"Hi, reaching out from Northeast Baltimore. This is Jumbled's new album – sample-based Hip-Hop... Proof that [there] is still sample-based Boom-Bap from Baltimore," read a mysterious email I received from one John Bachman about a week ago; his latest self-released album as Jumbled [I wish it was longer] (WIWL) has been in constant rotation since last Friday, although I've been a little preoccupied, to say the least, with a new county job in my sights! [I wish it was longer] was produced and recorded by Bachman, a self-described "husband, beat-maker, dish washer," and high school engineering teacher, over the past two years "between working, making beats, and organizing collaborations with [emcees]." WIWL is a painfully brief 13-track album with 2 appended bonus tracks, which plays out like a "Lesson"-filled DJ Shadow & Cut Chemist Brainfreeze-indebted mix between Jazzy breakbeat instrumental tracks and Baltimore area emcee-helmed concoctions. Throughout a series of Twitter DM's exchanged during the course of the past week, Jumbled told me that his "main influences [as] a producer are Madlib and MF DOOM, as well as J-Zone" and that his overall intention with [I wish it was longer] was "to experiment more – not just sample Jazz stuff."




All the while recording WIWL, Mr. Bachman single-handedly started a beat club with his rap-loving students at school using Ableton and managed to recruit local Baltimore and Pittsburgh area emcees Height Keech, Ullnevano, Berko Lover, Stillborn Identity, Napalm Def collaborators Dwell and salk. Bigelow Riders, and Bito Sureiya, as well as bassist Ron Carter and Soft Peaks guitarist Eben Dennis. Jumbled had a "brief career as an emcee" and has previously produced beats for the likes of AK Slaughter & Rap Dragons, Stillborn Identity, Hemlock Ernst aka Future Islands frontman Sam Herring, Butch Dawson, Baltimore spitter Anna Notte, and NASA8 emcee Bito. "When Jumbled sent early demos to friends, many responded that they were disappointed with the brevity of the project;" said album, [I wish it was longer] is currently available for download on Bandcamp and Soundcloud on a name-your-price basis and will additionally be available on limited lathe-cut record and cassette on Harford & Reckord tapes. WIWL's lathe-cut format features only the seven emcee-led tracks from John Bachman's latest album and is limited to an edition of 10, 7 of which are left because yours truly snatched one up the other day, and is expected to ship by or before June 26th.