Though he's still an underground curiosity in his hometown, and virtually everywhere else other than Europe, Toronto's best kept secret, Don Cash, has been hard at work on a new album. It must be a sign of the times, as Mr. Cash himself is exercising some holiday spirit by giving Exclaim! the new album to share with our readers.
From now until December 26, you can download Freshy Fresh, Don Cash's forthcoming album, which is set to drop via his Stereoeagle label on January 12.
An email sent to Exclaim! from the MC/producer tells all about the album, as well as explaining his recent move away from the Relish label in order to focus on releasing music via his Stereoeagle imprint.
And in case you're looking for more of Don's electro-pumping avant-hop jams, you can find a free download of new single "Take It To The Top" hosted by the RCRD LBL site by clicking here.
(Seriously, why isn't this dude more than a hipster's wet dream?)
Download Freshy Fresh
A message from Don Cash:
Freshy Fresh was recorded at home in Toronto. I played every instrument and did all the programming, there are no guests or samples on the record.
I wrote and recorded about 50 songs this year in between shows in Europe. I wanted to make a record that fit together as a whole but also had that sprawling early '90s hip-hop epic feel like Pete Rock & CL Smooth, where they were shamelessly dropping 70-minute albums with no filler like it was nothing. That's my favorite era in music so far. Still, I hope to release the other songs I wrote at some point. They're pretty good too.
As for the details of Freshy Fresh's release, It's no secret there's been a lot of upheaval in the music business and even established acts are finding it hard to get proper release dates and promotion for their records. It's really hitting the indie dance world hard - vinyl sales of twelve-inch records are down 60 percent in Europe and the company that distributed my records in the UK (Pinnacle) went bankrupt just last week.
It was great working with Relish - they gave a kid from Brampton the chance to see Europe in style - but as the year went on and I saw what was happening in the business, it became clear to me that everything is going digital whether we like it or not. Around six months ago I decided to leave Relish in order to concentrate on building stereoeagle with an internet focus. While I will have copies of Freshy Fresh available at shows and selected shops there won't be a wider physical release of the record until spring. It will however be fully available on all major download sites worldwide.
Also, I plan to release another album on Stereoeagle this year, possibly a double CD with some older tracks remastered, and tour with my new live show, which includes a drummer and DJ. We really want to focus on North America next year. I haven't played in New York since 2005 and that's just wrong considering that's where everything started for me.
I'm very excited about the future. Stereoeagle will be a place not just for me to release my work but also the work of other young artists in this growing movement. In the last couple of years I've met people all over the world who are interested in what I'm doing because they're doing similar things. I hope that one day soon Stereoeagle will be recognized as the world's leading new wave rap label, and the only way to do that is to embrace the future, which is online.
I hope everyone loves the record, as it's easily the best thing I've ever done.
Happy Holidays,
Don Cash
From now until December 26, you can download Freshy Fresh, Don Cash's forthcoming album, which is set to drop via his Stereoeagle label on January 12.
An email sent to Exclaim! from the MC/producer tells all about the album, as well as explaining his recent move away from the Relish label in order to focus on releasing music via his Stereoeagle imprint.
And in case you're looking for more of Don's electro-pumping avant-hop jams, you can find a free download of new single "Take It To The Top" hosted by the RCRD LBL site by clicking here.
(Seriously, why isn't this dude more than a hipster's wet dream?)
Download Freshy Fresh
A message from Don Cash:
Freshy Fresh was recorded at home in Toronto. I played every instrument and did all the programming, there are no guests or samples on the record.
I wrote and recorded about 50 songs this year in between shows in Europe. I wanted to make a record that fit together as a whole but also had that sprawling early '90s hip-hop epic feel like Pete Rock & CL Smooth, where they were shamelessly dropping 70-minute albums with no filler like it was nothing. That's my favorite era in music so far. Still, I hope to release the other songs I wrote at some point. They're pretty good too.
As for the details of Freshy Fresh's release, It's no secret there's been a lot of upheaval in the music business and even established acts are finding it hard to get proper release dates and promotion for their records. It's really hitting the indie dance world hard - vinyl sales of twelve-inch records are down 60 percent in Europe and the company that distributed my records in the UK (Pinnacle) went bankrupt just last week.
It was great working with Relish - they gave a kid from Brampton the chance to see Europe in style - but as the year went on and I saw what was happening in the business, it became clear to me that everything is going digital whether we like it or not. Around six months ago I decided to leave Relish in order to concentrate on building stereoeagle with an internet focus. While I will have copies of Freshy Fresh available at shows and selected shops there won't be a wider physical release of the record until spring. It will however be fully available on all major download sites worldwide.
Also, I plan to release another album on Stereoeagle this year, possibly a double CD with some older tracks remastered, and tour with my new live show, which includes a drummer and DJ. We really want to focus on North America next year. I haven't played in New York since 2005 and that's just wrong considering that's where everything started for me.
I'm very excited about the future. Stereoeagle will be a place not just for me to release my work but also the work of other young artists in this growing movement. In the last couple of years I've met people all over the world who are interested in what I'm doing because they're doing similar things. I hope that one day soon Stereoeagle will be recognized as the world's leading new wave rap label, and the only way to do that is to embrace the future, which is online.
I hope everyone loves the record, as it's easily the best thing I've ever done.
Happy Holidays,
Don Cash
