Airdrift⏚Sign⍲ls
🎶 An online ℳusic magazine 🎧
December 3, 2022
The Beach Boys - Sail on Sailor - 1972 Boxset drives home the brilliance of this magical and underrated period of Beach Boys history
July 22, 2022
My Top 100 All-Time Albums
After stumbling across an excellent website, neverendingchartrendering.org, I realized that I could take a crack at putting together a top 100 album list. The resulting list is my top 100 albums of all time from my own personal music journey.
Are there any albums that you see on here that would make it onto your list? Albums that I may be missing or should be listening to? Decide for yourself and let me know in the comments. Make your own list and reach out to me when you do. Have an awesome day and go with the flow~
May 28, 2021
How to successfully downsize your vinyl player setup without sacrificing audio quality
Being a part of a few vinyl social circles, I have seen a number of posts of newcomer’s setups, which usually include a suitcase record player, and this motivated me to share my own downsized setup and my story of how it came to be. It is awesome to see so many new record lovers’ humble beginnings! Loving and collecting records is really a special thing. When the album artwork (especially if it’s cool art) is that much larger to behold its beauty in your hands while listening to a nice set of speakers or headphones, it makes the music listening experience so much more immersive.
Some years prior while helping a guy build his house we needed to take a trip to Waterbury to the Home Depot for some supplies. On our trip back along the main road was a set of furniture and an old sound system on the curb of someone's property. I asked my friend to stop so I could take it and put it behind our seats in his pickup truck. I found out later from my brother-in-law, who is also an audiophile, that these were Bang and Olefsen speakers that were manufactured in the late '70s and were discontinued around '79. They were kept in VG+ condition and he kept confirming with me that I picked them up off the side of the road. He was in disbelief about that. I guess the lesson here is to never gloss over a free sound system on the side of the road. You never know what people are giving away for free.
I hope this inspires some newcomer vinyl lovers to continue to upgrade their setups with amplifiers, speakers, and understand that it is possible to have a downsized vinyl setup that doesn't sacrifice audio quality. Never forget to also to be aware of any curb alerts in your neighborhoods, as you never know the quality of sound systems that people might be putting on the road for free. Peace and have a great day.
April 7, 2021
Dark Flow Designs Etsy Shop - Visually Stunning Kaleidoscopic Art
I am unveiling the launch of my brand new Etsy shop, Dark Flow Designs! Over the past few years, I have enjoyed creating various abstract artwork. Two years ago, I used this artwork that I have created for my DJ Dark Flow music releases, namely my Cracking the Code and Backwords Thoughts singles and my Crystallize album cover.
Now, I am pleased to announce that many of these unreleased abstract pieces will be available for purchase as wall art decorations to enhance any living space or creativity. Take a look at the shop by following this link, and stay tuned for newly released artwork from my visual branch of creativity, Dark Flow Designs! Stay creative and stay safe.
February 16, 2021
Transatlantic duo Configa and Hastyle unleash The ConfigHas Crates, setting hip-hop ablaze!

Hip-hop has been through many trends over the years. As the founding hip-hop genre has inevitably morphed into subgenres such as east and west coast hip-hop, underground, gangsta rap, conscious rap, crunk, southern rap, trap, mumble rap, etc., the prevailing sound has always been real hip-hop. Old heads remind the younger generations of aspiring artists and avid fans, while newer players help by keeping the style alive. The ConfigHas Crates is no different, as transatlantic duo Configa (beats) and Hastyle (rhymes) prove that no "body" can keep these two talented artists apart for this compilation, exhumed, electrified, and brought back to life.
Enemies Closer almost flows seamlessly from Now as it shares the previous sample as it picks up the pace into a militaristic and Wu-inspired beat. The sampled vocals in the mix remind the listener and Hastyle to "keep your friends close, but your enemies closer." Hastyle riffs off this reminder and recounts the times that friends and family has not come through for him, but why he still prefers to keep tabs on his enemies. Sadat X pulls up for a couple verses and questions the true motives of so-called friends, while Hastyle drops more jewels of knowledge, "true friends sometimes are there, and then abra-cadabra, like Houdini they wanna disappear, that’s why I rather have enemies as supporters, keep your best friends close, enemies even closer." The haunting choir-like beat is reminiscent of cuts from militant minded emcees such as Jedi Mind Tricks or Immortal Technique, but for Configa it’s just another flavor of his multi-colored repertoire of beats. Water Colors is yet another example of how many colors and styles The ConfigHas Crates is willing to draw from. It opens with a bright and flirtatious piano skit of Hastyle scoping a beautiful lady he’s determined to win. The following beat sounds Eastern-inspired, with a chorus of cello and fluttering violins that give this track a really down to Earth vibe. Hastyle turns artful as he tries to woo a pretty lady with his steady wit and conversation and takes a leap of faith.
Alpha Bits gives up another wild beat for Hastyle to test his speed on. The reverberating bass-y and melodic music starts to run alongside Hastyle and the pair never take a misstep in this seriously funky and jazzy number. It’s almost hard to imagine that an energy like this is still rising, but suffice it to say it’s just about to plateau with the follow-up song, Sticky. "It’s a sticky situation, got me feeling sensations, like I’m on medication, taking the pain away, I love her but I gotta leave her, I’m addicted gotta be with her, I’m stuck in the game, it’s just me and Mary Jane," Hastyle takes the chorus and likens the herb to a love-addicted romance. The beat fizzles and whistles in such a way that it begs the question if MJ would truly enhance this listening experience. Rah Digga blesses this track with her unmistakable charm and raps about the writers block that can come and go with the "sticky, the snowy, the smelly, the hairy" and drowning in the liquor. "I’m lying to myself, I can’t write without it, I’m lightin’ up another, my vision’s still clouded, I said ‘oh well’, I put the pen down, swimming in these strange clouds, let a bitch drown." Despite feeling lost in this cloud of bliss, Hastyle, Configa, and Rah Digga resign themselves to just enjoy the moment, and what a moment it really is.
Lik a Shot, featuring Wordsworth and Rashan, settles into a smoother groove and Hastyle muses over his lyrical weaponry while he takes some shots with his guests. Wordsworth and Rashan add a nonstop flow that gives this posse a special slice in the ConfigHas canon. The subject matter then drops into a more realized and pointed track in Mind Control. Hastyle questions the powers-that-be by calling out the multiple conspiracy theories without disproving any in particular. He focuses instead on the government and media’s culpability to control the minds of those who are unaware. El Da Sensei drops in on the funky seventies-television-style beat and pulls up bars concerning police brutality, mass killings, gang violence, unemployment, and the systemic failures that lead to violence in communities. World War Rap featuring Prince Po feels like the next logical progression from Mind Control. Hastyle raps in the chorus, "the World War started, now the world’s cold-hearted, and everything on the radio is garbage, all you rapper’s on the market, you don’t want to be our next target." Prince Po speaks of a revolution and resolutely spits disses aimed at the fake emcees who spit dumbed down rhymes. He reminds the cotton candy rappers that him and Hastyle are hungry and the wack emcees are about to be devoured. Soldiers March opens with a faux newscast that is reporting on genocidal crimes against humanity that is tongue-in-cheek while not entirely downplaying the problem. Hastyle opens this cut with a verse about the brainwashed boots on the ground, who are trained to follow the orders of their government masters. Chino XL cuts into the assault-rifle-laden-produced beat and murders the mic with his unstoppable flow. Outro is a witty final take as Configa and Hastyle’s Midas touch blesses the beat with a review of all their previous songs from the album. It’s short, sweet, and gives listeners a necessary lesson in real hip-hop. Configa’s funky melodic lines of the final cut complement Hastyle’s overall confidence and swagger that he has exuded throughout, and it’s undeniable that this pairing is peanut butter and jelly.
November 18, 2020
Earth’s Full Upon Her Burning Lips (2019) is an awesome showcase of doom metal, and probably the ultimate example of metal you can chill to
Full Upon Her Burning Lips - 8.25/10
Recommended tracks: Exaltation of Larks, Cats on The Briar, Descending Belladonna