New York in the mid-nineties thought it had seen the future. The underground/independent hip hop scene which flourished at the time was an all out attack on the over-commercialization of the music, a challenge to both the dominant modes of production and exploitation as well as to the lack of creativity to be found in the mainstream. As Beans, put it, looking back, it “seemed that the music had a lot of promise and the future of where the music could go was still undetermined.”... Read more
New York in the mid-nineties thought it had seen the future. The underground/independent hip hop scene which flourished at the time was an all out attack on the over-commercialization of the music, a challenge to both the dominant modes of production and exploitation as well as to the lack of creativity to be found in the mainstream. As Beans, put it, looking back, it “seemed that the music had a lot of promise and the future of where the music could go was still undetermined.” No group has come to embody that fiercely independent spirit more than Anti-Pop Consortium.
“We met at an event called Rap Meets Poetry that was held at The Time Cafe every first Monday of the month,” remembers Priest. Typical of the time, it was an event that explored the links between poetry, spoken word and rap and, as performers and audience members, M. Sayyid, Earl Blaize, Priest and Beans were all there. Something clicked – a similar outlook, a determination to drive the music forward, a raw, radical futurism.
As the group coalesced they didn’t even have a name. The four of them put out a series of mixtapes (proper cassettes!) on their own Anti-Pop Records and called them “Consortium” volumes 1, 2 and 3. The people who were picking up the tapes began to refer to the coalition behind them as the Anti-Pop Consortium and the group as we now know it was born.
The Consortium’s emblem – a stylised corporate stick figure with a burning head – was also already in place, created by the graphical smarts of High Priest himself. With it, the team began their assault with an infamous xerox and sticker campaign that landed Priest in jail for vandalism under Giuliani's “increased standard of living regime.” Fortunately the police thought that he was working for a promotions company and let him off with the promise that he would cease defacing public property. Which wasn’t quite how it worked out... Coupled with the verbal pyrotechnics of their live show, the Consortium gained the favor of both staunch B-boy purists and experimental electronics heads The backpackers were in awe of the group’s varied and contrasting, quickfire rhyme styles, whereas the techies loved their four man MPC jams.
Dan The Automator (now probably best known for his work with the Gorillaz) heard the buzz all the way from San Francisco and signed the group to be the first act on his new imprint, 75 Ark. The result was “Tragic Epilogue,” an album made up of tracks taken from the last mixtape plus some new material. It was swiftly followed by “Shopping Carts Crashing,” released on a Japanese label and exported to fans across the world. But then, in an iconic move, APC signed to UK electronic label, Warp . “It's funny,” says Beans. “We actually shopped the first record to them before 75 Ark but we eventually ended up on Warp.”
The classic “Arrhythmia” followed in 2002 and took APC’s sound to a worldwide audience. “At that point in time,” offers E. Blaize, “it was our best record.” To promote it they went out on Radiohead’s world tour and returned to the States to go straight out on a giant DJ Shadow tour. The album was receiving great notices and cemented their status as landmark innovators. But differences over their next creative step, plus the pressures of constant touring all took their toll. “We broke up,” Sayyid explains, “six months after that record was released.”
“Things happen,” Beans explains. “Everyone chose to spread their wings for good or bad. It happened.” Beans became a solo artist on Warp. Sayyid and Priest formed Airborne Audio, toured with Bright Eyes and released an album through Ninja Tune. Earl Blaize went back behind the desk and worked as an engineer and producer for some of the biggest names in hip hop.
But a little something was missing. It’s perhaps best summed up in the motto Priest coined and the group have adopted as the catchphrase for “Fluorescent Black.” They laugh when they say it, they pull poses and mess around with it, but they mean it, too. “Team work makes the dream work!” The essence of truth at the centre of it is to do with that strange group-chemistry which means that certain collectives of musicians excel at an even higher level when they’re together.
A couple of years ago a mutual friend brought the guys back together on Beans’ birthday. Things clicked, the feeling was back. “After that, we held a meeting at Earl’s house where we agreed to work with each other again,” Beans remembers.
So now it’s time for “Fluorescent Black,” slated for release October 13th on the venerable Big Dada imprint. Clearly the group’s strongest work yet and an album which, you could argue, they’ve been working on for seven years. Over that time, the groundwork they laid with their releases earlier this decade have gone on to influence a new generation of hip-hop, from the underground to the mainstream and beyond. With “Fluorescent Black”, the group has matured and finds their talents at their peak, undoubtedly raising the bar higher in all respects. “We’re grown men,” says Sayyid, “so our acceptance of our differences has allowed us to bring more magic to the table. We’re stronger now and the music is better for it.” Show less
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