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.
Sick Soft Perfection
Subtle Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
To dispose completely of the bright behind beauty
And this word is somehow then killed,
And put back as it's fake
Like it was only kept outside apes in the first place
Overworked words like 'beauty' are an undeserved sort of
Were it only meant to be adapted to Hollywood dull,
Leaving a red white & blind eye lain null
Where beauty once saw only passage through the human skull
With red white and The skull
Six million ways to to to The skull
Chose one
With red white and The skull
Six million ways to to to
Chose one
Will you soon become one of the many most-empty sons
Hung to kill none and done
Or will you beget a twice life yet
Since effects are always wearing off
The no-concern eclipse they so anticipate,
As its perfect fight dream dissipates
Across work weeks crashing
And empty's open asking
There is a sick soft god
Human perfection,
In someone's hard-to-find birdhead collection
(x3)
These lyrics from Subtle's song "Sick Soft Perfection" discuss the way that society has a tendency to devalue and dispose of things that are considered beautiful. The opening lines suggest that in today's world, it is the duty of humanity to destroy beauty and reduce it to something fake and artificial. The second stanza goes on to criticize the overuse of words like "beauty," which have become meaningless as they are used to describe everything, even things that are dull and unremarkable. The song argues that this devaluation of beauty leads to a loss of meaning and purpose in life, and that the pursuit of perfection is ultimately futile.
The chorus of the song introduces the idea of the skull, which seems to represent death and decay. The lyrics suggest that there are many ways to approach this inevitability, but ultimately we all have to choose just one. The third stanza questions whether we are content to simply exist and eventually die, or whether we want to strive for something more in life. The song suggests that perhaps there is a way to escape the emptiness of existence and find meaning, but it requires effort and dedication.
Overall, "Sick Soft Perfection" is a commentary on the modern world's obsession with superficiality and artificiality. It suggests that true value and meaning in life come from something deeper than just appearance or perfection, and that we must be willing to put in the work to find it.
Line by Line Meaning
Seems it's become man's cross death lasting duty
It appears as though man has taken on the responsibility of permanently destroying anything that is beautiful.
To dispose completely of the bright behind beauty
The true essence behind anything that is beautiful is being completely eliminated.
And this word is somehow then killed,
The word 'beauty' is being destroyed in some way.
And put back as it's fake
It is then brought back, but in a false way.
Like it was only kept outside apes in the first place
It is almost as if the concept of beauty was never meant to be appreciated by humans.
Overworked words like 'beauty' are an undeserved sort of
safety scissors for their purpose
Words like 'beauty' have been used so often that they have lost their true meaning and have become a dull tool for expression.
Were it only meant to be adapted to Hollywood dull,
If the word 'beauty' were only meant to be associated with the superficiality of Hollywood, it would make sense.
Leaving a red white & blind eye lain null
But instead, it has left us blind to the true beauty that surrounds us and unable to appreciate it.
Where beauty once saw only passage through the human skull
Where once we were able to recognize and appreciate beauty, it has now become a mere passage through our minds.
With red white and The skull
The imagery of red, white, and the skull suggests violence and death.
Six million ways to to to The skull
There are countless ways in which violence and death can be carried out.
Chose one
But ultimately, a choice must be made.
Will you soon become one of the many most-empty sons
Will you be one of the many who are devoid of any true meaning or purpose?
Hung to kill none and done
Existing for no other reason than to simply exist, with no true direction or motivation.
Or will you beget a twice life yet
Will you be able to create a new, meaningful life for yourself?
Since effects are always wearing off
Because the effects of any change or progress are temporary.
The no-concern eclipse they so anticipate,
The emptiness and apathy that many people are so eagerly waiting for.
As its perfect fight dream dissipates
As their perfect, idealistic, apathetic dream slowly fades away.
Across work weeks crashing
As the reality of life, with all its demands and difficulties, sets in and weighs heavily on them.
And empty's open asking
And they are left with nothing but emptiness and unanswered questions.
There is a sick soft god
There is a disturbed and distorted perception of perfection that some people worship.
Human perfection,
A twisted and unrealistic ideal of what it means to be perfect.
In someone's hard-to-find birdhead collection
Something so bizarre and obscure that it can only exist in someone's strange collection.
(x3)
This distorted perception of perfection is repeated three times to emphasize its significance.
Contributed by Hudson M. Suggest a correction in the comments below.
Echosoblivion
this is unbelievable that photo too what the hell is that from love it
mouthbreather1
looks like an H. R. Giger painting.