During the pandemic, I’ve had plenty of time to connect, reconnect and continue to build with some of my favorite people and artists that are all in the same boat but continuing to create and bring some sort of art to the world. A few weeks back I received a message from one of my favorite people over in the UK, Jonny Drop about his upcoming release and I knew it was something that I needed to hear. Fast forward to the present and as I sit here on the couch drinking my freshly squeezed orange juice, I dive into his project, Sub Plot II.
Jonny Drop is one who always keeps busy whether working on his own solo projects or producing for others and time spent during isolation is no different. Sub Plot II of course follows up on the first installment which was released on the Albert’s Favourites label and was Jonny Drop’s beat-tape debut. Volume II follows up on things and continues to let Jonny flex his muscles as he digs through his crates to sample and flip things to make new creations. Here we have 25 tracks of dusty, crunchy vinyl cut-ups and subversions, mining the darker corners of his extensive collection. Spanning from disco and boogie to R&B and vintage, cinematic atmospherics. All of it scattered through with interviews, monologue and archival reportage that cleverly gives an insight into the artists state of mind after eight weeks of restricted creativity (especially having no access to his drums).
“Since my last album ‘The Only Sound’, I’ve been working to finish a very exciting full length collaborative album with a very special vocalist. When lockdown happened I thought to myself, it’s about time I got something new out to you in the interim. Here it is… Subplot II – a beat tape created in the first month of the Covid-19 pandemic. To be filed somewhere inbetween original beats and an elaborate dj mix, this next volume in the subplot series provides a brief visit to some of the more odd corners of my record collection, sprinkled with audio interviews from some legends in the game.”