We’re not sure what we think of all this talk of a "beat" or "beats" renaissance. I mean, does no one remember the 90s? If you ask us, anyone who uses the term "beats" to describe the music they’re into should be lined up and shot, alongside those who say "IDM" and "tech-house".

Like it or not, "beats" are back in currency. Hot on the heels of the fine Beat Dimensions 2 compilation, which featured decidedly beatsy new cuts from the likes of Mike Slott, Dorian Concepy and Fulgeance, comes Echo Expansion – an LP compilation showcasing the much talked-about L.A. scene, a community of like-minded instrumental hip-hop producers with Flying Lotus‘s Brainfeeder crew at its centre.

The release has its roots in a 2007 Europoean tour launched by Dublab; a limited edition vinyl release featuring artists on the tour was released soon after, but sold out in a flash. What we have here is an expanded version of that original EP, with eight new tunes from artists connected to the tour.

Some of the producers featured will be familiar to you – Flying Lotus, who supplies the excellent ‘Backpack Caviar’, Daedelus, Dntel, Dimlite and the utterly reprehensible Gaslamp Killer – others, like Kutmah and the awfully-named Jahbitat, are certainly new to us. Echo Expansion is out now on Porter Records; listen to samples over at the Rush Hour store.

Tracklisting:

1. The Life Force Trio – Alice! Live At The Natural History Museum 2. Adventure Time – Set On Satellites 3. Blank Blue – Eyes Closed (Private Stash Version) 4. The Gaslamp Killer and The Gonja Sufi – Robots 5. Flying Lotus – Backpack Caviar 6. Ras G – Stealth Mode 7. Daedelus – Dnt Fk Sgr 8. Dimlite – Jose s Views 9. Dntel – Sundial10. Languis – Million Ways11. Jahbitat and Daniel Gutierrez – Tonada Del Tormento12. Kutmah – Song Song13. Hashim B – Tokyo To LA Steez 14. Take – Wonder Man s Flask15. Matthew David – Tomorrowspirit16. Andrew Pekler – New Fibrillation