by Matt Horowitz (@SharpCheddar856)
Holy Body Roll is a groove-filled guidebook for healing, the soundtrack to help you move from tear-streaming breakdown to full-body boogie. The first collaborative album from Michigan multi-instrumentalist/producer The Lasso and New Mexico-based vocalist/emcee A. Billi Free is a quest for self-realization and self-preservation. With the aid of musical trio Tri Magi (Jared Hamilton, Grayson Nye & Jared Selner), The Lasso permeates the album with thumping 80's boogie, guitar-wailing funk descended from Midwest legends, heart-pumping house and techno direct from Detroit, celestial and spiritual jazz, and slices of krautrock with hip-hop sensibilities.
A. Billi Free sings in warm, comforting melodies and rhymes with force and encouraging sincerity, pushing us to re-connect with our bodies in the present while accepting the unknown looming ahead. However, when the duo began working on the album remotely, The Lasso was still reeling from a divorce. Realizing Free's sonic visions helped him transmute his anguish into uplifting, dance-inducing instrumentals. During mixing sessions in Michigan and Tucson, the pair drove through forests and deserts with the album on repeat. Listen closely, there is wisdom in every note and lyric and let the pain fade as the future slowly comes into focus. A. Billi Free & The Lasso's Holy Body Roll is now available from Mello Music Group in multiple formats. We recently had a chance to speak with both The Lasso & A. Billi Free, via email, about the creation of Holy Body Roll and what they have in store for us next. The interview below has been lightly edited for general clarity.
MH: How did you two first meet and decide to collaborate on Holy Body Roll together?
ABF: The Universe first assigned us to a three-year (and counting) creative group project at the 2017 Tucson Hip-Hop Festival.
LASSO: I heard Billi rapping at [the] Tucson Hip-Hop [Festival] and I immediately knew this [was] a voice I could offer something with my sound. Opening a portal is no more complicated than sending a message of sincere admiration and collaboration.
MH: Who can be heard playing across the album and what was each members' role in the overall process?
ABF: Jared Selner on the sax is at one turn, a wild beast and at the next, a composed gentleman. Grayson Nye's cadence on keys is just spectacular; he tickles up top and at the underbelly. Jared Hamilton's cello is rich, rootsy, and swaggy; it trots and gallops throughout the record. Christopher Pierce's flow on the bass matches the heart of the song "Alignment" and Motorkam's vocals on "They Wonder" gives the right amount of freak and funk.
The Lasso has so much sauce. I'm sure all of his other collaborators would agree that he is adept in creating cool sound containers that artists can play, stretch out, and bounce around in. I was for sure able to do that vocally and lyrically with Holy Body Roll. His sound is full and cinematic to me. I can see some of these songs on the project being a good fit for movie or television soundtracks because of this. The Lasso's drum choice/patterns and composition style is creative. His synths are funky. His guitar shreds. His back-end organizational style is admirable. He is a writer and, if you listen closely, he also sings a few back-ups on some songs on the album. I am privileged to have played and still do play with quality musicians in my performance career; I am excited to try on live sets with this team.
MH: What did the writing, recording, production, etc. processes behind Holy Body Roll typically entail?
ABF: Part strategy, part channeling.
LASSO: I spend ludicrous amounts of time by myself making demos; when they feel right, I send them to Billi and she adds her parts on. When she sends back, we usually go add the ornamentation with the Tri Magi crew.
MH: Were the creative processes behind the record affected at all by COVID-19 related restrictions?
LASSO: All life has been significantly altered. Less time in-person, no performances along the way, etc. I think the whole economy of being an artist has changed. I’m always in-and-out of day jobs and COVID made my already insular life even more so, but more time to write and explore oneself.
MH: What would you cite as some of your primary sources of personal inspiration and influence while creating the album?
LASSO: I think our primary influences were each other. We give each other mixes of records we love, we talk about music a lot, and I really just felt inspired to create beats that showed Billi’s range as a performer and music fan. In general, I think we discussed a lot of Black American music from The Midwest; whether Chicago house, Minneapolis funk, or Detroit rap. We also seek out Ethiopian restaurants wherever we work; those flavors give us energy
MH: What is the significance behind the album title and how does it relate to the themes heard within?
ABF: A holy body roll is a somatic experience and sacred movement that loosens the muscles and moves blood through the body for elevated feelings of ease and connection. It is for celebration and it is for survival.
MH: Would either of you care to elaborate on this statement a bit more: "During mixing sessions in Michigan and Tucson, the pair drove through forests and deserts, the album on repeat..."?
ABF: Love of natural landscape is something Lasso and I have in common and draw energy from creatively and personally. The bulk of the album was made remotely, but Lasso knew it was important to be in the same room to create cohesion. We used those short in-person sessions as work retreats. Hours of concentrated mixing and further conceptualizing was balanced with these drives and walks through natural spaces. It’s like when Albert Einstein used to visit with Marie Curie at her family's cottage and they'd go for long hikes to talk shop about science and philosophy.
MH: What's the story behind the album cover image, color schemes, overall vibe?
ABF: We took Lasso’s idea to give honor to an album cover of an artist he really admires as a springboard. Can you guess who the artist is and what album? Mylkweed led us to an area he scoped out in Tucson to capture the image. He used colored gel film filters on the camera's flash, then, did his design magic. For the typography, we wanted to highlight the symmetry of Holy Body Roll because each word has four letters in it and Mylkweed absolutely smashed it. That deep magenta gradient is so catchy, while the actual image is mysterious in an inviting way.
MH: How did working together differ from your past collaborative efforts made prior to meeting one another?
ABF: Experience past is an opportunity to learn, connect, and grow more creatively, personally and professionally. Every next collaboration benefits from that previous growth and education.
LASSO: Billi sends along lyrics when you get the demos!!!!
MH: How did you two link up with Mello Music Group?
LASSO: I’ve been working with Mello for many years since I was producing for the artist Lando Chill. I’m very blessed to have found a label that supports and allows my sound visions to become purchasable products.
ABF: Big shout-out to the team at Mello Music Group!
MH: What's planned next for you, either together or separately?
ABF: Videos for songs on the album will be released soon directed by two power-house artists: mixed-media animator Gabriella Molina and Frontera filmmaker Laura Bustillos-Jáquez.
LASSO: We want to drop a tape of our more dance [music-oriented] collaborations and we have some shows lined up.