Tim Conley (born January 10, 1978), better known by his stage name Mast (stylized as MAST), is a jazz artist, composer, producer and electronic musician. He resides in
Los Angeles
Los Angeles ( ; es, Los Ángeles, link=no , ), often referred to by its initials L.A., is the List of municipalities in California, largest city in the U.S. state, state of California and the List of United States cities by population, sec ...
and is currently signed with
Alpha Pup Records
Alpha Pup Records is an American independent record label and digital distributor based in Los Angeles, California. It was founded by Daddy Kev and Danyell Jariel in 2004. ''LA Weekly'' placed it at number 2 on the "Top 10 Most Exciting L.A. Indi ...
, an independent label co-founded by
Daddy Kev
Kevin Marques Moo (born 1974), better known by his stage name Daddy Kev, is an American DJ, Grammy Award-winning audio engineer, record producer and executive from Los Angeles, California. He is the owner of Alpha Pup Records and the founder of Low ...
of
Low End Theory
Low End Theory was a weekly experimental hip hop and electronic music club night that took place every Wednesday from 2006 to 2018 at The Airliner in Lincoln Heights, Los Angeles, California.
History
"The Low End Theory" is the second studio albu ...
.
Mast’s most recent album is ''Love and War_'' (intentionally stylized with the
underscore
An underscore, ; also called an underline, low line, or low dash; is a line drawn under a segment of text. In proofreading, underscoring is a convention that says "set this text in italic type", traditionally used on manuscript or typescript a ...
) (released October 2016 on
Alpha Pup Records
Alpha Pup Records is an American independent record label and digital distributor based in Los Angeles, California. It was founded by Daddy Kev and Danyell Jariel in 2004. ''LA Weekly'' placed it at number 2 on the "Top 10 Most Exciting L.A. Indi ...
), a conceptual LP structured as a three-act play.
Career
Conley has toured throughout the United States, Canada, Europe, and Japan as a solo artist and as part of the groups Fresh Cut Orchestra,
Icy Demons, and more.
In 2004 Conley released his first album titled ''Ocean Exposition'', a conceptual instrumental jazz-fusion album inspired by his childhood living on a boat. Conley explains to
U.S. 1 (newspaper): "The `Ocean' represents life, evolution and motion. The unpredictability of the Ocean in Time and Space. The `Exposition' is the gathering and display of these parts into one big piece of music. Most of the compositions are connected in some way, either borrowing melodies, grooves, or progressions from one another or simply by connecting one song or improvisation into the next."
"Ocean Exposition" features Conley (guitar), Jon Thompson (soprano and tenor saxophone), Jason Fraticelli (upright bass), and Joe Falcey (drums).
In 2014, Conley was awarded a Jazz Residency Grant from the
Kimmel Center for the Performing Arts
The Kimmel Center for the Performing Arts is a large performing arts venue at 300 South Broad Street and the corner of Spruce Street, along the stretch known as the Avenue of the Arts in Center City Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. It is owned and ...
, the home of the
Philadelphia Orchestra, to commission a new work along with three other composers. The four-movement piece titled "Life Mosaic: Reflections on Birth, Adolescence, Maturity and Death" was an electronic/classical/jazz hybrid. The work debuted in June 2014, and was performed by Fresh Cut Orchestra, an 11-piece jazz ensemble.
Mast was signed to Alpha Pup Records in 2013, and released his debut album Omni i 2014. Two conceptual EPs followed, “Omniverse; Verse 1” (2014) and “Omniverse; Verse 2" (2015), and his recent release is Love and War_ (2016).
Music
LA Weekly profiled Conley’s influential experiences at
Low End Theory
Low End Theory was a weekly experimental hip hop and electronic music club night that took place every Wednesday from 2006 to 2018 at The Airliner in Lincoln Heights, Los Angeles, California.
History
"The Low End Theory" is the second studio albu ...
and his album "Love and War_": “An ambitiously massive undertaking structured like a three-act play, the record’s 17 songs are interlaced with recurring musical themes serving as characters in a sometimes painful, often vicious and always beautifully detailed story of finding love, losing love, letting go and rising above.
Los Angeles Times
The ''Los Angeles Times'' (abbreviated as ''LA Times'') is a daily newspaper that started publishing in Los Angeles in 1881. Based in the LA-adjacent suburb of El Segundo since 2018, it is the sixth-largest newspaper by circulation in the U ...
says that the album “captures the engaging blend of electronic music, jazz and hip-hop that’s been thriving in the underground. An evocative three-part suite chronicling a doomed relationship and its aftermath, “Love and War” is a knotted mix of beats and improvisation...What once sounded like the future has arrived right on time.”.
“Love and War_” was also named at #4 on “The 20 Best Jazz Albums of 2016” by
Observer
An observer is one who engages in observation or in watching an experiment.
Observer may also refer to:
Computer science and information theory
* In information theory, any system which receives information from an object
* State observer in co ...
, which described the album as “a three-act suite for programmed breaks and live instrumentation that further tightens the knot uniting abstract urban culture and jazz musicianship into a cohesive, organic tangle of possibilities.”
NPR
National Public Radio (NPR, stylized in all lowercase) is an American privately and state funded nonprofit media organization headquartered in Washington, D.C., with its NPR West headquarters in Culver City, California. It differs from other ...
partner station
KQED writes that Mast “ adds an ambitious and deeply engaging chapter to the annals of breakup albums with Love and War_.”
Mast is included in
The Wall Street Journal
''The Wall Street Journal'' is an American business-focused, international daily newspaper based in New York City, with international editions also available in Chinese and Japanese. The ''Journal'', along with its Asian editions, is published ...
’s article on the jazz-funk revival: “MAST (a project by L.A.-based multi-instrumentalist Tim Conley) delivered stellar jazz-funk recordings this year...“Love and War” (Alpha Pup) from MAST adds another effective element to the mix, electronic dance music, and it offers an engaging panoply of sounds that are both of the moment and suggestive of a jazzier version of some early drum ’n’ bass from the late ’90s.”
Spin (magazine)
''Spin'' (stylized in all caps) is an American music magazine founded in 1985 by publisher Bob Guccione, Jr. Now owned by Next Management Partners, the magazine is an online publication since it stopped issuing a print edition in 2012.
History ...
notes that “The man’s approach to electronic music not only incorporates a whole lot of organic sounds — it feels composed with an ear tuned to jagged jazz and dark pop, which makes him kin to folks like
Flying Lotus
Steven Ellison (born October 7, 1983), known by his stage name Flying Lotus or sometimes FlyLo, is an American record producer, DJ, filmmaker and rapper from Los Angeles. He is also the founder of the record label Brainfeeder.
Flying Lotus ha ...
, Thundercat, Daedelus,
Ras G
Gregory Shorter Jr. (December 11, 1978 – July 29, 2019), better known by his stage name Ras G, was an American record producer and DJ from Los Angeles, California. He was a co-founder of the record label Poo-Bah Records and was also associated ...
, and Nobody.”
Conley’s music has also been featured on
L.A. Record
''L.A. Record'' is an independent music magazine originally published weekly as a broadsheet poster. The poster usually depicts a local Los Angeles musicians and according to the magazine editors is meant to recreate an iconic album cover. In Mar ...
,
Exclaim!,
Resident Advisor,
XLR8R
''XLR8R'' (pronounced "accelerator") is a website that covers music, culture, style, and technology. It was originally also a print magazine.
History and profile
''XLR8R'' was founded as a newsprint zine in 1993 by publisher Andrew Smith in Sea ...
,
Tiny Mix Tapes
''Tiny Mix Tapes'' (also ''TMT'' or ''tinymixtapes'') is an online music and film webzine that focuses primarily on new music and related news. In addition to its reviews, it is noted for its subversive, political, and sometimes surreal news, ...
,
and
Down Beat
' (styled in all caps) is an American music magazine devoted to "jazz, blues and beyond", the last word indicating its expansion beyond the jazz realm which it covered exclusively in previous years. The publication was established in 1934 in Chi ...
.
Mast's 2018 album ''Thelonious Sphere Monk'', "a rockish instrumental survey" of jazz pianist
Thelonious Monk
Thelonious Sphere Monk (, October 10, 1917 – February 17, 1982) was an American jazz pianist and composer. He had a unique improvisational style and made numerous contributions to the standard jazz repertoire, including " 'Round Midnight", ...
, was ranked by music critic
Robert Christgau as the second-best album of the 2010s.
Collaborations
Conley has performed and recorded with numerous well-known artists and musicians, including
José James
José James (born January 20, 1978) is an American vocalist who combines jazz and hip hop.
Biography
José James attended The New School for Jazz and Contemporary Music. In 2008, he debuted with his first album, ''The Dreamer'', on the Brownsw ...
,
Mark Guiliana
Mark Guiliana (born September 2, 1980) is a Grammy-nominated American drummer, composer and leader of the band Beat Music. He is known for his playing with Avishai Cohen, Brad Mehldau, David Bowie, Meshell Ndegeocello, Gretchen Parlato, Jason ...
,
Taylor McFerrin
Taylor McFerrin (born June 28, 1981 at San Francisco, California) is an American DJ, music producer, keyboardist & beatboxer based in Brooklyn, New York City, United States. He is the eldest son of popular vocalist and classical conductor Bobb ...
,
Tim Lefebvre
Tim Lefebvre (born February 4, 1968) is an American bass guitarist. Both as a session musician and band member, he has worked with a wide range of musicians, including David Bowie, The Black Crowes, Elvis Costello, Sting, Empire of the Sun, The Sl ...
,
Jeremiah Jae
Jeremiah Jae (born June 7, 1989) is an American rapper, record producer, and multimedia artist from Chicago, Illinois.
Early life
Jeremiah Jae was born in Chicago, Illinois, on June 7, 1989. He is the son of jazz composer and musician Robert Irv ...
,
King Britt
King Britt (born 1968) is an American educator, DJ and record producer from Philadelphia.
Biography
Britt is a 1986 graduate of Central High School in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. In 1987, he started working at Tower Records, as a buyer for th ...
,
Icy Demons,
Juan Alderete
Juan Alderete de la Peña (born September 5, 1963) is an American musician, best known as the longtime bassist of Racer X, the Mars Volta and Marilyn Manson.
Biography
Alderete was born in Los Angeles, California the fourth of five children. ...
, Anna Wise, and
Kendrick Lamar
Kendrick Lamar Duckworth (born June 17, 1987) is an American rapper and songwriter. Known for his progressive musical styles and socially conscious songwriting, he is often considered one of the most influential hip hop artists of his generat ...
.
Personal life
Conley was born in
Trenton, New Jersey and raised in
Philadelphia
Philadelphia, often called Philly, is the List of municipalities in Pennsylvania#Municipalities, largest city in the Commonwealth (U.S. state), Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, the List of United States cities by population, sixth-largest city i ...
, Pennsylvania.
Instruments & Tech
Conley plays the guitar, bass, drums, and piano; he also uses Ableton Live and Reason software.
Discography
* ''Battle Hymns of the Republic'' (2021)
* ''Thelonius Sphere Monk'' (2018)
* ''Love and War_'' (2016)
* ''Omniverse; Verse 2'' - EP (2015)
* ''Omniverse; Verse 1'' - EP (2014)
* ''Omni'' (2014)
* John Coltrane - ''Meditations'' - EP (2012)
* ''Ocean Exposition'' (2004)
* ''Mind Behind Closed Eyes by Fresh Cut Orchestra'' (2016)
* ''From the Vine by Fresh Cut Orchestra'' (2015)
* ''Thelonious Sphere Monk'' (2018)
*''Battle Hymns of the Republic'' (2021)
References
External links
“Mast Music”“Mast on SoundCloud”“Mast on Twitter”“Mast on Facebook”“Mast on YouTube”“Mast on Instagram”
{{DEFAULTSORT:Mast (musician)
American jazz composers
American male jazz composers
Living people
1978 births