There are some things is my career that i expect, there are other things i strive for, and there is a great many things i hope will happen…this is something i thought so unlikely that i never even toyed with the notion of it. This is something i never thought possible, and it all happened because everyone flooded that MTV Iggy voting. This is amazing. This is Our Science. Thank you.
Win This One Of A Kind Necklace! MAGIC!
It was this week, two months ago, that “This Is Our Science” was released. Leading up to that release, we launched a pre-sale of the album which featured contributions and collaborations with some of my favorite artists and designers. One particular item, the “Never Be Lost” necklace, designed by Jamie Lyn of Ax +Apple, stole the show. A mad dash ensued as we tried to keep up with the demand, until, to our surprise, we literally bought every tiny bone handled knife in North America. It was then, that we had to shut the whole operation down.
We went back and forth, trying to decide where to go next with this, and ultimately decided that it was best to leave alone. keep it special for those that got it, and find something else to make down the line for the next project. We didn’t want it to become a mass produced product, we wanted to keep it a hand made bit of magic.
Then…Jamie Lyn came across this beautiful little abalone shell knife, and we couldn’t help ourselves, we decided, “why not make one more”? Just one, as a last post tour hurrah, one last piece to cap off the most excited two months of my career…
So there it is. Do you want it?
Here is how you can get it:
Easy, right? Go Learn. Go Like. Cross your fingers, pet your rabbits foot, & lift your legs when you cross the railroad tracks…
GOOD LUCK!
HOLY CRAP! MTV PICKED UP THE VIDEO FOR CONTRAILS!! http://www.mtviggy.com/videos/astronautalis-contrails/ i know you all have seen this video, but this site is like an MTV gateway, if we slam this link with a ton of visits, this will open up bigger and better things. so go watch it! repost it! reblog it! you’re my ad campaign! THIS IS OUR SCIENCE!!!
me + the city of vancouver + tegan quin = a damn fine con = the new music video for “Contrails”
CLICK THE IMAGE OR HERE TO WATCH!
Last night, as i was wrapping up my work for the day, i got a text that just read: “you’ll be charting on Billboard tomorrow. FYI”. They didn’t know the number, they didn’t know any details, they just knew that. Shortly there after, i got an email that said, “you debuted on the CMJ Hip Hop Charts at #3“. Naturally, the first thing i did was text my momma! Then, i got to thinking…
I have been making rap music for a long time, it has been my lively-hood for the last 3 years, and just when i think i can not be surprised anymore, things like this happen. I know this has been the story i have been harping on since the release, but WE did this, no, we are DOING this, with no ad campaign, with no marketing department, with a team of 5 people working day an night pushing “This Is Our Science” to any radio station that will play it, any magazine that will review it, and any person that will take the time to listen. All while a guy named Sparky is covered in tape and shipping invoices in a garage in Connecticut, frantically packing up and shipping out the orders that never stop coming in.
I have never made it on to the Billboard charts…and we debuted at #41 on Hip Hop albums, and #43 on the Heatseekers chart (a chart for new artists…new in the eyes of billboard of course). While i have made it on to CMJ charts before…i have never debuted at such a high number. we landed at #3 on the hip hop radio charts this week! Getting up to #9 on itunes was a total shattering of my expectations…this has just blown my mind.
A lot of people are often confused by how often slip back and forth between the pronouns “I” & “we” when talking about my career, and i would like to explain that, and bring up my final thought about all of this magic that is happening right now:
When i start on a record, it is just me, with my laptop, some nerdy books, and my imagination. However, as the process moves forward, more and more people get added to the equation. Musicians start throwing tracks my way, my producer and i start plotting directions, i run song ideas by friends, i meet with artists to discuss the packaging, homies come into the studio and lay down session work, Congleton engineers everything, a mastering engineer brings it all together, and my manager drives the bus and keeps this whole funny machine running on time. I just counted, and before the album is even released, there almost 50 people that have a direct hand in some aspect of this record. Then you guys get a hold of it…the fans.
You blast in your cars, you plaster it on twitter, like it on facebook, post it on your blog, you play it over the system at your job, you put songs on mixes for the girl you like, and sometimes you just tell someone you love to sit down, shut up, and listen. Once the record is shrink wrapped and in stores, it is out of my hands, it is your record then…and the way you guys have been handling it, is one of the most affirming, inspiring, and exciting things that has ever happened to me.
I made the songs, but my friends helped me make it an album. The label made it available, but you guys made it a success. So forgive me when i use the word “we” when i am talking about my career, but it is very hard to feel like I did this alone, when there are literally thousands of people standing beside me to prove that WE did this together.
WE debuted at #41 on the Billboard Hip Hop Charts
WE debuted at #43 on the Billboard Heatseekers Charts
WE debuted at #03 on the CMJ Hip Hop Charts
WE debuted at #09 on the iTunes Hip Hop Charts
WE debuted at #12 on Amazon.com Hip Hop Charts
With no ads, no marketing, no giant pr blitz, no pitchfork, no rolling stone, just word of mouth, hard work and love.
This is not MY science.
This is OUR Science.
Thank you for being my fans, and thank you for being a part of this record.
All you digital down-loaders asked for lyrics to This Is Our Science…well…here you go: http://bit.ly/ThisIsOurBooklet A full PDF of the album insert for you to digitally download and digitally read, then actually start memorizing all the “oohs” & “whoas” because the tour ACTUALLY starts this week!
PLEASE DO NOT EMAIL FAKE FOUR IF YOU HAVE NOT RECEIVED YOUR PRESALE PACKAGE YET!
they are being processed and shipped in the order the were received, if you ordered late…you will get yours later than people who ordered on day one. i know it is taking a while, but try to understand, there is literally ONE GUY, in a GARAGE, in Connecticut handling OVER 1000 packages by HIMSELF! please be patient. this is the sexy world of indie music. we are not a giant corporation with a team of people to process orders, there isn’t even a team…our “shipping department” is a guy named Sparky working his ass off to get everything out the door. i am really sorry for the inconvenience. i know you are excited, i LOVE that you are excited, but these are the drawbacks of being DIY…when you can’t do it yourself, you sometimes have to ask a dude named Sparky to do it for you…and Sparky is doing the best he can. in the meantime, be sure to redeem your MP3s by logging into circleintosquare.com and start memorizing those “oohs” & “whoas” so you can sing a long with me and the band on the tour that starts this weekend!
ok. stop what you are doing right now, and think of someone you know, who hasn’t heard my music. then go to this link: http://amzn.to/q9yEF3 and you can give them my song “Dimitri Mendeleev” as a gift! i think that is so rad. i have built my career on people forcing my music on their friends, now the fine folks at amazon have made it easy as hell. INTERNET!
with no advertising, with no marketing, with just word of mouth, years of work on the road, and having the best fucking fans in the world…i hit #9 on the itunes hip hop charts today. #99 over all. you guys are the best. really and truly. today has been perfect. thank you…for giving a damn about me and my work.
this day is a golden day.
this is the proudest day of my life.
this is our science.
i don’t have a crew. i got no need for a crew, cause i got friends…and my friends are fucking ill. Thanks to all my friends who made This Is Our Science possible. Thanks to all my fans who saw something in me and my work to gave me their valuable time and hard earned money. Today is the start of something exciting for me, and if it wasn’t for those friends and those fans…i would never be where i am now…and where i am now, is on the edge of something totally fucking incredible. thank you to everyone who helped me get to this exciting acme. thank you for believing in my work. thank you for giving a damn. This is real as it gets…This is our science.