Logic More Than Magic
Interview with Slug of Atmosphere
By Andrew Fersch
Sometimes an interview is as flaccid as Roger Clemens after a steroid binge, even if the person interviewed seems entertaining in other venues (say movies or records). When it comes to musicians how they will act is so hit or miss that it’s a pleasant surprise when someone just talks to you like you’re old friends.
Slug picks up the phone and starts in immediately, he’s driving, it’s snowing, and he sees police lights in his rearview. “They pullin’ me over? I didn’t do shit, “ he says, without seeming upset or concerned at all, and after walking me through him slowing down only to notice the truck up ahead which is missing all of its windows, he makes a few funny comments about the situation, and the absurdity of a snow storm at the end of March.
Slug, also known as Sean Daley - one half of Minnesotan hip hop heroes Atmosphere, is about to embark on a month long promotional tour for Atmosphere’s newest album, “When Life Gives You Lemons, You Paint That Shit Gold”, and he’s really looking forward to it.
“It’s gonna be the crazy scientist tour. A mix of electric and organic,” he relates with a voice that sounds more like a doctor’s handwriting than a crazy scientist, fast and scrawling. With partner Ant (DJ Anthony Davis), Daley decided to “trim back” the band for this tour, taking with them only a few musicians, a DJ, a keyboard player, and a guy who plays all sorts of instruments, seemingly to fill in any gaps.
At this point, Sean and Ant have built up the ability to do what they want pretty much however they want to do it. Having sold over 1,000,000 Atmosphere albums, on an independent label no less, they decided not to do “the regular” for promotion this time around, instead opting for closed listening parties for the press and this tour, which is only going to cities where they have close family and friends, and they plan on having some fun with it.
“The shows are going to be a bit different, more like a party, and we’re going to have Atmosphere karaoke before the show, have people come up and try to do our stuff.”
In his 30’s now, it’s clear that Daley has different priorities than he had say ten years ago, and he has a certain confidence in his voicing of those priorities, not judging how he used to be, not trying to say he’s better than anyone now, merely saying that he has a better grasp of his role in the world and what he is capable of accomplishing.
“[My age] has made me a lot more focused; years ago you could call me a week before a show to set it up and I’d be there. I don’t want to admit that [my age] affects everything, but I have become more responsible. I get on stage and look out at the crowd and they’re all half my age. How do I make sure I do the right thing here?” Daley mentions Chuck D and his respect for his ability to speak intelligently without alienating his audiences. That doesn’t mean that Sean isn’t still occasionally the guy with a joint in the corner, messing around, and it certainly doesn’t mean he has any idea what he’ll be doing ten years from now, he just seems to feel that he finally is at a point where he wants to think more about his legacy, and surprisingly enough, hip hop isn’t even mentioned when he describes what he hopes it is.
“Ten years ago, I wanted to be the guy who rhymed crazy shit…and then I got to see the shit behind the curtains. Now it’s logic more than magic. Part of my legacy (now) is being a nice, generous dude.” It’s clear that he’s also at a point where enjoying himself is still as important as any other aspect of his life, talking about how much fun he’s had by doing things his own way in regards to record promotion while still managing to do what he seemingly does best, poke fun lightheartedly at life.
“People ask me what I think of my new record. That’s like askin’ me what I think of my kid. It’s like ‘shit, I love him but I’m worried he might get caught spray painting some shit.’” It’s this ability to have that fun and spread it around with his words that might just be his strongest legacy though, at least, so far.
Although life may not be giving Atmosphere’s musical career too many lemons as of late, it’s clear that, if it did, Sean Daley would still be smiling, painting that shit gold.