El-Producto
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
| El-Producto | ||
|---|---|---|
| Background information | ||
| Birth name | Jaime Meline | |
| Also known as | El-P, El-Producto | |
| Genre(s) | Hip-hop | |
| Occupation(s) | producer, Rapper | |
| Years active | 1993 to Present | |
| Label(s) | Definitive Jux | |
| Associated acts |
Company Flow | |
| Website | Official Site | |
Born Jaime Meline, El-Producto or El-P is an underground hip hop producer and rapper from New York City. He is also owner and CEO of the Definitive Jux record label.
Contents |
[edit] History
As a member of Company Flow, on the Rawkus Records label, he honed his production skills alongside DJ Mr. Len and Bigg Jus. His unique style helped Company Flow gain critical, then popular success, culminating in 1997 with Funcrusher Plus. Eventual differences between the group and Rawkus lead to El-P and Len leaving Rawkus in 2000. El-P then decided to start his own record label, Definitive Jux. Of the many albums he has helped produce (most on Definitive Jux), the most influential and successful has been Cannibal Ox's full-length album, The Cold Vein (2001). El-P has also contributed productions and guest raps to albums by DJ Krush, Aesop Rock, Murs, Cage, Mr. Lif, Prefuse 73, Del the Funky Homosapien, Mike Ladd, The High and Mighty, Aceyalone, and Alec Empire on the first Handsome Boy Modeling School album and with Cage and Chino Moreno on the second. Cannibal Ox member Vordul Mega can be heard on Linda Tripp El-P's cruel response to Sole's Dear Elpee. He was also selected to work on Rage Against the Machine frontman Zach de la Rocha's solo album. El-P also provided the soundtrack for the graffiti film Bomb the System.
[edit] Style
As a rapper, El-P's style can be characterized by his dense, aggressive, and verbose attacks, which include notable use of metaphor, science fiction and fantasy themes and references, and associative word play. Regardless of this sophistication, he does not eschew traditional hip hop subject matter, a description which would fit equally well with several of his colleagues. His impact as a producer owes to his innovative mix of bleak futurism and low fidelity sounds. This sound is influenced by Public Enemy's production team, The Bomb Squad. El-P is a great fan of science fiction writer Philip K. Dick, and many of Dick's themes—paranoia, the nature of reality—feature in El-P's work.
El-P has worked with free jazz pianist Matthew Shipp, a fan of El-P's music. In an interview with Shipp, Meline stated:
| First and foremost, I wanted to do it because it scared the shit out of me ... And when I get offered the chance to be involved with something that scares me, I usually do it, because I'm trying to learn, I'm trying to understand music as much as I can, to become a better musician in general and work in different capacities. |
El-P has done some work as a DJ. In November 2004, he spun alongside Peanut Butter Wolf, owner of Stones Throw Records at a small club named Sonotheque in Chicago. Also, in the summer of 2005, at the Intonation Festival hosted by Pitchfork Media El-P did a short DJ set alongside Yo La Tengo member James McNew, both denizens of the same apartment complex in Brooklyn. El-P is not considered to be a gifted turntablist; however, his broad knowledge of music and personality make his sets enjoyable.
[edit] Solo Discography
[edit] Albums
- El-P Presents Cannibal Oxtrumentals (Def Jux) (2001) was a simple premise: instrumental versions of the tracks on Cannibal Ox's album The Cold Vein. What emerged was the realization of how far El-P had progressed as a producer. The album easily stands alone as an instrumental work, with a similar, cinematic feel to the likes of RJD2 and DJ Shadow.
- Fantastic Damage (Def Jux) (2002) has been compared to his previous works with Company Flow and Cannibal Ox, but favorably so. The density of sound and focus on the album, combined with some of El-P's finest vocal contributions to date make this album one of the most important and impressive in the underground revival of the past decade.
- Fandam Plus: Instrumentals, Remixes, Lyrics & Video (Def Jux) (2002) Includes instrumentals and remix of Dead Disnee featuring El-P's group The Weathermen.
- High Water (Thirsty Ear) (2004), guest artists pianist Matthew Shipp, bassist William Parker and trumpet player Roy Campbell, received mostly positive reviews (according to Metacritic).
- Collecting the Kid (Definitive Jux) (2004) A Limited Edition 11 track album consisting mostly of instrumentals from various side projects (High Water, the Bomb the System soundtrack, Central Services, etc). While not nearly as vital as Fantastic Damage, the disk includes several classic El-P tracks highlighted by "Constellation Remix" and "Oxycontin".
- I'll Sleep When You're Dead (Definitive Jux) (2007)
[edit] Mixtapes
- Weareallgoingtoburninhell (Def Jux) (2003), A super limited release only sold at shows and was said to have been recorded by the New York native shortly after September 11.
[edit] Singles
- Stepfather Factory (Def Jux) (2001), released to promote then upcoming album Fantastic Damage. Features the same voice synthesizer used by Radiohead in fitter, happier.
- Urban Renewal: Dead Light/Train Buffer (Chocolate Industries)(2002)
- El-P Presents: Sunrise Over Bklyn (Thirsty Ear)(2003) Limited edition vinyl only jazz record featuring The Blue Series Continuum with Matthew Shipp (piano), Roy Campbell (trumpet), and William Parker (bass).
[edit] External links
- Definitive Jux | EL-P
- 'Stepfather Factory' video player
- Cannibal Ox audio player (production by El-P)
- Company Flow and El-P lyrics
- BOMB Magazine: "El-P by Matthew Shipp"
- Track listing for rare lp Weareallgoingtoburninhell
