Boots – Dust

New York – When Beyoncé’s self-titled, sneak-released, record exploded onto the collective conscious of fans worldwide last December, much was eclipsed in the wake of obsessing over Queen Bey’s latest. Beyoncé is a master of seduction, and the world was clearly too busy concentrating on her to get much done. Bey is a boss and a diva, but even she could not have delivered such a knockout album single handedly. One producer who had a heavy hand in the making of the record is Jordy Asher. Largely flying under the radar until just recently, Asher is about to land in the spotlight. Crashing onto center stage under the psydonum Boots, he has already made available some stellar solo work.

Some major artists were clear contributors to Beyoncé’s latest, such as Pharrell, The Dream and Timbaland. Yet, an article by Buzzfeed last December reported, “someone who goes by the name of ‘Boots’ is all over the album credits.” In fact, in a post to his Facebook page, Asher laid claim to a whopping 85 percent of production credit for Beyoncé.

Much remains unknown about the man behind the moniker Boots, but what’s certain is that his talent speaks for itself. What we do know about Asher is that he is the former front man of several bands (Blonds, Young Circles, Blond Fuzz and Stonefox). We also know he was officially signed to Jay Z’s label Roc Nation and Sony Music Entertainment in June of 2013. Around that time, some of Asher’s original work was showcased in a fashion film featuring Chanel Iman and Viktoriya Sasonkina.

Recently, an exclusive interview with Pitchfork finally shed some light on the man behind the masterful production. In the only interview he has given to date, Asher said, “When the album came out, people were calling my parents’ house within days… It got rabid for a second. I know the information is going to get out there at some point; I’m not stupid. But I don’t know that I want to be the one to just hand it over to everyone. It can become a weird world real quick.”

Clearly, Asher wasn’t trying to pull the wool over anyone’s eyes by working behind the scenes. Rather, his approach to his career was calculated. Surfacing now, with original material, he has our full attention.

“Dust” is the most recent cut from this illusive mastermind, and only the second track to appear on his Soundcloud page for which he takes full credit. A dark and brooding track, it is an intoxicating construction of R&B-based aural architecture. Unraveling in punctuated bass and samples, it reaches a boiling point at a leisurely pace. The atmosphere of the song attains sweltering elevations, as the track seemingly exists in impossibly intimate dimensions. After absorbing this cut, there is no doubt about the amount of input Asher must have had in the production of Beyoncé’s sex-crazed album.

Boots is allegedly gearing up to release his first LP, which he plans to offer for download free of charge. An ever-gracious artist, he is humble when it comes to his growing accolade. On January 8^th he posted to his Facebook page “You all deserve better.” As we await further details of the upcoming release, fans stand ready to receive more of what we deserve – top shelf production mixed with a lot of heart.

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Liz Rowley

Born in Mexico and raised in Toronto, Jerusalem and Chicago by a pair of journalists, Liz comes to BestNewBands.com with an inherited love of writing. After discovering a niche for herself in music journalism and radio while at Bates College in Maine, she always keeps a running playlist of new music to soundtrack her place in the world. Liz is passionate about helping dedicated, talented musicians gain the exposure they deserve. A recent transplant to Brooklyn from Hawaii, she is plagued by an incurable case of wanderlust and cursed with an affinity for old maps and old things like typewriters and vintage books. She adores photography and running and is very good with plants. Having come of age in Chicago, Wilco speaks to her soul. If she could be anything, she would be a cat in a Murakami novel.