Album Review: Daily Bread - On The Daily

If we're talking about developing deep reflections into an auditory experience, best talk to one Atlanta-based music producer & beatmaker.

The past years have been packed for Rhett Whatley -- the mind behind Daily Bread. 2016 proved a diligent year churning out releases, including his own Cloud Conductor and one co-release with label mate Derlee entitled Divided Souls.  2017 could be consider something entirely different for him.  In cultivating new sounds with new experiences, traveling and playing shows with the likes of funk-duo The Floozies, future funk mastermind GRiZ, soul guitarist Marvel Years, and electro-hiphop-soul architect Pretty Lights, Whatley absorbed new career milestones.

In Spring 2017, Whatley and collaborating lyricist Adam Venable AKA Obeah packed their bare living and music-making essentials and headed west for the Rocky Mountain skyline landing in Denver, Colorado. On The Daily explores impressions gathered in the adventure of living life where Daily Bread artfully welds together live instrumentals, vintage samples, analog bass synths and a performance of vocal samples for his first vinyl release ever.

The production process for these tracks involved a lot of listening on my end. Some of these tracks took months to finish. I’d spend hours in a couple different record shops finding sounds, themes, and tones. When actually making the songs, I attempted to include equal parts sampling, live instrumentation, and creative synthesis.

Opening with a punch, this album doesn't let up from delivering a concussive dose of snare notes in hefty glitch track "It's Hard To Stop" to hammering down a double-tap with blues-heavy electro hip-hop piece "A Long Way From Home". Featuring Luke Sipka from Bells & Robe,"No More Changes" gives us a unique blend of sample-based hip-hop with a Moog synth solo and we're only at track number three.

After a sweat-inducing opening, things get more experimental leading into "Short Fuse". Thought-provoking songs take us to the chewy, melancholic core of the album like "Stormy Seas (We Are Strong)" -- a song to remind us we're not alone in our humanly trials.  "Let's All Go To The Moon" featuring Obeah on the lyrical flow shares a perspective on elevated existence and "Dreaming on a Crimson Cloud" is a sonic depiction of lucid dreaming. Upbeat tunes like "Don't Be Afraid" gives us the room we need to process as we prepare to close things out. "Days Gone By (Rolling Like Thunder)" injects some major summer madness groove reminding us to drink in the simple moments. Shutting it down in an epic fashion, Daily Bread shares an experience about going a festival entitled "Walking Through The Georgia Rain".

Justin from Zoogma is featured on the track "A Long Way From Home." He came over when I was living off Moreland Avenue in East Atlanta and we stayed up all night recording slide guitar. Obeah lends his voice for "Let’s All Go to The Moon", a tale about elevating consciousness. He also did cuts on "It’s Hard To Stop". Luke Sipka from Bells And Robes laid down the heavy Moog solo at the end of "No More Changes". I did all the guitar on "Short Fuse" & "Still The Same".

Through the mind of traveling vinyl-nerd, musician, and beat head, Daily Bread gives us a thoroughly-contemplated exhibition of life experiences in song form. This is something you'll discover in the the vinyl copy of this record -- a musical work certainly meant to be played uninterrupted from beginning to end.

Shout out to Sweet Melissa Records in Atlanta and Recollect Records in Denver for being such assets the past two years. Now I’m moving back to Lithonia, GA with Artifakts and Derlee to set up shop for a year and create the best music we can.

This is the third vinyl release for independent label Philos Records. This is, however, Daily Bread's first vinyl release ever. The limited 2xLP includes a gatefold cover designed by Eric Jefferson, song liners, photography from Daily Bread and friends, as well as two exclusive tracks that will not be available on any streaming platform.

                               

Get Your Copy of Daily Bread's On The Daily Here

Keep up with Daily Bread and Philos Records on Stereofox