Domer

For an album called Work With Me, it’s notable that it’s singularly contained within the talents of Brooklyn based rapper/producer Domer.

It’s not that he’s an insular type as he made a name for himself as part of New York’s rather large MINDspray crew (C.O.N.C.E.P.T., LEFTist, Crazy E, brokeMC, EuphAmisM, GhostTrack, Dozer, Frog, Nevablen). He’s also done some remixes for post-punk band New York, Game Boy bleeper BubblyFish as well as being heavily involved in a battle rap ring-tone web site.

Unusually for an underground hip hopster, he’s caught the attention of Nike and Sony-Ericsson for ad-campaigns but more importantly, Cardiff’s Skipping Beats love this guy so much, they decided to deliver this debut album.

Well they’ve got a high standard to maintain after Y Diwygiad’s The Reformation EP of last year. The gamelan start to the first track ‘How Things Are Done’ wins me over straight away.

Domer has been compared with early Beck and you can see why on tracks like the more ‘pop’, ‘Tacky Shoes’. In fact, this album has got a popular tune resonance that is extenuated with some great poetic lines that keep popping up. Anyone that’s done office work will relate to ‘Crying In The Office’ (a variation on ‘Loser’?)

Even better than that, he’s got a Daedelus daydream side like the whistlin’ rap of ‘Whistler’.

The US tour with his Brokendomer partner, brokeMC and Metermaids coincided with the album release and now he’s looking to tour the UK and Europe.. We’ll look out for updates on that and Skipping Beats news as they’ve got plans for new releases by London-based producer Mr. Ronz and the South Wales based duo, Redfalls.

Hectic Mix nominations: ‘How Things Are Done’, ‘Tacky Shoes’, ‘Whistler’, ‘Crying In The Office’

—Gerry Hectic
Saturday 23 June 2007
http://www.fly.co.uk/fly/archives/uscanada_reviews/domer_work_with_me.html - Fly.uk.co

May 18, 2007

Smart lyrics, ill beats, this cd has it all. No need to skip any tracks, each gives something new to the cd. Do not be surprised to see Domer all around real soon. Domer is for all those with a true love for hip-hop. Five stars without a doubt. - Amazon.com listener review

Max Wax - May 2007
Author: Paul Lazaris
Added: 05/21/2007
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Max Wax - May 2007

When Domer performed Feb. 24 with The Last Hope at the King Club, he fit a growing trend in hip-hop music – one lonely MC and his choice of playback device, be it mini disc, CD player, iPod or robotic DJ. Although the show was entertaining and his beats came through the house system with authority, Domer told Maximum Ink he has bigger plans.

“I’m working now on putting something together with a guy on a laptop and a live drum, bass and guitar combo,” he said. “The experience of seeing a band is so much more visual and direct than just seeing one MC and a DJ.”

Domer’s debut album, Work With Me, out April 30 on Skipping Beats, is both a testament to his struggle working an office job while completing the album and a message to open your mind to a different kind of music.

Work With Me“It's me doing my thing and doing what I like to do,” Domer said. “It's a message to the listener to just go with me on this. Don't worry about what you think hip-hop is or what music is, just check it out.”

The product of Reason, Ableton Live and Domer’s imagination, Work With Me fuses electronica, hip-hop and a twangy style of rapping and singing into songs of social commentary with blatantly troubling thoughts like, “I’m half-blind drunk so I’m rolling the dice / playing the role of the nice guy, hoping there’s no rolls on her sides,” on “Character.” You can catch Domer on a national tour with The Metermaids begining in September. - MaximumInk.com

Producer/rapper Domer is not your typical underground hip-hop artist. He’s not obsessed with late 1980s to early ‘90s rap, or trying to save the genre. He also doesn’t battle-rap his way through every song on Vaguest Vacation, his sophomore effort. If his songs are any indication, Domer is mostly interested in making music fun again. And he does that without sacrificing substance for style.

Vaguest Vacation is an eccentric journey that blends genres ranging from hip-hop to disco to indie-pop and nearly everything in between. Unlike many experimental albums, however, Domer’s music never becomes overly pretentious. Instead, you simply get the impression he had a hell of a time making this record. His electronic beats will have you nodding your head in no time, and don’t be surprised if you get the urge to dance. For comparison’s sake, many of the 13 tracks sound heavily influenced by Danger Mouse’s Gnarls Barkley production.

“Mellow Me” is like Gnarls on speed, as redundant as that might seem. Domer’s rapping is at its best here. He hits the mic with a needed ferocity without losing the sincerity in his gruff voice. And matching the vocals is his fittingly laidback production. Also treading that ground, but with a faster tempo, is “The Way I See It”. Trippy and poppy, the track sounds like a b-side to last year’s Monster Maker by C-Ray Walz and Sharkey.

Just as is impressive is the lyrically self-explanatory lead single “You’re on to Me”. This catchy track features Panda Bear-esque, ambient vocals that float behind Domer’s rough growl. More than just a fine example of his soul-baring delivery, the song is also a strong representation of his production skills. His ability to create a layered, but not excessive, song like “You’re on to Me” shows Domer’s promise behind the boards.

Other noteworthy tracks include “Family”, the essential working-man song to which all nine-to-fivers can relate, and “Secret”, which is simplistic, quirky, and, most importantly, memorable. Domer isn’t just here to have fun, though. On “Midbreath”, which is as likable as it is erratic, he drunkenly grumbles his way through what becomes the perfect break-up anthem. Songs like these are what makes Domer both versatile and relatable.

Vaguest Vacation isn’t without its flaws, though. Some of the tracks are just too positive, and as a result sound stale. While upbeat songs are normally a welcome change of pace, they can also walk the fine line of being corny. Unfortunately for Domer, he goes over that line while dreaming of going back to school and camp on “Old Fashion”. The problem with many reminiscing tracks like this is that the lyrics are often cliché. “Wake Me Up” falls into the same trap of sounding too familiar, but it’s saved by its uplifting chorus.

Domer’s 40-minute romp through heartbreak, the daily grind, and numerous other topics ultimately works because you feel like you know him by the album’s end. Actually, you feel like you are him. And it’s that amiable quality that makes Vaguest Vacation so much damn fun to listen to. - PopMatters.com

My knowledge of hip-hop is only limited to the songs that do temporary damage on mainstream radio; I never enjoyed these songs because they immediately made me feel as if I have acquired an STD upon the first listen. However, it is nice to have an artist to sometimes turn things around for you. Domer, also known as Adam Nelson, is an indie rapper from Brooklyn. His latest album Vaguest Vacation is a satisfying mix of soulful lyrics and indie-pop influences pioneered by the likes of the Postal Service, Her Space Holiday, and Aesop Rock.

Domer's lyrics are at a very personal level. Many of his songs deal with internal struggles that are relatable to any one of ours. One of my personal favorites is the last track "Age," where Nelson raps in a husky voice about growing old, thus creating a strangely reassuring song when combined with very airy dance beats. Another song that really puts Vaguest Vacation at the top is "Family," the catchiest jam of the album but perhaps also the edgiest in terms of lyricism.

Adam Nelson is evidently very smart, emotional, and raw. He has completely warped my view on hip-hop artists, who I initially associated most with materialism, obnoxious beats, and egoism. The deep sentiments behind his lyrics are noteworthy, but it's further impressive that he is able to balance introspective songwriting with his catchy electro-hop dance beats. The result is the perfect go-to album for either lazy days of pensive self-reflection or for nights of summer-inspired debauchery. - MusicEmissions.com

Domer - "Work With Me"

Genre: Underground Hip-Hop
Review Date: April 25, 2007
Label: Skipping Beats Records

Rating: Album Rating: 4 of 5


"work with me" by domer

Embracing Existence

I recently read an interview in which the homie Domer claimed that his music is not hip-hop [1]. Initially, this confused me. I mean, his production, though unique and generally universal, is overwhelmingly hip-hop in rhythm and beat. And although he occasionally sings on his tracks, his lyrics are most often presented in rap form. To me, rapping over beats equals hip-hop … no matter what the direction or style.

Therefore, I guess I just assumed that Domer refused to classify his music as hip-hop in order to prevent himself from being associated with society’s popular notion of hip-hop. You know … that bling-thug-gangster shit that is the cause of racism (Kramer), sexism (Imus), and the ineffectiveness of police to prevent crimes (Cam’Ron). And that makes sense to me, because very few hip-hoppers want to be associated with those bullshit stereotypes.

However, as I listened to Domer’s new album "Work With Me," I started to think that maybe he has a bigger reason for rejecting his music’s hip-hop roots. Maybe he is simply dodging labels on an existentialist path to embracing his own existence. Sound weird? Maybe, but let me make my point motherfuckers. The album starts off with the following verse:

There is no God and I’m not concerned
I don’t see how we need him for lessons to get learned
My folks told me everything should be easy to burn
Just be careful with your bridges and always wait your turn
All respect goes to those earning what you get
Not as much to potluck kids who don’t stretch
But if you got a hustle, it’s as good as the next
So don’t sweat the laws cause they’re all made by men

This verse demonstrates both a direction toward atheism, as in "there is no God," and a direction toward purposelessness, as in "but if you got a hustle, it’s as good as the next." The combination of these two frames of thought almost instantly made me think of a philosophical statement that has always intrigued me: "Existence precedes essence." This statement, which is based on the idea of existence without meaning, implies that while a person may exist, his or her existence does not mean anything at the beginning. Instead, the meaning or essence of existence is created only later. In short, this describes the belief that human existence has no inherent meaning, and that man essentially defines his own reality.

Existentialism in Hip-Hop

Now this proposition is central to a philosophical movement known as existentialism, in which human beings are understood as having full responsibility for creating the meanings of their own lives. Existentialists believe that we are thrown into existence without having chosen it, and that in order to counter the hopeless nothingness and purposelessness of life, one must find meaning solely by embracing existence in all its shitty monotonous uncertainty. From my interpretation, Domer does just this throughout the course of "Work With Me" by creating complex and often metaphoric songs that seem to comically and often-sarcastically showcase the insignificance of our everyday existence.

"Tacky Shoes" describes a person’s experiences with men and woman’s inability to effectively communicate in a social setting. "Whistler" is a cowboy-flavored loner’s anthem about coming to acceptance with being alone in this world. "Character" is a comical track about getting drunk and hollering at cuties on the dance floor. "Crying In The Office" tells the story of a man being too preoccupied with work to console an emotionally-distressed co-worker in a song that seems to perfectly personify human beings’ increasingly-distanced personal relationships. Ironically, my favorite song on the album, "Eden Goes Dark," has a meaning that still escapes me, but seems to revolve around the idea that personal growth can cease when overwhelmed with the crazy occurrences of daily life.

"Just A Show" talks about the huge gap between how people really act, and how they may perceive themselves or act in public. "You and Me" talks about fighting with the opposite sex. "One Man’s Trash" contemplates the differences between people and their perceptions. "Fist in The Sand" describes the often-futile attempts at gaining acceptance and success. "What I’ve Been Thinking" pokes fun at the manner in which our thoughts flow and change with such consistency and so little meaning. "Raining Sweat" seems to be somewhat of an "everything is everything" hymn that presupposes little difference between the positive and the negative. And "Ain’t Seen Much" questions the significance and purpose of ordinary events and happenings in life.

To be honest with you dogg … I have no idea how close I came to interpreting any of these tracks. But I do know that Domer’s "Work With Me" is hella intellectual, hella introspective, hella philosophical and above all, hella genius. It seems to question the everyday experiences of life by embracing existence at it’s most basic and primal levels, and in the process pushes the idea, through comedy and sarcasm, that little if any of it has an underlying purpose or meaning.

I don’t know man … but maybe that’s why Domer refuses to classify his music as hip-hop even though that’s what it sounds like. After all, if existence does indeed precede essence, then meaning can only be inherent. And if some abstract idea of what hip-hop encompasses is just too small to contain Domer’s existence within it, then perhaps the only way he can embrace that existence and ultimately find meaning is to define his own reality by refusing to put a label on his music. Well, that shit makes sense to me. Or maybe you should listen to his exceptional album "Work With Me," and figure it out for yourself. As you can tell from my ramblings, it will definitely make you think. Peace. - HipHopLinguistics.com

This is SUPER RAD, April 24, 2007

Reviewer: Charles Sherrington "grad student" (Brooklyn, NY)

My friend works for this label, and got me an advanced copy. I am so glad that he did.

I'm a fan of all musical genres, but none more so than Hip Hop. This album does not disappoint. Great beats, excellent rhymes. Some smart, reflective lyrics, but also some jamming party tracks. Influences from all over hip hop, rock, jazz, and the avant garde. Domer is the genius the music world has been waiting for. Dig it. - Amazon.com

from: http://adambernard.blogspot.com

Monday, April 23, 2007
Artist Of The Week – Domer


Originally from Connecticut, but now a Brooklyn-ite, Domer has been making a name for himself musically in a number of different capacities. Whether it’s been his work as an MC and producer for Mindspray and brokendomer, his solo efforts, or the beats and songs he’s produced NikeBasketball.com, SonyEricsson.com and other nationally aired TV commercials, the hard work he’s been putting in over the years is finally paying off as on April 26th Work With Me, his latest solo album, will be coming out on the UK based label Skipping Beats Records. In his career Domer’s shared stages with KRS-ONE, Grandmaster Caz and Melle Mel and today he’s sharing some of his time with me to talk about his work, how his process differs depending on the project he working on, and why it took the urging of a friend to get him on the mic.

Adam Bernard: Talk to me about Work With Me. How does it differ from your previous solo effort and what are you hoping to get across with the record?
Domer: I think as a listener you can really hear me forcing myself to try new things that I'm not necessarily comfortable expressing, both in the production and lyrics, but there was no master plan for the record, it's more a collection of my favorite tracks from a particular period of my development. Each one is kind of a different perspective and a different issue that was bothering me. A lot of this record is about being trapped by my own context, from my job to my personal relationships to my political place in the world. There were all these conventions I was struggling to break out of and all these things that were hard to say in real life, so I guess I get that stuff out through the music. It's hard to be comfortable with your own presence on a record, probably because it's a reflection of yourself, and hard to see yourself clearly as a person in general. At some point though, you make the decision to either make an active change or just be who you are. Once you've made the decision, you're free to stop caring and apologizing because good or bad, at least you've thought it through. Since a lot of this album is about the process of growing through those issues, the title is meant to be sort of apologetic, sort of demanding and sort of inviting. Work with me here, people!

Adam Bernard: A lot of people are going to label you as a "hipster" artist. How do you feel about this tag and what does it mean to you?
Domer: A hipster, eh? I never really thought of myself that way. I think of hipsters as having more of a disaffected, "cooler-than-thou" vibe. I'm not nearly cool enough to pull that off. None of this is ironic - it's heart on my sleeve kind of stuff. Maybe "hipster" refers to the genre I'm working in, since it's kind of post-Hip-Hop or whatever. I guess I could see that, but I'm just trying to make the kind of stuff that I'd personally want to listen to and I don't consider it to be Hip-Hop at all, I just want to write songs that are honest and evocative and that people really enjoy listening to.

Adam Bernard: You have a lot of work available right now, from your solo efforts, to your music with Mindspray to your work as one half of brokendomer. How does your mindset change depending on which project you're working on?
Domer: With Mindpray I just try to come with hype verses, more straight up MC style. With brokendomer, we're in our own little world. brokeMC is my best friend and we just goof off and have crazy conversations, then try to translate those conversations into rhymes. We try to be a little more rocky and spacey or something, I guess, but honestly that project kind of has a life of its own. We can't control it. Domer solo stuff is much more personal and introspective, but also kind of crazier in a way. It's also where I feel free to sing instead of rap or get really hooky or over the top. It's my chance to basically imitate all of my favorite music and combine my favorite ideas in my own way. A lot of the themes are the same as in my collabs, but the tone is different, because it's just me doing my thing. Everyone has a particular way of thinking, I guess this just reflects mine. I like to show the sides of my personality that don't necessarily come out in my personal interactions.

Adam Bernard: As an MC and producer which aspects of each craft do you find most rewarding?
Domer: I've been writing music since I was eight years old, first on piano, then on guitar in rock bands, then in jazz and funk instrumental bands, then eventually on my laptop. So I love producing, I'm a total nerd with it. Writing a good melody that sounds like the songs in my head is an awesome feeling. I make tons of beats, but there are certain ones that give me this warm feeling inside and reminds me of being a kid and hearing the first music that I ever got excited by, or sometimes playing in my first bands, and that's what I ultimately go for. I love bridging the gap between hip-hop and indie song-writing. As a vocalist, I'm still experimenting with a my style and I hope I'll always be trying new things, but every so often I make a song that perfectly expresses a certain emotion that's been bugging me that's really hard to express any other way. When I do that, I just listen to it over and over in my headphones all day for like a week and it's like therapy. Somehow just having the emotion described and documented like that makes it tangible and easier to deal with and get over. That's really my goal - capturing and labeling emotions with three minute pop song descriptions.

Adam Bernard: Finally, I hear you weren't an MC at first and brokeMC had to convince you to rhyme. Is this true? What's the story?
Domer: Ha ha, yup that's true. Well, sort of... I've been playing in bands since I was 13 and wrote songs and sang for quite a few years. In college I was much more into instrumental music, both live and electronic, so my lyrics fell by the wayside. I still wrote, but just never performed any of that stuff. I had recently made an EP of quasi Hip-Hop for fun when I met broke, and he's the only Mindspray dude who ever heard it, and he is definitely the guy who convinced me to take that back up and get serious about it. I actually wrote the lyrics to one of the songs on the first brokendomer ep ,Machine In Your Station, but had broke rap it cause I didn't like my voice on tape. I've always had a problem thinking of myself as an MC, because I'm so not that guy. I'm not a performer type, even though I've now grown to love it. Writing raps is fun, it's a whole different kind of challenge, finding clever ways to make words and sounds fit together. And freestyling is fun as hell too, but I could never make one of those tracks that's not about anything but rap and rapping and being a rapper. That's definitely not me. I'm not an MC, I'm a song writer. David Byrne said "the better a person's voice is, the harder it is to believe what they're saying". I think that's incredibly true, and my voice is terrible.

For more Domer check out myspace.com/DOMER and brokendomer.com. - Adam Bernard - freelance journalist

"Sharing a Brooklyn lilt with Aesop Rock and an experimental approach to production and songwriting referencing Daedelus and spiteful indie-electro smartass Her Space Holiday, Domer has been dug outta deepest NYC by Welsh label Skipping Beats. International debut 'Work With Me' is a patchwork of east coast word skills and off-kilter tempos befitting a man with the insight to set up a website selling battle raps as ring tones. Check it".

-Hip Hop Connection (Adam Anonymous number one pick of the month). - Hip Hop Connection

Finding a balance between melancholy growls and joyful indifference, Domer walks you through the stress and struggle of yet another city day on, Work With Me. Playful and dark in the same breath, "Whistler" is a jaunty depressives walk through the park, and "Tacky Shoes" nearly begs for a euro-house remix. With a truly original approach to beat making, never fully existing within a single genre, Domer stretches expectations beyond the 16 bars or verse-chorus-verse cubicles, into the land of the independent musical contractor. - http://www.cloudsandcandy.blogspot.com/