Purple Dialect Entered The Woods of Bucks County, PA with a Roland SP-404, Mic & Tapedeck & Emerged with Lo-Fi Hip-Hop/"Vaporwave" Campfire EP (The Witzard Breakdown)
"The man, the myth, the Human Swiss Army Knife, @pdialect is killing it and you better be listening," self-proclaimed father, husband, emcee, producer, and "talker of Hip-Hop sh*t" at Damn That Noise DADVILLAINY (@DrBloodmoney) Tweeted this past Wednesday, August 16th. Zane Rice, better known as Purple Dialect is a Philadelphia-based artist, who very simply put, "makes beats and raps at GHOST VOLCANO" along with in-house graphic designer and partner-in-rhyme Spook Novel. Earlier this year, Rice quietly released his first 100% self-released full-length, Forest Fortress and Darko The Super-featuring EP, Ghost Beach to wide-spread fanfare and critical acclaim. Now, he's unleashed his third effort of 2017, Campfire EP, which was fully "written, produced, and recorded in a single night in a tent next to a fire." Armed with only a Roland SP-404 beat machine, rudimentary mic, and a tapedeck, Purple Dialect set out to do the unthinkable: intentionally "strand" himself overnight from June 2-3, 2017 in an unspecified remote location with minimal supplies and his music-making tools in an effort to emerge from the woods at daybreak with all of his limbs intact and a discernible collection of GHOST VOLCANO-worthy material. Not only was Purple Dialect featured within a recent Bandcamp Daily piece titled The Unlikely Intersection of Vaporwave and Hip-Hop, he recently sat down with The Witzard and supplied an hour-by-hour timeline of the fateful night back in June he hand-crafted Campfire EP in the bear-infested woods of Bucks County, PA.
"The Story: I set out to make an EP in just one night, while camping in the woods. I brought a microphone, a Roland SP-404 portable sampler, a notepad, and a tape deck. The tape deck also had various recordings and samples that I had found in previous digging sessions.
6:00 PM - I have the tent set up. Fire is going and I am sitting in a folding chair, while fending off mosquitoes. Listening to sample material.
7:00 PM - Found the sample for the first track, "Bug Spray." Just jamming and vibing out. I chop drum breaks to make a pattern and then, chop and loop melodic samples, until I get into groove that feels dope. Repeat process throughout the night with different sounds at different tempos. Playing things out by hand is the only way I can make a beat that I actually enjoy.
8:15 PM - I have had five Diet Cokes and a bunch of graham crackers.
9:00 PM - It's getting pretty dark. Fire is burning. I have knocked out three more beats.
9:30 PM - Playing the four beats I have made so far on repeat. Layering [effects] and occasionally, ripping my headphones off because I think I hear someone walking around in the woods. Fire is burned down to ash, but I pour water on it to be sure. It's really dark out.
10:00 PM - Grab my gear and move into my tent. I have a battery-powered lantern and notepad.
11:00 PM - Finish the beat that will become the song "Tent Light;" last beat completed.
11:15 PM - I have been freestyling to myself, as I made the beats, but I start writing everything out. I keep hearing branches breaking in the woods, which is freaking me out a bit.
12:30 AM - I start recording vocals for the three tracks that I want to rap to. I recorded the three beats into the tape deck, so I can monitor them in one ear, while recording vocals straight into the SP-404. This is the work-around I am using because you cannot do a live overdub with the 404.
1:30 AM - All done with writing and recording vocals. I am also 90% sure that these woods are haunted, at this point. I have made my peace with dying in some sort of Blair Witch scenario, but I have had a good run.
2:30 AM - I chilled out and spent some time listening to what I made. Feels pretty dope...
4:30 AM - Wake up to what sounds like someone throwing small rocks at my tent. Stumble out of tent to look around, but I don't see a thing. After not hearing a sound for about 10 minutes, I go back in to try to sleep. I wonder if forest creatures f**k with my beats; I hope they do.
7:30 AM - Wake up with a "dead arm" and I must have fallen asleep with my headphones on. Survived the night without incident and have some songs to show for it. Pack up camp to go search for coffee."
- Purple Dialect (Zane Rice)