Slauson Malone 1 is the alias of artist Jasper Marsalis. Based in Los Angeles, Marsalis has made a name for himself in the world of art and performance and, with his musical project, Marsalis seeks to explore “the intersection between popular music and performance.”
Their first albums, the experimental ‘A Quiet Farwell, 2016-2018 (Crater Speak)’, from 2019, and ‘Vergangenheitsbewältigung (Crater Speak)’, from 2020, have paved the way for the giant Warp Records, Aphex Twin’s label or Oneohtrix Point Never, have you noticed it.
This year, Warp released ‘EXCELSIOR’. Throughout 18 tracks, Marsalis proves to be a restless ass incapable of staying in a single musical style for too long. Mixing experimental hip-hop, surf-pop, lo-fi, psychedelic rock, chamber music and free jazz, Marsalis embarks on a path of constant exploration in ‘EXCELSIOR’.
The album was initially presented with ‘Voyager’, which, with its air of jazz and experimental noise, has invoked the sound of Marsalis’ previous group, Standing on the Corner. Afterwards, the guitars have appeared on the psychedelic ‘New Joy’, which begins by referring to the work of Yves Tumor… and ends by recalling the beloved Deerhunter.
On ‘Half-Life’, today’s Song Of The Day, Slauson delivers the crown jewel. In an album that gives the same to weird folk (‘Arms, Armor’) as to minimalist music (‘Fission for Drums, Piano & Voice’), and that includes a version of ‘I Hear a New World’ by Joe Meek, ‘Half-Life’ is the most pop and traditional song. In ‘Half-Life’, the strings give way to a piece with a post-punk and indie-rock air, which, like all of ‘EXCELSIOR’, is not capable of staying on a single path even within its five-minute duration. .
