RJD2 has had quite the curious career. The Eugene, Ore., native lives in West Philly, has transitioned from dirty, jazzy hip hop to wonky electropop, leapt from El-P’s Def Jux label in 2004 after several critically acclaimed albums to his own RJ’s Electrical Connections in 2010 (with his The Third Hand LP at the XL label in between). Though he doesn’t think of himself as a film composer, he has one of the most recognizable theme songs ever: AMC’s Mad Men. Now, he’s changed his sound around completely with one of the most compelling albums of 2013 in More Is Than Isn’t. RJD2 will be guest editing magnetmagazine.com all week. Read our brand new Q&A with him.
RJD2: I did a residency in Philly over the summer, which I hadn’t done before (partly why I took it). It gave me a chance to get out of my comfort zone as a DJ, and be in more of a club environment. It was fun—being a good club DJ that isn’t relying on their own productions, and truly having to read a crowd for two-plus hours, is a tough discipline. I have a huge amount of respect for the guys who do this well—Rich Medina, Cosmo Baker, DJs Statik and PHSH, etc.—’cause it’s not easy. So I was sinking into some tunes that were on my radar, but hadn’t really given thorough listens to. This is one of them—it’s a great meeting of clean and dirty-drum machine, synth bass, live horns, great vocals. It became a staple for me this summer.
Video after the jump.
