The Very Good Agency

Prefuse 73 on touring, and… other stuff

If you’ve ever been somewhere unfamiliar, heard a twisted, futuristic, hyper-produced, soulful blend of hip hop & breaks and wondered what the fuck it was (and maybe where you could get a copy)… chances are it was Prefuse 73 currently on the label – Warp. That’s how I stumbled across them several years ago when my brother had “One Word Extinguisher” on high rotation, and now that new album “Preparations” has been released October 15, I can only wonder what the future holds today.

Hailing from Barcelona, Prefuse is now based in New York (much to his dismay) as so many musicians do, to be within cab fare of many of the artists he works with including Beans, GZA, and Diverse to name a few of my favourites. While Prefuse 73 is a producer, and ‘One Word Extinguisher’ was in the most part, an instrumental album, it featured a smattering on eclectic emcee’s, beatboxers, and varying vocalists, that somehow managed to latch onto the strange and fluctuating emotions carried in this epic ‘masterpiece’ Prefuse had created.

In an interview on www.drownedinsound.com , Scott Herren, a.k.a Prefuse 73, seemed extremely dissillusioned with the industry, and especially touring going as far as to say:

“If it was up to me, I wouldn’t tour at all, and just play one-offs and festivals that seem cool, or shows with my friends that’d be like family reunions.” His eyes roll, fingers clench; he’s visibly distressed at the prospect of his upcoming US dates. “Playing night after night, senseless shows in the US in the middle of Bumfuck Nowhere with five people in the audience… to sell three more records? What’s the point? Get in your car, drive to the next biggest city. I only asked to play five shows this time in the US. I’ve ended up with 30. After here I tour the US straight away, and from there it’s Japan and Australia… and I have a son to take care of. His mother’s in a band too, on tour with Blonde Redhead, so things are getting tight. Nobody’s listening to me though, and someone needs to listen to me before I put my foot down and cancel shows. I don’t want to do that, but does anyone in the office want to take care of my kid for a month? Of course not. It’s not their responsibility, but it’s definitely mine, and I want to be a good father. I am way more concerned with my son than being a musician and putting out a good record.”

Prefuse 73 w. School of Seven Bells – The Class of 73 Bells

“I do insist on good hotels. That’s my one rock star bad habit. I tour for no money – I usually go on tour to comply with Warp’s wishes, and to make them happy, and to promote the record and make fans happy – but I don’t want to be in any shitholes. Put me in a bling hotel, and I’m gonna be happy. I want to wake up and feel good in the morning, ‘cause you can feel shit on tour. For me that’s worth it. People are like, ‘Yo man, that’s stupid – you’re not gonna come home with any money’. But I don’t want to make money this way – I don’t want to make money as an entertainer. I am a musician, and a producer – I’m not a clown, and if I tour it’s because someone asked me to, not ‘cause I have to go tour.

From the music I have enjoyed by Prefuse 73 over the years, and the awesome reports I have heard of his live shows (with instrumentation as opposed to DJ sets), I’m confident this album is worth checking out, and will most probably get plenty of play in my car and over dinner as ‘One Word Extinguisher’ did at my pad.

From my experience in the music industry working with artists, musicians, and on tours however… his outlook on the relationship between releasing music and touring is so far out of whack with any logic, especially given his constant references to earning money to raise his child being a priority, that it could just be that this eccentric dude is as crazy as his beats.

either way… check it out for sure:

www.myspace.com/prefusion1973

www.prefuse73.com

…bs

and thanks to www.drownedinsound.com for an interesting interview.

Tags: breakbeats, hip hop