When it comes to dropping albums, rapper 5TASH doesn’t do half measures and delivers 15 fresh tracks through his latest full-length album, ‘I, The Collector’.
Unlike to his previous set, ‘I, 5tash Banks’, which has a braggadocious presence throughout, ‘I, The Collector’ is a little more laid back in comparison, starting off with a smooth 80s soulful funk bounce with tracks like ‘Real P’ + and ‘Get Up’. This album sees the rapper experiments with laid-back trap sounds through tracks such as ‘Waisted’, ‘Steve Banks (I, The Collector)’ and ‘Movie’, where he works in his askew, gravelly flow which set him apart from his rap contemporaries.
Not what I expected from 5tash, but nevertheless it’s great to see a different side to this great rap contender. Check out ‘I, The Collector’ below…
Must listen: Real P +; Get Up!; Wvlk, P’ing! (Big Puddle); 6+6
Sampled from Darko The Super’s 2021 album, ‘Great White Buffalo’, DEAN FRIEDMAN’s mammoth album, ‘The Dean And I’ is a compilation that can be enjoyed across generations – from the futuristic sounds of intro single, ‘You’re Such A Flirt’, to pop soulful ballads inspired from the seventies and eighties (such as Lucky Stars, Little Green Lady and Buy My Baby A Car) and also chirpy pieces (Nookie In The Mail, McDonald’s Girl and The Deli Song) that puts you in the mind of the Grease Musical, particularly ‘McDonald’s Girl’.
Covering array of topics relating to love young and adolescence, the album features coming-of-age tales ‘Don’t You Ever Dare’ and ‘Are You Ready Yet,’ which focus on the responsibilities of adulthood and the decisions we make, while ‘Rocking Chair (It’s Gonna Be Alright)’ is a positive reaffirmation that when times are bad, they’ll always get better.
‘The Dean And I’ may be 20-track long, but by no means will you not lose attention as Friedman’s high-spirited take on the aforementioned topics on the collection just displays him as one of America’s greatest songwriters around.
Released through Darko The Super’s indie label, U Don’t Deserve This Beautiful Art, ‘The Dean And I’ is now available for your pleasure.
Must Listen: Lucky Stars; Little Green Lady; Buy My Baby A Car; Let Down Your Hair
Ever since Toronto-based singer/songwriter, DENIM BLÙ came on my radar with single, ‘I’ll Die’, I was immediately captivated by his breath-taking storytelling along with the dramatic cinematic production. So when he released his debut album, ‘Blue’, I had to catch up him with about his inspiration behind the new eight-track set.
I really love what this guy stands for… and I hope you do too…
NLM: Hey, thank you for taking part in an interview with NEW LEASE MUSIC. How is 2021 treating you so far?
DB: Hey, New Lease Music, thanks for having me! 2021 has been treating me well – I know a lot of people hate 2021 because the pandemic has stopped them from living their life in the way they used to, but hey – because of the pandemic, I got to slow down and experience my life in different perspectives. It made me cherish my life more and I got to taste different flavours of my life. I have no complaints!
NLM: You released your album, ‘Blue’ last Wednesday (10th November), where you unveiled singles ‘Extraordinary Feel’, ‘I’ll Die’ (both featuring Lizzy Clarke) and ‘Burn (ft. Randy) ahead of its release. What is the public perception on the singles so far?
DB: I guess the public perception is good, hehe. My songs were played on the radio, featured on different media platforms, and I made lots of friends in the music industry. I just started my journey, and I was overwhelmed by the support I got from my supporters.
NLM: How would you describe the album’s sound to potential fans?
DB: My music is both compelling and complex, but infectious and accessible. Today’s youth want to get lost in music, but they demand narratives that reflect their experiences in a real way. Sonically I would describe my album’s sound as pure pop fantasy with emotional intrigue – sounds draw from blues, dance, electronica, and R&B elements, all while being unapologetically queer. However, it is the lyrical content making the connection with my audience: it speaks about love, loss, heartbreak, and lament. It gives you a sound that you can get lost in, but if you dive deeper, there’s a powerful story being told.
NLM: What inspired you to produce the album?
DB: Love – youthful love, volatile love, queer love, and my love for music. The concept for the album is centred around a relationship. It takes the listener on a journey from the exuberance and magic of falling in love (“Extraordinary Feel”), to deep and dark places of lament (“Blue”, “I’ll Die”, “I Miss You”), to coming to terms with love lost (“Young and Foolish”, “Burn”, “Again”). The album is the physical manifestation of my love for music. The whole process of making the album, from song-writing to producing, recording, mixing, and mastering, is me expressing my love for music. The sound of every sound, every foreshadowing, every push, every climax, and every reveal, is about my love of music.
NLM: What is/are your favourite single(s) from the album and why?
DB: My favorite song from the album is the last track – Again. I would describe this song as “an epic love ballad in the galaxy”. The songwriting is classic me – smooth melody, pop but dramatic. I produced the song in a way that reflects the songwriting, a way that corresponds to the development of the song. When listening to the song in the right sonic environment, you would see the galaxy evolving from nothing, to everything, and to nothing again – there is emergence, collapse, collision. It is an experience.
NLM: What message would you like the listeners to take away from your album?
DB: Never be afraid to love, because love is beautiful, love is an experience, love is the meaning of life. No matter where life goes, it always comes down to love.
NLM: If you had to feature one mainstream artist on the album, who would it be and why?
DB: Paloma Faith. She is from the UK, and I have been a fan for almost 1o years! She is not well-known in North America, but she is pretty big in Europe. She is so artistic, I love her visuals, her outfits, her artworks, not to mention her music is extremely amazing. So if I could have her on my album, that would be a dream come true! – Actually, going to her show is one of my dreams too :)
NLM: Do you have other project(s) for 2021?
DB: Well, there is only one month left for 2021, and I am not planning to release a Christmas song…but I do have some projects coming next year! I worked with some amazing Toronto artists on the remixes for Blue that I am going to release in 2022. Also the pandemic gave me time to slow down and see my life from different perspectives. I drew inspiration from those perspectives, sat down with my song-writing partner, exchanged our feelings, and we got to finish another album together. I am planning to work on these songs next year and release the album in summer 2023.
NLM: How can potential fans find you?
DB: That is also a question I want to ask – how can potential fans find me?! It is really hard to promote myself as an independent artist, so my next stop is to find an artist manager, A&R, or a record label. Hope that can happen soon!
NLM: Finally, any special thanks to those involved in the production of ‘Blue’?
DB: I have a lot of special thanks – I want to thank my lyricist Nick Ram for sharing his stories with me, and allowing me to tell his stories in my way. I want to thank my friend Lizzy Clarke, Randy Chang, Kristen Antunes, and Marshall Jacklin for being there and being my friend. It was really fun writing music together. I want to thank Jack Hughes, Julian Fatsound, Tyler Novak, and Eugene Hwang for their amazing musical performances on the album. I want to thank Elizabeth Petzold, Keshav Sharma, Eliot Britton, Issac Nemec for their remixes and friendships. I want to thank Francis TQ Hudson for bringing my mixes to life. I want to thank Fernando Nickolas and Jason Tenn for their photography and creation. I want to thank Zetong Liu for his amazing creative design with my album cover. Last but not least, I want to thank my family for believing in me and supporting me along the way. THANK YOU!
An attention-grabbing jittering sound comes piercing through first track ‘Automatic’, giving a bold introduction to FLY VON‘s latest mixtape, ‘FlyMix Vol.2’.
The prospective listener would be given if the seven-track set follows through with the jarringly-dope tone offered up in the intro track. However ‘FlyMix Vol.2’ changes direction and gives a smooth run of lack-laid slow jams vibing with a heavy bass that gives each arrangements that extra kick – with the exception of ‘Broke In A Minute’ which pretty much takes on a similar tone as ‘Automatic’, boasting a looping horn that goes rampant with fly’s flow oozing into the boisterous sound.
The mixtape eases down and concludes with ‘No Surprise’. With trance-like and hazy soundscapes, ‘No Surprise’ is a type of track that you kick back and roll up on your own or with some friends.
Fly Von always comes different and this mixtape is sure to ascend nicely on his ever-fly discography – get it? Oh never mind; Check ‘FlyMix Vol.2’ out below plus songs recommendations below…
DIZZY RAMBUNCTIOUS is one of the few producers featured on the blog over the years for his dramatic, attention-grabbing bangers. So when he dropped his latest project, ‘Lightheaded III‘, I had to hunt down this New Jersey beat master to find out how he comes up with such out-of-sight productions in the 12-track set.
NLM Hey, thank you for taking part in an interview with NEW LEASE MUSIC. How is 2021 treating you so far?
DR: Ummm 2021, is definitely something else but it’s definitely better than last year haha. I’m hanging in there for sure
NLM: You releasedyour album, ‘Lightheaded III’ backin June. What is the public perception on the project so far?
DR: Yes, I released it back on June 25th. my fans were very excited when they found out that I was finally dropping the album after teasing it with multiple snippets, new listeners enjoyed it as well because last year I started twitch streaming during the start of the pandemic/lockdown, I stream playing video games and I would play my music in the background so that new viewers can hear it and follow up on my entire discography. Those people from the gaming community I created joined a live listening session I hosted for lightheaded III before it dropped on midnight on all streaming platforms and they had a great response to it.
NLM: How would you describe the album’s soundto potential fans?
DR: The sound of the album is definitely dark and very spacey, it will definitely uplift any emotion you’re feeling when you listen to this album from front to back, it’s like you’re entering into my mind if that makes sense haha
NLM: What inspired you to produce the album?
DR: So basically what inspired this album is of course when lightheaded II dropped back in 2018 it was about a heartbreak from a relationship. Lightheaded III is a follow up after me finally recovering from that heartbreak but then other life situations hit me. Job loss, friend’s cutting me off, and dealing with anxiety from the pandemic/lockdown. It’s been hard but I’m in a great position right now in life mentally such as being in a very healthy relationship and having a better circle of people who I can trust.
NLM: What is/are your favourite single(s) from the album and why
DR: I love this question! Definitely my favourite songs has to be “The Deep End” with my bros Free Samuda and Lil Bear because When I was making the beat for it, I was in the mood like “Don’t fuck with me, don’t make me go off the deep end” and I was very excited when I heard the final product, F.E.A.R as well because the title is the main message of the album. You face everything and rise.
NLM: What message would you like the listeners to take away from your album?
DR: No matter what you’re going through with life, it’s only temporary and you will overcome it.
NLM: If you had to feature one mainstream artist on the album, whowould it be and why?
DR: interesting, I like this question. I usually would wanna feature artists that are not really too too mainstream but like people know them really well, but if you’re talking mainstream I would say Don Toliver because he would’ve made this album so much more spacier and his sound would’ve definitely fit so well with the album.
NLM: Do you have other project(s) for 2021?
DR: Yes I do actually, I’m currently working on the 5th instalment of “The Blu Tape” series, I’m hoping to get it out there before the year ends if not early 2022.
NLM: How can potential fans find you?
DR: You can find me on the block! Just kidding haha but you can find me on Twitter/Instagram @Im_DizzyR and “Dizzy Rambunctious” on all major streaming platforms.
NLM: Finally, any special shout outs to those involved in the production of ‘Lightheaded III’ ?
DR: I definitely would like to shoutout the features on the album. TRPLSVN, Free Samuda, Lil Bear, Donnie Durag, & Willy Gonza, without them this album wouldn’t have the sound and direction it has.
New Lease Music 