Aesop Rock and Blockhead announce collab album ‘Garbology,’ share “Jazz Hands”
Underground rap lifer Aesop Rock and producer Blockhead have been working together for decades — Blockhead produced several tracks on Aesop Rock's classic 2000s albums, including fan favorite singles like "Daylight" and "None Shall Pass" — but they've never made an entire album together… until now. It's called Garbology, and it comes out November 12 via Rhymesayers (pre-order). The album came together as Aesop was processing the death of a close friend in January 2020. "The world got real weird during those month," he said. "I knew at some point I had to get back to making something. Make a beat. Draw a picture. Write. Just go. But the idea of making a beat felt like math homework, and drawing is just so hard. Writing is hard too, but at some point I had to pick one."
About the album title, he says, "Garbology is defined as the study of the material discarded by a society to learn what it reveals about social or cultural patterns. I find a lot of parallels between that and the idea of picking up the pieces after a loss or period of intense unrest, and seeing what’s really there. It’s information that speaks to who I am, who we are, and how we move forward. Furthermore – the idea of digging through old, often neglected music from another time with an ear tuned for taking in that data in a different way than your average listener would is exactly what Block does. Go through the information and see what you find."
The first single is "Jazz Hands," which finds that classic Aesop Rock/Blockhead chemistry in fine form. It sounds like it could've come straight out of their classic era, and it sounds great in 2021 too. Listen and watch the Rob Shaw-directed video below. Tracklist (including a song featuring Homeboy Sandman) below too.
Aesop Rock has also been putting out new vinyl pressings of some classic records, and you can pick up Appleseed (first-ever vinyl pressing, on clear with black marble smoke wax) and the new 20th anniversary edition of Labor Days (on copper nugget vinyl) in our store. Both have production from Blockhead.
Tracklist
1. The Only Picture
2. Jazz Hands
3. Wolf Piss
4. Legerdemain
5. Difficult
6. All The Smartest People
7. Oh Fudge
8. More Cycles
9. Flamingo Pink
10. All Day Breakfast (feat. Homeboy Sandman)
11. Fizz
12. That is Not a Wizard
13. The Sea
14. Abandoned Malls
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