Nick Thorburn of Islands has always thrived on collaboration and has long been a steadfast admirer of underground hip-hop, having previously stepped into that realm by pairing with artists such as Busdriver and El-P. His latest single, “Got The Devil,” pushes him further into the role of a rap producer than before, delivering a surreal, kaleidoscopic beat for Houston lyricist Fat Tony and WHY?’s Yoni Wolf.
On the B-side, “The River,” the cast includes Fat Tony and Giovanni Marks, the Los Angeles rapper who formerly went by Subtitle. Marks previously joined Busdriver on “Where There’s A Will, There’s A Whalebone” from Islands’ 2006 debut album Return To The Sea, and in a new interview, Thorburn frames “The River” as a spiritual sequel to that very track. Listen below.
