Atmosphere's Ant Releasing 'Collection of Sounds: Volume 3' in January

Anthony Davis, AKA Ant, the producer half of the legendary, pioneering hip-hop group Atmosphere, has announced Collection of Sounds: Volume 3, the third installment in his four-volume series of instrumentals. In addition to his work with Atmosphere, Ant’s production credits also include tracks for Brother Ali, MF DOOM, Murs, Felt, Rav, The Grouch & Eligh, Sage Francis, Dynospectrum and more. 

This third installment delves into the rich influences of reggae, dub, and early hip-hop, crafting a vibrant instrumental landscape that pays homage to these foundational genres. Building on the textured soundscapes that define his work, this album showcases Ant's masterful ability to weave together infectious grooves, deep basslines, and melodic samples that evoke the warmth and rhythm of reggae. The result is an immersive listening experience that transports listeners to sun-soaked streets, lively dance halls, and basement cyphers. Order Collection of Sounds: Volume 3 vinyl and cassettes at rhymesayers.com.

Cuts like today’s singles “Welcome Back” and "Perfection" exemplify his signature style, blending intricate rhythms with emotive undertones. "For volume three I explored music I made over the years that had a reggae dub influence and maybe put an extra old school “80’s hiphop” dub feel throughout,” shares Ant, “I have always wanted to do an old school dub influenced release, and I could not convince any of my friends to do an entire dub record, so I did one using a variety of old and new beats/songs from the past two decades. After having fun messing around with some effects, this is what happened."

Collections of Sounds: Volume 3 follows the recently released Collection of Sounds: Volume 1 & Volume 2. Volume 2 features smooth beats, intricate sampling, and lush layers that create an immersive funk-laden atmosphere, where Volume 1 has pockets that are practically begging for rappers to explore. When he first pondered releasing an instrumental series, Ant figured he might want to make the songs more “intricate” than the ones he gave to his rapper collaborators, filling up the space in the mix that would normally be given over to their vocals. “But then it would be jazz, right?” he says with a loud laugh. “And I’m not that.” Fitting, as Collection of Sounds is not about forgetting who you are—it’s about remembering, reconfiguring, and reimagining, all at once.

The son of a military family, Ant grew up bouncing between locales: Texas, California, New York, Colorado, even as far away as Germany. While moving every couple of years presented plenty of challenges, it also exposed Ant to a wide array of different people and cultures. It also helped nurture his burgeoning love of music. Ant’s father, only 20 years his senior, was an avid record collector. “He was into funk and jazz and soul music and stuff,” Ant says. “When I’m ten years old, he’s only 30, and rap is out: he was listening to it, but he didn’t know the difference between Grandmaster Flash and Rick James. To him it was the same thing—this is all funk, this is all disco, this is just all music.” 

“There was always this weird dream in my head that I could get somewhere,” says Davis. As one half of Atmosphere, the longtime Minneapolis resident has carved out the type of career that aspiring musicians across the world imagine as they cut their teeth in home studios and on small stages. Yet while decades of sold-out tours and critical acclaim might have been, at one time, an abstract notion to the now 53-year-old, he always had a sense that he could spin his ingenuity behind turntables into a living. While the last 30 years serve as proof positive that he was right, his new four-volume collection of instrumental work, Collection of Sounds, illuminates the variety of styles and skills that made that inkling a reality. Order vinyl, cassettes, and exclusive merch at atmospheresucks.com and rhymesayers.com.

TRACKLISTING

1. Blame That Dub
2. Second Try
3. Just A Business
4. Welcome Back
5. Best Teacher (Melodica Version)
6. Hello Darlings
7. Start Of Side Six
8. From Twenty Years Ago
9. Bad Motherdub
10. The Shuffle
11. Perfection
12. Early ʻ23 Thing
13. Rhodes, Birds And Wind

Photo Credit: Sam Martucci 

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