Clouddead
Clouddead (3lp)
cLOUDDEAD's debut album, compiling six mysterious 10" EPs that appeared between 2000-2001, is aurally dense and obscured. A sprawling mass of miniature beat-suites and Dadaist lyrics, this strange and beautiful triple LP would influence a myriad of sub-genres (cloud rap, hauntology, lo-fi hip-hop, etc.) in the two decades since its initial release. Each side of the album represents one of those elusive 10-inches, each embodying a universe unto itself. Opening salvo 'Apt. A' and 'And All You Can Do Is Laugh' are perhaps most emblematic of the cLOUDDEAD experience. Why? and Doseone create a new language through boundless non-sequiturs, sing-song non-choruses and call-and-response hooks, while Odd Nosdam's dexterous production shifts from crackling ambience of Flying Saucer Attack to tight Ohio Players drum breaks and oblique film samples. Taken all together, cLOUDDEAD is an original interpretation of hip-hop in the surreal Y2K glow - a bizarre meeting point between William Basinski's 'Disintegration Loops' and MF Doom's 'Operation: Doomsday.' All it took was a Dr. Sample SP-202, Tascam cassette eight-track and cheap RadioShack mic. There's truly nothing like it. This edition has been faithfully restored by Nosdam. Comes with poster.