Like everything this pioneering Pennsylvania polymath does, this latest collection of music is of elite quality and is high-concept. No, actually, that might be underselling it a tad. This is a journey. A voyage. Through sound. Through Asia. Through Pittsburgh. To the underworld. Through China Town. To uncertainty. Through discomfort. Via exploration and self-belief.
Musically, it’s part trip-hop, part alt-electronica, part trap, part dystopian sci-fi score – but with so much more to offer than any of these alone. Yesh uses distorted and manipulated woodwinds, piano, and more to weave his sonic tapestries and to create his own world. Oh, make no mistake, it’s Yesh’s world. We’re just living in it. For the duration of Dolomite, which is 16 minutes and eight tracks, we are engulfed in the bass and smoke and scents of the soundscape and environment that he has carefully created – and that’s before we even get to The Tea.
The album is accompanied by a custom blend of Yesh Yoko’s own creations. With one foot in the holistic culinary world and the other immersed in his music, Yoko has managed to bridge the gap between audible and edible worlds by coming up with what is essentially a pan-sensory experience. The tea blend is a combination of Cacao Nibs, Elderberry, Rose Petals, and Keemun Mao Feng and Pu-er black teas and comes bundled with purchases of the album on his Bandcamp.
The teas used are dark, earthy, rich, and very high quality. The rose petals are delicate and sweet – very much like their aroma. The cacao nibs bring a bit of bitterness and that chocolatey taste we all recognize. And finally, the elderberry is tart with a fruity undertone.
The blend – and indeed the album – is named after the main character from a 1975 Blaxploitation movie of the same name who was – in the words of the artist- “kinda like a kung-fu pimp battling the underworld. His ladies were all assassins – trained in martial arts. The blend incorporates rose petals and elderberry to represent the feminine sweet and aromatic aspect and to add some contrast to the depth of the two teas and the cacao.” This is a potent mix, for sure.
When he’s not world-building on Ableton, etc, Yesh can be found on the streets of Pittsburgh and New York (his original home), slinging tea and tunes to the masses. Yes, sir, Yeshua is for the people.
Written by Kinda Grizzly
