The bilingual hip-hop of Blend Phonetics
Gathered in a gallery-like living room a stone’s throw from the St. Mary’s Strip, assorted members of San Anto hip-hop collective Blend Phonetics reflect on their collective journey. It was this time last year that work began on their stellar debut Transitions, placing producer Bryan Hamilton and emcees Andrea “Vocab” Sanderson and Karim Zomar on a path that would ultimately connect them with an all-star team of local musicians.
“I’ve been wanting to play hip-hop for a long time so I was ready as a bassist to tackle that,” says George Garza, bassist for Pop Pistol. “The way that we fused everything, it’s not exactly true to the recording, but it’s definitely powerful and a live representation of that. It still keeps the message in the center.”
While the genesis for Blend Phonetics can be found on Hamilton’s Welcome to Dreamland and Karim’s Bring Us Peace albums, Transitions effectively raises the bar for homegrown hip-hop and breathes life into the stagnant trip-hop genre. Over 10 tracks, Hamilton provides a lush multilayered tapestry for Blend Phonetics vocalists to float over. Sanderson and Zomar, boosted by Maya Guirao, Cayman Robinson and Xelena Gonzales, do not disappoint. At the heart of it all exists a vibrant chemistry, combined with the message of social justice that serves as a refrain for the band.
“Each and every one of us has purpose,” says Vocab. “I think we are all in pursuit of whatever our purpose is in this life, and that’s the message that we’re giving to the community. Connect to your purpose that God gave you and pursue it. If you find people along the way that can help you accomplish it, run parallel to them. Let your paths intersect.”
Prior to rehearsals and gigs, before he even picks up his instrument, Blend Phonetics guitarist Jeff Palacios says a prayer. For several members of the collective, music serves as worship, but that doesn’t necessarily mean that the group ignores its dirty south influences. Particularly when paired with standout guests like Mad One, Kizer Sose and Mr. Webb, Karim and Vocab confidently remind us that they can spit with the best of them.
“I feel like some rappers spend a whole album talking about, ‘I’m dope,’” says Vocab. “OK, show me how you’re dope. Demonstrate it. I think with this project it was very much a demonstration, and the music drew the other members that weren’t already involved.”
Featuring additional turns from Donnie Dee, Debra Elena and Aliens WITH Halos, Transitions is the most noteworthy local hip-hop debut since Mexican Stepgrandfather’s Estere-Ere-O released five years ago. Like other Poor Righteous Teachers before them, the band embraces activism and edutainment, proving that consciousness doesn’t have to come with a cost.
“It’s all about money and cars,” Hamilton jokes in deadpan to rousing laughter. “Conscious music or good music does not have to come across in a cheesy way. This is a prime example to do it in a relevant way, and just be yourself. That’s the key to it all. It can be done.” —M. Solis
Verisimilitude’s Hippy Eyes EP
For Dakota and Zach Appelbaum and Feliza Salazar, the tricky philosophy of verisimilitude proves to be an apt name for their project. Without going down a metaphysical rabbit hole, verisimilitude means the relative closeness to truth. And with their current casting and the sound reached on Hippy Eyes, the SA/Austin trio is the closest to the truth they’ve gotten yet.
Beginning in elementary school with a snare and karaoke machine, the Appelbaum brothers graduated to a Rage Against the Machine cover band, eventually finding creative promise in a loop pedal, synthesizer and sampler. By 2011, the band found its voice as an instrumental outfit, studying post-rock on the Ashby Sessions EP.
With Hippy Eyes, released October 18, Verisimilitude looks forward on the EP’s three tracks with a decided lack of reverb. In instrumental post-rock, reverb pedals often whitewash the stuff, making a pleasant, but unmemorable experience—like tossing ketchup on everything in the fridge. On Hippy Eyes, Verisimilitude keeps the effect to a minimum, letting the compositions speak for themselves.
The title track makes a particularly strong statement. Beginning with a stoned vocoder mumble, “Hippy Eyes” grows into a band-hit stomp, as the trio slams in unison on unexpected beats. Shortly after, a poem gives way to Zach Appelbaum running amok on an upward-sprawling guitar riff. Through the vision of Hippy Eyes, Verisimilitude gives us a dynamic and promising listen to a band honing in on its creative truth. —Matt Stieb
This article appears in Fashion Week San Antonio.