Light Heart, Blockhead
An interview and mix from the New York City producer.
Blockhead. Photo: Alexander Richter
HEADS KNOW TAPES is our mix and interview series, curated to introduce you to the most exciting innovators, selectors, and artists from New York City and beyond.
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Death is inescapable — it's every person's incorrigible future. The concept can be scary to some people, but for Blockhead, its immutable nature is something to be celebrated. On November 22nd via Future Archive Recordings, the New York City producer is set to release his newest album, Mortality Is Lit! Despite the record's heavy themes, Blockhead manages to look at the bright side, expressing his acceptance of life and death in a sonic collage crafted from 12 intricately-produced (and often optimistic) tracks.
"I believe levity is important at all times," he says. "There's never a time when someone can't make a joke. I remember even my mom on her deathbed, there were moments I'd look at my sister and [make a joke]."
For someone who gets his name after the shape of his head, it's no surprise that Blockhead — even in examining death — doesn't take himself too seriously. That mindset is one thing that helps him stay grounded as an artist after decades in the game. Now twenty years behind his debut album, Blockhead's latest full-length serves as a reminder to let go of the things we can't control and make good of what we can.
Roll the tape to hear an hour of Blockhead's favorite raunchy selections and keep reading for the story of his first sampler, his sex playlist picks, and why he made a third instrumental album about death.
Your debut studio album, Music by Cavelight, turned 20 this year and you came out with an anniversary edition. Are you big on celebrating milestones?
No, I'm not a nostalgic person. When I finish something, it's behind me and I don't think about it anymore. But it's cool when something reaches 20 years. It feels crazy. I feel fucking old. Outside of that, I haven't thought about it much.
I'll make you feel older because I just turned 30 this year. I was actually born in '94, the same year you got your first sampler. What do you remember about that day?
I remember going to Sam Ash in Midtown Manhattan. I went in there thinking I was going to get an (Akai) MPC or an (E-mu) SP-1200 because that's what everyone was using. The dude who worked there was like "No, no, no.You got to check out the (Ensoniq) ASR-10." He told me it was a keyboard sampler, as opposed to pads, and he did this crazy drum solo on it. Granted, he could have done that on the pads better, probably, but he really sold it. He told me that RZA and a couple of other producers used it, so I got that. I'm very easily persuaded when it comes to electronics because I don't know anything about them. I'm not a tech guy at all. But if I had gotten a different sampler, I think my sound would be completely different. It would have affected my early production.
Before you got your first sampler, you said you would bring samples to other producers. Are there any samples you regretted sharing?
No, because at that point, I didn't have any concept of digging in the crates. I was just taking CDs from my mom's jazz collection. It was all stuff that would be relatively unsamplable now because it's too well known.
Are there any similar qualities you notice among what you sample or is it purely intuition?
I tend to go for minor chords — I'd say I'm more attracted to that. I can't even say if I've ever made a major chord beat in my life. But, yeah, I think it is intuition. It's interesting when I hear a producer use the same sample as me and listen to how they used it. You hear things in a different way and apply them differently. When I'm making a beat, I'm just literally going through samples until one catches my ear and I start with there and build off that.
I find that instrumental music is sometimes the most evocative, but in the video promoting "Hard Pass On The Afterlife," you said, "It's an instrumental song, so the topics are arbitrary. It's just beats." Do you really believe that?
I do on a macro level because, yes, I do make songs that have themes, obviously, but there aren't words. The only words are the sample's words. And those themes usually come as the last part of the song. I'll have all the musical elements and then I'm kind of like, What does this feel like? I try to piece together a common thread, but it's more arbitrary in the sense that you could put it on and it won't jump out at you and throttle you with opinions. It's only if you're really paying attention and care. I feel like a lot of people don't listen to instrumental music expecting to have deep thoughts about it, because it's just wordless music. So it's emotive, but it doesn't make a point.
I have a couple of songs on this album that are very over-the-top that I'm seeing if people notice for my own enjoyment.
Do you believe in an afterlife?
I don't believe in anything. I'm a firm believer in nothing. I'm more agnostic than anything.
Doesn't being agnostic mean you believe in God?
It means you can't prove it either way. I can't say if there is or isn't, but I lean more toward there isn't. I don't know because none of us know.
Do you believe in life after love?
Yes, I do believe in that. I believe in Cher.
You remixed that song last year, so I thought I'd ask. What makes you want to remix a song rather than sample it?
In the case of all those remixes I've done, they're super famous pop songs I could never sample because I would get sued to death. But it's kind of my favorite thing to do. If I could do that only, I'd be the happiest artist of all time.
Is there any song that should never be touched?
I feel that way about samples. Like I would never sample a Nina Simone song or stuff I actually listen to in my own time. But if I had access to acapellas of songs I loved, I would want to remix them all.
You always bless us with horny tracks and your new album even has two. What's the secret to making a sexy song?
The funny thing about that is any song could be a sexy song. Even an upbeat song that's disco with a bumping bass — there's a sexiness to that. It depends what kind of sex you're having really. I know I'm on a lot of sex playlists, though. So I've been told.
What song should be at the top of everyone's sex playlist?
"Knockin' Da Boots" is such a hilarious song by H-Town. As far as lovemaking songs go, there's this Al Green song called "Strong As Death (Sweet As Love)" that is just a very sexy song. But there's also upbeat sexy songs that pick up the pace. James Brown has one called "I'm Broken Hearted" and in the end, he's moaning. It's like, Oh, you're having an orgasm on this.
Those are good choices. I always start mine off with The Isley Brothers - "Between the Sheets" and go from there.
That's a great one. You can't go wrong with that era. The late '70s and early '80s R&B is some of the most romantic music ever.
Besides sex, Mortality Is Lit! explores topics that can be pretty heavy, but you do find time to spread optimism and find humor in things, too. I know I'm the "laugh through the pain" type. Can you relate to that?
Yeah, I'm not a depressed person. I'm not a sad person. I'm also not happy — I mean, I am happy, but it's been described as like limited emotional bandwidth... Wait, what was the question?
Are you a "laugh-through-the-pain" type?
Definitely. I believe levity is important at all times. There's never a time when someone can't make a joke. I remember even my mom on her deathbed, there were moments I'd look at my sister and [make a joke]. I'm never going to be an unconsolable person. I'm pretty steady.
How do you even manage staying emotionally steady while working in the music industry?
By not taking it seriously at all, by not having expectations, and by having a realistic view of who you are and what you do. I'm a hip-hop producer who makes niche hip-hop music. I have a cluster of fans — they exist — but it's never going to go above a certain level. My music can never get that popular because it's sample-based. I also make instrumental music, so no one cares. Just staying humble about the reality of my life as a musician is the way to do it because there's nothing worse than thinking, I deserve this. That's how you don't stay happy — by thinking you deserve something or being competitive with other artists, which is ridiculous.
Is the ceiling for niche hip-hop music really that low at this point? I mean, did billy woods ever expect to be on an album with Noname?
With rappers, it's different. The pinnacle of what I could do would be like, The Alchemist or Madlib, but even that's underground music. woods is still underground, too, but he fucking scraped it out for decades and finally got the recognition he deserved. But getting on a track with Noname is crazy. His success has been amazing to watch.
When I interviewed woods, it was during the 20 year anniversary of his first album, so it's cool to be talking to you during another one of these. In an interview with Passion of the Weiss, you called your albums "a time capsule of whatever I’ve been doing for the last however many years." What does Mortality Is Lit! sum up for you?
I was looking back at the last three instrumental albums I've made and they're all death-themed for some reason, which is funny, since I don't really sit around worrying about the end of the world. I really don't. This album is, in a way,me approaching that from a different angle. Yes, we will die one day, but it doesn't matter. It's nothing to be scared of. It's nothing to overthink because it's out of your hands. I'm a firm believer that you can only be mad about shit that you control, and everything else, you just got to take it. Mortality is one of those things. I mean sure, I can prolong my life by not shooting heroin and jumping off buildings, but for the most part, I'm gonna go when I go. My friends are gonna go when they go. It's kind of a weird celebration of the understanding that it happens to all of us. It's going to happen.
Then how do you want to be remembered?
I don't care. I think about legacy and stuff like that, but seeing Ka get all his flowers made me wonder what Twitter would be like if I died. I almost don't want to compare it, Ka was one of the best artists and this was a devastating loss, but also a guy who really found his legs in his late 40s and got better and better — it was really nice to see people give him his flowers, but that's all I could really think about. That's the only way I can really imagine my legacy because outside of your friends and family, that's how people know you. Usually people are very kind when someone dies, but I'd just want to be known as an artist who made good music, and on a personal level, a good guy.
It was weird to see a lot of major publications write about Ka after not really acknowledging him when he was alive, but I guess that always happens. We saw it with DOOM.
Anytime an artist dies, it's going to create a magnetic force that draws people in. It's fucking weird, but with Ka, I was amazed to see the artists that were talking about him, talking about him. It's awesome to see the wide variety of artists that he affected. As shitty as his death is, it's good to see people respect him.
The underground community can feel insular sometimes, but which producers, artists, DJs, labels, or anyone else should heads know?
Lord OLO, $ilkMoney, and RXKNephew.
What can we expect from your mix?
It's all the music I love that's way too dirty for any radio to play.
Support Blockhead on Bandcamp, Instagram, and Twitter. Plus, see if he’s stopping at your city for the Mortality Is Lit! Tour via Laylo.
TRACKLIST
Mutant Academy - SODA
$ilkMoney - Oh No! the Nepalese Honey Spilt All over My Dick!
DJ Rude One and RXKNephew - F**k Yo Set
Cavalier - Manigaults / I Miss Them
Zack Fox - shut the fuck up talking to me
Lord OLO - DIM
Eshu Tune x Hannibal Buress – Knee Brace
Infinity Knives x Brian Ennals - Sambo's Last Words
Mick Jenkins - Smoke Break-Dance (feat. JID)
Aesop Rock - By The River
ScHoolboy Q - Time killers
Sauce Walka - 7 In A Cup
Bruiser Wolf - Holla At Ya Mans
Previous Industries - Fotomat
Mach-Hommy - HOLY ____
Lord Sko - J.W.G
Bfb Da Packman x Skilla Baby - Heavy Fraud
Vince Staples - Little Homies
The Alchemist - Bless (feat. MIKE & Sideshow)
Chris Crack - Condom Sex Same As Turkey Bacon
NxWorries - 86Sentra
Shirt - FLIGHT HOME
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