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Exit the Wu​-​Tang: 36 Chambers (AC Version)

by Algernon Cornelius

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    Includes unlimited streaming via the free Bandcamp app, plus high-quality download in MP3, FLAC and more.
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    Get all 48 Algernon Cornelius releases available on Bandcamp and save 50%.

    Includes unlimited streaming via the free Bandcamp app, plus high-quality downloads of NN2023: [dbo/REDVX], SEGUNDO, ...And The Living, Segundo, December 25, Township Rebellion, Black On Black, Me No Sen You No Come, and 40 more. , and , .

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  • Limited Edition Cassette Tape in Metal Tin Case
    Cassette + Digital Album

    Limited edition hand drawn and numbered yellow cassette tape encased in a metal tin with foam insert. Artwork designed by Matt Reid (@theartofmattreid). Only 25 copies available in the world!

    Includes unlimited streaming of Exit the Wu-Tang: 36 Chambers (AC Version) via the free Bandcamp app, plus high-quality download in MP3, FLAC and more.

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7th Chamber 01:35
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C.R.E.A.M. 01:16
10.
Method Man 01:06
11.
Tearz 00:44
12.

about

On the 9th of November 1993, 9 emcees collectively known as the Wu-Tang Clan released their debut album ‘Enter the Wu-Tang (36 Chambers)’. I was only 4 years old at the time, so I had no idea of what was going down on over on Shaolin Island. It wasn’t until 2003 when I bought the compilation ‘Wu-Tang Collective’ from the HMV in the Cornmill shopping centre in Darlington (in what was most likely a 3 for £10 sale) that I first came in contact with the Wu-Tang. I was introduced to a lot of classic Hip-Hop through compilation albums and greatest hits, and admittedly this was probably the least comprehensive introduction I could’ve asked for. Nonetheless the smoked out grey cover and the liner notes from Hip-Hop Connection writer Phillip Mlynar gave me enough to send me on a journey, and soon I was sketching the outline of Staten Island and of course drawing W’s on everything. I would buy a few more Wu compilations, a greatest hits, some solo albums and even ‘Wu-Tang Forever’ before finally digging the CD where it all began. By this time I had heard the big hitters like “Shame…”, “Da Mystery of Chessboxin’”, “Wu-Tang Clan Ain’t Nuthing Ta F’ Wit”, “Method Man” (1st verse only), “C.R.E.A.M.” and “Protect Ya Neck” but not in the way they were laid out for the 36 Chambers. The kung-fu intro and and Ghostface’s startling opening verse on Bring Da Ruckus made me realise how raw it really was in the beginning. These were the missing pieces in the puzzle that made sense of my nonlinear chronicles of the Wu.

As my fascination with Hip-Hop culture lead me to attempt all the elements, I only really danced in my room and I was scared of getting caught graffiting, so I of course ended up rapping and trying my hands at DJing. The latter ultimately opened my ears to production and Rza’s sound captured my imagination (like Elucid said “Rza taught me”). If the written mythology surrounding the Wu wasn’t enough, then the cinematic scope of this dust covered emotional poison pen letter to a bitter, cold and dark underbelly of a New York, which I only knew from films, would lay the foundations for much of what I do with my sound. Filtered low end swamping the mix, dusty drum samples, off-key piano notes and heartbroken soul samples. The idea that what other people see as broken, you can find beauty in, and from limitations come creative innovations.

So it was last year in 2017 that I decided to try and make my own beats from samples used on this album realising that 2018 was the 25th anniversary, so I put it on ice for a year. I wanted to try and come up with something fresh that wasn’t just mimicking the originals (which actually proved to be quite hard), but through the process that sometimes lead to an uncanny “alternative” version rather than a new composition all together. As someone who digs for records I often come across samples that have already been used by the greats and have an internal debate with myself about whether or not to follow in their footsteps or find something untouched. But sometimes I just want to know “what if they missed something?”, it’s like going back to an Ancient Egyptian tomb and discovering a hidden engraving on the wall, which when touched actually turns the pyramid into a spaceship.

Despite having been introduced to the CD version I have chosen to follow the tracklisting of the original vinyl and cassette release to imbue some kind of “authenticity”. Matt Reid (who has previously designed the covers for my 1n2trum3ntal series) came up with the artwork and we decided to keep it yellow and black - killa bee style. The idea to encase the tapes in metal tins is of course a reference to the ‘Once Upon A Time In Shaolin’ fiasco, circular too in order to get the whole 360 degrees of the Wu (36 x 10 = 360… it’s supreme mathematics dummy!) and 25 years is a silver anniversary (silver tins… get it?). The tapes will have hand drawn W’s on because if you know me then you know I can’t resist drawing it on everything and anything, also it makes each one different. 25 years means there are only 25 copies in the world and I would like one for myself so there’s only 24 left. Wu-Tang is forever and Wu-Tang is for the children, peace!

credits

released November 16, 2018

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Algernon Cornelius Manchester, UK

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