"We've been getting a lot of questions about a collaborative album that Madlib & Mac Miller supposedly created. Here's the real story: What exists is what the two had originally intended—an EP's worth of music that was supposed to be the start of something. The end point wasn't planned out or even discussed. The idea was to create for creation's sake.
The two met after Mac recorded the last verse on Freddie Gibbs' Piñata album. By early, 2015 Mac had batches of Madlib's beats and was recording songs. The two ate tacos at Eagle Rock's Cacao Mexicatessen and discussed ideas. Madlib played one of Mac's tracks in July of 2016 at a European festival and Egon texted Mac to tell him; "Whaaat, what song, why isn't there any video evidence!!!" was the reply. Followed by "Let's do an EP."
This process continued throughout 2017, as Mac got the latest beat batches, continued recording, and continued his commitment to the project. "I feel like we can create something special," he texted Egon in August 2017. Meanwhile, Madlib continued playing a song here and there in a festival set and word would get back to Mac. "My homie sent me a video of one of the joints me and Madlib did that he was spinning," he texted. "Made me happy."
And that name, Maclib? Like Jaylib, it was just in the metadata of one of the files he sent over. "Maclib - Number 4," it read. The song still doesn't have an official title and there are no official plans to release the EP."
Saudade is a music collective/super-group formed by "composer of futuristic worlds" and producer Chuck Doom of †††, Team Sleep, and THoly Ghost fame. Saudade formed around 2016 and features a wide array of musicians, artists, producers, and creative types; the crew's various members "contribute musically based on their expertise" and includes Chino Moreno (Deftones,) Chelsea Wolfe, David Torn, John Medeski (Medeski Martin & Wood,) Gil Sharone (Marilyn Manson,) Dr. Know (Bad Brains,) Mackie Jayson (Cro-Mags,) Robert Thomas Jr. (Weather Report,) Chris Bittner, and graphic artist, designer, and photographer Frank "Flem" Maddocks. Maddocks has designed covers for everyone from Metallica to Jason Derulo and, actually, designed the cover for Saudade's latest single. Upon their 2016 formation, Saudade quietly released a self-titled single made available exclusively through BitTorrent, although, its Chuck Doom-directed music video has since been made widely available. Just yesterday, completely out-of-the-blue, Saudade returned with their first single in some three years: "Shadows & Light" Feat. Chelsea Wolfe & Chino Moreno. "Shadows & Light" boasts that same brooding, Apocalyptic sound we've all grown to know and love through Moreno's past bands and side-projects Deftones, †††, Palms, Team Sleep, etc. although, unlike "Saudade," it features vocals atop said cascading instrumental. While there are still currently no concrete signs of a proper Saudade full-length or EP, it definitely sounds like this isn't the last we'll be hearing from the Chuck Doom-helmed collective...
"The musicians contribute musically based on their expertise. Frank [Maddocks] did the artwork for our new release and we have him on board going forward to do more. Chris [Bittner] is part of the production team with Chuck [Doom]. It's not a singular band, but, rather, a music collective, as from song-to-song, there may be different contributors. It started as an instrumental-based project, but we always knew there would be vocalists integrated at some point (now, the Chelsea [Wolfe] release,) as well. You can expect more of both going forward. We felt Chelsea would be perfect for the "Shadows & Light" song. So, we simply took a chance and sent it to her. She loved it and said she wanted to be involved. I can't tell you exactly what our release plans are... only that we don't "necessarily" plan to go about things the conventional way. I will say that there is definitely more to come and it will not be another 3 years of waiting."
Beastie Boys' Paul's Boutique was released in Summer 1989 as the follow-up to their massively successful debut, Licensed to Ill, and although, it was essentially, a commercial failure upon its release, has gained a cult status in the years since. Paul's Boutique, to me, personally, has always been one of my favorite albums, since I first discovered it around the age of 15-16; it completely shattered my concept of what Hip-Hop "could" or "should" be and even broke the barriers of what a Hip-Hop group "could" do. "Looking Down The Barrel of a Gun" was reminiscent of The Beasties' earliest aughts as a New York City-based Punk/Hardcore band, initially, called B.E.A.S.T.I.E. Boys:Boys Entering Anarchic States Towards Internal Excellence. Unfortunately, Adam "MCA" Yauch passed away in 2012 following a years-long bout with cancer. It was later, confirmed in 2014 that The Beastie Boys would permanently disband, although, remaining members Michael "Mike D" Diamond & Adam "Ad-Rock" Horovitz "reunited" to pen a 590-page career-spanning memoir fittingly titled BEASTIE BOYS BOOK.
TT5BR (now known as Myrrow's Outlet) is a Dutch beat-maker and fellow Beasties super-fan, who pain-stakingly created a 2017 remix collection dubbed BB PB EP| Beastie Boys Paul's Boutique Extended Play. It featured his spot-on remixes of Paul's Boutique stand-outs "Shake Your Rump" AKA "SYR R,""Hey Ladies" AKA "HL R,""Looking Down The Barrel of a Gun" AKA "LDTBOAG R,""Car Thief" AKA "CT R," and "Stop That Train" AKA "STT R." To be completely honest, at first, I thought BB PB EP was a collection of unreleased Beastie Boys alt. cuts or remixes—seriously, that's how spot-on TT5BR's remixes sound! As many of you may recall, we published an interview with TT5BR right here on these pages of The Witzard back in 2018 with a phenomenal foreword penned by Beastie Boys: Paul's Boutique - A Visual Companion creator Paolo Gilli. It was published to coincide with the re-release of "SYR R" B/W "HL R" on both limited edition clear and standard black vinyl, which are still available directly from MyrrowsOutlet.com. Now, TT5BR has returned, nearly two years later, as Myrrow's Outlet—an actual store featured on the Paul's Boutique cover—with BB PB EP O | Beastie Boys Paul's Boutique Extended Play Outtakes.
It consists of eight out-takes, alt. versions, practice remixes, demos, try-outs, etc. created during the original BB PB EP sessions between 2015-19. "These just didn't make the cut back then, which doesn't mean I didn't like them; just that there were other versions that did fit the concept a little better," Myrrow's Outlet recently told The Witzard, via email. BB PB EP O features new/old versions and takes on "Shake Your Rump," "Hey Ladies," "Looking Down The Barrel of a Gun," "Car Thief," and "Stop That Train." It was a true honor to premiere an early snippet of "LDTBOAG BM" | "Looking Down The Barrel of A Gun Baltimore Mix" on The Witzard's Soundcloud page a couple weeks ago. Now, the complete 8-track version of BB PB EP O is currently available to stream, download, or purchase on a Name-Your-Price basis from Myrrow's Outlet's newly-minted Bandcamp & Soundcloud pages, as well as MyrrowsOutlet.com. As a life-long Beastie Boys fan, who's heard A LOT of remixes, I can confidently say BB PB EP & BB PB EP O are the most seamless, effortless, and most enjoyable Beasties remix collections I've ever heard "on a serious tip!"
"BB PB EP O: A lot of research and experimentation went into the process of creating our previously released BB PB EP. Before deciding on which samples to use for composing and arranging the final remixes a vast amount of combinations of loops were tried, resulting in numerous different versions of most songs. A selection of these try-outs, studies, and early demos are now made available as BB PB EP O. Recorded, mixed, and mastered: 2015–2019, Released: March 2019. Available as a free download or stream below... [the titles are] mostly related to working titles, vibe of the remix, or artist sampled. For instance, ["STT IYWE | Stop That Train] It's Your Watson," two of the samples used are "It's Your Rock" by Fantasy Three and a song by Johnny "Guitar" Watson called "Lover Jones.'"
How's it going, ladies and germs of the music-loving Internet? Today, we here at The Witzard are proud to present to you, a brand new column: Rap Videos Killed The Radio Star. It's a collection of six of our personal favorite music videos released within the past month or so. Also, full disclosure: my wife and I are leaving for our honeymoon to Italy this upcoming Wednesday and I just wanted to do a bit of a wrap-up/send-off of some Hella dope new music, before temporarily signing off for a couple weeks. This inaugural edition of Rap Videos Killed The Radio Star showcases choice selections from Blockhead Feat. billy woods, Open Mike Eagle & Breezly "Breeze" Brewin, BULLIES AKA Denmark Vessey, DRXQUINN & Azarias, ILL BILL & Stu Banga with Goretex, Knowledge The Pirate, Reckonize Real & Guilty Simpson, and Zilla Rocca. I would also, like to send a very special shout-out to the directors of these very music videos: Mr. Oz (@claytoi,) Lil Kydd, Shawn Johnson (@oldsoulbrother1,) Jimmy Johansson, John Luxe & Knowledge The Pirate, and Bob Sweeney (@sweeneybob) respectively, as well as Robert Kupiaj at BULLIES' label, FXCK RXP RXCXRDS.
Sincerely,
Mr. Matt "The Witzard" Horowitz
Pasta, Wine & Cheese Enthusiast
Blockhead - "Slippery Slope" Feat. Billy Woods, Open Mike Eagle & Breezly Brewin (FREE SWEATPANTS)
"I'd like to say I had all sorts of input with the concept and process, but it was all Mr. Oz. Aside from giving him pictures of the rappers and me, he just took an idea and ran with it. That’s great for me 'cause I'm not typically an "idea man." I was very happy with the final product. My last video was "The Music Scene," so that set a high standard. With this, I wanted to go a completely different direction... Dying by laser gunpoint at the hands of two shapely aliens is, actually, my ideal death. So, that worked perfectly for me," Blockhead tells HIPHOPDX, who hosted a #DXCLUSIVE Premiere of "Slipperly Slope" Feat. billy woods, Open Mike Eagle & Breezly Brewin AKA Breeze Brewin of The Juggaknots & The Weathermen. For me, personally, Mr. Oz's claymation-aided concept for "Slippery Slope" harkens back to the days of MTV's recently revitalized Celebrity Deathmatch. Blockhead's first proper studio album since 2017's Funeral Balloons, FREE SWEATPANTS, is now available to purchase directly from billy woods' very own imprint, Backwoodz Studioz. In addition to billy woods, Open Mike Eagle & Breeeze Brewin, FREE SWEATPANTS also, features appearances from Aesop Rock, Tree, Homeboy Sandman, Armand Hammer (billy woods & ELUCID,) Vic Spencer, Marq Spekt & Hemlock Ernst.
"BULLIES is an Independent Hip-Hop collective based out of The Midwest, consisting of emcees Denmark Vessey & DRXQUINNX, as well as producer Azarias. Denmark Vessey is a well-established emcee reigning from Detroit, Michigan, whom has worked with artists, such as Quelle Chris, Open Mike Eagle, Yasiin Bey (FKA Mos Def), Jean Grae, etc. as well as creating classic records, such as Cult Classic, Martin Lucid Dream, Buy Muy Drugs with Azarias, and Sun Go Nova produced by Knxwledge & Earl Sweatshirt. DRXQUINN (pronounced "Dr. Quinn") is an upcoming producer/emcee based out of Chicago. He has had the opportunity to work with such artists as Vic Spencer, Chris Crack, and Mogillah, as well as gain feature on Denmark Vessey's song, "Sellout" with Vic Spencer off the album, Sun Go Nova. Azarias is a producer from Fort Lauderdale, Florida. Aside from being the other half of Buy Muy Drugs (with Denmark Vessey) and being a prominent member of Chicago's beat scene, he has made notable production for artists such as Nappy Nina, Grill Billyenz, and Tanya Morgan. BULLIES いじめっ子 is a mixture of heavy bass, Boom-Bap, minimalistic beats with aggressive and "over-the-top" lyricism with mixed content ranging from "straight bars" to subtle pieces of socio-economic issues of today. BULLIES delivers beyond conventional Hip-Hop of today."
- DRXQUINNX (@drxquinnx)
ILL BILL & Stu Bangas - "Hulk Meat" Feat. Goretex (CANNIBAL HULK EP)
"CANNIBAL HULK is the collaboration between producer Stu Bangas and lyricist ILL BILL. Prior to ever working together, both BILL & Stu traveled in similar circles; both heavily worked with Vinnie Paz (Jedi Mind Tricks/AOTP) which led to Stu being on BILL's The Grimy Awards and BILL being featured on Stu's albums with Esoteric & Blacastan. Having worked together on those tracks is what led to the manifestation of this project. Add to the scenario their love of comic books and the concept [of] CANNIBAL HULK was born. With both feeling most at home with aggressive music, this album sonically sounds exactly as its title indicates. CAN HULK features Vinnie Paz, Goretex, Slaine, Snak The Ripper, and DJ Eclipse," reads a recent press release from FatBeats. CANNIBAL HULK will be released on Friday, March 29th in conjunction with Uncle Howie/Brutal Music - All Wrongs Reversed. "'Hulk Meat" ILL BILL & Stu Bangas featuring @Goreziti—sample I used for the beat provided by Rob Viktum—CANNIBAL HULK available for pre-order now at CannibalHulk.com and FatBeats.com," Stu Bangas (@StuBangasBrutalMusic) ecstatically shared on Facebook Thursday afternoon.
Knowledge The Pirate - "SCIENCE BORN" Extended Version (BLACK CESAR)
Knowledge The Pirate is an emcee, producer, and CEO of Treasure Chest Entertainment. Knowledge has worked with mega-stars, such as Will Smith, Teddy Riley, Pharrell Williams, Rodney Jerkins, and Rockwilder. For the past 10 years or so, Knowledge The Pirate has been the right-hand man and secret weapon to friend and fellow emcee and producer, Roc Marciano. Together, Roc & Knowledge, along with their teams, have helped revitalize 90's Gangsta/Hardcore Hip-Hop made famous by The Geto Boys, Ice-T, N.W.A. Nas, Wu-Tang Clan, and their contemporaries. Knowledge The Pirate has been involved in the creation of nearly all of Roc Marciano's various projects since 2010, as well as providing guest features and A&R. Treasure Chest Entertainment released Knowledge The Pirate's long-awaited solo debut, Flintlock, last summer in conjunction with ART DEALER, FXCK RXP RXCXRDS, Tuff Kong Records.
Flintlock received wide-spread critical acclaim from publications such as Complex, Pitchfork, and UndergroundHipHop. Now, less than a year later, Knowledge The Pirate has returned with his Flintlock follow-up, BLACK CESAR, with production work throughout from e.le.m.n.t. Don Cee, Roc Marciano, and Knowledge The Pirate himself. I actually, saw Knowledge on the side-stage during Roc Marciano's performance at The Franklin Music Hall in Philly a few weeks ago as part of THE WHITE BRONCO TOUR with Action Bronson & Meyhem Lauren; although, I've since heard Knowledge bowed out of the rest of the tour to put the finishing touches on BLACK CESAR. "SCIENCE BORN" produced by e.l.e.m.n.t. is our first taste of BLACK CESAR and it has an equally hard-as-nails video to go along with it. Knowledge The Pirate's BLACK CESAR will be released this upcoming Monday, March 18th on Treasure Chest Entertainment/Tuff Kong Records.
Reckonize Real & Guilty Simpson - "The Whole World's My Ashtray" (Carved from Stone EP)
"When Reckonize Real approached me for this video, he already had an animated clip done for it. We felt the clip, (although, dope) didn't match the feel of the track. I pictured something more sinister, grimy, scary, trippy for the visuals. A while back, I made a clip for an artist named Erstatz Splynter. I had used a similar concept: possessed mannequins invading a home and tormenting the occupants. I used the same concept for this one. Except with this video, they murder the drug-dealing occupants, fuse themselves with the furniture and other objects and walls, and then, proceed to smoke out. I took inspiration from [Herbie] Hancock's "Rockit," Michael Jackson's "Leave Me Alone," and Talking Heads' "[And] She Was." Those three videos have been a huge influence to me."
- Shawn Johnson (NEKTR)
"The song itself was the last recorded for the Carved from Stone album, almost like an after-thought. Guilty had knocked out four joints, then, went on tour Overseas. Deff CuTz started mixing and I was like, "man, we need one or two more joints for this to be a solid EP." I remember when I was sending beats back-and-forth with Guilty, he liked that one, too, so we made it happen. To me, it has a different drive than the other songs and being the only one without a feature, it felt right to be the one to get video treatment. Plus, the line "f**k that, the whole world's my astray" just needs to be vibrated throughout the universe and forever live in video. [The first] video production didn't go as planned and delayed it's release into 2019, but it turned out to be for the best. Shawn gave the song life in video, plus, it was just praised in print for LDT ED Magazine."
- Reckonize Real (@ReckonizeReal)
Zilla Rocca - "Gunshot Jazz" (Future Former Rapper)
"Gunshot Jazz" is a simple, no frills, yet extremely effective single-shot music video directed by frequent Career Crooks/Zilla Rocca collaborator, Bob Sweeney. Zilla Rocca himself had this to say about the self-produced track during our recent Future Former Rapper All-around Breakdown feature: "With "Gunshot Jazz," I had both the beat and song done previously for projects that either never dropped or were rejected. As I was arranging the album, I didn't feel the need to inject a lot of my own beats into the album, but whatever beat I chose, it had to be a BANGER. I was going back through my beats and felt like this joint would be strong enough to hang with the other producers. And it reminded me of the first 5 O'Clock Shadowboxers album, The Slow Twilight, we did in 2009, sonically. So, I wanted to touch on that style on Future Former Rapper just to cover all of my bases with styles I've flipped over the years. I found the rhymes and hook in the stash and they fit perfectly. Plus, the title, "Gunshot Jazz," was a line I said on the first song on the last Shadowboxers album that I always wanted to use again. So, it all fit together perfectly." Zilla Rocca is already hard at work on Future Former Rapper's proper follow-up, '96 Mentality, as well as projects with long-time friend and collaborator Small Professor as Career Crooks, GRIFT COMPANY with Curly Castro, and Call Out Culture with Def Jux veteran emcee, ALASKA.
"Surreal, absurd, abstract, shot through with a E.E. Cummings sense of the vibrant and a Le Guin style comic abstruseness." - The Wire
"If it was already written, well, then, shall I not have scorn / A Jazz musician died and Pan Am was born," Leron Thomas / Pan Amsterdam
"One of the best horn players around today. [He] realizes the imperative to be more than just a horn player," Iggy Pop.
"Elevator Music Vol. 1 marks the first in a three-part series of EP's, which will be released this year. In this installment, we have collabs with Open Mike Eagle & Iggy Pop! Not one for keeping things predictable or even sensical, Pan Amsterdam plans to drop three very different projects this year, all under the banner of "Elevator Music." There will be more surprises to follow, as this plays out..."
- Def Pressé Press Release (@DefPresse)
I. How did you first meet The Godfather of Punk himself, Iggy Pop? What, then, made you two decide to record "Mobile" together?
I met Iggy through a very trusted friend and music critic, Ben Ratliff. Ben had been writing me up in The [New York] Times for years. He really has a good understanding on what it is that I do. So, NYC got too heavy and I thought that I was going to leave, due to financial constraints, after my girlfriend left. I decided to hit Ben up and meet at a bar and have a decent sit-down and talk. My initial intentions were to just thank him for writing [about] me throughout the years and supporting what I did because I was about to straight up disappear, Jack.
Through another great friend, I was able to not only stay afloat with my rent financially, but also, finance my next projects. Don't want this person to be hit up by too many other starving artists, so we'll just call them "Special K." One of the projects was a character that I was developing called Pan Amsterdam. Ben Ratliff gave it to Iggy Pop. Iggy, thank goodness. really dug it and featured the track "Plus One" on his BBC Radio 6 Music show, Iggy Confidential. From there, I was hooked up with airplay on BBC6. Also, a label my friend Malik was on, took me in, as well: Def Pressé. After that, I became really cool with Iggy and we started hacking away at many musical ideas. One of them that just came out, happens to be "Mobile."
II. Iggy Pop once went as far as to call you, and I quote: "one of the best horn players around today..." Now, are you a fan of his music, as well? If so, what might you cite as a few of your personal favorite releases from throughout Iggy's rather expansive catalog?
Man, I really appreciate that he said that! Yeah, I am definitely a fan of his music. It's really hip to hear the echos of Jim Morrison on his early songs like "Gimme Danger" on the album Raw Power (1973) with The Stooges or even "The Passenger" on the Lust for Life (1977) album. And then, he goes from there to a world like "Bang Bang" on his PARTY (1981) album. Man, if you've ever seen that video, I love it. Prince totally copped Iggy's vibe in Purple Rain from that "Bang Bang" video. I tried to bring the Prince thing to Iggy's attention one day and he didn't even dwell on it for 15 seconds; just went back to talking about the present musical task at hand.
That's how humble and focused he is in art. He's totally always pushing forward. If you listen to [Jamie Saft, Steve Swallow & Bobby Previte]'s 2017 album, Loneliness Road [with Iggy Pop] you get this total crooner side of him with the dopest edge. My favorite is "Don't Lose Yourself." I really dig that track because that's totally a part of Iggy's vibe. He'll laugh and joke with you, but be careful, he's studying the absolute f**k out of you. There are many more I dig, too, but we'll be here for a while, but just know... yeah, man, I'm definitely a fan!
III. In addition to Open Mike Eagle, Iggy Pop & Madison Washington's Malik Ameer Crumpler, who else is set to appear on your upcoming Elevator Music, Vol. 1 EP?
There's my French band. A really dope band to perform and record with. I hope life will never throw them off from the energy they create as a group. I'm gonna go 'head and say their names and instruments: you've got Greg F. on guitar, Florian Pellissier on keys and sounds, Kenny Ruby on bass, keys, and sounds, and then, Tibo Bandalise on drums. You ever hear these super-bands that get put together and they just don't gel live? Well that ain't the case here with these guys and you'll hear that on a song we produced as a collective on the track called "Bobcat."
It's supposed to be the track that I come out of amnesia and realize who I am or some sh*t I wrote as a press release to give the press people a laugh that may have back-fired in my face, who the f**k knows... but the track is unapologetic in it's 12 minutes [in] length. I don't know what to think, as far as how the "gate-keepers" and "hip gate-keepers" might take it, but hey, we try to make the world a better place and no good deed goes unpunished.
IV. How was working with Iggy Pop, Open Mike Eagle & Malik Ameer Crumpler different than the recording process behind your 2018 Def Pressé EP, The Pocket Watch EP?
Oh yeah, that was totally different because on The Pocket Watch EP there was only one beat-maker. This one has different beat-makers including Mr.Shn & Leron Thomas for "Mobile" and Malik Crumpler for "15 Seconds." So, the vibe that's curated becomes immediately more left-field than what The Pocket Watch supporters would be used to. I was self-aware of that. I guess, we're a restaurant and not a fast-food chain. We'll try and create a drive-thru, window though. That's for damn sure!
V. Elevator Music, Vol. 1 is just the first in an ongoing 3-part EP series dropping throughout this year, correct? What exactly can we expect from Vols. 2-3?
Well, Pan Am will go to another direction and different projects, but Yves Sane Leron will pop up in the picture; that's Volume 2. I hope the Pan Am people will dig him. Then, Leron shows up in the third [volume]. I can't reveal too much on that because it'll spoil the sh*t.
VI. Any idea where the inspiration behind Iggy's "2 scratches, beef jerky, and a Powerball..." refrain come from? Also, how did trumpet player/producer Leron Thomas initially get involved with "Mobile?"
Iggy and I were trying to find an angle to this piece for a little while. I like how "dirty" the track is. The delayed fourth beat. It's "funky." I get a kick out of people rendezvousing in funky areas and not acknowledging the funk. Like subways, smelly water of water theme parks. We some funky-a$$ people sometimes, but my favorite is the gas station and truck stops. The funky oil smell. Using funky energy, instead, of clean energy, to fuel our funky vehicles, to go work a funky job. The funky prostitutes at truck stops and gas stations. The funky sausages baking out in the open for people to put their funky hands on and then, drop the sausage on the floor and put that one back on the machine and get another funky one. Yeah, well, we needed to shorten my funky outlook on it all, so that's how we came up with those lyrics.
I was just watching Part 1 of PUNK on EPIX, a new 4-part documentary series profiling a slew of early Punk/Hardcore bands, as well as the earliest aughts of the genre. PUNK Part 1 included segments focused on Iggy & The Stooges, MC5, New York Dolls, The Ramones, Blondie, Wayne/Jayne County & The Electric Chairs, PUNK Magazine, CBGB's, Hilly Kristal, and much, much more. One band of particular note were Garage Rock/Proto-Punk pioneers MC5, who had a particularly gut-wrenching rise and fall before they ever really gained wide-spread success. Oddly enough, MC5's politically-charged 1970 sophomore album, Back In The USA featured a song on Side B called "The Human Being Lawnmower;" this title, in particular, bears a striking resemblance to blood-curdling emcee Blastmaster Baker's recent debut on we are the karma kids, Blastmaster Baker vs. The Human Being Lawn Mower. Now, I have yet to ask Blastmaster Baker himself, but I would almost have to guess MC5 & Back In The USA were, likely, a strong influence during the creation of his own Hip-Hop, Punk, and Hardcore-fusing album.
Nick "Blastmaster" Baker—much like his karma kids label-head and mentor, Lt Headtrip—is an Ohio-born NYC transplant, who teeters the fine line between Hip-Hop & Punk/Hardcore. Baker, actually, fronts his own Brooklyn-based Punk band called Children's City Dump AKA C.C.D. The band's line-up, also, includes Blastmaster Baker's cousin, Alex Baker on drums, bassist Kevin Levine, and guitarist Will Montgomery. C.C.D. are featured throughout aforementioned Blastmaster Baker vs. The Human Being Lawnmower as a backing band, of sorts, on "Mosquitoes," "Knee Deep," and "An Act of Contrition." Last week, Children's City Dump quietly dropped their first proper release as a band, a nearly 9-minute single-track EP entitled 2217 Mixtape. Blastmaster Baker himself describes it as something like this: "2217 Mixtape is, really, just an assortment of demos we recorded in our practice space (Room #2217) in Brooklyn. Aside from what's on the [Blastmaster Baker vs. The Human Being] Lawnmower album, the band didn't have much in the way of an Internet presence."
"Ultimately, the band is intended to stand on it's own and not simply be an extension of the ...Lawnmower album, though, the band was conceived during the making-of that record. At this point, it is very much it's own entity and I want the band to exist without being seen through the lens of "Blastmaster Baker,'" Baker continued. Nick Baker adds that C.C.D. are currently attempting to build up a solid "Internet presence," so fans attending their shows can easily find them online afterwards. C.C.D. say they're "planning to get into the studio very soon to record a full-length record, but consider this a bit of a teaser for things to come." For good measure, Children's City Dump, also, appear alongside Blastmaster Baker & Lt Headtrip within the latest single pulled from Blastmaster Baker vs. The Human Being Lawnmower, "Mosquitoes." Said frantic music video was directed by long-time we are the karma kids collaborator Mike Petrow, otherwise known as Duncecap (@Duncecap_.) Both MC5-referencing Blastmaster Baker vs. The Human Being Lawnmower and C.C.D.'s 2217 Mixtape are currently available to stream or purchase on Bandcamp.
It looks like it's poised to be a pretty BIG week for Philly Hoagie-core pioneers Body Spray, as their long-awaited debut full-length, Music to Fall Down To will be released digitally this Friday, March 15th. They're also, playing a Music to Fall Down To Record Release Show on "St. Body Spray Day," Sunday, March 17th, at Ortlieb's with Plot & Table. Just this past Friday, Adam Black, Dan Haddigan, Eric Kenney & Ian Kiesel unleashed their second music video from Music to Fall Down To for Bandcamp single, "New Smell." It was directed by James Powers and edited by B.S.' own Adam Black and features the band running around "the mean streets" of Philly wreaking havoc, all the while, donning giant middle finger masks on their heads. Honestly, the "New Smell" is "Philly" through and through; from Body Spray's Rocky-esque sweatsuits to punching meat slabs... well, much smaller pieces of meat strapped to an old punching bag! Even the band's pre-run beer choices are inherently "Philly:" Tecate, Modelo, Pabst Blue Ribbon, and Coors Banquet.
Throughout the course of the "New Smell" music video, we see Body Spray sprinting past a wide array of Philly landmarks including Pat's Steaks, the infamous Mayor Frank Rizzo Mural, John F. Kennedy Plaza AKA "LOVE Park," The Municipal Services Building and accompanying Frank Rizzo statue, The Art Museum/"Rocky" Steps, and nearby Rocky Statue. There's also, a surprise appearance from The Grim Reaper from Body Spray's previous "Edgy" music video at the roller rink. Death himself is seen at the bar across from Body Spray during the "New Smell"'s final scenes and of course, he flips them off! Sonically, Body Spray's sound harnessed on Music to Fall Down To is somewhere in-between Hardcore/Powerviolence figure-heads Pissed Jeans & SPAZZ with sonic allusions to Iggy & The Stooges and Henry Rollins-era Black Flag. Music to Fall Down To will be on sale at B.S.' Record Release Show at Ortlieb's this Sunday, March 17th on randomly-colored vinyl with FREE limited edition Body Spray 3:16/Hell EP sticker packs. For those unable to attend, a limited number of Music to Fall Down To LP's are currently available to pre-order directly from Body Spray's Bandcamp page.
