AshTreJinkins // IT'S TRASH NOW LP

USA LALeftfield beatmaker/rapper AshTreJinkins released this record in December 2023 on LA's long-established all-genre label Leaving Records in a limited edition of 12 copies.

Contains 11 left-field instrumental hip-hop songs that appeal to IDM and house listeners.

Previous workIs also recommended.

*If you would like a digital sound source, please feel free to contact us.

Less than,Explanation by Emmett Shoemaker.

"IT'S TRASH NOW, to be released by Leaving Records on December 2023, 12, serves as a (mostly) wordless love letter to music. But it's also a scream, a manifesto, It is a series of abstracted diaries and/or a catalog of emotions experienced in half-remembered dreams.

AshTreJinkins, a beatmaker, producer, and rapper from LA, is full of joy, fire, and fierce loyalty - an urge to champion the genres and scenes he's devoted to. This exuberant energy is evident throughout the release, including the photo of Jinkins that graces the album cover. He wears an ungainly knit hat over his eyes and has a pout on his face. Is he even exaggerating his tears of frustration? For what? Bullshit and nonsensical "garbage" (there's certainly a lot of trash). But this man doesn't hold a grudge. Just dedication. And frustration is an energy that can be harnessed and alchemized, especially when it's combined with a decent sense of humor (as it is consistently throughout TRASH).

"It's Trash Now..." You have to acknowledge the sound and image rhyme that exists between the album name and Jinkins' artist name: "It's trash" and "AshTre"...Jinkins is a self-proclaimed connoisseur of grit. Yes, they sift through the beats of yesteryear like crust punks searching for cigarette butts. He is rescuing the product and driving away all the cheap imitations, the pretenders to the throne.

The first song, "MYSPACE 1", positions us both temporally and aesthetically. The first advent of social media, especially MySpace, was a breakthrough for DIY musicians, rapidly expanding their horizons of influence, connections, and possibilities. A kid who was listening to gospel music and Jill Scott in the back seat of his mom's car installed FruityLoops 2006 on the family's desktop. Next, you watch Russ G play a cypher, and soon after, he treats you to your first proper Ethiopian dinner and happily tells you a good story. This assumes, of course, that you have Jinkins' level of talent, ambition, and curiosity.

This ambition is accompanied by an intuitive skepticism toward those who pursue money, fame, recognition, and influence at the expense of music. TRASH's first single, "NOT COCO BUTTER ENUFF," by its title alone serves as a rebuke to the commercial neo-soul that, according to Jinkins, has ruined many promising experimental careers. It's no coincidence that this song is the most reflexive and texturally rigid on the record. Similarly, the almost psychedelic "YOU WERE NOT SPACE BASE APPROVED" is a leering meditation on the unfortunate inevitability of fools rushing to consume all the oxygen after a legendary artist dies.

TRASH straddles a broad spectrum of ambient music and the California beat style that brought TRASH to the stage for the first time. ``LEVEL TO THIS'' is a song that is like a rehash of low-end theory from around 09. The record's final track, "WE NOT LINCOLN," is a relatively laid-back song, but the hit isn't shy in the mix, and once you're lured into the track, a kind of IDM nostalgia emerges. . Nostalgia and humor (light and witty) are the album's two most obvious colors. "DRUG DEPRESSED," the album's second song and pseudo-interlude, feels like a genuine confession (the song is an understatement, "...I'm depressed from drugs." It begins with a confession). There is a foundation that seems to warp and tremble. It's hard to say for sure when Jinkins' tongue is or isn't digging into his cheek. But that doesn't matter. Irony and sincerity can coexist, a thesis borne out by this 2-song instrumental electronic hip-hop (choose your favorite genre modifier) ​​album. Jinkins is, to borrow the phrase from the track title of ``IT'S TRASH NOW,'' a ``young old head'' with an ``archive of day one.'' And fellow brainiacs of all ages and backgrounds would be wise to tune in. "

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Ask us for digital files. Available on 12" black vinyl. Edition of 300. 

Tracklist:

1. MYSPACE 2006 04:42
2. DRUG DEPRESSED 01:49
3. YOU WERE NOT SPACE BASE APPROVED 05:05
4. DAY ONE ARCHIVES 02:53
5. IT'S TRASH NOW 04:00
6. YOUNG OLD HEAD (THERE FOR THE CHANGES) 03:00
7. NOT COCO BUTTER ENUFF 02:24
8. OUT THE WAY, IN THE MIX 03:00
9. LEVELS TO THIS 09:24
10. LET'S ACKNOWLEDGE THE FACT THAT YOU TRIED ME 01:41
11. WE NOT LINCOLN 02:02

Emmett Shoemaker :

" IT'S TRASH NOW, out December 1, 2023, on Leaving Records, functions as a (mostly) wordless love letter to the music. But It's also a screed, a manifesto, a series of abstracted diary entries, and/or a catalog of feelings experienced in half-remembered dreams.

AshTreJinkins, LA native beatmaker, producer, rapper, is full of joy and fire and a fierce allegiance to— that is, an impulse to both rep and defend— the genres and scenes in which he cut his teeth. This overflow of energy is evident throughout and across the release; including in the picture of Jinkins that is the album's cover. He's yanking a wild knit cap down over his eyes, mouth agape, maybe cracking up? Maybe crying out in exaggerated frustration…? At what? At all the bullshit and nonsense—the “trash” (of which, we must admit there is plenty). But this man isn't bitter. He's just committed. And frustration, especially when it's paired with a decent sense of humor (as it consistently is throughout TRASH), is an energy that can be harnessed and alchemized.

“It’s Trash Now…” We should acknowledge the sonic and imagistic rhymes that exist between the album name and Jinkins’ artistic moniker: “It’s trash” and “AshTre”… Jinkins is a self-styled connoisseur of grit, sifting through yesteryear’s beats like a Crust punk searching for that one cigarette butt with a little tobacco left. He’s salvaging the goods and casting off the cheap imitations—all the pretenders to the throne.

The first track, “MYSPACE 2006,” situates us, temporally and aesthetically. Those who were there then know (and those who weren't probably can't ever know) but the initial advent of social media, and Myspace in particular, constituted a wild leap forward for DIY musicians, a rapid expansion of one's horizons—influences, connections, potential, etc. One minute you're a kid listening to gospel and Jill Scott in the backseat of your mom's car, then you're installing FruityLoops 7 on your family desktop. Next thing you know Ras G is watching you play your first cypher and, pretty shortly thereafter, he's treating you to your first proper Ethiopian dinner, willing and happy to talk the good talk. This is all, of course , assuming you're someone possessed with talent, ambitions, and curiosity of spirit on Jinkins' level.

This ambition carries with it a bite: a visceral skepticism cast towards those chasing the money, the fame, the notoriety, the clout, at the expense of the music. In title alone, TRASH's first single “NOT COCO BUTTER ENUFF,” functions as an indictment of the commercially friendly neo-soul that has, to Jinkins' mind, dead-ended so many promising experimental careers. That the track is one of the records' most recursive and texturally gritty is maybe no accident. Likewise the deceptively slippery, almost psychedelic “YOU WERE NOT SPACE BASE APPROVED,” is a sideways meditation on the unfortunate inevitability of fools rushing in after a legend dies, trying to consume all the oxygen.

TRASH straddles ambient and, broadly, the California beat stuff that drew Tre into first performing. “LEVEL TO THIS” is a circa '09 Low End Theory redux barn burner if ever there was one. The record's final track, “WE NOT LINCOLN, ” is comparatively laid back, but the hits aren't shy in the mix, and if you let the track lure you in, there's a sort of *wink wink / nudge nudge* IDM nostalgia that reveals itself. Nostalgia, indeed, as well as humor (of the wry and quick-witted variety) are two of the record's most readily identifiable colors. “DRUG DEPRESSED,” the record's second track and a pseudo-interlude, feels simultaneously genuinely confessional (the track begins with the modulated admission, “...I am drug depressed”), and, also, maybe a little bit willfully goofy? With its warbly, shuddering foundation. We can't ever say for certain when Jinkins' tongue is or is not planted firmly in cheek. But it doesn't really matter. Sarcasm and sincerity can, in fact, coexist, and this thesis can be proven by an eleven track instrumental electronic hip-hop (choose yr additional genre qualifier of choice) record. Jinkins is, to borrow a couple phrases from one of IT'S TRASH NOW's track titles, a “young old head,” with a “day one archive.” And fellow heads of all ages and backgrounds would be wise to tune in.

Artist : Ash Tre Jinkins

Label: Leaving Records