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PIECES 2​.​0

by DJ Ian Head

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1.
2.
NYC Pt. 3 01:56
3.
4.
Work&Effort 01:21
5.
6.
NYC Pt. 1 00:56
7.
8.
Nightsky 02:58
9.
10.
Jazzinluv 02:28
11.
Walk 02:20
12.
Somedays 01:25
13.
The Sun 01:36
14.
Babadop 01:46
15.
NYC Pt. 2 01:40
16.
17.
18.
19.
20.
Hope 02:15
21.
22.
23.
24.
25.
26.
27.

about

This album was released by the Japanese label Root70Lounge in spring of 2008. I am in debt to Root70 for taking interest in my various musical projects and helping me put out this album. As of June 2012 Root70 no longer releases music and so I am now distributing this myself through Everydaybeats.

In addition to the original album I'm also including some bonus cuts I released to promote the album when it dropped, and a couple old joints never before released.

Here are the original liner notes from the album:

PIECES.
there is a lot i could say about this record. "pieces" is a nickname for records that my friend DJ Center and i have chuckled about for years as we scavenged flea markets and bookstores for some jazz album we'd never seen before. it's also nicely symbolic of the tracks here - while i love conceptual albums, where everything fits nicely together, this album is more of a jumble of different pieces, different parts from different times in my life since i've been living in brooklyn. much of it is new, but others are fairly old - "rusty shovels pt. 1," with my man Omega Jackson, is from 2002. i had made a pretty raw bass-chop of a beat and immediately envisioned him on it. his verse about digging is really a true visual of how us record fiends operate. we've been meaning to put out this song for a long time, so here it finally is.

other songs here encompass parts of my life as a record collector and beatmaker, or pay reference to earlier times. having khalil and gabe guest on "sippin coffee" and "cold war" is a blessing - so much of my inspiration to stay making beats came from these two cats, so much soul, late night trips to hala hala to grab coffee, trooping around the city having deep talks or kicking hilarious freestyles - it's all connected.

in 2005, i came home one night to find my basement flooded, and despite my best attempts, lost the covers to around 1200 records. most of the music ended up making it through , after i dryed and wiped down the wax, but collectors and music lovers know how much great covers bring to classic albums. it was a painful experience, which took a long time to get over. people walk in my spot now and ask me what all the "white covers" are about. but i took the destruction of the old nad tried to make the new out of it, and came up with a few tracks which are featured here, like "somedays" and "walk."

around this time verb math and i were gearing up to put something out, something about our love for digging. a couple of these joints were beats i gave verb that he gave back to me, saying "i can't write to this, i'd rather just vibe to it." one of these is "herman bollin" which has had lots of names but got named after my grandfather who i never met, but who was a really amazing pianist, painter and artist. he also pressed his own records, back in the 40s and 50s. my mom's family made digital copies of these recordings and i included a snippet of one at the end of that song. anyway, me and verb still connected for "dimensions" which i feel is progression towards another level of style. i also threw something he recorded awhile back over a beat that became "salvation" - i wanted to give his great, subtle story some texture, and i dig how this came out.

"live from the dojo" is just some rawness that i convinced my man subtext to let me put on here. i feel like he killed this simple, raw beat. the "nyc" tracks are part of a series that i've been putting together, dedicated to nyc.

i tried to make "jazzinluv" sound like an old jazz composition with switches and dusty noises, but keep it hiphop. "loop for dirty and treats" is just some random shit i came up with dedicated to two inspirational cats across the pond. "nightsky" i just wanted to make some ish that reminded me of driving around late at night, or pictures of headlights moving on a distant highway.

finally, 2008 is a year of transition and i'm glad i've been able to put out a new album, representing the old and new. good lookin to root70 for the hook-up. thanks to all the folks performing on this record, and everyone who has supported my music.

-- DJ Ian Head, 2008

credits

released August 19, 2012

Thanks to those who appeared on the album (in no order): Omega Jackson, Subtext, Verbal Math, Gabriel Teodros, Khingz, Josh Joffee, Opoetik, Evolve-One, Kinetik, Replife.

Extra thanks to everyone who bought the original CD off me, downloaded it from iTunes, and has continued to support my music.

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about

DJ Ian Head Los Angeles, California

Record collector, mixtape crafter, beat composer.

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