N.A.S.A---The-Spirit-of-Apollo
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 16. 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 travelled, many favours 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 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.