Indie rapper Awol One’s Owl Hours features some surprising collaborations. First, it’s executive produced by Xzibit, who hasn’t hung around L.A.’s indie rap scene since he signed with Dr. Dre for Restless. X to the Z brings in Tash and E-Swift from Tha Liks for guest shots; others include Aesop Rock, Myka 9 and Sunspot Jonz. Factor, the Canadian producer who handled Awolrus’ Only Death Can Kill You, creates the beats for Owl Hours.

Fake Four Inc. will release Owl Hours on July 21. Awol One is going on tour to support it; the itinerary and track listing are below.

Here’s some press info:

Awol and Factor have been working together for some time. While touring through Canada a few years ago Awol met the Producer/DJ named Factor and began building a friendship. Awol and Factor even rocked to packed crowds of teenybopper indie rock fans when they toured with Montreal band Islands in 2008. Through the years Awol continues to gain respect from artists and fans of all genres and never fails to keep his art and music completely real and original.

Over his nearly 15 year career Awol One has built a strong grassroots fan base from touring extensively throughout the US, Canada and Europe by himself and as a member of the legendary Shape Shifters crew. He has collaborated on tracks with very high profile hip hop artists such as KRS one, Kool Keith and Atmosphere just to name a few.

AWOL ONE, born Anthony Martin in East L.A. California, was born like any other kid…in a manger. His father, Portuguese, and his mother, Irish, grew up poor on the east coast and moved to California where they met and conceived a little walrus. The walrus grew to love music and knew that he would do it forever, now in his early 30′s he feels that he has recorded his best album yet.

Here’s the track listing:

• 1. “Glamorous Drunk”
• 2. “Celebrate”
• 3. “Official”
• 4. “Stand Up” (feat. Aesop Rock & Myka 9)
• 5. “Up Downtown”
• 6. “Waste the Wine” (feat. Tash & E-Swift from Tha Liks)
• 7. “Back Then” (feat. Gregory Pepper and Ceschi)
• 8. “Destination”
• 9. “Darkness” (feat. Sunspot Jonz, Gel Roc & Jizzm)
• 10. “Brains Out” (feat. Xzibit)
• 11. “Sunset Sandwich”

And here are the current tour dates:

• 7/07: Audio Canvas, Los Angeles, CA
• 7/18: Purple Haze Music Festival, San Bernadino, CA
• 7/19: Knitting Factory, Hollywood, CA
• 7/21: Nocturnum, Eureka, CA
• 7/23: Rotture, Portland, OR
• 7/24: LoFi, Seattle, WA
• 7/26: The Palace, Missoula, MT
• 7/27: Uprok, Salt Lake City, UT (afternoon)
• 7/27: Urban Lounge, Salt Lake City, UT
• 7/28: Hodi’s Half Note, Ft. Collins, CO
• 7/29: Club Fusion, Santa Fe, NM
• 7/30: Blunt Club, Tempe, AZ

7/19: w/The Shapeshifters

“Celebrate”

Awol One, affectionately known as Awolrus, has always been a prolific artist. In 2007, however, he’s on a tear. The next two months will find him releasing three albums, as well as heading out on a national tour in May and June.

The first disc, Only Death Can Kill You, pairs him with Saskatoon producer Factor. Cornerstone R.A.S. issued the disc on April 24.

Next up is Splitsville, where he taps the U.S./Canada backpack connection again and teams up with Josh Martinez and DJ Moves. That disc arrives via Vancouver label Camo Bear on May 15.

Finally, Awol One adopts a bizarre guise, Horrendous Acts of Violence. The self-described “electro death hop” joint comes out via his imprint AVB Records (with distribution from MVD Audio) on June 5.

Not enough Awol One for you? The L.A. vet, with turntable support from Factor, goes on a North American tour next month. Josh Martinez and DJ Moves, Mine + US, and DJ Hoppa join him. You can check out tour dates below.

• 5/03: Box Office, Las Vegas, NV
• 5/04: Chasers, Scottsdale, AZ
• 5/05: Luna Space, Santa Fe, NM
• 5/07: Emo’s, Austin, TX
• 5/08: Rubber Gloves, Denton, TX
• 5/09: Spanish Moon, Baton Rouge, LA
• 5/11: 1982, Gainesville, FL
• 5/13: Back Booth, Orlando, FL
• 5/15: Drunken Unicorn, Atlanta, GA
• 5/16: Awful Arthurs, Roanoke, VA
• 5/17: Sonar, Baltimore, MD
• 5/18: Studio B, Brooklyn, NY
• 5/19: Fire, Philadelphia, PA
• 5/20: DC9, Washington, D.C.
• 5/21: Pianos, New York, NY
• 5/22: Great Scott, Allston, MA
• 5/23: Space, Portland, ME
• 5/25: Living Room, Providence, RI
• 5/28: Macs Bar, Lansing, MI
• 5/29: Abbey Pub, Chicago, IL
• 5/30: Dinkytowner, Minneapolis, MN
• 6/02: Shelter, Denver, CO
• 6/03: Urban Lounge, Salt Lake City, UT
• 6/05: Zebra Cocktail Lounge, Bozeman, MT
• 6/07: Wow Hall, Eugene, OR
• 6/08: Berbatis, Pan, Portland, OR
• 6/09: The Grove, Bend, OR
• 6/12: Terrace, Pasadena, CA

5/03-6/12: w/Factor, Josh Martinez & DJ Moves, Mine+US, DJ Hoppa

Plug One review: Awol One & Factor, Only Death Can Kill You

www.myspace.com/awolone

Awol One & Factor
Only Death Can Kill You
Cornerstone R.A.S.

Rating: ★★★☆☆ 

Only Death Can Kill You opens with “Sunrise Sandwich,” a melancholy dream of a song slowed down to 78. Awol One enters with “See I don’t know, but today seems kinda odd/I hate the sunrise as much as the sunset,” evoking the flipside of Ice Cube’s “It Was a Good Day.” But even he can’t keep a dour face for long: “You’re determined to be famous/But you’re destined to be infamous/Watching the trailer, say hi to your neighbor/Do me a favor, sucker, and stop rapping.”

That’s how it goes with Awol One. One minute you’re amazed by his candor and honesty; the next minute you’re amused by his droll one-liners. Only Death Can Kill You, a pairing with Canadian producer Factor, carries a depressive tone, and is marked by bleak and bitter numbers such as “Old Babies” and “Sunday Mourning.” “Sunday I’m a sleep away the pain/And Monday I’m a face it again/Standing alone on the road/Just like the crossroad fork,” says Awol One on the latter. But he usually cuts through the darkness with his irrepressible humor. Bizarrely (and hilariously), he even begins to moan like a sad old dog to hum soulfully and out of tune.

Awol One is part of a crew of Los Angeles MCs whose talents are only outmatched by their prolificacy. Only Death Can Kill You isn’t his best work, due to Factor’s unremarkable beats. For every “Sunrise Sandwich” or “Alpha Omegatron,” the latter a yearning percussive groove reminiscent of DJ Shadow, there’s “Sunday Mourning,” a plain, repetitive backing track. The melodic, classic West Coast pop sound of tracks such as “One More” can be found on so many L.A. underground records that it’s almost become a cliché.

The best thing that can be said of Only Death Can Kill You is that it feels smoked-out and casual, like a bunch of cats sitting around the living room, blowing reefer and tossing out non-sequiturs. Indeed, “One More” begins with the sound of a blunt being sparked. Its chilled-out, nonplussed vibe is part of its slacker charm.