Dead Channel Sky

While Clipping’s last few projects have been record-long concepts, their cyberpunk-infused new album Dead Channel Sky is mixtape-like, a carefully curated collection in which every track is a love letter to a possible present. It sounds crisp and classic at the same time. When something strikes us as retrospective and futuristic at the same time, it’s a reminder of how slipshod our present moment truly is.

On Dead Channel Sky, Clipping texture-map the twin histories of hip-hop and cyberpunk onto an alternate present where Rammellzee and Bambaataa are the superheroes of old; where Cybotron and Mantronix are the reigning legends; where Egyptian Lover and Freestyle are debated endlessly, and Ultramag and Public Enemy are the undeniable forefathers; where the lost movements of 1980s and the 1990s are still happening: rave, trip-hop, hip-house, acid house, drum & bass, big beat—the detritus of a different timeline, the survivors of armed audio warfare.

On Dead Channel Sky, Clipping’s co-conspirators include everyone from the guitarist Nels Cline, to their labelmates Cartel Madras, rapper/actor Tia Nomore, and wordsmith Aesop Rock. Diggs is known for intricate lyrics and rapid-fire rapping, and the tracks that Snipes and Hutson build in the background are no less complex. 

Released: March 2025
Cat: SP1575X              
Label: Sub Pop

Listen

Tracklist

1. Intro
2. Dominator
3. Change the Channel
4. Run It
5. Go
6. Simple Degradation (Plucks 1-13) (with Bitpanic)*
7. Code 8
8. Dodger
9. Malleus (with Nels Cline)
10. Scams (ft. Tia Nomore)
11. Keep Pushing
12. "From Bright Bodies" (Interlude)*
13. Mood Organ
14. Polaroids
15. Simple Degradation (Plucks 14-18) (with Bitpanic)*
16. Madcap
17. Mirrorshades pt. 2 (ft. Cartel Madras)
18. "And You Called" (Interlude)*
19. Welcome Home Warrior (ft. Aesop Rock)
20. Ask What Happened

* CD-only