Description
We mostly created this album during 2020 and 2021, then finalised, mixed and mastered it in the first quarter of 2022. Then DELightfull suddenly went to live in Sri Lanka for few months (?!). We then briefly toured the project in the autumn of 2022 on 4 turntables and 2 mixers which was one of the main goals behind it.
STARTERAs, a veteran producer, has no scratching contributions except for 8 bars on the entire album, while DELightfull has no production/sound design credits at all. What we did, however, was discuss and decide together the phrases, sounds and samples used, as well as the arrangement and the engineering on every single track. The main goal was to make the music sound as something a little more than just cuts over beats.
Seven of these tracks are loosely based on older scratch videos by DELightfull which he had a vision how to expand into full pieces. One is based on an initially very simple scratch idea with samples picked by STARTERAs. Another is based on a super bland, drumless, shapeless scratched bassline which STARTERAs instantly imagined as a complete song in a subgenre which DEL didn’t even hear there. One more is a remix of an experimental breakbeat tune which Del was featured on, re-imagined by STARTERAs into slow electro and then morphed into a 5/8 signature cosmic beauty. The opening tune might be the only rather traditional one on the LP.
We both aren’t fans of forcing stories onto art that does not manage to easily convey a story. Or explain the deeper meaning of art that is hard to be conceived as meaningful below surface level – that is, to claim things about art instead of letting the art speak for itself. We think that there are a couple of “hasn’t been done before”s in our album, as well as a couple of concept songs through which we tried to say something – but whether we’ve managed that, it’ll be up to you to decide.
Is this LP just traditional scratching over traditional boom bap beats or is it a breath of fresh air? Or perhaps neither of these and something else? This last option would make us the most satisfied with our work.
Stream:
https://tr.ee/uvRXtHf-XD
https://djdelightfull.
