In a substantial press release, Mello Music Group announced the latest EP from North Carolina producer L’Orange & prominent indie rapper Mr. Lif, The Life and Death of Scenery, which finds Mr. Lif imagining an adjacent future called the “last society,” where culture has been smashed to smithereens and physical survival has taken precedence over art. Released through a partnership between Adult Swim and Mello Music Group, the duo’s latest effort opens with one of four addresses from “The Narrator” (played by The Daily Show’s Wyatt Cenac). They capture a world where the, “books are all burned, the vinyl has been melted, and the remaining art catapulted over the city walls.”
As explained, the former Def Jux signee inhabits the role of The Scribe, frantically showing the post-apocalyptic survivors the power of what's been lost. It attacks those who value disposable art over the timeless; it articulates the necessity of preserving culture; it lampoons the absurdity of attempting to destroy one of the most immutable qualities in mankind. According to L’Orange, the collaboration is “a negotiation of influences without compromise.” You can hear the producer’s trademark alchemy of classic boom-rap with glitchy fuzz, a compressed whimsy that slaps against somber scythe-like piano lines, ominous spaghetti western licks, and celestial saxophone licks.
Lif routinely executes staccato bars in double-time, "slicing through the beats like banned books to a shredder.” He’s also joined by the 19-year old Chester Watson on “Antique Gold,” which was released earlier this week. The legendary turntablist Q-Bert of the Beat Junkies and Invisibl Skratch Piklz contributes cuts on “The Scribe,” while Lif’s longtime partner in The Perceptionists, Akrobatik, pops up twice to exhibit their undeniable chemistry. Check out “The Palace In The Sky” below, as well as the track listing.
By Kyle Eustice for RAPstation.com
EP TRACKLISTING:
1. The Perfect World Radio Hour Day: 279 [feat. Wyatt Cenac]
2. A World Without Music
3. The Scribe [feat. Akrobatik & DJ QBERT]
4. The Perfect World Radio Hour: Day 304 [feat. Wyatt Cenac]
5. Antique Gold [feat. Chester Watson]
6. The Gentle End
7. The Perfect World Radio Hour Day: 341 [feat. Wyatt Cenac]
8. Strange Technology [feat. Acrobatic & GonjaSufi]
9. Five Lies About The World Outside [feat. Insight]
10. The Perfect World Radio Hour Day: 421 [feat. Wyatt Cenac]
11. A Palace In The Sky
