For one night, Japanese Whiskey (STLNDRMS & KATS1R1S) takes over Rabbit Ears, Atlanta's new rooftop listening room, before it opens to the public.
The debut of six new songs from Japanese Whiskey, played on the room's L-Acoustics system.
The first thing you notice is the room. It is probably the best looking space in this city for a listening session. Then you notice the sound is built into the furniture in a way that is almost not there. We pushed play on a record and said out loud that it sounds damn near as good as the studio. Nothing outside a studio sounds this good in Atlanta. The layout, the drink program, all of it is put together right. The view and the exclusivity of it is what got us.
If you have a ticket to this, you have an invite to a room nobody else has access to. Rabbit Ears does not open to the public until October.
The layout of the city is panoramic. Left to right, wide open, unobstructed Atlanta in a way you do not get anywhere else. Better after dark, when the whole grid is lit.
L-Acoustics, built into the furniture instead of hung off the walls. It sounds the same everywhere in the room and it is dialed. You hear the intricacies without turning it up. Clear and pristine. They figured it out.
Japanese Whiskey is the two of us. Experimental jazz with hip hop and soul in it. Some of it sits where a dirty Dilla or Madlib record sits. Some of it is closer to Yussef Dayes. Some of it sounds like sunshine on a beach. It moves around, but it all carries the same texture and tonality. It owes a lot to what is happening in UK jazz right now, and just as much to Detroit hip hop and to Atlanta.
Chris Wilkes is a Grammy Award-winning producer. His production credits run through Erykah Badu, Madlib, Rapsody, Ari Lennox, Mick Jenkins and Corinne Bailey Rae. He co-founded Controllerise and built the rooms behind High Bias, Good Food and Sunday Soul. He has been a curator in this city for over a decade, with a reputation for putting together good experiences for good people.
The other half of Japanese Whiskey, and the founder of Grand Cru Records. A jazz musician taught and mentored by some of the greatest players in Detroit, including Kenny Cox and Francisco Mora Catlett (Sun Ra). His production credits include Roy Ayers, Meshell Ndegeocello and Bobby Humphrey.
Records off vinyl while the room fills and the skyline does its thing behind us.
The half hour the night is built around. The debut of six new songs from Japanese Whiskey, with Stacy Epps and Noah Sills sitting in.
Back on the decks until they turn the lights up.
Some of the best pieces we have played in this city over the years, and a lot that has come in since the last time people saw us. The two sets are separate, two crates and two points of view. White labels from friends, things that are not released, and the records that were inspiring us while we were making this project.
Other music that sits in the same frequency.
The record is acetate. These are the first test pressings of songs that will end up on the twelve inch. Fifty pieces, and when they are gone they are gone. Call it a step past a white label. You are buying a piece of art with a song attached to it, a one of one hand painted piece of art by Kei Murakami paired with our music.
The first single, FIRE!, is officially sold out. The rest of the singles from the EP are still available in limited quantities. Every cover is hand painted by Kei Murakami and no two are the same, so you can choose the one that speaks to you at the door.
Grand Cru Records
It came together the way good records often do. The three of us were hanging out in the room, sipping Japanese whiskey, which is where the name comes from. Fela and Ebo Taylor had been on that day and it set the pocket, so that Afro jazz is right there in the record. Stacy's vocal on it is incredible, and what you hear is the room, the processing, the tape, and the vibe.
That was the first single. All fifty are gone.
A hundred and thirty five tickets and they are gone. Thank you. If you have one, your name is at the door and doors are at 9.
This is the most high end thing we have done, full stop. This room, this sound system, this collection of records is the pinnacle of what we have put together in Atlanta. Japanese Whiskey
Private event. 21 and up. Two drink minimum. Only 135 guests.
Doors at 9. The name at checkout is the name at the door.
Have a ticket? Parking, check in, and what to expect.
Friday, September 11 at Rabbit Ears, 660 11th Street NW, 17th floor. Doors at 9. Say your name at the door, the one you gave at checkout. If you bought a single, choose yours on the way in, not on the way out.
Thank you for supporting what we are doing. It is impossible for us to exist, let alone do well, without people like you. It means the world that you chose to be part of this. We hope you love it as much as we loved making the song, and as much as we think this room is incredible.