THE INSECTS “GONE” WILL NOT BE FORGOTTEN

Taxidermy Records is proud to present the new album from Arizona’s groundbreaking hip hop crew THE INSECTS. Gone pt. 2 sees the group pushing the boundaries of their genre defiant style, with a cohesive vision that can only come from true dedication to the art.

Pretty soon we will be dropping some previews of the music, but for now you can check out the cover and enjoy this short interview with producer/dj Foundation.

You guys list a lot of varied influences that range from Hip Hop to Rock to Soul and Blues. What made you choose the path of Hip Hop? We grew up listening to hip hop and going to shows at a young age. I remember when I first saw the Beastie Boys way way back in the day. I think that changed my life forever. Hip hop has always been my number one love. We love all music but this is the culture that raised us.

You have been at this for over a decade. What inspires you to keep at it?
Most of our inspiration comes from our peers. We’ve got a pretty tight knit community of severe bad asses down here in PHX. Also life experience, traveling, meeting new people and melting there faces off!

How did the live painting of Dumperfoo come into play? Is it a constant part of The Insects live experience? Do you work with other artists or is it more like he is a part of the group?
Dumperfoo is definitely in the group. We have worked with many others but just on some homie shit. Dumper is one of the originators of the live art movement and has been elevating our live show for as long as I can remember.

In the past five years we have seen an over saturation of the hip hop market after the rise of Myspace, where it seems like anyone can be a rapper. Do you feel like this detracts from the people who really are putting in the work to develop their talent, or benefits the growth of musical appreciation overall?
I used to not give a shit about the saturation because the cream will rise, but after these last two months of straight touring, the promoter putting all his marginally skilled homies on to burn out the crowed is getting pretty stale. The optimist in me wants to say you can’t appreciate the good without the bad so people are going to dig deeper.

How has the flood of internet information/promotion changed the way you interact with fans and release your music? Do you think that music blogs are important points of connection? Do you feel as though its easy to get lost in the ongoing shuffle of new songs that appear daily?
It’s just added another venue for us to push the art. We haven’t delved in to the blog scene as much as we would like but we are definitely down with any avenue of getting the music to the people that want it even if they don’t know it yet. I feel you could easily get lost in the shuffle but that’s part of the fun of going on those blogs -it’s like a treasure hunt, you just might find a gem.

What are some themes on your new album? How does this album fit into your catalog – is it a departure, a further development, a new experiment or any of the above?
I wouldn’t say it is a departure. We just create music because we love to and are just gonna keep creating and pushing ourselves to get better at what we do. There is no single underlying theme. We hit it from different angles so its more like a collage of ideas, hence the name Gone.

The Insects, Phoenix’s favorite hip-hop band have released their new video “Trash”.  Dark, atmospheric, this claustrophobic grainy black and white video offers a buttoned down simplistic style in line with its anti-consumerist content.  Shades of 1984 show rundown apartments where the band is viewed playing on TV cams giving the impression of a world seen through a mall’s hidden camera, where one tortured soul watches it all and can do nothing to stop it. It makes you feel sick not because of its abrasive strangeness but the sense that you’ve been locked in this very room and don’t know how to get out.