“Earthtones & Concrete” to hit stores Oct 2nd, 2007 on Inner Current
TAKE (aka Thomas Wilson) is a Los Angeles-based composer who expands the range of instrumental hip-hop into vivid new realms. With multiple successful EPs under his belt, TAKE is set to unleash “Earthtones & Concrete,” his debut full-length player upon the masses. Take’s compositions spin cinematic qualities that depict a psychedelia-infused urban life. His music delivers sensory deconstruction, realized through jazzy tonalities and bit-crushed melodies. If Eno and J. Dilla ever had a bastard child: Take would be it.
After studying music engineering and composition at The Evergreen State College in Washington, the 29-year-old multi-instrumentalist/DJ/producer returned to Los Angeles to focus solely on music. In the last several years, he has composed and produced multiple 12″ EPs and remixes for labels such as ButterMilk, Poobah Records, Sweedish Brandy, and Astro Lab. He also recently completed scoring original music for New Line Cinema’s “King of Kong” and “Clint Eastwood: A Life in Film.” Both films are to be released next year.
Take has long been at the center of a growing scene of talented musicians/producer/djs in the Los Angeles area. As a co-founder of the legendary beat showcase night “Sketchbook,” he has finely crafted his dj sets for the last 10 years, and has adapted his compositions for live performance. Using synths, samplers, guitar pedals and any gadget at hand to recreate his tracks in front of the audience, Take’s sets deliver more than a guy staring at a laptop. He also works with producer/keyboardist Black Monk to bring even more interaction to his performance. Take will eventually have an interchangeable group of musicians and producers performing his songs.
Take has shared the stage, as dj or performing live, with artists such as Prefuse 73, Mos Def, Daedelus, Caural, Nobody, Ammon Contact, Scienz of Life, Flying Lotus, T’arrach, and Edit.
Here is what some folks are saying:
“Picturesque, musical, memory-scapes. A surreal, serene synthesis of varied and vital sound sources well worthy of the progressive Poobah Records 10” series. My favorite of Take’s work to date. – Carlos Nino, Ammon Contact, Build an Ark, Spacewavs Radio
“Hip Hop music for mediation. Come get served.” -Garth Trinidad, Chocolate City KCRW
“Take makes music that makes love. His intricate melodies are hugged by warm bass shaking tingling textures from kissing trees.” -Frosty, Dublab
“Take is foraging a brand of deeply listenable instrumental hip-hop. Hypnotic, psychedelic, laid-back, in other words, thoroughly West Coast.” -Tomas Palermo, XLR8R
“This music is diamonds in the raw, coal yet compressed, and quite the same, people will be unearthing it for years to come.” – Daedelus, Ninja Tune, Mush
innercurrent.com
myspace.com/takeisme