The mind behind this week’s #FADERMix is Virginia producer Bradford Caudle, aka Ohbliv. I was first introduced to his music back in 2012 when a friend hipped me to a tape he'd dropped with Richmond rapper Nickelus F, and ever since have been held captive by his music's ability to fully take your mind elsewhere. Weaving together samples from soul, funk, jazz, and beyond with a hip-hop sensibility, his beats are mesmerizing.
During January’s east coast snowstorm, Ohbliv took some time to stitch together some of his current favorites for this reflective mix, including cuts from Richmond rappers Fly Anakin and Koncept Jackson, a dizzying track from jazz trumpeter Cullen Knight, a slink-inducing number from Italian composer Piero Umiliani, and a few unreleased tracks from Ohbliv himself. Dig in below.
Where are you right now? Describe your surroundings.
OHBLIV: Surrounded by records. In my living room.
Tell us a bit about this mix—what was the vibe while making it?
The mix is basically songs that are my current favs. A few new, a couple older and unreleased tracks I produced. I was pretty lifted while making it.
What do you imagine people doing while listening to it?
Probably checking their email or reading the latest thinkpiece.
What's the most recent musical project/musical experience that had a big impact on you? And why?
I would have to say [Quasimoto's] The Further Adventures Of Lord Quas. The concentration of ideas and sounds and the sequencing of that album still trips me out.
Your mix includes a few Richmond rappers you’ve recently produced for—what is the musical scene/vibe like in the city?
Ah yes—Fly Anakin and Koncept Jackson from Mutant Academy. They are some young hungry brothers that love rap. It's pretty fertile right now musically with the veterans and new voices in the city. The competitive and independent spirit is alive in Richmond. There's so many bands, crews, [and] solo artists that have popped up over the last couple of years that it's hard to keep up with; on any given night somebody is rocking.
What is your favorite aspect of performing live? What do you want the audience to take away when you perform?
For anyone who’s seen me perform live knows I use a simple set up of a SP404sx, so it's not about bells and whistles for my performance. To me a live performance should be different from recorded material, whether it's the actual music or the presentation. It's all about love and I enjoy being able to share what I love to the people and I think that energy and love is what they take away after seeing me live. I want people to have an experience they will go home and talk about and remember.
What are some of your musical influences?
I was fortunate enough to grow up in a musically diverse home. My parents definitely helped cultivate my appreciation for all forms of music. My mom was into gospel, R&B music while my dad had to have been a head in the '70s. He was into jazz and soul mostly but he also had all of these, come to find out, rare prog rock and psych records in his collection. All of that helped shape my taste musically. When I studied vocal music as a child and into college I was introduced to classical, operas and musicals. But I am mainly influenced by a lot of the jazz fusion, gospel, prog rock and R&B my parents used to play, add a lot of post punk, library music and '80s modern soul. Anything with soul really, typical beat diggery stuff.
What are you working on right now/ what’s in store for you this coming year?
In addition to the Ohbliv full-length album coming out this year. I've got a collaboration project and couple projects completed as a few of my aliases (Darktwaine and BradfordThomas).
And finally, what's your favorite thing to cook and how do you make it?
Breakfast can go down anytime of the day! I like to throw down on some pancakes, waffles, hash browns etc.
Tracklist
Mike Hertig - Algodoal
Piero Umiliani - Nel Villaggio
DarkTwaine - Alienation
Ralph Gordon - Don't Play With My Heart
Harold Budd - Style comes the same way that a person's handwriting develops
Ohbliv - Left Ear
Chuck Loeb - One Man's View
Fly Anakin - MachineGunFunk
Ohbliv - Post Grace
Koncept Jackson - Red Lights In Rio
Ohbliv - Fall For You
Rene & Angela - Wait Until Tonight
Ohbliv - Things That You Do
Cullen Knight - A'keem(Brothers)
DJ Harrison & Ohbliv - In The Water
CzarDust - WeMerk
From The Collection:
FADER Mix