CYNE
"Cultivating Your New Experience"
Location: Gainesville, FL
Website: http://www.cyne.net/
Bio:
CYNE (Cultivating Your New Experience) formed in the summer of 2001, in the swamps of Gainesville, Florida. CYNE is: emcees Akin and Cise Star, and ... (more)
producers Speck and Enoch -- four distinct people, with the common goal of creating sincere and honest music.
Their often politically-charged, culturally-introspective, and motivational lyrics find influence rooted in the early works of Nas, Public Enemy, Outkast and Common Sense. The production could be described as warm, soulful and organic -- born out of the school of producers that cite the likes of RZA, Pete Rock, Jay Dee, and DJ Premier. CYNE's 'sound' is impacted by everything from Bad Brains to Krautrock, from Camp Lo to Kate Bush, from Venezuelan Gaita to West African Highlife -- it's a hybrid of emotional, historical, and challenging influences.
"Pretty Dark Things" is CYNE's crowning achievement of seven years and over ten releases. Part of this is the tangible reality of a group separated by hundreds of miles: there were countless road trips between Gainesville and Miami, endless living room recordings and mix sessions, phone bills, emails, envelopes with beat CDs, and adventures into collaboration outside of the group -- these were the means to an end that purely reflects the art and experience of its four makers.
"The songs were born during different CYNE 'eras' - emotional, economical, political, geographical, and even influential. We were constantly sharing new musical discoveries, genres, and experiences throughout the process of this album," says Speck of "Pretty Dark Things", which arrives three years after their last full-length "Evolution Fight." One new era rose out of Akin's reintroduction to the Martinican poet and revolutionary politician Aimé Césaire, whose "Discourse on Colonialism" not only influenced lyrics, but also directly inspired the "Pretty Dark Things" cover photograph. Another era was reincarnated when Enoch was granted access to Femi Kako-Addie's (guest vocalist on "Just Say No") collection of rare Ghanian and Nigerian Highlife records - and you can see tracks "Runaway" and "Calor" for the result. A wide musical vocabulary is key to the album; CYNE formed within the longtime hardcore/punk/d.i.y. tradition of Gainesville and collectively embrace a stylistic range that includes everything from prog to pop to metal. These cultural informers collided with CYNE's practice of sampling and live instrumentation to create an album that is the cumulative representation of both the personal and the political.
The group's debut release was a hard-hitting 12" entitled 'African Elephants' [Rice and Beans, 2001]. Since then, CYNE has released a number of EPs, singles, and two critically well-received albums. They have also collaborated on projects with internationally acclaimed artists Daedelus, Four Tet and Nujabes. On or off tour, the band has performed with The Roots, EL-P, KRS One, Talib Kweli, Dalek, Atmosphere, The Beatnuts, Sage Francis, Against Me!, Mr. Lif, ISIS, and Push Button Objects, among others. They have previously released albums on Botanica Del Jibaro, P-Vine and City Centre Offices, creating a reputation as artists that stay true to the lyrical power and the gritty cut and paste aesthetic of classic Hip Hop while managing to explore new sonic territory.
CYNE's "Pretty Dark Things" will be released by Hometapes on CD and 2xLP. Both formats will be packaged in deluxe vintage-style gatefold jackets, with the 2xLP featuring an art etching on Side D.
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