In random order:

Black Milk, “Everybody Good?” (2023) – “Everybody Good?” was the first I heard of Black Milk, and after it knocked my socks off I started going backward through his discography to see when he got so amazing. The answer? Allllll the way back at the start. RIYL/FFO Q-Tip, Lupe Fiasco

billy woods & Kenny Segal, “Maps” (2023) – Five minutes in (“Soundcheck”), I knew this was my AOTY, and I never really doubted it in the months after. And when you get to “Hangman” and “Baby Steps”?? Whoooo! RIYL/FFO Madlib, Boldy James, Armand Hammer, Open Mike Eagle

Sines of Exquisite Pleasure, “Modular Systems” (1982) – Aptly named, these long-overlooked synthesizer and piano jams helped center me many times this year. RIYL/FFO Abul Mogard, Alessandro Cortini

Aesop Rock, “Integrated Tech Solutions” (2023) – Endless, generous brilliant bangers from the dean of rap studies. RIYL/FFO MF DOOM, Del the Funky Homosapien

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Daniel and I talked about the project with Ebony and Joel. Hear it anywhere you pod, or below.

Recorded a rhythm guitar track last night for a song with the working title “Killer Illness” from the I Am The Brute Squad project.

Signal path:

• DOD 280 compressor
• Mr. Furious Audio 5KR boost
• The Sweeping Mids phaser
• BYOC Triangle-spec Big Muff build
• (Shepard’s End was bypassed)
• Mr. Furious Audio JFET boost
• HIWHAT (Cbread RAH build)
• BSRI Cab cab sim

I’ve also been finishing off lyrics for Jam My Wave / Don’t Jam My Wave, and wrote the first piece for 23 Infinite Choices (the Night Mode synth hocketing project) over the past few weeks.

Another lightly edited and excerpted email exchange. I should have posted this one first; ahh, welp…

2023 April 12 – From: Howie – To: Cory

Subject: picked out FX for buckaroo bonanza

might perform them tonight.  i’d forgotten i added this cool
little extra sample that really makes it.  i don’t remember if the last
version you heard had the “yeah, yeah!” in it but it rules.  anyway.  2
more songs of FX (buckaroo, ice/disappear), then doing some vocal sample
performances into the computer, then mix/master!  we’re pretty close to
being able to hear the whole record and i’m really excited about that,
because i don’t know what it’s going to sound or feel like to hear all
these different tracks in one go.  -h

2023 April 12 – From: Cory – To: Howie

I don’t think so on the “yeah, yeah!” but a little sprinkle of sample is always tasty! Love them extra touches, Uncle Grabby! 

It’s crazy how quickly this record came together, at least from the outside! Obviously a lot of time and work goes into it, but this kind of music seems less gnarly than something with full drums and winding arrangements. And 27 sax-trax. 

Spring is here and it’s beautiful outside and my head is full of fluid! 

2023 April 12

it’s been fairly quick-ish?  not as quick as a New Synth Record, but a lot quicker than a guitar record.  i think the 404mkII arrived about a year ago (i ordered it when it came out in oct/nov ’21, but there were production delays).  and it took a while to kind of learn and come up with a workflow.  or it felt like it did…  but i had the first 5 songs done by christmas, because over the break i set up and did a bunch of guitar parts for songs 6-10.

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Here’s a lightly edited and excerpted email I had with Cory during the recording of Frog On The King’s Head.

2023 April 23 – From: Howie – To: Cory

going to be listening to a version of the full album for the ** first
time ** tomorrow!  4 songs are missing vocals, that’s next, but i’m
super psyched to hear it all as a piece.  i think my first sequence is
pretty good, too.  “farewell my lovely” is the beat i keep coming back
to.  -h

2023 April 24 – From: Cory – To: Howie

So psyched for you my dude! I love that we have Chandler represented on this birch, let me know how you feel after

2023 April 24 – From: Howie – To: Cory

i feel awesome, i have no idea what this **is** (not that it matters) but i dig it.

i’m ready to read at least one more chandler this summer, not sure which, but i’ll just grab one and go for it. probably the earliest one i haven’t read, i guess.

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I did three videos for songs from Frog On The King’s Head on the MFR YouTube channel, walking through the individual samples and patterns on the SP-404 mkII sampler.

We did two podcasts covering Frog On The King’s Head; grab them from your podcast platform here, or directly below.