Now living on a Mennonite farm in rural Illinois, the eccentric producer better known as Smaze returns as Conrad Newholmes. His mind is a Gordian knot, his life is a can of worms, and his music is one of it's testaments. He began making beats in the mid-80s with a turntable and a dual tape deck. With no sampler or sequencer, he used the pause/record button technique to loopbreaks and beats.

This method was enhanced after he acquired a pair of 1200s and a 4-track in 1991. In 1992 he began to supply the Friday night mix for Seattle's only underground Hip-Hop radio show "Rap-Attack" on KCMU. Later that year he bought his first sampler and began distributing instrumental beat and mix-tapes. After years of bouncing back and forth between Seattle, Atlanta, and Jacksonville, Conrad began experiencing the urge to give up his possessions and travel the rough way. In 1994 he did just that. After selling his gear, quitting his job, buying a frame pack and a sleeping bag, he hitchhiked out of Atlanta during Freaknik weekend. He spent the next 4 years hopping trains, hitchhiking, camping, and squatting across the North American continent. After some years on the road and time spent in a monastery, he decided to rejoin the world. Though in a rustic setting, Conrad temporarily settled down outside of Bloomington, Indiana. Living in a small cabin, utilizing solarpower, he began making beats again. He spent the snowy winter of 1998 chopping wood for his woodstove, and making his first Hip-Hop instrumental project in almost 4 years. This was accomplished with the use of minimal solar power, a 4-track, a crappy turntable, a Casio cz1000, and a crate of records that belonged to the old hippy who owned the land. Having no sampler or sequencer, Conrad was forced to revert back to the pause-button method that he had started off with over a decade before. The finished product was called Foolish One's HeartBreaks. Though nearly disconnected from the urban element, by 2000 he was back into beat production full-time. The 2000 Hefty Records release of Beneath Autumn Sky's - Enki Dus Mono EP is a testament to this. Before disbanding in 2002, Beneath Autumn Sky was featured on two Hefty Immediate Action series compilations alongside other talent - Bogdan Raczynski, T.Raumschmiere, Daedelus, Manitoba, Prefuse73, Telefon Tel Aviv and Slicker. BAS's final contribution was remixing jazz musician Phil Ranelin's 'Black Destiny' which was featured on the Ranelin remixes LP released on Hefty in 2002.

Through massive transition over the last 4 years, Mr. Newholmes has never stopped making tracks. His deep love for Hip-Hop/beat culture has shown through it all. Thus he has spent the past 4 years making tracks, writing rhymes, and living in seclusion. With the official release of his self-titled ep, Conrad Newholmes kicks off the humble genesis of Snakebird Records, a small label ran out of the Mennonite village where he now resides. Armed with this 7-song vinyl EP, he steps back into the pool of musical contribution with a beauteous inauguration. The summer of 2005 will see both the release of the Conrad Newholmes full-length, Peppermint Styles, along with the debut release from the Hip-Hop traditionalist, Long-Lungs MC. Peppermint Styles will offer a balance of instrumentalism, and straight up new-romantic hip-hop with an emcee line up from around the world. Long Lungs, an emcee moniker for another arm of the octopus that is Smaze, is sure to receive a warm welcome with heads that are not feeling the direction that Hip-Hop's hijackers have turned. Placing an emphasis on autodidactic, and independent thought over automated thought, this renaissance man has more to offer the world yet. Beatheads.....stay tuned.

Return of the Boom Baptist
Interview by Dan Collins
Cyclic Defrost - Issue #10

I awoke early one morning to discover a message on my internet console: "Smaze = Sheveks Masada". The sender was no longer online. It could only have been a reference to one of the more intriguing folders in my shared download directory - "Smaze Picks".

Superb, moody, melodic, instrumental hip hop - these downloads were without any reference point, and previous searches over many months for whom or what this was had provided little. No one seemed to know anything much about what was such a standout effort. The only information I could gather was that maybe Smaze was part of Beneath Autumn Sky, which had also disappeared after the remarkable debut EP - Enki Du's Mono on Chicago-based electronic/jazz label Hefty Records in 2000. Besides a few reviews here and there, a search on Beneath Autumn Sky had also yielded little.

A few days passed with no further contact. The recent clues were proving fruitless as well. After lots of waiting, the mystery user finally returned and dispatched me to the newly formed label Abandon Building Records. A quick scan of the website revealed Sheveks Masada as the first release for this new label; Smaze was behind it, indeed alive and well, with those rumours about Beneath Autumn Sky also on the money.

After contacting the label they suggested that talking with Smaze was going to be no small feat as his access to the internet and technology was limited, and that he lived in a Mennonite community in rural Illinois. This did not sit well with my pre-conceived notions of a crazed beat technician, loud, big city; living a smoky, caffeinated and a high-technology existence - the Mennonites are characterized by simplicity of life, pacifism and non resistance; they object to the military and often shun technology.

As it turns out Smaze lives in a modern Mennonite community, a farm down the road had the Internet, and we got to talking. "We chose the Mennonite community that we did for two reasons. One is that they come from an "anti-tradition-tradition" of sorts (the Cathars and Anabaptists of the 13th-18th centuries) which denounce manmade doctrines. Yet, the particular community we are with is modernized and open enough that I can continue to make beats, and work with other people in the world" Smayze explains. "There are no 'elders' as such, and we can chose to live as rustic, or as modern (outside of excess and waste, counter to the mission of living there) as we chose . . . It is a beautiful piece of land, half forested, half farmed. Acres of blueberries, raspberries, strawberries, and grapes"

I was intrigued by how the Smaze I knew through mix tapes swapped on file sharing (P2P) networks, obviously written by someone with a keen ear for hip hop and breakbeats, was created in such a setting."It affects me in a number of positive ways. I have a clear-head and the fresh air to make realistic measurements of what I am doing. Unlike in an urban setting, I do not have readily available distractions here that could prevent me from optimal focus. There is peace in my life here... that reflects in the ability to make tracks and write lyrics". Life at Plowcreek sounds very peaceful, "At the same time I miss some of the aspects of urban living. Some of that ill busy reality also adds a certain touch to beat production. I will have to make do with visits.

Smaze was originally born in Jacksonville, Florida, and while still under the parental wing, moved all over the country before finally settling in Los Angeles in 1984. "That's where and when I fell in love with hip hop. I started b-boying and making pause button mix tapes at age 10". Running away from home in 1988 he squatted and lived on the streets of Hollywood for a year before moving north to Seattle with his 27 year old girlfriend (he was 15).

In Seattle, Smaze became immersed in street culture and graffiti art, purchasing his first pair of Technics SL1200 turntables in 1991. The next three years were spent painting, scratching and making beats via the pause button method with a 4-track and turntables. These lo-fi beat and mix tapes would end up being circulated nationally as part of a grass roots graffiti network. In 1994 Smaze had a series of personal and spiritual revelations. He sold off everything, hit the road, lived out of a backpack, hopping trains, hitching, essentially squatting and camping between various cities and communities, right across the states. This was a time of thinking, reflecting, and much change, musically void - "besides occasionally banging on a dunbek"

Smaze eventually found himself at a Russian/Eastern orthodox monastery called Saint Herman's Skete in South Carolina. Apparently, many of monks at the Skete were punks, squatters and anarchists before joining the order. They also put out zines called 'Punks Turned Monks' and 'Death To The World' - "I found them to be wonderful brothers."

In 1997 Smaze moved into a friend's cabin outside of town in Bloomington, Indiana. Containing little more than a woodstove and limited solar power, it was here, after a number of years on the road that he began to make beats again. - "I made a tape called 'Heart Breaks' at the cabin over a long snowy winter. I used a 4-track, crappy turntable, casio keyboard and a small crate of dustys. It's lo-fi as heck!!". Taking a tattoo apprenticeship in Jacksonville, Florida in 1999, Smaze found himself living in the back of a used record store, amongst towers of old records - mountains of precious breaks.

Teaming up with his old mate Zane3 (from graf days), they undertook the ambitious task with dusty fingers, pulling together only the best for a 5 track EP under the guise of Beneath Autumn Sky. This was the first time Smaze had used a computer for music production. "I got a [Apple] G4, started rocking ProTools, and that changed everything!". It spurned a new era for his beat making abilities. "I've have always had melodies running through my head, but I started chopping like mad at first. I have some stuff no one has ever heard that is off the top with chopping - it's [DJ] Premier meets Squarepusher". Before long they released 'Enki-Du's Mono' in 2000 on Hefty Records, quickly picking up other work for the label including a remix of jazz musician Phil Ranelin [on'Black Destiny']. Further work was to come on the Hefty 'Immediate Action' series alongside other talent - Daedelus, Manitoba, Prefuse 73 and label mates Telefon Tel Aviv and Slicker.

Beneath Autumn Sky became known for lo-fi, moody, melodic, instrumental hip hop - beats for the head, tones for the soul. Quality instrumental hip hop that says more than what is left after lyrics are removed. Beat heads will tell you that this type of sound has always been scarce; Smaze knew there was more than just sound at play.

The title of the album, meaning "god-man's construct" is taken from the ideas contained in 'The Epic of Gilgamesh' in Sumerian mythology.

The tale goes like this - the gods bring Enkidu, fashioned entirely from clay and product of an earthly evolution, into the world to provide a counterpoint to Gilgamesh (the Sumerian king, half god/half human.. Enkidu is Gilgamesh's soul mate, brother, equal, and also his conscience. Enkidu begins his life as a wild man, raised by animals, crude and unrefined - a sojourner in the civilized world. Enkidu is bolder than most men; he is also less pious than he should be, paying dearly for the disrespect he shows to the gods. The flipside to Enkidu is that he is also instinctively chivalrous. He takes up arms to protect the shepherds, and he saves an oppressed people from their uncontrollable king Gilgamesh. Eventually overcoming him with friendship rather than force.

"A lot of these old stories are happening over and over again, in personal little ways everyday, and in big ways that affect our whole planet". Smayze continues.

It seems as if Smaze's inspiration for his art come from his travels thus far, while reflecting on the archetypal Enkidu within. The album title and furthermore track names - meditations, a recollection, and zealots awaken suggest a deep spirituality lies close to the surface.

"I believe in eternity, and that time and matter are a sketch pad for the formation of eternity's art. That time and matter have a beginning and end, that the fruits from the sojourn into matter and time are endless".

Various differences meant Beneath Autumn Sky called it a day, and more thought required another hiatus from the beats, Smaze headed to Alaska to take up a guest spot in a tattoo shop for 6 months. This time, it wasn't too long before returning to the "lower 48" [states] with his wife.

Smaze now calls Plowcreek home, and apart from a short trip here or there has been living in the Mennonite community since returning from Alaska.

"The community provides an environment where my wife and I can be away from the imaginary expectations of the world and focus on reality based patterns in the world of senses, and in the supra senses" says Smaze. Time is devoted to his personal studies of ancient mythologies and Gnostic traditions such as the Mandeaens from Iran and Iraq (currently being persecuted since the US occupation). He also works with his Mennonite community, in the form of helping some of the others to gain a "well rounded" education by imparting some of the knowledge he has gained from extensive travel and life experience - "I used to write graf with a passion back in the day. So it is something that I have been able to 'turn on' in a lot of people who never saw it - who now see it for the amazing movement that it is".

Though he isn't yet assisting others to learn programming or chop beats, he has some of the 'brothers' freestyling while others work the dunbek - "Ancient boom-bap is shared in the form of drum circles - there is even a brother here who makes drums!"

Whilst participating fully in the community is part of life at Plowcreek, he still allows for many hours spent under the new pseudonym - Conrad Newholmes - making beats.

The Conrad style follows on very closely from the sound originally forged by Beneath Autumn Sky, and has a few of the tracks found on the mix tape "Smaze Picks" that hit the internet in late 2003. It would seem to be homage to his beat digging and turntablist days, a swell of hip hop instrumentalism, all matter styles and breaks, with all the right checks and balances for those who appreciate DJ friendly cuts and a quality pressing.

"I had originally made it with a full-length release in mind, and I was letting some heads hear it to get their opinion. Next thing I knew...I am hearing about this 'Smaze Picks'. I was like, awww, that's ill, one of these herbs put my beats up to try and sabotage me! At first I was bummed, but, I have watched ill-intent transform into positive manifestation, time and time again in my life, and I suppose I will continue to watch it - thank the great life, amen for Smaze Picks!"

Shunning formal distribution and the industry, the preferred method of distribution for Conrad Newholms has been - "Directly to heads via fate, synchronicity, or to those who hunted me down after hearing rumors about it . . . I had 500 records pressed with the finest manufacturer in North America. I never hired a publicist to push it, which is why you've never heard it!!"

But some people did hear it, and Smaze was invited to put some work down for the new Abandon Building label, under a fresh name - 'Sheveks Masada'. Partly a compendium of work thus far, the beats are worthy of a long listen, only the title requiring a little less contemplation. 'Hip Hop for Dishwashers, Scumballs and Upstarts' - it tends towards a more electronic sound than previously released. The mood, and the beats, still distinctly Smaze. The warm bustle of electronic percussion, and the ability to gently weave a few purposeful thoughts deep within the break - his trademark sound.

Smaze has also been devoting a deal of his recent energies to an MC project deemed 'Long Lungs'. The focus for this project is lyrical content oriented towards independent thought, or lack thereof, something that Smaze doesn't mind taking a swipe at - "Dry, prosaic materialists who deny purpose and spirit, and crazy insane dogmatic religious fundamentalists that are living in a construct - both are closer to each other than they think. The problem is that we live in a world where both of these extremes have the loudest voices!"

He is also concerned about the hijacking of the term hip hop by the new threat of 'crunk' - "there is at least an element of creative expression [in hip hop] for the love of creative expression, not just to exemplify egoism or as some strange mating bird call. In hip hop there is an element of focus and intent on conscious awareness. In crunk there is none of this; it's totally nihilistic and apathetic. All being done in the name of hip hop - I must protest". Whilst the term 'crunk' comes with many and varied definitions, and Smaze is quick to point out that he's not against any particular type of noise "I like blippy beats, I don't want anyone to think that I am Mr. Anti-Blippy Beat guy". He goes on to describe how his meaning has nothing to do with electronic music versus samples, or the any part of the sound as such, more so the - "lyrical content, the theme and the conscious intent of the words and what those words are painting in the mind. In that light, I see 'crunk' as the antipode of hip hop".

As such he dedicates time to its projected demise with the track 'Crunk is dead'. "The track starts off in a similar fashion to the late 70's and 80's English punk band - Crass (famous for intolerable music, but awesome album covers) and, their track "Punk is Dead".

Yes that's right, punk is dead, It's just another cheap product for the consumers head. Bubblegum rock on plastic transistors, Schoolboy sedition backed by big time promoters.

Unhappy with the change from the purposeful message that hip hop once stood for, Smaze doesn't rate the sexist and materialistic "bling-bling" culture now major part of the musical landscape, taking aim at - "underground hip-hop artists on stage promoting Sprite re-mix soda pop". Other tracks on the album reveal a track about psychological warfare called - 'Dare to defend your mind', and another about living by intuitive faculties and critical analysis. Apart from the importance of the message, the beats sound just fine - "It's nice ol' boom-bap style hip-hop, with some modern touches". Always looking to keep the balance, there are a number of tracks that are still - "straight up goofy", which help to "give the head a pillow after hard dime dropping tracks", but in true Smaze style - "they let the beat guide the spirit".

"It is a project for heads really, I don't anticipate it to be embraced by the masses". Considering previous attempts at contact, and Smaze's fateful methods of distribution, I'm not surprised. I have a suspicion that Smaze would be happiest knowing that he has been able to make a more direct connection with those that enjoy his music most.

Conrad Newholmes and Sheveks Masada are available via Couchblip in Australia.