Cochlea - One Last Letta is the third in a series of 3 Albums which I have released through Outrageous Records over 6 years. The first, Listeners Digest was released in 2004; the second Headphone Music In A Parallel World followed two years later in 2006. All three albums play on the “Ear” and “Hearing” as an overriding theme acting as the common thread that binds the records together. This inter relation is done deliberately as I believe the ear has the unique ability to “perceive” that which the eye and indeed all other known senses cannot; the reality of the Soul. This reality is expressed through music.
The 16 track Album is just under an hour long and broken down into three main sections. The first part of the album is heavily slanted towards commentary on my artistic and socio-economic perspective. These opening 6 songs are all personal with an experiential base for inspiration.
The middle part of the record is born from relationship dynamics between a man and a woman. Each of these 6 songs branches into different core ideas, but all stem from the ‘Boy Meets Girl’ trunk. Subtle nuances like the ad lib “…Let’s Keep it like this for a while…” at the beginning of the song “I Got This - Bait the Prey” and “…I Hope She Like it/That’s it…” at the end of “Traditional Her - With Unconditional Love” are my way of letting the listener know that this section is half way done, then finally over.
The final movement of the album is what I call the “Zoned Out” phase of the record. These songs are dreamy and almost abstract in nature, allowing the listener to turn off their brains and switch on their soul; very spiritual.
Producers
Producing a full album means knowing the broader vision for it and reconciling that with the resources available to you. It was extremely important for me to make this Album sound completely different to the last two; fresher and more accessible. For this reason the beat producers on Cochlea - One Last Letta may be relatively new and unheard of to most. Theirs is a mainly programmed sound made more organic with the sparse use of live instrumentation and the avoidance of chopped samples. Theirs is exactly the sound I needed to realise my vision for this record. On boards, I had the pleasure of working with Afrika, Tagteam, Mason Black, Herbie Dangerous, Ameen, Helio, pH, SyC and Iko. With the exception of Helio and Iko, all of these producers I worked with for the first time on Cochlea - One Last Letta
Featured Artists
No good album is done in isolation and Cochlea - One Last Letta is no exception. With a wealth of talent in Mzansi to choose from I only had two important criteria for the artists I decided to work with on this record. One; does the song require their specific touch on it? Two; do I have a genuine personal relationship with these artists based on respect and admiration? For the following artists the answers to both were yes. Cochlea - One Last Letta enlists the incredible talents of DJ Hamma, RJ Benjamin, Kalakoda, Pebbles, Pedro of 340ml, Tracey Lee, Lebo Mashile, Rantoboko, Chi, Kabomo, Audrey, Tino and young Lungelo.
In between every album I have released there is a wealth of experience acquired and I have tried to translate that into all the new music I release. This growth is reflected on Cochlea - One Last Letta which, I can say without hesitation, is the most complete album I have done to date. Hear it and you’ll see why.
Peace
www.rage.co.za
www.myspace.com/zubzthelastletta
www.youtube.com/zubzthelastletta
zubzthelastletta@gmail.com
www.lastsletters.blogspot.com
The 16 track Album is just under an hour long and broken down into three main sections. The first part of the album is heavily slanted towards commentary on my artistic and socio-economic perspective. These opening 6 songs are all personal with an experiential base for inspiration.
The middle part of the record is born from relationship dynamics between a man and a woman. Each of these 6 songs branches into different core ideas, but all stem from the ‘Boy Meets Girl’ trunk. Subtle nuances like the ad lib “…Let’s Keep it like this for a while…” at the beginning of the song “I Got This - Bait the Prey” and “…I Hope She Like it/That’s it…” at the end of “Traditional Her - With Unconditional Love” are my way of letting the listener know that this section is half way done, then finally over.
The final movement of the album is what I call the “Zoned Out” phase of the record. These songs are dreamy and almost abstract in nature, allowing the listener to turn off their brains and switch on their soul; very spiritual.
Producers
Producing a full album means knowing the broader vision for it and reconciling that with the resources available to you. It was extremely important for me to make this Album sound completely different to the last two; fresher and more accessible. For this reason the beat producers on Cochlea - One Last Letta may be relatively new and unheard of to most. Theirs is a mainly programmed sound made more organic with the sparse use of live instrumentation and the avoidance of chopped samples. Theirs is exactly the sound I needed to realise my vision for this record. On boards, I had the pleasure of working with Afrika, Tagteam, Mason Black, Herbie Dangerous, Ameen, Helio, pH, SyC and Iko. With the exception of Helio and Iko, all of these producers I worked with for the first time on Cochlea - One Last Letta
Featured Artists
No good album is done in isolation and Cochlea - One Last Letta is no exception. With a wealth of talent in Mzansi to choose from I only had two important criteria for the artists I decided to work with on this record. One; does the song require their specific touch on it? Two; do I have a genuine personal relationship with these artists based on respect and admiration? For the following artists the answers to both were yes. Cochlea - One Last Letta enlists the incredible talents of DJ Hamma, RJ Benjamin, Kalakoda, Pebbles, Pedro of 340ml, Tracey Lee, Lebo Mashile, Rantoboko, Chi, Kabomo, Audrey, Tino and young Lungelo.
In between every album I have released there is a wealth of experience acquired and I have tried to translate that into all the new music I release. This growth is reflected on Cochlea - One Last Letta which, I can say without hesitation, is the most complete album I have done to date. Hear it and you’ll see why.
Peace
www.rage.co.za
www.myspace.com/zubzthelastletta
www.youtube.com/zubzthelastletta
zubzthelastletta@gmail.com
www.lastsletters.blogspot.com
4 comments:
Sounds stellar.
Where is this available online? Can listeners not in SA buy it online as actual CD's or digital mp3's?
Dope concept! A friend a mine, Creepa hit me up on your music, and I must say I can't wait to hear Cochlea. where can one get a copy? or a listen? thanks
looking forward to hearing this!
Post a Comment