SCOTT THOROUGH “Bird” C37 (Specious Arts)


You didn’t see rap producer Scott Thorough coming. That is, actually, you didn’t see “Bird” by rap producer Scott Thorough coming, because how could you? How could you expect this from a man who has worked with artists such as Serengeti, Samson, Cavalier, and Junk Science? This is not a beat tape. This is something else.

Scott Thorough is also a film composer, and that’s … aha, I see your eyes lighting up! You’re getting it. That’s where “Bird” comes in, an at-times playful, at-times tense, at-times drifting journey through Scott Thorough’s mind. “Bird” drums up all kinds of visuals as it winds through its sixteen tracks, each one patiently settling on a scene and letting it play out. Gentle piano tunes rub up against wind chimes, harmoniums and distorted rhythms collide, feedback makes its presence felt within an ancient Caretaker-esque sample, and tranquil drones intermingle with their dissonant counterparts.

What’s great is that each track is different, each scene defines itself, but the flow from one to the next is seamless and natural. “Bird” may not conjure avian flight in your mind, necessarily, but perhaps the tranquility with which it observes human behavior far below it is its secret. Everything looks a lot slower and more deliberate from afar, much more static and permanent. “Bird” ruminates on that, and draws you ever closer to its heart.

I mean, Scott, you can keep producing rappers, but be sure to keep this going too.




--Ryan