Odd Nosdam, Illogic & Ryan Harris, MD Talk About Fateful Twitter-fueled Collaboration Right The Ship EP (The Witzard Interview)
"It's another Bandcamp Friday and we have something special for you! After over 20 years, Illogic & Odd Nosdam collaborate! Hope you enjoy!" read a message sent along with a Bandcamp Email Notification from Illogic's Bandcamp page on Friday, April 2, 2021. "guess who's back? it's been a whopping 23 years since Illogic & Nosdam last collaborated - which was on the very first cLOUDDEAD recording, "Apt. A (1)" - you know where the truth is..." Illogic & Odd Nosdam further explain on Bandcamp. What all of this is alluding to is a five-track EP—four original and a remix—from Illogic & Odd Nosdam dubbed Right The Ship. It's 100% raps from Illogic, beats by Odd Nosdam, bass on "Right The Ship" and bass/cuts on "Trafik Jam" by Mike Walti, mixed and mastered by Nosdam in 2019 at Toki G, Berkeley, and all Executive Produced by Ryan Harris (@RyanGilda422.)
As legend has it, this all started with a fateful Tweet posted by Harris, which Tagged both Odd Nosdam & Illogic, encouraging them to collaborate once more. Right The Ship was self-released by both Illogic & Odd Nosdam on their respective Bandcamp pages earlier this month just in time for April's bandcamp Friday festivities. We purchased a digital copy, loved what we heard, and immediately reached out directly to Odd Nosdam, Illogic & Ryan Harris, MD. It ended up organically morphing into an extremely informative six-question, which can now be seen below, as you listen through this joyious re-connection of two old friends and collaborators, now collectively known as Right The Ship, at your leisure today.
I. First and foremost: what's your history together?
Odd Nosdam: Illogic & I met in 1998 at doseone's dungeon apartment in Cincinnati, Ohio. I was just getting into making beats and producing. One day, I came [through] dose's spot with what would, eventually, be the first (three-part) track on the first cLOUDDEAD album. Illogic was in the building, so no doubt, he was gonna get on "Apt. A (1)" This was before we called it cLOUDDEAD... we were in our early twenties [with] no idea we were tapping into a fresh new (Lo-fi) approach to Hip-Hop, which would, eventually, resonate [with] and inspire so many folks... for me, it was just fun to hang out, eat pizza, talk sh*t, and make music [with] cats that had (have) similar tastes... my guess is we thought the tune ("Apt. A (1)") would be on a future Greenthink [pre-cLOUDDEAD] project, but we, eventually, settled on cLOUDDEAD, doing so did wonders for our careers.
Ryan Harris, MD: I'm just a Hip-Hop fan, first and foremost, like everyone else in this email string. I first heard Illogic & [Odd] Nosdam work together on the first cLOUDDEAD record when I was in college in 2001 and instantly loved both of their sounds. I've continued to follow them as they've evolved in their art. Illogic's music has matched my own ups-and-downs in life, as he made dark or emotional music, I’d be in the same space and as his music got brighter and happier, I was, also, in a similar mindset. I've always thought Illogic to be one of the most brilliant Hip-Hop writers and performers in history and enjoy his entire catalog. He's, also, a tremendous producer now, too! Nosdam had a sound that caught my ear immediately. cLOUDDEAD was insane and different, truly unique.
Then, he'd throw down these incredibly dense, HARD beats for sole, Sage Francis, Serengeti, and Tokyo Cigar, along with remixing a variety of artists, like The Notwist and a plethora of artists that I'd never heard of, but sought [out] their work afterwards. Plus, his solo endeavors were wild. LIF is ambient goodness, then, MIRRORS will keep your head nodding for days. Both artists are incredibly talented and always evolving. I had noticed a pattern that most of Illogic's albums were solo emcee/solo producer projects with Blueprint, Blockhead, The Sound Cultivator, Lucid Optics, etc. (always the best bet for cohesive projects) and Nosdam had been doing a similar thing with Serengeti. I thought Illogic & Nosdam sounded great in 2001 and knowing how much they had evolved individually, I was intrigued to see how they'd sound in 2019, so I sent a Tweet and am ecstatic with the results. This EP was beyond what I expected!
II. Have you ever worked on any projects together prior to Right The Ship?
Odd Nosdam: Naw, just the early cLOUDDEAD. doseone & I started co-producing a few tunes for Illogic, but we got nowhere and scrapped the project.
Ryan Harris, MD: My dream has always been to have my name written on a project that would last forever and music is my preferred art; so, I'm beyond grateful to have my name attached to this. I really just hope that this brilliant music can be enjoyed by as many people as possible.
III. What inspired you to come together all these years later for Right The Ship?
Odd Nosdam: For me, just the love of dope Rap music... I've always been a fan of Illogic and I, especially, enjoy the Super Duty Tough Work Podcast he does [with] Blueprint... but, ultimately, it comes down to a Tweet from Ryan Harris, who, for whatever reasons, randomly Tagged Illogic [and I in] a Twitter post about how Ill and I should collaborate... when I saw Ryan's Tweet, I didn't hesitate [in] contacting Illogic... this is why Ryan Harris is our so-called "Executive Producer."
Illogic: Other than the Tweet from Ryan, it's the fun of working with someone that you're a fan of. I have always checked for what [Odd] Nosdam was doing, even though we lost touch. I was a huge fan of The Notwist. So, it was a no-brainer when he contacted me after the Tweet. It felt good to work on something with a friend where there was no pressure. Just testing the waters to see what we could come up with and, I think, we came up with some cool sh*t.
Ryan Harris, MD: I was just thinking about "dream" collaborations and sent a Tweet. I'm just happy that they were down from the beginning.
IV. How was Right The Ship recorded, created, written, etc.? Amidst this seemingly nevertheless COVID-19 pandemic was everything done remotely or in-person?
Odd Nosdam: Illogic is in Columbus, OH while I’m in Berkeley, CA, so, yea, all [of this] was done remotely, pre-pandemic... once [he] and I where on the same page about collaborating, I’d send him beats and he'd do his thing... there's a few tunes that didn't make it to the finish line because I was abruptly thrown out of my mixing/mastering studio in Jan. 2020, so all my gear I used to mix/master the Right The Ship tunes is currently (sadly) boxed up in storage... someday, [though], I hope to find a space to set my gear back up and re-visit the other tunes Illogic & I did... for now, I’m just rockin' my humble old school bedroom studio (which is how I've been doin' music since '98 >> next to my bed, see Attached photo, got me a relaxing red light.)
Ryan Harris, MD: Nosdam has answered this, but I certainly bugged him and Illogic, about it several times. Sorry, guys!
V. In addition to yourselves, who else was involved in the recording and creation of Right The Ship?
Odd Nosdam: Illogic recorded and mixed his vocals on his end, I did the beats and final mixes and mastering on my end... only other folk involved was my buddy, Mike Walti, who played bass on the title track, "Right The Ship." Walti, also, played bass and did cuts on "Trafik Jam."
VI. Now, that Right The Ship has been unleashed into the terribly unsuspecting world, what do each of you have planned next (either together or separately?)
Odd Nosdam: Lately, I've been focusing on spending lazy time [with] my wonderful lady friend, who likes to make dumb videos of me... here's a [video] of me workin' in the bedroom on the "Trafik Jam" beat. Here's a [video] of me "jerkin' off." On the [video's] intro, I'm runnin' "Handwriting" sounds/samples [through] my beloved Space Echo. I'm steady adding tunes/videos to my Bandcamp, Soundcloud, [and] YouTube channels. Recently, dropped a post-pandemic full-length album [with] Maryland-based rapper, Tokyo Cigar. I'm currently finishing a four-song EP [with] Markus Acher from The Notwist. [He and I have] some devastating tunes close to the finish line... I recently finished two remixes of two songs from The Notwist's new album, Vertigo Days. The remixes feature wonderful vocals from Saya (Tenniscoats,) Ben LaMar Gay, and slammin' drums by my long-time homie, JEL.
Illogic: I am working of a few personal projects and some with other artists. I am planning on [a] new EP in the fall and an instrumental project, hopefully, spring next year. I will, also, be doing a vinyl re-press of my album, Celestial Clockwork. That's about it.
Ryan Harris, MD: I've never spoken about it, but I'd LOVE if someone would make a project using samples from The Afghan Whigs. I have neither the creativity, nor talent to make it happen myself. They are, also, from Ohio and are my favorite band. I feel like their music has a soul and groove to it that would lend itself well to sampling. I mean, just listen to their cover of TLC's "Creep;" that groove is insane! Thanks for listening. This project is ALL about Illogic & [Odd] Nosdam, so you don’t have to use any of this at all; I won't be offended. As I've already stressed, I'm just grateful for what these two geniuses have done together and individually.