PARTRIDGE OUT NOW
Detroit producer Black Noi$e releases Partridge, a five-track joint EP with Valee. Every track is entirely produced by Black Noi$e, accompanied by raps pronounced by flow virtuoso Valee. The EP’s artwork was made by Earl Sweatshirt, Yousef Hilmy (founder of Minaret Records), & Black Noi$e himself. Partridge is Black Noi$e’s first project since the 2020 release of OBLIVION, which featured frequent collaborators Earl Sweatshirt, Danny Brown, and ZelooperZ, among others.
The Detroit-based musician Black Noi$e makes songs that feel like sonic topographies. Born in Nova Scotia, Black Noi$e moved to the Detroit area when he was a kid, and recalls early experiences with music – like hearing Jackson Five tapes in the car on the way to school – as particularly revelatory. The 30-year-old musician started producing in high school after a friend passed along a copy of the digital audio workstation Reason. By then, his musical sensibility had been brewing for some time. As a member of hardcore and punk bands around Detroit, Black Noi$e became familiar early on with the power of community, as well as the possibilities of DIY. “I was always interested in the stuff that wasn’t in the forefront,” he describes.
Black Noi$e’s credits Detroit’s unique radio culture, as well as skate videos, as a major part of his inspiration. The combination makes sense, the eclectic sensibility of radio and skate videos can be heard throughout Black Noi$e’s catalog. From Detroit techno to disco, to J Dilla-style sample flipping. “I always appreciated music and just wanted to learn where the sounds were coming from,”he says. More than mere mimicry, Black Noi$e manages to map out his inspirations in ways that feel completely unique. A byproduct of a generation defined by the internet. “Where I was from there wasn’t a place to get CDs that weren’t mainstream,” he says. “I was on the internet. That really helped understand where stuff came from.”
Black Noi$e’s downtempo hip-hop production, which he’s furnished for the likes of Earl Sweatshirt, Danny Brown, BbyMutha, JPEGMAFIA, Wiki, World’s Fair collective, ZelooperZ, Navy Blue, and more, lends itself to the type of introspection coming to define a certain stratum of modern hip-hop. Gauzy synths linger over 808s and you can find yourself dancing or nodding along in agreement. Following a spree of releases, including a 12″ of house tracks, Black Noi$e is as focused as ever on learning, and more.
Black Noi$e & Valee
Partridge
May 3, 2024
1. ALL SPICE
2. CLUTCH
3. DIGIMON
4. RUFF
5. SONNET
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