For some it would be easy to laugh off at first glance, but it’s more than just a humorous title – it’s a calling card for a record that frequently meditates on death, afterlife, endings and cycles.
While some tracks are overtly pointed remarks on popular theories about human expiration (‘All Dorks Go To Heaven’, ‘Hard Pass On The Afterlife’), this is not just a shallow and simplistic take as the theme is expanded throughout the record into a more overarching concept of things coming to natural endings, cyclic patterns continuing past the individual experience of them, and most importantly of all being at peace with these occurrences as an accepted or even celebrated part of life (‘They Got Therapy For That’, ‘Earth’s Farewell Tour’).
As anyone who is familiar with Blockhead knows, even the most serious of messages always come with healthy servings of humour, irony, sarcasm, and a knowing wink. The title itself further reinforces this by using 'Lit’ as a fad synonym for excitement which is itself at the end of its own life cycle in popular culture...
For longtime fans it really wouldn’t be a Blockhead record if there wasn’t at least one horny song and here we are blessed with two for the lovers out there. Also caught up in the madness are some good old fashioned fun joints... ‘Dolphin Lundgren’ - for example is a joyful romp through the upbeat eyes of a high dolphin; then there’s the glorious juxtaposition of Middle Eastern disco and festival vibes on ‘Burning Man in Tehran’; or the bleary eyed sentimentality of ‘Thursday Night at Don Hills’.
The lowkey hero of the indie hip-hop and instrumental beats scenes, Blockhead first made his name on Def Jux as the go-to beats man for Aesop Rock before joining legendary UK label Ninja Tune as a solo producer and purveyor of the most exciting sample-based instrumental music this side of The Avalanches and DJ Shadow.
Indeed this year is the 20th anniversary of his seminal record ‘Music By Cavelight’ on Ninja Tune, which has just seen a special reissue edition on vinyl with some unreleased tracks from the same era which will also be available by the time this album is out.
Now Blockhead is rightly considered a bona fide master in his craft after an enviable career in underground hip-hop with his signature all-you-can-eat buffet of musical samples spanning every kind of audio you can imagine, always catering to both the audience who want to dig deeper and those who just like to dance. As he creates expansive narratives mostly without words, opting for a few choice vocal samples to provide some core guidance and themes.
Contrasting between downtempo and upbeat often in the same track, he traverses eras and styles spanning jazz, funk, blues, easy listening, disco, exotica, cinematic, and tv show snaps, all crafted together with a hip-hop sampling sensibility that is truly inimitable.
For all its humour, they say that in comedy timing is everything and ‘Mortality Is Lit!’ arrives very possibly at the optimal point in this regard, two weeks after the US presidential election. Quite likely when some perspective on cycles is needed most, regardless of what side of the aisle you find yourself on...
Tracklist:
1. Your Daily Affirmations
2. Earth's Farewell Tour
3. Dolphin Lundgren
4. All Dorks Go To Heaven
5. Orgy At The Port Authority
6. They Got Therapy For That
7. Hard Pass On The Afterlife
8. Thursday Night At Don Hills
9. Burning Man In Tehran
10. Attack Of The Sunrise People
11. Come Again
12. George Washedington
