Circling the Drain” juxtaposes the dire state of the modern human condition with the casual acceptance of society at large.
Mister Wise lays out our geo-political and environmental reality in “matter of fact” tone and detail over a unique, jazz fusion inspired rhythm that ebbs and flows between playful dissonance and building suspense.
DJ Dialtone leads the chorus with wicked transformer scratching of our collective slow descent as Wise ironically issues his only direct warning – “don’t forget to take a selfie while we’re circling the drain.”
Circling The Drain is out now
For more information on Lower Life Forms:
As two thirds of the hip hop production squad, Team Demo, DJ Dialtone and Mister Wise have an impressive discography behind records for hip hop luminaries such as 50 Cent and Sean Price, but their musical career began in the early 1990s in Burke, Virginia as a duo known as the Lower Life Forms.
While still in high school, the Life Forms were spotted by Ahmed and Otis (dancers for the legendary group, 3rd Bass,) who signed them to a management deal. After prospects with two major labels dissolved, Wise founded Depth Charge Recordings, a label and recording studio operation centered around his extended family of artists, producers and djs, known collectively as Team Demolition.
In 1997, the Lower Life Forms completed their debut album, “The Whole Universe is Ours,” and released their first 12 inch single, “Open Invitation.” After a small local cassette circulation, Wise opted to table the commercial release of the album to direct company resources towards production of Team Demolition’s debut album. Wise and Dialtone would spend the next 25 years amassing scores of artistic, production, and technical credits before re-emerging as the Lower Life Forms in late 2021 with the remastered pressing of “The Whole Universe is Ours” album on Belgian label, Back 2 Da Source Records.
After the release of Team Demo’s “It’s a Demo,” album in late 2023, Wise and Dialtone began exploring the idea of creating another Lower Life Forms album. Inspired by the renewed interest in the group’s early work, the duo embarked on a project that begins set in the early 90s and with each subsequent track, progresses towards present day. Special attention was made to adhering to the duo’s original jazz fusion inspired sound. The completed result, “A Journey Through the Anthropocene,” will be released in Spring of 2025.
