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Castor, The Twin

by Dessa

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ActuallyAlison
ActuallyAlison thumbnail
ActuallyAlison I'm torn between favorite song being Mineshaft 2 or Beekeeper. They're nearly opposite sensibilities, one intensely personal and one highly symbolic and political but both are brilliant and passionate. Favorite track: Mineshaft 2.
K thumbnail
You'd think it'd be hard to choose a favourite track on one of the best artist's best albums. It's actually quite easy, because any choice is good enough to justify putting the others in joint 2nd. Don't question it, just go with it Favorite track: Dixon's Girl.
Niki
Niki thumbnail
Niki At least three top tier life changing tracks on here, and the rest is also great but picking the one that made me fall in love with Dessa's solo music. Favorite track: Mineshaft 2.
Aina
Aina thumbnail
Aina Such a great record. This version of "The Crow" is especially beautiful. Favorite track: The Crow.
more...
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1.
551 04:00
2.
Kites 03:59
3.
Mineshaft 04:37
4.
The Chaconne 04:36
5.
6.
Dixon's Girl 03:17
7.
The Crow 03:13
8.
Alibi 03:39
9.
Palace 03:12
Oh, that trouble you’ve been looking for Came looking for you Shouldn’t open doors you don’t plan to walk through If I were you I’d pay my dues before I lose That trouble you’ve been looking for Came looking for you Shouldn’t open doors you don’t plan to walk through If I were you I’d pay my dues… You’ve’ got a lot of long answers To a lot of short questions You’ve had a lot of last chances A run of lucky guesses Say your nerves can stand it You bet it all and then step back But if you’re steady handed Then that glass is shaking, babe I think you’re gonna find out That you wore your luck out That your word’s not worth much here Oh, that trouble you’ve been looking for Came looking for you Shouldn’t open doors you don’t plan to walk through If I were you I’d pay my dues before I lose That trouble you’ve been looking for Came looking for you Shouldn’t open doors you don’t plan to walk through If I were you I’d pay my dues… The angel on your shoulder She doesn’t say too much these days And it seems you’re getting older Faster than most men your age Cause you toss and you tumble like dice in your bed No lightning just thunder it roars in your head That old dream full of numbers that come when they’re called You wait and you wonder who’ll take on your odds
10.
Mineshaft 2 04:11
11.
Here comes the beekeeper With her pitcher full of smoke She’ll put us all to sleep I hope it’s dreamless and it’s deep Sweet Prometheus, come home They took away our fire And all that this scarcity promotes Is desperate men and tyrants What fine design what hands what minds The envy of Eden our tools and our reason It’s clear in the animals eyes We stand upright Build fires at night Made on the sixth day To rest on the seventh And now we just try to survive Both Surgeon and Farmer Meet at And each greets the other with a bow They’re kindred instruments, you know The scalpel and the plow In the shadow of the mountain We work when work abounds And we wear out all our prayers When the work runs out What fine design what hands what minds The envy of Eden our tools and our reason It’s clear in the animals eyes We stand upright Build fires at night Made on the sixth day To rest on the seventh And now we just try to survive

about

Dessa’s first full-length record, A Badly Broken Code, introduced her to a national audience as a rapper, a singer, and a potent, imaginative lyricist. It earned a binder of superlative reviews from sources like NPR, The Seattle Times, and AM New York. To tour the album, she assembled a small cast of talented instrumentalists to re-interpret the disc for a dynamic live concert. Part rap show and part cabaret, the elegant presentation charmed both audiences and critics—not a negligible feat in hip hop, a genre with its share of purists.
Castor, The Twin captures these new arrangements for ten of Dessa’s strongest previously released songs. It also includes “The Beekeeper,” the haunting advance single from Dessa’s new album due in 2012. Vibraphone, piano, viola, and stand-up bass give the record a classical, sometimes orchestral sound for a beautiful and somber effect. The album is immediately identifiable as an intimate recording of live players, with fingers sliding on frets and raw, expressive vocals. The organic instrumentation pushes Dessa’s lyrics forward, showcasing the imagery and narratives that define her as a songwriter and an emcee.
The album title references the twin brothers Castor and Pollux of Roman mythology, the pair of bright stars in the Gemini constellation. Pollux was part god, a fighter with metal hands. Castor was the mortal of the pair, but the two were inseparable. After cutting her teeth with her Doomtree cohorts behind the boards, this is Dessa’s first record with a wholly organic sound—more tender, human versions of the best material she’s released so far.

“Enchanting.”
–Chicago Tribune

“Dessa has emerged as one of the most diverse and talented artists in indie rap.”
–URB

“A one-woman powerhouse...with a literary sensibility and an aversion to genre clichés”
–Utne Reader

credits

released October 4, 2011

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Dessa Minneapolis

Dessa is a writer and touring musician based in Manhattan and Minneapolis. Quick wit, sharp pen, soft heart.

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