NEW VIDEO “HOLDING MY BREATH”
EUROPE TOUR BEGINS 11TH MAY IN LONDON, UK
Minneapolis hip-hop pioneers Atmosphere have released their new album So Many Other Realities Exist Simultaneously via Rhymesayers Entertainment.
There's an unmistakable sense of unease from the outset that continues to evolve throughout the record, an almost unnerving excavation of paranoia inspired by the general malaise of a pandemic weary society full of civil unrest. The tension in these songs is palpable, but the album’s mere presence is a testament to the hope that has to underpin even the most stressed out epiphanies.
On the new album, rapper Slug says “we made a new album where we addressed a bunch of items we found in stacks of moving boxes that had become furniture. written and recorded over the duration of 2020 distancing / paranoia of 2021. Mixed and mastered during stolen moments of 2022.”
Alongside the album release, the duo have shared a new Marmo Films directed video for “Holding My Breath.” On the video Slug adds, "We lift our juice boxes to the sky in celebration of the Sad Clown’s return. Have you hugged your therapist today?” Watch the video below, as well as previously released videos for “Bigger Pictures,” and lead single “Okay,” which was praised by Stereogum, Consequence, Brooklyn Vegan, 2DopeBoyz, and FLOOD Magazine who wrote that "Atmosphere balance optimism, pessimism, realism, and all other -isms on their latest single.”
The duo recently announced Summertime 2023, a North American tour with Slightly Stoopid, Sublime with Rome, and The Movement, which comes on the heels of their European tour, The ConTour. The European tour begins at the Electric Ballroom in London, UK on 11 May and finishing in Oslo, NO at Parkteatret on 21 May. This will mark their first Europe tour since 2019, Slug adds “...it’s been four years too long, we are coming back to Europe to make party, this May!” Atmosphere will be joined by HEBL and special guests. Prior to the run of North American dates, Atmosphere will appear at California Roots Festival, Summer Greens, and have announced two shows at Williwaw Social in Anchorage, Alaska. The run of tour dates will culminate with a headline show at Red Rocks Amphitheatre on September 17th, supported by Danny Brown, Souls of Mischief, and more. Atmosphere currently holds the record for the most sold out shows at Red Rocks for any Hip Hop artist with nine sellouts since 2011. Purchase So Many Other Realities Exist Simultaneously here, and check out exclusive t-shirts, sweatshirts, youth clothing and more available at atmospheresucks.com
TOUR DATES 11/5 - London, UK @ Electric Ballroom ^ 12/5 - Amsterdam, NL @ Melkweg ^ 13/5 - Cologne, DE @ Gebäude 9 ^ 15/5 - Paris, FR @ La Bellevilloise ^ 17/5 - Berlin, DE @ Hole44 ^ 19/5 - Copenhagen, DK @ Pumpehuset ^ 20/5 - Stockholm, SE @ Kägelbanan ^ 21/5 - Oslo, NO @ Parkteatret ^ 25/5 - Monterey, CA @ California Roots Festival - 2/6 - Anchorage, AK @ Williwaw Social * 3/6 - Anchorage, AK @ Williwaw Social * 16/6 - Greenwood Village, CO @ Fiddler's Green Amphitheatre - 6/7 - Auburn, WA @ White River Amphitheatre + 7/7 - Bend, OR @ Hayden Homes Amphitheater + 8/7 - Nampa, ID @ Ford Idaho Center Amphitheater + 9/7 - West Valley City, UT @ USANA Amphitheatre + 13/7 - Murphys, CA @ Ironstone Amphitheater + 14/7 - Mountain View, CA @ Shoreline Amphitheatre + 15/7 - Irvine, CA @ FivePoint Amphtheatre (without Sublime with Rome) + 16/7 - San Diego, CA @ Petco Park + 21/7 - The Woodlands, TX @ The Cynthia Woods Mitchell Pavillion + 22/7 - Del Valle, TX @ Germania Insurance Amphitheatre + 23/7 - Irving, TX @ The Pavillion at Toyota Music Factory + 27/7 - Somerset, WI @ Somerset Amphitheatre + 28/7 - Chicago, IL @ Huntington Bank Pavillion at Northerly Island + 29/7 - Sterling Heights, MI @ Michigan Lottery Amphitheatre at Freedom Hill + 30/7 - Indianapolis, IN @ TCU Amphitheatre at White River State Park + 3/8 - North Charleston, SC @ North Charleston Coliseum (Indoors) + 4/8 - Virginia Beach, VA @ Veteran's United Home Loans Amphitheatre + 5/8 - Raleigh, NC @ Coastal Credit Union Music Park at Walnut Creek + 6/8 - Wilmington, NC @ Live Oak Bank Pavillion + 17/8 - Holmdel, NJ @ PNC Bank Arts Center + 18/8 - Columbia, MD @ Merriweather Post Pavillion + 20/8 - Camden, NJ @ Freedom Mortgage Pavillion + 24/8 - Gilford, NH @ Bank of New Hampshire + 25/8 - Mansfield, MA @ XFINITY Center + 26/8 - Wantagh, NY @ Northwell Health at Jones Beach Theatre + 1/9 - Jacksonville, FL @ Daily's Place + 2/9 - Tampa, FL @ MIDFLORIDA Credit Union Amphitheatre + 3/9 - West Palm Beach, FL @ iTHINK Financial Amphitheatre + 17/9 - Morrison, CO @ Red Rocks Amphitheatre w/ Danny Brown, Souls of Mischief, The Grouch & Eligh w/ DJ Fresh, Mr. Dibbs and Breakbeat Lou of Ultimate Breaks & Beats * ^ The ConTour dates w/ HEBL and ZooDeVille - Festival Performance dates * Headlining US tour dates + Summertime 2023 tour dates w/ Slightly Stoopid, Sublime with Rome, and The Movement
In their 25-plus years as a duo, Atmosphere’s rapper Slug and producer Ant have built a legacy that is embedded in the fabric of underground hip-hop. Rising in the ranks of Minneapolis, their debut album, Overcast! was released in 1997. Presented as a flurry of vignettes, and paired with an unending touring schedule, the album was a springboard from which the group was able to become a fixture in the midwest music scene. It wasn’t long before their songwriting evolved from telling inventive third-person tales to delivering introspective first-person eviscerations, and by the early 2000’s Slug would jokingly birth the phrase “emo rap” in an interview before publications began running with the genre tag to describe them and others.
In the decades since their debut, Atmosphere has maintained a course of rigorous output, releasing over two dozen studio albums, EP's and collaborative side projects in as many years. The venerated duo have built a legacy out of bringing honesty, humility and vulnerability to the forefront of their music. Slug has proven masterful at storytelling and writing compelling narratives, leaving a trail of his own influence while paying homage to the rappers and songwriters that helped shape him. Meanwhile, Ant has skillfully molded the soundtracks with inspiration from soul, funk, rock, reggae, and the wizardry of hip-hop’s pioneering DJ's and producers, creating his own trademark sounds and providing the pulse for songs about life, love, stress and setbacks. At its essence, Atmosphere has been a musical shepherd, guiding generations of listeners through this thing called life.
Their newest album, 2023’s So Many Other Realities Exist Simultaneously, captures perhaps some of Atmosphere’s most personal work to date. The odyssey opens with a gentler approach than recent works, with the lead-off track “Okay” seemingly focused on comforting and reassuring the listener. As Slug raps over one of the most twinkling productions Ant has ever released, the song lays the groundwork for an album-length exercise in fumbling consciousness. Yet, as gently as the album begins, there’s an unmistakable sense of unease from the outset that continues to evolve throughout the project, as Slug and Ant weave the listener through indistinct themes of insomnia and woe. From the subtle panic at the heart of songs like “Dotted Lines” to the overt anxiety of songs like “In My Head,” the unease across tracks is unmistakable. Yet, as the tears might begin to well, they find resolve again through songs like “Still Life,” whose hopeful outlook undercuts the tensity of the album. All the while, the rhythms on So Many Other Realities are some of the most inventive of Atmosphere’s career. Ant’s playful percussion on “In My Head” acts as a nice counterweight to the roiling writing, while the drum patterns on “Holding My Breath” and “Bigger Pictures” allow Slug to play with his flow to emphasize the anxiety driving the record.
Where previous records in this most recent act of Atmosphere’s career have been focused on emphasizing the parts of life that carry the most meaning—family, brotherhood, purpose—So Many Other Realities is an almost unnerving excavation of paranoia inspired by the general malaise of a pandemic weary society full of civil unrest. The tension in these songs is palpable, but the album’s mere presence is a testament to the hope that has to underpin even the most stressed out epiphanies.
The greatest risk Atmosphere has continued to take across their career is that of being vulnerable and unafraid. The world has inconceivably changed since Slug and Ant entered into the underground hip-hop scene, but despite the seismic shifts in music and culture, they’ve held strong to a foundation rooted in sly innovation and truth. The duo’s relentless release & touring schedules only tell a piece of the story, but spending time with their records—whether you’re a new fan or a longstanding listener—reveals a pair of friends who love to create and live for unabashed self-expression. Their bare reflections on life and the mundane traumas and joys that make living worthwhile are a gift, and that is Atmosphere’s legacy in and of itself. If the music stopped tomorrow, the duo would go down as two quiet titans who changed the course of everyman rap forever.
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