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AFTERLIFE OUT NOW 

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Since launching the Datsik brand, Troy Beetles continues to evolve as a solo artist all the while pushing his beloved bass music world to new lengths, both on a personal artistry level and as a genre as a whole. From bedroom producer to chart-topping artist, internationally touring act, and owner and founder of the enterprising Firepower Records, Datsik is poised to make bass music the sound of the future with his recent Down 4 My Ninjas EP (Nov. 2014 / Firepower Records) and upcoming release Smoke Bomb ft. Snoop Dogg (Nov. 2015 / Ultra Records). 

Datsik took his initial steps into global dominance in 2009 with his first official release, the Nuke ‘Em EP, which set the new precedence of the future of dubstep and bass music. Immediately following that was the Boom EP featuring Excision and the legendary Flux Pavilion as collaborators. In that same year, Datsik claimed 10 Beatport #1 releases. Additionally, he has also released massive remixes for dance music icons Skrillex, Diplo, Kaskade, and Zedd, as well as two collaborations with Bassnectar and two more with Diplo on his Express Yourself EP. He has also remixed artists from the mainstream pop world and hip-hop spheres such as Coldplay, Lil Wayne, MGMT, Linkin Park, Wu-Tang Clan, one of the biggest influences on his sound, and, most recently, Lana Del Rey.

Nonetheless, Vitamin D, his debut artist album released on Dim Mak Records in 2012, remains his gleaming trophy of work. Rightfully so, as Vitamin D was the first project to illustrate the full spectrum of Datsik’s production cannon and to give glimpses of the artist’s potential as a producer and songwriter. Vitamin D was the first major milestone of many to come in the Datsik storyline. The next chapter came in 2013 in the form of a two-part release, the Cold Blooded EP and the corresponding Let It Burn full-length album, both released on Firepower. While shorter in length, Cold Blooded packs as much a punch as big brother Let It Burn. Hand in hand, Cold Blooded and Let It Burn comprise the knockout one-two punch in Datsik’s artillery.

Datsik stands at a point of transition with his recent EP Down 4 My Ninjas. It exemplifies a more mature Datsik, both in sound and in vision, as it sees the producer taking vast steps outside of dubstep and deeper into his ever-burning fondness for hip-hop. In essence, it is his love letter to the hip-hop and bass music genres and sees a full circle for Datsik as it combines the best of both worlds. Featuring collaborations with DJ Paul of renowned Southern rap group Three 6 Mafia and the legendary KRS-One, Down 4 My Ninjas sees Datsik keeping one foot in bass and one foot in hip-hop and, for the first time ever, sees the artist pairing his original productions with bona fide, universally celebrated members of the rap world. 

With Down 4 My Ninjas in tow and a hefty supporting tour scheduled for 2015, expectations are higher than they’ve ever been for Datsik. Beetles welcomes the challenge, though. It’s what’s kept him developing since those bedroom producer days, and it’s what verifies Datsik as one of the leading figures in the bass music scene of today and tomorrow.

Damian Robert Nesta Marley, also known around the world as “Junior Gong” and more recently as “Gongzilla” was born in 1978 to parents Bob Marley and Cindy Breakspeare, Miss World 1976.  As a young adult, he developed a passion and a gift to speak for those who cannot always speak for themselves. A self-proclaimed ‘Spiritual Revolutionary’, Damian has worked assiduously to carve his own niche in music history and to add a new perspective to the Marley legacy for the 21st century. 

At the age of 13, Damian began performing in a group called “The Shepherds” which comprised of Shiah Coore (son of Third World guitarist Cat Coore) and currently a member of his band, and Yashema Beth McGreggor, daughter of reggae singers Freddie Mcgreggor and Judy Mowatt and then began touring with his brothers, Stephen, Ky-mani, Julian and Ziggy. 

By 1996, Damian had already made his stamp as a different kind of Marley when he released his first solo album “Mr. Marley”, a heavily dancehall-influenced album produced by his brother Stephen Marley.  His second album “Halfway Tree” was released in 2001 by a major record label and showcased Damian’s unique gift for blending dancehall, reggae and hip-hop styles.  This album won Damian much recognition and remained on the Billboard Top Reggae Album Charts for 158 weeks and earned him his first Grammy for Best Reggae Album in 2002. 
While honored by this recognition by the global music fraternity, Damian continued to work in the studio, laying the groundwork for the tracks that would become his highly anticipated album, “Welcome To Jamrock”. The lyrics in this album presented Marley as a true spiritual revolutionary, as he used his talent to evoke a spiritual change while trying to enforce a better way of thinking.  He is described as “rhyming with the conviction of a street preacher with the intellect of a university economist”.  

Damian’s hit single “Welcome to Jamrock” was listed as one of the Top 100 Songs of the Decade by Rolling Stone, and at the 2006 Grammy Awards, he won Best Reggae Album and Best Urban/Alternative Performance for Welcome to Jamrock. Damian is the only Jamaican reggae artist in history to win two Grammy Awards on the same night. He is also the only reggae artist to win in the Best Urban/Alternative Performance category at the Grammy Awards. The New York Times called Welcome to Jamrock the “best reggae song of the decade.” 
Welcome to Jamrock led the pathway to Damian’s critically acclaimed collaboration with Nas for 2010’s much lauded album “Distant Relatives” – a project which explored the relationships between reggae, hip-hop and Africa. The album title refers not only to the bond between the artists, but the connection to their African ancestry, which inspired the album both musically and lyrically. USA Today referred to the album as a “potent and often provocative collaboration” and by Rolling Stone as “an Afrocentric winner.” The album debuted at Number 5 on the Billboard Top 200 Album Chart and Number 1 on the R&B/Hip-Hop Albums, Rap Albums and Reggae Albums charts, with Billboard heralding the album as “a dynamic hybrid.”    

The Distant Relatives Tour kicked off in 2011 and saw Damian traveling and performing for thousands of fans all over the world, including South America, Europe, The United Kingdom, The Caribbean and North America.  

Damian continued to cross musical boundaries in 2012, as he went on to partner with Skrillex for their groundbreaking track “Make It Bun Dem”, which Rolling Stone called “a monster mash up of dubstep and dancehall” and has led to several remixes of the original version.  Damian recently released two other singles; “Set Up Shop” and  “Affairs of the Heart” which both received widespread airplay. 

Damian continues to tour with his band all over the world as a way of entertaining and healing as he continues to spread the message for those whose voices cannot be heard. He is working with his brothers Stephen and Julian under their Ghetto Youths International Label, to discover, develop and sign gifted artistes by applying their musical talent and vast experience to create new and different styles of music.  

Damian is currently in the studio working on his upcoming solo album.

We're not the best, but we're pretty good.

Color Of Water was selected SOUNDCLOUDER OF THE DAY on November 4th, 2011. 

Thank you Soundcloud, and thanks to all the amazing people who have followed us since our selection.
We truly appreciate all the supportive comments left on our tracks, and are humbled by the appreciation shown to us.

We are ALL privileged to be a part of the movement toward oneness, that this site helps facilitate.

Color of Water is what I call this project, begun in early spring of 2011.
After years of searching for musicians who were unusually talented and creative,
I found craigslist of all places, yielded some exquisite diamonds within the coal pile.

I found a precious few who knew, what they were doing and where they were going.
When I surrendered my will to the universe, and allowed the right people to appear
when the timing was right, the results were most impressive.

We truly LISTEN to each other, and I believe this is what makes our music so unusual.

Together, we present these sound sculptures for the pleasure of your enjoyment.

.....COLOR OF WATER.............................

Water becomes what ever color it reflects back, or is influenced by.
From shallow to deep, the sea is pale turquoise, to deep midnight blue.

This elemental quality seems to aptly describe the compositional method we employ,
to generate sound waves resembling music.

To some, music must be structured around a predetermined set of rules and traditions,.
To me this seems rigid and unforgiving.

The music we make is essentially a clear medium, like water, that's tonally influenced
by the colors and textures we feel momentarily inspired to play, or "paint" with sounds.

Sometimes the music is dark and mysterious, other times intensely compelling, or light and whimsical.
It never allows us to know how it will sound. 
If I weren't recording everything we do, none of us would ever be able to recall what was played, or reproduce any of the music.

We each play our own musical instruments in real time, simultaneously, 
with NO rehearsal, or discussion of what's to be played. 

No do overs, nor overdubs, what you hear is exactly 
how it was transmitted to us, "out of thin air".

We have rejected the safety of familiarity, 
and "always being in control of the outcome", so prevalent in modern culture.

These pieces are all examples of our dedication to the music, and our subservience to a greater creative force,
accessible only with a willing heart, and a mind in alignment with the upward evolution of consciousness.

More simply put;

We empty ourselves of any need for control, and allow 
the sound that's always everywhere, to take over and PLAY US.

This may sound preposterous to some, 
and stream of consciousness thinking as it pertains to composing music,
can be difficult to teach as a technique to others. 
However...
The music is a testament to what's possible, if all players present can really listen to the others,
and augment just enough to make a balanced contribution, yet still allow the music to breathe.

The outcome is always determined by the musicians involved, their talent, experience, tastes in music,
and willingness to surrender ego and fear, for the betterment of the music.

The more accomplished and comfortable a player is with their instrument, the better the 
sonic channeling sounds.

However, even average players can amaze themselves with what's possible 
when they let go of the wheel, and allow intuition to guide their expression.

I have created a recording studio sanctuary, 
far from the mundane methodologies of musical mediocrity.

My goal is to somehow help enhance the way people listen; 
to the creative impulse, each other, and especially
the sonic frequencies they create as musicians,
and absorb as listeners.

And to co create music that quiets the mind and nourishes the spirit. 
Sound with no pretense, agenda, or offensive origins.

Those who find themselves invited to the studio, 
are always welcomed to express their individuality in any way they see fit.

The sounds created in an environment of total freedom can be quite breathtaking, 
and astonishingly articulate, in spite of their seemingly haphazard compositional nature.
 

THE MUSICIANS:

Michael Pennington; Drums, Percussion, Native Flute

Daniel Mullikin; Cello, Mandolin, Guitar, Bass, Banjo, Sitar, Sarangi

David Belzer; Piano and Synths

Zach Zarrow; Piano, Synths, Keyboards

Xitlalic Hernandez; Piano, Synths, Guitar

Studio, Engineering and Post Production; 
Michael Pennington, Lesser Pyramid Studio

Every session is professionally recorded, even sound checks, just as they happen.

We have diverse backgrounds, and yet find our common interests dwell within a totally in the moment,
free form stream of consciousness style of creating unique, not easily defined music.

Every note you hear is somehow channeled through us, 
in the moment it was received, and hasn't been altered
or adjusted to conform to ours, 
or anyone's idea of what music should sound like.

We are fearless explorers in mysterious realms, without limitations or self imposed boundaries.

The healing aspects of this activity can be heard and felt in a very visceral way.

If this method is approached with humility, 
It will widen narrow perspectives, and begin to heal the body, mind and spirit. 

Please relax, take a deep breath, and allow all the invigorating energies passing through our instruments 
to accumulate within your place of peace, be it internal or otherwise.

COLOR OF WATER

Frequencies of full spectrum sounds, that flow unhindered over real and imaginary topography. 

Created by finding the joy in abandonment, and the paths of least resistance.

Evolving through emotive environments that compel and inspire our ever awakening state.

This concept is welcomed within our hearts and musical expression, 
and has thus become manifest in these movements of sound.

We seek to refine and restore our connection to as many subtle and intricate qualities of sound as possible.

We invite any willing participants to travel with us on these sonic sojourns, 
through the deep, dark and distant, or shimmering, immediate, places they take us. 

I've heard it said, "we'd make great pets", and "the coming age is new".
But sometimes when your back is turned, the truth's in FRONT of you.

Thanks to all our families, friends, and followers for your support and for listening.

Thanks to Soundcloud for allowing it to happen.

Be good to each other.....

Always Everywhere,

Michael Pennington
Color of Water
1.1.2012


 


FatCat Records is a British independent record label founded in 1997.

Twitter / TikTok: Skrillex

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