Travis Scott- Rodeo Review

Travis Scott
Rodeo
Epic Records / Grand Hustle Records

Hip-Hop is a genre that prides itself on its stylistic differentiators. The finest MCs to ever take the mic have been branded on distinct styles both in their word play and the production behind their voices , often acting as an east coast, west coast, mid-west, or dirty south indicator. Hip-Hop has been dominated by an attitude of domestic geography as a defining personality trait since the genre’s inception, but even mainstream hip-hop artists are no longer letting these labels define their work. Hip-hop aesthetic is beginning to blur as artists such as A$AP Rocky are hailing from New York, but rapping with a Houston flow and spitting over cloud rap beats. Insert Houston, Texas native and Kanye West protégé, Travis Scott, who has been producing and rapping for Very G.O.O.D Music and generating massive hype due to the “Days Before Rodeo” mixtape which dropped before his debut album appropriately titled “Rodeo”. Travis Scott has actually been lambasted for his style witch critics claiming there is nothing unique or original about what he does. Scott’s detractors will state that he steals the flows, styles, and techniques of other rappers and uses them himself while bringing nothing new to the table. “Rodeo” should act as a piece of reflection for hip-hop listeners. After hearing “Rodeo”, one would hope Scott’s critics who hold the sentiments listed above will come to terms with the idea that a rapper no longer has to obnoxiously represent his hometown, push a style, or bring something new to the game to create an enjoyable hip-hop record. A rapper can capitalize on what is trending or what sells and still create something worthwhile. And that’s ok.

One of the first things to strike listeners on “Rodeo” should be the extensive list of guest features involved in this project both on the mic and behind the production. This A-list contains the likes of Kanye West, The Weeknd, Chief Keef, Future, 2 Chainz, Juicy J, Justin Bieber, Toro Y Moi, Pharrell, T.I. and others.  What is remarkable is that just about every featured artist blends well in these tracks and tends to match the production well while also bringing in quality word play. Like most Travis Scott releases the lyrics on “Rodeo” are by no means enthralling but they are passable and have the occasional clever moment from the features. Scott seems to focus more on atmosphere and delivery with his verses. On many of these tracks Scott implements a vocal style that uses singing and auto-tune reminiscent of 808s era Kanye or Drake. Scott seems more comfortable using this in demand style and he manages to create some catchy chorus and songs with it. Backed by fantastic production, songs like “3500”, “Pray 4 Love”, and “Maria I’m Drunk” accomplish exactly what they set out to do. Tracks like these capture the fun party mood while others such as “Wasted”, “90210”, and “Nightcrawler” are more laid back hazy ballads with production Scott has no trouble navigating through either. The power of "Rodeo" lies in it’s hooks, choruses, and the ambiance of the production.

For me this record is an enjoyable listen, but it is more about who Travis Scott wants to be and the context of this album in contemporary hip-hop. Major label debuts like “Rodeo” are now more calculated than ever. Testing markets with mixtape, gauging listener interest, and investing in rappers like Travis Scott by backing them with the best production money can buy while stacking releases with proven big names to feature. This is obviously done to prevent a flop release, but I still don’t necessarily think that is a bad thing. This album masks a lot of things Travis Scott doesn’t do well and emphasizes his charisma, vocal braggadocio swagger, and his attention for what is trending. “Rodeo” highlights not only how great Travis Scott can be, but reflects the given point of the hip-hop era in which we are currently living. 

7.5/10 

- 

TJ Kliebhan

9/14/2015 

Interview-Sam Hillmer of Zs

I had the pleasure of chatting with New York avant-garde musician Sam Hillmer whose most recent album Xe has received plenty of critical acclaim! The Washington D.C. native has played and released albums for some time now under the moniker Zs and with a constantly evolving line-up, the band is always evolving its sound. Read our chat about 285 Kent, DIY venues, Xe, and more below!

TJ Kliebhan: So you’re a New York musician. How has the city influenced you over the years? 

Sam Hillmer: A lot can be said on that subject. New York has a remarkable history in every regard, including that of arts and culture. There is a long history of commitment to excellence, forward vision, and groundbreaking work in every medium.  I came to New York at a time where there wasn’t a sense of “This is where the party is”, it was really only New York’s history that brought me here.  There is a sense that when you’re here, this is where things happen. This is the pavement that the greatest people walked on and now I’m walking on it. I feel a sense of responsibility to learn, honor, and aspire to that history. It’s a humbling city, even though it doesn’t house the most humble people (laughs).

TJ Kliebhan: I know Zs did shows in New York at the now defunct 285 Kent. What do you think that venue meant to the underground New York music scene? 

Sam Hillmer: Well, I have a unique perspective on this. I run a venue in New York City called Trans-Pecos with a partner, Todd P(Patrick), who ran 285 Kent. I was friends with Todd, and Ric Leichtung ofAdHoc, who did most of the booking at 285 Kent. I played the venue a bunch of times.  285 Kent was interesting because it was only partially preoccupied by a real classic notion of the underground. I think what the venue succeeded at doing was being a home for deserving underground music, true counter culture, but at the same time supporting work that was just about to pop off. Ric and Todd consistently found things that were right on the cusp of it, but at the same time they supported bands that needed a home. They didn’t wander too much into the mainstream. So 285 Kent could hold that line of buzz status without crossing into blown up status.  There success at times did lead to some pretty surprising shit happening.  I think Drake did an after party there?!  A$AP Mob did stuff there. 285 Kent was definitely an interesting place.

TJ Kliebhan: Can you explain why DIY venues are important to those who are involved with them, as well as to music scenes as a whole? 

Sam Hillmer: Well, I’m from Washington DC. I was a part of early generations of what the modern DIY scene has come to look like.  I was going to shows at like community centers, and churches, and houses when I was 13 and 14 in DC. Mostly punk shows and punk houses because that was what was big in DC then. I was playing shows at places like The Embassy, so this is what I grew up with.

I moved to New York when I was 18, but New York didn’t really have that scene going on. The entire music scene was concentrated in Manhattan. Outsider aesthetics were found at like half a dozen places. I mean I could count them on one hand. So there were very few places supporting the avant-garde. Music was still very aligned to art and fashion at that time, DIY just wasn’t the attitude that was “in”.

In addition to the outright scarcity of places devoted to supporting our music in New York City during the 90s, the scene that WAS there was EXTREMELY exclusive. You really had to know the right people. Getting a show was impossible. People you’d meet one night would act like they’d never met you the next. I mean there were still good bands making good music at that time, of course John Zorn and William Parker were doing their thing.  But unless you were really down with those folks, things were hard to get started then.

The attitude changed though, thankfully, starting around the late 90s and really in the early 2000s. A lot of people came up from DC, and from all over really, Todd P started doing his thing.  That was important, Todd’s work.  Because what Todd would do was walk through the neighborhoods of Brooklyn and find places that were basically equipped to have shows.  Sometimes they were just rooms and he’d bring in a PA.  Anyhow, he’d get the leadership at these places to allow him to produce shows there.  He was having shows at dive bars, community centers, churches, loft spaces, Mexican restaurants, you name it…  The attitude went from being this kind of rarefied elitism, to “Fuck it lets do the show here and now”. Opening the floodgate like that as far as there being places to play was huge.  It was the combination of folks like John Zorn and William Parker, and also  importantly the No Neck Blues Band, doing this kind of really dialed in shit, and the work of Todd P and other NYC/DIY Pioneers like Secret Project Robot folks, Silent Barn, etc…  that fostered the development of acts like Animal Collective, Gang Gang Dance, of course Zs, but even groups like Battles, the Yeah Yeah Yeahs, and Dirty Projectors really couldn’t have existed without that climate.

I hope that illustrates how a DIY spirit can facilitate things for people, kind of a long convoluted answer, but it’s in there (laughs).

TJ Kliebhan: So if we were to attach an importance to DIY venues is it that they take away exclusivity?

Sam Hillmer: Well not necessarily. I’m just saying this is what happened in New York City specifically at that time. I mean in D.C. the DIY scene did not have that vibe at all. I mean all the social issues I just mentioned having on the New York scene in the 90s – folks acting like they didn’t know you when they did, cronyism, etc.. – that was child’s play compared to D.C.  

D.C. had the most exclusive social landscape I have ever encountered in my life.  People were so guarded about that community, it was insane!   It was kind of like this social form of Calvinism, like, you always got the sense that people suspected you weren’t the real deal some how.  You were always proving yourself – who had the outset records, who was reading the most esoteric shit, who had the most dialed in political opinions – in retrospect, that aspect of things was stifling and stupid.  But there was just an attitude that that was the only way to be down. For better or for worse, these were the people on the scene, so I got on that scene. (Something that is also worth mentioning here is that there was basically a dress code on the scene, the vibe was Mod at that time, and if you weren’t on that vibe to some extent, people didn’t want to hang out with you.  Maybe some of the folks who were there at that time would try to somehow argue otherwise or defend that, but straight up, that was the vibe!) 

Anyhow, I knew musicians who felt very defeated by the whole attitude of the scene at that time and gave up on the scene as a vehicle. I persevered because I saw those cats making records and touring and what not, and I wanted to do that, but also out of this kind of morbid desire to just see if I could do it.  You know?  Like here was this obviously exclusive social group, and I was totally on the outside, and I just wanted to see if I could get in, and I did, and that was actually very important for me.  Because it made me realize that social boundaries are not real boundaries, it’s really just you feeling uncomfortable around a group of people, and just regarding that as very real.  But if you just get past that, basically any social situation is accessible. (Kind of an aside, but that realization has informed every aspect of my work subsequently!

So… OK, right, so that’s why I don’t think DIY should be seen as being synonymous with inclusivity. It can be just the opposite too. I mean there was nothing inclusive about that scene. You can’t extrapolate a broader sense of DIY because of what is happening in one particular scene you know? A certain thing happened at a certain time because of certain people. There are broader themes that DIY embodies but they manifest themselves in different ways in different places. The spirit of urgent and spontaneous expression by any means necessary is the only constant.

TJ Kliebhan: Let's switch gears here to your band, Zs. Do you think Zs creates music that is inaccessible to some degree? Is that something you go for? 

Sam Hillmer: Well, yes and no. The aesthetic is often confrontational, but we don’t try to deliberately alienate people. You can be aesthetically confrontational in a playful way. Like if you do yoga, it gets you into places that are uncomfortable, but the goal is not to hurt you. It is way different if someone is being aggressive toward you. Zs music isn’t angry, or aggressive, or trying to alienate people. It’s more like it is supposed to be exhilarating and challenging, more yogic!  None of those things are inherently inaccessible. You know?  So we want to challenge the listener, definitely, but it’s only inaccessible if you don’t want that challenge. We mean to be inviting and we feel like there is enough there to bring people in. That said, admittedly, people that have no desire to be challenged by a culture product probably will not like it.  I hope that answers your question.

TJ Kliebhan: In the liner notes of your 2012 box set Alex Mincek (former Zs bandmate) commented that “You were either a commercial musician or a classical musician. Sam and I wanted to be something blurry.” Does taking an approach like that naturally lead to creating music that would be difficult to digest then? 

Sam Hillmer: Well, I mean sure. People participate in processes of social identification through their musical choices, and often they are looking for the musical artifacts that expedite those processes.  Like if you’re ‘goth’ or something, it is likely that you will go to certain kinds of shows, and hang out with specific groups of people, etc…  Our intention is to problematize those processes of social and cultural identification. But not in a way that is about frustrating people. It’s more like a new idea.  It is sort of a, “hey what about this other thing?”  You know?  A fresh alternative.  However, I want to be very clear here, it is not that I think social groups organized around aesthetics are stupid or something, to the contrary!  I think they are of the utmost important!  It is essential to every burgeoning weirdo in America that there are communities of Goths and Punks and weird back pack rap cliques and gay club kids and whatever…  I just think that those communities are stronger when their findings are questioned and interrupted from time to time.   

TJKliebhan : I recently went to a Liturgy show at The Empty Bottle in Chicago and met Greg Fox who is an awesome dude and drummer. Talk about how you recruited him into Zs. What has he brought to the group? Are you a fan of his other projects? 

Sam Hillmer: I think all the projects Greg is involved in are great. He’s an amazing guy and an incredible drummer. It’s a privilege to have him in the band. We met at this place called Zebulon in New York City. I was taking a break because Zs just finished the New Slaves phase and I was re-configuring. I had just signed this big contract with Northern Spy. I needed to figure out what I was going to do about the band. I saw Greg at Zebulon and it was very informal. I just got into some conversations and Greg along with Patrick Higgins were the first people that I asked and they agreed and that was it. It was a logical, social, and musical choice. The whole process for forming this incarnation of Zs was very organic.

TJ: Its been well documented that the new record "Xe"was recorded with no overdubs or edits and was a set of live takes. The music all sounds pretty unpredictable, how much of it was composed vs. improvised?

Sam Hillmer: It actually is pretty concrete, much more so than what most think. I understand the music comes across as being loose, but it really is very similar from one performance to the next. It may sound improvised, but it is very calculated. There are parts that are more improvisational or seemingly improvised, but the density gets very specific. It is totally not like anyyyyyything can happen you know? (laughs) We’re not told note for note what to play but it is very clear during the piece what is supposed to be happening.  There is spontaneity and looseness that needs to be manifested for certain ends. So those pieces are basically through composed, there’s just some elasticity in the process of realizing them.

TJ Kliebhan: Wow that is very different from what you can read online. Sites like the Wikipedia page on Xe almost make it sound like you guys just showed up in the studio one day and jammed until you had 5 pieces that you felt were album quality. 

Sam Hillmer: (laughs) And you know what? Nothing, NOTHING, could be further from the truth. The music is so meticulous and worked out. I mean the music was worked out over a period of 18 months between writing, performing, and discussion. I mean we played a version of the material for Xe in 20 something countries across 100 shows before we even set foot in the studio. We were talking about the music after every show. After show 99 you pretty much know what is going to happen on stage. The whole record is a composition and we stick to that composition live. Any time you see the term free jazz associated with us, I don’t really agree. I mean I like free jazz and we certainly are influenced by elements of free jazz, but our music is not free. We have structure and careful planning.

TJ Kliebhan: You incorporate a lot of elements of Drone and repetition on the new album. How do you implement this effectively without ending up with a tedious piece? 

Sam Hillmer: Well, you’re making music and there is this imagined listener that is having the experience of hearing the music. There is a kind of drama when doing something repetitive that develops.  At that point, it can change in a surprising or elusive way, or not, but those decisions articulate something dramatic. Even causing something to become boring is a legit move in a drama. You build and build on a listener’s expectations, and maybe you give them nothing.  In that case, that disappointment and frustration is what’s happening in that drama. But when you change up in a surprising way, that can be very powerful, alarming even. Creating these narrative dramas are engaging to people. This isn’t a process that goes on in a vacuum. You always want to make sure it works as an experience. That is definitely one of the goals of the music.

TJ Kliebhan: Xe has received unanimous praise, as far as I have seen, from outlets that don’t typically cover the style of music you play. Does Xe feel like a bit of a breakthrough for you? 

Sam Hillmer: Well it is kind of cool. Zs has managed to achieve acceptance from outlets that don’t ordinarily concern themselves with the kind of thing we are up to. The project always had a goal of getting this type of music in front of audiences that don’t typically listen to it. I mean yeah it definitely does feel like the doors opened in a way this time around though. I mean across the board it seems like reviews have been very very good.

That said, to be honest with you man, what it brings up for me is, “you have the platform now, what are you gonna do?” I mean we’re very thankful for the gigs we play and the accolades we’ve received. Now I feel in a position to do something even more meaningful and to impact more people. I mean I try to think, “The point of success can’t be success.”  Right?  Like, who is succeeding?  Cuz if that person isn’t deep as hell, who cares if they are successful?  Feel me?  ZS is thinking about what’s next.

TJ Kliebhan: What makes Xe stand out or perhaps have more appealing to a larger audience in your opinion? Did this album feel different from the past records you’ve made? Was the attention expected or did you feel like you had something special here? 

Sam Hillmer: I think there are elements that are more accessible and also stuff that can stand up with our most challenging music aesthetically. I don’t really think it was that though. I think the reason Xe was really successful was the care we put into being able to play that music. Getting out on the road as much as we did, and playing for people in different contexts and settings, got us to a point where we didn’t even have to think about executing rhythms or parts or anything. I mean we were completely dialed in to those pieces.  I feel like that way of getting to a record made the music feel as natural as possible, and I think people responded to that.

TJ Kliebhan: I read an interview with you from 2005 where you said, “Our albums try to provoke reflection within the listener.” Do you have specific ideas in mind vis a vis reflection?  Or is that up to the individual listener? 

Sam Hillmer:  Really I, and I think all the fellas in Zs, just value reflection and think it is an important part of culture. So I thin we try to create situations wherein listeners are motivated to reflect around something challenging, aesthetically, socially, or otherwise… rather than always being taken right to what they want.

TJ Kliebhan: Albums you’ve been enjoying this year? 

Sam Hillmer: I’ve been listening a lot to Tangerine Dream’s Zeit album. Battle Trance has a record through NNA that is really good. 

TJ Kliebhan: Local or up and coming acts we should be aware of? 

Sam Hillmer: VHVL, Michael Beharie, Dai Burger, Tallesen, 75 Dollar Bill, Victoria Keddie, to name a few…  I mean I think every genre has its moments in New York, but right now the electronic community has the attention of everybody. These people are motivated, the artists make dope music, and the fans are packing the venues with energy. Also a lot of dope labels supporting these communities.  And of course check out the homies Greg Fox and Patrick Higgins’ solo stuff and other projects!


Thank you to Sam Hillmer for chatting with me. You should buy "Xe" from Northern Spy here.

-
TJ Kliebhan
9/7/2015