04/25/05: Fort Minor Press Release for LPU FIRST!
As always, LPU gets the info first! Below is the OFFICIAL FORT MINOR PRESS RELEASE for LPU members BEFORE everyone else gets to read it!
LINKIN PARK’S MIKE SHINODA IS SET TO DEBUT AS HIP HOP SIDE PROJECT FORT MINOR
FORT MINOR’S DEBUT, ”THE RISING TIED,” FEATURES COMMON, KENNA, BLACK THOUGHT, AND MANY MORE SPECIAL GUESTS.
JAY-Z SERVES AS EXECUTIVE PRODUCER OF THE ALBUM.
Multi-talented, multi-instrumentalist Mike Shinoda, best known as the MC for Linkin Park, will be releasing his highly anticipated side project Fort Minor later this summer. Shinoda, the producer and beatmaker behind Jay-Z and Linkin Park’s “Collision Course,” sees Fort Minor as an extension of who he is as a musician, producer and visual artist: “I did nothing but hip hop before Linkin Park started, and haven’t gotten a chance to get back to those roots until now. I started casually making this project a year ago, and it was like a floodgate was opened—I couldn’t stop writing. Once I started playing the songs for people, everyone kept telling me: you need to make an album out of this!”
And so he did. Called “The Rising Tied,” and produced by Shinoda (Jay-Z serves as the executive producer) the album is tentatively set for a summer 2005 release on Machine Shop Recordings / Warner Bros. Records, and for Shinoda, it can’t come soon enough. “My bandmates in LP were very excited for me to be able to show the fans what I do individually,” says Shinoda. Adding, “I wouldn’t have done this without their complete support. In fact, I picked our guitarist Brad Delson as my A&R guy!” Shinoda is currently in Los Angeles putting the finishing touches on this 14 track effort, an album that is clearly a musical expression of the most personal and often times, soulful kind.
“I wanted to make sure this album had a unique identity. Part of that identity is an organic sound—less keyboard-y and more rooted in real instruments.” To that end, Shinoda wrote and played virtually every note on the album, giving it a thick, rhythmic, sophisticated sound that has been driving the music from day one.
But although he produced the album on his own, Mike Shinoda is a collaborator; he’s been one his whole life. Whether he is making music for Linkin Park or designing DC skate shoes to benefit his college scholarship, Shinoda is constantly working in tandem with others. And on Fort Minor it’s no different, with a number of notable and yet to be named musicians lending a hand. Shinoda says this about the pairings, “Black Thought, Kenna, and Common were some of the first artists that I got in contact with about Fort Minor. I remember when I asked Common about doing a song on the record: I started playing for him what I had done so far, and after every song, he said, “I want to be on that one!”
Through his collaborations, Shinoda has mastered the art of lending a creative hand in order to help others realize their goals. Fort Minor is one such outlet. Mike describes, “From the well-known artists on the album, like Common and John Legend, to the up-and-comers, everyone is performing at the very top level. They are all so hungry and excited for what the future with this album brings. That’s why I decided to name the record ‘The Rising Tied.’” Some of these talented “up-and-comers” go by the name of singer-songwriter Holly Brook and rap group Styles of Beyond, who are looking forward to releasing their own music on Machine Shop Recordings (Linkin Park’s record label) in the near future. If Mike’s prior success is any indicator, these “Rising Tied” will one day be remembered as participants on an album grand in scope, and epic in nature; a musical statement that seeps with emotion from a true hip-hop artist finally spreading his wings in a genre that has captivated him since his youth.
Visit www.fortminor.com.
from LPUnderground.com
