Subtle began in 2001 when Dax Pierson, an employee at the Amoeba Music record store in Berkeley, CA., met Adam Drucker at the record store. They decided to try and make some music together. The first time they got together Pierson also invited Alexander Kort to the session, whom Pierson had collaborated on performing, composing and improvising a score for some classic silent films (Marty Dowers was also a part of these collaborations). Later that year, Pierson was invited to an open mic show and invited other musicians to form a one-time group for a predominately improvised twenty minute performance. Pierson invited Marty Dowers (woodwind/synth), Jordan Dalrymple (drums/guitar) — a fellow Amoeba Music employee — and Alexander Kort (cello), all of whom Pierson had previously played with. Everyone enjoyed playing together so much that they decided to continue on as a group and added mpc/drum machinist Jeff 'Jel' Logan and emcee/vocalist Adam 'Doseone' Drucker, who had both created music as the duo Themselves.
Over the course of 2002 and 2003 Subtle released their four 'season' EPs: Summer, Autumn, Winter and Spring, which consisted mostly of homemade recordings and were released on Doseone's own label, A Purple 100. Winter was comprised solely of one 37-minute track which was entirely improvised at midnight on winter solstice. The EPs were eventually discontinued and replaced by the compilation album Earthsick in 2004, which was made up of the tracks thought by the band to be the best of the 'seasons' EPs and added four previously unreleased, untitled, improvised tracks.
In 2003 the band signed to Lex Records and, in 2004, released their first proper full-length, A New White. This album spawned the single "F.K.O.", which stands for "Fuck Kelly Osbourne". Introduced on the record, and a recurring character in much of Subtle's work, is 'Hour Hero Yes', an aspiring middle-class poet and rapper. He is mentioned throughout the two Subtle LPs and both remix compilations, as well as in the 13 & God (a collaboration between Doseone, Jel, Pierson and the Notwist) song "Ghostwork". Album and video artwork, as well as art on Subtle's official website, suggest 'Hour Hero Yes' to be a bald man with a black and white striped face — an image which is embodied by a bust that serves as a centerpiece prop during live Subtle shows. Their live shows are particularly noted for their theatricality, incorporating hand-painted backdrops, set props, "costumes", and theatrical monologues that go alongside the musical performances.
While on tour to promote A New White in 2005, the band's van went off the road after hitting a patch of black ice on a highway in Iowa. The driver, live sound engineer Patrick Scott and five members of the band sustained minor injuries, while Dax Pierson's upper spine was severely damaged, leaving him a quadriplegic. Dax has continued however to contribute to the band, but as of now, does not tour.
In 2006 the band released the CD/DVD Wishingbone, a sister album to A New White containing remixes of tracks from A New White, some remixed by Subtle, as well as new material. Three music videos were released on the DVD included with the album, all of which were produced by animation company SSSR. SSSR would also later create the video for the 2006 single "The Mercury Craze".
Subtle signed a distribution deal with Astralwerks/EMI as of July 2006. For Hero: For Fool was released in October 2006 on Lex and Astralwerks/EMI. Dax Pierson, rendered quadriplegic by their tour accident in 2005, contributed beatboxing, vocals and harmonica to the album and his contribution is prominently displayed on the final track, "The Ends". The album was received very well by critics, with Cokemachineglow.com declaring it their 2006 "Album of the Year". The single "The Mercury Craze" was released as a 7" Vinyl and CD single and is used as an opening for the German TV show Spam Deluxe.
In November 2006, while on tour in Europe, their tour van was robbed in Barcelona, Spain. Bags containing $15,000 worth of gear and personal belongings were stolen, including a laptop containing demos, draft lyrics and unreleased work. To try and recover some of the funds, Doseone drew personalized portraits of fans from photos they would send in.
Yell&Ice, a collection of remakes and remixes, was released October 2007, It featured collaborations with Why?, Dan Boeckner of Wolf Parade, Tunde Adebimpe of TV on the Radio, Markus Acher of the Notwist, and Chris Adams of Hood. Just as Wishingbone revisited Subtle’s first LP A New White, Yell&Ice explores and reinterprets their preceding full-length, For Hero: For Fool. Unlike a typical collection of remixes, Yell&Ice utterly reapproaches the lyrics and music of For Hero: For Fool. In order to better suit the palette and prowess of each respective collaborator, lyrics were rewritten, sounds resampled, and time signatures unlocked. These songbones were then sent to various collaborators who then rewrote, sang, and sequenced to the tune of their talents.
Both Wishingbone and Yell&Ice were fashioned to further explore Subtle’s conceptual protagonist, 'Hour Hero Yes', while creating a medium for the band’s love of collaborative music making. Doseone has likened the albums to early rap maxi-singles which would contain tracks with the same backing music but different vocals.
On May 13th, 2008 The band released ExitingARM, the third album "in the ever-widening epic of Hour Hero Yes" which was accompanied by its own website with further poems on Yes' journey. The album was an attempt to create a more accessible sound.
It is intended that Subtle's first three studio albums (A New White, For Hero: For Fool and ExitingARM) serve as a trilogy about the rise and fall of the character 'Hour Hero Yes', and the character may indeed live on throughout the course of all their studio output, with the lyrics derived from his perspective.
During the ExitingARM tour, the OughtAlmanac of AmassedFact Vol. 1, a 70 page book that acts as a guide for the world in which 'Hour Hero YES' resides, was available for purchase at Subtle's merchandise booth. Limited to 100 pieces, the Almanac featured pages all hand painted by Doseone and accompanied by a 65 track mp3 CD of Doseone reading the Almanac in its entirety. All copies of the Almanac have the first and last pages torn out except for a small bit, where it is numbered and signed. The reading on the CD featured background noise from the improvisational sessions that later became ExitingARM as well as the crackle of a blank record. Exitingarm.com served as an online version of the book/CD.
WASHERE, the first live Subtle album contains a collection of 'hand-picked' live songs, alternate versions, and "original session" improvisations from their past five years of touring. WASHERE includes tracks from the rehearsals for the A New White tour. The tracks recorded "live at the mansion" are some of the only live performances that were recorded before the tour accident that left Dax Pierson quadriplegic.
Similar to what Wishingbone was to A New White and Yell&Ice to For Hero: For Fool, SmallFear Souvenir will be a remix/ re-interpretation album of ExitingARM. Artists confirmed to be working on it are Alias ("Sick Soft Perfection), Thee More Shallows ("Day Dangerous), Black Moth Super Rainbow ("GoneBones), Genghis Tron ("Take To Take) and Trans Am ("The No).
Videos, audio and news can be found on Subtle's official website: http://www.subtle6.com/
2) Subtle is the pseudonym of Mauricio Yepes, electronic/footwork producer from the US.
https://soundcloud.com/subtlemuzik
3) Subtle can also be the short form term used as an identifying moniker of Subtle.FM; Online Radio Station based in the UK.
Hollow Hollered
Subtle Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
With mailmen in your home
Holding a knife to your poems
Po o o o o o o o o o o o o o ems
To hollow all you're sown
And holler Goner, you're owned!
Your blood owns no bones,
With mailmen in your home
To hollow all you're sown
And holler Goner, you're owned!
And supposing you was meant to be bent born some sort of law man,
With the poise of an intellectual and a hunch of a clerk,
Because disposition of a saint they'd say,
He's cancel eye and ever correct
And knowing that, now are you less
In the ever so complicated endeavor of a human death
There are only two species set to death on Earth
The creature of choice
And the creature ; There are only two species set to death on earth
(x2)
Where in the human
Are you?
There are two sweet seeds on Earth
There are two sweet seeds on
There are two sweet seeds on
There are two
And supposing you was meant to be bent sole keeper
Of the one kilometer-long list of things certain to be so
The human plight right there in 1s and Os
And he who knows all that's owed
You'd think would be considerably more fearless,
Unless, of course, he feels this
Heat of something coming to adjust his
Eminence accordingly
To go on stealing poems,
From the homed
Armed with only a key comb
Letter opener carved from bone wish,
With which to pick
The simple levers of locks
To fly things well beyond the eye on high sky of your clock
Your blood owns no bones,
With mailmen in your home
Holding a knife to your poems
Po o o o o o o o o o o o o o ems
To hollow all you're sown
And holler Goner, you're owned!
Your blood owns no bones,
With mailmen in your home
Holding a knife to your poems
To hollow all you're sown
And holler Goner, you're owned!
Are. To the Po o o o o o o o ems (x3)
A sunset interjects
They'll walk to the (x2)
I'm fine down here
(x2)
Cut the fabric of the black
The lyrics to Subtle's song "Hollow Hollered" seem to touch on various themes and ideas, making it difficult to pin down a singular interpretation. The first verse seems to depict a scene where a person's sense of ownership and creativity are being threatened by external sources. The mailmen holding a knife to the person's poems suggest a sense of invasion and aggression towards their personal expressions. The repetition of "poems" with the sound effect of "o o o" creates a sense of urgency and danger. The use of the words "hollow" and "owned" reinforce the idea that the person is being stripped of their sense of self and individuality. The chorus is particularly haunting, with the repetition of "your blood owns no bones" creating an eerie atmosphere.
The second verse seems to shift focus to the idea of inherent disposition and human mortality. The lyrics suggest that even if a person is born with exceptional traits and abilities, they are still bound by the simple and inevitable fate of death. The line "the ever so complicated endeavor of a human death" touches on the complexities and nuances of dealing with mortality. The chorus is repeated again, further emphasizing the loss of individuality and the feeling of being controlled or owned.
The final verse jumps back to the idea of ownership, with a person being responsible for a list of certain truths and the "human plight" in binary code. The use of the phrase "he who knows all that's owed" suggests a sense of obligation and responsibility. However, this person seems to still be fearful of something coming to "adjust his eminence accordingly." The final lines read like a call to action, inspiring the person to continue creating and expressing themselves despite the threats they face.
Line by Line Meaning
Your blood owns no bones,
You lack strength and stability, like you have no backbone.
With mailmen in your home
Even strangers have access to your safe haven, where privacy is usually the norm.
Holding a knife to your poems
Someone, with malicious intent, is threatening to take away your creative intellectual property.
Po o o o o o o o o o o o o o ems
Emphasizing the importance of poetry in this song, while mimicking the sound of someone singing.
To hollow all you're sown
The same person taking your poems can erase your sense of purpose and accomplishments.
And holler Goner, you're owned!
The attacker wants to declare victory by shouting that they have control over you.
And supposing you was meant to be bent born some sort of law man,
Reflecting on how you were born with the potential to be a natural authority figure.
With the poise of an intellectual and a hunch of a clerk,
You have both the confidence of a thinker and the attention to detail of an office worker.
Because disposition of a saint they'd say,
People might even see you as having the personality of a holy person.
He's cancel eye and ever correct
You are vigilant and accurate in your observations, never swayed by falsehoods.
And knowing that, now are you less
But with this realization, do you feel weaker, powerless?
In the ever so complicated endeavor of a human death
You now see the immense complexity of life, and the fragility of it all.
There are only two species set to death on Earth
Two kinds of creatures inevitably die on this planet.
The creature of choice
One of them is selective, possibly referring to humans who make questionable decisions.
And the creature; There are only two species set to death on earth
The other is not specified, leaving the listener to wonder.
Where in the human
Where do humans fit in this dichotomy of mortality?
Are you?
Is this question directed at the listener or the subject of the song?
There are two sweet seeds on Earth
There are two potentially good aspects of the planet.
And supposing you was meant to be bent sole keeper
Perhaps you were destined to be the sole guardian of something of great importance.
Of the one kilometer-long list of things certain to be so
This treasure may be a lengthy, definitive record of absolute truths.
The human plight right there in 1s and Os
It could also be a digital file depicting the struggles of humanity.
And he who knows all that's owed
Whoever possesses this knowledge is responsible for what they do with it.
You'd think would be considerably more fearless,
One would assume that knowing so much would make you bold and unafraid.
Unless, of course, he feels this
But what if this person has a particular apprehension?
Heat of something coming to adjust his
This impending change or challenge is causing anxiety.
Eminence accordingly
It could affect their status, their reputation, or how others see them.
To go on stealing poems,
The attacker continues to take something deeply personal and meaningful from you.
From the homed
The setting is still within the safety of your home, where outsiders should not have access to your private life.
Armed with only a key comb
You do not have powerful tools to defend yourself or your belongings, only ordinary objects.
Letter opener carved from bone wish,
One of the few possessions you have for self-protection is better suited to wishful thinking.
With which to pick
Your tools are also mostly ineffective, as lock-picking requires skill and training.
The simple levers of locks
The target of your efforts is not powerful or complex, just basic.
To fly things well beyond the eye on high sky of your clock
You hope to escape this situation, to remove yourself from harm's way and transcend the passing of time.
Are. To the Po o o o o o o o ems (x3)
The significance of poetry persists throughout the song.
A sunset interjects
This tranquil moment interrupts the building tension of the song.
They'll walk to the (x2)
Unclear who 'they' are and where they are walking to, but it seems ominous.
I'm fine down here (x2)
The subject feels okay in their current situation, but what awaits them may be worse.
Cut the fabric of the black
The song ends on a cryptic note, inviting interpretations of what this means.
Contributed by Alyssa B. Suggest a correction in the comments below.