Kaye the Beast Album Release and EOY Shows from Joystick, Goodwin Rainer
December 13, 2021, Vol. 3 Issue 23
Thank you for reading Perfect Sound Whatever. I write updates on the latest music news in New Orleans, feature stories, album reviews, and more. Whether you are from New Orleans or not, my goal is to help you discover new music; provide coverage to local artists, venues, and others creating the music scene in NOLA; and start discussions about music. For questions, comments, or concerns, please feel free to email me at daltonspangler25@gmail.com.
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In today’s issue: Local hip-hop artist Kaye the Beast discusses new album, movie soundtracks and surrounding yourself with the right people; Photos from the final Joystick show of the year; some work I recently had published; and finally an update on the state of the newsletter.
Local rapper Kaye the Beast draws from Danny Elfman and Kanye on new LP
Composers Danny Elfman and Hans Zimmer influence local indie rapper Kaye the Beast’s music as much as Kanye and Will Smith. Spending years learning how to record and produce his own music from home, Kaye made music that he and his friends liked for fun. It wasn’t until Kaye began working with another NOLA hip-hop artist, Alfred Banks, that he would consider putting out his work. Now Kaye aims to reintroduce himself to the city that raised him with the upcoming album “The Spaceman” releasing December 17.
Growing up in the ‘90s and early ‘00s with little access to the car radio, Kaye heard most of his favorite music through movie soundtracks like the Tim Burton films or superhero movies. On “The Spaceman,” those influences appear through the atmosphere Kaye aims to create.
“There’s something about movie soundtracks that have scale,” Kaye said, “The score of a movie always provides that extra oomph. I was hoping to re-create that without visual media.”
In the album, Kaye ponders being flung to stardom and all the good and the bad that are associated with it. Drawing from celebrities he looks up to and conversations with his friend and mentor Alfred Banks, Kaye looks at what it means to be at the top as an artist.
“In the arts, a lot of people have that ultimate goal of their name in lights,” Kaye said, “But we don’t really think about what that means. Every day there is a TMZ article about a celebrity meltdown with cameras in their face and there’s drugs or alcohol. I’ve been overwhelmed with regular suburban life, so I’ve tried my best to translate my feelings at my level to an exponentially high degree.”
With the help of many people in the hip-hop community, Kaye has moved out of his home studio and into The Hut Studios working with A. Levy and Brian Kidd to record, mix and master this album. It’s been an adjustment moving from at-home music programs like Fruity Loops to leased studio time but Kaye has surrounded himself with professionals.
“Everyone I’ve put in my corner has more knowledge than me,” Kaye said, “If I didn’t do that I’d just be working alone anyway… And if you’ve enjoyed anything I’ve put out before you may like it but there will be a very noticeable difference [on “The Spaceman]”
Kaye the Beast will be headlining an album release show at Gasa Gasa December 17 at 9 p.m. with artists Slangston Hughes, Rodo, and Naughty By Choice. He plans to have some theatrical elements and will be selling merchandise at the show.
Joystick End of Year Show Photos
Goodwin Rainer
Rich Octopus
Wasted Potency
Some work I’ve done recently:
Interview with Jeff Rosenstock
Feature on Boyfriend and Amazing Radio
News Story on Serabee’s upcoming album
Update on the Newsletter
As we enter the new year, I have reflected on my work and how this newsletter fits into my career as a music journalist. Over the last month or so, I have not been regularly publishing like I used to, partly because I’ve been blessed to have more work published in OffBeat Music Magazine. In addition to that, I’ve also been working on a sort of “rebranding” for the newsletter.
For the last 6 months of publications, I started writing almost exclusively about New Orleans music before slowly branching out into music more personally aligned with my interests like punk, ska, hip-hop and alternative music. I want to continue growing that side of the newsletter because it’s what makes me excited to work. To reflect this change, I will be renaming/redesigning the newsletter and branching out into other mediums beyond written words and pictures.
I will continue to write about New Orleans but attempting to be a one-man music news source for the entire city seems silly and self-defeating. My goal with this transition is to diversify my content while also maintaining the niche I feel I fit the best into as a music journalist. I appreciate all the support I have received this year and I hope that in 2022 people will still find something valuable here. Stay tuned and thank you for reading.
Support my work
I started a Patreon because Substack’s minimum subscription cost is way too much. There are personalized benefits and exclusives available. Pay what you can by emailing me daltonspangler25@gmail.com and I’ll send you a year’s subscription.
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