Experimental indie rapper Sole, A.K.A. Tim Holland, has released a grim new music video with his three-piece backing group, The Skyrider Band. The video is for their song “Stupid Things Implode On Themselves,” featured on their collaborative self-titled debut.
Sole’s music has been described as a series of wide-ranging battle raps with clever rhymes that reflect his political opinions and sarcastic sense of humor. Mainly working with Anticon Records, he’s best known for his work with famed producers Alias, Odd Nosdam (of cLOUDDEAD), and Jel (of Subtle).
Sole has worked with notable artists such as DJ Crush, Sage Francis, Atmosphere, Slug, and other Anticon artists. In 2005, he broke away from his traditional production, and released an instrumental solo album under the alias “mansbestfriend.”
While on tour with label mates Dosh, Telephone Jim Jesus, and Pedestrian, Sole crossed paths with electronic musician and dub bassist Bud Berning in Florida, who was recording solo work under the name Skyrider.
The two artists later collaborated when Sole made a stop in Orlando during his brief Southeast tour, and the duo added two instrumentalists, Tennessee native John Wagner and ethnomusicologist William Ryan Fritch. Sole immediately asked Skyrider to record an album with him in his hometown of Flagstaff, AZ.
Sole described the self-titled album with Skyrider saying, “It’s more personal; it’s more about my own experiences. I think it’s more matured and grounded. It’s not, ya know, ‘Pump your fist, let’s burn down the malls.’ It’s more like ‘Shit, man, what the fuck are we gonna do?'”
Sole & The Skyrider Band created a dreary music video for their song “Stupid Things Implode On Themselves,” which depicts the future of America after society crumbles, resulting in oppressed living conditions similar to the Middle Ages. The story centers on a group of people trying to survive in a small settlement in the desert.
Sole & The Skyrider Band are set to tour in 2008 with The Apes and Telephone Jim Jesus.
2008 Tour Dates:
January 16 – San Diego, CA @ Casbah*
January 17 – Pomona, CA @ Glasshouse*
January 18 – Los Angeles, CA @ Knitting Factory*
January 21 – Tuscon, AZ @ Plush*
January 23 – Santa Fe, NM @ High Mayhem*
January 24 – San Antonio, TX @ The Roadhouse Saloon*
January 25 – Austin, TX @ Emo’s*
January 26- Houston, TX @ Proletariat*
January 28 – Baton Rouge, LA @ Spanish Moon*
January 29 – Pensacola, FL @ Sluggos*
January 30 – Miami, FL @ PS-14*
February 1 – Atlanta, GA @ Lenny’s Bar*
February 2 – Birmingham, AL @ Bottletree*
February 5 – Washington, D.C. @ Black Cat*
February 6 – Baltimore, MD @ Talking Head*
February 7 – Philadelphia, PA @ Khyher Pass*
February 8 – New York, NY @ Knitting Factory*
February 9 – Brooklyn, NY @ Glasslands*
February 10 – Buffalo, NY @ Soundlab*
February 12 – Purchase, NY @ SUNY Purchase*#
February 14 – Portland, MN @ The Space*
February 15 – Boston, MA @ Harpers Ferry*#
February 16 – Providence, RI @ The Living Room*#
February 18 – Rochester, NY @ Bug Jar*
February 19 – Pittsburg, PA @ Garfield Artworks*
February 20 – Detroit, MI @ Scrummage University*
February 21 – Lansing, MI @ Mac’s Bar*
February 22 – Chicago, IL @ Abbey Pub *#
February 23 – Minneapolis, MN @ The Uptown Club*
February 24 – Iowa City, IA @ The Picador*
February 26 – Denver, CO @ Hi-Dive*
February 27 – Salt Lake City, UT @ Urban Lounge*
February 28 – Missoula, MT @ Badlander*
February 29 – Seattle, WA @ Nectar Lounge*
March 1 – Portland, OR @ Rotture*
March 2 – Eugene, OR @ W.O.W. Hall*
March 6 – San Francisco, CA @ Bottom of the Hill*
March 7 – Visalia, CA @ Howie and Sons Pizza*
*= w/ Telephone Jim Jesus
#=w/ The Apes
Sole & The Skyrider Band: www.myspace.com/soleandtheskyriderband
Sole: www.soleone.org
Skyrider: www.myspace.com/skyrider
Anticon Records: www.anticon.com