cLOUDDEAD

Looking for the above picture, I came across an article that described cLOUDDEAD as a supergroup in reverse. I found that to, actually, be pretty accurate. Though no one in the group is a superstar, these respective dudes have gained notoriety in the underground music scene, collaborating with such names as Mike Patton and Aesop Rock, being remixed by Notwist and Boards of Canada, and even getting a performance on the legendary John Peel show. As 3 of the 9 founders of the Anticon collective, Clouddead (comprised of Doseone and Why? doing the rapping, and sharing production duties with Odd Nosdam on the beats) makes the most inexplicable avant garde, spacey, sometimes absurdist hip hop you'll ever hear.

After the split of Clouddead, all the members went on to have lots of projects:

Doseone went on to form art-rock-hip-hop band Subtle (who will eventually surface on this blog), as well as joining with The Notwist to form a unique electro-space-rap project called 13 & God (which will be posted next).

 Why? joined with his brother Josiah and two really close friends from home and started a band which took on the name of Why?. One of their records is posted here with more to come soon.

Odd Nosdam continues to put out head-noddic hip-hop beats, lots of remixes, and even releasing a mixtape titled T.I.M.E (This Is My Element) for Element skateboards, as well as DJing many clubs and bars in the Oakland area.

Clouddead (2001)
Ten (2004)

Why? - Alopecia

Deciding which Why? album to post was a tough choice, but I'm gonna go with Alopecia. The reason it's such a tough call is that Why? has a slightly different sound on every record, and who the fuck knows which one you'd like. As one of the base members of the Anticon collective, Yoni Wolf (formerly known as Why?) has been involved in the avant-garde hip hop scene since 1998. He was one third of art-rap group cLOUDDEAD and later went on to produce solo material, first as a solo act and now teamed up with a band (now collectively known as Why?). The music they make is a very odd mix of indie, pop, and hip hop. Yoni's lyrics are often very personal, expounding on topics such as his fear of death, lost love, gay men fucking at a basketball court in Berlin, faking syphilis for pity, and plenty of other lyrics that will only ever make sense to him. The instrumentation in his band is also pretty interesting, his brother playing drums and xylophones/marimbas, Yoni vocalizing and playing auxillary percussion (extra toms, snare, tamborine, cymbals), and the other two gents playing a rotation of piano, guitar, bass, and any other noisemakers they can get on hand. The music isn't for everyone, but Alopecia is probably the best gateway as it catches them between the more hip hop influenced indie tunes from the previous album, Elephant Eyelash, and Alopecia's follow-up, Eskimo Snow, which seems to be a little more straight forward indie pop. Here is a little sample. If you dig it, get this record!




WHY? haven't you clicked this yet?