10,000 hours is how long it takes to master a craft, skill or occupation, at least according to Malcolm Gladwell’s pop science book Outliers: The Story of Success. “Practice isn’t the thing you do once you’re good. It’s the thing you do that makes you good,” he says in a Ted Talk coming soon to an amphitheater near you. “10,000 Hours” is also the name of a Justin Bieber song and roughly the amount of time that Session Victim say they’ve been in a studio space shared with producer Iron Curtis — a little over a year of “time together cooking beats.”

The substance and style of the tracks on 10,000 Hours on Toy Tonics vary wildly. This is a record of transitions. “Chunky Dip” is a sample-heavy funk track, diligently pursuing the Jackin House precedent of naming tracks after food. It has a bassline that won’t quit: looped, it slaps at you and comes all the way around the world to slap you again. “Hide and Seek” kicks off the B Side with an understated, almost quiet jazz-inspired aesthetic that’s heavy on the vibes. This is a new sound for Session Victim, and I like it. “House In The Hills” is an experiment in tempo and expectation: drawn strings, plucked strings and ’90s style San Francisco trip hop electronica melt together into a solid whole over downtempo percussion. It’s the strongest track on here, and like “House In The Hills,” a very un-Session Victim-sounding one.

Session Victim: 10,000 Hours (Toy Tonics / 12″ Vinyl / Digital / December 2021)
1. Session Victim: Chunky Dip (05:54)
2. Session Victim: MPFree Now (04:13)
3. Session Victim: Hide And Seek (05:09)
4. Session Victim: House In The Hills (04:27)

⚪️ Disclosure Statement: This record was not submitted as a promo.

This was originally published in #Praise: 5 Mag Issue #194 with Norm Talley and Upstairs Asylum, Lea Lisa, Cratan/Decoder and more. Support 5 Mag by becoming a member for as little as $1 per issue.