The Witzard

Super Basic by Walter Gross "I don't want to go into too much detail with this release, except for the idea that it was made in the spirit of a beat tape, even [though] it's not traditionally a "beat tape." Meaning, it's a hodge-podge of random stuff that is sequenced and edited to be able to enjoy as a little journey. And it is also an excuse to use these [CHILDREN'S TALKING BIBLE] cassettes I had and make some art. The term "SUPER BASIC" is a bit of commentary on the state of our world right now; this super-mechanical, very stagnant status of things," Berlin -based beat-maker and multi-media artist Walter Gross told The Witzard within a recent email. SUPER BASIC is a companion piece, of sorts to Gross' March 2017 Black Box Tapes -released cassette, VESTIGE and he'll be the first to tell you why it was released so soon after its predecessor: "Rent. I need rent money!" SUPER BASIC was made in true 1980's Golde...

Michael J. Collins (MJC) is the founder of FilthyBroke Recordings and an extremely talented mixing and mastering engineer I've recently crossed paths with; Collins has had a hand in a number of releases I've covered here at The Witzard in recent weeks, including Walter Gross' Black Box Tapes -released VESTIGE and CURTA 's forthcoming CLICK BAIT EP , as well as FilthyBroke 's own Library Lunch: A Benefit Compilation for Anti-Bullying . Michael messaged me Wednesday morning with a private press stream to Providence, RI emcee Spocka Summa 's then-unreleased The Progression 001 EP , which he fittingly called a "gift" to help me "get ahead of some of the press." Spocka Summa further detailed that " The Progression is Part 001 of a 3-part series of EP's. Entirely produced by my close friend Last Child ; this first installment serves as an intro to two upcoming bigger projects. The Progression is the journey of myself and my th...

"'Rap Trope Questionnaire" is kind of a round-about way of talking about being manic depressive, but from the perspective of someone inhabiting an arena where that sort of behavior is welcomed and even encouraged. It is like an asset in some ways to be able to turn the personality up to 150%, even if it is "blindness to kick bliss in the shin and put my emotional win on display again" (yuck, quoting [myself] feels gross!)" CURTA emcee Jake recently wrote within an emailed statement. CURTA was formed in Colorado a number of years ago because, as Jake puts it, he simply "wanted to make music that was not beholden to prior ideas of what a "band" should be;" often labeling themselves as a Glitch-Hop or Art-Rap group, CURTA and in-house producer 4Digit readily cite Pavement , Coil, Saul Williams , and Pere Ubu as immediate sources of influence and inspiration. Zilla Rocca , a close friend and frequent collaborator here at The Wit...

Vestige by Walter Gross " Walter Gross is truly a one of a kind artist, iconoclast and a master of many mediums. He is mainly known for his experimental audio soundscapes, which inhabit a space between Dustbowl Folk re-appropriations, walls of noise, sludgy Trap , Rap, and Prog-Rock . It's easy to throw a bunch of catchphrases together and make a bio seem compelling, but Walter truly walks these lines with grace and originality. Beyond being a music-maker, he is a film director and visual artist. His videos are obsessive collages and unlike so many who utilizes "found art," he brings these pieces to life and creates stunning and unique pieces with them," Black Box Tapes label head and Socially Conscious rapper-producer Tim "sole" Holland wrote within a recent BIO on Walter Gross' Bandcamp . Gross is a Baltimore transplant now living in Berlin , who has been making his own unique slightly Hip-Hop -leaning music and frantic video collages si...