Oakland, California-based producer DEAD PERRY has dropped his new album ACOUSTIC SHADOWS, featuring Casual, Daniel Son, Estee Nack, Al Divino, Raz Fresco, Ill Bill & more, via Below System Records
When we last heard from Bay Area producer DEAD PERRY, he was riding high on the critical success of ‘The Art Of Reanimation’ album. That album was a re-imagining of legendary Hieroglyphics crew emcee Casual’s work from his ‘Big Head Science’ album.
However, on the ‘Acoustic Shadows‘ album, as the title implies, things get a bit dark. As he relays,
“When I made (The Art Of Reanimation) with Cas, I wanted to cater to the specific sound that Hieroglyphics has, but put my spin on it without making it too dark (though there are a couple of dark gems sprinkled throughout). I knew that my next album was going to be a solo LP, and I wanted it to be something special. Dark and grimy has always been my style of beat making, so I wanted to showcase that with this record”.
However, the title also has a double meaning for the producer.
“The term Acoustic Shadows comes from a Civil War phenomenon that refers to a sonic blind spot. Due to geographical obstructions disrupting sound waves, you could think you are a great distance from the battlefield, while you could already be in it. It also refers to my style keeping to the shadows and out of the limelight, when I only appear in photos wearing a mask, it’s not because I’m on that post MF Doom craze, it’s because I came from graffiti and graffiti artists let their art be their only face to the public”.
That style is showcased throughout the forthcoming album, including his choice of collaborators, including Casual, Daniel Son, Estee Nack, Al Divino, Raz Fresco, Ill Bill, Goretex, Hus Kingpin, Crimeapple, Planet Asia, Da Flyy Hooligan, Izrell, P-Dirt, J-Spliff, and cuts from DJ Eclipse. Concepts also lent itself to the grime, including the John Carpenter-esque synth-laden ‘Call Me Snake’ track, which inadvertently inspired the emcees.
As DEAD PERRY relates, “I give the beats a place-holder title until the track is done so this one was ‘Die Kurt Russ.’ P-Dirt chose to create the concept off the beat title. Crafting that song was a fun experience”.
It also has a full circle moment as DEAD PERRY and Casual expand their ‘White Crown’ single from their previous project on this release, enlisting Planet Asia to drop an additional Afro-Centric verse.
DEAD PERRY – Acoustic Shadows via iTunes/Spotify
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