Ears Wide Open: MAST

Daiana Feuer on November 30th, 2016

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Philadelphia-reared, L.A.-based Tim Conley made his Alpha Pup debut as Mast in 2014 with “Omni,” an exploration of electronics, live guitar, keyboards, bass and drums that fit right in with the experimental jazz-beat scene shepherded by the quintessential Los Angeles label. The following two years found Conley in a tempestuous relationship with a lover that inspired his second release, “Love and War_,” released by Alpha Pup this past October. This three-act sonic play consists of 17 tracks chronicling the hard times and transcendence of his romantic life, which he was reluctant to share so openly. But when the muse strikes, who can deny its guidance?

Act 1 is about finding and reveling naively in new love. In Act 2, he has to give up that relationship due to her substance abuse and deception, and his own darkness is palpable. When we arrive at Act 3, Conley finds the light in a new relationship. Conley wrote this after meeting and falling in love with singer Andrée Belle, who wrote the lyrics and sings on “Me And You.”

The album was mixed and mastered by Alpha Pup’s head honcho and co-founder of Low End Theory, Daddy Kev. As is the delightful custom of this community, a long list of special guests appear throughout the record: Taylor McFerrin, Makaya McCraven, Tim Lefebvre, Louis Cole, Josh Johnson, Gavin Templeton, Brian Marsella, Ryat, Marta Bagratuni, Nigel Sifantus, Anwar Marshall, the Fresh Cut Orchestra and the Koreatown Oddity.

||| Stream: “Me And You”