How do you bring back what’s gone forever? Where do you call home when your home isn’t there anymore? Is a reconstructed memory as good as the real thing?

These are the questions that vyle. struggles with on his long-awaited project “A Ü T O/M Ö T O R HD ™”, a rap album that transcends all notions of genre and medium, an artifact of our techno-cultural future that serves as a memoir about loss, grief, and nostalgia.

Born and raised on the Southside of Chicago, in a building managed by the father of famed producer No I.D., with a stoop where Common celebrated the signing of his first record deal, vyle. (aka Albert Johnson III) comes from a time and place where carelessness was rewarded with loss, where children were abducted from public parks and inducted into a gangbanging framework that marked them as prey if they didn’t cooperate. vyle. himself had a shotgun pulled on him at age 8, before being chased down by a van full of strangers.   In the years since, vyle. has established himself as a resident on the leading edge of culture straddling hip-hop and dance music, first as an anchor of the early Bloghaus scene in Chicago (alongside his childhood friends in Flosstradamus), then as a performer (who collaborated with Rick Ross, played Lollapalooza and Pitchfork Festival, and was featured on MTV) and a creative conduit in sessions with Sa-Ra, Mark Ronson, Diplo, Kid Sister, The Cool Kids, Busy P, and others.

Just as it seemed like he was on the verge of a proper introduction to the music industry, vyle. suddenly lost his mother, who at the time was the only person in his world. He was shattered as he was tasked with arranging her estate without having ever used a checkbook before. While trying to navigate the music industry and take care of his mothers affairs, vyle. became unhoused, living by couchsurfing with friends.   In the early teens he resurfaced in NYC as a DJ with residencies including Up and Down and Soho House, and a regular at parties like Dese Escobar and Mister Vacation’s Thotlandia, alongside guest DJs like Telfar Clemens, Amrit, Arca, and Shayne Oliver.

He also found a new home in 3D and AR/VR, where he’s developed a sample-heavy style that reflects and complements his audio identity. His work in virtual spaces led him into the world of art and design, where he found collaborators like Timothy Saccenti, Sam Rofles, Jeanette Hayes, and Heron Preston, not to mention Gucci, Luar, and Iris Van Herpen, amongst others.

After a chance meeting with New Museum staff at NYC’s Spring Studios, vyle. found out about the museum’s culture incubator program NEW INC, which he joined, based on the concept that would become “A Ü T O/M Ö T O R HD ™”

On “A Ü T O/M Ö T O R”, vyle. vacillates between the early 00’s and the present day, placing the listener in spaces throughout his personal history and his current life, many of them lost, all of them freighted with the weight of memory. The music itself is constantly in flux, shifting from abrasive hip-hop that reflects Chicago’s industrial past alongside its rap heritage to lush ambient textures and back again, moving from grief to rage to a complicated space between the two. He produced most of the tracks himself (in the back offices of the NEW INC space in the New Museum), with guest turns from Brodinski (Kanye West, Doe Boy, 645AR), P. Morris (Kelela, Night Slugs), Meaty Ogre (Potions Music) and others constructing the textural soundscape his vocals rest upon. He is also joined by vocal contributions from Fat Tony, Haleek Maul, Beans (Anti-Pop Consortium/Warp), Cities Aviv, Teki Latex, and more.   “A Ü T O/M Ö T O R HD ™” is also a first-of-its-kind visual album, with interactive 3D environments presented as immersive websites— created by the artist after losing a member of his team, and subsequently taking up web development and VFX after being accepted in the New Museum’s NEW INC incubator. These photorealistic surroundings as song environments, viewable on any computer or mobile device, are made possible through optimization techniques created by vyle. himself. These environments also include collaborations between vyle. and a number of visual artists, including Timothy Saccenti, Jeanette Hayes, Terence Byas, and many more.

Album Trailer: https://vylevylevyle.com/am_trailer

Official Site:
http://vylevylevyle.com/