"Do not try to prevent thoughts from arising and do not cling to any that have arisen. Let thoughts appear and disappear as they will, don't struggle with them. You need unremittingly and with all your heart ask yourself 'What is my own Mind?'" - Bassui "To the Abbess of Shinryu-Ji"One if by land. Two if by sea. Hence, if three days pass and a threat still looms, spread word by internet. The world shan't be the same on the morning of the fourth. So speaketh the elders - patriarchs who, with their dying breath, imparted this wisdom to protect future generations...one presumes. Yet no redcoat threat per se, is imminent. As such the author is forced to improvise. Alas, what is a Dean Blunt release if not a small scale revolution?
Do exercise caution, though, lest a mental error is made. New Dean Blunt material is dangerous in the same way that it is music: not at all. Rhythm and melody are heard. Arranging and recording occurs. But is it music? No. Dean Blunt makes art. Look no further than the infuriatingly heady 2012 James Ferraro collaboration; the real Watch the Throne.
To listen to a jesuschrist3000ADHD composition is not unlike watching Nazi Dick Clark choreograph some dance floor with a carrot. Somewhere neath the cover is a complex inside joke no one quite understands. And like a trio of enlarged, ralphing retinal freaks, Dean Blunt enjoys being an anti-music spoiler. Music is not gospel. Music is not truth. Music is a construct with tuned sounds and it helps facilitate expression. Like a painting, or a baseball card, or taxidermy music a commodity worth as much as the stock invested in it. Dean Blunt makes art in the abstract, commenting from within the medium.
Yet an even more intriguing idea exists within Blunt's mind. The only real context creative creations need is the very moment of inspiration. As such, a Dean Blunt album recorded and released from a Russian hotel room might appear out of the blue. Demos may suddenly become available to stream. More than likely, though, a solid new song will probably be deleted a few hours after having been uploaded.
All in a day's work for Blunt, who still maintains a steady work pace. This year has seen Blunt give a free-jazz show. Work with Joanne Robertson continues. Although it is decidedly not of The Narcissist II caliber, a meandering digital record titled Skin Fade was released as well (first as a single track and more recently as a deluxe edition download with individual tracks). Likewise, there is and can only be only Hype Williams Fact Mix. Fortunately, this appearance with Scratcha DVA on Rinse FM (part Young Thug homage, part censorship screed) survives for posterity. Meanwhile, the Dean Blunt landscape continues to change; such as a departure from Hippos in Tank. So followers wait for Blunt's Rough Trade debut Black Metal, available November 3rd/4th.
But released just about two weeks is, "Trident, Pt. 1," part of the Black Metal promotional push. Although it is being sold as a B-side to the "50 Cent" 12-inch, it was first leaked as a Youtube video on the pollyjacobsen account. Effectively two portions, the first is largely instrumental. For two minutes an acid washed guitar plucks notes above a droning melody. Meanwhile, from a distance, a police scene is observed. The punch occurs when two female bystanders tell the camera they came from the club; a tale of unglorified violence. A second portion begins a quarter of the way past the two-minute mark. Between claps, kick drum, and cymbals a violin's vibrato carries the emotion that monotone half-rapped/half spoken lyrics lacks. But words are only one facet of the larger theme. When delusions are stripped only reality is left.
Musically, "Trident, Pt. 2" is straightforward. Two toms and a snare take rhythm. A bass plays while vocals adlib. The only melody is provided is a guitar; occasional feedback can be heard too. But the song differs from the live free-jazz tracks on Skin Fade and "Trident" in delivery. Rather than rehashing linguistic rap staples - the malleability of symbols being another persistent Blunt focus - what equates to a Wikipedia entry of a gang conflict is read. For the 8 minute track's duration a circle of violence between Tottenham Mandem and Hackney Boys is recapitulated. No detail of luxury German cars is spared. Traditional content is not altered. When the lies are taken away, though, the truth might just be far less glorious. Effortlessly ambitious, as is the norm. "Trident, Pt. 2" is more statement than music. Nothing new yet elusive to comparison, enjoyable for what it is.
The Dean Blunt story, as it has been recapitulated, is already long and strange. It does, however, continue to write itself. Through the man's actions the world relish in his thoughts. And so perhaps it is a different piece of Bassui's writing which applies to Blunt:
"Make the most of time, it waits for no one"
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