The Last Artful, Dodgr & Neill Von Tally Bone Music

With “Bone Music”, The Last Artful, Dodgr assuredly steps into a lane that's hers alone." -Pitchfork

The Bone Music LP comes on 140-gram black vinyl and includes in the packaging a double sided 24"x24" poster with lyrics on one side and the cover of the album on the other. The LP also comes with full album credits and thank yous on an insert.

“Bone Music” is a conceptualization from Portland producer Neill Von Tally and The Last Artful, Dodgr. After meeting and hearing The Last Artful, Dodgr, originally from Los Angeles, California, and now an Oregonian for the past three years, Von Tally knew immediately that he had found the perfect voice and artist to recreate and embody the sound of the Cold War Soviet Union he had long been striving for. To anchor Von Tally’s vision he recorded the sound of passing traffic and the cacophony of public spaces. He collected discarded tin and aluminum cans in a plastic garbage bag, to beat it with a lead pipe.

With these found sounds, coupled with a profound influence from ambient atmospheres, Von Tally’s creates the dystopian setting that is “Bone Music”. With her addictive mixture of hip-hop, R&B, and soulful heartwrenching vocals, The Last Artful, Dodgr inhabits this dreary postindustrial dystopia. A product of Bone Music’s enveloping climate, Dodgr, leads listeners through the bleakness of routine, through work, through the blue-collar struggle. This is best exemplified on the track “LLC,” where Dodgr’s mantra, “All you ought to do is work,” sets the album’s tone. On “Bone Music”, Dodgr embodies the duality of hope and persistence, of oppression and autocracy, which resonates in striking similarity to today’s world.

Coming off their Fractures EP, “Bone Music” is Neill Von Tally and The Last Artful, Dodgr’s second collaborative release through EYRST. On tracks like “Caverns,” “Good/Gravy,” and “Oofda,” Von Tally and Dodgr gel like a team of seasoned musical veterans. With features from Natasha Kmeto, and EYRST label mate Myke Bogan, Bone Music isn’t afraid to challenge expectations. It’s an album heavily conceptual, progressively unhindered, daring and unflinching from two of Portland’s most innovative artists.