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Is he a man or a machine? Maybe both. Dee produces, mixes, performs all scratching and even MCs on occasion. On D-1000, he assembled a potent collection of instrumental pieces that let the unique identity of his sound expand without vocal obstructions. If you appreciate the vibes coming from Los Angeles, Detroit, the DMV and Germany, this album hosts the flag for Seattle, Washington. Fusing samples, live instrumentation, boom bap to off-beat and unquantized sequencing, experimental, atonal and melodic textures, D-1000 defines growth that many artists strive for.
One year since releasing his Redefinition Records debut (Deja Vu),
Seattle’s young beat smith is back with his latest effort entitled D-1000,
his first full instrumental album in over 4 years. Much of his work has come
via collaborations with artists such as Roc Marciano, One Be Lo, Blu,
Oddisee, yU, Damu the Fudgemunk, The Artifacts and Black Milk. On this
particular project, Def Dee is (mostly) letting the music do the talking. With
praises from Oh No and cosigns from El Da Sensei, peers and listeners
alike agree that Def Dee is one of the most talented and refreshing beat
makers to emerge in the last five years.
Is he a man or a machine? Maybe both. Dee produces, mixes, performs all
scratching and even MCs on occasion. On D-1000, he assembled a potent
collection of instrumental pieces that let the unique identity of his sound
expand without vocal obstructions. If you appreciate the vibes coming
from Los Angeles, Detroit, the DMV and Germany, this album hosts the
flag for Seattle, Washington. Fusing samples, live instrumentation, boom
bap to off-beat and unquantized sequencing, experimental, atonal and
melodic textures, D-1000 defines growth that many artists strive for.
Conceptually, fans of the the Terminator franchise will notice homage
through title and cover art. According to Def Dee, “Terminator 1 and
2 are some of my favorite movies, Terminator 2 specifically. I know...
It’s a weird concept, but in this album you will hear references to both
Terminators. When coming up with the album title I felt that this album
had a very “metal” sound to it. Not in the sense of rock, but moreso
just metal-ish. Combine the metal tones with the smooth swing of the
beats it felt more like liquid metal. The title D-1000 is based on the T-1000
which was a machine made of mimetic poly alloy (liquid metal) sent back
in time to kill the leader of the human resistance. The D-1000 is a man
turned machine to create beats to potentially kill the machines (software
ran music industry) to save the human resistance (vinyl sampling, drum
machine hardware) straight off the MPC 2000xl. D-1000 has the ability to
have swing, therefore being liquid metal. It was exciting to me and I hope
you can hear that through the beats. This is an idea I’d like to build on and
it could potentially be the first tape in an installment.”
This album offers the complete listening experience as an instrumental
project, but includes bonus tracks featuring Dee’s hometown counterparts
and an appearance from Los Angeles’ Blu on an exclusive remix of “Illest
in Charge.” |
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