Ive been making music with Stik Figa since 2008 and our method has always been the same-- we just keep it raw as possible. Joyland was an arcade in Topeka that was more like a haunted trap house in my opinion but as kids you dont care, you just there for the games and candy! In Kansas City we didn't have a "Joyland" but I think our equivalent was "Fun Factory". A very supposedly "family friendly" place that was dark and managed by young adults.
My mindset going into this album was to create space for Stik to feel comfortable and explore a bit. On the song "Funhouse Mirror Reflections" Stik challenged himself to follow the percussion, these are the moments I most enjoy as a producer and to me this is true collaboration. We did not set out to make Joyland. We just recorded a bunch of songs, after we got about 14 or so I told Stik to sit with them and give me a general direction of where he was at with the concept. A few weeks later he hit me with the Joyland concept.
While dedicated to WSG Hitler 8 I didnt have time to mix this shit-- I wanted to, but just couldnt spare the time to do it. So I reached out to the only engineer from my way that I trust and admire-- Aikido Bray. I knew he would understand, I knew he would work like a scientist and also as an incredible emcee he would hear the pockets.
Once I got the mixes back, I mastered and produced the album-- it was important for the sequencing of this record to sound like 8mm film and also feel like multiple secret home videos. I did not want the songs to blend perfect unless by accident it did like "The tilt a whirl" into "Whizzos Revenge". That shit just worked so perfect, mainly a play on field dynamics.
I told yall Im only working with craftspeople that inspire me-- that is my whole source!! Thinking about doing a vinyl/cassette release for this record and also an instrumental drop right here on the site! As always thank you LOCAL 444 for the support. Joyland is available now on all streaming platforms.
- Con
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Recording engineer: @djseanp
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Mix engineer: @approach_aka_aikido_bray
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Cover art: @stab_master_arson