The new voice of the 'Alternative South' is MC/producer/multi-instrumentalist Jack Preston. The ATLien's first full-length LP in almost five years, "End of The Future," is out today.
Produced entirely by Bay Area beatsmith Jon Bom, the album serves as the full-length follow-up to Preston and Bom's collaborative 2010 EP, The Sonikah Project.
With assistance from extended musical family from both coasts including The Dojo Collective, Sa-Roc, Yamin Semali, blctxt, MICAHteer, and Alex Lee of LeVice, EOTF easily pushes boundaries and seamlessly blends electronic, jazz, and hip hop with some live instrumentation.
Exhibiting an intensified sense of stylistic command and musical growth, End Of The Future's sound is vibrant and dynamic. Each song threads together a narrative of self-reflection and exploration over Bom’s spacey synths, suffused with hints of old West Coast G-Funk and southern charm that channels the spirit of predecessors like the Dungeon Family and UGK. With rightful comparisons to Oddisee and both members of Outkast, Preston wields both rhyme and melody as he navigates moments of his journey with broad, effortless pivots in delivery.
Preston doesn't stray too far from his roots, but moments suggest that his relationship with Atlanta is one of navigating the expansion of its culture on a global scale while preserving the historical context that helped mold him into the artist he is today. Thus, EOTF is a culminating nod to the past, a celebration of the present, and a looking glass into the future; a moment in which a vision is manifested and an idea fully blossoms into a tangible reality.
Stream "End of The Future" via Bandcamp below. Purchase the album on iTunes here.