Published
Tue, May 5, 2009, 15:15
- Diplo and Switch are set to release their dancehall project in June.
Switch and Diplo have teamed up to produce a dancehall record, which is set for release later this year.
The duo have adopted the Major Lazer moniker to house the material, although the press notes seem keen to state that "Major Lazer is a Jamaican commando who lost his arm in the secret Zombie War of 1984. The US military rescued him and repurposed experimental lazers as prosthetic limbs. Since then Major Lazer has been a hired renegade soldier for a rogue government operating in secrecy underneath the watch of M5 and the CIA." Entitled Guns Don't Kill People... Lazers Do, the record is a marriage of classic dancehall traditions with the upfront production ethics that you'd usually associate with Diplo and Switch, and they've managed to coax some of dancehall's biggest acts to feature on the record.
Both of the producers flew over to Jamaica to record the record at the legendary Tuff Gong Studios, where they hooked up with VYBZ Kartel, Ms Thing, Mr. Vegas and Santigold to lay down some vocals, but the collaborations didn't stop there. The lengthy credits on the album also feature Turbulence, Jah Dan, Amanda Blank and Nina Sky, whilst Afro Jack and Italian fidget duo Crookers lend their production skills to two of the album's thirteen tracks. For a taste of what to expect, check out Diplo mixing up tracks from the album over at RCRD LBL.
Tracklist
01. Hold The Line feat. Mr. Lex & Santigold
02. When You Hear The Bassline feat. Ms. Thing
03. Can’t Stop Now feat. Mr. Vegas & Jovi Rockwell
04. Lazer Theme feat. Future Trouble
05. Anything Goes feat. Turbulence
06. Cash Flow feat. Jah Dan
07. Mary Jane feat. Mr. Evil & Mapei
08. Bruk Out feat. T.O.K. & Ms. Thing
09. What U Like feat. Amanda Blank & Einstein
10. Keep It Goin' Louder feat. Nina Sky & Ricky Blaze
11. Pon De Floor feat. VYBZ Kartel (additional production by Afro Jack)
12. Baby feat. Prince Zimboo
13. Jump Up feat. Leftside & Supahype (co-produced by Crookers)
Downtown will release Guns Don't Kill People... Lazers Do on June 16th, 2009.