From the creator of Kish Kollectiv comes “Temponauta” from South Central Positronics! “Temponauta” from South Central Positronics is a varied collection of (mostly) instrumental pieces very loosely inspired by the Italian New Age community, the Damanhur Federation, which is located in the Alpine foothills near Turin.
In the late 1990s, they revealed to the world that they had mastered the theory and practice of time travel (among other esoteric pursuits, some of which are connected to the lost civilization Atlantis), which was covered in a 1998 issue of the “Fortean Times”, a UK publication that concerns itself with paranormal phenomena. “Temponauta” is an Italian word that roughly translates as “female time traveler” and each composition very obliquely suggests another phase, experience, or aspect of her journey, but the listener is of course free to interpret the pieces in any way they wish.
From the creator of South Central Positronics “, They did later row back on a lot of these assertions and repositioned themselves as a more conventional spiritual commune and eco-village from the mid-2000s, but I never lost my fascination with their earlier claims of “esoteric physics” and “selfic science”.
Born of Italo-Celtic stock into a slowly rusting northern England in the throes of Thatcher-era de-industrialization, the young Michele Sarto (“Mike” to those closest to him; other people just can’t pronounce the name properly) was bitten by the horror bug early. After having been “encouraged” to sit through an uncut version of Lucio Fulci’s surreal schlock masterpiece “City of the Living Dead” at the age of 6 by mischievous elder cousins, a lifelong fascination with the darker side of fiction was born. Equally haunted and excited by aftermath images of reanimated corpses, horrific “skull-crush” kills and a young woman literally vomiting out her innards, another element of that particular production was to make an indelible impression on the young Sarto; the maestro Fabio Frizzi’s masterful synthesizer-driven score.
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Only Takes A Day – Reach
Written by vocalist Shaanvir Rehal, ‘Reach’ is a conscious and dynamic display of lyricism that sidesteps the braggadocio of commercial hip-hop to arrive at something both honest and infectious. Injecting hip hop beats with a masterly display of finicky acoustic work, Shaan’s track was the spark that got percussionist Fabien Waldheim involved in the project, and together the duo explore the bleakness and banality of pop culture with a song that’s life-affirming and touchingly relatable. ‘Reach’ explores the many contradictions in the modern condition: rampant materialism is a source of anxiety to many, but the promise of a more comfortable life through it is something we all, to some extent, strive towards.
Unashamedly proud of his nerdiness, Shaan lyrically cuts something of a Gambino-esque figure, though possessed with a probing curiosity that penetrates further and lashes harder than his american peers. ‘Reach’ is a positive message. It tells us listeners that we are not alone in our thoughts, and that through expression we can find a connection with each other and the world around us that transcends our angst.
Influenced by a wide range of music from Bob Dylan to J Dilla, Only Takes A Day combines spoken word influenced rap lyrics and sung hooks with live instrumentation. Having formed at a house party jam in the summer of 2014, vocalist and guitarist Shaanvir Rehal and percussionist Fabien Waldheim cut a separate path to the americanised rap that’s homogenising commercial music right now. Their approach is uniquely their own, with Shaanvir’s lyrics often feeling like forays into his own head, while Fabien’s beats take the place of traditional sampling to provide an organic dynamism that can’t be achieved through machines.
With only one song in their repertoire back in September, the duo has expanded their setlist and their live presence in London’s music scene, headlining shows across the capital. Over the last couple of years, they’ve travelled across the UK to perform at festivals nationwide including Glastonbury, Wonderfields, Hazy Days, Subsonic and Homeless not Hopeless. Their artistic integrity remains their biggest draw, and in doing whatever they want they’ve ended up striking a chord resonant with the people they play for. Their endearing authenticity and classic musicianship feels almost radical in today’s Soundcloud rap climate, and as their art continues to expand, so too will their influence. It may not have taken a day, but rest assured their day will come.
LINKS:
https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCtOa4nbU1k8KR9JFAopch2A
https://soundcloud.com/onlytakesaday
https://twitter.com/OnlyTakesADay
https://www.instagram.com/onlytakesaday
https://www.facebook.com/OnlyTakesADay
https://open.spotify.com/artist/18ZwiU4AXEvU5YgA1sz3hb?si=gF1sglw0S6e8TJAx8PxTUw -
Atmosphere – Virgo
Defining success is not an exact science by any means. In some ways, it’s especially difficult to quantify one’s success when they have a job that places them in the public eye, a position that is ripe for critique and high expectations. Perhaps those who best thrive in those scenarios are the ones who can navigate through all noise and continue to evolve and grow, both in their skill sets and as individuals.
In many ways, that is an integral part of the Atmosphere story. Over their twenty-year career, they have managed to continually tweak and strive to perfect their formula, while neither straying too far off their path nor resorting to playing it safe. Starting at 1997’s Overcast, the group’s first official album, and traveling through 18 years of new albums, side projects (e.g. the Sad Clown series and Felt), and various collaborations, all the way up until 2014’s Southsiders album, Atmosphere’s music has evolved in a way that differs from many of their peers and predecessors. A hard look at that evolution doesn’t reveal the commonalities of following trends or struggling to fit in, by either over-extending in an effort to stay cool to the younger generation, or succumbing to the pressure people tend to place on artists to maintain the same sound from album to album. Instead, the Atmosphere discography evolves in a natural way.
Musically, Ant has continued to define Atmosphere’s sound, ranging from a healthy mixture of upbeat and fun to the oft more iconic, moody and personal. Throughout the 1990s, Ant spent countless hours in his basement with a wealth of records, a keyboard sampler, a turntable and a 4-track, working with a who’s who of the Twin Cities’ Rap talent of that time. Those experiences tuned his ear, molded his work ethic, and shaped his vision. In turn, those lessons have continually become more prominent in the Atmosphere aesthetic, blending live musicians and sampled production with his keen sense of how to compose a well-arranged song.
As for the lyrics, Slug started his passion for rhyming with an obsessive-like penchant for the way words intersect, as well as how those words can be manipulated for unexpected and clever meanings. But, at the same time, early on Slug expressed an interest in doing more than simply proving he could be witty, but also writing about subjects that speak to people personally, as well as emotionally. These practices also naturally helped the Atmosphere fan base to expand beyond the usual independent Hip Hop audience, extending their reach to an alternative audience who also related to the personable appeal and emotional range of both Slug’s songwriting and Ant’s musical backdrops. Particularly, Slug has been consistently successful in leveraging his understanding for the power of words, recognizing that a song containing the right story or personal perspective can be extremely effective in capturing and holding the listener’s attention.
Undoubtedly, the impact of Atmosphere’s music has been the roots to their long-term success, but their continued rigorous touring and performance schedule has been the vessel for engraining these stories and the legacy of the music into their fan base. Early on in their careers, Atmosphere stepped beyond the genre lines and performed shows throughout the Twin Cities with Rock bands, Punk Rock bands, and Jazz Ensembles. This was directly influenced by the fact that both of them were already fans of a wide range of music. Although this was a natural reaction to being a fan of the music, that experience also afforded Atmosphere, and their Rhymesayers peers, the opportunity to witness first-hand the D.I.Y ethos shared by some of these other musical movements.
Atmosphere began to apply many of these tactics and work ethics to their growth, which was specifically influential in the development of Atmosphere’s approach to touring. These strategies found Atmosphere expanding their tours into cities that few if any, Rap artists were including in their routing. The result is a storied connection between the artists and the listeners, which has grown into long-term Atmosphere fans passing down that experience to their children and so on, and thus continually ushering in a new generation of Atmosphere fans. Early on in their touring excursions, Atmosphere shows were noted in history for challenging the idea that Hip-Hop audiences had to be filled exclusively with scowl-faced males fueled by ego and testosterone. Instead, they created an environment that invited women to join in on the party. All of these factors have led to a fan base that ranges from ages 14-54 and beyond, and one that remains solid, as well as ever evolving.
As Atmosphere steps into their 21st year of making music, Slug & Ant show no signs of slowing, compromising or losing sight of their vision. Nor has time revealed any diminishing of those qualities that have brought them this far. As 2016 swung into gear, Atmosphere had already ended the previous year and led into another with a string of singles, and still have an abundance of music on the way, including their latest album, “Fishing Blues”. The title of the new album speaks directly to the sentiments that opened this bio; Is this the point in the career where Atmosphere chooses to step back, put up the Gone Fishin’ sign and reminisce about their successes? The answer, a resounding no, is found in the music, a collection of songs that both define and redefine the Atmosphere sound. Their passion and creative spark are as illuminating as ever. Slug and Ant still have plenty of stories to tell.
SOURCE: Official Bio
LINKS:
http://rhymesayers.com/atmosphere
https://www.facebook.com/Atmosphere
https://instagram.com/atmosphere
https://snapchat.com/add/seanmosphere
https://twitter.com/atmosphere -
ASM – Honey (feat. Chinese Man)
ASM drop their new collab with Chinese Man with their new video titled ‘Honey’. Like a sucker punch to the gut, the track hits you hard with the beat and lyrical assault to the senses like depleted uranium to the skull. The video perfectly compliments the song with cut and paste-like creativity and dropped mic-bombs with each scene cut that keeps to the rhythm of the track. A perfect marriage of audio and video.
ABOUT ASM
With 3 critically acclaimed full-length albums and over 600 shows in 25 different countries under their belt, ASM has established themselves as one of the pre-eminent hip hop acts in Europe today. Their unique brand of sophisticated, ultra-lyrical boom-bap fusion continues to serve as a refreshing reminder that hip hop can be fun, artistically ambitious, and intelligent.
Principally composed of MC’s Green and FP and DJ/Producer Fade aka RHINO, this international trio of friends from high school (one Canadian, one German, one English) first gained international recognition from their collaborative singles with Wax Tailor: “Positively Inclined” & “Say Yes”, and have since collaborated with the likes of Chinese Man, MF DOOM, Deluxe, La Fine Equipe, and many more.
After spending the last 18 months touring extensively as live MCs of Marseille legends Chinese Man as part of the Shikantaza tour, 2019 sees the return of ASM with a brand-new album and tour project as the latest act on the illustrious roster of Chinese Man Records.
After exploring the depths of cinematic orchestration and pushing the boundaries of narrative rap on their 2015 opus “The Jade Amulet” and the returning to their origins in smoked-out jazzy boom bap on the 2016 “String Theory EP”, 2019 sees ASM takes a new direction in the form of the new studio album “Color Wheel”.
Featured image by Damien Chamcirkan.
LINKS:
https://www.chinesemanrecords.com/asm
https://www.facebook.com/ASMastateofmind
https://twitter.com/ASMastateofmind
https://www.instagram.com/asm_astateofmind
https://www.youtube.com/user/ASMastateofmind