DJ and producer Preservation – the long-time collaborator of Yasiin Bey (f.k.a. Mos Def) and one half of Dr. Yen Lo with Brownsville Ka – will release Eastern Medicine, Western Illness on May 29 (Nature Sounds), produced during his time living in Hong Kong.

The 13-track album features an arsenal of hip hop lyricists including Brownsville Ka, Mach-Hommy, Your Old Droog, Roc Marciano, Mc Tree, Quelle Chris, Billy Woods, Nickelus F, Grande Marshall, Navy Blue, & Bronx veteran A.G., as well as Hong Kong’s own Young Queenz. The cassette edition includes a bonus beat tape featuring an exclusive track with Philly MC, Has-Lo.

Today “North Bridge” featuring Navy Blue has been unveiled.

“Dragon Town” feat. Young Queenz sets the stage: city of Hong Kong. It is a fitting introduction to the album, which was entirely conceived and produced while Preservation was a resident of the city for three years. During this time, he was sourcing Chinese vinyl and began exporting beats back home to his collaborators. The result is an album showcasing artists from the West over sounds of the East.

The title, Eastern Medicine, Western Illness references the solace found by Preservation while working in solitude in the East. This is the “eastern medicine,” which led him to create hundreds of beats at the time. The “illness” has a dual meaning that refers to the endemic issues of the west, as well as the ill talent of the MCs. Preservation lived in the historic neighborhood of Tai Hang and coincidentally in a building which was formerly the first western doctor’s office of the district.

Preservation explains: “For me, this album is a document of when I lived in Hong Kong for 3 years and was diggin up music of the region. I would head to Sham Shui Po – one of the more authentic neighborhoods with flea markets, hidden record stores, and locals selling their personal goods. There was a purity to the approach, I wanted every track to be sourced only from Chinese records, which was also an exciting challenge.”

“This record is a culmination for me, expanding on the sounds of past collaborations such as the Wu-Tang Meets the Indie Culture LP and Days with Dr. Yen Lo. “Day 81” on Dr. Yen Lo includes sounds I found at Paul’s record shop in Hong Kong on my first trip in 1996.”

The new album sparked fresh collaborations for Preservation with Mach-Hommy, Your Old Droog, Billy Woods, and Navy Blue. Drummer Chris Dave, who Preservation has previously collaborated with, can be heard on “A Scholar’s Rock.”

It was important for Preservation to include local talent from Hong Kong, and he found this in a young Chinese MC, who is featured on “Dragon Town.” Preservation learned about Young Queenz from Gary Leong at White Noise Records, a local shop in Kowloon. Young Queenz’s sound has one foot in 90’s hip hop and the other in trap.

Additional talent from Hong Kong appears on “I-78/Capillaries” featuring Chin King on the guzheng instrument. “Mouth of a River” features young opera singer Michelle Siu singing an old traditional in Mandarin, paying tribute to the singers of the past.

The album’s concept can be summarized by quoting the outro, “The Chinese say by combining traditional and modern medicine, the old can help the new, and the past can serve the present.”

Eastern Medicine, Western Illness will be available digitally, on CD, vinyl, and a special edition double cassette.

DJ Preservation’s two-decade career includes production work for Yasiin Bey (fka Mos Def), RZA, GZA, Raekwon, Jim Jarmusch, K’naan, KRS-One, MF Doom, Jean Grae, Aesop Rock and many others. He has toured the globe as Yasiin Bey’s longtime live DJ and shared stages with Robert Glasper, Gil Scott-Heron, Shuggie Otis, Gary Bartz and the Preservation Hall Jazz Band. His 2015 album Days with Dr. Yen Lo ranked #9 on Rolling Stone’s Best Hip-Hop Albums of that year, and his productions with Yasiin Bey include a number of tracks on the Grammy-nominated The Ecstatic, True Magic and the remix LP The REcstatic.

Track list:
Dragon Town (feat. Young Queenz)
A Scholar’s Rock (feat. Grande Marshall)
Money In The Wild (feat. Tree)
Rose Royce (feat. Quelle Chris)
1-78 Capillaries (feat. Mach-Hommy)
Wan Chai (feat. Nickelus F)
North Bridge (feat. Navy Blue)
Lemon Rinds (feat. Billy Woods)
Medicine Drawer (feat. Roc Marciano)
Correspondence (feat. Your Old Droog & Mach-Hommy)
A Cure For The Common (feat. Ka)
Children Of Never (feat. AG)
Mouth Of A River (feat. Michelle Siu)
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