Does outsider art really exist these days? Often we'll come across something that seems like it was created in a vacuum, only to discover it was actually the work of a hyper aware dude who just knows how to brush against all the right weird touchstones. We're not saying that Gonjasufi is or isn't an outsider, just that with him the distinction is useless. He lives a normal life, has a couple kids, teaches yoga...but his voice sounds like it was carved out of an ancient rock face, and he tamed it with the help of weeded out LA hypnotic bass luminaries Flying Lotus and Gaslamp Killer, who both helped record A Sufi and a Killer. "SuzieQ" is an alternate hardcore future where the people got older but never stopped making the same music, while "Ageing" is a slow, dusty and worn look at—surprise!—getting older. But it's on "Ancestors" that the record becomes less about traveling through the mindgarden of a weirdo and more of a mission statement. It's what we always hoped neo-soul would be when we first heard about it. Has Erykah Badu hollered at this dude yet? She probably should.
Stream: Gonjasufi, A Sufi and a Killer (via Clash)
