There's an intimacy to the new FREE/MAN release, "The Reconnection EP," that borders on a welcome invasion of personal space. It is the sonic equivalent of someone leaning in, not to share a secret, but to create the silence where your own might finally surface. Charlie Freeman hasn't built a grand cathedral of sound here; he's simply furnished a quiet room with stark, necessary...

In the world of hip-hop, there is a continual ebb and flow of new talent, but every once in a while, a performance will come along that will seem like a revelation. The very talented Eyst and Mac Keller form one half of the dynamic duo known as Apolloïd, which is based in Neuilly-sur-Marne and hails from France. It's like witnessing lightning in a bottle when...