unseen
The Fugue State Empire – Then down a green plain, leaping, laughing they run
Liner Notes
C: And we’re back! It’s been some time since first contacting the artist late last summer – I was so happy that yet again someone I wished to do a project with was game. I told them that we could use this thing to break some barriers. I could not have imagined then what we’d ultimately come up with that we present today. This project has gone through so many iterations in sound – a process that was exciting but also tiring and stressful at times. We’re confident that the work put in here has paid off.
There is so much that can be said about what you will hear, but to do so would take away from this experience. I won’t ramble on too long which is uncharacteristic of me – I will just say that I’m very proud of this work. From everyone involved including the artist who wishes to remain unseen, to Anouk Madrid and Negative Exposure with fantastic vocal performances, to George Harris who provided some additional arrangement work – I thank you all for contributing to this art.
ps: Magick is always a repeat for me..
A fugue state is a rare psychiatric abnormality characterized by reversible amnesia for one’s own personal identity, including the memories, personality, and other identifying characteristics of individuality. The state can last days, months or longer. Dissociative fugue usually involves unplanned travel or wandering and is sometimes accompanied by the establishment of a new identity.
Full Album Art
Details
Title: Then down a green plain, leaping, laughing they run
Artist: The Fugue State Empire
Release Date: February 4th, 2022
Catalog Number: UB006
Length: 1:11:12
Granny David x waxramble – Telepathy
Liner Notes
C: At the moment there are some exciting things in the works… but it might be some time before I get to share with you. With that in mind, I wanted to take this as an opportunity to reintroduce a little mixtape that made this whole unseen.boutique thing possible.
Back in 2019, Dave set up a fun side beat battle over on STBB – the rule was to put together an MF DOOM acapella + SEGA Genesis (or to him from UK, Mega Drive lol) sample for a track. I dug the idea for this one so much that I made the rare attempt to share something I tried to put together as a non-entry – looking back it sounds so bad but to this day I’m still proud of the album art I designed that accompanied it!
When he heard my entry, he was nice enough to shoot me a message on SoundCloud to see if I’d like to collaborate and develop it further, making it a legit entry. This was the first time anyone had offered me the opportunity to collaborate on something musical so I of course was super excited and happy to exchange messages until we got the thing right. In the end I was really pleased with what we put together – still digging that sweet transition to re-flip!! The competition was tough so we didn’t win the battle in the end (peace to Brotha B for the fantastic winning entry!) but the connection we made here was what really mattered.
After the first successful collab, Dave came up with the idea of taking our method of working together and doing something like a mixtape. I pick some samples, I give some ideas, then he works his magic. When he proposed this idea the first thing that came to mind was Oh! Lord by Cortex – I’d always loved this track and thought that if I ever did figure out how to make beats one day, this is absolutely something I would flip. I knew that the sample would be in good hands with Dave so I sent him a very very rough sketch of what chops would sound like in my head – the video below is so rough but somehow he was able to get it:
As I was messing around with the track in Audacity, I’d also end up ‘making’ what at the time I thought was sounding like an accidental ‘juke’ track lol (I swear this has a DJ Paypal vibe if you listen to it in my head!!)
When Dave started sending back some interpretations, it was clear he was deciphering my madness and as expected it was sounding amazing. I knew then that we had to call this tape Telepathy, he knew exactly what to do with these ‘notes’ and other samples I threw his way, reading my mind – knowing what I’d dig! He even met the challenge when I sent him one I did not think he could do anything with – of course he turns it into gold.
I was (and still am!) really happy with the finished product we put together here. While maybe not as polished as a full LP, it totally works as a fun oldschool summer vibes mixtape. In this ‘Complete’ version we present today, I especially want to stress that you should check out the instrumental versions as you get to hear even more detail of Dave’s fantastic production. We also now include two secret bonus tracks that were previously only available to those who downloaded the old instrumental release on Bandcamp.
I hope you have as much fun listening to this as we had putting it together. I once again want to thank Granny David for this collaboration and his friendship. Something as simple as a friendly message on SoundCloud made this all possible man. I also want to thank everyone who listened to this tape back in the day and showed support, it was really cool to see those comments.
More good stuff is on the way…
D: Big thanks to waxramble for his input with this project. Had lots of fun, hope we do more in the future!
Full Album Art
Details
Title: Telepathy
Artist: Granny David x waxramble
Release Date: July 30th, 2021 (OG: April 29th, 2019)
Catalog Number: UB005
Length: 34:03
thou.sand – 6 dream
Liner Notes
K: I didn’t know that at 6 years old I’d see my father for the last time. I didn’t think anything of it as a kid; I was naive, clueless. I was probably 8 when my mom told me that he’d been incarcerated. It was then that I started to dwell on his absence. I would ask when he’d be out; no clear answer. I assumed never. That took a toll on me. I didn’t know what to feel. In the 6th grade I cried about my father for the last time. That was embarrassing.
I used to miss my father. I would reminisce on the few memories I had of him, daydream of the ones we never got to make. I don’t miss him anymore; my life wouldn’t be the same with him in it. My drive to create may not be what it is if he was in my life.
*
Inspired by the last track of light leaks, I started researching Philly’s 2000’s underground rap scene. It’s honestly what made this project possible; the vocals for a handful of the tracks are from some of the local artists of the time. I listened to hundreds of bars from quite a few different sources and found that there’s a common theme in most of them. Many of the artists rap about their life (who they are, where they live, what they’ve done), and in many cases they rap about their aspirations, their dreams. Whether that’s making it out of their neighborhood or becoming the best artist in it, each of them acknowledged their situation and chose to chase something greater. This theme is what most heavily influenced the sound of the project. Some of the tracks were made as I reflected on events in my life while others were made as my mind was filled with ambition, ready to chase my dreams.
I say all of that to say this: this is the best thing I’ve ever put together. I just wanted to share what my thoughts were as I put together this self-proclaimed masterpiece and give a bit of insight about the meaning of the title.
Thank you to everyone lending an ear to the label. Thank you Christian! Man this wouldn’t exist if you hadn’t pitched the idea of the label to me months ago. I definitely wouldn’t be thinking about making music right now if it wasn’t for you.
Ummm.. yeah, I think that’s all I got. Shoutout to Jaz. I know you’re reading this lol. Shoutout to Noah. Your music (especially all the unreleased stuff ;-;) keeps me motivated to create and learn. We’re gonna collab one day I swear. Shoutout to STBB, see you soon :). Shoutout to God for blessing me with health and sanity.
Until next time,
Kev
C: Very happy to be kicking off 2021 with some more thou.sand! Our first release, it was made from a good amount of existing work that was compiled for the final LP – really it was a great 101 course for what he has to offer. What excites me even more about 6 dream is that Kev built this new one from the ground up with a vision in mind, which becomes very clear when you listen to what he’s crafted here. I am thankful that he’s been willing to share some of his story in the liner notes, it adds important context for the sounds presented on the album. I respect how adversity has made him stronger and that he’s pursuing more out of life.
I feel very fortunate that I could be a tiny piece in his journey as he continues to put this great music out there. Thank you Kev for this partnership, it truly is a pleasure working together 🙂
Please be sure to follow thou.sand on Bandcamp and Soundcloud – I know there’s more good stuff to come.
Happy Birthday Christopher!
ps: Be sure to download the album on Bandcamp for some secret bonus tracks…
pps: This didn’t fit in the sequence at all, but I’m glad I convinced Kev to upload this to SC hah – still stuck in my head..
Full Album Art
Details
Title: 6 dream
Artist: thou.sand
Release Date: March 20th, 2021
Catalog Number: UB004
Length: 26:32
STBB Forever x unseen.boutique
Artists
Thank you to the following artists who made this release possible!!
B.O.R. | B-Dog | BURITAL | canoot | CHOPFYT | CruFro | Godall | Granny David |
JoaGymshoe | justanicca | Lil’ P | per.du | popek | ruedenz | SIL’DANTE | Yoni Den
Album by art by canooooot + stellenbeschreibung
Liner Notes
C: What a year.. I won’t go on and on about it as we all know what it is. Over the last few months I’ve thought about how I could end this one on a high note and it has materialized into this release. After wrapping up the first couple unseen.boutique albums earlier this year, I knew the next thing I wanted to do was some type of collaboration with the STBB Forever community. This site has been a big part of my life the past few years and I’ve been thinking of the right opportunity to work with them on something. I posted my idea last month and the music you’re hearing today is what we put together!
I’ve been incredibly fortunate this year, to be in good health, maintaining my job, all of these things that I know many are struggling with today. It got me to thinking when putting this compilation idea out there, I also wanted there to be a charitable element to help those in need – Any proceeds from this release will be donated to the International Committee of the Red Cross. I’ve gotten us started with a contribution and any sales from Bandcamp will be immediately sent to ICRC. I’d encourage anyone listening to donate to a favorite charity of theirs as well if they’re in a position to do so.
I’m thankful to all the artists of the community that participated – I knew the music was going to be dope, but I didn’t realize how many personal stories would also exist behind the music that was submitted. Some of these stories are shared in the artists notes below (3 year old B.O.R. killed it!!). Also thanks to canoot for organizing the album art – I reached out to him knowing I’d get something very unique and distinctive and I was very pleased with what I got back. The piece was just about 3 meters tall and wide in Hanover, Germany!
I’m also thankful to everyone else who helped make unseen.boutique possible this year – From the artists who let me help them put their music out there to you the reader/listener here checking it all out. I really appreciate this all and despite the year we had I will always have the good memory of starting this thing and building on it.
I wish you all a happy new year, please take care out there.
B-Dog: Big up for oldtimes sake to…. Paravox (Mack DvD), Redski, Mossey, Bonecrushin’, my son B.O.R. (ft. as MC from being a 3 year old in “Koele Veteranen”/1999, up til now), Joa Gymshoe for connecting me to STBB, waxramble for this great initiative, and last not least the whole STBB community for simply being dope!
B.O.R.: It be like that sometimes.
Yoni Den: Much Love to the STBB Fam
justanicca.:
*music is a safe kind of high. Jimi Hendrix
*beats. & sample loops. repetitive sh*t.
CHOPFYT: This track was my entry into the 2nd Anniversary of STBB Forever. It’s a community that has kept my interest in producing alive, I’m not sure I would’ve had the inspiration to continue without their weekly battles. Some of my lyrics reflect that but the bulk make reference to a planned surgery at the time of the battle (it wasn’t very serious surgery but it did carry risks that could affect my vocal chords permanently) and that more serious tone had an influence on the rest of the rhymes making them a bit more personal than other entries I’ve done (giving props and shouts to STBB, my family and girlfriend and referencing my cousin who passed away when we were both a lot younger). My mind of course drifted into the usual bravado and playful wordplay that I’ve developed with my rhyme partner Demi and through my past STBB entries. I am grateful to have the opportunities Wax and STBB continue to present me with and was honored to be included in this Compilation. Thank You. PEACE
Full Album Art
Details
Title: STBB Forever x unseen.boutique
Artist: Various Artists
Release Date: December 31st, 2020
Catalog Number: UB003
Length: 36:53
thou.sand – light leaks
Liner Notes
K: Woah. The feeling of having someone acknowledge and appreciate your art is unmatched.
Thank you Christian for giving me that feeling.
I make music to escape my reality. It’s not that my reality is bad, but I find myself lacking creativity at times. Music gives me a chance to make something, have control over how it’s made, and admire what I’ve done. I love sitting back after putting together a track and just thinking, “I put this together, and it’s good!” Making music has been a process for me, (as it is for most people) but I think it’s safe to say I’ve found my niche in sampling. It’s fun to take an existing piece of art and give a new feeling to it.
Thank you bthearchitect for introducing music to me as a creative outlet. Thank you to everyone listening for allowing these sounds enter your ear holes. Enjoy.
Thank you Blakk for making us smile when you were here. Thank you Martin for every word of wisdom. Peace to your soul.
Stay dangerous,
Kevin
C: Last year the Soundcloud algorithm did its thing and started playing Kevin’s remix of Nipsey Hussle’s Don’t Forget Us randomly one night — I’d not heard much of Nipsey’s stuff in the past but this remix instantly connected with me through the production. It got about a dozen replays before I finally reached out to get a download and he was nice enough to share with me. Sadly just a few months later Nipsey Hussle was killed.. I found myself coming back to this track and digging more into the thou.sand account after that. I was finding gem after gem and I knew that as I was starting work on the first release for unseen.boutique that I’d love to put something together with Kevin next (should I be lucky enough to even hear back on this idea of mine!) To my surprise I heard back that very night I contacted him and the rest is history!
What draws me to Kevin’s music is his ability to craft so many emotional themes within these remixes, being so transformational through the unique texture and soul added within his work. In some cases he’s elevating modern hype tracks while in others he’s able to morph classics and turn them into something even more special to my ear.
On top of all the music, he’s a great photographer too! His work can be found in the album art for this release and you can also find him on Instagram. While you’re at it, be sure to check out the Soundclouds here & here too.
I will bring this back to Nipsey Hussle, whose track made this release possible through the connection made between Kevin and I. I’d recommend that anyone who is unfamiliar with him as I was originally to read up about his work to try and make the world around him a better place. RIP
Full Album Art
Details
Title: light leaks
Artist: thou.sand
Release Date: October 23rd, 2020
Catalog Number: UB002
Length: 29:30
Granny David – 15 Step Guide to Invisibility
Liner Notes
C: After many years of thinking about starting a little label, I’m finally taking a shot at it thanks to Granny David. I’ve always admired his work in the STBB battles each week, but it was especially cool when he had reached out to work on a fun little collaboration that came out as the Telepathy EP. From that tape I knew if I was going to start a label, GD was who I wanted for the very first record.
15 Step Guide to Invisibility is the result of many many messages back and forth going back to sometime last year. This LP is really just a small sample of his insane output which I’d highly recommend checking out over on Soundcloud. With this record I feel we’ve captured the sprit of his sound, from both his production style and his sense of humor which I’ve always enjoyed in particular about his music.
I want to thank Dave for letting me help release some music and being a great friend, Yoni Den for the sweet album art (and title!), the STBB community for being a motivator to us both, and you for reading this and listening to this record! I hope you enjoy this first release on unseen.boutique, there is more to come very soon..
D: As a man of few words once said….
Full Album Art
Details
Title: 15 Step Guide to Invisibility
Artist: Granny David
Release Date: September 18th, 2020
Catalog Number: UB001
Length: 33:21