Rucksack International Hip Hop 2 Items

Sometimes you need to look to the past as much as the future. 'The Overview Effect' by emcee-producer duo Jermiside & The Expert is a vast musical collage of psychedelic soundscapes merged with hip hop’s golden age. A socially conscious psychedelic hip-hop album inspired by Marvin Gaye’s narrative on ‘What’s Going On’ mixed with tripped-out beats reminiscent of Edan’s ‘Beauty & The Beat.’

The production on 'The Overview Effect' takes on late-60s psychedelic folk/rock, viewed through a 90s b-boy mentality of heavy drums and dope breaks. Built with a keen ear for detail, The Expert densely layered his productions with tons of samples, seamlessly weaved together. Swirling strings, sitars, Moogs and crunchy guitars are all present, accompanied by trippy sound effects. “In terms of songwriting, very few songs on this record have a ‘classic song structure’,” says The Expert. “Key influences include bands like The Zombies, The Beach Boys, The Left Banke, and Love’s 1967 cult classic, 'Forever Changes.'”

This album was a way of paying tribute to the artists and music Jermiside & The Expert love, but done in their own way. 'The Overview Effect' is an album that never overstays its welcome and demands repeated listening. “I wanted the songs to have multiple layers, different sections, and intriguing arrangements so there’s something new to discover every time,” adds The Expert.

The carefully crafted collage on the album cover reflects war, greed, injustice, racism, and social ecology. Jermiside’s vivid imagery paints his own picture of a broken world yet one where the power is still in our hands to change it. “I came across a podcast with an astronaut describing his experience in space,” recalls Jermiside. “The feeling was described as ‘the overview effect,’ which is essentially a keen sense of awareness astronauts feel after viewing planet earth from the vantage point of space for the first time.”

Jermiside’s ‘overview effect’ confronts the state of the world we now live in and the struggles we face. This starts on the opening track “I Love You, Still?” with Jermiside questioning his love for his home country. “Black Tears” sees Jermiside and Stik Figa trade experiences about racial challenges and inequalities, while “Bullet shock” deals with police and the use of authority. The album then ends on a positive note with “A Little Love” stating that love conquers all. A closing message in line with the sampled spirit of the 60s.