Introducing Alex Goose (Blueprint 3 Outtakes)
Wednesday, September 16th, 2009Introducing is a new feature I’d like to bring to the site where I shine a spotlight on a up and coming and or not well known yet artist. To kick things off I talked to producer Alex Goose. Although he messed with things over the years he has been producing seriously since 2004. He started with an Ensoniq EPS sampler but has moved on to other things but was secretive on what he is using currently using.
Alex Goose “Hova Needs This”
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He just recently put up a free album called The Blueprint 3 Outtakes.The story goes an A&R with the Roc heard the stuff Alex did for Brittany Bosco and got in touch via Myspace to get a tape from him for Blueprint 3. Alex went though hundreds and hundreds of his beats that he thought might work well with Jay-Z and made some new ones and sent the best in. “The A&R liked them but he told me Jay didn’t really hear anything that he was looking for. My tracks didn’t match the sound of the Blueprint 3 obviously. I just made what I envisioned could be a classic record for Hova. Our visions didn’t click together. It happens.“ So Alex made some of the tracks he sent in available to download for free to share what could have been. He and his team did a nice job on the presentation of the site as well. Although when I downloaded the album it took a really long time, I imagine it was due to everyone trying to grab it at the same time.
But even though that Jay-Z opportunity didn’t work I asked what other artists would he like to work with. “Beck, Charlotte Gainsbourg, Nas, Kid Cudi, Raekwon, The Black Lips, Deerhunter, Beirut, Grizzly Bear, Warpaint..those are just some of many I have on an actual list. Mostly rock bands because I feel like I could learn more. I feel like it’s harder to politically push boundaries within hip-hop because people are scared to take chances but chances usually equal success. Let’s be honest…when was the last classic album put in hip-hop? I’m so tired of 808 claps.“
In the past he has worked with Brittany Bosco and Danny! and is currently working with and Jake Troth (Myspace). Def Jux rapper Danny! is the most well known out of the bunch. They met each other in school. Both attended the Savannah College of Art and Design and began working on music together in 2005. Alex did all of the production on the upcoming Danny! record called Where is Danny? some of the guests include Che Grand, Danny Brown, Von Pea, and Drake among others. Talking about the record Alex said “It’ll be interesting to see what people think because it’s a different sound compared to anything him or I have done in the past. It’s not particularly my production style but i wanted to capture what he was going for, which is minimalism. He was particularly inspired by the Madvillain record and wanted to push boundaries of what people perceive as a hip-hop record. I listen to a lot of garage, folk rock and pysch rock from the 60’s which is where a lot of the inspiration came from on the production end. It contains a lot of obscure samples and psychedelic tones. It’s kind of like an art record.“I also asked if he was a fan of Ant (of Atmosphere) as some of his stuff samples the same songs Ant has and wondered where he stood on the whole this sample has been used before issue. “I find this all a bit funny so I’ll explain my take on it. To me, samples are free ground and it’s all about who can flip it the hottest if it gets into any “they used this sample first” type of thing but I don’t really care. It’s obvious we both look through similar sample sources. The “soul” sampled tracks on the BP3 Outtakes including “Walk Away” are pretty old. Like “Walk Away” was made originally made in 2004, but I resurfaced it last spring and changed the drums on it because I wasn’t as good at drum programming then but I knew it could be good for Hova. I went through like 600+ old tracks to see if there was anything I started awhile ago that I could resurface and that was one of them. I sampled a lot of stuff of that Laura Lee album actually. Same with “Rise” which is a Bo Hanson sample that I’ve had for years because I love his music. The tracks on this album aren’t even everything I sent him, just my favorite ones. Either way, Ant and I obviously sample similar things. I rarely sample soul any more these days but more so, late 60’s psych rock, prog rock and french and italian soundtracks… because that’s what I actually listen to in my own free time. I’ve got people hitting me up saying that I flipped the samples better than him which is tight but I don’t really care about all that. I just wanted to make good music that I thought Hova could rock too. Funny story…I sampled “In The Space” by Janko Nilovic years ago, the same one No I.D. used for Jay’s DOA song. I’ve had that sample for so long. So I know how that feels…“
Danny! “Lip Flappin’” (Produced by Alex Goose)
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As for as upcoming projects the previously mentioned Where is Danny? album is coming out soon on Definitive Jux records. Also Alex is doing some work on Brittany Bosco’s album Black along with producer Omer Ferrer & The Big Up!. Also a small update to the article Alex will be working on an album with Chicago rapper GLC (Myspace) best known for being on the Kanye’s songs “Drive Slow” and “Spaceship”. It will be a kind of music + fashion thing with Alex producing, GLC rapping and designer Matt Senna doing clothing through his company Jamie Marx (website) for the project. You can download The Blueprint 3 Outtakes for free at theblueprint3outtakes.com also he did some work on Brittany Bosco’s Spectrum 2.0 and you can download the album or select tracks for free at brittanybosco.bandcamp.com
Links
- Alex Goose Facebook / Myspace / Twitter / Website
- Danny! Facebook / Myspace / Twitter / Website
- Brittany Bosco Bankcamp / Facebook / Myspace / Twitter
