In the age of cross Atlantic projects The Overview Effect is an awesome album. The brainchild of Atlanta emcee Jermiside and Dublin based producer The Expert it’s a concept album. The duo run full pelt into 1960’s psychedelia while poignant bars galore delve (at times) into much needed social commentary.
Before we get onto your rather awesome album, tell us about the history between you two and how that started?
Jermiside- Man, I really had to do some hard thinking on this one. As far as I can recollect, I was introduced to The Expert’s work around the time me and Irish producer, Danny Diggs dropped Quiet As Kept on HiPNOTT Records in 2013. Danny brought The Expert onboard to remix our single Victory is Mine. He also did some remix work for the Lessondary, so I became very familiar with his work.
The Expert-After I did those remixes with Jermiside we kept in touch through email. I then asked him to write a track for a socially conscious based psychedelic boom bap album that I began working on. That first track we worked on was Middle Ground. Over the next while I continued working on that project but nobody quite got the concept like Jerm so I asked him if he wanted to write another, which he did. I was blown away by that too so then I sent him a bunch of tracks and we began working on the full length shortly after that.
The Overview Effect press releases states it is a “vast musical collage of psychedelic soundscapes merged with hip hop’s golden age” discuss this more and the idea behind this fusion?
The Expert: I suppose this idea all really started when I began working in a record shop (Tower Records) back in the day. I used to spend all day every day listening to music. At one point I decided to try and work my way through all the albums from each artist starting from A-Z of each genre that I had an interest in. So, I listened to all the soul and jazz sections a lot of which I was familiar with. I then went on to the psychedelic section and my mind was blown.
The production rocked my world both sonically and regarding the structures and arrangements. I continued to incorporate psychedelic elements into lots of my productions. The Overview Effect was the first album to incorporate it fully.
The world has been ‘worlding’ for a long time and will continue to do so indefinitely. This is just our own current, unique take on age-old issues, social inequities, brutality, war, love, and peace,
“For The Money” is your new single-that idea of working in a job that one does necessarily want to do is interesting-talk more about that job that eludes us?
Jermiside- I think we have all been in that space of being unfulfilled in an occupation we don’t necessarily want to do. As an artist at heart though, that feeling is magnified by 1000% because your true calling, (which is almost never the most lucrative pursuit), is always haunting you at every turn. At the end of the day you have to push on and that’s what we all do at the end of the day. It’s an ongoing internal debate I have with myself. As I get older and wiser the path of balance is becoming a bit clearer.
Love that album cover talk about that more particularly how it feeds into the whole themes within the album?
The Expert-It was created by Gavin Feiritéar and I. We connected through social media. It came from the music itself and albums that inspired its creation. Lots of the psychedelic albums from the 1960’s use collage, cut and paste type imagery on their covers so that inspired me to use that as a template using the topics we discuss. Genuinely think his work is amazing and would recommend everyone check out his work in more detail.
I think we have all been in that space of being unfulfilled in an occupation we don’t necessarily want to do. As an artist at heart though, that feeling is magnified by 1000% because your true calling, (which is almost never the most lucrative pursuit), is always haunting you at every turn.
Of course, break down the themes and ideas in the album- and how they feed into the current global climate right now?
Jermiside-The Expert had the idea of the overarching concept, and I just ran and fleshed it out. The world has been ‘worlding’ for a long time and will continue to do so indefinitely. This is just our own current, unique take on age-old issues, social inequities, brutality, war, love, and peace, it’s all a part of how this world operates by design apparently. Like the great Drew Bundini once said, “This is God’s act, we’re just actors in it.”
Great collaborations discuss- Stik Figa, Tanya Morgan, and Libyan-Irish singer Farah Elle.
Jermiside: Tanya Morgan is family, I always gotta reach out to them or the Lessondary in some capacity. I wanted to put Tanya Morgan on a track that wasn’t necessarily a-typical of what’s expected. I thought Crime Run The City as a topic was a good curve ball without being far out.
The Expert: Been a big fan of Stik Figa for a long time and always wanted to work with him so I reached out to see if he would be up for doing something. Delighted he wanted to get involved and thought he nailed it. Would love to work with him again in the future as I think he is incredible. Farah Elle is a singer from Dublin who I’ve worked with a number of times. “I Love You, Still?” suited her voice so I asked her to jump on it as an experiment. She only did one full take over the beat and absolutely nailed it. She’s a real gem of a person and as a singer.