Lapgan & Baalti Engage In A Beat Battle Of Flipping South Asian Samples On 'Threads'

In 2024, Chicago-based beatmaker Lapgan and San Francisco duo Baalti holed themselves in at California's Joshua Tree National Park for a week and engaged in a beat battle among themselves to see who could make the best flips of their favourite South Asian samples. A chunk of the result has just been released as the album 'Threads', which began rolling out with the music video for 'Lime Tikka'.

In line with their styles, which usually means Madlib-influenced hip-hop for Lapgan and club-ready beats for Baalti, the 9-track release comes with jagged, no-straight rhythms – save for the ambient outlier 'Devotion'. Chopping melodies into tight pockets on 'Ipa Ma' and softening the snoppy spoken rhythms with beds of mellow chords on 'Riyaaz', the playfulness is the prime characteristic of the flips.

While using the samples as a tool allows the trio to create groove-builders like 'Lime Tikka' as they leverage the inherent syncopation of the source material, some of the best work on 'Threads' happens when they follow along to the emotion of their chosen snippets – bringing out it in different context or aspect rather than moulding it. It's felt strongly as they empower the sensual calls on 'Romance' with anthemic drums, bring out the jovial communal danceability on 'Palms', and embody the happiness newfound love brings on the uptempo closer 'Jab Se'.

Listen to 'Threads' below and follow Baalti and Lapgan for more.