Jean Dawson Rises From the Ashes in '"XCAPE", PT. 1 JEAN DAWSON AS PHOENIX'
Photo: Nico Hernandez
The notoriously experimental and genre-bending Jean Dawson returns under a new guise to offer "XCAPE", PT. 1 JEAN DAWSON AS PHOENIX, a two-track drop that serves as part one of a highly anticipated trilogy where we greet his alter ego, Phoenix.
Playing with different textures and waves of sound, Dawson is in constant exploration of himself. The only thing that we can expect from the Mexican-American artist is that we’ll never know what to expect from him. His constant desire for reinvention is a protest to safety, a search for hidden edges to his limits that he bravely demolishes time and time again.
He’s almost unrecognizable in “youth+,” a warped antipop track that challenges identity and weaponizes our own vices. Lines like “I've seen the devil in a suit / He spoke in tongues and told me lies / He dressed in black, but he was white” speak to the poisonous apples offered in the industry, especially to those racially diverse. “delusional world champion” is much more abstract, vividly describing a life lived outside of one's flesh and leaving you to decide whether it’s exhilaration or survival. Never straying from the honest bits of being human, Dawson will always make a statement.
“Phoenix is a boy on the fringe," shares Dawson. "He is described to write with the tenacity of Kurt Cobain and the subversive subjectivity of a David Bowie. Using himself as a mirror for whoever decides to look at him because he is a product of the world rather than a product of perceived individuality. He is a manifestation of misunderstanding unawareness. His ideas are flirtatious, asymmetric and brash outwardly contradicted by his own lack of personal identity. Phoenix is only as real as the listener listening.”
The release marks the beginning of a new era for Dawson, where through his artistic rebirth he’ll explore the intersection of sound and art, emerging with something completely new. The tracks are set to kickstart a trilogy, with more markers of the curiosity-led journey to come.
With cosigns from artists who also live outside the lines, like Vince Staples and BROCKHAMPTON, he maintains his own as a rising star, garnering respect with his ability to be so much at once. Being raised under a variety of musical influences, including grunge, West Coast hip-hop, Brit pop, and Latin rock, he has no choice but to be a sonic stew. Through fashion, sound, and every other medium he puts his hands on, Dawson catalyzes rebellion and pioneers revolution.
Listen to "XCAPE", PT. 1 JEAN DAWSON AS PHOENIX below:
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