Rapper Slug and producer Ant have been making music together for more than 20 years, and over that time their struggles have evolved.
“I make music that was born from a place of struggle and like some of my contemporaries, we outgrow some of those struggles, especially the financial ones because we’re able to sell this music that we made that was made from struggle,” Slug said in an interview on The Current’s Oake & Riley morning radio show in Minnesota Tuesday (June 21). “So it creates this thing where when you’re … figuring out what to write about, you want to write about struggles but you can’t — I’m not gonna write about trying to pay my phone bill ’cause my phone bill’s paid … I have a tendency to try and tap into whatever it is I’m going through at the moment. I found these positions of struggle that I still deal with and I focused on those.”
The group will be releasing its seventh studio album on August 12 via Rhymesayers. Fishing Blues will be the first official full-length project since 2014’s Southsiders, which debuted in the No. 8 position on the Billboard 200 album chart. The Minneapolis, Minnesota duo has released asteadystreamofsingles over the last year, though none of them will appear on the new album.
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Fishing Blues features spots from DOOM, Kool Keith, Aesop Rock, The Grouch and more. Slug said that the album was supposed to be named something else, but he and Ant saw a boat with the new title written on it and they knew they had to change it.
“All the songs are about fishing, and I don’t mean literally about fishing, but all the songs are about trying to secure something,” Slug explained. “Trying to find something: fishing for compliments, fishing for validation, fishing for food, love, money, whatever.”
Check out the brand new video for debut single “Ringo” below followed by the Fishing Blues cover art, tracklist and tour schedule.
Here’s the cover art, tracklist and tour schedule for Atmosphere’s Fishing Blues.
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- Like A Fire
- Ringo
- Besos
- Pure Evil (feat. I.B.E)
- Perfect
- Seismic Waves
- Next To You (feat. deM atlaS)
- The Shit That We’ve Been Through
- When The Lights Go Out (feat. DOOM & Kool Keith)
- No Biggie
- Everything
- Chasing New York (feat. Aesop Rock)
- Sugar
- Fishing Blues (feat. The Grouch)
- Won’t Look Back (feat. Kim Manning)
- Anybody That I’ve Known
- Still Be Here
- A Long Hello
Freshwater Fly Fishermen Tour
Tickets go on sale on June 24.
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7.02 – Chicago, IL @ Mamby On The Beach +
7.22 – Jämsä, Finland @ Pipefest +
7.23 – Helsinki, Finland @ Tavastia Club
8.06 – Gilford, NH @ Bank of New Hampshire Pavilion ^
8.13 – Somerset, WI @ Summer Set Music & Camping Festival +
8.19 – Wasaga Beach, ON @ Center of Gravity Festival +
9.02 – Morrison, CO @ Red Rocks Amphitheater ^^
9.09 – Saskatoon, SK @ O’Brian’s Event Centre **
9.10 – Calgary, AB @ One Love Music Festival +
9.08 – Winnipeg, MB @ Garrick Centre **
9.14 – Vancouver, BC @ Commodore Ballroom *
9.11 – Edmonton, AB @ Union Hall **
9.13 – Victoria, BC @ Sugar Nightclub *
9.15 – Seattle, WA @ Showbox Sodo *
9.17 – Portland, OR @ Roseland Theater *
9.18 – Bend, OR @ Midtown Ballroom *
9.19 – Oakland, CA @ Fox Theater *
9.20 – San Francisco, CA @ The Masonic *
9.23 – San Diego, CA @ Observatory North Park *
9.24 – Los Angeles, CA @ The Shrine LA Outdoors ***
9.28 – Santa Fe, NM @ Santa Fe Brewing Company *
9.26 – Tempe, AZ @ The Marquee *
9.30 – Salt Lake City, UT @ The Complex *
10.01 – Boise, ID @ Knitting Factory *
10.02 – Missoula, MT @ The Wilma *
10.03 – Billings, MT @ Babcock Theatre *
10.05 – Fargo, ND @ Fargo Civic Center *
10.06 – Omaha, NE @ Sokol Auditorium *
10.08 – Nashville, TN @ Municipal Auditorium ^
11.07 – Montreal, QC @ Fairmount Theatre *
11.09 – Portland, ME @ State Theatre *
11.10 – Burlington, VT @ Higher Ground *
11.11 – New Haven, CT @ Toad’s Place *
11.12 – Philadelphia, PA @ TLA *
11.14 – Washington, DC @ 9:30 Club *
11.15 – New York, NY @ Webster Hall *
11.17 – Boston, MA @ House of Blues *
11.18 – Pittsburgh, PA @ Stage AE *
11.19 – Cleveland, OH @ House of Blues *
+ Festival Tour Date
^ Supporting Pretty Lights
^^ Brother Ali, Lifter Puller, Lizzo, Plain Ole Bill & Last Word
* Brother Ali, deM atlaS, Plain Ole Bill & Last Word
** Brother Ali, Plain Ole Bill & Last Word
*** Dilated Peoples, Aesop Rock, Brother Ali, deM atlaS, Plain Ole Bill & Last Word
