The Internet had been seen as holding great promise for a period spanning their first three albums. Last year, the band has really lived up to it with their fourth album Hive Mind. The playful sleeve calls up memories of De La Soul, and just like this infamous hip hop trio, The Internet smashes the boundaries between genres. The five-member band from Los Angeles was formed in 2011 from the remains of hip hop collective Odd Future, and gives a contemporary twist to seventies funk, R&B, hip hop, jazz, and electronic dance music. Sultry singing, grinding bass and teasing guitar sounds; they all come together in a laid-back groove that hails the summer in winter time. According to Dutch music magazine OOR we will call Hive Mind a masterpiece in ten years’ time. If this prediction turns out to be true, North Sea Jazz visitors will be able to say: ‘I was there in 2019’.
