ArtOfficial, photo courtesy of www.artofficialmusic.net/

It goes without saying that there are a handful of bands in Miami that are a necessity for your ears. That being what it is, if you live in Miami and have not caught ArtOfficial at a show, you should. They are one of those necessary musical experiences you need to have if you plan to coexist in the 305. Not because we are telling you to. No. Because you should do yourself a favor.

(Your ears will high-five you and remind you to send us a Thank You note. I promise.)

I recently had the chance to chat with ArtOfficial vocalist, Logics (Via email, which is a form of chatting, I guess.) and we discussed the band’s new album, The Payback. And trust me when I say that this musical venture is generating more buzz than cheap beer at a kegger, kids.

Why?

Well, for one thing…it’s free. And these days, we all find the word FREE even more enticing, don’t we? I don’t know about you guys, but FOR FREE feels extra awesome.

And you know what else? The album is dope. Yeah. It’s kinda fresh. It’s what an album should be…repeatedly playable. You will bump this album more than once. You might even give it to your friends…all of them.

So, without further ado, let’s talk The Payback…

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• goobs: ArtOfficial…where did the name of your band come from? Is it from the De La Soul album, Art Official Intelligence: Mosaic Thump?

Logics: Naw, that’s just a happy coincidence. Newsense is the one that came up with the name ArtOfficial and everyone agreed on it. It was one of those things where we started to get a bunch of shows lined up and we didn’t even have a name yet, so after some brainstorming, ArtOfficial was the winner. I’m a big De La fan by the way. Stakes is High, is my thing, though.

• goobs: You and Newsense used to be in a crew named SoulWhat with Parable. Are there any plans to work with Parable in the future?

Logics: Not specific plans, but I’ve spoken to Parable and let him know the door is open for collabos. I’m sure we’ll crack something out one day.

• goobs: How did the rest of the band…Danny Perez (Keyboard), Manny Patino (Drums), Ralf Valencia (Bass) and Keith Cooper (Saxophone) come to be in ArtOfficial? Where did you meet?

Logics: Our band mates were all in another band called Defonce that had broken up. We were connected through Ralf, who had worked on some SoulWhat music with me and Newsense. Both groups were on the rocks when we linked up and started working together as ArtOfficial.

• goobs:You guys are a combination of live instrumentation featuring jazz, funk, hip-hop, and now with this album, a bit of rock influence. Tell us how your sound has evolved from the release of The Stranger EP until now, with the release of The Payback.

Logics: While people tend to associate our sound with jazz and funk, i think that sonically we are expanding more into other realms. You might here somethings from us that is straight up hip hop, or that tends to lean slightly into the rock sound. Regardless, those are all things that are in our arsenal of weapons. We like to keep it fresh, and that means always expanding your horizons.

• goobs: Why did you name the album, The Payback?

Logics: It’s called The Payback, not because we are out for revenge or anything like that, but because we are paying tribute to some of our influences on this record. These are artists and songs that are at the core of what we do.

• goobs: You are releasing this album and giving it to the masses for FREE! What prompted this decision?

Logics: We wanted to give the people who are strong followers of the band something to hold them over until the official album and at the same time, we wanted to expand our reach by letting people outside of our normal scope listen to what we’re doing without having to risk spending $10 on it. Everybody likes free stuff.

• goobs: Where will people be able to download it?

Logics: http://www.djbooth.net/index/mixtapes/entry/artofficial-the-payback/

• goobs On this album you worked with Wrekonize from MAYDAY! on Oceanography, which has an incredible Led Zeppelin sample, by the way. Tell us what it was like working with Wrek.

Logics: We didn’t sample any artists for this record. We replayed the entire songs from scratch. Wrek is super talented. We didn’t work in the studio with him though. We emailed him the track and he did his thing on it and emailed it back. When we got it back though, we were really diggin’ what he did. Once the song was mixed and everything, that shit was a banger.

• goobs: Speaking of Wrekonize and MAYDAY!, they are another band that really embodies that live instrumentation/ jazz sound…perhaps with a little bit more Latin vibe. Not to pit you against that band, but do you feel a sense of competition? I mean, is the 305 big enough for both your bands?

Logics: I would say Mayday’s music leans more into the rock/electronic/hip hop vibe than anything else. And Miami is big enough for three hip hop bands….but that’s it…no more than three..lol. Competition? Yes we are in competition with every band in the world. Competition keeps you sharp and it keeps you growing. When it comes down to it though, we are all on the same hustle, so you gotta give respect where respect is due. With that said, keep your ears open for the ArtOfficial remix of Mayday’s Technology single.

• goobs: Recently on Antisteez, Lou did a piece of K. Sparks who, ironically is on two of your tracks on The Payback. What was it like working with him? Did you guys record with him in the studio or was a collabo that happened over the Internet?

Logics: He’s based out of Queens, NY and our private jet is in the shop, so it was all online stuff. K.Sparks is a fucking beast though. We’ve done like three or four songs together. You’ll hear a few more in the near future. I’m on the Blue Swing remix, which is a fire track.  Nothing but respect for K. Sparks though. That man can release an album of quality material every two weeks if he wanted. He’s that prolific.

• goobs: On The Payback, you are dip into a vast array of music. From the rock of Jimmy Hendrix (Voodoo Child), Led Zeppelin (Black Dog) and the Beatles (Happiness Is A Warm Gun) to legendary hip-hop artists like Erik B. and Rakim (Don’t Sweat The Technique) and Jay-z (Show Me What You Got). You guys even sample Radiohead! Why the decision to incorporate all these different genres of music and which was your favorite artist to sample?

Logics: These are big influences for us. We thought of artists we really like and then picked songs out of their catalog to reconstruct ArtOfficial style. These are artists that are/were on the cutting edge of what they do/did and that’s what we aspire to do. I know we all have different favorites, but Happiness is a Warm Gun was probably the best learning experience we had in the studio. It’s one thing to listen to the original and be amazed and it’s a totally different monster to recreate the track from scratch without ruining the legacy behind the original.

• goobs: Do you have any upcoming shows? Where can your fans check you out after the album release?

Logics: We’re always playing shows all over the place. The best place to find out where we’re at and what we’re up to is on our official website, ArtOfficialMusic.net.

• goobs: What artists are you guys trying to work with in the up and coming months? Can we expect any interesting collabos in the future?

Logics: We don’t have specific plans, but as our circle of musician friends grow, the music get’s more interesting. You’ll hear some remixes and hear us on some straight up hiphop beats by people like T-Mos and Llamabeats in the not so distant future.

• goobs: You guys have done a lot in the last three years, from Rock the Bells, to Lollapalooza and then the won the Florida Grammy Showcase, recently. What is next for you guys? Nationwide touring?

Logics: We recently partnered up with a new company called Decade Entertainment. They have some revolutionary ideas that will take what we’re doing to a new level. Record labels are sitting dead in the water and Decade is paving their own way in this industry.

• goobs: We want to take the time now and say thank you for sending antisteez.com a shout out on the liner notes for the album. It was very classy.

• goobs: And now for five questions with goobs, an antisteez.com staple. questions that have nothing to do with your album, but that we just want to ask. (LOL) Hip-hop legend Guru just passed away recently. What would you say is your favorite Guru/Gangstarr track?

Logics: Personally, I’m an album kind of person and Moment of Truth is my shit!!! R.I.P.GURU.

• goobs: Who, in your opinion is making big moves in hip-hop these days and should be on the radar for music lovers in the 305?

Logics: Blu, Jay Electronica. Dope lyricists right there. Outasight, I’m really diggin this guys music. Let’s collab fam! Just heard some fire shit from The Dead Weather, that’s for the rock heads.

• goobs: Please state your favorite rap lyric of all time.

Logics: Can I say that Respiration by Black Star is best shit I ever heard? The whole song.

• goobs: What is the state of music today?

Logics: Disarray and chaos for the industry. For music itself. As we all know, everything moves in cycles. I think good music is making a resurgence. That’s just my optimistic opinion though.

• goobs: Jay-Z and Mos Def battle…who wins?

Logics: Can I say its a tie? I’m a bigger Mos Def fan but some of Jay’s stuff is equally genius.  Fuck that Mos Def wrote Respiration. He wins, game over.