NASHVILLE |Dear media friends,
Leading up to the July 3 release of his album ENTER THE NIGHT (Ultra Music), DROP THE LIME shares the cover art and this track by track …
A sampling of the album can be heard via this mini-mix here.
ENTER THE NIGHT
Track By Track
I grew up with parents who constantly played 50’s and 60’s rock n’ roll, blues, old country and soul in the house.
Growing up in the urban active environment of NYC ignited my teenage rebellious ways to drop the guitar and romp with the club hounds and bass vamps, eventually leading me to take the career path as a DJ. It wasn’t until a few years ago that I rediscovered my love for the energy of 50’s/60’s rock n’ roll and blues. I began to moonlight my club sets with rockabilly and jump-blues sets and eventually created club edits to mix into my dance DJ gigs.
This soon led to adding my own blues and rockabilly guitar playing in remixes and original tracks…
This newfound love and comfort was an awakening that only could have happened from the frustration and monotony that touring as an EDM DJ can trigger.
ENTER THE NIGHT is a celebration of existence through song and returning to my youthful roots of blues and rock n’ roll, while combining it with the endless excitement and love I will forever have for electronic music.
I am always intrigued by the anticipation, the tension and mystery that the night invites. Get lost in new cities, be found in the shadows. Darkness is magic and an unknown feeling in such a public world. It’s a feeling that electronic music and rock n’ roll have always sparked in me.
We immerse ourselves into the passion of a city’s lust, romance and rowdiness. By doing so, we meet new people; we make memories with strangers and gain new adventures with friends and lovers. ENTER THE NIGHT is a journey into the mysterious dark, from sunset to sunrise.
–Drop the Lime
“Not The Only One”
I traveled to New Orleans for a few weeks and immersed myself in jazz, blues, bounce, bluegrass, brass bands and beyond. As I was inspired and drawn to the eerie and inspiring energy, I knew I wasn’t alone in this attraction to New Orleans. This is where “Not The Only One” was then written–inspired by early Link Wray guitar riffs and wild vocal styles of Hasil Adkins and New Orleans’ own Dr. John.
“Bandit Blues”
When you grow up in a city like Manhattan, you become addicted to the turbulent cultures colliding, the hustle and the bustle. But, as with all love comes frustration. “Bandit Blues” is my frustration with the love affair I have with the vicious yet romantically attractive metropolis. We weave in and out of trends, friends and tastes as they constantly evolve.I returned to the first Muddy Waters and Blind Willie Jefferson riffs I learned as a teenager and mixed it with the modern, bassy grittiness of club music. It’s a song about my forever-changing city—a city I love to hate, but hate to love.
“Darkness”
Through the tough, through the rough, the mystery that the night beholds is always something new, and will always be there to show you something different and exciting. Never bored, never tired, never the same. I’m always drawn to it. Heavily inspired by early Italo and early electro arpeggios, I combined a heavy blues-driven riff with lyrics about my forever flirt with heartbreaks.
“No Sleep”
This is an ode to craft cocktail bars and late nightclub romps. I wrote this one night after a long-winded bender at The Standard Hotel’s Le Bain rooftop club in Manhattan, one of the best views of Manhattan.
“Stay Up Late”
I was living in Berlin at the time, but spent a month in the olive tree-filled valleys of Umbria, Italy, that summer. The concoction of late night clubbing and sun basking in the fields of Umbria inspired an Ennio Morricone Spaghetti Western vibe. Staying up beyond sleep, traversing into unknown space, getting lost together with those that make you feel so safe and found. “Stay Up Late” is an ode to everybody who lives life to its fullest potential and remembers that we may very well only live once, so we should celebrate existence and enjoy what we have.
“(Ghost) Riders In The Sky”
Enamored with Sergio Leone’s Spaghetti Westerns, this was an ode to the stark and vibrant mood they reflect. Combining the suspense of this classic Duane Eddy riff with the suspense and emotional release of dark and deep techno tracks, I wanted the listener to get entranced in an empty yet captivating place. I replayed the riff on an old reverend hollow body and sampled claves tapping on its body to create a galloping like melody.
“State Trooper”
I always admired Springsteen’s musical achievement and prolific career, but I was never a diehard fan until I heard “Nebraska.” The dark and moody textures sparked a creative hunger inside. Images of a stark and mystical, David Lynch-like drive into unknown roads and romantic, sexually deviant encounters of the night sparked me to cover the epic song. There is an unbreakable relationship between the chugging of a train, the endless stretch of a highway, the entrancing pulse of techno and house. This song evoked feelings of losing all inhibitions, the constant pursuit to finding the right love and defeating a stronger force to get there.
“Devil’s Eyes”
This began as a hook I’d sing while DJing over mixes. It eventually became my first hard-pounding, bass-heavy single that mixed my blues and gospel singing roots. Continuing on the outlaw lone star Western vibe with the guitar and a nod to trap and hip hop, I pulled back the club approach to express a swooned-out, galactic, shoe-gaze influenced version.
“Circles”
I released the first version of this on my very first EP on an indie label out in Oakland in 2007, Tigerbeat6. My dreams have always come back around and in some way or another become apparent in reality—from heartbreak to heart shake. We dream in circles, we breathe in circles and time quickly slips away, allowing us to forget all our worries and enjoy the moment. This is me admitting I am a spiritual and superstitious person in nature, but never religious. I’ve returned to my youthful roots musically, so redoing an old song of mine such as “Circles” felt appropriate.
“Leaving”
A love affair with the night that can only tempt us to return again soon, but sometimes alone to meet someone new all over again. Catch me if you can, my unfound love.
Drop the Lime’s ENTER THE NIGHT will be released July 3 on Ultra Music.
www.dropthelime.com
Contact:
Alexandra Greenberg/MSO
agreenberg@msopr.com
