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2LP
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FAR 138LP
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"Pressed on translucent pink with blue splatter colored vinyl and housed in a deluxe gatefold jacket. Limited to 250 copies. NYC producer Blockhead returns to the newly revived Future Archive Recordings with a fantastic new album, Mortality Is Lit!. For some it would be easy to laugh off at first glance, but it's more than just a humorous title -- it's a calling card for a record that frequently meditates on death, afterlife, endings and cycles. While some tracks are overtly pointed remarks on popular theories about human expiration ('All Dorks Go To Heaven,' 'Hard Pass On The Afterlife'), this is not just a shallow and simplistic take as the theme is expanded throughout the record into a more overarching concept of things coming to natural endings, cyclic patterns continuing past the individual experience of them, and most importantly of all being at peace with these occurrences as an accepted or even celebrated part of life ('They Got Therapy For That,' 'Earth's Farewell Tour'). As anyone who is familiar with Blockhead knows, even the most serious of messages always come with healthy servings of humor, irony, sarcasm, and a knowing wink. The title itself further reinforces this by using 'Lit' as a fad synonym for excitement which is itself at the end of its own life cycle in popular culture. The lowkey hero of the indie hip-hop and instrumental beats scenes, Blockhead first made his name on Def Jux as the go-to beats man for Aesop Rock before joining legendary UK label Ninja Tune as a solo producer and purveyor of the most exciting sample-based instrumental music this side of The Avalanches and DJ Shadow. Now Blockhead is rightly considered a bona fide master in his craft after an enviable career in underground hip-hop with his signature all-you-can-eat buffet of musical samples spanning every kind of audio you can imagine, always catering to both the audience who want to dig deeper and those who just like to dance. As he creates expansive narratives mostly without words, opting for a few choice vocal samples to provide some core guidance and themes. Contrasting between downtempo and upbeat often in the same track, he traverses eras and styles spanning jazz, funk, blues, easy listening, disco, exotica, cinematic, and tv show snaps, all crafted together with a hip-hop sampling sensibility that is truly inimitable."
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LP
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DFPRKPM 005LP
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"London-based label, Def Presse are pleased to announce their partnership with legendary Library Music label KPM. Def Presse Editions/KPM Crate Diggers are works built around samples from KPM releases. As part of the series -- Blockhead presents his new album, Luminous Rubble, where the artist dives deep into KPM's iconic music and sound design library. Blockhead has released 15 albums over the past 15 years and is regarded as one of the modern masters of instrumental hip-hop. It's a producer's dream: Being given access to a vast library of material to construct something completely new and exciting out of all of it and when Blockhead's at the controls, the results are a listener's paradise, too. The New York City-based hip-hop production legend's Luminous Rubble is the latest missive in a particularly busy period for the underground hip-hop veteran, who's spent the last decades lending his considerable talents to work from artists like Armand Hammer, billy woods, Murs, and Open Mike Eagle; in 2021, he released the critically acclaimed collab LP Garbology with rap legend and longtime collaborator Aesop Rock, and in 2023 he unleashed his twelfth solo album, The Aux. After hearing Luminous Rubble, you'll be happy he stuck around."
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7"
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ZEN 7184EP
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"May 2012 saw the release of Blockhead's fith LP Interludes After Midnight. In the two years since the critically lauded The Music Scene, Blockhead nee Tony Simon has traveled the globe and emerged with a collection of eclectic songs that twist, turn, and grind their way into the listener's psyche. This 7" includes two unreleased tracks: 'Carbon Dated' and 'Second Wind,' which although not included on the initial album, are still no less immersive, with a sound that will keep you listening -- this is classic Blockhead."
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