Remember when I noted that Cyne dropped an odds-and-sods compilation, Water for Mars, in Japan and that Hometapes was planning a domestic release? Apparently, the Hometapes version became available today (July 14) in digital format. Meanwhile, the Portland-based label is taking orders for a limited edition package that includes a digital and CD version of the album and a sticker and T-shirt designed by Struggle Inc. Meanwhile, the U.S. edition includes remixes from Daedelus, Ape School, ROM and Mexicans with Guns. Orders ship at the end of July, and for now it will be the only way you can get a physical copy. No word on a vinyl edition of Water for Mars.

Here’s a explanation from Cyne producer Speck:

The songs on this record were created over the span of about 4 or 5 years (roughly 2004 – 2009), though every track was revisited, mixed, and mastered in 2009. The record displays the full spectrum of the “CYNE sound,” including the growth of the band, our collective tastes, and the process of our songwriting. It starts on a positive note about moving forward, building community, and taking on personal responsibility (these are themes that resonate throughout the record). At times, the record grows into something very ethereal and cosmic, alongside a contrast of something that hits harder, musically and lyrically. With each subsequent ‘movement’ we see a blend of introspective thought, social commentary, and a sound weighted in a more classic, uplifting tradition. This album constantly sways back and forth between the lines of classic hip hop, textural music, and a progressive selection of words and sound — and, to me, this defines CYNE.

And here’s the track listing:

• 1. “This Year”
• 2. “Awakening”
• 3. “Pretty Apollo”
• 4. “I Never”
• 5. “Cise (Ape Schooled)”
• 6. “Fall Through Atlantis”
• 7. “Find Away”
• 8. “Wolf Blitzer”
• 9. “The Raven”
• 10. “Elephant Rome (Daedelus collaboration)”
• 11. “The Jux”
• 12. “Tide Of Life”
• 13. “Electric Blue”
• 14. “Boombox Pimp”
• 15. “Beaten Boxes”
• 16. “Nicers”
• 17. “Tide Of Life (Jay Appleseed Remix)”
• 18. “Sleep (Mexicans With Guns Remix)”
• 19. “Your Voice”
• 20. “Fallen Stars (ROM Remix)”
• 21. “One Day…”

American musicians love Japan, and Cyne is no different. (Ever heard the phrase “big in Japan”?) The Florida quartet quietly issued a new album, Water for Mars, on P-Vibe last May 2. Luckily for our pocketbooks (Japanese imports can be quite expensive), Cyne recently announced that Hometapes will issue a domestic version soon. With luck, it won’t be delayed like their last album, Pretty Dark Things.

More info on the Hometapes version soon. In the meantime, here’s the track listing for the Japanese edition of Water for Mars:

• 1. “This Year”
• 2. “Awakening”
• 3. “Pretty Apollo”
• 4. “I Never”
• 5. “Interlude 1″
• 6. “Electric Blue”
• 7. “Tide Of Life”
• 8. “Dazed & Confused”
• 9. “Fantasy Revenge”
• 10. “Interlude 2″
• 11. “Boombox Pimp”
• 12. “The Jux”
• 13. “Cise”
• 14. “Interlude 3″
• 15. “Nicers”
• 16. “The Raven”
• 17. “Beaten Boxes”
• 18. “Interlude 4″
• 19. “Your Voice”
• 20. “One Day”

Cyne
Starship Utopia
Project Mooncircle

Rating: ★★★☆☆ 

“Black bastard hypocrite it hurt when I’m honest/I zap back to the past to chat with Bigger Thomas/Ask him why he did it, then zap back to now/Now I’m hip-hoppin’ aboard in love with the sound,” rhymes Cise Star, referencing the tragic protagonist of Richard Wright’s Native Son. As an image of evolution from early 30s juvenile delinquent to post-millennial starship utopian, the title track for this Japan-only release spotlights Cyne at its best. Overall, though, Starship Utopia reflects the Gainesville’s strengths and weaknesses, from sharp lyrical renderings of overly familiar indie-rap themes (including “Kill the Music,” yet another hip-hop-ain’t-dead number) to cool, melancholy tones reminiscent of Black Star’s “Thief in the Night.”

Since last fall, I’ve posted release dates for Cyne’s new album Pretty Dark Things, only to see it delayed each time. In the last notice, I reported that the Gainesville, Fla. quartet signed with Northwest indie-rock label Hometapes (its previous home was German imprint City Centre Offices) and that the disc would arrive in May. Instead, it got pushed back — again.

But it looks like Hometapes will finally release a digital version of Cyne’s Pretty Dark Things on July 29 to iTunes, Amazon and other online outlets. A release date for the CD/vinyl version hasn’t been announced. “Over the next few months we’ll be spilling out a pile of videos, remixes, and the like for you all to chew on,” says a statement on Hometapes’ website. “We couldn’t be happier to be working with them, and to say we are honored and humbled to have them as a branch on our family tree would be a massive understatement.”

• 1. “Just Say No”
• 2. “The Runaway”
• 3. “Calor”
• 4. “Escape”
• 5. “Money Parade”
• 6. “Pretty Black Future”
• 7. “Elephant Rome”
• 8. “The Dance”
• 9. “Opera”
• 10. “Prototypes”
• 11. “Fuzzy Logic”
• 12. “Never Forget Pluto”
• 13. “Pianos On Fire”
• 14. “Radiant Cool Boy”
• 15. “Excite Me”
• 16. “Scattered”

www.myspace.com/cyne

When we last heard from Cyne, the underrated Gainesville quartet was making plans to release Pretty Dark Things, in February. Well, it’s April, and the group’s third full-length album still hasn’t come out.

Luckily, the group recently announced on its MySpace page that fans can expect not one, but two new albums in the next several weeks. Pretty Dark Things has found a home at indie-rock label Hometapes, which is releasing it digitally in May (with a physical CD to arrive a month later). Meanwhile another album, Starship Utopia, is coming May 30 via Project Mooncircle, an imprint run by German online retailer HHV and Beta Bodega Coalition.

Here’s the track listing for Pretty Dark Things:

• 1. “Just Say No”
• 2. “Runaway”
• 3. “Calor”
• 4. “Escape”
• 5. “Opera”
• 6. “Never Forget Pluto”
• 7. “Pianos on Fire”
• 8. “The Dance”
• 9. “Prototypes”
• 10. “Money Parade”
• 11. “Pretty Black Future”
• 12. “Excite Me”
• 13. “Radiant Cool Boy”
• 14. “Fuzzy Logic”
• 15. “Elephant Rome”
• 16. “Scattered”

And here’s the track listing for Starship Utopia:

• 1. “Kill The Music”
• 2. “Starship Utopia”
• 3. “Sex Tapes”
• 4. “Elemental”
• 5. “Six Shooter” (Speck & Crum remix)
• 6. “Loopholes”
• 7. “Hurricane Song”
• 8. “Divides”
• 9. “Floatin’”
• 10. “Montana”
• 11. “Catharsis”

www.cyne.net
www.myspace.com/cyne

There are few U.S. hip-hop crews more underrated than Cyne, an acronym for Cultivating Your New Experience. In fact, the Gainesville quartet is the epitome of what indie hip-hop should be: impressive beats that subtly push the envelope; thought-provoking, politicized lyrics; and songs that display a distinctive and challenging worldview.

First debuting in 2001 with the “African Elephants” 12-inch for Miami label Botanica del Jibaro’s Rice & Beans imprint, Cyne has released two albums to date, including 2005′s Evolution Fight; and an awesome compilation, Cyne (Collection 1999-2003). They’ve just completed a third album, Pretty Dark Things, for Berlin electronic imprint City Centre Offices. It features several guests from Florida’s indie community, including ROM, the Mercury Program, Feathers, Towers Of Hanoi, Africa 2000, and MC Stress from the hip-hop group Antennae.

To promote Pretty Dark Things, which is tentatively slated for a February release, Cyne has assembled a free four-song EP, Grey Matter.

“Two of the tracks (“Noir Angst” and “Six Shooter”) were remix collaborations we completed with Gainesville hardcore veterans / No Idea recording artists, Asshole Parade,” reads a MySpace bulletin from Cyne. “We recorded these songs in 2006, and wanted to share them with you. … The other two tracks were spawned during a BDJ visit to Gainesville, in 2004. After a series of shows, Seven Star, Stres, and Soarse Spoken all got stuck in North-Central Florida because of a hurricane. So, with nowhere to go and nothing better to do, we sat down and recorded these collaborations … We’ve also included all of the instrumentals for these tracks.”

You can download Grey Matter EP at Cyne’s website, www.cyne.net.

www.cyne.net
www.myspace.com/cyne

Cyne logo by Florencio Zavala.