unseen.boutique

Tag: thou.sand

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

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