DON’T SWEAT THE TECHNIQUE Snotnoze Saleem is a unique new voice in Orlando music

BY MATTHEW MOYER

With daily life in Florida coming at us like a crushing fast-forward wave of bad news and worse policy, a fitting soundtrack to the perpetual state of alarm is the music of Orlando MC/ producer Snotnoze Saleem. Saleem’s music is suffused with a sense of outraged urgency; leftfield samples and avant beats interlocked like a Jenga skyscraper while he breathlessly spits out manifestos in an array of cadences and voices — trying to keep pace with the world falling apart. He crammed more rapidfire ideas into the albums he released last year through Illuminated Paths — Intifada and Type Shit — than some artists do over a career. Saleem’s live work is just as integral and unpredictable, whether playing with beatmakers at Please Understand or, say, Orlando expat experimental collective Auto Chlor, whom he’ll open for at Uncle Lou’s on Sunday (see page 25). Orlando Weekly talked to Saleem about process, product and the surreality of the Sunshine State.

What influences you when writing lyrics?

The instrumental is usually the biggest factor in determining what I write. I’m at the mercy of the beat. If it’s some insane, messy, blast beat with a saxophone thing, I’ll be more uptempo and say more outlandish things just because that would make sense. And if it’s mellow I’ll adjust accordingly. But also everyday life, things I read in a book or online, memes, things people say that stick with me, things I’ve seen and felt both here and overseas. I get frustrated by the state of things. I think this is a healthy outlet.

How did you link up with Illuminated Paths?

The guy who recorded, mixed and mastered my first tape as Snotnoze Saleem, Matt Kamm — he knew Josh [Rogers], who runs Illuminated Paths and he put me in contact. I’ve been a fan of the label for a long time so I thought it was cool to release something on it. I met Matt from Jordan [Duttinger] who runs Godless America, which put out one of my beat tapes [as Hyperlink] back when I was only producing. … All very nice people.

Hip-hop can often have a very placespecific sound — how has living in Central Florida shaped your music?

Listening to rap growing up because that’s what was around me. Getting into punk and realizing they’re kind of like sister genres. Going to freaky weirdo (in a good way) shows at Uncle Lou’s or a house or some stinky storage closet. Seeing tourists from all over the world coming to the Most Magical Place on Earth, probably unaware that it is immediately surrounded by some of the highest homeless and human trafficking rates in the country. I try to combine these disparate sources into the sound. Hopefully I do Florida justice; this is a strange place.

Local Releases

There’s no shortage of good singers or good rappers in the 407. But, as his latest release attests, few are as convincingly even-footed in both specialties as Orlando’s Dontez. While his debut album from a year ago (Holy Ratchet) was a rap-forward outing, Dontez is showing a remarkably more varied complexion on his recent follow-up. The eight-song Black Madonna EP features both tight rapping and silky R&B crooning, all unified by the velvet touch of his increasingly assured style. Though Dontez has widened his skill set, he’s sharpened his focus into a more crystallized sound with songs that now coat like cream. Black Madonna is currently available on Bandcamp.

Concert Picks This Week

Neko Case, Patty Griffin: The only appropriate responses to this impeccable lineup are leaps of exultation or genuflection before its greatness. Either way, opportunities to see two headline-worthy figures of such eminence at a single event are exceptionally rare. From alt-country upstart to indie-rock royalty, Neko Case has honed her perfect voice and poetic flair to become one of the most iconic singers of her generation. As for folk paragon Patty Griffin, she’s an artist’s artist who’s distinguished herself through the quiet audacity of pure craft and emotional authenticity. Together, they’re two of the greatest Americana talents alive on one staggering bill. (7 p.m. Thursday, Feb. 9, Plaza Live, $44-$65)

Howling Midnight, Sick Dogs, Moat Cobra, Gnarcoossee: This all-local lineup is a cross-section of our native rock scene that’s both hefty and refreshingly diverse. Blues-rock hulks Howling Midnight will bring

While he’s a mystery to the rest of the world, we here know Auto Chlor bandleader xx as Timothy Murray, a longtime fixture of the Orlando music scene. For this homecoming show, Murray has cobbled together a star-studded backing band of local notables the beef by squeezing Queens of the Stone Age tonnage out of a Black Keys setup. Moat Cobra will get nasty with their ferocious metaltoothed punk rock. Sick Dogs will hang tough with their street-punk anthems. And as their hilariously localized name suggests, new band Gnarcoossee will bring both speed and humor with their headlong metal. (8 p.m. Friday, Feb. 10, Will’s Pub, $7-$10)

Arrival ft. Dynamix II: For their latest beat clinic, dance-music impresarios Future Sound of Breaks are bringing in none other than Florida electro-bass legends Dynamix II to top the evening’s marquee with a live performance. With underground classics like “Just Give the DJ a Break” and “Feel the Bass” that are the Floridian equivalents to “Planet Rock,” the South Florida act has crafted some of the best, most seminal jams in the bass canon. And because of Orlando’s own breaks heritage dating back to the rave glory days of the 1990s, Dynamix II’s appearances here have always been hype affairs. The stacked lineup will include Code Rising, Brothers of Funk vs. Analog Hustlers, Super Genius (Supernaut and Jimi the Genius), Lee Combs, Voodoo, James Wolfe, Versa-Style, Security, Eric Berretta, Bobby Buzz, Soltek, Prophet 808, Audiosal, Lifeless Tissue and 21 Paths. This will be a guaranteed freak-a-thon. (7 p.m. Saturday, Feb. 11, Ace Cafe, $40-$55)

Auto Chlor, Hifi Envelope, Snotnoze Saleem: L.A.’s Auto Chlor are an enigmatic experimental music collective whose membership is both ever-fluid and eternally shrouded, even though some of them are quite famous in avant-garde circles. The only common denominator is shadowy bandleader xx periscope. While he’s a mystery to the rest of the world, we here know him well as Timothy Murray, longtime member of the Orlando music scene. His outlandish and highly conceptual ways made him a leading weirdo in our underground, and his live shows are often as much sonic explorations as they are performance art. For this special homecoming show, Murray has dug deep into his local roots to cobble together a star-studded backing band of Orlando notables Brian Esser (YipYip, Cabo Boing) and Tony Mauss.

Opening will be Atlanta’s Hifi Envelope, who specialize in atmosphere-rich post-rock pastiche, and Snotnoze Saleem, the bright outsider rapper whose emergence last year was so impressive that I named him “Best hip-hop debut” in this column’s last Undie Awards. Add in the VHS psychedelia of Broken Machine Films’ visuals and this event will be a heady multisensory brew. (10 p.m. Sunday, Feb. 12, Uncle Lou’s, price TBA) baolehuu@orlandoweekly.com

THURSDAY-SATURDAY, FEB. 9-11

Nude Nite

Naked into this world we come, and naked many choose to go to Nude Nite. Yes, the wildly popular pop-up (body) art show returns to Orlando after a threeyear hiatus. Sloan Waranch, the daughter of Nude Nite creator Kelly Stevens, has picked up the clothing-optional torch as a tribute to her mother’s work and spirit. What to expect? Well, the theme is “Prism,” so expect a rainbow of vivid colors festooning the bodies of