Interviews

Published on August 24th, 2017 | by Jameelah "Just Jay" Wilkerson

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Five Questions With Aesop Rock:

Lakeshore Records recently released underground hip hop pioneer Aesop Rock’s original score to the forthcoming film Bushwick. His first ever film score, Bushwick – Original Motion Picture Soundtrack is a mind-bending collection of instrumental tracks providing an exhilarating beat-heavy backdrop to the Cary Murnion and Jonathan Milott directed thriller. Produced by Aesop Rock, the tracks also feature contributions on synth and guitar by Grimace Foundation. The film tells the story of twenty-year-old Lucy (Brittany Snow), who emerges from a Brooklyn subway to find that her neighborhood is under attack by black-clad military soldiers. An ex-Marine corpsman, Stupe (Dave Bautista), reluctantly helps her fight for survival through a civil war, as Texas attempts to secede from the United States of America. Lakeshore Records released Bushwick—Original Motion Picture Soundtrack digitally August 11th, CD September 1st with vinyl coming at a later date. RLJ Entertainment released Bushwick in theaters and on VOD August 25th. ­­­­

Building on the rapping style of eccentrics Kool Keith and Del the Funky Homosapien, Aesop Rock (AKA Ian Bavitz) became one of the hottest MCs in the post-millennial underground. With seven albums, five Eps, production credits and appearances in film and television, Aesop has made an indelible cultural impression since the late ‘90’s. In early 2007 Aesop Rock composed a 45-minute piece for Nike’s Original Run series, a continuous track meant to be listened to while jogging (other artists included LCD Soundsystem and the Crystal Method). Album releases include his 1997 indie debut Music for Earthworms, a trio of albums for the Definitive Jux and a shift to the Rhymesayers label who released Skelethon and his most recent album The Impossible Kid.

Says Aesop: “This entire project maintained a pretty smooth momentum from start to finish. This was my first foray into working on a feature film, and this team was helpful the entire way—even in my moments of self-doubt. I’m extremely excited to have been a part of ‘Bushwick.’”

Says Murnion and Milott: “We were beyond excited and amazed to have a chance to work with Aesop Rock on the score for Bushwick! We’ve been fans of his since Music for Earthworms. Labor Days is one of our all time favorite records. Bazooka Tooth, None Shall Pass and Skelethon are each so special. And we loved the Hail Mary Mallon project he worked on with Rob Sonic and Big Wiz – (we listened to the instrumentals of Bestiary on repeat while we’ve been prepping to shoot Bushwick). Aesop keeps blowing us away with his dense, next level lyrics but we were equally impressed by the beats and sounds he creates for each new record. Which is why when we were thinking of someone to score Bushwick we immediately thought of asking him if he’d want to work with us on our passion project. Aesop grew up in Long Island and had lived in Bushwick, so he immediately connected to the concept and the characters. He has created a score that sets the tone for the whole film as ‘Corner Store’ kicks in as we fly up over Coney Island in the opening credits. The score is gritty, emotional, unnerving and triumphant, taking us on a journey as we weave through the streets of Brooklyn.”

Bushwick is a production of XYZ Films, Bullet Pictures and Mensch Productions. The film screened at Sundance in January and in Director’s Fortnight at Cannes in May.

Track Listing:

1) Corner Store

2) Mashed Potatoes

3) The Church 1

4) Jaguar

5) New Yule

6) The Church 2

7) Corner Store Reprise

8) New Yule Reprise

9) Downstairs

10) Chesterfield

11) Raiders

12) All Fall Down

13) Riot Riot

14) Sharks and Minnows

15) The School

16) Ogres

17) Ash

The Hype Magazine got Aesop to weigh in on his experience creating the soundtrack and scoring his first film.

You’ve reigned in the underground lyrically and your production has its own legacy already as well, how was it taking on the new challenge of scoring a major motion picture soundtrack for Bushwick as your film music director debut?

I don’t really see myself as having reigned anywhere for anything. In regards to Bushwick – I was certainly pretty nervous off the bat. I wanted to do it, but was continuously plagued with thoughts of “can I do this?” The element that made it all doable for me was Cary and John really being aware of what I do, and being able to point to my catalog and say “we like this, this, and this.” That’s the stuff that finally had me thinking – oh, maybe I can do this.

It was still a ton of work, but the vibe throughout was positive and the forward momentum maintained.

What let you know you were ready for the new paradigm of scoring an action film and what did the project allow you to do sonically that perhaps you’ve always dreamed of?

Well – the problem is, you just don’t know if you’re ready. I had a million doubts going in. I guess I just kept thinking – if they like my other production, then there’s no reason I shouldn’t be able to do this. They aren’t expecting anything other than what I do anyway.

I was happy to create a bunch of music that wasn’t going to immediately be followed by my normal press/tour circuit. So much of my job as a musician has been about things other than music – whereas in this I was pulled in as the music dept only. There’s a lot of comfort in being able to hide out and just do my thing. That’s when I work best.

Since this was your first outing in the film music space, was it more nerve wracking or fun…or perhaps a combination of both?

It was both for sure. But early on we got a pretty good rhythm going, and I feel like we got on a decent track quickly. Obviously, when it comes to some longer 6-7 minute chase scene, there’s a lot of back and forth necessary to get the timing, peaks and valleys right. There were certainly moments of self doubt when it came to those longer passages- but again, Cary and John were very good and the pep talk, and they had complete confidence that I had it in me. That’s such a huge help.

What’s your take on the importance of music in film storytelling?

It’s obviously huge, but you do get a new appreciation for it when you’re doing it hands-on. You learn tricks on how to quickly push a song in the right direction. Need more tension? Mute the main drums and send it back. That’s an over-simplification, but you really start figuring out these small changes you can make to your piece that have a pretty big effect on the screen.

You also just start to see how important the thing is. If this sound hits one moment too early, the accent fails. But it you get it right -everything is elevated. You can punctuate anything emotion if you find the right sound, and play it at the right time.

Last but not least, The Hype Magazine wants to know what has been your craziest “Where They Do That At?!” or “WTF” moment thus far in your career!

Oscar Meyer sent me a letter saying they had heard that I like hot dogs, and are sending me some of what they’d been working on to tryout. The letter made me feel like my opinion on hot dogs was truly valued. I got 4 kinds of hotdogs in a bag that remained cold in the mail, and 2 t-shirts promoting hot dogs. I microwaved a few late at night once – they do good work.

For more info on Aesop Rock:
rhymesayers.com/aesoprock
twitter.com/aesoprockwins
www.LakeshoreRecords.com


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About the Author

Publisher and CEO of The Hype Magazine. Follow me on Twitter @HypeJustJay


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