Detroit artist Julion De’Angelo steps forward into his own with a new musical offering: the inagural EP from his new imprint, Maybee Hill Music. Named after the street that he grew up on, the label celebrates ancestral guidance and reflecting on the past, so you can move FORWARD!
And forward De’Angelo moves, with two distinct tracks that cement his place among his peers as a Detroit-based purveyor of deeply impactful musical endeavors rooted in Black expression.
Can’t Go Askin is a dance floor activator, a beater, and a belter. An exuberant testament to Black joy, building and shining triumphantly throughout its mesmerizing 12-minute runtime. The track centers on a riff that immediately locks you in, as it stretches and expands with a
seductive, propulsive groove, with percussion and keys all floating below a soaring and shimmering Juno. This bold and idiosyncratic interplay results in a jam that takes you HIGHER, transcendent in the spirited tradition of Chicago and Detroit.
The song is a sonic snapshot of De’Angelo’s life. A personal portrait of uplift in motion. Both songs on this EP were made during a visit to North Carolina, a poignant trip that culminated in estranged members of De’Angelo’s family being reunited. This feeling of reconnection with friends, family, and community imbues the song with the spirit of
intergenerational healing and encapsulates De’Angelo’s central philosophy of music being a vessel for self-expression.
It makes perfect sense that De’Angelo would debut the song at Plastic People’s Printworks party in London earlier this year, as it shares the club’s celebrated ethos of forward-thinking sonics that unify the dance floor whilst defying boundaries and pigeon-holes.
De’Angelo completely switches gears for the flip side of this musical offering. Reflecting Cancer Moon is an immersive descent into deep dubby waters inspired by a night walk in the woods. A hypnotic, bare-bones meditation with crazy swing, that explodes into a rhythmic swirl
of percussion. Dub delay echoes in and out as we journey deeper into the forest with the moon illuminating our way forward. Reflecting Cancer Moon stands on the shoulders of Basic Channel, Rhythm & Sound, and the dub exploits of the mighty Mike Huckaby (Rest in Power).
This EP embodies De’Angelo’s restless urge to constantly seek out new sounds and open up new sonic areas for experience and transformation, with two tracks reflecting two sides of the musical spectrum. One is a 12-minute rager for dancers to lose themselves in. The other is a journey
into a dark forest of echoes, dynamic drumming, and narcotic reverb culminating in a calming,
Luna-lit stillness.
Julion De'Angelo is a multi-instrumentalist, producer and DJ raised in North Carolina and based in Detroit, MI. Playing bass, cello and drums across many genres, from free jazz to metal, to noise and punk, has fortified De'Angelo's musicianship and cultivated a constantly evolving
sound rooted in the Black American experience. With a steady stream of releases, De'Angelo has cemented his ethic as an adventurous sonic innovator both celebrating and pushing beyond the dancefloor with fearless and moving compositions.
His acclaimed debut was a joint EP with Thomas Xu, "Roots That Talk" released on the legendary, Sound Signature label in 2017. He introduced the world to his genre defying rhythms and unique percussive exploits on "Stand on Your Square" for Tone Log. He would then combine forces with Viola Klein for two remixes for Meakusma, which presented hypnotic, Detroit flavoured meditations grounded by Afro Cuban drumming. His 2021 EP for Japan’s Freedom School Records presented an experimental
and playful sonic exploration that begins on the dancefloor and ventures out into freeform Black experimentation.
Over the last 3 years De'Angelo has solidified his position as a world-class selector, worthy of carrying the Detroit torch. He has recently DJ'd at renowned venues and events such as the Meakusma Festival in Belgium, Tresor/Globus Berlin, The Hydra at Printworks London, Nowadays NYC and Underground & Black Detroit, contributed to iconic parties like Music
Gallery, Black Music and Roots That Talk, alongside radio sets and mixes featured on esteemed stations such as NTS, Hor Radio, Kiosk Radio Brussels and Lot Radio.
Forever connecting with his roots, he actively engages with African, Afro-Cuban, and Puerto Rican drum & dance troupes, fostering community connections and cultural exchange. De'Angelo continues to make
an indelible mark on the world of music as he challenges conventions and reshapes the sonic landscape with each electrifying performance, impassioned collaboration and distinct composition, honouring the transformative power of Black expression and pushing it forward.
