Feeling Good

The Internet Profile circa Summer 2012

Purple Naked Ladies, The Internet’s debut album, feels as if you’ve been transported to a different part of the world on a whim; yet, you’re fully aware how you got there, when you got there, where you are and most importantly, why you are there. The inaugural release through Odd Future Records will capture you if you’re not careful. The haunting repetition of The Garden, producer Pyramid Vritra’s show stealing verse on Gurl, Quadron’s Coco lacing Violet Nude Women; these are all factors which paint a thoroughly convincing portrait of The Internet’s production. However, these may pale in comparison to the fact Frank Ocean wrote part of She DGAF and was supposed to feature on Cunt.

There’s an aura of refined artistry in 1/2 of The Internet Matthew Martian’s East Point home, the residence of an illustrious producer whose musical expertise has guided many of his peers’ records. As I made the turn onto their street, the burning Sun undeniably colliding with the black exterior roof of my Nissan, the house is the first thing you see. It resides in a quaint neighborhood, complimented by peaceful solitude; not to mention the surrounding foliage. Taking note of the basketball hoop in the driveway, I ring the door-bell to be greeted by a very pretty girl who I find out later to be romantically involved with Syd, the lone female member of Odd Future and 1/2 of The Internet.

She lets me in, gets me a water bottle and goes to let The Internet know I’m here. A dating show on MTV is on in the corner of the living room, portraits of Martians and his family adorn the walls and a home-made studio rests on the counter of the kitchen. Various publications lay on the coffee table resulting in Birdman facing the ceiling. I wait a little bit before being greeted by Martians, easily the tallest member of the collective Odd Future. Sharing the fact he had grown up in this home all his life, it’s easy to see why he prefers working here. Martians retreats to the home studio, showing me a rough draft of the artwork for the upcoming Feel Good EP. He admits he had just been flipping through magazines looking for images, specifically issues of Oprah’s publication. He begins to play a variety of songs from iTunes yet he shares the same enthusiasm for each record. I’m given a rare glimpse at the factor which separates all of Odd Future from the rest of the industry: the sheer passion for music itself. The infectious melodies seem to exist within Martians.

Syd Bennett enters the room shortly after, clad in khaki pants and a lime-green polo buttoned all the way to the top completed with a gold chain. She’s beautiful in all aspects; her passion for the music can be conveyed with ease through her reserved persona, which is a rare feat. As we leave the home to drive to pick up a friend Essence and go to another friend Naveen’s house, our discussion starts. For the most part, this sabbatical from the hectic life in Los Angeles has been low-key. As we drive away from the house, Syd informs me the trip to Atlanta was supposed to be a chance to clear the conscience in light of their upcoming mini-tour in August. They share an uncanny chemistry; each other’s sentences are often completed for another. Their pending project, the Feel Good EP set to be released when they see fit, is far from traditional. It’ll be five to seven songs, all backed with live instrumentation. The Internet will be producing on an exclusive basis, allowing the featuring bands to shine in a collaborative effort.

As the conversation shifts to Martians’ work with soft-spoken, avant-garde artist Kilo Kish, who according to Syd, “will record because she’s bored at home alone,” it’s fascinating to hear the devotion in Martians’ voice. He proceeds to discuss executive producing her album and just what makes her so special in ways most people would discuss personal accolades; his selflessness when it comes to music is rare.

As it is with Odd Future, the conversation tends to steer itself towards the trials of once-troubled youth yet extremely gifted artist Earl Sweatshirt. When pressed about a rare project with Earl entitled ‘Sweaty Martians’, Martians calls the youngest rapper of OF his “little brother” and confirms they “have so many songs and beats made together.” “It’s coming though, don’t worry,” he assures me as we walk towards the apartment complex.

“The world’s going to feel stupid when they hear his album anyways,” says Syd. “It’s not going to sound anything like EARL at all. It’s been like three years. What rapper can live that long off one album? It’s going to suck for a lot of his fans, they’re going to get caught off guard. All that happened is that he grew up. And it’s ‘against’ OF to grow up.”

I noticed what’s most compelling about these two, as we stepped into their friend Naveen’s apartment, complete with the friendliest furriest dog, copious amounts of marijuana smoke and an endless stream of Netflix (a celebratory viewing of Soulja Boy: The Documentary felt necessary to indulge in after), is their unabashed claim that they don’t take any of this too seriously.

Despite recording and releasing an album through their own label, you wouldn’t know it if you weren’t in the loop. Syd claims she would be content with building studios and mixing records for her career while Martians doesn’t dance around the fact all he wants to do is make music comfortably from his home. These are hardly lofty aspirations; but, should they be in the first place? It’s the same reasonability which pre-occupies Kilo Kish’s music, a recently graduated fashion student with a job that pays well, according to Syd. It’s refreshing to witness such comfort in someone’s artistry in an age where over-compensation is commonplace. In reality, these are just talented kids making music.

“I’m inspired by Kish because she can quit tomorrow,” mused Martians earlier on in the day. It’s that common disposition which binds these kids together. In a year, Syd would like for her and Taco to not only split the mortgage on their parents’ home but pay for them to have their own place somewhere else. As long as she can accomplish this with the same care-free philosophy that’s worked so far, there’s no point in changing anything but the lives of those who made this life possible for her.

The Internet’s pending LP promises to be a venture into neo-soul black music, a return to the black bands of years past which Martians looks up to more than any other acts. If Give It Time really is the weakest song from the sessions thus far according to Martians, The Internet is poised to make some serious noise in 2013.