2013 Updates from the Aztext

One of my first projects here is going to be tracking down pretty much everyone making rap music in Vermont and get a quick interview about where they're at and what they're up to. The only logical place to start was, of course, The Aztext. Freestyle phenom Learic dropped some science like so...

37: How is the next Aztext album shaping up? Has your process changed?

Learic: The new Aztext album is called Four.

We're very close to finishing it, just a few more tracks to write and record. We're very excited about it; the album features some tracks that are us at our most creative as well as some very personal ones. The beats are a highlight, featuring our usual team of producers (Dub Sonata, E-Train, TouchPhonics), the SoulSlicers (who we worked with for 'Press it Onto Wax' which was on their album), as well as two producers we'd never previously worked with. We're excited about the addition of these two to the mix and I'll let it be a surprise as to who they are. There will be a series of music videos accompanying the album release as well. We're shooting for a summer 2013 release date.

As far as our process, it's still just the two of us going where the beat takes us, following whatever instincts it tells us to take it to, and never feeling like we have to keep whatever we come up with. There's a total freedom there because we've been working together for so long. So usually one of us will come up with a melody for the hook, then maybe the other one starts thinking of the words, and we go from there.

37: Can you tell us about The Write Brothers?

Learic: The Write Brothers is a project I've been working on for the past year and a half with Dante DaVinci. The EP we'll be releasing is called First in Flight. Dante produced all the tracks and we co-wrote some of the hooks but he wrote a lot of them. A couple tracks we co-wrote completely. There will be seven tracks but I feel they are each so diverse from each other that listeners will be very satisfied. We're planning to release this summer 2013.

Also coming out of the same studio (Upsetta) is a project from a group I'm in called The Precepts. It consists of Jer Coons, Eric Maier, and myself. The project came about from them making these sick hip-hop beats using live instruments and involving me on a couple tracks, then the more we got together the chemistry grew, and before we knew it we were a group. They're incredible singers and songwriters as well and we've put together an album that's slated for a tentative August release. Look for a single release (A-side and B-side) in early summer.

37: Your youtube channel has been extremely entertaining. Will you be dropping more freestyle video this summer?

Learic: I definitely have plans of releasing more freestyle videos. Kin (who I was making those with) and I have a lot of ideas on different spins we can put on it, so look for those this summer. Kin and I also have an album called Unusual Subjects that we'll be dropping this summer.