Bleep

An ensemble of interchangeable players, Onyx Collective frequently collaborate with Dev Hynes (Blood Orange) and Princess Nokia. Notably, the band’s de-facto leader and saxophonist, Isiah Barr, recently featured on three tracks from David Byrne’s newest album. LOWER EAST SUITE PART THREE is the third installment in a series of aural work deriving from the band’s life in New York. The content of PART THREE differs from both the improvised and romanticized vision that features prominently on the previous two and is almost entirely composed of premeditated work designed to explore the uglier issues that stem from Onyx Collective’s experience living in their native city. The frantic intro on outfits such as ‘Eviction Notice’ tackles the problem with rising rent prices and uneven wealth distribution, while the sleazy saxophone on ‘Magic Gallery’ is reminiscent of Scorsese’s Taxi Driver score, evoking a similarly seedy depiction of New York’s underbelly.