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MH-206 cLOUDDEAD - cLOUDDEAD  "It's all the same shit but they call it cLOUDDEAD." cLOUDDEAD is the avant-hip-hop grouping of Doseone, why?, and odd nosdam. Fusing abstract beats, ambient pads, and interweaving vocals, cLOUDDEAD has created a release that owes as much to the Beatles as it does to hip-hop. Like Doseone and why?'s Greenthink project, cLOUDDEAD renounces the traditional hip-hop song format in favor of music made in movements. Six such movements were created to be released as a limited edition ten-inch series. Each release features a guest (Illogic, Dj Signify, Sole, the Wolf Bros., Mr. Dibbs, and The Bay Area Animals) and focuses on a specific theme. All six are combined to create a full-length that nullifies any preconception of style and raises the artistic bar for future Mush releases. |
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| Reviews Summary |
| Genius. - Mixmag / Utterly Essential - NME / Enthralling - All Music Guide / Startlingly Original - Wax / Certainly Beautiful And Strange - Rock Sound / Fascinating And Addictive - Esquire / A Landmark Album - Seven / A never less than intriguing debut - Q / Unequivocally the finest space-rock-rap album of 2001 - Mojo |
| The collected singles of the mad avant hip-hop collective cLOUDDEAD are amazing, considering they were constructed using mostly an 8-track cassette multitrack and a DR-202 Dr. Sample. cLOUDDEAD is like a pinhole photograph - soft around the musical edges, full of static and grit, but an amazing creative use of the limited materials at hand. Psychedelic and melodic drones soften and blur in the background while the crazy antics of Doseone and why? take precedence. Their vocals are more like instruments in the mix - Doseone and why? stretch and snap their vocal cords in time to the crazy drones. The stream-of-consciousness lyrics add the ultimate surreal touch, such as "A stretched taffy howl to peacock plume our haircuts / The painted pigeon dessert's a crust of bread." Come again? You'll just have to let that one float by; there's just way too much nitrous in the air. It's easily one of the most creative albums I've heard since Os Mutantes Greatest Hits, incorporating sample material from everywhere and anywhere. For example: "JimmyBreeze (1)" incorporates music from one of my favorite video games of all time, Goonies 2. Not to mention the weird blender solo on "apt. A (2)." The overall result is a psychedelic swirl of an album that proceeds in movements rather than in defined songs. This is proof that you don't need the latest toys and plug-ins to create an awesome album, kiddies, just the creative spirit and lots of hard work. Mad, vital, shit. - XOX |
3XLP/Out Of Print