Haunting hip-hop DJ The Gaslamp Killer offers chilling ride with new video (News)

Nov 24, 2012 12:00 via Critical Mob

Anyone with a proclivity toward just-below-the-radar hip hop DJs should be raising an ear to one of the emerging names in the scene, The Gaslamp Killer. Earning the aptly titled name after destroying the pop-oriented club scenes in the Gaslamp District of his native San Diego with his haunting, ominous music sets, The Gaslamp Killer (or if you?re into formalities, William Bensussen), is spurring a name for himself amongst the music scene. He played at Coachella earlier this year and along with multiple EPs and singles being dropped has just released his first full length record, Breakthrough, via Flying Lotus? Brainfeeder label.

Differing from his previous releases, which relied heavily on sampling, The Gaslamp Killer brought in musicians this time to record live tracks as a way to recreate the vibe of the samples he would typically use. For his first single off the album, ?Nissim,? he brought in multiple musicians (including several Middle Eastern professionals) to reconstruct a live version of a rich Turkish-style arrangement.

He's just released a new video for the track, ?Seven Years of Bad Luck for Fun,? beautifully directed by Phil Nisco. The song itself, in which he teamed with Dimlite, is the typically dark ride that he's known for, relying on psychedelic sounds and drifting static -- all very reminiscent of a horror film?s soundtrack. The cinematic video works as brilliant enhancement to the already eerie mood Gaslamp?s tracks create, with flickering strobe lights adding to the spaced breaks in the music. It follows the hallucinogenic ambling of a man who shaves his head in the bathroom before embarking on some bizarre journey until morning. Gaslamp appears only for a quick second, as the shaggy, faceless DJ performing at a rave in the middle of the woods.

Check out the video for ?Seven Years of Bad Luck for Fun? below.