Dope Boy Magick

It wasn’t until 2008, when Philadelphia’s esoteric Po Po bumped into Philly DJ/producer Diplo, that things really started to move. Originally including three American-Pakistani brothers (Zeb, Shoaib and Hassan) and a friend, over time the quartet dwindled to Zeb and Shoaib. Here, the two prove themselves imaginative sound artists, mixing glitchy electronic textures with guitars both glinting and crusty and atmospherics that almost reach into the chillwave cooler. They inject Eastern-flavored tones when you least expect it, right up against Wavves-drenched acid baths. Possibly to keep the brotherly love status quo, Shoaib departed the world of Po Po at some point, leaving Zeb—who is also a producer (Spank Rock, Theophilus London) with a million ideas in his head—at the controls. Dope Boy Magick is full of intriguing sounds and fantastic beats. Droning vocals lose the lyrics in a necessary haze; looped, drowsy notes from synths and guitars hypnotize. Here Zeb was joined by both Diplo and Nick Launay (Nick Cave/Grinderman, Public Image, Yeah Yeah Yeahs) in the producer’s chair. ‘Nuff said.