Jellyfish Recordings

Jellyfish Recordings is very pleased to present The Walk Off  by Hashbrown. Another Vancouver native partaking in the beat culture that we hold so dear. The Walk Off is 37 (count em) tracks of instrumental delights. This release, as with most of our releases, will be a pay what you like album. So feel free to download it for free, but if you want to support Jellyfish Recordings and the culture that we represent don’t hesitate to drop a dollar or two in the hat

NEWTON, Surrey.

In the precarious township of Newton resides a burgeoning producer in search of a voice and a path of his own. 19 year old Hashbrown, the product of a courier driver father and a social worker mother, finds himself standing at a proverbial fork in the road contemplating which direction to take. On one hand, the paved pathway forged by his influences, contemporaries, and predecessors, while on the other, the long and winding road of the unknown, full of unpredictability and the promise of adventure.

Guided and informed by sample-based productions of both golden and post-millennial eras, Hashbrown began his artistic pursuits at the age of 15 upon acquiring a secondhand sampler as a birthday present. He spent the following months rigorously absorbing a variety of approaches/ techniques and eventually applying them to his own lo-fi “trial by error” productions.

The results of his initial attempts were later documented on The Walk On – a sprawling collection of photograph-like moments ranging from playful soul re workings to vaulting vocal cut ups; from looping laments of dreams longed to the quietest of storms harnessed and weathered. Simplistic and succinct by nature, the individual pieces act as log entries in an ever moving slideshow spanning 33 tracks. Shared exclusively amongst family and fellow artists, The Walk On proved to be only the prelude to something else.

After an extended hiatus (for undisclosed reasons) Hashbrown remerges with The Walk Off , a companion/twin piece to its above mentioned predecessor. Sharing both striking similarities and definitive differences, The Walk Off acts as the spirited conclusion of a 3-year field study. If The Walk On, in all its impulsiveness and naïveté, presented the ideas/hypothesis of a young impressionable mind, then The Walk Off is the reexamination (in support or in refutation) of those very same ideas, yet with an array of life experiences and worldly knowledge as its lens/filter.

Cloaked in the guise of a pedestrian-like beat tape/mix, The Walk Off weaves 37 individual vignettes into a narrative detailing the unfolding of a day: from the moments before eyes open upon wake (“before eyes”) to the clamoring clutter of clocked commutes (“more motor”), to the hope fueled diatribes at the dimming of day (“there is a place”) to the solace and serenity of a horizon-less night (“season’s change”). Propelled by both frenetic and solemn pulses, a great sense of urgency permeates the sonic and emotional base of The Walk Off.

Drawing from a sonic palette consisting of sounds from the mid 60s-late 70’s (a product of hours mining the dollar basement of Apollo Records), Hashbrown reduces the source material to its barest elements; bringing more out of the sample and thus, allowing possibilities to become self apparent. Once-hidden characteristics are now brought out to the forefront, playing integral roles in the assembly of new grooves and rhythms, all the while preserving the integrity and magic of the source material.

With its sparse arrangements and constant shifting, The Walk Off is a fitting soundtrack to any journey (be it by foot or by wheel). Dubbed “music for heavy traffic”, the listener is invited to become an active and vital part in its full presentation. The interaction/interplay between the music and the listener’s physical and emotional environments allows the listener to participate as both the guided as well as the guide, resulting in a much deeper experience.

Originally released through the private archival label Outerbound Recordings, a chance meeting with Jellyfish founder and creative director Eli Muro secured an outlet for wider release and broadcast. The newly formed relationship with Jellyfish Recordings marks Hashbrown’s inaugural attempt at sharing his music with the general public. Though his future remains relatively unknown, Hashbrown’s The Walk Off commemorates and honors the journey, the people and the sounds that have lead him to this point. It is now, with conviction and devotion, time for Hashbrown to walk on a road of his own.

Also check out our promo video for the album