Spiral Walls Containing Autumns of Light
Encyclopedia
Spiral Walls Containing Autumns of Light is the second album by hip hop
artist Divine Styler
, released in 1992
on Giant Records. This album marked a significant change in Divine Styler's musical direction, incorporating a much broader range of styles and influences than 1989
's Word Power
. Despite the album's unusual style, it was actually released by a major label but, perhaps inevitably, failed to sell as well as record executives expected. Although the album was largely regarded as a commercial failure, it has since developed a large cult following
. Styler was signed to Giant because of Ice-T
’s relationship with Warner Bros. Records
.
meets Funkadelic
"—and takes influence from a wide variety of music genres such as hip hop
, rock
, electronic
, funk
and even elements of spoken word
and noise
.
The majority of the album was produced and arranged by Divine Styler himself, which included him performing and processing all of the vocals, playing the guitar
, drums
(and drum programming), keyboards
among other instruments. Due to the artist's dominance over the album's direction, it is generally regarded as a very introspective and personal album.
, lyrical themes of the album mainly focus around the teachings of Islam
and praise of Mohammed, with various spoken word pieces demonstrating this.
The album has also received praise from a number of non-professional sources. This includes an average 5-star rating from Amazon.com
, a similarly high rating on Discogs
, and a more mixed reaction from users of Rate Your Music
.
However, after the album's initial release, reactions in the hip hop community were mixed. Fans expecting a similar album to Word Power
were shocked and may have not expected the experimental nature of the album at the time. As one blog
ger put it,
, started a magazine titled In Search of Divine Styler in order to bring the emcee back from retirement. Eight issues were published over three years, with the magazine growing from 100 copies of the first issue to 10,000-copy print runs that were distributed all across North America
.
on House of Pain
's last album Truth Crushed to Earth Shall Rise Again
, exhibiting a more traditional hip-hop style of lyricism similar to his work on Word Power
.
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...
artist Divine Styler
Divine Styler
Divine Styler is an alternative hip hop artist from Brooklyn, New York.-History:He first emerged as part of Ice-T's Rhyme Syndicate. His first LP, Word Power, was hailed by critics and fans, but was not a commercial success. His second album, the wildly experimental Spiral Walls Containing Autumns...
, released in 1992
1992 in music
This is a list of notable events in music that took place in the year 1992.-January–February:*January 11**Nirvana's Nevermind album goes to #1 in the US Billboard 200 chart, establishing the widespread popularity of the Grunge movement of the 1990s....
on Giant Records. This album marked a significant change in Divine Styler's musical direction, incorporating a much broader range of styles and influences than 1989
1989 in music
This is a list of notable events in music that took place in the year 1989.-Events:*January 14 – Paul McCartney releases Снова в СССР exclusively in the USSR...
's Word Power
Word Power
Word Power is the debut album by Divine Styler, released in 1989 on Epic Records. On this album, Divine raps about been proud of heritage , and features Bilal Bashir , who later re-released this album in instrumental form, in 2005...
. Despite the album's unusual style, it was actually released by a major label but, perhaps inevitably, failed to sell as well as record executives expected. Although the album was largely regarded as a commercial failure, it has since developed a large cult following
Cult following
A cult following is a group of fans who are highly dedicated to a specific area of pop culture. A film, book, band, or video game, among other things, will be said to have a cult following when it has a small but very passionate fan base...
. Styler was signed to Giant because of Ice-T
ICE-T
* Ice-T, an American rapper and actor* ICE T , a tilting model of the German InterCityExpress series of high-speed trains...
’s relationship with Warner Bros. Records
Warner Bros. Records
Warner Bros. Records Inc. is an American record label. It was the foundation label of the present-day Warner Music Group, and now operates as a wholly owned subsidiary of that corporation. It maintains a close relationship with its former parent, Warner Bros. Pictures, although the two companies...
.
Music
The album is notoriously experimental—Allmusic referred to the album as being like '"The ResidentsThe Residents
The Residents is an American art collective best known for avant-garde music and multimedia works. The first official release under the name of The Residents was in 1972, and the group has since released over sixty albums, numerous music videos and short films, three CD-ROM projects and ten DVDs....
meets Funkadelic
Funkadelic
Funkadelic was an American band most prominent during the 1970s. The band and its sister act Parliament, both led by George Clinton, began the funk music culture of that decade.-History:...
"—and takes influence from a wide variety of music genres such as 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...
, rock
Rock music
Rock music is a genre of popular music that developed during and after the 1960s, particularly in the United Kingdom and the United States. It has its roots in 1940s and 1950s rock and roll, itself heavily influenced by rhythm and blues and country music...
, electronic
Electronic music
Electronic music is music that employs electronic musical instruments and electronic music technology in its production. In general a distinction can be made between sound produced using electromechanical means and that produced using electronic technology. Examples of electromechanical sound...
, funk
Funk
Funk is a music genre that originated in the mid-late 1960s when African American musicians blended soul music, jazz and R&B into a rhythmic, danceable new form of music. Funk de-emphasizes melody and harmony and brings a strong rhythmic groove of electric bass and drums to the foreground...
and even elements of spoken word
Spoken word
Spoken word is a form of poetry that often uses alliterated prose or verse and occasionally uses metered verse to express social commentary. Traditionally it is in the first person, is from the poet’s point of view and is themed in current events....
and noise
Noise music
Noise music is a term used to describe varieties of avant-garde music and sound art that may use elements such as cacophony, dissonance, atonality, noise, indeterminacy, and repetition in their realization. Noise music can feature distortion, various types of acoustically or electronically...
.
The majority of the album was produced and arranged by Divine Styler himself, which included him performing and processing all of the vocals, playing the guitar
Guitar
The guitar is a plucked string instrument, usually played with fingers or a pick. The guitar consists of a body with a rigid neck to which the strings, generally six in number, are attached. Guitars are traditionally constructed of various woods and strung with animal gut or, more recently, with...
, drums
Drum kit
A drum kit is a collection of drums, cymbals and often other percussion instruments, such as cowbells, wood blocks, triangles, chimes, or tambourines, arranged for convenient playing by a single person ....
(and drum programming), keyboards
Keyboard instrument
A keyboard instrument is a musical instrument which is played using a musical keyboard. The most common of these is the piano. Other widely used keyboard instruments include organs of various types as well as other mechanical, electromechanical and electronic instruments...
among other instruments. Due to the artist's dominance over the album's direction, it is generally regarded as a very introspective and personal album.
Lyrics
Since Divine Styler was at the time a recent convert to Sunni IslamSunni Islam
Sunni Islam is the largest branch of Islam. Sunni Muslims are referred to in Arabic as ʾAhl ūs-Sunnah wa āl-Ǧamāʿah or ʾAhl ūs-Sunnah for short; in English, they are known as Sunni Muslims, Sunnis or Sunnites....
, lyrical themes of the album mainly focus around the teachings of Islam
Islam
Islam . The most common are and . : Arabic pronunciation varies regionally. The first vowel ranges from ~~. The second vowel ranges from ~~~...
and praise of Mohammed, with various spoken word pieces demonstrating this.
Critical and public reaction
Retrospective reviews of the album were generally positive, perhaps surprisingly considering the uncompromising nature of the music the album presents. In his review of the album for Allmusic, Ned Raggett wrote,The album has also received praise from a number of non-professional sources. This includes an average 5-star rating from Amazon.com
Amazon.com
Amazon.com, Inc. is a multinational electronic commerce company headquartered in Seattle, Washington, United States. It is the world's largest online retailer. Amazon has separate websites for the following countries: United States, Canada, United Kingdom, Germany, France, Italy, Spain, Japan, and...
, a similarly high rating on Discogs
Discogs
Discogs, short for discographies, is a website and database of information about audio recordings, including commercial releases, promotional releases, and bootleg or off-label releases. The Discogs servers, currently hosted under the domain name discogs.com, are owned by Zink Media, Inc., and are...
, and a more mixed reaction from users of Rate Your Music
Rate Your Music
Rate Your Music is a metadata database where musical albums, EPs, singles, videos, bootlegs, and movies are rated and reviewed by users. This data is then used to generate recommendations for users and to create rated lists of albums...
.
However, after the album's initial release, reactions in the hip hop community were mixed. Fans expecting a similar album to Word Power
Word Power
Word Power is the debut album by Divine Styler, released in 1989 on Epic Records. On this album, Divine raps about been proud of heritage , and features Bilal Bashir , who later re-released this album in instrumental form, in 2005...
were shocked and may have not expected the experimental nature of the album at the time. As one blog
Blog
A blog is a type of website or part of a website supposed to be updated with new content from time to time. Blogs are usually maintained by an individual with regular entries of commentary, descriptions of events, or other material such as graphics or video. Entries are commonly displayed in...
ger put it,
In Search of Divine Styler
In the spring of 1996, Ryan Somers, a.k.a. Fritz tha Cat, a teenager from London, CanadaLondon, Ontario
London is a city in Southwestern Ontario, Canada, situated along the Quebec City – Windsor Corridor. The city has a population of 352,395, and the metropolitan area has a population of 457,720, according to the 2006 Canadian census; the metro population in 2009 was estimated at 489,274. The city...
, started a magazine titled In Search of Divine Styler in order to bring the emcee back from retirement. Eight issues were published over three years, with the magazine growing from 100 copies of the first issue to 10,000-copy print runs that were distributed all across North America
North America
North America is a continent wholly within the Northern Hemisphere and almost wholly within the Western Hemisphere. It is also considered a northern subcontinent of the Americas...
.
Later Divine Styler work
After the release of Spiral Walls, strangely, Divine Styler disappeared from the music scene for almost four years. However, he later returned with original Scheme Team member Cokni O'DireCokni O'Dire
Cokni O'Dire is a Ragga MC and hip hop artist best known for being a member of the original Scheme Team featured on the Rhyme Syndicate/Epic Records release of Divine Styler's Word Power....
on House of Pain
House of Pain
House of Pain is an American hip hop group who released three albums in the 1990s before lead rapper Everlast left to pursue his solo career again. The group's name is a reference to the H.G. Wells novel The Island of Dr...
's last album Truth Crushed to Earth Shall Rise Again
Truth Crushed To Earth Shall Rise Again
Truth Crushed to Earth Shall Rise Again is the third album from House of Pain, released in 1996 .-Track listing:#"The Have Nots" - 4:24#"Fed Up" - 5:01#"What's That Smell" - 3:04#"Heart Full of Sorrow" - 3:44...
, exhibiting a more traditional hip-hop style of lyricism similar to his work on Word Power
Word Power
Word Power is the debut album by Divine Styler, released in 1989 on Epic Records. On this album, Divine raps about been proud of heritage , and features Bilal Bashir , who later re-released this album in instrumental form, in 2005...
.
Track listing
- "Am I an Epigram for Life?" (1:44)
- "Touch" (5:24)
- "In a World of U" (5:09)
- "Love, Lies, and Lifetime's Cries" (4:10)
- "Livery" (5:03)
- "Grey Matter" (5:42)
- "Heaven Don't Want Me, and Hell's Afraid I'll Take Over" (9:25)
- "Mystic Sheep Drink Electric Tea" (5:15)
- "Width in My Depth" (4:25)
- "The Next" (6:15)
- "Euphoric Rangers" (5:10)
- "Walk of Exodus" (7:48)
- "Aura" (3:17)
Music
- Divine Styler - Vocals, mixing, keyboards, guitar, rhythm guitar, percussion, drum programming
- Tony Guarderas - Bass guitar
- Kendu Jenkins - Drums, keyboards
- Jeff Phillips - Guitar, rhythm guitar
- Brian Foxworthy - Engineering, mixing
- Michal Frenke - Engineering
- Wally Traugott - Mastering
Album art
- Robin Lynch - Art direction and design
- Merlyn Rosenberg - Photography
- Mario Markus - Computer-generated images
- Benno Hess - Computer-generated images