DRDA by Emmanuel Jacob Lacopo
DRDA // Derrida
-
Jacques Derrida was an Algerian-born French philosopher who introduced the theory of Hauntology. Hauntology is a concept that asks us to consider how spectres of alternate futures influence our current world - the study of the non-existent.
“The future is always experienced as a haunting, as a virtuality that already impinges on the present, conditioning expectations and motivating cultural production - works of art are haunted, not only by the ideal forms of which they are imperfect infatuations, but also by what escapes representation”.
-
I’m really excited to share this album with you all. All of this music was learned/arranged/recorded throughout the months of quarantine. The pandemic hit everyone really hard, we all lost something, but it also allowed us to imagine a new future for us all. Among many things, It allowed us to challenge our perspective and relationship with our art. What is authentic to you? How can we use our art to create a more inclusive environment conducive to creativity, equality and happiness? Why do we stop ourselves? My musical career has been haunted with the right and wrong way of doing things - the dream of perfection and acceptance - but that never comes. My first year at Yale was really eye opening for me. I was very fortunate to be put in an environment alongside some of the most creative people I’ve ever met and they all, in their own way, helped push me to stop caring and chase my own artistic voice. So I guess that’s all the needs to be said, that’s how the album was born; I just didn’t realize it until just now.
-
None of this was meant to be a pristine product, rather, it was a documentation of months living through a pandemic and (ongoing) civil rights movement. There are times where you can probably hear my cat snoring or eating if ya listen closely enough, buzzed notes, cars driving by - but something about the roughness of it all really intrigues me. Life is gritty and my music is a mirror of my life. I think the craziest part is that none of this was planned. I was pretty hard on myself throughout the quarantine and didn’t feel like I was working nearly enough. One day I decided to try pursuing the projects that have been in the back of my head for months. After a while, I was searching through my catalogue and realized that I had all this music recorded; the rest is history! If there’s one thing that I’ve learned, it’s to enjoy the process. We can get caught up in creating the perfect product for our entire lives but there’s no point if it’s not fulfilling to YOU.
-
HUGE thank you to Jamie (@furymotoko) for doing a stellar job on the artwork
HUGE thank you to Amelya (@ame.lya26) for working with me endlessly on creating a sonic world for this album - especially on the Reich, this woman worked liked crazy and I’m so proud of what she created.
-
To all my homies I met at Yale, this is for you!
