With a sound distinctly New York City, Brooklyn's Jaymanila, Cool Calm Pete, and DJ Pre, Babbletron create human hip-hop narratives -- at times conversational, at times broad and cynically political -- but always underscored with dark samples and a dry sense of humor. Babbletron got down to business in a well-hidden Bushwick warehouse. With their isolated recording location, the group was able to ignore the distractions of the city and push each other to make energetic and original hip-hop music. Their debut EP Ramblers Anonymous was released on Warp. After that, Babbletron masterminded a record as otherworldly and sci-fi influenced as it is earthly and experiential for their full-length debut. Mechanical Royalty, released on Embedded in 2003, is a paradox on wax; it is dark and optimistic, philosophical and destructive, heavy and light. ~ Charles Spano