SENSATIONAL Tastes

Sorry I haven’t posted in a week or so. Life can be very busy and, while I’m actually very devoted to running my blog (hopefully there are people reading it :) ) it will always come second to life and work. That said, there are a number of posts in the works and, if you stick with me over the next week or two, I think you’ll be very pleased. This post is a prelude to one I’ve mentioned and is a long time coming. But before that story can be told (again), we have to discuss musical taste and Sensational.

So, how many people reading this blog enjoy Lou Reed’s “Metal Machine Music”? No, seriously, how many? I’ve always found it quite enjoyable and relaxing. I like to put it on when I’m falling asleep and let it lull me into unconsciousness. Now, I don’t usually play it terribly loud, but it is nice sometimes to blast it in my car on a long drive. I know, you’re all thinking I’m crazy, and you’re correct, but that’s what’s great about music. I’m sure most of you don’t think of MMM as music, but some people might not think of what you enjoy as music or, at the very least, musical. It’s all an acquired taste. There are some records I out and out adore along with the rest of the universe, then there are some records that mean absolutely nothing to me. For instance, I know a lot of people LOVE Neil Young, but I just don’t get him or really enjoy his works. I keep trying to understand him because my friends keep telling me how much they think I would love his records, but apart from a song here and there he doesn’t do a thing for me. Despite this, most of those same people tell me how much they think I’d love Wilco alongside Neil Young, and I really do think Wilco are fantastic! So, to each their own, and that’s how music is and always will be, although sometimes I wish the masses could see what I love so much about certain records. I know a lot of people who never understood my love of Prince’s music, but most of them accept that it’s my own thing and that me and the other fan(atic)s can enjoy his works and rant about them online.

That love of Prince’s music is kind of how I feel about the Jungle Brothers’ “Crazy Wisdom Masters”, which I still have never gotten to hear all the way through, but based upon what I have heard makes me think it could have changed the musical landscape if it had seen release in the early 90s. While that album never came out, one of it’s main instigators went out even further on his own. At the time, Colin Julius Bobb, then known as Torture, was a dancer for the Jungle Brothers but, after some of his homemade 4-track demos got into the hands of Afrika Baby Bam and Mike G, he became a full fledged member of the crew and would rap alongside them and heavily influence their new direction. When it all fell apart though, Torture continued to record on his own with his very basic setup. He didn’t even have a proper microphone at this point and used his headphones as a makeshift mic. Skiz Fernando, owner of WordSound Records and an accomplished musician in his own right recording as Spectre, heard a track on a compilation from Bill Laswell and proceded to hunt down Torture. That’s where a long musical relationship started and continues to this day.

For his first full length album, Torture changed his name to Sensational, which has become his professional nom de plume. He became known for using no samples, producing all his beats entirely on his own. He has a very mellow flow which seemed to be very off the head. Simply put, it’s kinda hypnotic. He was also known for imbibing ridiculous amounts of alcohol and chemical substances. He used to spend all his record money on “extracurricular substances” and live either on the streets, in homeless shelters or on anyone’s couch that was open to him. Somewhere along the way, he also became very famous in Japan where he has a dedicated fanbase. Since then though, he has cleaned up and is no longer homeless or abuses “substances”, but I say none of this to make you feel sorry for him, I’m telling you these things to give you an idea of where Sensational has been and where the unique vibe of his music comes from. After at least seven albums, most of which have been on WordSound, he continues to record and collaborate with Spectre and other artists.

Now, if I had to give an example of an artist I wish the majority could get into, that would be Sensational. I love rap, I love hip-hop and I love experimental music, but I hate most modern rap and hip-hop and most people won’t give experimental sounds a chance, so instead we get fucking bullshit like Rick Ross. I could see people getting down to Sensational’s flow and vibes, but most people won’t get a chance since he doesn’t get major label distribution or any play whatsoever. So, in hopes that I might help fight the good fight, I’m posting a collection of Sensational’s tracks. I was hoping to post an album or two of his, but I don’t want to deprive him of potential album sales so I figured a sampler would be a better fit. Regardless though, if you dig his stuff you should definitely go to WordSound's page or Amazon’s mp3 retailer and grab some of his stuff. It’s well worth it.

Anyway, get on the page with Sensational and let your mind expand. I know most of the tracks in this post have been officially released, but when most people haven’t heard them I feel it’s worth posting to give it a chance. Hope you like his shit as much as I do. Chunk-O-Bliss indeed!


SENSATIONAL
All tracks produced by Sensational and released on WordSound Records unless otherwise noted.

01 666 Of My Fat
Taken from "Sensational Meets Kouhei". Produced by Kouhei.

02 Thick Marker
Taken from "Loaded With Power".

03 Sewin' Up Avenues
Taken from "Corner The Market".

04 What I Got U Need
Taken from "Heavyweighter".

05 Stock Market Connection
Taken from "Natural Shine".

06 Ra Ra Kid
Taken from the Jungle Brothers' unreleased album "Crazy Wisdom Masters". Produced by the Jungle Brothers, Matt Stein and Bill Laswell.

07 Rapture
Taken from "Speaks For Itself" on Quartermass Records.

08 Perfecta Muthafucka
Taken from "Heavyweighter".

09 Excellence Makes Wack Irrelevant
Taken from "Corner The Market".

10 Torch Song Trilogy
Taken from Handsome Boy Modeling School's "So... How's Your Girl?" on Tommy Boy Records. Produced by Prince Paul and Dan The Automator.

11 Electrotherapy (Kevin Martin Remix)
Taken from the "Shake The Nations" compilation on WordSound Records. Original version produced by Sensational.

12 Consider This Jazzy
Taken from "Speaks For Itself" on Quartermass Records.

13 Blazed
Taken from Spectre's "Psychic Wars" on WordSound. Produced by Spectre.