Detroit emcee and producer-extraordinaire Doctor Illingsworth has released an unexpected Street Fighter-inspired, 12-track instrumental album titled, It Was Tuesday.
The opening track, “Shields” (It Was Tuesday),” kicks off the collection with an obscure quote from 1994’s Street Fighter (motion picture) featuring Raúl Juliá as the unforgiving dictator General M. Bison. Illingsworth transforms the quote into a self-proclaiming calling card, then introduces listeners to a chopped-up, yet catchy rhythm driven by vocal sampling.
It Was Tuesday‘s fifth track, “Searching,” is a medley of instrumental sounds. A lightly-tapped high-hat and keyboard-produced snare drive the track’s rhythm, while bright horn exclamations and a soothing saxophone melody keep the song relaxed and fluid. (Think Adult Swim bumpers at 3:30 am.)
The instrumental album’s eighth track is titled “NIHONGOGA,” which is the Japenese word for ‘Japanese.’ The piano-led melody drifts listeners through a choppy sea of synthesizers and crunchy snare sounds. The video game-inspired sounds from this track are undeniable, but they remain a complimentary fit to the underlying theme of Illingsworth’s latest collection.
The tenth track of the release, titled “Funkabell,” is easily the hardest groove of the album. A high-pitched organ rules the track’s direction as deepened tones add layers of muffled bass and low-end strings. The instrumentation of this song’s rhythm seems to utilize more realistically-sampled sounds, especially the track’s tightly-snapping funk snare.
Doc Illingsworth’s latest release is yet another testament to his producing prowess (and epilepsy-inducing, GIF-making skills.) It Was Tuesday is Doc’s third release of 2014 – not an easy feat. Illingsworth has proved (more than once) that he is easily one of Detroit’s most diligent, creative and diversely-influenced producers in the industry.
Listen to and Purchase It Was Tuesday: