Stereophonic: A Resurgence of Creativity
Courtesy of Stereophonic
Stereophonic is an Appalachian Hip Hop group based out of Lewisburg, West Virginia. Reece Rowan, Ben Cadle (benjamin.), and Cooper Woods (Abstract Inspector) have performed together in their region for three years and written music together for over six years.
Stereophonic expresses their Appalachian culture through their music and hopes to engage their listeners with positive energy.
The group dropped their first collaborative album, self-titled “Stereophonic,” in December 2021.
“One day we decided we were gonna go out, go around to some thrift stores and stuff, and get some records. We kind of just noticed the big, stereophonic signs on the records and so we were like, okay, well if we're gonna make a collab album, sampling records, we'll call it Stereophonic, but then that just turned into the whole group.” Woods explained.
The album featured eight tracks sampling other records.
The group is working on multiple recording projects and anticipates dropping a new single within the next couple of months.
“We just gotta record some background stuff and master it and then get that out there,” Rowan said. “We’re also working on an album that should drop by the end of the year. We've kicked around a few ideas of a few different types of EPs that we could easily drop and finish if we just kind of got our shit together.”
The group was gigging together up until the new year, but is on sabbatical to prepare for the Mountain Music Festival in June.
“We actually got put on the Mountain Music Festival, a fantastic local-ish music festival, which is a very big deal for us,” Cadle said. “Les Claypool is headlining the festival and we are on the opening night of it, and we are actually the very first band to open that up, which I think is pretty cool in a way.”
Courtesy of Stereophonic
“We basically did have about 45 to 50 minutes of material previously and now we're trying to bump that up to about 90 minutes and we're getting all these new songs from the album that we are currently recording,” Cadle said. “We're just trying to get those ready for a live scenario. So we're in the building block stages of having a new set and having a new full show for that whole thing.”
When Stereophonic first began performing together, they weren’t sure how their region- known for folk and traditional music- would take to their music.
“When we started doing this, when we were going around Lewisburg doing shows and stuff, I didn't think a lot of people, especially in the older generations around, were going to take well to it,” Woods said. “Eventually once we got a few shows in, people started telling us how much they love it and it was surprising to me and I'm just grateful that it ended up like that.”
“We have a track show where it's just the three of us, and then we also have a show where we have a full band,” Cadle said. “Having that full live band and doing the real, live music right in front of your face, that raw energy, that definitely kind of brings more people who are maybe a little bit more opposed to the hip hop idea. Because certain people in the area don't tend to be leaning towards hip hop- if you give them that sort of ‘real music’ to bite onto that energy and all of those things, then they tend to enjoy it a lot more.”
Courtesy of Stereophonic
Being a Hip Hop group in Appalachia has presented some unique challenges to connecting with other artists in the Appalachian music scene, but overall they have been received well by other musicians.
“Whenever we play a double bill where we're opening for another band or another band's opening for us, like we did a show with the Kind Thieves and they really enjoyed us, they loved our energy and I've known about the Kind Thieves for a long time so we love them. Kind of the same thing with Massing who are from Huntington. They're fantastic people. We played with them and then they basically brought us out to their hometown Huntington,” Cadle said. “So we have, in regards of other artists that we've at least played with, I do believe we have been received at least fairly well, if not more than fairly.”
Stereophonic is a picture of musical diversity in a region that mostly produces traditional and folk music.
“I really hope that our music impacts people, especially in Appalachia and Southern West Virginia, just in a very positive way, and they can see that maybe there's more diversity there, even if it's just with music,” Rowan said. “Hopefully it gives people a little bit of hope for some progressiveness and maybe fills people with joy and they can be proud to be Appalachian and proud to listen to the type of music that they listen to.”
Courtesy of Stereophonic
“Hip hop is a really important part of American history throughout the years in the last few decades,” Woods said, who wants to “inspire there to be a name for hip hop in West Virginia and the Appalachian area, it's also just good to bring like a good vibe. We got good energy and we like to let people vibe out and stuff. ”
Cadle believes there is a renaissance happening in West Virginia and Appalachia currently with a lot of artists making great strides in the local arts and cultural scene, but that Appalachian artists are largely excluded from the national music industry.
“It feels to me like there's some type of general resurgence of a lot of really cool music and art from West Virginia and Appalachia as a whole,” he said. “There's a lot of creativity from this area, and I think it's about time that it is put out there.”
“We haven't had a chance to make our voice as well known into the national scene as to what we have to express with our own artistic expression here in our cultural and general community. We haven't had a chance to do much of that,” he said.
“Anyone who’s especially not from West Virginia or Appalachia would be so surprised to see how many people here are so talented. People here are so talented and I think sometimes we just get written off as hicks or whatever, and people who aren’t intelligent, but like, that’s not the truth at all. ”
Rowan encourages Appalachians that if they want to do it, they can do it, and to not let themselves be written off based on outdated and misinformed stereotypes.
“Especially if it's something creative, something that could uplift people. Just do it. Do it as early as possible and do it as much as possible and do it as genuinely as possible,” he said.
To keep up with Stereophonic, follow them on Instagram. To stream their music, click here.
