Ticino’s Reed Blue Releases Single Shadow Trip to Help Focus a Chaotic
Although Ticino, an Italian section of Switzerland, may not be the first location that comes to mind when you think of 90s East Coast-inspired hip hop, Reed Blue and his boom-bap track Shadow Trip hail from there.
The remaster streamlines the music, condensing it to its basic essence, and it’s a remaster of his previous work. “Do Not Distract Me,” a stunning message from Shadow Trip, is a striking warning for a world on the verge of anarchy.
“I’m perplexed,” Reed Blue admits. The track explores the repurposing of electronic sounds in an old-school setting. In a hip-hop environment at a high school. The majority of the music is ambient, with some abstract singers repeating the motto ‘Do Not Distract.’
The tune, ‘Me,’ takes listeners on a musically dreamy journey. The solitary ebbs and flows in and out of existence. The cutting and altering of its samples, all of which are anchored by a mesmerising bottom line. Shadow Trip, like the artist, has had a long road to get to where it is now. Reed Blue, driven by an urge to tell something for the particular period we are living in, decided to get back to the track by shortening, remastering, and finally releasing it because he felt this is a suitable time for it. It was originally composed in London on the cusp of the millennium and never fully released before. “We don’t need to be diverted.” “We must remain focused and not succumb to fear,” he argues.
Reed Blue’s love of music dates back to his boyhood, when his brother, a DJ, introduced him to a wide range of music not found in his home country of Switzerland. Reed was introduced to the delights of rap and dance music through his younger brother. Reed Blue had a front-row seat to the beginnings of what became the techno and hard house movement as his brother grew into a pioneer of these types of music in Ticino. Reed channelled his inspiration into his own particular music, surrounded by talent on all sides.
In the early 1990s, the artists began to forge their own paths. Reed Blue began his career as a rapper but was dissatisfied after playing with other people’s rhythms and bands (including a local reggae club). Reed Blue has grown into the lyricist and composer he was supposed to be since then. On his song Shadow Trip (Remaster Cut), which is now available to stream and purchase on digital platforms, this brilliance shines brightly.
Words By: Aaran F
