Blockhead

Tony Simon, a/k/a Blockhead, has been making and releasing utterly distinctive
funky and emotive music for 15 years. Blockhead grew up in downtown New
York City. As the son of an artist, surrounded by visual culture, he early on found
that his passion was for music, for the sonic. A fan of a whole range of sounds,
especially hip-hop, Blockhead steadily built a tremendous collection of tapes and
later CDs from innumerable artists, a quiet accumulation of knowledge and know-
how. After a brief stint as a rapper, he realized his calling was behind the boards
and not on the mic – and from there he began to produce beats. Since making
that decision, he's kept pretty busy: carving a niche as a quality underground
beatmaker that people call when they want something special. Blockhead
produced nine tracks on Aesop Rock's critically acclaimed album “Labor Days.”
Additionally he produced half the tracks on Aesop's follow up EP, “Daylight.” He
has also worked with other indie giants Atmosphere, Murs, Mike Ladd and Illogic.
In between, he found time to complete a break beat album entitled “Blockhead's
Broke Beats,” with ten hard-hitting instrumental tracks, which was released on
Mush Records, the US home of cLOUDDEAD.

To understand Blockhead’s presence and gravitas – look no further than the fact
that he has also contributed three tracks (including the first single) for Cage’s
“Hell’s Winter” on Def Jux. The other producers on the project are DJ Shadow,
El-P and RJD2. All this occurred simultaneously to his debut album on Ninja
Tune, “Music By Cavelight,” described as “one of the most fantastically good
albums you’re going to hear this year” (Sunday Telegraph) and “a beautiful
record” (Metro), with Blockhead himself tipped as “definitely one to watch”
(Touch.) Blockhead returned in 2005 with “Downtime Science,” another set of
deep, emotional instrumental hip hop tracks, this time dedicated to the downtown
area of Manhattan where he grew up and has lived his entire life, encompassing all
the attitude, anger and edginess of the neighborhood. This expansive album also
features some melancholy reflections upon failed relationships and the promise of
future loves. "The Music Scene," his first full album in 5 years (discounting the
tour-only release of “Uncle Tony's Coloring Book” in 2007) has elevated his craft
to another level.

Blockhead released “Interludes After Midnight” in 2012, marking his latest
triumph in the world of instrumental music. His thoughtful beats and iconic
samples continue to help him stand apart from the crowd when it comes to
originality and emotion.

Since 2010, Blockhead has performing in a variety of electronic festival like
Photosynthesis, Emerg-n-See, Art Outside, Camp Bisco, Trinumeral Festival
and One Step Beyond, co-headline tours with Emancipator and Signal Path, and
support date runs with both Bassnectar and Pretty Lights. No longer content with
being behind the boards, Blockhead has emerged as a real touring force with his
new live show that keeps audiences nodding along and wanting more!