Bleep

Working closely alongside Aesop Rock during the creation of much of his seminal work, including Definitive Jux’s Labor Days (2001), Anthony Simon aka Blockhead has been operating as a producer within New York city since the mid-nineties. Originally starting out as an MC, Simon made the transition to production early on, remaining loyal to his hip hop origins and establishing a reputation for himself with instrumental masterpieces such as ‘Music By Cavelight’ (Ninja Tune, 2004). ‘The Art of the Sample’ is a concept LP constructed using an eclectic mix of samples taken from De Wolfe’s incredible catalog of retro library music, an entity that spans around nine decades worth of content. As a concept LP, the work differs somewhat from the trip hop sound of Blockhead’s other albums, with the producer stating that it was his intention for the songs on the LP to operate in a manner similar to the library music from which they were formed. An interesting offering from a well-established guru, the LP skips from periods of rolling drum marches to wah wah guitars, from synth arpeggios to flashy disco jams. No genre is overlooked on this crazy Blockhead trip.