Alias (artist)
Encyclopedia
Brendon Whitney, known as Alias, is an abstract
hip hop
musician and producer
. He is mainly affiliated with the anticon.
label/collective.
. He moved to the West Coast
in 1999 to work on building the Anticon label, as well as to focus on his music. He returned home to Portland, Maine
in August 2007.
in the group Live Poets. He also produced songs, but would still rap over another producer's work.
Later on, as Alias began working with Anticon, he produced tracks for most of the major artists on the label. In 2002, he released The Other Side Of The Looking Glass, a record he produced and rapped on. After that, Alias moved away from rapping to focus solely on production, releasing the instrumental albums Muted and All Things Fixable. His production work also moved away from sampling
and began to involve more synthesizer
s and self-played instrumentation such as guitar.
In 2008, Alias released the album "Resurgam
", after the Portland city motto, which is Latin for "I shall rise again". "Well Water Black", which features Yoni Wolf of WHY?, was a popular song from the album but was never officially released as a single.
Abstract music
Abstract music may mean:*Abstract electronic music, a style of electronic music commonly practiced in techno, glitch and ambient that involves significant sampling and sound processing....
hip hop
Hip hop music
Hip hop music, also called hip-hop, rap music or hip-hop music, is a musical genre consisting of a stylized rhythmic music that commonly accompanies rapping, a rhythmic and rhyming speech that is chanted...
musician and producer
Record producer
A record producer is an individual working within the music industry, whose job is to oversee and manage the recording of an artist's music...
. He is mainly affiliated with the anticon.
Anticon
Anticon is an Oakland based independent record label founded in 1997. It is collectively owned among six founding artists and one manager...
label/collective.
Biography
Alias is originally from Portland, MainePortland, Maine
Portland is the largest city in Maine and is the county seat of Cumberland County. The 2010 city population was 66,194, growing 3 percent since the census of 2000...
. He moved to the West Coast
West Coast of the United States
West Coast or Pacific Coast are terms for the westernmost coastal states of the United States. The term most often refers to the states of California, Oregon, and Washington. Although not part of the contiguous United States, Alaska and Hawaii do border the Pacific Ocean but can't be included in...
in 1999 to work on building the Anticon label, as well as to focus on his music. He returned home to Portland, Maine
Portland, Maine
Portland is the largest city in Maine and is the county seat of Cumberland County. The 2010 city population was 66,194, growing 3 percent since the census of 2000...
in August 2007.
Style
Alias originally performed as a rapper alongside SoleSole (artist)
Tim Holland, known as Sole, is an alternative hip hop artist and a co-founder of the Anticon collective/label. Sole is known for his dense and often dark stream-of-consciousness style of rapping. His verses are often filled with abstraction, metaphor and sarcasm while avoiding or deconstructing...
in the group Live Poets. He also produced songs, but would still rap over another producer's work.
Later on, as Alias began working with Anticon, he produced tracks for most of the major artists on the label. In 2002, he released The Other Side Of The Looking Glass, a record he produced and rapped on. After that, Alias moved away from rapping to focus solely on production, releasing the instrumental albums Muted and All Things Fixable. His production work also moved away from sampling
Sampling (music)
In music, sampling is the act of taking a portion, or sample, of one sound recording and reusing it as an instrument or a different sound recording of a song or piece. Sampling was originally developed by experimental musicians working with musique concrète and electroacoustic music, who physically...
and began to involve more synthesizer
Synthesizer
A synthesizer is an electronic instrument capable of producing sounds by generating electrical signals of different frequencies. These electrical signals are played through a loudspeaker or set of headphones...
s and self-played instrumentation such as guitar.
In 2008, Alias released the album "Resurgam
Resurgam
Resurgam is the name given to two early Victorian submarines designed and built by Reverend George Garrett as a weapon to penetrate the chain netting placed around ship hulls to defend against attack by torpedo vessels....
", after the Portland city motto, which is Latin for "I shall rise again". "Well Water Black", which features Yoni Wolf of WHY?, was a popular song from the album but was never officially released as a single.
Albums
- The Taste of Rain... Why Kneel?The Taste of Rain... Why Kneel?The Taste of Rain... Why Kneel? is the 1999 debut album by Deep Puddle Dynamics, a collaboration between hip-hop artists Sole, Alias, Doseone and Slug....
(1999)- w/ SoleSole (artist)Tim Holland, known as Sole, is an alternative hip hop artist and a co-founder of the Anticon collective/label. Sole is known for his dense and often dark stream-of-consciousness style of rapping. His verses are often filled with abstraction, metaphor and sarcasm while avoiding or deconstructing...
, DoseoneDoseoneAdam Drucker, better known as Doseone , is an American MC, artist, and poet from Idaho. Dose is known for his nasal, high pitched, fast polyrhythmic rapping style and abstract lyrics. He often simultaneously performs synth, sampler, or keyboard on stage. His words tend to express upon topics of...
& SlugSlug (rapper)Sean Michael Daley, better known by his stage name Slug or "'Sep Seven'", is an American rapper. He is from Minneapolis, Minnesota. Slug is best known as one fourth of the hip hop group Atmosphere, which he founded with Derek Turner...
, as Deep Puddle DynamicsDeep Puddle DynamicsDeep Puddle Dynamics was a collaborative group featuring hip-hop artists Sole, Alias, Doseone and Slug. In 1999, they released their album The Taste of Rain... Why Kneel? on Anticon.-Albums:*The Taste of Rain... Why Kneel?...
- w/ Sole
- Three Phase Irony (2001)
- Paint by Number SongsPaint by Number SongsPaint by Number Songs is a 2001 album by hip-hop group So-Called Artists, a collaboration between Anticon members Sole, Alias and DJ Mayonnaise.-Track listing:#"I Don't Know How to Start This"#"The Skin Song and Dance"#"Manic Autumn Wednesday Face"...
(2001)- w/ Sole & DJ MayonnaiseAnticonAnticon is an Oakland based independent record label founded in 1997. It is collectively owned among six founding artists and one manager...
, as So-Called Artists
- w/ Sole & DJ Mayonnaise
- We Ain't Fessin' (Double Quotes) (2002)
- w/ Sole, Doseone & Slug, as Deep Puddle Dynamics
- The Other Side of the Looking Glass (2002)
- Eyes Closed EP (2003)
- Muted (2003)
- All Things Fixable (2005)
- LillianLillian (album)Lillian is a collaboration album between Alias and his brother Ehren Whitney. Ehren provided much of the live instrumentation , while Alias provided beats and synths. The album combines elements of Instrumental hip hop, Electronica, and Jazz...
(2005)- w/ Ehren Whitney, as Alias & EhrenLillian (album)Lillian is a collaboration album between Alias and his brother Ehren Whitney. Ehren provided much of the live instrumentation , while Alias provided beats and synths. The album combines elements of Instrumental hip hop, Electronica, and Jazz...
- w/ Ehren Whitney, as Alias & Ehren
- Brookland/Oaklyn (2006)
- w/ Tarsier
- Plane That Draws a White Line (2006)
- w/ Tarsier
- Resurgam (2008)
- Resurgam Residual EP (2008)
- Fever Dream (2011)
- All Things Fixable 2.0 (2011)
External links
- Biography on Southern.net
- Alias at MySpaceMySpaceMyspace is a social networking service owned by Specific Media LLC and pop star Justin Timberlake. Myspace launched in August 2003 and is headquartered in Beverly Hills, California. In August 2011, Myspace had 33.1 million unique U.S. visitors....
- Interview with The Skinny, September 2007