Guillermo Scott Herren

Prefuse 73 - Storm Returns - One Word Extinguisher (WARP 2003)


Savath & Savalas - Rolls and Waves of Ignorance - The Rolls and Waves EP (Hefty 2002)


Delarosa & Asora - Airbrush (Clogged) - Crush the Sight-Seers (Pearineel 1999)


Piano Overlord - Walk Home - The Singles Collection 03-05 (Money Studies 2005)




I’m extremely excited because tonight I will be trekking my way (a long way via a decent walk to the train, a timely train ride, a lengthy bus ride and another more than likely damp walk) to the Empty Bottle to see Prefuse 73 do his thing. Guillermo Scott Herren is one of my favorite artists and it’s been a good three or four years since I’ve seen him perform live. Last time it was at MacRock located somewhat nonchalantly at James Madison U. somewhere in the many foothills of Virginia. It was my first time seeing Herren, and I was a pretty big fan at the time but nowhere near the obsessed follower I am now (in fact that was probably the turning point from interest to infatuation). He performed in a small bar outside of most of the MacRock stages, I think so that the audience could drink, and confusingly followed a Dischord showcase (El Guapo, Beauty Pill, Antelope and Decahedron I believe, and a ridiculous set from Books on Tape). Accompanying Mr. Herren on turntables/samplers/random electronic equipment was Nobody along with a fantastic female Japanese drummer who would pick up any beat he threw out her in a matter of seconds. I stood on a bench in the corner on the right side of the room with the drummer from Christiansen and bobbed and shoulder-popped and attempted to look cool (I’m sure I just looked ridiculously white). After being completely blown away from an hour-long set, like the dork I am, I made my way to the stage where Herren was packing away his equipment. I climbed up on stage, introduced myself, and bluntly let him know that he was my hero. Being the amazing person that he is, he shook my hand and said that was dope and we chatted for a few minutes before I left an enlightened man. Ever since that moment, I have been a diligent and faithful fan and loyally pick up every album that he puts out or appears on and scoffs at any unpleasant review I read. I really owe him a lot as far as being pointed in the direction of electronica, hip-hop and jazz and away from the silly effeminate screamy art-punk I was into at the time (though that genre will always have a special place hidden deeply in my heart).

Guillermo Scott Herren is a man of many faces. He drops meticulously sliced and sequenced hip-hop as Prefuse 73, paints avant-glitch soundscapes as Delarosa & Asora, embraces Spanish folk and ethereal post-rock as Savath & Savalas, tinkers with Rhodes, Wurlitzers and other acoustic keyboards as Piano Overlord and occasionally remixes rebelliously with friend and collaborator Nobody as La Corrección. None of his projects sound alike, but they all secrete a sort of mystic and omnipotent vibe that simultaneously embodies musical pioneers of the past while always sturdily looking forward. According to the ‘about’ from his and Peter Rentz’s Eastern Developments label’s website, Herren’s musical influences derive from Thursday night radio shows on WREK while a high school student in Decatur, GA. College/independent radio is truly a wonderful source for expanding your musical knowledge, it’s been the single most important influence to me as well and without it… well I certainly wouldn’t be doing this. He developed his craft during the usual early 20s shit-jobs hysteria, and broke on the scene in the late 90s with releases under the Delarosa & Asora and Savath & Savalas monikers. His 2001 release Vocal Studies & Uprock Narratives, the first as Prefuse 73, is what launched Herren to the elite producer status though, and the momentum has not slowed down since.

Prefuse 73, derived from Herren's biggest musical influence, pre-fusion jazz circa 1973, is synonymous with incredibly creative hip-hop that pushes the genre to the outer possible limits. Equal parts hip-hop, electronica and jazz, Prefuse's sound is characterized by the meticulously sequenced barrage of samples that would be considered overwhelming if not so perfectly in step with each other. Basically, Prefuse 73 is to a song what a mosaic is to a painting. It does not matter what the original source is, be it a sample, vocals, an acoustical instrument or a sine wave; it will be sliced, chopped and manipulated into completely new, even more intriguing sounds. This method keeps Herren's music fresh because with each spin, the listener hears something different every time. As quoted from his WARP bio, “The name Prefuse 73 comes from my devotion to pre-fusion jazz circa 1973. A lot of records that I cherish and get the most inspiration from were recorded between ‘68 and ’73. During that time there seemed to be an extreme amount of exploration and integration of new sounds drawn from electric and foreign instruments into an otherwise traditional format, “ eulogizes Scott. “This new approach went hand in hand with these musicians’ emerging spiritual awakenings,” he continues. “In my opinion, there isn't another area of time within any genre that holds such a prolific outpouring of beautiful, mind expanding music.”

Herren describes his folk infused side project as this, "if Prefuse is my best friend, then Savath & Savalas is my baby." While listening to any of his releases under this moniker, one can immediately understand the tenderness and love he puts into each one of these albums. Each song sounds like it has been intensely studied, understood and deciphered into a series of acoustic melodies and electronic excursions. Of all Herren's projects, Savath & Savalas is the most acoustic based, though there is without a doubt no lack of electronic manipulation. In fact, this is the only moniker prior to Piano Overlord that lets the glitches and white noise take a backseat to experimentation with an array of acoustic instruments. Each album has its own unique sound from the pastoral and glitch-lite post-rock of Folk Songs for Trains, Trees and Honey to his Spanish-roots seeking Apropa’t, but they all share a very patient aesthetic and the ability to transport the listener into a state of cathartic bliss.

Delarosa & Asora is a far cry from his other aliases, exploring the darker and less song-based characteristics of electronica. Herren creates large palettes of minimalist trance where every speck of white noise in an essential part of the moment. A sort of breeding ground for his early ideas, Delarosa may not appeal to some of his more recent and less in-depth fans, but they are crucial elements in his musical evolution and on each concurrent listen, each song reveals another subtle layer of inspiration.

Piano Overlord is his latest side project, and features Herren’s music at its simplest level. Usually just stripped down cuts of assorted pianos, Rhodes, Wurlitzers and other non-synthesized instrumentation accompanied with little bit of boom here, a tiny bit of bap there. Apparently started as a favor to the label Money Studies for ‘fucking up and losing the parts to remix my man: Diplo’s first 7” on the label,’ some fans may be confused by the simplicity of the music; but when taken at face-value, your left with an assortment of very enjoyable 2 and 3 minute consciously straightforward tunes. How can you hate on that?