Michael J. Collins (MJC) is the founder of FilthyBroke Recordings and an extremely talented mixing and mastering engineer I've recently crossed paths with; Collins has had a hand in a number of releases I've covered here at The Witzard in recent weeks, including Walter Gross' Black Box Tapes-released VESTIGE and CURTA's forthcoming CLICK BAIT EP, as well as FilthyBroke's own Library Lunch: A Benefit Compilation for Anti-Bullying. Michael messaged me Wednesday morning with a private press stream to Providence, RI emcee Spocka Summa's then-unreleased The Progression 001 EP, which he fittingly called a "gift" to help me "get ahead of some of the press." Spocka Summa further detailed that " The Progression is Part 001 of a 3-part series of EP's. Entirely produced by my close friend Last Child; this first installment serves as an intro to two upcoming bigger projects. The Progression is the journey of myself and my thoughts about our world an The Internet. People are tied into social media now, more [than] ever. We are literally becoming robots mentally and metaphorically." Spocka Summa told me the main thing he drew stylistic influence from were the visuals; "we created a scene or scenario and made music that went along with it. Kinda like a backwards process." The Progression 001 EP spans six Last Child-produced tracks, which almost have an Electro-tinged Hip-Hop feel and seamlessly transitions into a companion 6-page comic book titled THE LIVE WIRE (issue 001.) Spocka Summa's 001 EP actually stems from his 2014 Last Child-produced stand-alone track, "The Progression" from his 3,000 Volts: Live Wire mixtape. "I liked the record so much and the idea of it, I decided to turn it into a project," Spocka continued. The Progression 001 EP is now available to stream and download from Spocka Summa's Bandcamp, Soundcloud, etc. pages and parts 002-003 should be expected to surface later this year.

" The Progression is Part 001 of a 3-part series of EP's. Entirely produced by my close friend Last Child; this first installment serves as an intro to two upcoming bigger projects. The Progression is the journey of myself and my thoughts about our world and The Internet. People are tied into social media now, more [than] ever. We are literally becoming robots mentally and metaphorically. So, the project starts on the audible side with music and then, after the sixth song, it transitions into a comic book also available on the website. It is a battle between staying an individual and trying not to become a robot. How can we progress with [technology] without becoming fully absorbed by it? A question I always ask my audience is: what is life without progression?"

- Spocka Summa on The Progression 001 EP