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German based rapper and producer PHIILOSOPHER rides dark trap beats with post-hardcore shouts and sing-rap autotune vocals, crafting a new level of alternative trap comparable to contemporaries such as GHOSTEMANE, SCARLXRD and $UICIDEBOY$. After releasing two EPs, he now issues his debut album ‘Rhiizome’, out in October 2020 via Redfield Records.
Like some of his peers, PHIILOSOPHER has his origins in the metal or post-hardcore scene. He played in multiple bands, toured various countries and recorded albums in the US with internationally famous producers, like Dan Korneff (PAPA ROACH, PARAMORE, A DAY TO REMEMBER).
But what if you’re still young and ambitioned but the things that inspire you musically are happening somewhere else? What if the possibilities and structures of a rock band are beginning to feel more like limitations? PHIILOSOPHER took the drastic but artistically only credible step and started from scratch in a completely new field as a solo artist and producer. At the time, while he was earning his doctoral degree in philosophy, the decision to stop touring came in handy, anyway.
Already the first steps as PHIILOSOPHER turned out to be remarkable. The debut single ‘Blvkk’ came out of nowhere on Halloween 2018 and was followed by the first collab with ALAZKA vocalist Tobias Rische. Right after the first EP ‘Yesnt’, PHIILOSOPHER sealed a deal with Redfield Records and the second EP ‘Young Rose’ came out as well as an extended version of ‘Yesnt’. Since the end of 2019 there has been a number of single releases that now culminate in PHIILOSOPHER’s debut album ‘Rhiizome’. In comparison to earlier releases, the masked artist has drastically expanded his style and range, which makes his first full-length a creative and entertaining hell of a ride. Whereas other trap productions may end up as just tracks, PHIILOSOPHER is introducing the fine art of song-writing to the game. From brutal beats with distorted 808s and post-hardcore vibes in ‘The Swarm’ and ‘Jedi’ – both featuring Tobias Rische – over experimental combinations, more influenced by the US trap scene, like ‘Paradigm Shift’ or ‘Facebabe’, to sophisticated, dark and nihilistic sounds, such as "C 0 F F 1 N", ‘Rhiizome’ ads a breath of fresh air to the contemporary music landscape. PHIILOSOPHER’s message is clearly formulated: Break through the genre boundaries!
The album title ‘Rhiizome’ even emphasizes the idea of connecting things from different origins: According to the metaphorical term "rhizome", influenced by the French post-structuralist Gilles Deleuze, unity and difference are not seen as a pair of opposites, but heterogeneity is understood as a connection of difference: "Variousness becomes unity through its connection, but without cancelling out the differences.“ On his debut album PHIILOSOPHER is connecting different musical styles that enter into an interrelation, without comprehensively merging into a new unity, so the LP always remains dynamic and fresh. In the artwork, the eleven hands symbolize the eleven tracks of the album, which as intensity zones of certain connecting lines stick out of the rhizome – the root network.
With regards to the content, PHIILOSOPHER remains true to his name – as the doctor of philosophy he actually is: His lyrics explore philosophical, socio-critical and political issues. He examines present-day problems in the light of Kant, Sokrates and Deleuze. Based on the philosophical tradition, his songs offer ideas for solutions as well as an outlook on the future. Take a look into the future!