Eyedress breaks down his new punk mixtape COMMITTING CRIMES

Read extra: How UK protest punk flourished off the again of political turmoil

“I didn’t really tell anyone about this mixtape except for my friends who helped me make it,” he says of the mission. “It’s a community thing. I got the gang on here helping me behind the scenes — got rappers playing bass and skaters, who clear 20-stair handrails, whispering on synth-punk beats and even got the synth-punk god himself, N8NOFACE.”

Below Eyedress breaks down each observe on his collaborative new punk mixtape.

“OPP HUNTING SEASON” (FEAT. JUICE & MICHAEL MYERS)

I made this track in a haze of smoke in my studio at house with my mates Juice and Michael, who each are insane skaters who can skate 10 stairs, as seen within the music video. Me and Juice each performed the synths on this synth-punk track, and Michael did his verse immediately after we completed recording the instrumental. Feel like that is the form of track you take heed to if you’re about to get right into a struggle, on the lookout for a struggle, searching down your enemies or the entire above. This track represents how I grew up in Phoenix, Arizona. I all the time bought into fights at college, and typically we’d take the fights out to the streets after faculty.

“SCHOOL BURNERS” (FEAT. NATIA)

I made this instrumental a pair years in the past once I lived in a tiny studio condominium in Echo Park. Originally it was for me and N8NOFACE’s punk mission DON’T DIAL 911, however we ended up not utilizing it. I keep in mind I texted the instrumental to my buddy, Inglewood rapper Natia, who’s loopy gifted, however someday I used to be like, “You down to get on some punk shit?” and naturally, he was down. We recorded the vocals only a couple weeks in the past, to be sincere. It was one of many final songs I made for the album, and I’m glad it’s on right here as a result of natia has all the time been a superb buddy, and it’s tremendous random that he bought on a punk observe, nevertheless it’s additionally good ’trigger Natia is fairly bizarre anyhow. I believe Natia’s lyrics are about his love for cocaine and mine are nearly shit I did once I was a young person. Things like sneaking out my mother and father’ automobile, hot-boxing the automobile and getting so drunk I cross out on the ground.

“DIE WITH DIOR ON” (FEAT. NICK BLANCO)

Probably one of many oldest songs on the album. Me and Nick made this in the identical studio condominium I used to be residing at in Echo Park that I discussed earlier. Around that point, me and Nick had been making a bunch of music movies on VHS. We used to kick it lots throughout the pandemic. We’d smoke blunts and document ignorant Auto-Tune rap shit to plugg beats we discovered on YouTube. One day we determined to attempt approaching a punk beat the identical approach we might a plugg beat, which was rapping about designer garments, flexing and having costly shit however over a punk beat. I solely did my verse a pair weeks in the past additionally, however I’ve been holding on to the track ever since, and I knew when the time was proper I’d get on it.

“SACRED SECRETS” (FEAT. N8NOFACE)

I made this beat fully on my laptop computer on a flight from Miami to Los Angeles. I initially recorded vocals about being excessive on medicine ’trigger I believed it sounded onerous with the beat. Then I noticed Nate make a publish about how he had struggled with habit, so it made me wanna change the message of the track. I deleted these outdated vocals and got here up with these new ones about why it’s so onerous to remain sober. I used to be talking from expertise as a result of I struggled with sobriety earlier than and thought it might be completely different to do vocals on a synth-punk track the place you’d anticipate some hard-ass lyrics however as an alternative ended up being about one thing actually optimistic. As for Nate’s lyrics, all I can say is we don’t snitch round right here! 

“COMMITTING CRIMES”

I believe this track actually represents the darker facet of me. it’s like a soundtrack to all of the occasions once I did a bunch of silly shit that always bought me into bother. The music actually captures that dangerous, sketchy vibe I used to be all the time on and the adrenaline I bought from doing all these loopy issues like operating from the cops, beginning fires, all while feeling like an absolute failure in life.

“SLIT WRIST SLUMBER PARTY” (PROD. BY RAZY)

I made this track with my photographer Razy, who additionally likes taking part in the synthesizer at any time when he will get an opportunity at my studio we all the time document [in], and that is a type of tracks that we made. It seems like darkish online game music, particularly with the Donkey Kong samples in there. Me and Razy love Donkey Kong, so you realize we needed to put it in there. Overall this can be a optimistic punk track impressed by my heroes Bad Brains with their PMA (optimistic psychological perspective) and that complete mindset. I believe I discuss being sick of letting my household down. I assume I wished to make a track about turning my life round regardless of all of the occasions I allow them to down once I was youthful.

“1800 SUICIDE” (FEAT. JAY UGHH)

A track I want I had made sooner in life. During the pandemic, somebody I as soon as knew took their life, and it actually had me fucked me up inside. That occurring to me put me on the trail to ultimately creating this track. I made this one with Jay Ughh on the bass and me on guitar. I grew to become mates with Jay when he was managing the Fucking Awesome retailer on Hollywood Boulevard. From there, we grew to become mates, and I instructed him we should always make music someday. One day I posted a pic of me and him, and my buddy messaged me saying, “No way, you know Jay Ughh? He used to rap in this group called Chill Black Guys,” and that’s how I discovered he was a rapper and was into music prior. He had by no means talked about something about music to me, which I believed was tremendous cool of him.

Eventually, Jay confirmed me one other facet to him when he performed me this post-punk-type track the place he was singing in a low coldwave voice. Jay bought a bass and began coming over extra to document, and out of that got here this track. The vocals got here round a time once I was feeling down on myself. Oftentimes I get too in my head, and my ideas spiral into this black gap of negativity. Jay Ughh’s vocals actually helped lighten the track up, although, as he was the buddy that I wanted on this track and in actual life to complete the journey I had began into singing about how suicide will not be the way in which to go.

“RUNNIN FROM THE KKKLAN” (FEAT. JAY UGHH)

During my early teenage years, my household had moved to Orange County in San Clemente, California. In my highschool, we didn’t actually have gangs like we did within the faculties I went to in Phoenix, Arizona, however this explicit faculty had neo-Nazi skinheads, and I keep in mind they might all the time hang around at what they known as the “skinhead hill,” which was the place all of them ate throughout lunch. It was only a desk on a bit of hill, and every so often you’ll run into them, and so they’ll name you a racial slur, a f*ggot or one thing silly like that. I believe this observe is about racism. It’s like a historical past lesson based mostly on reality, in line with Jay’s vocals about being an African individual rising up in America. 

“WHO IS WHO” (PROD. BY ZEROH)

I made this observe with Zeroh, who’s engineered nearly all of my data. He’s additionally a particularly gifted rapper and singer who additionally simply so occurs to play bass. He performed the bass throughout the first half of the track, and I performed the bass on the second half the place it adjustments up. I believe this track is nearly driving quick and never being a judgmental dweeb. I handled numerous classist individuals once I lived within the Philippines, so this one’s for these assholes who tried to make me really feel much less for not being wealthy like them. 

“NO ONE IS ILLEGAL” (PROD. BY REALYUNGPHIL & JAY UGHH)

One day Phil and Jay had been over, and I simply saved telling Phil that he’s punk [but] he simply doesn’t comprehend it but. We had been smoking lots, however Phil picked up the bass and performed probably the most punk bassline I’ve ever heard a rapper play. Phil is a extremely gifted younger rapper from the rap group Surf Gang, so it was simply so sick to see him taking part in bass. Him and Jay each performed bass on this, and I simply sing about how fucked the immigration system is. That blended with those who don’t actually love you and the way they wanna see you at your worst, so I believed all that simply tied in along with how unhealthy the immigration system works everywhere in the world, and that’s how these lyrics happened. Also, I believe numerous youngsters like me who had been raised by immigrant mother and father can perceive the message behind this one.

“THANK YOU FOR THE GOOD TIMES” (PROD. BY PENNY NIKKEL)

My buddy Penny made this with me when he visited me from San Francisco. He performs the all guitars to start with. He’s a extremely good buddy of mine who’s additionally a gifted painter and messes with music when he will get the possibility. The lyrics are nearly my fiancé, Elvia. She had lately misplaced a buddy to COVID, and I’m not all the time the best individual to cope with, so that is what got here out throughout that point. It’s nearly eager to be ok in your companion although you’re not good, and in addition I assume I simply made this to cheer her up about her buddy passing ’trigger I understand how that feels, as I misplaced one among my mates to COVID throughout the pandemic.