So much for “just whistling ‘Dixie.’” Jazz-trained multi-instrumentalist Tim Conley has waaaaay too much heavy shit to say for one or two little melodies to cut it.
Luckily, the man known as MAST is all set to release a MASSIVE new album (his second) titled Love and War, which comes out October 7 on the Alpha Pup label. And at a walloping 17 tracks — split and sequenced into a personal three-act play in which each cacophonous composition flows seamlessly into the next using recurring musical motifs as “characters.” — it just might help him say it.
Composed of “mostly instrumental compositions consisting of rousing electronic elements perfectly intertwined with live guitar, keyboards, bass and drums,” Conley is reinforced along the way by musicians from the electro-jazz sphere, including Taylor McFerrin, Makaya McCraven, Luis Cole, Josh Johnson, Gavin Templeton, Brian Marsella, Ryat, Marta Bagratuni, Nigel Sifantus, Anwar Marshall, among others. As the complex tapestry unfolds, Conley weaves a story of “finding love and the beauty and naivety that comes with exploring something new” (Act 1); “losing that love due to her substance abuse, deception and Conley coping in unhealthy ways” (Act 2); and of course, “learning to let go, heal and ultimately find a much deeper lasting love” (Act 3).
Got all that? No? Well, lucky for you, Conley is willing to help you get acclimatized by kicking the jazz party off a little early with the album’s first single, “She’s Chasing The Dragon,” which features the Philly-based Fresh Cut Orchestra doing some shiny, crazy, brilliant, brassy shit all over the top of it. Check the track out down below as many times in-a-row as you need to between now and October 17 in order to help tune your brain to the incredibly powerful frequency at which MAST is apparently operating at all times.
Love and War tracklisting:
ACT 1 - Love
01. Loves Metamorphosis Theme
02. The Rendezvous(feat Anwar Marshall)
03. You, every second minute hour day
04. The Temptation(feat Marta Bagratuni)
05. She’s Chasing the Dragon(feat Fresh Cut Orchestra)
ACT 2 - War
06. The Sorrow
07. The Breakup (feat Ryat)
08. The Night Drive (feat Tim Lefebvre and Josh Johnson)
09. The Downward Spiral (feat. Brian Marsella)
10. The Letting Go(feat. Taylor McFerrin)
11. On the Prawl again, again (feat. Louis Cole and Gavin Templeton)
12. Should’ve Swiped Left (feat. the Koreatown Oddity)
ACT 3 - Transcendence
13. A New Love
14. Feels (feat Nigel Sifantus)
15. Me and You (feat Andrée Belle)
16. The Liberation (feat Makaya McCraven)
17. Transcendence/ Loves Metamorphosis Theme