Aloe Blacc Drummer Te'Amir Sweeney Unleashes Sample-ready Tiger Breaks 7-inch In Support of Brother Tutu's "Continued Recovery Efforts" (Analog Burners x When Crates Create)
Los Angeles-based drummer and producer Te'Amir Sweeney has frequently toured and recorded with Stones Throw-affiliated Soul singer and Emanon emcee Aloe Blacc. Sweeney has additionally played with a wide array of musicians, mainly affiliated with LA's burgeoning Hip-Hop, beat-making, Jazz, and Neo-Soul scenes including, but not limited to Sa-Ra Creative Partners, Mark de Clive-Lowe, Kamasi Washington, Kadhja Bonet, Miguel Atwood-Ferguson, YG, Wondem, and Ethic-Cali. Te'Amir Sweeney has recorded extensively with "LA All Day" musician and producer Jason McGuiness (AKA Analog Burners) contributing drums to his Bandcamp-released collections: Masterpiece EP: A Whitfield-Strong Tribute, "We Could Be" with High Science Project/"Empyrean Tones" with Keyon Harrold, and ConSoul's 2017 "I Need You"/"Ball of Confusion" 7-inch. The Ologist (@OlogistBBB) from When Crates Creates describes a break/break record as "a collection of tracks stripped down and focused solely on the backbone of the rhythm, the drum; a centerpiece of Hip-Hop from DJ's to B-boys..." which brings us to When Crates Creates' latest 7-inch: Tiger Breaks. Birthed from a sampling of Te'Amir's recent work with Analog Burners, Tiger Breaks consists of 6 breaks (3 on Side A + 3 on Side B) and each record additionally comes with a phenakistoscope—or cellphone camera-enabled "playable artwork"—courtesy of visual artist Drew Tetz. "I'm really thankful to Analog Burners & When Crates Create for putting it together and getting it out there. It's been inspiring seeing the project ship around the world. I can't wait for Tutu's vinyl to come out; it sounds great! Stay tuned," Te'Amir Sweeney said of his Tiger Breaks 45. Prior to Tiger Breaks, Sweeney released a single titled "good vibes" featuring LA emcee Hugh Augustine and has plans to issue an "Ethiopian-inspired project" on Robert Luis & Paul Jonas' UK-based Tru Thoughts imprint, as well as a number of releases with Analog Burners.
"Tutu Sweeney is a multi-instrumentalist and singer from Los Angeles, who earns his living as a musician. On February 22nd, 2017, Tutu, brother of Aloe Blacc drummer Te'Amir, was involved in a near-fatal traffic accident, when he was struck by another vehicle, while riding his moped to an audition. He suffered arterial brain bleeding, multiple fractures (femur, fibula, clavicle, shoulder blade, etc.) a torn ACL, a punctured lung, and a damaged kidney. After a week in the ICU and nearly a month in the hospital, Tutu [Sweeney] was released in late March and faced a long road to rehab and recovery. While maintaining his optimism and hope to one day return to music, he first had to re-master the basics: walking, healing of broken bones, and the like. After months of rehab, Tutu continues to improve and is slowly getting back what he thought he may never have again, music.
Released August 8th, Tiger Breaks [7-inch EP] is a drum break record for the crate-diggers, break collectors, beat-makers, and DJ's. The 7-inch record features 6 unreleased drum tracks from Te'Amir's recording sessions with Hip-Hop and Jazz producer Jason "Analog Burners" McGuinness. Each track varies in feel and tempo, moving from low BPM 4/4 rhythms to complex break beat flavors and Hip-Hop leanings in-between. DJ's will find something to juggle and cut over, beat-makers will find countless open drums, and collectors will find the joy of extended open drum moments. Digital aficionados will appreciate the digital download, which includes full studio sessions of the 6 breaks, plus 3 additional breaks, as well as a producer drum kit of over 80 drum hits sampled through the iconic SP-1200 drum machine."
- @OlogistBBB (When Crates Create)