Aesop Rock – Appleseed LP (Translucent Marble Smoke Vinyl) on Sale

On limited Clear & Black Smoke vinyl. The explosion of indie Hip Hop labels in the early 90s resulted in an ongoing snowball effect that started to shift the narrative around an artist s need to sign to a major label. Coincidentally, quality home recording equipment was also becoming more easily accessible and, with the rising popularity of CD-R technology, this allowed artists to write, record, and manufacture their own albums right at home.

Appleseed was a highly celebrated and influential release from that era, cementing Aesop Rock as a new face whose talent could not be denied. The album explores creative concepts with inventive writing and stripped-down yet melodic and melancholic production. Six out of the eight songs were produced by Aesop Rock, with Omega One producing Sick Friend and longtime collaborator Blockhead handling 1000 Deaths , and the project s sole guest lyricist was Dose One. The DIY process was followed in every aspect, as Aesop himself recalls, I did the Appleseed hand style while working at Tepper Galleries in NYC. The cover was made at Kinko s. The first Appleseed CD s were CD-R s I duped at home and sold from my backpack at an MF DOOM show at Brownies, which was right below my apartment at the time. I continued to sell hand to hand in NY, while Blockhead started fielding some mail orders from a young internet. People would send us cash or a check, and he d cut the covers out and mail them off.  The two of them were able to move a couple thousand CDs that way before turning their attention to newer projects, particularly Float in Aesop s case. As a result, Appleseed went out of print for many years before resurfacing as a merch item on tour. However, in all that time it was only available on CD, directly from Aesop. Finally, 21 years after it s debut, Appleseed officially returns, now available on all digital platforms, as well as on vinyl for the first time!