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Music

Run DMT Drinks the Shaman Juice + Free Download

The Bassed God talks Philip K. Dick, Timequakes and... extracting fluids from your third eye?

On July 22, Austin, Texas' Bassed God Run DMT will deliver a new self-titled record, with eight tracks mixing up dubstep, trap, hip-hop, drum & bass and other vibes into a big 808 beast designed to make ratchets from the future cream their space suits. The record will be issued on Mr. DMT's 4th Wall records, with a totally otherwordly cover (scroll down to see it).

We used our psychic GPS to track him down on the road and ask him some questions about sci-fi, fantasy, and psychedelics. Plus download the album's first single, "Shaman Juice", which mixes up Dutch house, trap, and Miami bass vibes into the ultimate festie banger—for free.

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THUMP: What kind of music do you listen to that isn't dance music?
Run DMT: Honestly, I don't listen to much dance music at all. I generally listen to indie stuff, folk, '90s hip-hop, punk, and classical. I grew up with stuff like Eric Clapton and Rush, as well as the musical stylings of Weird Al Yankovic. I like to be surprised. Death Grips is a good example of a group that consistently surprises me. One album that will forever remain in my playlist is The Shape of Punk to Come by Refused. So good and eclectic, raw and innovative. Most things reggae are high in my book (no pun intended). Tenor Saw and Junior Murvin are a couple of my favs. A buddy of my recently schooled me on the importance of reggae on DJ culture.

Wizards, witches, or warlocks?
Wizards, definitely. Beards are sexy as fuck.

What is your favorite track off your new album?
I am very proud of this album, so it is hard to say. The tracks that I am really excited about are "Ladies Night'" with Zeale and "Starlight" with Betty Black. It's really awesome to work with great vocalists. It's somewhat new territory for me with this project, and I think I lucked out with some very talented individuals. The vibes of those tracks, respectively, are also new directions for me.

What is shaman juice? Where do you get it?
Shaman juice comes from the tears of your third eye. It's not obtained so much as it is given. We all got it somewhere inside.

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Do you know any holy or mystical people?
I have met many who would like to be…

Do you beleive in aliens?
I think that anything is possible. However, I do think that people should start looking in instead of out. I think that alien culture has escalated to an almost religious status. One of my favorite stories of all time was a short story by Phillip K. Dick called "Roogs." In a nutshell, the story is about a dog named Boris who watches his family eat dinner every night, discard of the scraps (which Boris sees as perfectly good food, to be stored for later), and take the trash to the curb. Every morning, when the trashmen come to take the garbage, Boris flips out, thinking that these men are stealing his family's food reserves. He tries to warn his family by barking but, of course, they don't understand, which sends Boris into even more fits of apprehension. To Boris, based on the information he had, his panic was justified. He reacted based on the small slice of the pie he was given. We are the same as Boris, reacting in response to things that we see from a limited vantage point, not realizing that we are not seeing the entire picture. We aren't wrong, just ill-informed and arrogant to think that individually we have more answers than anyone else.

When is the last time you did DMT?
I had an experience a few weeks ago at a music festival. Nothing too significant. Before then, it had been about two years since I had done it. A few years back I had a very profound experience that directed me towards the musical path on which I am currently travelling, but since then, I have yet to experience a profound breakthrough. I have a theory that DMT is a catalyst to connect to urgent messages that your subconscious is desperately trying to send. The more off a person is on their intended path, the more profound the vision. This, of course, could all be wrong, but it's merely a reflection of my own exeriences. In the end, that is the only real truth.

Have you ever done DMT while listening to Run-DMC?
I'm unfamiliar with them… Is that some sort of early rap group?

What have you listened to while doing DMT?
The most significant musical exchange I experienced on DMT was from the album Nothing Lasts…But Nothing Is Lost by Shpongle. I am also a fan of Flying Lotus. I am a big fan of time-signature shifts during moments of psychedelic exploration.

What plane do you prefer to stay on?
I like to go with the flow. It took me a long time to reach that point, but I am infinately happier for it. Wherever I land is where I will thrive, so I have no preference.

What do you find trippy?
The everyday synchronicities of a shared life. Each day, I see more and more correlations between different facets of my existence and encounters with others. Kurt Vonnegut called them Timequakes, or repeating cycles that cause us to live several lives within our own. The more one tries to notice these synchronicities, the easier it becomes to navigate our unique existences.