What I love most about Toronto rapper, Andy Bernstein, a.k.a Abdominal, is the frankness to his music. His lyrics are honest, deep and invariably the product of relatable self-reflection and soul-bearing; just take Sock Hop for instance.
For me it often feels like his lyrics have been extracted from my own thoughts and with his engaging and intricate attention to detail, I dare say many people are with me when I say that his ability to connect with the listener is second to none! Musically his sound is earthy and organic, never overproduced or over-flourished, but always sophisticated in its delivery.
His upcoming EP, Gone Fishin’, Abdominal explores his passion for fishing – or, should I say, his addiction to fishing, as a quote from his Bandcamp pages declares: “I’m addicted to fishing. People often ask me why, so I wrote this tune to try to explain”.
In his first single and title track from this latest release, Abominal unearths his affection for the great outdoors. The song outlines the many reasons he reveres this hobby and, whilst the obvious answer is to escape, lyrics detail why it is this is more than just a desire, this is a need!: “Fishing you could say is an escape from reality/but I would say it’s more like an escape to reality/‘cuz sadly the supposed reality we’re living in/seems lackin’ in its focus on what matters for existing in a balanced state”
That’s it! In a nutshell! Escaping to nature isn’t about getting away, its more like returning, going back to the roots of our existence, “to a way that we were way back when:/in touch with the land, in touch with ourselves/not touching a screen, just focused on smells…”. Stepping away from the “rat race” allows the senses a break from the many distractions of this technology-obsessed world we now live in, “that’s where I find the meaning that I seek/social media recedes/and I can start breathing deep”
Given the current situation of our world right now, I think the significance to this song is even more fitting than normal. Environmental issues hang heavy and the Coronavirus pandemic isolates us. Nature has been a refuge and saviour and our re-connection to the natural world is a much welcomed awakening.
In the latter part of today’s song, Abdominal goes on to address the question, “but why fishing? when “You could just take a hike and still find those things”…..and in a response that prompts us never to lose our childhood wonder, he fantasises how, “any given lake in town/that you pass normally without a second thought/could hold monsters lurking that could be fought/Prehistoric creatures with sharpened fangs/guaranteed to get the adrenaline flowing in your veins.”
It’s a great song and in keeping with this brilliance comes the accompanying video which finds Abdominal strolling about in the both rural and urban wilderness wearing the funkiest “Pike” T-Shirt – in the style of Jaws!! Listen above and check out the video below.
Gone Fishin’ releases early next month – 3rd July – but you can pre-order your copy from Abdominal’s Bandcamp page here.
Regarding the purchase of his new release, a note on the release page from the man himself explains how:
“These are the three tracks the boys & I managed to record before the pandemic hit. They were (& still are) intended for our next full album, but we figured we’d release ’em in the meantime. We know times are tough out there, so we’re setting this one at £0.51, which is the lowest Bandcamp allows for a digital preorder. However, times are also tough for musicians, so please keep that in mind if you do have a bit of extra cashola kicking around! Anyway, our main priority is that people who want the music can get the music. Thanks in advance & please enjoy,
Abs”
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