Catharsis EP
"An instrumental project about letting go in a world afraid of change."
““I drew from my greatest inspiration, legendary Detroit hip-hop producer, the late J Dilla as well as techno music which was born out of the city’s post-industrial atmosphere.””
One of the most intriguing and perhaps frustrating parts of adulthood is identifying what power you truly have over your life. We live in a very mechanical and soulless society, and each day it becomes more and more apparent that our “choices” often are just an illusion, and much about our lives has already been decided for us by faceless and powerful entities.
I composed this album during a time in my life where I finally realized the one way I can truly exercise power in my life, by letting go. And not just letting go, but allowing that process to open you up to the limitless possibilities of an infinite universe. In Carthasis EP, I seek to convey the concept of fluidity as an adaptive principle that can lead to a more fulfilling life.
It can be characterized as electronic music that some might call alt-R&B, others might call chillwave and the rest might call experimental hip-hop. At any rate, it was all recorded while I was living in the West Village neighborhood in Detroit and experiencing my own personal transformation while engaging with a community dedicated to letting go to old paradigms of patriarchy and ruthless competition and embracing a new personal autonomy that’s rooted in community, sharing and spiritual balance with one’s true self.
The album cover was done by native Detroiter and digital artist, Michael Tré, and was inspired by the current artistic and philosophical movement, Afrofuturism, which is having a great influence on the culture of the city and Black communities around the world."
There are plenty of ways to listen to Catharsis. Check it out on:
Executive producer, synthesizer, keyboards, sampler: Joshua Snowden
Album Artwork: Michael Tré Randall
Electronic guitar: Paul Darnell
"Rhythmic Fractals" contains sample of harpist/singer Ahya Simone performing "Falling Short" by Låpsley
About J. Snow
J. Snow is a 26-year-old experimental music producer. He was born in Detroit, however, for much of my childhood he spent weekdays with his mother in Kalamazoo, Michigan and weekends and summers in Detroit with other family members. He was heavily influenced by music growing up as many of my mother and other family members introduced him to hip-hop, jazz, funk, soul, R&B and gospel music. This music would constantly fill the spaces he was in, especially when in the car traveling between Kalamazoo and Detroit. At a very young age he knew he wanted to play piano, and soon thereafter he became very interested in music production and began deconstructing songs he'd hear on the radio and re-making them. His influences include Erykah Badu, J Dilla, D'Angelo, Flying Lotus, as well as my experiences playing in the Black Pentecostal church and jazz and marching band in high school.