For the radio people (especially y’all college radio cats - whatup TIMP, j.benok, DJ Primetime & Sesion 31, EL3G and myk blAUUW!), the clean versions and instrumentals are available for download here. Also, be sure to hit up Preach’s Clean Rap Blog for clean versions of various other rap albums that you may want to play on your show. Being a former college radio jock myself, I understand how hard it is to come up on stuff like that…
For those who subscribe to legal downloading services to save money, mp3 downloads are also available through Rhapsody, eMusic, Lala and Napster. Shockhound will also have it when their site launches.
Don’t forget about “Nigga I Know James!!!” - the free EP that I produced for Chicago’s own DVS. You can download that for free by going here: NIKJ
tREBLEFREE:First of all, I want to thank you for doing the cover and artwork for the album. When I asked you to do the cover, I gave you the album title and I wanted to see what it meant to you. What does the phrase “The Return Of The Dirty Cymbals” mean to you?
Cristian Rios:First, I want to say I am very grateful for the opportunity.CD covers have always been a big interest for me, and I was glad to get to do yours.As far as the phrase goes, when you first gave me that title, I had to step back. The first image that popped in my head was a rusty or dirty cymbal, so I had to step back and just examine the phrase.The first thing that I latched onto was, this was a Hip-Hop record, and with music in general, live instruments are often forgotten.With that, there’s a sound that becomes absent in music, which I felt you recaptured from the snippets I had heard.The cymbals were a symbol for that last great part in music.So, I took the return of this as the return of that real music.The grand return and emergence of what we’ve been missing.
tR:That’s an interesting way of looking at it. Aside from the album title, were there any other things that inspired your art and design, such as particular artists or drawing styles?
C.R.:You know, there’s a lot more that went into the art and symbolism.As far as particular inspirations, there weren’t any.Most artists are influenced by what they know, and the rest is how much they can dream. I don’t really keep track of pieces I like, or the people who do them.I take in the art and let it inspire me subconsciously.I’ll say this, straight up – tohunga (one of the message board users/members on okayplayer.com) really made me push myself.Seeing his artwork definitely hit me.It’s something I admire, so I did have his stuff in mind as far as wanting to create something that could have some impact.As far as styles, I more so let the story that I saw within the album title influence that.When I thought of how to represent the concept, I got these images of a grand terrain – a post-apocalyptic world; and in I saw the return as a struggle we can all relate to.You know, right now, times are tough in America.Even though the music business has been hit hard, you still have underground artists with a lot of passion and determination saying, ‘this is our chance’.It’s not a pretty struggle, so I wanted to go with a style that reflected that – a grimy and unrefined style full of texture and character.
tR:I can definitely relate to what you’re saying about times being tough right now. I remember you mentioning to me once that the album title reminded you of something the Wu-Tang Clan would make.I kind of agree – ha-ha!
C.R.:Yeah.The title also had me thinking of a warrior theme, like a ninja.Something from the Far East, maybe a little Mortal Kombat, martial arts, Wu-Tang type of thing.People who buy the CD will actually see that come to life inside the booklet.It also has a lot to do with that struggle and grimy vision that I mentioned.I wanted to go with something dark that gave hope; not a colorful bear jumping out of a cannon, which to me was dope, but not fitting for this title, ha-ha!
tR:Maaaaaaaaaaan, I feel cheated now!I wanted the colorful bear!
C.R.: Ha-ha!
tR:“The Return of Colorful Bears Being Shot out Of Cannons” - that’ll be the next album title…
C.R.: That sounds carebearariffic – ha ha!
tR:LMAO!
C.R.: We’d have to do a psychedelic video for that one though, and I know aftereffects!Ha-ha!!
tR:Seriously though - I also like how you were able to incorporate the “book” theme I wanted into the design.I remember telling you that the title reminded me of something like “Aesop’s Fables”.
C.R.:That was a concept that just fell together with the artwork I had in mind.This idea of a return and the struggles just lends itself to a book greatly, so when you brought up the idea I was all for it.You definitely had some great concepts to build with it like the pages effect and just the layout and formatting of the text.
tR:Well thanks sir. The best part about working with you on this design was that you were open to the ideas I had, and you made them work within the art you created.I’m curious about one thing though – why are the people faceless in the cover art?
C.R.:Man, you know how hard it is to make eyes in PhotoShop?You were gonna have to give up some Kanye kind of money for that!LOL!
tR:LMAO!
C.R.: Ha-ha – I’m just kidding.It was a battle I thought a lot about.Do I want to give these people a specific identity?I thought that was unnecessary.I thought it would be more effective to bring out emotions and ideas without having to hit people over the head with a sad face and a tear, but the question I asked myself, was how would I be able to accomplish this?I usually don’t toot my own horn, but I think those figures were perfect!LOL!In all seriousness, I felt it was more effective to keep them faceless, as this is a whole class of warriors, not an exception.It was more important to me that everybody would be able to relate.
tR:Having them faceless definitely makes the message more universal - bring it above the normal boundaries of race and gender. I really dug that.I mean, I can tell those were dudes; the guy on the inside cover could have been mistaken for Sacagawea if you made the cymbals look like a baby.LOL!
C.R.: Ha ha!That was definitely inspired by art depicting a woman.In a way, it’s the same kind of situation; these were its babies, and when the time came they would be raised for the return.
tR:Wow!That’s deep!LOL!
C.R.: And guess what?It’s all natural; not an ounce of weed in this head ever.LOL!
tR:HA HA!!I think people who read this interview and possibly consider working with you will be happy to know that.
C.R.: Man, if that lets me get some jobs without having to pee in a cup I’m all for it.LOL!
tR:You killin’ me man!LMAO!!!It’s gonna be hard to finish this interview without laughing.Okay so, here come the standard “art” questions: How long have you been doing art, and what is your preferred form of expression?
C.R.:I’ve been doing art since I was in the third grade.My first piece of “art” was a trace of Bart Simpson from some Simpson pajamas I had back then.I was so ashamed like, man how could you cheat?I felt so cheap, so I threw it away and never showed it to anyone.Since then, I’ve been trying to get to the point where I don’t have to trace.LOL!
tR:Ha ha!You’re on that ‘Color by Numbers’ style – I KNEW IT!!!LOL!!
C.R.: Right now, I’m exploring a lot.I do a lot of pen portraits in a sketch style, like the one I did on the back of the CD tray, but as of late, photography has taken a hold of me.To be honest, school kept me from doing a lot of ‘fine art’ but now that I’m out of school, we’ll see what grabs me.Black and white drawings were always my specialty.
tR: Do you mean charcoal on white paper, or just regular pencil sketching?
C.R.: Well, initially it was just pencil, I worked those pencils.LOL.I was introduced into charcoal in my last year of high school and into my first college, and it didn’t make sense to go back.The artwork for ‘The Return Of The Dirty Cymbals’ is a breakthrough for me.It’s something I’ve always wanted to do; create a story theme through my art.For various reasons, I haven’t had many opportunities for that, but doing this got me excited and I was very pleased with the results.It’s a direction I’m hoping to explore more.
tR:Thanks man! It means a lot to me that I was able to provide a start for you in your art career.That’s actually the same way I approached the rappers on the album. Everybody is pretty much unproven and new to the rap world as far as having material out.
C.R.: One of the things you told me when we started this was that you wanted to have a theme to the artwork; as far as I can see, there was obviously a theme to this whole project.Thanks once again for the opportunity.It was a great experience and you have a great album. It would be amazing for this to be the launching point of many careers.
tR:I’m glad you dig it!I seriously hope that this album does start something for everybody involved.I took a chance on working with those who were willing to work with me on that artistic level, and I think it paid off.
C.R.: Man I’m grateful for it, and the results on the album definitely look like they paid off.
tR:Speaking of careers and launching points, I think the artwork you did stands on its own as magnificent art. Are you looking to do more work of this caliber?
C.R.:Honestly, I’m looking into expanding this story and do some more pieces using the characters and the theme.My goal was to create something that would stand on its own, and when the concepts came to me, I got lots of ideas.It was an inspiration that hopefully I’ll be able to keep exploring.I’m always looking to work with new people and do new projects; be it sketches, art, album covers or graphic design.
tR:That seems like that would be really amazing.What’s next? ‘The Return Of The Dirty Cymbals’ comic book?LOL!
C.R.: LOL!You never know.I’ll keep you posted, but I’m thinking more so of big canvas paintings.
tR:Hey, I already got the main character’s name for you – Cymba.
C.R.: Ha ha ha!!That sounds very familiar!
tR: How can people get in touch with you and see other examples of your work?
C.R.: The best way to see what I’m up to and get in contact with me is to go to my website, www.cristianrios.com.
In the coming days leading up to the official release date (8-8-2008), I’ll post up some info about the guests on my debut album, “The Return Of The Dirty Cymbals”.
For now, as a special treat for all the CD heads out there - Y’ALL CAN BREAK RELEASE DATE!
For all the digital heads, downloads will be available at Amazon mp3 on 8/8/2008, and on iTunes soon after. If you want to hear snippets, you can do that here.
In the meantime, for y’all digital heads that must wait, here’s something to keep y’all busy:
Stay tuned to tREBLEFREE dot com for all the updates!
