instrumental, with little in the way of development of the ideas on the tracks. It's simply lacking in ambition. When he does use vocals, ProEf is sparing, and never quite engaging, sing-speaking with an air of pacifism: on All Eye Know’s short hook he mutters “please don’t bother me…”, which jars with the screamed samples that follow. Often it’s difficult to feel what effect he’s going for.

Nonetheless, I’m intrigued to see what ProEf will do next – perhaps the point of this EP is to hold back a bit, as if he’s provoking me to imagine how great these beats would sound with some abstract rapping over them. After playing shows with the likes of Shabazz Palaces and Free The Robots, ProEf has his credentials in order; while he sounds like he’s still learning how to make best use of his tools, thematically, he shows promise.