Hey there! Welcome to the final Tuesdays With Lazerbeak post of the year. I hope you’re all still enjoying the company of close friends and family and winding down the year in an awesome and calming way. We’ve had as busy a year as I can ever remember over here at Doomtree and I wanted to sum everything up with a big 2016 Year In Review before heading into the new year. So without further ado, here it is: A chronological look back at all the music we dropped as a crew and as solo artists in the 2016 Doomtree Takeover.
We kicked things off in January with a remix project from myself and Minnesota bluegrass legends Trampled By Turtles. This was a ton of fun to work on, plus it gave me the opportunity to channel some of those Legend Recognize Legend indie-pop vibes that I love so much. Check out the whole EP below and grab it for keeps right HERE.
Trampled By Turtles x Lazerbeak – Wild Animals Remixes EP
In March, P.O.S made his long-awaited musical return with an absolute monster nine-minute-long song called “sleepdrone/superposition” featuring a ton of extremely talented guests such as Kathleen Hanna, Allan Kingdom, Astronautalis, Lizzo, Eric Mayson, Nicholas L. Perez, Lydia Liza, and Hard_R. Check out the bonkers music video by Stef and James Gundersen below and grab the song for keeps right HERE. This song also marked the first P.O.S release on Doomtree Records since Ipecac Neat.
P.O.S – “sleepdrone/superposition”
In April, Cecil Otter released his first solo project since 2008’s legendary Rebel Yellow album, and it was sooooo worth the wait. The Dear Echo EP consists of three songs and their corresponding instrumentals, completely written, performed, and produced by Cecil – not to mention the crazy artwork he made as well. It’s by far my favorite release from him. Stream it below and grab the whole thing digitally right HERE. There are also still a few of the insanely limited super deluxe vinyl packages that include four screenprinted posters of artwork that Cecil created during the recording sessions. Learn more about that right HERE.
Cecil Otter – Dear Echo EP
Speaking of Cecil, he also found the time to lace the new Astronautalis record with an absolute banger. Check out the video for “Running Away From God” below. Andy on the raps, Cecil on the beats.
Astronautalis – “Running Away From God” (produced by Cecil Otter)
I popped up with guest production on “Guard The Flame” as well.
Astronautalis – “Guard The Flame” (produced by Lazerbeak)
Back to the remixes for a second. I got a chance to remix Mark Andrew Band’s song “Stopping For Green Lights” off their excellent debut album. For my TV people out there, you might remember Mark as a finalist on both The Voice and American Idol. This was one of the more fun and challenging remixes I’ve ever done. I got to take the song into a super different direction and also fulfill some gospel/arena rock itchings at the same time.
Mark Andrew Band x Lazerbeak – “Stopping For Green Lights” Remix
Later in April, Paper Tiger dropped the first of four upcoming EPs in an ongoing project called In Other Words, which consists of wordless vocals from the likes of Dessa, Aby Wolf, and Jessie Daley chopped up and placed all over some of the most expansive and beautiful Paper productions to date. Part One reflected some of the indie rock and pop influences that have crept into Papes’ work. Check out the four-track EP below and grab it to own right HERE. Super pumped for you to hear Part Three and Part Four next year.
Paper Tiger – In Other Words: Part One EP
In May, P.O.S followed up the epic “superposition” single with a totally different modern and hooky song called “Wave,” which features guest raps from Moncelas Boston and Sophia Eris and crushing production from engineer-extraordinaire BJ Burton. Check it out below and grab it digitally right HERE.
P.O.S ft. Moncelas Boston and Sophia Eris – “Wave”
In June, I got the opportunity to remix a track by Speedy Ortiz, one of my current favorite bands. It’s been a blast to get to know these guys and tour with them last year, as well as knock out a remix for one of the best songs off their last album. Check out “Puffer” below with a bonus verse from the unstoppable Lizzo. Really happy with how this one came out.
Speedy Ortiz x Lizzo x Lazerbeak – “Puffer” Remix
June also marked the first bit of new Doomtree crew music since 2015’s All Hands. “Spill Me Up” is a certified and Legend God-approved LAVA BANGER with fire raps from Sims, Cecil, and Stef and production from yours truly. It felt like a nice uptempo change of pace from All Hands‘ more plodding slowed down vibe, and it’s been an absolute blast playing this one out at shows all year long. Check it out below and grab the song for keeps right HERE.
Doomtree – “Spill Me Up” (produced by Lazerbeak)
Back on the remix tip, Paper Tiger took a crack at local-band-on-the-rise Fraea’s song “Trouble” in July. Fraea features the vocals of Jessie Daley, who is a prominent voice on Paper’s In Other Words series, so this song feels like an awesome extension of that project to me. Really love this one and super excited to hear what Fraea puts out next. I highly recommend their debut EP.
Fraea x Paper Tiger – “Trouble” Remix
July brought the announce that Sims was in the studio putting the finishing touches on a new full-length. To celebrate, we dropped a non-album single called “Triple 6’s” to get everyone out-of-their-minds amped about the upcoming project. STRAIGHT BARS with a mammoth beat from our friend MAKR. This was just a small taste of what we had in store for you later this year. Check out “Triple 6’s” below and grab it for keeps right HERE.
Sims – “Triple 6’s”
Shortly following that was the announce of Paper Tiger’s second EP in the In Other Words series. Part Two was anchored once again by the vocals of Dessa, Aby Wolf, and Jessie Daley, but delved into some harder and more electronic beats inspired by Paper’s upbringing in the Jimmy Jam and Terry Lewis era. I like this one even more than Part One, which is saying quite a bit. Check out the EP below and grab it to own right HERE.
Paper Tiger – In Other Words: Part Two EP
P.O.S ended July with yet another single, this time ditching the guest raps for a straight up two-and-a-half minute rapathon. “Wearing A Bear” features Stef spitting straight through with no hook over a total heat knocker from yours truly, not to mention a reference to the fact that Leonardo DiCaprio basically wore an entire bear for the duration of The Revenant. One of my faves for sure on all levels. Check it out below and grab the song right HERE.
P.O.S – “Wearing A Bear” (produced by Lazerbeak)
Dessa kicked off August by dropping her first new bit of solo music since 2014’s Parts of Speech, and it too was definitely the worth the wait. “Quinine” features an awesome beat from Paper Tiger with additional production from Dessa and myself. A true dream-team trifecta. One of my favorite songs from her and definitely a bit of a change of pace. I’ve been working with her and composer Andy Thompson on a bunch of new music recently and I’m amped about the new direction these songs are taking. More on that sooner than later. For now, stream the “Quinine” below and grab it for keeps right HERE.
Dessa – “Quinine” (produced by Paper Tiger & Lazerbeak)
Later in August, Sims released another non-album single called “On You” with great production from hometown producer Dimitry Killstorm. It appears on Dimitry’s new album IDK which features an insane cast of some of the best rappers out of the Twin Cities right now. Check out the Sims track below and then definitely go stream the whole album right HERE.
Sims x Dimitry Killstorm – “On You”
At the top of September the good folks at Rhymesayers Entertainment announced a super limited 10-year-anniversary edition of P.O.S’ breakout album Audition. In addition to the bonus tracks, extremely cool artwork, and blood-red vinyl, you also get this unreleased track from the Audition session vaults. The intro to “Infatuation With A Ghost” appeared on the original album but was cut off after only a few seconds. Now you can hear the entire song in all of its 10-year glory. Stef on the raps, Beak on the beats. Brings back a ton of memories when I listen to this one. Check it out below and grab your limited Audition vinyl right HERE.
P.O.S – “Infatuation With A Ghost” (produced by Lazerbeak)
In September we really kicked things into high gear by announcing news of the upcoming Sims full-lenth More Than Ever. Here’s the lead single from the project with a killer music video courtesy of the dynamic cat duo Otis N. Stanley.
Sims – “OneHundred” (produced by Lazerbeak, directed by Otis N. Stanley)
Stef dropped another loosie single not long after with the news of his first headlining tour in over four years. Check out “Woof” below and grab tickets to all the 2017 dates right HERE.
P.O.S – “Woof” (produced by BJ Burton)
In October we dropped the banging second and third singles off of Sims’ More Than Ever album and built even more momentum up. Check out “Icarus,” produced by Paper Tiger, and the video for “Brutal Dance,” produced by ICETEP and directed by James Gundersen below. I love both of these so much.
Sims – “Icarus” (produced by Paper Tiger)
Sims – “Brutal Dance” (produced by ICETEP, directed by James Gundersen)
Then on November 4th, we finally officially released More Than Ever out into the world. Stream the whole project below and grab the album digitally right HERE. This is by far the best work Sims has created to date. A total masterpiece in my opinion. It’s been pretty amazing to watch this project take shape from start to finish in 2016. Get it!
Sims – More Than Ever
December saw Dessa stepping out into a huge national spotlight with a cover of an unreleased Hamilton song on theeeee one and only Hamilton Mixtape. “Congratulations” was co-produced by composer Andy Thompson and myself, and I can’t tell you how awesome it was to see our three names in the credits alongside greats likes Alicia Keys, John Legend, Kelly Clarkson, Chance The Rapper, and Usher. Never would have ever guessed in my long-legged life that the first major label placement I would land would be on a musical theater mixtape. Totally crazed. Check out the track below.
Dessa – “Congratulations” from the Hamilton Mixtape (produced by Andy Thompson and Lazerbeak)
And lastly, we closed 2016 out a few weeks back by announcing the earth-shattering news that Doomtree Records will be releasing a brand new full-length album from P.O.S on January 27th!!!!! The project is called Chill, dummy and you can check out the lead single “Lanes” below, along with the triumphant photo of Stef and I once we finished the final mastering sessions.
P.O.S – “Lanes” (produced by P.O.S)
Don’t forget to pre-order a standard or deluxe version of Chill, dummy from the Doomtree Webstore. You’ll get all sorts of insanely exclusive gear and immediate download of the first three singles. Check out the details below and grab yours right HERE.
And speaking of the Doomtree Webstore, there’s still a few more days left to take advantageous of the absolutely insane savings going on with our December Blowout Sale. 20% off $100 orders or more, 10% off $50 orders or more, plus tons of crazy bundles and mystery grab bags. Nearly every single item on the store has been significantly marked down, so consider tossing some of that holiday gift money towards these great deals right HERE.
BOOOOOOOM!!!! Well, that does it for the Doomtree 2016 Year In Review. Thanks as always for sticking with us and repping Team The Best Team. I’ll leave you with my own end-of-year list compiling my top 5 favorite albums, movies, shows, and books of the year. Highly controversial stuff, but someone’s gotta do it. I missed a lot of stuff this year, so definitely let me know if there’s anything you loved this year that I should check out.
And if you’re still in the holiday spirit this far into December, don’t forget to check out my legendary Christmix Playlist for a ton of holiday-themed heaters. It really doesn’t get much better than this (or that mixtape cover).
Lazerbeak’s Christmix Playlist
If you find yourself near the Twin Cities and itching to get out of the house on the night before New Years Eve, look no further than Honey in NE Minneapolis. Ander Other and I will be bringing back our quarterly Bonus Jams DJ night full of a trillion awesome R&B and hip-hop songs from the 90’s through today. Only $5 to get in and guaranteed to get you dancing and working off those holiday pounds with a quickness. Looking forward to seeing a ton of you out this Friday. Let’s close out the year right!
Alright, that’s for real it for the final Tuesdays With Lazerbeak post of the year. I hope you all continue to have an extremely relaxing and recharging break from the action this week. See you in the new year!
— Beak
Twitter: @_LAZERBEAK_
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