Conflict (gray)
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| Studio album by Basstard | ||||
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Publication |
2008 |
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| Label (s) | Horror core entertainment | |||
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Format (s) |
CD |
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Title (number) |
20th |
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DJ Korx u. a. |
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Studio (s) |
Berlin |
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Zwiespalt (Grau) is the third solo album by the German-speaking rapper Basstard . It was released on June 27, 2008 on the independent label Horrorkore Entertainment and is the first part of the Zwiespalt album trilogy, which was completed by Zwiespalt (Black) and Zwiespalt (White) . Most of the pieces on the album can be assigned to the hip-hop sub-genre of horror core.
Creation and concept
In 2003 Basstard began to record the songs for the albums Zwiespalt (Schwarz) and Zwiespalt (Weiss) . According to the rapper, the pieces on these albums have a “white” or “black” character. Conceptually, the titles for Zwiespalt (Schwarz) are gloomy and show stylistic devices of horror core. In contrast, Basstard pursues a “poetic approach” for Zwiespalt (Weiss) and addresses personal and socially critical issues. In the course of the production, pieces were also created that did not fit into the concepts intended for the two sound carriers. These songs have "their very own character" and were combined to form the album Zwiespalt (Grau) , which is supposed to mark the beginning of a trilogy. At the beginning of the album, the pieces that tend to be assigned to the concept of Zwiespalt (Weiss) predominate . In the middle of the sound carrier the mood shifts, so that the songs at the end of Zwiespalt (Grau) take on a more negative, gloomy character.
Zwiespalt (Grau) was released six years after Basstard's last solo album Obscuritas Eterna . In the meantime, joint projects with other hip-hop artists such as the albums Verdammt with DJ Korx or 666 with Kaisa have appeared . Basstard spent about two years promoting the Rappers Massiv . The support included the presence at the recordings, the financing and the marketing.
Track list
| # | title | Guest Post | length |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Intro | 1:09 | |
| 2 | Gray | 4:07 | |
| 3 | My way | 4:25 | |
| 4th | Don't speak | Medicine man | 4:20 |
| 5 | I am a Berliner 2 | 3:58 | |
| 6th | Listen | Sleepwalkers and Sicc | 4:20 |
| 7th | Pouf pouf | Sido and Harris | 5:00 |
| 8th | Etch | Jope | 3:40 |
| 9 | BC | Bass crew | 4:16 |
| 10 | Flap shut | Bass Sultan Hengzt | 3:26 |
| 11 | Going to sleep | 4:35 | |
| 12 | energy | 3:37 | |
| 13 | Obsessed | Tarek from KIZ | 4:48 |
| 14th | End time | 3:30 | |
| 15th | Children of Wrath 2008 | 4.9.0 Cemetery Chiller | 4:45 |
| 16 | asteroid | 4:20 | |
| 17th | This is Berlin | Prinz Pi | 3:29 |
| 18th | Where are you? | 4:59 | |
| 19th | I am! | 3:49 | |
| 20th | Outro | 0:14 |
music
style
Zwiespalt (gray) is stylistically assigned to the hip-hop sub-genre of horror core. In terms of content, topics such as the apocalypse and occultism are dealt with. Accordingly, the beats , the background music to the pieces, should give the listener a feeling of "gloom", which is achieved, for example, through the use of deep bass or the use of noises such as a stormy wind or the chimes of bells. Basstard, who is the best-known German representative of this genre, has been recording pieces of this kind since the beginning of his musical career in 1998. Already on his first album Rap demon put the rapper with titles like Night of fear or Rap Demon in which the lyric I pretends to be a son of the devil, the foundation of his style, with the albums Obscuritas Eterna and purgatory (The project) continued has been. On Zwiespalt (Grau) the horrorcore titles are supplemented by a few pieces that can be ascribed to the more general variant of the music genre hip-hop .
rhythm
The lyrics of the album are performed over beats , which in rap music represent the instrumental , rhythmic component of the songs. The framework of the music forms the 4 ⁄ 4 time , which is the usual time signature for hip-hop pieces.
production
A number of producers were involved in the creation of Zwiespalt (Grau) . Woroc from Berlin contributed the most productions with three beats; he is responsible for the titles Ich bin ein Berliner 2 , Energie und Kinder des Zorns 2008 . Two other pieces, Atze and BC , were produced by Frauenarzt . DJ Korx, who runs the Horrorkore Entertainment label together with Basstard , contributed the beat for the title Grau and Mach One the background music for the song Mein Weg .
Red nicht was produced by Flash Gordon and Listen to by Datz Heat. Mehdie also contributed two beats. He was involved in the creation of the sound carrier through the production of the pieces Puff Puff and Obsession . Mehdie also did the beat of the song Where are you? recorded a guitar. High Hat is responsible for the beats of the tracks Klappen zu and Asteroid . In addition, Schlafen gehtn was produced by Ax-L, Endzeit by Cardinal Blunt and Das ist Berlin by Djorkaeff and Beatzarre . On Zwiespalt (Grau) , Basstard also produced beats himself for the first time. These are on the songs I am! and where are you to listen.
The final mastering of the album took place in the Lower Saxony state capital Hanover . Time Tools Mastering took over the post-processing of the audio there.
Texts
The merging of the styles that Basstard envisions for the “black” and “white” parts of the Zwiespalt series has an effect on the variety of topics in the texts of Zwiespalt (Grau) . The typical motifs of the end of the world and Satanism , such as drug consumption, affection for hometowns, friendship or current political issues, are taken up for Basstard .
A current topic at the time the album was made is dealt with at Hört zu . In this title, Basstard, Schlafwandler and Sicc deal with government surveillance mechanisms and data retention . The rappers criticize the government's attack on privacy, which Basstard describes as incompetent. Furthermore, the listener is advised to pay attention and defend themselves against the government's plans ("Boy, listen, the system is monitoring you, it is listening! Open your mouth and say something."). In an interview, Basstard gave his opinion on government surveillance.
“This is typical of the new form of capitalism : a catastrophe is used as a pretext to undertake radical restructuring in favor of the state and to the detriment of the people. Quickly and quietly, so that the people don't have time to defend themselves. "
The idea of processing this topic in a song came about through a phone call with a gynecologist . This sent Basstard information about a draft law of the federal cabinet , which requires the six months retroactive storage of all Internet and telephone contacts. In an interview, the rapper was surprised that the planned intrusion into the privacy of the individual would not meet with resistance from the population. He compares the situation in Germany with that in Iran, where people who strive for freedom are sanctioned, and cites as an example his own parents, who were politically active in Iran and as a result of which his mother was executed as a basstard for two years old was. In Germany there seems to be no interest in exercising freedom of speech . Listen to should encourage people to get involved.
Two pieces are about Basstard's hometown Berlin . These are Das ist Berlin and Ich bin ein Berliner 2 . On the one hand, the pieces describe the hip-hop musician's affection for Berlin and, on the other hand, list the negative sides. These include corruption (“Even our cops sometimes prefer to make cash quickly”), prostitution , chemical drug use and drug trafficking, and theft.
In the title Puff Puff , Basstard deals with the topic of drug use together with your favorite rappers . The purchase of joints and subsequent smoking is described (“I don't buy anything except weed for my monthly wage”) and the rejection of people who snort marijuana cigarettes is expressed. At the time of the composition of the song Puff Puff , Basstard was consuming drugs himself. This led to the inclusion of the title with the rappers Sido and Harris , who had already taken up this topic in songs more often. As the impairment of Basstard's creativity from frequent drug use grew over time, the rapper stopped using marijuana some time after recording the piece.
The importance of friendship is highlighted by Basstard and Jope in the title Atze . An attempt is made to find a definition for the term "Atze". In the refrain, Atze is described as "a brother who stands by you in bitter, black, lonely times" and as "the only one who understands you and when death takes you, then weeps". Above all, the character traits of loyalty, trust and respect as well as the avoidance of arrogance, envy and betrayal are decisive criteria for friendship.
Another song that is atypical for Basstard's other style is shut up . It deals with the topic of sex and Basstard and Bass Sultan Hengzt describe situations in which the lyrical self would like to sleep with a woman, but this is not allowed by her (“She talks and talks, without periods and commas, without pause. Although I need your tongue for something else. ").
The following pieces are more closely related to the horror core style. In the play Endzeit , Basstard describes the state of the world after a fictional war that led to the man-made apocalypse ("At the end of time all nations were freed from borders. The third was the last war and in the end we had each other self defeated. At that time the sky was blue, when we left it became gray forever. Imagine it will never be light again, a shadow envelops the world, this is the end time! "). The lyrical self describes aspects of the visible environment ("The sun throws blood-red rays down into the wasteland of the now dead valley. Structures of destroyed buildings, yellowed graffiti, the devil was here.") And expresses that it is from the "end times" was also affected ("We did not survive."). In an interview with the website Rap.de, Basstard, who himself was born in Iran, comments on the piece Endzeit and refers to the Iranian President Mahmud Ahmadinejad . The musician's assessment is that the president will use weapons as soon as they are available to him and the scenario he has described can occur. From the rapper's point of view, a man-made natural disaster is also possible.
Guest Posts
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A number of German artists are represented on Zwiespalt (Grau) . In contrast to earlier releases, on which only artist friends from Basstard's immediate environment were involved in the creation of the songs, the guest rappers were specifically asked for pieces. There are also some successful rappers among the represented artists. This is how the title Puff Puff came about with the Berliners Sido and Harris. The decisive reason for the collaboration was that Basstard found the presentation of the subject of pedophilia in the song Peter Frade , which can be heard on the album Dein favorite album by your favorite rapper , as successfully implemented.
Guests who have already worked several times with Basstard due to their similar musical style are the 4.9.0 Friedhof Chiller, Sicc and Schlafwandler. In addition, Medicine Man cannot be heard on Red . At the end of the Lustig tour, he was the back-up rapper Basstards and is a member of the Horrorkore Entertainment label .
Another guest is the rapper Tarek, who is best known as a member of the hip-hop group KIZ . With this, Basstard took up the piece obsessively . The song was written before the success of KIZ and was originally intended to promote Tarek. Basstard recorded the play Das ist Berlin with Friedrich Kautz, who is known under the pseudonym Prinz Pi , and the title Atze with Jope . The song BC was created together with the bass crew consisting of rappers MC Bogy and Frauenarzt. Both guest musicians are long-time friends of Basstard and members of the Berlin formation Berlin Crime . Furthermore, Bass Sultan Hengzt , who had already worked with Basstard in the years before the publication of Zwiespalt (Grau) , was involved in the creation of Klappe .
In addition to the guest rappers, the hooklines of some songs have been contributed by singers. Ax-L sang the chorus of the piece to go to sleep . The hip-hop musician Mehdie was brought in for Puff Puff . In addition, Sady K from Berlin controls the hookline for the title Where are you? and Lady Junkz the refrain to I am! at. Also in the song is I am! to hear a bridge from Papa Geno.
illustration
The cover shows the face of MC Basstard. The left half of the face, as seen by the observer, is illuminated, while the rest of the face is in the dark. This transfers the concept of the sound carrier to the illustration of the CD.
The photos of the booklet were shot by Murat Aslan. Casu Design took care of the subsequent photo retouching for the cover. COG Graphix is responsible for the cover layout and graphic design. He had previously been the artistic director of the design of the cover for 666 by Basstard and Kaisa , Thank you Germany from Manny Marc and Thorn in the Eye and No Warmth from Kaisa.
marketing
In the run-up to the publication of Zwiespalt (Grau) , a snippet was offered for download on the Internet . Snippets are audio files that give the listener an impression of the album being released. In the snippet of Basstar's fourth solo album, the concept of the album trilogy is briefly reproduced and every piece on the sound carrier is played.
In addition, the title Endzeit can be heard on the hip-hop musician's Myspace page, and the track Mein Reich , known as the “free song”, was published on the website of the Horrorkore Entertainment label.
Self-awareness
Basstard expressed satisfaction with his third solo album. He sees an increase in the productions of the songs compared to previous publications. The Berliner paid more attention to the quality of the beats in the work process, so that some pieces were discarded because they did not meet the quality standards of the other titles set by Basstard. In addition to the beats, the rapper attaches importance to the fact that his lyrics have gone through a content-related development process. The themes typical of the horror core sub-genre are taken up on some titles, but there are also some pieces on Zwiespalt (gray) that reflect Basstard's political attitude or contain humorous elements. The hip-hop musician sees this as an extension of his artistic spectrum.
criticism
Zwiespalt (gray) was rated average to good in reviews of the media dealing with hip-hop. This can be seen from the reviews of the hip-hop magazine Juice and the website Rap.de. The editorial team of Rap.de emphasizes the versatility of the sound carrier and sees in Zwiespalt (gray) “a good alternative” for the music listeners who perceive Basstard's other horrorcore style to be too one-sided. In contrast to this, Juice criticizes the different styles of the pieces, because although they represent “each interesting material”, Zwiespalt (Grau) is “anything but a round album”.
The title Klappe zu is rated positively by Rap.de. From the editors' point of view, the topic is "implemented in an entertaining way". In addition, the performance of Bass Sultan Hengzt is praised, whereas Basstard fails to implement the self-portrayal as a drug user in the title Puff Puff . Both Basstard's contribution and the verses of Harris and Sido are criticized negatively. The same applies to the song as an overall product, which, in the opinion of the Rap.de editorial team, is “a mixture of electro beat, dancehall hook and rap parts that takes getting used to”. The responsible editor of the Juice highlights both the pieces Klappe zu und Das ist Berlin , as well as the title Puff Puff , as "content and [...] musically [...] unusually catchy".
Both reviews praise the variability of Basstard's voice. Juice does not describe the rapper's performance in the plays Red and Kinder des Zorns 2008 as an “impressive vocal game”. The sound of the voice adapts to the various themes of the songs and thus conveys irony or darkness to the listener. Rap.de calls the title I am! vocally a "true masterpiece". Furthermore, Rap.de positively criticizes the changing speed of the presentation method, which Basstard varies "between extremely confident and easily understandable double time and slow rap".
Rap.de expresses the guest contributions as the main point of criticism. The performing rappers perform worse than Basstard on most of the songs. For example, the gynecologist and Bogy as well as Sicc and Schlafwandler "weaken", whose contributions reduce the quality level of the play Heard . In contrast, the cooperation with Prince Pi should be seen as positive. In addition, Rap.de describes the titles Schlafen geht und Besessen as “two all-round successful tracks” and the beats as convincing “with a lot of power, atmosphere and individuality”. In summary, the Juice editors attest the sound carrier "on the one hand refreshingly new approaches, on the other hand the usual hard fare" and give Zwiespalt (gray) 3.5 out of a possible six "crowns".
Web links
- Zwiespalt (gray) at Allmusic (English)
Individual evidence
- ↑ Basstard begins album trilogy with "Zwiespalt (Grau)". (No longer available online.) Mzee.com, formerly the original ; Retrieved June 1, 2010 . ( Page no longer available , search in web archives )
- ↑ a b c d e Juice , July 2008, p. 67
- ↑ a b c Booklet of the album Zwiespalt (Grau)
- ↑ Lyrics for "Listen to". (No longer available online.) Magistrix, archived from the original on November 5, 2016 ; Retrieved June 1, 2010 . Info: The archive link was inserted automatically and has not yet been checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice.
- ↑ a b “With the horror rapper in the crypt” - page 5. (No longer available online.) Rap.de, archived from the original on September 18, 2008 ; Retrieved June 1, 2010 . Info: The archive link was inserted automatically and has not yet been checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice.
- ↑ a b c review of the album. (No longer available online.) Rap.de, formerly in the original ; Retrieved June 1, 2010 . ( Page no longer available , search in web archives )
- ↑ Lyrics to "End Times". (No longer available online.) Magistrix, archived from the original on May 1, 2015 ; Retrieved June 1, 2010 . Info: The archive link was inserted automatically and has not yet been checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice.
- ^ “With the horror rapper in the crypt” - page 2. (No longer available online.) Rap.de, archived from the original on October 19, 2008 ; Retrieved June 1, 2010 . Info: The archive link was inserted automatically and has not yet been checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice.
- ↑ "With the horror rapper in the crypt" - page 3. (No longer available online.) Rap.de, archived from the original on October 19, 2008 ; Retrieved June 1, 2010 . Info: The archive link was inserted automatically and has not yet been checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice.
- ↑ a b c d Interview with Basstard in the blog of Horrorkore. Horrorkore.com, archived from the original on June 17, 2009 ; Retrieved June 1, 2010 .
- ↑ Snippet for the album "Zwiespalt (Grau)". (MP3; 15.2 MB) (No longer available online.) 16bars.de, formerly in the original ; Retrieved June 1, 2010 . ( Page no longer available , search in web archives )
- ↑ Juice , September 2008, p. 113
Solo albums: Rap Demon (2000) | Obscuritas Eterna (2002) | Rap Demon Re-Release (2005) | Zwiespalt (Gray) (2008) | Dissension (Black) (2009) | Zwiespalt (Weiss) (2011) | Master of the ceremony (2015)
Collabo albums: Dogma (Against Time) (with Taktlo $$ ) (2005) | Horror core mixtape part 1 (with massive ) (2006) | The Omen (with Kaisa) (2007) | Damn (with DJ Korx) (2007) | 666 (with Kaisa) (2008) | Contemporary witnesses (with Medizin Mann, Adden and Sheytan) (2008)
Sampler: Purgatory - The Project (2003) | Little Man's Greatest Hits (2006) | Quint Essence 1 - Basstards Guest Parts (2009)
