Madlib and Mark Ronson have teamed up to craft a new album derived entirely from the sounds made at a Coca-Cola recycling plant.
In a promotional video showcasing the corporation’s switch from colored to clear plastic bottles and narrated by MC Lyte, both Madlib and Ronson are featured as they tinker with the unusual beat pack in their producer chairs.
AD LOADING...
The idea behind the video is that “clear plastic is to recycling as samples are to making music,” since clear plastic bottles can be reused while colored bottles are often discarded.
“It sounds very crazy and overstated to say it but anything can become a sample, right?” Ronson says at one point. “Like any sound, you can somehow manipulate in to a drum. The sounds and the rhythms and the pulses of sounds from everyday life can also be incredibly inspiring.”
The duo’s final product, simply titled The Album, is available to stream on Coca-Cola’s Recycled Records website and is the first album to ever be comprised solely of sound bites from the recycling process.
The website also invites listeners to tinker with the beat packs themselves and to make their own music to showcase the reusability of their newest bottles.
AD LOADING...
“Welcome to an aural examination of repeated re-use and a tune-based testament to the power of creativity today in building a better tomorrow,” a statement reads on the website.
“It’s not everyday you get the opportunity to create music using objects found in everyday life to emulate new forms of sound,” Madlib added of the unique project. “RECYCLED RECORDS is an EP of original tracks made from the sounds of the closed loop recycling process.”
Madlib’s collaboration with Coca-Cola caps off another prolific year for the legendary producer, who linked up with Black Star to produce their new album No Fear of Time, Yasiin Bey and Talib Kweli’s first project since their 1998 debut.
In November, the trio linked up for a special Saturday Night Live performance of two tracks off the album, with their good friend Dave Chappelle hosting the Hip Hop-flavored episode.
AD LOADING...
The Beat Konducta has also lent his production chops to Freddie Gibbs’$oul $old $eparately, Westside Gunn’sHitler Wears Hermes 10 and Peace “Fly” God and Fly Anakin’s Frank in 2022.
