This June, the world will witness the long-awaited release of Marcus D’s second full-length album, Melancholy Hopeful. The pioneering label of “Jazz Hop”, Hydeout/Tribe, initially founded by deceased producer Nujabes, will be handling the distribution for the Japan region, which will include physical (CD & a 12″ vinyl release of Don’t Hold Ya Breath), and digital distribution. The Japanese album cover is pictured above, while the US version of the cover has yet to be unveiled. The album consists of a who’s who roster of heavy hitters within the genre including MD’s partner in rhyme, Substantial, Shing02, Cise Starr, Funky DL, Emancipator, Pismo, One Be Lo, etc.

1 Don’t Hold Ya Breath (ft. Funky DL)
2 Third Person (ft. One Be Lo)
3 Melancholy Hopeful (ft. Cise Star)
4 Fly (ft. Choklate)
5 Titania
6 All Around the World (ft. LaRue & Steph)
7 Kindred Spirit (ft. Emancipator)
8 One People (ft. Shing02)
9 Continuous Dream (ft. Pismo)
10 Nocturne of Love
11 Street’s Lament (ft. Luck One)
12 Misanthropy
13 Universal Language (ft. Substantial & Steph)
14 Distant Worlds (ft. Awon)
15 Inasense
16 Night on the Town (ft. Cise Star, Substantial & Funky DL)
17 Pain & Possibility

The grassroots US release, entirely funded by Marcus D’s successful Kickstarter campaign, will be released independently the same day as the Japan version with an identical track listing. Fans who pledged at a certain level will be receiving early copies of the US version.

Below are the two single releases from the album thus far: Don’t Hold Ya Breath ft. Funky DL & Continuous Dream ft. Pismo (both available at Marcus D’s Bandcamp page)

Don’t Hold Ya Breath ft. Funky DL

Continuous Dream ft. Pismo

The third single from the album will be the highly sought after, dream-team collaboration between Cise Starr, Substantial & Funky DL, Night on the Town. Stay tuned for more news and be sure to visit www.marcusd.net for Melancholy Hopeful pre-orders and the anticipated US album cover release next week.

1st, 2nd, and 3rd place winners, who will be judged by myself and Funky DL will receive prizes. Additionally, all participants who upload a remix to Youtube and personally submit a link to the email provided above, will have their remixes posted on my Facebook.

This contest will be promoted and sponsored in part by Bob42jh, so hit him up and tell him thank you when you get a chance.

Stay tuned for more details including prizes.

Peace

MD

Hope everyone’s having a good morning, afternoon, evening, and/or night,

As of last week, all of the Melancholy Hopeful Kickstarter incentives have been shipped out. If you haven’t received or don’t receive your packages by the end of next week, (give or take a few days for non-US residents), please contact me via Kickstarter and I’ll do what I can to figure out the problem and get it corrected.

In other news, Melancholy Hopeful is officially complete.

The album is currently being mixed by Seattle hip-hop legend and pioneer, Vitamin D, and will be mastered shortly after. Once this process is finished, the album will be sent out to manufacturers in Taiwan, where everything will come together.

You can expect to see the digital release of the first Melancholy Hopeful single, Don’t Hold Your Breath ft. Funky DL, late December–early January. The release will include an instrumental version, an acapella, a remix from Bolo and an instrumental version of the remix. The release will be available via Bandcamp as well as other digital retailers.

Lots to look forward to within the next couple months.

Stay tuned and Happy Thanksgiving.

MD

P.S. – If you haven’t checked it out yet, here’s the beatmaking video for Reverie from The Melancholy Prequel EP.
Reverie Beatmaking Video

Tracklisting:
1. Shoshin
2. Afterglow
3. So
4. Nomuzik Nopoint ft. Justis
5. Luv [Sic] Pt. 3 (Remix)
- Shoshin Interlude 1
6. Dreamcatcher
7. Kaze
8. Universal Language pt. 2
9. Harvest Moon
10. Beyond the Stars
11. Parallel Universe ft. Shing02
12. Freedom of the Mind
- Shoshin Interlude 2
13. Sky Tiger
14. Fresh Preserves ft. Substantial
15. Watashi no Piano
[Bonus] Parallel Universe (Instrumental)

Marcus D Shing02

The first collaborative effort between Shing02 and myself will be released this coming Tuesday, August 10th. The song is titled “Parallel Universe” and will be included on both of our upcoming projects. Please spread the word and take some time to check out the lyrics which I’ve posted below. Special thanks to Kento Tanaka for providing the cover design. You can preview more of his work here: http://cargocollective.com/kentachis/

Parallel Universe

In a parallel universe, would’ve scored that girl man
I mean goal in the back of the net
I want that second chance, she plays hard to get
young lady luck, only give a glance and then she jet
my shot trailed off to the left, and I let that get away like a car after a heist
back to the lab in a cab, want that fab life
then I see their strife and my need is trifle
the flame that feeds our greed is a cycle
a sage told me that, a silver bullet in a rifle
aim at the target, I will not be stifled
cut through the noise like a sharp knife would
life is all good? well, knock on wood
no joke bro, sounds too nice, but not a hoax though
schedule is irregular, my style particular
lines are parallel but I move perpendicular

…picture this, a natural bliss…
raise your arms, now open your fists
…make a wish…
you don’t need a new TV to see things in 3D

…imagine this, a natural bliss…
…a pop quiz, make a wish…
eyes closed, show teeth from ear to ear
teleport in a flash from here to there

In a parallel universe, I would have my way
get my own lane, trot the globe in my own plane
maybe not that far, but I fly over the ocean with a cool guitar
that I play in the streets, my hat as a tip jar
hop bars by night, studio by day and collect my pay
if it weren’t for a visa would’ve said peace out
and if they didn’t want me, would’ve been kicked out
already, would you get the clue?
I’ve been dropping hints leading to a scene where I stand true blue
like the sky in the summer time,
make you feel fine
music to my eyes when I see your behind
however we crossed paths in the recent past or
intersect next year, we’ll link my dear
my schedule is irregular, your style particular
lines are parallel and we move perpendicular

…picture this, a natural bliss…
raise your arms, now open your fists
…make a wish…
you don’t need a new TV to see things in 3D

…imagine this, a natural bliss…
…a pop quiz, make a wish…
eyes closed, show teeth from ear to ear
teleport in a flash from here to there

Revival of the Fittest Marcus D

On April 21st, 2010 Marcus D’s debut album, Revival of the Fittest was released in Japan on Goon Trax/Elevation. The Japanese version of ROTF includes 8 new songs, and several never before heard instrumentals. Listed below are a couple overseas sites where you can purchase the CD:

http://www.cdjapan.co.jp/detailview.html?KEY=GTXC-45
http://www.hmv.co.jp/en/product/detail/3764621

The download link for the high quality mp3 can be found here:
http://usershare.net/9vnmdsrh6le0#