As MarQ Spekt hang glides through Atlanta like the schizoid hero from whom he takes his name, time slows down like Franklin’s special driving ability to the point where symbols like mph and $/hr become exactly that — symbols: nothing more, nothing less. Therefore, as we prepare for the sonic boom and subsequent jetlag sure to accompany Jus Play Witit — Spekt’s forthcoming full-length collaboration with cranial hip-hop producer Blockhead — it might do our senses some good to establish a timeline of these artists’ 2013 works heretofore.
- April 16: Blockhead teams with Illogic, one half of Columbus, OH-based Greenhouse crew, to release Capture The Sun on Man Bites Dog Records.
- May 14: Having culled six instrumentals from the vaults of experimental jazz-man Gary Wilson, MarQ Spekt drops Broken Mazes independently and totally unannounced.
- July 2: Following much anticipation, Block and former Super Chron Flight Brother billy woods release Dour Candy on billy’s own Backwoodz Studioz.
- July 15: UK-based hip-hop excavator Chopped Herring Records begins taking orders for MarQ Spekt’s Mark of the Beast EP, an eight-song vinyl consisting mostly of previously released material, but including a few unheard tracks too.
- July 30: In a subtle preview of good things to come, Blockhead and MarQ Spekt’s first (released, but probably not their first recorded) team-up hits the net in the form of “Tinseltown Remix,” a brilliant reworking of the Dour Candy single.
- September 14: The above video is uploaded to Dallas Penn’s Vimeo page.
- September 18: I get an email about it and spend nearly half my work day putting this post together.
• MarQ Spekt: https://twitter.com/marQspekt
• Blockhead: http://phatfriend.com