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Muhammad, My Man

by Jono Das

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1.
L Bo Drop 02:12
2.
Tiger Balm 01:44
3.
Tasha's Loop 01:38
4.
B-Side 01:43
5.
6.
Memories 02:08
7.
8.
9.
10.

about

‘Prize Fighter’ serves as a mellow introduction to Jono’s sampling, impeccable production abilities and serious mixing skills, shown across the ten tracks comprising ‘Muhammad, My Man’.

Focusing on “letting the sample chops speak for themselves,” as Jono explains, ‘Prize Fighter’ is constructed around a soulful and meditative hip hop beat, “I've sampled 'A Helping Hand' by Genie Brooks, from the Tracklib catalogue. A blues-y soul track with a distinct late 60's / early 70's vibe. I really wanted to focus on honing in on what I consider to be 'my sound' - choppy vocal samples, soulful instrumentation, and warm textures. But I also wanted to bring a little more energy than I usually do, and use the drums to pick up the pace a little - pack a little more punch,” he enthuses. The cut’s hypnotic bass, laid back drums, syncopated piano and atmospheric vocal chops capture “a sense of nostalgia, like looking through an old photo album,” he explains.

Talking about his production process Jono adds; “with instrumental music, it’s often less about conveying a focussed message, and more about conveying a distinct feeling”. And that feeling transpires from the beat maker’s music into all the different mediums he operates across as an artist, as he dives deep into his creative process he says; “in the past, I’ve kept more of a low-profile, as many beatmakers do, but as I’m the one not only making the music, but also shooting the videos, doing the design, photography, and more. I thought this would be the right time to get comfortable and confident with myself as an artist”.

“‘Muhammad, My Man’ is both a quote from A Tribe Called Quest’s lyric from their song ‘Award Tour’, and a reference to the greatest boxer of all time, Muhammad Ali. This collection for me is a bit of a time capsule of the last two years, during which time I’ve finally managed to take up boxing - something I’d been meaning to do for a long time. It is also a concerted effort to focus my sound on the elements of hip hop that I first fell in love with as a child - the samples, the loops, the grit, the dust. So, boxing… Muhammad Ali. Hip Hop… A Tribe Called Quest.”

Aesthetically, the photos and videos accompanying the project are based on old footage of Muhammad Ali training. “There’s this one video of him running around Hyde Park while he was in London for a fight. It was that video that sparked the whole visual idea. I’ve recreated a lot of this training footage, shooting at the actual gym that I train at,” explains Jono, before telling how he met “the great Ghanaian photographer James Barnor at The Serpentine Gallery, who had shot many of the photos of Muhammad Ali I was using as inspiration. This meeting gave me even more enthusiasm about the concept I had in mind for this project, as Barnor spoke at length about his time with Ali.”

credits

released April 27, 2022

Written, Recorded & Produced by Jono Das
Mixed by James Dean Barrett
Mastered by Howard Rogers
Art & Design by Jono Das
Video & Photography by Jono Das, Michael Bullen & Lillie Greenslade

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all rights reserved

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about

Jono Das London, UK

Jono Das makes instrumental hip hop beats.

Like Buena Vista Social Club meets Mike Tyson, his music is relaxed, and smooth, and nostalgic, but it may also bite off your ear at any moment.

Jono is from Auckland, New Zealand, and is currently based in London, UK.

He is also Creative Director at Kartel Music Group.

Head to jonodas.com for more.
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