Dabrye Super-Cassette [ARTPL-212] Japan Music CD

Product Description
Content Introduction Back to Basics!!! Tadd Mullinix's first new release as Dabrye since 2018! Composed of instrumental hip-hop tracks that give the impression of a return to his roots, this reference-worthy yet modern work is both a beat tape true to the fundamentals and a multi-style update of the minimal sound he has been creating since his breakthrough with 'One/Three' in 2001! Tadd Mullinix returns as Dabrye with 'Super-Cassette', his first new release since 2018! Intentionally composed of instrumental hip-hop tracks, this reference-worthy yet modern work is both a beat tape true to the fundamentals and a multi-style update of the minimal sound he has been creating since his breakthrough with the album 'One/Three' released on Ghostly International in 2001. The Michigan native applies what he knows now to the prototype of the sound that propelled him to the scene more than 20 years ago, and delivers a satisfying batch from the lab. Always fascinated by the space between beats, Marinix here weaves together drum and bass intros, martial arts VHS tapes, early electro-acoustic compositions, and recent film scores and library music to create a hiss-filled silence. Titled "Super-Cassette" after the comic book comics and blank tapes piled on the studio floor, the album playfully reaffirms Tadd's loose, original, and Dabrye superpowers. Since releasing "Three/Three," the final installment of a trilogy featuring MCs like DOOM, Ghostface Killah, and Danny Brown, along with a retrospective box set, Tadd has mostly worked from home, become a father, and preferred studio work and other aliases (JTC, Charles Manier) to live performances. He started sampling from tapes he made in high school, returning to old techniques, reversing reels, bouncing Casio SK-1s, delay pedals, and tracker software, and altering pitches. Like muscle memory reinforced by knowledge and experience, Tadd uses cassettes as instruments. At first glance, it's loop music, but as time goes on, the feeling becomes more linear. The opening track, "The Most Deliciousest," has a golden age boom-bap feel inspired by Molemen crew members DJ PNS and Pete Rock. Horns and barely audible chatter resonate in the distance, slightly off-pitch. Tadd draws the line drawn when dubbing onto cassette tape: "Even if you record in silence, you can hear the ghost sounds." In "Toiler On The Creek," Tadd takes a soundtrack-like approach, mapping taps, dings, buzzes, and patterns of other environmental artifacts to something that simply crashes into something else. In the album credits, he thanks his former boss at Ann Arbor's Encore Records, Peter Dale. In his younger days, Tadd and his colleagues would often listen to quirky post-war electronic albums in the shop while Peter described the qualities of silence, tension, and the splendor of attention-grabbing sounds. "Bug Copped Village Gini" captures the atmosphere of a labyrinthine mission. Tadd reminisces about a trip to his wife's homeland, Armenia, where he visited ancient monasteries and villages in search of the best-preserved gini (Armenian for wine). Composed of street whistles, organ rolling, and smooth drum breaks, the track unfolds, surprises, and blurs with a hypnotic effect. "Fantastic Clouds" is one of several moments that ruminates on atmospheric experiments, giving the universe a sense of negative space. When Tadd isn't making music, he collects private-press comics. In "Super-Cassette," he draws the listener in with the detail of an illustrator and the depth of an archivist. More than 20 years have passed since he started his career, but this is a superb work that reaffirms his unparalleled dedication to the individuality of his sound. Media reviews and more Back to Basics!!! Dabrye by Tadd Mullinix is ??back with his first new release since 2018! Composed of instrumental hip-hop tracks that give the impression of returning to his roots, this work, which is both reference-oriented and modern, is a beat tape that is true to the basics, and at the same time, it is a multi-style update of the minimal sound he has been creating since his breakthrough with "One/Three" in 2001! (C)RS