It’s safe to say that, over the years, Carlow hasn’t exactly been closely associated with experimental hip hop. However, a mysterious producer/multi-instrumentalist by the name of Auxiliary Phoenix is about to make you question everything you think you know about the Dolmen County (yep, I Googled that).

Also known as James Strain, AP has been steadily posting an impressive collection of progressive EPs and tracks to his Bandcamp and Soundcloud pages, giving them to fans on a ‘name your price’ basis. Two releases, in particular, showcase Strain’s hip hop production prowess (Beats, Tape-01), and his off-beat, experimental sampling skills (Skribbl).

Seven-tracker Beats, Tape-01 is an introduction to Strain; a dark and epic collection of instrumental DIY hip hop tracks that could easily soundtrack a moody indie flick (check out closer, ‘Long Gone’). Bass-heavy, mellow but edgy, with eerie guitar licks (‘Smouldering Asp’) and creepy, futuristic computer game bleeps (‘Inside Joke’) Beats, Tape-01 is the album to stick on when the party has made its way back to your place in the wee, small hours.

You might want to keep Strain’s more recent release Skribbl for the hardcore nerds though! A challenging listen at times, this four-tracker sees the producer push the music boundaries, experimenting with off-kilter rhythms, sliced and diced samples, and some mean scratching. Impressive stuff.