This isn’t exactly what I expected in regards to a video treatment for this track, but I guess it fits in with the current quirky/”indie” aesthetic. At least there weren’t any naked white guys running around (inside joke).

Directed by Thom Glunt. Taken from RJD2’s The Colossus, which drops Tuesday, January 19 on RJ’s Electrical Connections. I’m sure all you guys looking for a leaked version of the album will be happy about that…

While most musicians are hunkering down at mom’s house for the winter, RJD2 is plotting a tour itinerary for next year in support of his forthcoming album, The Colossus. The four month run encompasses most of the country and features supporting acts such as Busdriver and Kenan Bell. Trusty backing band Happy Chichester supports him on all dates.

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As previously reported, RJD2 will release his fourth album, The Colossus, on January 10 via his new imprint, RJ’s Electrical Connections (with distribution by the Orchard). Phonte Coleman, Illogic and Kenna make guest appearances. Sonically, it mixes the singer-songwriter stylings of his last album, 2007’s The Third Hand with the instrumental landscapes of Since We Last Spoke. But I’ll let him explain in his words:

10 years! My god, that is a LIFETIME! I can’t believe I have been making records on a national level for 10 years. In 1999, I was just making these little beats in my bedroom for release on an independent label. Fast forward to 2009, and I’m . . . making these little beats in my bedroom for release on an independent label. Okay, to be fair, some things have changed — a bigger studio, I OWN the studio, I OWN the independent label, and instead of driving 10 blocks to a gig in my hometown, I fly 10 hours to a gig in another country. But when it all comes down to its most basic level, the goal is still the same — to make a piece of music that is going to hopefully rearrange your brain, or at least provide some relief from real life for a moment or two. …

As The Third Hand was my first TRULY solo album, with NO guest performances whatsoever, I decided to do the opposite of sorts this time — an album that is as collaborative as possible, an “overview” of all the different types of working approaches I’ve used over the years. Some songs are strictly sample-based; some are live; some songs are completely instrumental while others are vocal songs , some have guest vocalists, a few songs I sing myself; and I brought a few rappers on board. As this was all tracked at the same time and in the same place, it has a nice cohesive feel to it, but retains the diversity throughout that I think has become a trademark. It features Phonte Coleman (Little Brother, Foreign Exchange), Kenna (Star Trak, VA Beach), Aaron Livingston (The Roots’ Guns Are Drawn), Columbus MC’s The Catalyst, Illogic, and NP, and a slew of instrumentalists. And I think I can safely say this is the most sonically lush and varied record I’ve ever created. The album also marks my debut behind the drum kit (“Games You Can Win”,”The Shining Path”, “Tin Flower”,”Gypsy Caravan”,”Walk With Me”). Save for “A Son’s Cycle” which features MC’s, all songs were written and arranged by myself. When my instincts were telling me that something like horns, flute, or mandolin were needed, I hit the Rolodex. Same goes for the execution of vocals — if a song’s vision was something I couldn’t pull off myself, I went on the hunt for the right person to pull it off. I’d rather not spend time describing the music, but I honestly do feel that this album is a kaleidoscopic look forward, as well as back.

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Today, RJD2 wrote a lengthy MySpace post updating fans on his career.

First, he announced that he has formed an independent label, RJ’s Electrical Connections, which will be distributed by the Orchard. (!K7 will handle distribution outside the States.) To commemorate the new venture, he’s releasing a box set that will include his first three albums (including his 2002 classic Deadringer) and several limited-edition EPs (including the Deadringer-era mixtape Your Face Or Your Kneecaps) as well as a new EP, The Tin Foil Hat. The collection, 2002-2010, is set for release on October 20.

Meanwhile, RJ has finished a new album, The Colossus. Once scheduled for this year, it will now drop in 2010. “I know I said before it would be out in 2009-you did know I meant FISCAL year, not CALENDAR YEAR, right?,” he writes. “You wouldn’t want me to rush this out all willy-nilly, would you? good, I didn’t think so.”

RJ’s Electrical Connections is a good move for an artist that has chafed under industry conventions. After leaving Definitive Jux in 2006, he signed with XL Recordings and released 2007’s The Third Hand. It earned tepid reviews. But while critics didn’t like the album — mostly finding fault with RJ’s unpolished vocals — he continued to tour successfully, filling theaters and playing several festivals. Much like Sound Tribe Sector 9, a mega-successful improvisational band that operates independently, RJ may be better off cultivating the sizable audience that appreciates his artistic evolution instead of chasing after trendy rap and indie-rock fans.

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Last month, Dälek went out on an all-too-brief tour with Russian Circles. Next month, the New Jersey alablasters will head on another short trip with RJD2 before retreating to familiar ground in Europe.

It should be an interesting juxtaposition — the melancholy breakbeats of RJD2 and backing band Happy Chichester matched with the dour, industrial raps of MC Dälek and producer Oktopus. Dälek plays loud, so be sure to get there early and bring your earplugs.

The tour dates are below.

• 4/01: Orange Peel, Ashville, NC
• 4/02: Variety Playhouse, Atlanta, GA
• 4/04: Emo’s, Austin, TX
• 4/05: Palladium Loft, Dallas, TX
• 4/07: The Clubhouse, Tempe, AZ
• 4/08: Casbah, San Diego, CA
• 4/09: Henry Fonda Theater, Los Angeles, CA
• 4/10: The Independent, San Francisco, CA
• 4/12: Neumo’s, Seattle, WA
• 4/14: Urban Lounge, Salt Lake City, UT
• 4/15: Cervantes Masterpiece Ballroom, Denver, CO
• 4/16: The Record Bar, Kansas City, MO
• 4/18: Abbey Pub, Chicago, IL

4/01-4/18: w/RJD2, Happy Chichester
4/15: w/Mike Relm

Plug One review: Dälek, Deadverse Massive Vol. 1

www.deadverse.com
www.myspace.com/dalek

Photo by Hérve Baudat.

Columbus, Ohio producer RJD2 has carved out a dependably lucrative touring career. Thanks to his catalog, which includes one undisputed classic (Deadringer), a decent follow-up (Since We Last Spoke), and impressive production stints for others (Aceyalone’s Magnificent City, Soul Position’s albums), he’s earned a swath of the same crowd that cheers along to the Roots, the now-defunct Jurassic 5 and Quannum at Bonnaroo and other jam band festivals. How else could dude headline a theater tour without a new album out since last year’s The Third Hand?

As he did last year, RJD2 will roll with various members from the indie-rock band Happy Chichester as his backing band, and present a live experience that mixes organic interpretations of his vocal work alongside turntable renditions of instrumental hits. The tour dates are below.

• 3/01: Starland Ballroom, Sayreville, NJ
• 4/01: Orange Peel, Asheville, NC
• 4/02: Variety Playhouse, Atlanta, GA
• 4/04: Emo’s, Austin, TX
• 4/05: Palladium Loft, Dallas, TX
• 4/07: The Clubhouse, Tempe, AZ
• 4/08: Casbah, San Diego, CA
• 4/09: Henry Fonda Theater, Los Angeles, CA
• 4/10: The Independent, San Francisco, CA
• 4/11: Hawthorne Theater, Portland, OR
• 4/12: Chop Suey, Seattle, WA
• 4/14: Urban Lounge, Salt Lake City, UT
• 4/15: Cervantes Masterpiece Ballroom, Denver, CO
• 4/16: The Record Bar, Kansas City, MO
• 4/17: First Avenue, Minneapolis, MN
• 4/18: Abbey Pub, Chicago, IL
• 5/01: 9:30 Club, Washington, DC
• 5/02: Bowery Ballroom, New York, NY
• 5/03: Paradise Lounge, Boston, MA

www.rjd2site.com
www.myspace.com/rjd2

It didn’t make sense. Why would Busdriver, one of the most acclaimed rappers of recent years, opt to do an indie-rock tour with Deerhoof ? And true, RJD2 set out to make an indie-rock album with the forthcoming The Third Hand. But couldn’t he have put together a bill that would entice his conservative ol’ rap fans to try some of his new material?

Well, fear not. RJD2 and Busdriver are not only joining forces, but venturing out to cities that weren’t initially scheduled. Busdriver will still open on Deerhoof’s Friend Opportunity tour, and then he’ll join RJD2. After a break for SXSW (Busdriver isn’t scheduled to be there, but that may change), the two musicians will soldier on together until April 23.

As the year winds down, RJD2’s The Third Down is starting to work its way through the DJs, newspaper and magazine hacks, college radio geeks and Internet whores that will be summoned to publicize its strengths to the international heads. As we wait in anticipation for its arrival we wonder: Will his singing surprise us with its remarkable depth? Or will it sound as weird as "Through the Walls" from Since We Last Spoke? No matter how it all turns out, he deserves some props for being a brave and fearless artist.

While you wait to hear it (with an open mind, of course), RJD2 is assembling a live band to take it on the road. The short tour winds through March, and will undoubtedly include a pit stop in Austin for SXSW. A longer excursion (Maybe another Definitive Jux package tour? Just kidding…) should follow later in the year.

Last fall, RJD2 left his longtime home Definitive Jux for XL Recordings, home to artists like Thom Yorke (of Radiohead) and Dizzee Rascal. The Philly-based beat maker gambled that XL will be a more suitable home for his new recordings, on which he mixes his DJ Shadow-like production with actual vocal numbers in greater quantity than his last album, 2003’s Since We Last Spoke.

Now RJD2 will release his third album, The Third Hand on March 6. Two tracks from the album are posted on his MySpace page. "You Never Had It So Good" is reflective of the droll, slightly nervous singing style RJ trumpeted through an interview with Pitchfork, and is reminiscent of Since We Last Spoke’s "Through the Walls." The second track, "Get It," seemingly returns to his yearning instrumental style. According to XL Recordings’ website, The Third Hand was entirely recorded by RJD2. He composed its music with an MPC 2000XL sampler/sequencer, analog synthesizers, electric pianos and guitars.