N.A.S.A’s The Spirit of Apollo Project

 

N.A.S.A. SLATED TO LAUNCH ‘THE SPIRIT OF APOLLO' ON FEBRUARY 17, 2009 Squeak E. Clean and DJ Zegon conceived of the most ambitious melting pot compilation to date, drawing musical talents from both the Northern and Southern hemisphere of America.  Together, the daring duo provided a foundation of Brazilian beats as the backdrop for stellar musical collaborations that include: TOM WAITS, KAYNE WEST, KAREN O, OL' DIRTY BASTARD, SPANK ROCK, DAVID BYRNE, MIA, RZA, SANTOGOLD, GEORGE CLINTON, CHUCK D, SIZZLA, METHOD MAN AND MANY MORE!

N.A.S.A. (North America/South America), and their worldwide debut The Spirit of Apollo is set to be released on Anti- on February 17. 2009. N.A.S.A is an ongoing creative collaboration between two lifelong music aficionados, Squeak E. Clean ad DJ Zegon, and their friends, friends of friends and musical heroes.

While N.A.S.A. stands for North America/South America and contains a number of superstar artists from both coasts of the US, it is about as far from a tension-building geographical showdown as a record can get. Rather, The Spirit of Apollo was born with the righteous goal of bringing people together through music and art, and that is exactly what masterminds Squeak E, Clean and DJ Zegon have done.

Unexpected collaborations abound on the eighteen track release. Tom Waits growls over Kool Keith, Karen O taunts while Ol' Dirty Bastard gives shout-outs to Wu Tang and N.A.S.A from the grave, and David Byrne, Chuck D and others expound on the evils of "Money." In spite of the range of performers, the pairings seem organic, inspired and make perfect sense on the first listen, never coming off as ironic or impulsive.

That passion and appreciation for music is the driving force behind The Spirit of Apollo. Conceived in a crowded party in Sao Paulo and nurtured by a shared love of vintage Brazilian soul and funk records, N.A.S.A. was born when Spiegel and Gonzales got together in a studio and hit record. Five years later, after thousands of miles traveled, many favors called in, countless hours spent in recording studios, bartered, traded and out of pocket, N.A.S.A. landed at Anti Records, a label that is home to other likeminded visionaries such as One Day As A Lion, Nick Cave and N.A.S.A.-guest vocalist Tom Waits

Squeak E. Clean and DJ Zegon will put their turntable skills to good use as N.A.S.A. goes live with dancers, visual effects, art installations and special guests. Also expect more announcements as this album turns into a multi-media extravaganza with the help of more friends, this time from the art world.

Thus far The Spirit of Apollo tracklist: 1. "Intro" 2. "The People Tree" (feat. David Byrne, Chali 2na, Gift of Gab,& Z-Trip) 3. "Money" (feat. David Byrne, Chuck D, Ras Congo, Seu Jorge, & Z-Trip 4. "NASA Music" (feat. Method Man, E-40, & DJ Swamp) 5. "Way Down" (feat. RZA, Barbie Hatch, & John Frusciante) 6. "Hip Hop" (feat. KRS-One, Fatlip, & Slim Kid Tre) 7. "Four Rooms, Earth View" 8. "Strange Enough" (feat. Karen O, Ol' Dirty Bastard, & Fatlip) 9. "Spacious Thoughts" (feat. Tom Waits & Kool Keith) 10. "Gifted" (feat. Kanye West and others TBD) 11. "A Volta" (feat. Sizzla, Amanda Blank, & Lovefoxxx) 12. "There's a Party" (feat. George Clinton & Chali 2na) 13. "Whachadoin?" (feat. Spank Rock, M.I.A., Santogold & Nick Zinner) 14. "O Pato" (feat. Kool Kojak & DJ Bãboa) 15. "Samba Soul" (feat. Del Tha Funkee Homosapien & DJ Qbert) 16. "The Mayor" (feat. The Cool Kids, Ghostface Killah, DJ AM & Scarface) 17. "N.A.S.A. Anthem"

*** For more about Squeak E. Clean, visit his acclaimed blog spot: http://www.squeakeclean.com

For more about DJ Zegon, visit his site:  http://www.djzegon.com/

via Sylvia Adams, 11 October 2008 8:57pm |