James Ferraro, the ex-member of The Skaters whose solo output last year was among 2011’s most divisive, has just released another album/mixtape for free download. Entitled Silica Gel, it’s released under yet another moniker – this time Bodyguard, which, according to his label Hippos In Tanks’ website, is the name of his new "band/gang/cru/mob".
You can download the whole record for free via this link, or stream it through the embed below. More information is available at his Soundcloud and the Hippos In Tanks site.
Last year was an unusual year for the usually super prolific Ferraro in that he didn’t release anything until the end of the year, and his sprawling Far Side Virtual album, an exhausting, frequently unpleasant but thought-provoking missive on web age hyperreality (which also crashed the upper reaches of several magazines’ end-of-year charts). Almost immediately afterwards he released a free hip-hop leaning mixtape under the name BEBETUNE$. That he’s now released two free download records in a row might suggest that Ferraro, who previously was releasing a great deal of his music himself on limited edition CDr runs, has instead chosen to use the net as a means of distributing it – appropriate, given that his recent music’s sharper definition and samplework feels strongly rooted in digital culture. On initial listen, Silica Gel feels connected more closely with his older music than the last two records. There’s a soft-focus, drifty, New Age feel to tracks like ‘E Cig’ that’s reminiscent of his older keyboard/guitar/voice material, though its track titles seem to place it firmly in the internet-Ferraro zone. According to the label’s website, Bodyguard are currently recording their debut album proper, which is due this summer.
