Baltimore's Drew Scott Assembles Pop-minded Beat-maker Bedrock #13 & Teases Giddeon Gallows' 2018 Full-length CRITTER with "Forbid"
"Nowadays, I'm more influence by the artists around me making making music here in Baltimore. We probably take that for granted a bit, but we're really lucky. When I [first] started making beats at 16-17, I was pretty much just biting DJ Premier and every producer on [Nas'] Illmatic, sampling the hand-me-down vinyl I was given from my friend's weird uncle. As I got older and more fascinated with Pop and Alternative music—especially, the really depressing stuff—my production was shaped by hearing this handful of albums in my early beat-making days. Honestly, it's really hard to narrow down [to] under 10 (I wish I could pick a Prince album or Madonna's first album) but I'll keep it at six."
- Drew Scott (AKA Giddeon Gallows)
I. OutKast - Aquemini (1998)
"First CD I bought with my own money; hearing the 808's and that guitar on "Rosa Parks" at 10 years old was a moment. I already had a pretty eclectic upbringing with music, but this album is the first time I heard just about everything I liked on one disc. It was cohesive, trippy, and futuristic. I immediately became obsessed with all things [Dungeon Family].
Favorite Track: "Synthesizer" ('cause, George Clinton!)"
II. TV On The Radio - Desperate Youth, Blood Thirsty Babes (2003)
"The vocals and lyrics still make me want to cry, but their use of minimalism, samples, electronics, loops, and noise makes it all so murky and atmospheric—something I'm always trying to achieve with production. Dave Sitek is a big influence. I love all their records, but this one hit me at the right time in life, as I was getting into making more experimental sh*t.
Favorite Track: "Staring at The Sun"'
III. Portishead - Dummy (1994)
"On my quest to make the bleakest music possible, this is at the foundation. It's so timeless and painful.
Favorite Track: depends on the day, but I'll go with "It Could Be Sweet.'"
Honorable Mentions:
Nine Inch Nails - The Downward Spiral (1994)
Kanye West - 808's & Heartbreak (2008)
Beastie Boys - Hello Nasty (1998)
* only because Paul's Boutique (1989) was a bit ahead of my time.
Drew Scott is a Baltimore-based emcee and producer, who in addition to producing his own music, has recorded, produced, and mixed projects for fellow Baltimoreans such as Al Rogers, Jr. Pale Spring, Vans_Westly, and 83cutlass, as well as remixes for Height Keech, Wildhoney, Outcalls, and Butch Dawson. Scott's second album, ILL VESSEL was hands down, one of the strongest and strangest efforts of 2017 with appearances from Anna Notte AKA Pale Spring, Jumbled, JPEGMAFIA, Height, 83cutlass, Hemlock Ernst AKA Future Islands' Sam Herring, :3lON and plenty more. Drew Scott also functions as part of a number of genre-blending groups such as BLACKSAGE, Luvadocious with Al Rogers, Jr. and Warmest Regards with BLACKSAGE songstress Josephine Olivia & Owen Ross. However, Scott is currently working on a "Bedroom Pop/R&B-minded" side-project called Giddeon Gallows. Here's Drew Scott on his first single from Giddeon Gallows' forthcoming 2018 full-length, CRITTER: "'Forbid" is very much about self-sabotage—every time things are going well, I tend to get in my own way or just obsess about the wrong sh*t or (subconsciously) pick a fight with myself or my partner. I heard Al Rogers, Jr. in my head, when I was making the beat. He nailed it!" Scott says he's drawn influence for CRITTER from his fiancé Emily Wenker AKA Pale Spring, "German artists like wandl & Yung Hurn," Kanye's 808's & Heartbreak, Homeshake, Nick Hakim, Frank Ocean, and Portishead. Drew Scott's first full-length as Giddeon Gallows, CRITTER, is expected to be released in 2018 and will showcase appearances from Pale Spring, 83cutlass, Micah E. Wood, and Al Rogers, Jr.