When we introduced you to Airo Kwil—the rapping alter ego of Calamity Janes and New Boyz Club drummer Will Rose—last November, the multifaceted emcee was putting the finishing touches on his first effort since abandoning his clunky “Airhythmatic” moniker. Started way back in the summer of 2013, Rose’s meticulous tinkering over the course of 18 months ushered in significant lyrical development and saw the re-invented rapper intertwining actual guitars and drums with fabricated beats to forge something with more substance and depth than anything he’d managed to date.
The product of that year and a half will finally arrive Thursday with the release of Airo Kwil‘s long-awaited full-length, Dark Cinema, A Study In Paradox. The 11-song release was recorded by Rose “in various bedrooms” and mastered by Dan Frankel. To help flesh out the effort, Airo called upon a wide range of collaborators scattered throughout Milwaukee’s music scene to help supply verses, hooks, and instrumental accompaniment, including his sister-and-bandmate Johanna Rose to play bass and sing, Palmer Shah (Ugly Brothers, The Grasping At Straws, New Boyz Club) to lay down some guitar licks, vocal support from Amanda Huff, and guest spots from D’Amato and Klassik. Meanwhile, Rose drums on a sizable portion of the record (“Tangerine Tint” and “Saved Our Lives” included)—which, quite impressively, is a feat he can accomplish live whilst rapping. While his admitted affinity for Rhymesayers acts is apparent at points, Rose’s unique merger of his two drastically different auditory identities bolsters Dark Cinema, while setting Airo Kwil apart from the vast majority of his Milwaukee hip-hop contemporaries. Before it’s released at Mad Planet on Thursday, listen to four tracks off Dark Cinema, A Study In Paradox now, only at Milwaukee Record.
Airo Kwil will formally release Dark Cinema, A Study In Paradox on Thursday, April 16 at Mad Planet. D’Amato, Migo, and Bo Triplex And His Beautiful Band will play in support. The show begins at 9 p.m. and costs $5 (or $8 with a free Airo Kwil CD). Will Rose will be a guest on Riverwest Radio’s The Made In Milwaukee Show at 6 p.m. tonight.