“Blind and Arrogant” by Papa J & Tidal Water’s Digital Noise isn’t the type of release that walks into the room quietly—it kicks the door open, throws itself on the couch, and lights a cigarette it probably shouldn’t have. In this peculiar collaboration between Papa J, Martin Hovden, and Jim Lehner (who adds occasional live drum thunder like a god bored with the mundane rhythm of the world), there’s a sense of reckless abandon that runs parallel to a self-aware chuckle.
What happens when you decide to dance with your own flaws in public, wearing them like a designer jacket at a fashion show for the absurd? Papa J’s production mixes sharp, biting electronica with a tactile sense of organic rhythm, making you feel like you’re hearing drum and bass for the first time, or perhaps the last time, in a weirdly alternate universe.
Martin Hovden’s vocals are simultaneously deadpan and mischievous, like a jester whispering to a king, “Hey, I’m the joke, but so are you.” This release flirts with contradictions: self-deprecation laced with ego, humor that cuts with an undercurrent of sincerity.
It’s as if a Dadaist painting decided to put down the brush and pick up a drum machine. “Blind and Arrogant” doesn’t just mock its own existence; it mocks the very concept of what we call ‘self’ in music. It’s an ouroboros of ego biting its own tail, reminding us that we’re all a little blind, a bit arrogant, and maybe, just maybe, that’s okay.
Is it innovative? Maybe. Is it a little ridiculous? Definitely. But in a world that takes itself too seriously, there’s a liberating charm in being the clown who knows he’s wearing oversized shoes.
And who’s to say we aren’t all dancing to the beat of someone else’s drum?
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