EveryDejaVu Newsletter Issue #1: Interviews with Contour and Blu

And some favorite projects as of late from Amir Bilal, Phoenix James, JWords, and Dirty Bird.

Hello! It’s Ryan from EveryDejaVu and you’re probably reading this because you’ve either supported us in the past in some way, are a fan of Contour, are a fan of Blu, thought this was interesting, or all of the above (I love you). EveryDejaVu started as a blog and as much as I loved having a small little space of the internet to write my thoughts on cool music I found, it was very time consuming. With or without the transition to becoming a label and focusing on releasing music, trying to write around 1000 words a day was a bit of a tough task when I started working more hours separately. All this to say that I never lost the passion for sharing music and wanted to create a monthly-ish newsletter to serve the purpose of sharing music and words about artists that I’m listening to. There will be a mix of interviews, blurbs about new releases, label updates, guest writers, and whatever feels right.

Quick label update: thanks to all who showed extra support between June and July’s Bandcamp Days. I made a promise to donate all of the label’s share of sales, but I’m instead just matching the $231 we made (for context: we made a little over $200 in sales through the first five months of the year on Bandcamp) and splitting the donation between the Black Art Futures Fund and The Black School.

To bring this full circle, I interviewed two artists from the earlier days of EveryDejaVu as a blog and label. Both were conducted via Twitter DM’s and I kept formatting adjustments to a minimum. After that, I wanted to share some projects I’ve been listening to the last week or so (or in this case, as early as Sunday night) from Amir Bilal, Phoenix James, JWords, and Dirty Bird.

Interview with Contour

Contour is a master of sound who allowed us to release a CD/DVD package of his album and accompanying short film called Softer a little over three years ago. Based out of South Carolina, the multi-talented producer has always leaned into experimentation with new sounds. When I first discovered his music, he leaned a lot more towards hip-hop and since then his sound has expanded into a beautiful fusion of jazz, soul, and more. Contour has developed a signature sound defined by luscious soundscapes, jazzy swinging drums textured with detail, and unique echoing vocals. I spoke to him about his last project, Weight, that came out in March, as well as his latest two songs, “Go Away,” (a cover of a Strawberry Switchblade song) and “Sweet Tears” (a cover of a Roy Ayers song).

Part of this interview was conducted in May, and the other part was conducted a week ago.

What inspired you to begin making music?

A desire to express myself in a way that felt unique and thorough to me, as is the case for most people I figure.

What instruments do you play and how long have you been producing?

Bass for 3 or 4 years now and piano for most of my life, although I’ve started to take it more seriously in the past year. I’ve been producing seriously since 2014, so we’re at just about 6 years now.

Were they any specific influences for your approach when working on Weight?

The struggle of refining said approach was an influence. As well as the always present struggle of maintaining mental equilibrium.

At under 15 minutes, Weight covers a lot of ground instrumentally and lyrically. Can you tell me more about the writing process and what this project means to you?

This is a common answer, but it’s a snapshot of my headspace for the latter half of 2019 and beginning of 2020. It’s pretty self-referential. It’s also a meditation on the literal weight of emotion and the different ways we navigate the emotional experience.

What's your creative process like with your band? Do you have different interpretations of solo Contour work with your band?

Absolutely. I write a song and I bring it to them and we decide if we think it will translate well to the live format. From that point, we think specifically what parts of the composition will translate and which parts need to be adjusted. Often times that process helps me refine the writing process of the recorded versions of songs as well.

Many of your releases come alongside beautiful art direction work. Where does this passion stem from and can you shine some light on some artists that you've worked with on this side of your projects?

The passion stems from both a love of visual art and film and necessity. The presentation of a work is literally a part of the piece in the sense that it creates the context for viewers to engage with the work. That doesn’t mean everything is super conceptual but it means there’s at least a level of intentionality involved. I primarily work with my friend Austin Butler on art direction and my friend John Peters on film direction. They have a deep understanding of how I think and that helps a lot with fleshing these things out. I’d love to continue to branch out and collaborate on that side of things more though as I continue to create.

Are there any other mediums of art you want to experiment or learn on your own?

I’d like to do more photography and film scoring as well. When I’m able to I’d like to get a camera and handle the shooting of my videos and other things completely on my own.

You just released two new tracks, “Go Away” and “Sweet Tears,” which are both covers, but pretty solely in lyrics. Why did you choose these songs by Strawberry Switchblade and Roy Ayers and what was your approach to these covers?

I’m a blues musician at heart. Solemnity has colored my experience of the world as long as I can remember. I resonate with works that deal with that experience. For the SS joint, I actually did a few versions once I had learned the chord progressions. I started with what you hear on guitar, which is the primary melodic motif. Then I built around that for the verse. I deviated from the composition of the original for the pre-chorus and chorus to make it sound more me. The Roy Ayers one was more straightforward. I learned the song on piano and then just kind of made everything else naturally around it. The vocals were the hardest part for that one because the original performance really only works with that kind of upbeat instrumentation. I had to figure out how to make the amount of space I was working with work.

You're donating all proceeds from these two tracks to The Black School. Can you tell me a little bit more about why you chose The Black School?

I experienced a lot trauma in white instructions/art schools intended to be for gifted children. Some of that trauma I’ve worked through, and some I still carry. I can only imagine what my formative years would’ve looked like if I was a part of institution centered around radical Black self love and nourishment. The Black School is endeavoring to provide that, and as much of a cliche as it is I’m very emotional about the idea of young Black children not having to go through what I and I’m sure many others have gone through.

You released these on July's Bandcamp Day where Bandcamp waived all of their fees for 24 hours to support artists. What are your thoughts on Bandcamp as a platform and how it coexists alongside streaming platforms?

As far as I’m concerned Bandcamp is the only platform that lends itself to artists’ self determination. Other streaming services not only is manipulate their listenership psychologically, but they have tried and have somewhat succeeded at creating a kind of hegemonic control of how artists careers are launched. This is intentional, and many artists have no choice but to play into that. Bandcamp’s model puts the distribution, revenue, aesthetic, just about everything in the artists hand. It was already the most equitable platform and the ownership has really stepped up with this new initiative. Many artists have made more on one Bandcamp day than they have in years of streaming.

What music have you been listening to a lot lately?

Honestly, for the first time maybe ever I haven’t been listening to much. I’ve been reading more lately and I don’t often read and listen to music at the same time, and I kind of have just been enjoying complete silence when I’m not working on things.

What are you currently reading?

I just finished Thick by Tressie McMillan Cottom. I’m now cycling through Black Music by Amiri Baraka and Black Feminist Thought by Patricia Hill Collins. I’ve also been reading a lot of various poetry and manga.

What's next for Contour?

More music. Sooner than later.

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Interview with Blu

The second interview is with someone who I have to thank for many things, but most importantly, EveryDejaVu's name. LA rapper (and legend) Blu worked with me on a few of our compilations and I released his collaborative album with Fate, Open Your Optics to Optimism, in 2016. Before all of that, I interviewed Blu in 2013 and that was the first time I think the blog got more than 15 views in a day. Without all of that, EveryDejaVu doesn’t exist in the form today.

I caught up with him briefly about his upcoming release, Miles, which is the third album alongside his right hand producer Exile, about their chemistry over the years, and opening up personally on their new record.

It's been 13 years since Below The Heavens was released and you've known Exile for years longer. How has the collaboration between you and Exile evolved over the years? Has your writing process changed when working with Exile?

We are much more mature in our craft and that makes it much easier to create music together. My writing process took a more mature approach as well. For instance, I looked back at particular albums and songs that I made in the past and drew inspiration from myself.

You dropped the "Blu version" of Flowers on Bandcamp that had a more raw feel to it before it was released through Fat Beats. Did you feel it was ready to be released or you just wanted to give your fans new music? What happened to "Ope"?

Well we create the project in 2009, and sat on it for two years. It was never intended to be released really. We both were creating our own projects at the time. “Flowers” was a collection of ‘journal’ raps, spit over beats, recorded over the span of two weeks. I thought the title fit because we were giving the people “Flowers (songs), while they can still smell (hear) them”. “Ope” got replaced by “Ease Your Mind.”

Do you have a favorite project of your own? If so, what is it?

I love them all honestly. Its hard to choose.

It seems like you open up a lot about your hardships and personal life on Miles. Was it hard to open up about these topics? How personal does the project get?

Some say this is my most personal project to date. I feel I get pretty personal on the majority, if not all, of my records. So it wasn’t hard to open up. It’s just the question being, “do I want people to hear this?” I left out a lot that has gone on as well, but most of it was covered on this record.

You covered the history of life on "His Story" and focused on that subject even further with "Roots of Blue." Can you tell me about your interest in history and how it influences your music?

I love History. It was my favorite subject in school besides English. They work hand in hand when creating my music today. The more I grow, the more I learn. I dove pretty deep in my early 30’s, but I don’t read as much History now.

I see a track called "When The Gods Meet" on Miles. Is this the same track premiered in 2012?

Yes, it is the same track we performed live once. Fans always hit me up and ask me about that song and when it’s dropping. It was slated to be a 45 after Flowers, but we vaulted it and it became a spark of inspiration when we started creating this album.

Are most of the songs on Miles newly recorded or how far back does it go?

The majority of the album was recorded between 2017-2019. Except maybe 3 songs.

Where does music for Blu go after this? More raps? Is film still in your scope?

More raps for sure. I’m sitting on a good 6 albums. Counting two albums me & Ex may never drop, or may haha! I produced a project for my good friend, John Robinson, also known as Lil Sci. That should be dropping soon. And films, oh films, oh films.

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What I’ve been listening to the last week or so:

XVIII by Amir Bilal

Amir Bilal navigates turning 18 with a new EP dedicated to his grandma. At around 12 minutes, Amir reflects on his adolescent years, where he’s at now, and the weight on his shoulders as he enters “adulthood.” He blends introspective, poignant raps over jagged-yet-soulful production from the likes of argov (a name that I keep seeing pop up more and more), bart buurman and others.

“They told me that the world starts now, but I ain’t really ready.”

Aw(ful)some by Phoenix James

Phoenix James is a singer and talented multi-instrumentalist currently based out of Miami. Aw(ful)some is an incredible introduction to Phoenix, who brings in a handful of friends to round out the 9-track atmospheric, soulful project. The part of this project that stands out the most to me is her ability to use her voice as a cohesive net for sounds that span between the ranges of R&B, house, and hip-hop. She also recently featured on a fellow Miami native RealLiveAnimals’ compilation project In Color, where all the proceeds are going to NAACP and Girls Make Beats, a nonprofit empowering women to expand the female presence of music producers, DJs, and audio engineers.

dancepackvol.2 by JWords

I became familiar with JWords’ music earlier this year when she released SÍN SÉNAL via Suzi Analogue’s label mainly because it featured MIKE and Maassai and all of that put together equated to an instant listen. This project is an apt follow-up with a blend of captivating synthesizers, groovy, warm-textured drums, and the occasional sample flip. I highly recommend you experience the interactive website for this release and keep the New Jersey native on your radar, especially because apparently there is a Maassai and JWords album on the way. Oh, and this is cool too, while you’re at it.

Ol’ Dirty Tape by Dirty Bird

Come for the Ladon Alex artwork, stay for the music. Ol’ Dirty Tape is an eighteen minute track that wields four head nodding beats layered with smooth, velvety synthesizers and vinyl-crackling percussion. I was going to leave this last section to just three albums, but once I heard the pulsating bass line and “1, 2 Step” vocal sample in the fourth track (I think? The transitions are smooth - it’s apparent why he opted for one combined track), I had to tack this on. I’d suggest following Dirty Bird on Twitter and keep your eyes out for merch drops, as his CDs include a bit more than just his music.

Hope you all enjoyed the first newsletter. Subscribe so you can get the newsletter sent straight to your inbox and be the first to see when I start getting guest writers who can really write about music.

You can also follow our Spotify playlist that I like to say I update monthly, but I’ll probably be doing it more often than that.

Aaaaand one last goodie: an hour mix full of only EveryDejaVu releases thanks to DJLX (our radio show DJ from years back and a great friend). Listen to hear some gems from EveryDejaVu artists (Satchy, j^p^n, Borboleta, Dolly Ave, Fate, Blu) and some older compilation tracks from Chester Watson, L’Orange among others.

Wear your mask, stay inside, and donate if you can.

-Ryan