The nascent talent refreshes the trap-rap formula with tape-melted synths and an overwhelming sense of unease.

Phaseone (aka Andrew Jernigan, and not to be confused with the Sydney producer of the same name) is part of the class of producers (e.g. Morri$) whose work shares the percussive hallmarks of Southern hip-hop without devolving into TNGHT pastiche.

‘Blood Spirit I’, the first song on his forthcoming album If I Tell U, spends its first minute in a dreamy, beatless space, lulling the listener before reaching for the 808 and a wash of seriously warped synth swells.

If I Tell U is due out on May 7 via the Adult Swim-affiliated Williams Street Records. In 2009, Phaseone contributed a remix of Kollosus’ ‘Breakin’ Bread’ for Williams Street’s ATL RMX compilation, an album that presaged the whole electronic music / Southern rap crossover.