Pitchfork: Dntel Goes Hip-Hop on Forthcoming Headset LP

Dntel Goes Hip-Hop on Forthcoming Headset LP
Ben Gibbard busts out Tec-9, dubs the block "officially hot"

Jimmy Tamborello, the man behind Dntel, as well as the non-vocal half of The Postal Service, has teamed up with Plug Research founder Allen Avanessian to lay down some straight-up hip-hop tracks. Going by the name of Headset, the two handled all production duties on the forthcoming album, titled Space Settings, and called on the talents of various MCs to contribute vocals. The project began over a year ago, according to Tamborello, "as a dubby/jazzy/weird project," but slowly morphed into a hip-hop record as it progressed. Additional contributions from Plug Research's own John Tejada and Daedelus, as well as Thomas Fehlmann (who has worked with The Orb, among others), helped fill in the gaps, and now, the record is set for release on August 24th.

On the lyrical side, the duo called on mostly West Coast MCs, but at least one track reaches out quite a bit farther, as "Grasping Claw" features sweet-ass Japanese rhymes by Lady Dragon. Other than that, expect to hear throwdowns from Rocmon, Metalogic, and non-GENETIC from Shadow Huntaz, among others. Beans from Anti-Pop Consortium contributed to "Jaw Modulation", Postal Service-style, by having the beats sent to him by post. Representatives for the duo have stated that the track is "already destined to become a timeless hip-hop classic." But no pressure, seriously.

So how can we expect Headset to compare to Tamborello's other projects? According to Tamborello, who Pitchfork contacted by email, the overall sound of Space Settings will be completely different from his previous work, pulling influences from the likes of The Neptunes and Timbaland. At least one track, however, will be reminiscent of Tamborello's past: "Breath Contrails" is actually credited to Dntel on the disc, as it was originally intended for an album under that alias. For whatever reason, it didn't work for Dntel, but eventually found a home with Headset. "That's the closest anything comes to my other stuff. It's a little more melancholic and Dntel-y," says Tamborello. Tracklist:

01 Then Again (featuring Non-GENETIC and Rocmon)
02 Back Before (featuring Non-GENETIC)
03 Outward Sound
04 Grasping Claw (The Beginning)
05 Grasping Claw (featuring Lady Dragon)
06 Dunno
07 Jaw Modulation (featuring Beans)
08 Breath Contrails (featuring Subtitle)
09 Previously Smooth Sophistication
10 Sound of a Squint