With his new album Flux, now available, NYC’s Deca proves that the best instrumental music is more than capable of telling a story and enrapturing a listener without its creator saying a single word. While we do get to hear from Deca on a few featured remixes, he lets his art do the talking across the remainder of the 17-track journey of sounds, dust-covered samples, and simply flooring compositions.

“When I’m making an album, I try to document where I’m at in life and try not to be too heavy handed about it,” Deca explains when describing how he was able to pull together a cohesive narrative almost without opening his mouth. The Denver native says he’s always been a fan of vivid imagery and storytelling in music, citing Nas, Ghostface, and Mos Def as a few of his influences, while adding that he loves being able to “visualize what I’m hearing.”

As a listener, it’s easy to do the same when spinning the entirety of Flux, which is brimming with chopped-up samples from years past, and an overall vibe that we’re all on a trip together, but no one is quite sure when or how it ends. To quote the sampled vocals heard on standout track “Be Alert”: “Perhaps what this planet really needs, is something that will jolt us out of our self-centered, selfish outlook on life in general. But… time will tell.”

That feeling of being lost but also optimistic and wholly self-aware, keeps Flux grounded amidst otherworldly and sometimes-intergalactic vibes, like on the uber-trippy “Space Dust.” And to simply commend Deca for his ability to capture those emotions would be understating his accomplishments here.

As such, it’s no surprise that when he actually does showcase his rhyming talents—as exemplified on his self-produced remix for “Waiting,” as well as on the Man Mantis, Neon Brown and Felix Fast4ward remixes for “Skyward,” “6th & A,” and “Maintain,” respectively—they’re used to superbly display a simple encapsulation of the greater mood of the the project, a tale of being adrift but not entirely lost.

Flux is available now through all digital retailers and streaming services via Beulah Records, and can be streamed in its entirety right here, courtesy of RESPECT.

Stream/Download: http://smarturl.it/DecaFlux

Upcoming Tour Dates: 
• 6/17 (Sun): Club Congress, Tucson, AZ
• 6/19 (Tues): Rebel Lounge, Phoenix, AZ
• 6/21 (Thurs): Hi Hat, Los Angeles, CA
• 6/22 (Fri): Bottom of the Hill, San Francisco, CA
• 6/24 (Sun): The Vera Project, Seattle, WA
• 6/25 (Mon): Doug Fir Lounge, Portland, OR
• 6/26 (Tues): Red Room Lounge, Spokane, WA
• 6/28 (Thurs): Kilby Court, Salt Lake City, UT
• 6/29 (Fri): Larimer Lounge, Denver, CO

Follow Deca Online:
• Website: https://beulahrecords.com
• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/decamusic

• Twitter: https://twitter.com/DecaMusic
• Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/DecaMusic
• Soundcloud: https://soundcloud.com/decamusic

The post #MusicMonday: Deca – ‘Flux’ (Instrumental Album) appeared first on RESPECT. | The Photo Journal of Hip-Hop Culture.

Beyond the highly creative and engaging video, the song itself is an interesting take on the story of the angel Gabriel, who is canonically known as a messenger of [the Christian] God. The subtext seems to be that Deca fell from grace, but gradually returned through his devotion to his art and his art’s devotion to him. Even if you’re not particularly religious (this writer is not), that’s an incredibly moving story and the execution makes it even better. Watch below.

This is probably the only song with “ratchet” in the title that you will still want to listen to 2 years from now. (That’s a good thing).

The post New Video: Deca – “Gabriel Ratchet” appeared first on RESPECT. | The Photo Journal of Hip-Hop Culture.

Dreams are a topic of intense interest across cultures and across history, but in recent years, specifically since 2010, Inception has had a monopoly over how dreams are popularly discussed. With his new EP, The Ocean, Deca challenges that monopoly by reminding us of the inherently curious nature of dreams. Instead of encouraging us to analyze and “solve” dreams, Deca creates a space in which dreams and their peculiar details are simply pondered and discussed.

Deca creates this comfortable atmosphere through the music itself and through the structure of the EP. The interludes of the album are composed of excerpts from interviews Deca conducted with friends, family and strangers and they are pieced together in a way that corresponds to the adjacent songs. For instance, on the interlude “The Ocean” the interviewees collectively speak of being trapped in mazes, prisons and other confining places. On “Salome,” the song that precedes “The Ocean,” Deca speaks of a romantic relationship in which he comes to the realization that he feels suffocated. A similar correspondence takes place between the interlude “Tariq Abdul Hamid” and the album’s final track, “Sailboats and Trains.” On the latter, Deca takes Tariq’s call to raise awareness seriously and beckons us to “wake up the dead.”

Of course, the appeal of the album is more than structural. Deca has a vast vocabulary and he wields it with poise, effortlessly weaving together dizzying strings of internal rhymes like a manic Scrabble champion who addictively huffs DOOM lyrics. But beyond the style of Deca‘s rhymes,  his flare, his true talent when it comes to lyrics is his use of symbols. Deca‘s precise religiosity is opaque, but his allusions to biblical imagery are frequently vivid and sharp. On “Edenville” particularly, he concurrently celebrates a couple sitting under an apple tree and questions what exactly they are getting into. Though it might sound heretical to the devout, this kind of ambiguous take on Adam and Eve actually enriches their story. Rather than punishment, perhaps their experience was just the experience of life itself: exciting yet alarming, full of possibility yet empty of promise

The symbol that Deca  explores in the most detail is the ocean. Unlike just water itself as a symbol, the ocean has its own unique symbolic resonances, especially in terms of mystery, intrigue and terror. Throughout the album Deca variously taps into this symbolic reservoir, notably through sound. While none of the self-produced instrumentals can be described as tempestuous or nightmarish or even aquatic, Deca does a fantastic job of creating an atmosphere of misery without having to resort to stock sounds like creaking doors, ghoulish laughs or gunshots. “Angel Butter” shows this dynamic in action: castigating the self-destructive tendencies of his younger self, he loops some sad keys with a very patient bass strum and a sharp drum kick to shame himself for formerly being so lost at sea. Similar affects play out on “Salome,” where a high octave piano sequence dances in the depths with soft hums as Deca realizes that he doesn’t have to keep every fish that gets caught in the mesh.

In the end, Deca compels us to think through our dreams – both the good ones and the bad ones – and reflect on what they tell us about ourselves and our relations to our selves. Additionally, he accomplishes this without the use of force. There are no “bangers” here. His thoughts on dreams and their potential float toward us like debris from a shipwreck; it is up to us whether or not to build a raft or to let them float on, a la Modest Mouse. The Ocean can and will gladly make waves without us. You can purchase or stream the album here.

Incidentally, this is the best music video of the year.

The post Album Review: Deca – The Ocean appeared first on RESPECT. | The Photo Journal of Hip-Hop Culture.

Rapper and producer Deca has a penchant for introspection, but before he turns inward, he brings along the rest of the cosmos. In the amazing video for “Breadcrumbs” we visually experienced the world as it is rendered after being enveloped into Deca’s reflective mind. On “Edenville,” this process is continued, albeit without visuals. Nevertheless, Deca still evokes vivid images,using both his lyrics and his resonating production to explore romance. Listen to “Edenville” below and mark your calendars for September 17th. The Ocean is a serious contender (That’s not just us talking shit, by the way. We got a press copy. )

Critical note: That Frida Kahlo reference is hilarious.

The post New Music: Deca – “Edenville” appeared first on RESPECT. | The Photo Journal of Hip-Hop Culture.

Last week we declared that John Legend‘s video, was probably the video of the year. Less than a week later, the throne has already been seized. The crown’s new owner is New York rapper and producer, Deca, for the video to his song, “Breadcrumbs.” Showing us a day in the life of a space adventurer and his ursine comrade, Tibo, the video gives Deca‘s potent yet subdued rhymes an engaging twist that paradoxically both mollifies and amplifies his political focus. Directed and animated by Steve Mertens, the video is a must-see, a must-rewatch and a must-favorite. Accordingly, watch, rewatch and favorite below.

“Breadcrumbs” will be featured on Deca‘s upcoming LP, The Ocean, due out on September 17th.

The post New Video: Deca – “Breadcrumbs” appeared first on RESPECT. | The Photo Journal of Hip-Hop Culture.