AUDIOMUTANT: Ceschi and Fake Four Inc. edition

- by Señor Editor, 20 September 2013

It's the third installment of AUDIOMUTANT, TM's "music digest" feature as hosted by me, and it actually comes sooner than planned and with a slightly changed formula. "Why sooner, and why change something that's already perfect?" you may ask. There are important reasons! Today's AM is about Ceschi Ramos and his label, Fake Four Inc.

Usually I try to keep this feature as varied as possible and feature news, reviews etc. from all kinds of artists and genres that I consider interesting, noteworthy, et cetera. Variety is pretty much this whole website's thing, so it's only appropriate. But today is different and the focus is on the Connecticut indie hip hop/folk/whathaveyou artist Ceschi and Fake Four Inc., the label that he started with his brother David, and that became home to some of the most interesting music acts in recent years (not just hip hop ones). 

Ceschi and the Fake Four Inc. hand logo.

I was recently away on a mostly technology-free and completely internet-free vacation when I got a text message from a friend of mine, saying that Ceschi is in jail. Now I don't know Ceschi personally, only ever had, like, 2 or 3 very short interactions with him online, but everything I know about him from following his music, his career, and from people that he's friends with, made this news extremely shocking. Based on what I know about him, he was the last person I'd expect to hear this type of news about. Everything I've heard about him painted him as a really kind, supportive and humble guy, completely focused on making his art and promoting the many talented people he signed to his label. It wasn't until after I got back home that I learned all the details about what happened to him.

It's a very messed up and frustrating situation, and if you didn't yet hear about this, then below you can read all about Ceschi's highly controversial arrest, the case against him and the initiative to keep Fake Four going while he's away. Since a lot of you may be new to Fake Four and its artists (including Ceschi), the rest of today's AUDIOMUTANT will feature some select tracks that might get you interested in the label's rich catalogue. Who knows, maybe some of you will start digging around after this article and find a new favorite artist. If you do, make sure to support them and Fake Four Inc. 

#FREECESCHI. HELP FAKE FOUR

Here's the statement regarding Ceschi's extremely shady arrest and sentence, and information on the crowdfunding campaign to keep Fake Four alive. Keep in mind that despite the name of the whole initiative, the goal is not actually to free Ceschi (though if all the media attention this generates helps his case in any way, then that would obviously be amazing). It's about spreading the word about the injustice that happened to him, the practices that the law enforcement uses, and about making sure that the label he founded and worked hard to establish will not be ruined because of what happened. 

FAKE FOUR CEO CESCHI RAMOS GOES TO PRISON FOR TRUMPED UP DRUG CHARGES

In December 2010 Fake Four CEO/indy folk/rap hero Ceschi Ramos was trapped in a sting operation in New Haven Connecticut and is currently serving 18 months in a sate penitentiary.  The headlines read, "Police Seize 100 lbs of pot wrapped up as Christmas Gifts," and it was a pseudo-viral fluff piece written by an embedded reporter to bolster New Haven's image of "3rd most dangerous city in America." With guns drawn on his mother, brother & grandfather, New Haven police refused to allow him lawyer access, and after 2 hours of verbal and physical abuse towards Ceschi and his family (even repeatedly kicking his 11 lb dog Birdman) they finally forced a confession from him after citing that the police would arrest his entire family, including his 98 year old grandfather with a heart condition who had recently suffered the loss of his wife of 70 years, and seize their home if he did not acquiesce to a coached confession. This forced confession proved to be the only piece of hard evidence they had to prosecute Ramos with as they found nothing illegal in the house, and no marijuana from the "cooperating witness" was ever brought into the house or opened from the sealed boxes that remained in the man's rented SUV.

This is not just a story of the prison industrial complex taking another prisoner. It is a story of what type of tactics are being used by law enforcement in today's current socio-political climate to coerce a citizen of this country into giving up their freedom in order to save their own family from harm and so allow the police force to have a quick scapegoat to hang their hat on for the news. This is about law enforcement seeking IMMEDIATE results and a subsequent news story without considering any of the ethical and legal issues that any branch of justice should be looking at before engaging in such activities as breaking into a home, guns drawn and threatening public humiliation from an embedded reporter on scene (who shortly after quit reporting to become the spokesperson for a neighboring police department) if an immediate resolution was not made without any legal counsel. This decision made by New Haven law enforcement has now created ripples not just locally, but on a worldwide scale.

Ramos' label Fake Four Inc, is home to many thriving indie artists:  Astronautalis, Blue Sky Black Death, Grayskul, Busdriver,  Dark Time Sunshine, and Sister Crayon to name a few of the most established acts on the label.  Fake Four is considered by many to be the last of the great indy hip-hop labels and came into being during a turbulent time in the music industry when cd sales were dropping and interest in left-of-center, non-swag-centric hip-hop had long since waned from the public eye. Beyond the business and art considerations, Ramos is saintlike to many as he gave a helping hand to all friends who were in need, from advice on issues putting out a record to guesting on a track, he has always been a true friend to everyone.  As a performer, whether he was playing for 20 or 2000, Ramos always gave it his all and has earned a true cult following worldwide as a result of his intimate and dynamic live show performances. 

While this case has been bubbling over the past few years, Ramos has kept news of it out of the public eye, not wanting to seem to profit from his own misfortune. During his drawn out process of his legal case Ramos racked up over $50,000 in legal debt. Running out of funds and not wanting to get a 5 to 7 year sentence, which his lawyers advised him that he had an 80-90% chance of winning in court but could end up costing upwards of 100k along with the advice of "if it were my kid I would not risk it", he finally accepted a plea deal of an 18 month sentence. This sentencing has now put his greatest art project, Fake Four Inc., in peril. The artists behind the music and the small staff of Fake Four are looking to the public to help fund this year's releases through a successful Indiegogo campaign. Although the minimum funding was reached within 24 hours, that was just to keep the roof from caving in.  We hope to reach even higher so that when Ceschi gets out of jail, Fake Four will not only still be in existence, but thriving.

#FREECESCHI

Indiegogo Campaign Page
Ceschi video regarding the situation
FreeCeschi.com

So that's that. The more you read about it, the more frustrating and angering it gets. David Ramos (Ceschi's brother) provides updates on the situation while Ceschi is away, and it's really sad how the situation affected their family and especially their grandfather, who they have a very strong bond with. Make sure to visit the provided links and spread the word about what happened if you'd like to help out.

The thing that really speaks for Fake Four, not just as a label, but as a community, is the amount of support both the fans and the artists have been showing. And speaking of artists: let's get to the music. Obviously this isn't even the tip of the iceberg, but it's probably better to feature a few songs than to dump albums-worth of music on you guys.

AUDIO: CESCHI & FACTOR - "PRAY"

Even though my favorite Ceschi album is 2010's "The One Man Band Broke Up" (produced entirely by DJ Scientist, who did absolutely beautiful work for it. Check it out!), and I think it's the record where Ceschi's talents as lyricist, rapper, singer and instrumentalist are really shining at their brightest, it was an older song that's my favorite of his. It's "Pray", from the Canadian producer and frequent collaborator Factor's 2008 album "Chandelier." That was the song that initially really sold me on Ceschi, it's absolutely great, so I'm gonna say it may be a real good place to start.

AUDIO: CARS & TRAINS - "BLACK BIRDS IN THE BRANCHES"

I was a bit late to the party on cars & trains, but when I finally checked it out it, this song became a favorite fast. Cars & trains is multi-instrumentalist Tom Filepp, from Portland, Oregon, who makes music in a very interesting electronic/folk style and also runs Fake Four's "sister label" Circle Into Square. This song is from last year's album "We Are All Fire."

VIDEO: FACTOR - "GRAHAM LAWSON"

Closing this edition of AUDIOMUTANT is Factor's video for "Lawson Graham", from his 2010 record by the same name. Probably not the most impressive Fake Four video to choose, but I always liked it a lot, and this is a great instrumental track and goddamn right it's great for walking your dog at night.

That's barely scratching the surface, but if you find something you like in the songs we featured, then the links sprinkled throughout this article should get you started on exploring these and other artists on the Fake Four roster. Make sure to check out the Fake Four Inc. website and their Bandcamp. Also, if you didn't yet know about them, check out the Trash Mutant interviews with Gregory Pepper and Sole, and look around our music section for some reviews of their albums. 

Remember to spread the word about #FREECESCHI and Fake Four, and I'll see you next time.


Have you enjoyed today's AUDIOMUTANT? Do you have your own Fake Four and Ceschi favorites you'd like to share? Let us know in the comments! 

Tagged: music, AUDIOMUTANT.

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