For non-anime fans, a run through Wally Clark’s new beat tape (Kage Tape, an homage to Japanese anime series Naruto) is going to be a thematic head-scratcher that’ll have you wondering a) what the fuck a rasengan is, and b) how in the hell we get to Konohagakure (the former is a spinning ball of chakra and the latter is a village within The Land of Fire, one of Naruto’s Five Great Shinobi Countries).
For music fans even remotely interested in the way producers cull sounds from pop culture and turn them into road-trip and smoke session-ready sonic meditations, the 22-minute tape is a goddamn dream.
“If you’re wondering why I’m dressed like a weirdo, it’s ‘cause I am a weirdo,” Clark, 33, says in a Facebook live video sharing Kage Tape’s sounds for the first time.
“But I’ve been working on a Naruto beat tape, so I figured I would dress the part.”
A bamboo flute proceeds to drop into the mix, and what Clark ends up opening on the effort are a few tracks of blissed-out chill that bounce around some of the series’ different themes (Kage Tape gets dark, optimistic and even playful at times) all while being propelled by an arsenal of hi-hats, snare, synthesized strings, Spanish guitar and big ol’ hazy beats. The video has been viewed almost 2,000 times, and there are several dozen comments (including lots of fire emojis) praising the effort.
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Clark, who’s released Super Mario and X-Men-themed beat tapes in last year, says he went through four or five different Naruto soundtracks before getting to work on Kage Tape.
“I created playlists of my favorite songs and listened to that playlist randomly while going to bed for, like, two months,” Clark said about the process of narrowing the samples down to the ones he wanted on the tape. “Video games, comics, movies, pop culture in general are always going to influence me heavily.”
On Saturday, Clark brings his eccentric tastes to Tampa Heights art gallery Illsol, where an international of lineup of "sign painters, letterpress studios, hand style type designers, and artists producing type-centric pieces" will show their work while Wally provides the sounds. It’s one of the seemingly infinite gigs Clark — who stages futuresounds night Something Else Thursdays at c. 1949 Beer Garden — has on his calendar these days. It’s a wonder he can keep it all together, but his own rasengan (and Google Calendar) seem to help him along.
“I feel lucky to be giggin’ so much, and lucky that I get hired to play the kind of music I want,” he said. “It's one thing when Im just doin a showcase or something, but when somebody just wants me to bring my sound to their event, or art show or whatever it means that much more. There's nothing like knowing people trust your judgment and taste in music.”
Get your own taste, and read our short Q&A with Clark, below. More information on “Letterheads” at Illsol is available via local.cltampa.com.
About S.E.T. — it seems to have found a new home. Talk about what you have at c. 1949 and what kind of new producers you and Rude 100 are trying to bring to that spot?
So Something Else Thursdays was created by me Rude 100 and O.P. Supa as an event that plays something other than the usual hip-hop played at old school parties or mainstream music of today. Our main focus is future beat, alternative R&B,, house, hip-hop and other producer driven genres. We like to play a lot of instrumentals and remixes, whatever as long as it has a dope beat. We started at New World Brewery (shout out to them) and eventually left. After bouncing around we finally found a home at c.1949, the vibe there just matches ours perfectly. It's such a dope spot, really chill, we are very happy to be there.
How are video games/comics are affecting new music from you...can we expect anything soon?
Video games, comics, movies pop culture in general are always goin’ to influence me heavily. I just recently put out a project With an artist named Mojito called "Venom vs Wolverine." He is a member of the production group called bartenders, who also happens to have crazy bars. He used to call himself weapon X and my nickname as part of the Sinister Six (now the Sinister Syndicate) was Venom so that's how it all came together...because of comic books. It’s one of my nerdiest projects yet, him rappin’ as Logan, plus we have all kinds of skits and stuff, that’s out now. I also am about to drop this Naruto beat tape with all samples from the Naruto anime!
You are gigging a ton these days. How do you keep it all organized?
Yeah I feel very lucky to be booked so much. I use Google Calendar to keep it organized, I’m a very unorganized person by nature, so much that I still occasionally forget to put gigs in the calendar. But yeah like I said I feel lucky to be giggin' so much, and lucky that I get hired to play the kind of music I want. It's one thing when Im just doin a showcase or something, but when somebody just wants me to bring my sound to their event, or art show or whatever it means that much more. There's nothing like knowing people trust your judgement and taste in music.
