Caural Newsletter #2

Paint EP’s “Clear Vinyl” backing old-school skater Rodney Mullen!

I am excited to say that the closing track of my Paint EP, “Clear Vinyl,” was used in On Video’s Winter 2002 skate video. The video features many new and old skaters including Rodney Mullen, whose influence more or less created freestyle street skating as we know it today… I was more comfortable providing a soundtrack for footage of him than I was skinning knees and elbows like I used to do back in the day. For you skate fans, this video can be picked up in skate shops everywhere… I’d recommend Push Skateboards (40 E Chicago Ave, right near the red line: 312-573-9996).

Stars On My Ceiling LP Out Now!

My second full-length album - and first for Chicago’s Chocolate Industries - was released domestically June 11th. It contains songs written over the course of last summer, and definitely fits the season! You can find it most anywhere; online purchasers should visit amazon.com, cdnow.com, etc. The Japanese version released on Tokyo’s P-Vine label back in March contains an extra song for all you die-hard collectors. Anyway, here’s what XLR8R had to say:

“In a genre where accessibility is often regarded as suspect, I almost hesitate to tell you that there’s absolutely no one who won’t love this; electronic heads and b-boys, four-year-olds and grandmothers. OK, maybe I’m overstating by a smidgen, but Caural’s gossamer guitars and shirred hip-hop beats are quite simply undeniable, carrying the feel good appeal of the Avalanches, the melancholy of Four Tet, and a happy-sad nostalgia for a time and a place you can’t put your finger on. Over cracked mudflat breaks, technicolor tumbleweeds kick up whimsical jigs and dust devils morph into fantastic, ecstatic whippoorwills. It’s a beautiful place in the country, and I’m buying property there now.” – Philip Sherburne

Chocolate Industries’ Urban Renewal Program on the way…

After almost two years in the making, Chocolate Industries is releasing the first installment of its Urban Renewal Program this coming August- a compilation including myself, Prefuse 73, Mos Def, Miho Hatori of Cibo Matto, Souls of Mischief, Tortoise, El-P, Aesop Rock, DJ Food, Mr. Lif, RJD2, Diverse, While, and Themselves (Dose one and Jel). The first single (Aesop Rock & El-P) is out now, with the second (Mos Def and Chicago’s Diverse) to follow this July. I have contributed a remix for the next single- Miho Hatori’s song “Night Light”- originally produced by Prefuse 73.

Caural featured on Apartment B’s New York artist compilation

Another compilation coming soon is on a New York label called Apartment B. Its title “Various Artists: New York” explains it all; ironically, many of the featured artists (including yours truly) have since left NYC! Regardless, snippets of songs by Blitter (Hrvatski), I-Sound & Daniel Raffel, So Takahashi, Zammuto, and others are on the website for your listening pleasure: http://www.apartmentb.com/releases/aptb003

“One Night At The Grand Star”

Songs from Stars On My Ceiling have been chosen for an independent film entitled “One Night At The Grand Star,” built around the Los Angeles nightclub. Other artists on the soundtrack include Moodyman, Klute, Calibre, A Tribe Called Quest, and Bernard Wright. Stay tuned to PBS’ Independent Lens for its premiere!

Who is that singing on Longshot’s album?

Longshot, a new emcee coming out of Chicago, is dropping his debut album later this month, featuring guest artists such as Diverse, Juice, myself, Freebasic, Claudia of Family Tide, and Vicious da Cannibal; production by DJ Lok, k.kruz, DJ Anomaly, & Ted Sirota. I am truly excited about this album, and you should absolutely keep your eyes open for it!

I am busy working on new material for release later this year, collaborating with some folks and getting excited for some summer changes! Thanks for reading, and happy listening!