US / THEM: spoony bard -- L.A. Beat Scene meets electronic, jazz & avant-garde -- streaming full album ahead of release

Thursday, May 11, 2017

spoony bard -- L.A. Beat Scene meets electronic, jazz & avant-garde -- streaming full album ahead of release

"Blends the jazzy psychedelia of fellow beatmaker Flying Lotus with the darkly surreal hip-hop of Dälek and the harmonious atmosphere of classic jazz fusion." -- Treble

NYC musician spoony bard (lowercase, please) is streaming his forthcoming new album Dweeb in its entirety over at TrebleZine. Hear and share the full album dweeb HERE. (Direct Soundcloud.)

The Spill Magazine recently premiered lead track, "Misgiving" HERE. And, the song was also featured in Bandcamp Weekly HERE. Northern Transmissions launched "vibe/void" HERE. CultureCreature featured album closer "Commoner" HERE.

Like the video game garbled insult of its namesake, spoony bard is the result of a cultural collision as well as an honest and self-deprecating exploration of life. The hybrid of L.A. beat scene, electronic, jazz and avant-garde takes a fresh approach to musical soul-bearing with compelling sonic textures and introspective lyrics. spoony bard combines hints of Flying Lotus, Dalek, DJ Premier, Herbie Hancock, Aphex Twin and more.

spoony bard is the alter-ego of musician David Nord. Originally a jazz composer/guitarist, Nord's equal interest in hip-hop and electronic sounds brought about an evolution in his work, leading him to merge these styles and explore the possibilities of an alternate musical vocabulary.

"Just playing jazz wasn't cutting it anymore," Nord says. "I started hearing the L.A. beat scene type stuff that was coming out and got inspired to really dive deeper into synthesizers, sampling, music software, etc., while also continuing to hone the harmonic and melodic approach that I had developed as a jazz musician."

Dweeb is the 8-song full length debut of spoony bard. The album is filled with delightful instrumental passages like the glitchy organs, tiny piano plinking and diced rhythms of the title track, as well as contemplative sung/rapped passages like, "I'm living with so many misgivings, they weigh me down but I don't care / She once told me that I scare them away, I said well they scare me, but at least I'm not afraid of myself like I used to be." Elsewhere, mellow trip-hop leaning tones and beats turn on a dime into cathartic raps. Throughout, Dweeb is a thoroughly unique and revealing album from an artist unhindered by genres and rules.

Dweeb will be available for download on May 12th via Bandcamp, iTunes, Spotify, Apple Music, etc.