The nerd in Elaquent always shines through.Beneath the psychedelic cover art of his most recent LP “the Midnight After,” you'll find a cartoon image of the Guelph, Ontario producer styled after Astro Boy, complete with rocket legs and those credulous, wide anime eyes printed on the CD itself. This, along with a repeatedly proclaimed love for classic Sega games, is what's happening in the mind of Elaquent. When he flicks on the MPC, memories of jazz, J Dilla, and new jack swing enter the air around the speakers. Then, bam, video games "ding ding" back into the picture.He's a man of technological addictions, further evidenced by a hefty back catalog of beat tapes that were consolidated earlier this year into a free compilation called Oldies released by Huh What & Where. Going through the tracks on Oldies is like flipping through the pages of Elaquent's growth, from one obsession to the next, soulful to playful to just plain full. Follow this audio biography with his 2009 release After Midnight, then give The Midnight After a once through and you'll have a feel for the Elaquence. However, it's doubtful any of that will prepare you for last thing he dropped, the thing that brought him back to mind; a remix of Lil B's "Real Life."The original beat for this sad, sad, total bummer of a story was just never serious enough. The Elaquent treatment turns it into true story ballad in the tradition of "C.R.E.A.M." For a little more classic flavor lent to lyrics, see this video for a track by Toronto rapper Solar C, produced by Elaquent.If you're digging Elaquent, check out Huh What & Where artists Mike Gao and Co. fee. Expect more on these Squares soon on Square Wave.
