A State of Mind (abbreviated as ASM) is an international hip hop act, their music is considered

alternative hip hop Alternative hip hop (also known as alternative rap) is a subgenre of hip hop music that encompasses a wide range of styles that are not typically identified as mainstream. AllMusic defines it as comprising " hip hop groups that refuse to confor ...

, but draws influences from other genres like

Jazz Jazz is a music genre that originated in the African-American communities of New Orleans, Louisiana in the late 19th and early 20th centuries, with its roots in blues and ragtime. Since the 1920s Jazz Age, it has been recognized as a major ...

and

Funk Funk is a music genre that originated in African American communities in the mid-1960s when musicians created a rhythmic, danceable new form of music through a mixture of various music genres that were popular among African Americans in the m ...

. They consist of two MCs, Benjamin Bambach alias ''Green T'' or ''GT Lovecraft'' from

Canada Canada is a country in North America. Its ten provinces and three territories extend from the Atlantic Ocean to the Pacific Ocean and northward into the Arctic Ocean, covering over , making it the world's second-largest country by tot ...

and Maik Schindler () alias ''FP'' respectively ''Funk E. Poet'' from

Germany Germany,, officially the Federal Republic of Germany, is a country in Central Europe. It is the second most populous country in Europe after Russia, and the most populous member state of the European Union. Germany is situated betwe ...

, as well as producer/beatmaker Adam Simmons alias ''Rhino'' or ''Fade'' from

England England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Wales to its west and Scotland to its north. The Irish Sea lies northwest and the Celtic Sea to the southwest. It is separated from continental Europe b ...

. Since 2019 they are signed to ''Chinese Man Records'', a

French French (french: français(e), link=no) may refer to: * Something of, from, or related to France ** French language, which originated in France, and its various dialects and accents ** French people, a nation and ethnic group identified with Franc ...

Indie-label run by band

Chinese Man Chinese Man is a French trip hop band formed in 2004 and originally from Aix-en-Provence. History They are influenced by hip-hop, funk, dub, reggae and jazz. Chinese Man is composed of DJ Marseille Zé Mateo and High Ku and beatmaker SLY. Beatm ...

History

The band members met in

Frankfurt Frankfurt, officially Frankfurt am Main (; Hessian: , "Frank ford on the Main"), is the most populous city in the German state of Hesse. Its 791,000 inhabitants as of 2022 make it the fifth-most populous city in Germany. Located on its na ...

, where they went to school together. They soon started listening to Hip Hop music and were influenced especially by

Old-school hip hop Old-school hip hop (also spelled old skool) is the earliest commercially recorded hip hop music and original style of the genre. It typically refers to the music created around 1979 to 1983, as well as any hip hop that does not adhere to contem ...

. They first gained international recognition for collaborating with

Wax Tailor Jean-Christophe Le Saoût (; born 19 July 1975), better known by the stage name Wax Tailor, is a French record producer and DJ. He has released six studio albums collaborating with other artists. Background After being a host on French radio in ...

and made an appearance on his albums ''Hope & Sorrow'' and ''In The Mood For Life'' in 2007 and 2009. Soon after they released their first EP ''Pre-Emptive Nostalgia'' which they had produced together with Skrein. ASM's first solo-album ''Platypus Funk'' was released in 2010, followed by their second album ''Crown Yard'' in 2011. In 2015 they released their most ambitious and successful project to date, the album ''The Jade Amulet'', a narrative album set in the fictional ancient kingdom of ''Vabaria''. The story is spun around ''Shalim'', last of the clan ''Tan Suo'', spoken by FP. Green T guides from a narrative perspective through the album, other artists like

MF DOOM Daniel Dumile ( ; July 13, 1971October 31, 2020), best known by his stage name MF Doom or simply Doom (both stylized in all caps), was a British-American rapper and record producer. Noted for his intricate wordplay, signature metal mask, and ...

as the tyrant ''King Dumile'', ''Mattic'' as the king's son ''Rongon The Conqueror'' as well as other artists (

Mighty Diamonds The Mighty Diamonds were a Jamaican harmony trio, recording roots reggae with a strong Rastafarian influence. The group was formed in 1969 and were best known for their 1976 debut album, ''Right Time'', produced by Joseph Hoo Kim, and the 1979 ...

, ''Laura Mayne'', ''Kain The Poet'', ''Astrid Engberg'', and ''Lilliboy Deluxe'') set characters into music. The album was realized with the help of an orchestra. Additionally they created a beer, which shall resemble ''Belko Brew'', a fictional beverage from Vabaria, and a comic book for the story. In 2016 ASM turned to their roots in

boom bap Boom bap is a subgenre and music production style that was prominent in the East Coast during the golden age of hip hop from the late 1980s to the early 1990s. The term "boom bap" is an onomatopoeia that represents the sounds used for the ba ...

again, leading to their EP ''String Theory''. In 2017 the groups MC's accompanied Chinese Man, a

Trip hop Trip hop (sometimes used synonymously with "downtempo") is a musical genre that originated in the early 1990s in the United Kingdom, especially Bristol. It has been described as a psychedelic music, psychedelic fusion of hip hop music, hip hop ...

trio from Marseilles, on their ''Shikantaza-tour'', following their signing to Chinese Man Records in 2019. Soon after ASM released their fourth album ''Colour Wheel'' under the label's name. In the following year they released their latest project to date, ''Blue Cocoon''. Emerged in times of

Covid-19 lockdown Due to the COVID-19 pandemic, a number of non-pharmaceutical interventions colloquially known as lockdowns (encompassing stay-at-home orders, curfews, quarantines, and similar societal restrictions) have been implemented in numerous countrie ...

, it depicts an artistically sophisticated,

soul In many religious and philosophical traditions, there is a belief that a soul is "the immaterial aspect or essence of a human being". Etymology The Modern English noun ''soul'' is derived from Old English ''sāwol, sāwel''. The earliest attes ...

influenced way of Hip Hop music. Between 2021 and 2022 ASM produced and aired ''Ōrigin and Juice'', their second EP in a row, which is accompanied by a Youtube series, focusing on

European cuisine European cuisine comprises the cuisines of Europe "European Cuisine."natural wine Natural wine refers to a generalized movement among winemakers for production of wine using simple or traditional methods. Although there is no uniform definition of natural wine, it is usually produced without the use of pesticides or herbicide ...

Discography

Albums

* 2010: ''Platypus Funk'' * 2011: ''Crown Yard'' * 2015: ''The Jade Amulet'' * 2019: ''Colour Wheel''

EP's

* 2009: ''Pre-Emptive Nostalgia'' * 2016: ''String Theory''

Singles

* 2010: "Root to the Fruit" (featuring Wildchild) * 2013: "Higher Horse" As the Jade Amulet * 2015: "Masking" (featuring

MF Doom Daniel Dumile ( ; July 13, 1971October 31, 2020), best known by his stage name MF Doom or simply Doom (both stylized in all caps), was a British-American rapper and record producer. Noted for his intricate wordplay, signature metal mask, and ...

) As Colour Wheel * 2019: "Grape" * 2019: "Azure" * 2019: "Burgundy" As Blue Cocoon *2020: "Return of the Sabretooth" *2020: "Survival Manifesto" *2020: "You Don't Know" *2020: "Blue Cocoon" As Ōrigin & Juice *2021: "Shank Em" *2021: "Dumplings" *2021: "Tapass" *2022: "Efcharisto" *2022: "Give A Schnitz" *2022: "Pork Belly"

References

External links

*https://asmastateofmind.bandcamp.com/ on bandcamp *https://www.chinesemanrecords.com/asm/ (French) {{Authority control German hip hop groups Alternative hip hop groups