The idea of commercial music usual leaves a sour taste. Recycled beats, clichéd choruses and rudimentary rhyme structures only manage to dilute the spirit of hip-hop. Thes One, along side partner Double-0, has made a career of laid back, feel good rap records with the group People under the Stairs. With Lifestyle Marketing, Thes showcases his production talents, and flips commercial music upside down.
Drawing inspiration from composer Herb Pilhofer's jingles taken from his Music That Works volumes, Thes One reinterprets advertising music, infusing it with a strong groove without loosing the emotional depth of the original product. Pilhofer was born in Germany, but spent most of his professional life in Minneapolis, working for local companies and national brands like Pan-Am, Bell and Tonka. In the Pan-Am compositions, Thes' hits sonic gold. He devotes two tracks of the album to flight inspired music, producing the aural equivalent of an island getaway. "Northwestern Bell," also captures a mode of escape with aplomb, this time employing driving drums to give a greater sense of urgency.
While not a totally novel concept (word to Cut Chemist and DJ Shadow), Thes One's study of one composer's commercial oeuvre breaks new ground. Disk two of Lifestyle Marketing provides interested listeners an offering of Pilhofer's original compositions. In and of themselves, they are wonderfully affecting works, and taken in the context of the project, serve as beautiful footnotes to Thes One's instrumentals. In hip-hop's sample heavy environment, it is rare that the consumer can get a feel for the record digging and listening habits of their favorite producers. The joy of Lifestyle Marketing comes as much in sharing Thes One's intellectual experiment as it does from the groove of the tunes.
Transforming commercials into dense instrumental hip-hop, Thes fuses two strands of American musical history, creating a brand new cultural product. Fans of RJD2, DJ Shadow, and, of course, People Under The Stairs, will no doubt appreciate Thes' efforts, and for those still unaware of the potential of instrumental albums, Lifestyle Marketing is the perfect introduction.
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