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PRESS RELEASE
Contact:
Brian Coleman / Good Road
[email protected]
DJ / PRODUCER PRESERVATION ANNOUNCES JULY 9 RELEASE OF
FULL-LENGTH ALBUM: OLD NUMBERS
Featuring Yasiin Bey, Edo G, Jean Grae, Jim Jarmusch and more
Debut full-length follows June’s acclaimed The REcstatic (full-album remix of Yasiin Bey’s The Ecstatic)
“Three key steps to leading a rewarding and enriched life:
(1) Wake up. (2) Be awesome. (3) LISTEN TO PRESERVATION.”
– Yasiin Bey
"Preservation’s respect for creation and freedom is brilliant. He's a genius, dammit." – Jean Grae
On July 9, 2013, DJ and producer Preservation – who has shared stages and studios with Yasiin Bey (f.k.a.
Mos Def) for the past eight years – unleashes an accomplished collection of soulful, head-nodding hip-hop on
Old Numbers, featuring a wide range of MCs. It is the first commercial release on Mon Dieu Music.
Video for “Shyne” (featuring Yahzeed): http://vimeo.com/69051567
Video for “Disorderly Conduct” (featuring 32 FX): http://vimeo.com/69051567
Mon Dieu Music store (iTunes link + LP/CD orders): http://www.mondieumusic.com/store.html
The 11-track album – available digitally as well as on CD and LP – boasts a range of styles featuring veteran
MCs Yasiin Bey, Jean Grae, Edo G, Jemini the gifted one & Minnesota – and introducing – Queens, NY’s
32 FX, New York’s Yahzeed, & Chicago’s Milly Mango. The re-release of GZA’s composition “O”
(originally on 2005’s Think Differently album on Babygrande, only on the LP version), read by acclaimed film
director Jim Jarmusch is a special inclusion to round out this very wide-ranging release.
The title’s dual meaning – a throwback referencing songs as “numbers” and “old” referring to the tracks being
compiled over several years – explains the sentimental nature of the album. Preservation’s method of putting
the record together by collecting tracks one-by-one over the course of eight years is a testament to his namesake
and to the timeless nature of the music.
Preservation says, “For me this album is a documentation of the people I’ve collaborated with over the last
eight years and how I’ve been working musically. The songs are the first I’ve made with many of these MCs and
they express my range of production styles. It’s important for me to share these songs in album form as my first
solo release to showcase my ‘old numbers’ and in turn peak the listeners’ curiosity of what’s to come.”
As a first song with Preservation circa 2005, Yasiin Bey (then known as Mos Def) chose a west coast-inspired,
bass heavy, low riding track that brings out his signature swagger. All the while, he stays true to his continuous
push for message music with the hook and song title: “Freedom is Everybody’s Job.”
“Planet Mercury,” created with chops on the SP-1200, provides a chance to hear Jemini the gifted one and
Edo G on the same track, reminding listeners that veterans are always relevant when they bring skills. As
additional background, this track is one of the first produced by Preservation on an SP-1200 purchased from
Edo. The title is a nod to Edo G and Jemini being label-mates at Mercury Records in the early 1990s.
Preservation’s driving back-beat on “Set-up” brings out Jean Grae’s exquisite storytelling of some all-toofamiliar nightlife confrontations. Another notable MC, Minnesota steps out from behind the beat machine with
the Bronx’s Money Boss Players to deliver a three-minute, one-verse stunner describing the code of the streets.
It is appropriately entitled “Code Noir.”
Queens-based 32 FX rhyme over a grimy, no-drums rock loop on “Disorderly Conduct.” It’s the kind of track
that makes you want to steal a car… as you can see in the music video for the song. Young, Chicago-based
female MC / singer / musician Milly Mango delivers perhaps the album’s catchiest and most surprising song:
“Warrior Wings,” an anthem for boys and girls growing up in today’s America.
A Preservation album favorite, the track “Shyne” perfectly melds music and rhyme capturing a deep and
personal human story in one verse of vivid imagery, featuring long-time collaborator Yahzeed. Yahzeed’s Of
Monolithic Proportions EP, produced by Preservation, will drop on Mon Dieu Music this fall.
In addition to the music on this excellent indie hip-hop album, Preservation also co-directed two videos:
“Disorderly Conduct” and “Shyne”.
Old Numbers is available digitally via Mon Dieu Music’s website (http://www.mondieumusic.com/store.html),
as well as on iTunes, & Amazon. Physical distribution includes vinyl (with download card) and CD. Physical
music is available via Mon Dieu Music and at select retailers.
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Preservation Biography and Selected Production Discography available
Press photo of Preservation by Mr. Mass