As a co-founder of Anticon Records and a known architect of indie-rap’s more left-field beat structures, Jefferey “Jel” Logan should have had his day in the sun by now, but his is the producer’s lot, and he’s okay with it. “I’m not falling the fuck off. I’m not getting super large. I’m doing my thing,” says the Chicago-bred, Oakland-based artist via statement. And indeed he is. Though Jel’s leant his drum-punching skills to countless records and remixes on his own (Peeping Tom, Sleigh Bells, Serengeti) and as a member of various projects (Deep Puddle Dynamics, Themselves, Subtle), the just-released Late Pass is only the man’s third album.
But while young bucks flood the airways with beat tape after beat tape, one listen to the LP’s titular track makes the case for patience as a virtue. “Late Pass,” the song, features the crunched drums of boom-bap classics, the siren sonics of Public Enemy’s Bomb Squad, dubbed out shards of shimmering guitar, and the paranoiac mutterings of Jel himself. It’s a track made from record scratch and mashed MPC buttons, not to mention a little magic courtesy of collage master and co-producer Odd Nosdam. Late Pass landed on August 20 and is available via Anticon. The label is currently celebrating its 15th anniversary, with special shows planned for San Francisco and Los Angeles on September 5 and 6, respectively. More dates below.
Jel tour dates:
August 20 – Oakland, CA @ The New Parish !
August 28 – Los Angeles, CA @ Low End Theory
September 12 – Victoria, BC @ Rifflandia Festival (CLUB 9ONE9) ~
September 14 – Missoula, MT @ The VFW
September 15 – Bozeman, MT @ Zebra Cocktail Lounge
September 16 – Billings, MT @ The Railyard
September 18 – Fargo, ND @ The Aquarium
September 19 – Minneapolis, MN @ Triple Rock ^
September 20 – Madison, WI @ High Noon Saloon ^
September 22 – Detroit, MI @ Waffle’s Penthouse
September 23 – Hamilton, Ont @ This Ain’t Hollywood *
September 25 – Toronto, Ont @ Sneaky Dee’s *
September 27 – Ottawa, Ont @ Ritual *
September 28 – Montreal, QC @ Pop Montreal (Il Motore) *
September 30 – Portland, Maine @ The Space &
October 1 – Boston, ME @ Middle East &
October 3 – Brooklyn, NY @ Knitting Factory +
October 5 – Middletown, CT @ Wesleyan College &
October 6 – Philadelphia, PA @ Johnny Brenda’s &
October 8 – Washington, DC @ DC9 &
October 9 – Poughkeepsie, NY @ Vassar College &
October 10 – Baltimore, MD @ Metro Gallery &
October 11 – Pittsburgh, PA @ Garfield Artworks &
October 12 – Columbus, OH @ Double Happiness
October 13 – Louisville, KY @ Zanzibar
October 15 – Raleigh, NC @ King’s Barcade
October 16 – Boone, NC @ Black Cat Burrito
October 17 – Atlanta, GA @ 529
October 21 – Savannah, GA @ Graveface Records
October 23 – Orlando, FL @ Will’s Pub @
October 24 – Tampa, FL 2 Crowbar @
October 25 – Miami, FL @ The Stage @
October 26 – Tallahassee, FL @ Retrofit Records @
October 28 – New Orleans, LA @ Siberia @
October 29 – Athens, GA @ Georgia Theatre (Rooftop) @
November 1- Baton Rouge, LA @ Spanish Moon @
November 4 – Chicago, IL @ Subterranean @
November 5 – St. Louis, MO @ The Demo @
November 7 Norman, OK @ The Opolis @
November 9 – Austin, TX @ Fun Fun Fun Fest @
November 11 – Denver, CO @ Larmier Lounge #
November 13 – Salt Lake City, UT @ Urban Lounge #
November 14 – Boise, ID @ Reef #
November 16 – Portland, OR @ Hawthorne Theatre Lounge #
November 17 – Vancouver, BC @ The Cobalt #
November 20 – Fresno, CA @ Fulton 55 #
November 21 – San Diego, CA @ Porter’s Pub #
November 22 – Las Vegas, NV @ Beauty Bar #
November 23 – Los Angeles, CA @ Bootleg Bar #
November 25 – San Francisco, CA @ Elbo Room #
! w/ Main Attrakionz, Doseone, Odd Nosdom, JEL
~ w/ Mykki Blanco, Jel, Serengeti
^ w/ DJ Abilities, Sole, Jel, Serengeti
* w/ Sole, Factor, Jel, Serengeti
& w/ Sole, Open Mike Eagle, Jel, Serengeti
@ w/ Matthewdavid, Jel, Serengeti
# w/ DJ Abilities, Jel, Serengeti
+ w/ Sole, Open Mike Eagle, Jel, Serengeti, Bomarr
