Album Of The Week: July 15-July 21, 2003

My Album Of The Week for the week of July 15^th-July 21^st, 2013:

Edison – No Sun No Food

For those of you unfamiliar with Edison, he's a producer out of San Francisco. His previous records were filled with busy, percussion heavy beats that seemed to thrive on a this-could-go-off-the-rails-at-any-point energy.

I first found out about Edison via Aesop Rock's blog 900 Bats. Edison posted a handful of roughly half-hour-long beat tapes to the blog and gave them away for free (his Free Willy tape is a stone cold classic in my book). Those tapes tended to swing between very energetic, hook heavy moments and slow-burn sections seamlessly. They're the kind of tapes that are perfect for walking around while the snow falls.

Anyway, hopefully most people here in the Twin Cities know Edison from the split EP he did with Lazerbeak titled Kill Switch. In fact, give this video for “A Cure For A Case Of The Wealthies” for a good example of what Edison sounds like:

Now, the reason I'm excited to spend a week with No Sun No Food is that on this album Edison completely stayed away from the faster, busier moments and focused solely on the slower & moodier side of his sound. I hate to use the term “downbeat” to describe No Sun No Food, because it's not a depressing record by any stretch. If anything, it's just a more relaxed, content version of Edison's sound. It's a laid-back, summertime album.

There aren't a lot of artists that can change up their sound and end up with an album that stands up on its own. Some of my favorite (and therefore best) artists have tried and failed, ending up with albums that stand up only from a, “Huh, isn't this curious?” perspective. No Sun No Food has a lot more going for it than that “Huh?” response.

Anyway, Edison posted it on his Bandcamp page as a Pay-What-You-Want and I strongly suggest that you head over and grab a copy. Perfect “Summer Of 2013” type of record.