BLK ODYSSY - 1-800-FANTASY (Album)

Photo Credit: Ethan Gulley

Following a year of career highlights including immersive NPR Tiny Desk, COLORS and From The Block performances, visionary artist BLK ODYSSY releases new album 1-800-FANTASY. The album releases via EARTHCHILD/EMPIRE.

The concept album explores themes of lust, obsession and mental health juxtaposed against a vibrant indie-rock and pop inspired sonic palette. Set in the 90s, the album’s narrative focuses on a teenage boy whose infatuation with an unattainable girl from his school eventually spirals into an alarming obsession. Stumbling across the ‘1-800-FANTASY’ hotline, he begins a parasocial relationship with the mysterious woman on the phone, who encourages him to take more and more drastic actions to gain his crush’s affections. As the story reaches its heated climax, his manic behaviour comes to a head as he arrives unannounced outside his crush’s house. Just as the police arrive on the scene, he is abruptly woken up - revealing that the album’s chain of events were all part of a vivid dream experienced by the boy, who’d fallen asleep in front of a sex-line advert on the TV.

Album opener ‘HELLO’ sets the scene for what’s to come as we hear the flicker of various television channels before the main character lands on the ‘1-800-FANTASY’ hotline. On ‘XXX’, the listener is catapulted into the throes of adolescent lust via the tracks frenetic drums and shredding guitar, with BLK ODYSSY singing “your sensation, is my fixation.” Rap titan Wiz Khalifa’s highly entertaining guest verse serves to build on the theme of hedonistic romance. The album’s more rock inspired aesthetic is expounded on in tracks such as the stomping ‘GEMINI’ and in the dizzying headrush of ‘PHASE’, performed by the band for their thrilling COLORS live session. On the track ‘BLEACH’, a more sombre sensibility is found, reminiscent of BLK ODYSSY’s previous works, as they detail the depths of obsession. ‘STANK ROSE’ featuring Joey Bada$$ is a gentle, psychedelic trip in which both artists contemplate on the nature of unrequited love, with many fans lauding Joey’s verse as one of his strongest in recent years. On the dramatic outro ‘LAST RESORT’, various switch ups in the song mirror the main character’s erratic mindstate as he attempts to break and enter into his love interest's home. As the story reaches its apex, BLK ODYSSY’s singing distorts into shrieks of desperation as he pleads for his crush to acknowledge him. Just as it appears all is lost, we are whisked back to the boy’s bedroom, his mother chastising him for watching “nasty movies'' and “living in a damn fantasy.”

In what feels like a meteoric rise to critical acclaim, BLK ODYSSY first caught the world’s attention with the mystifying BLK VINTAGE in 2021. The sprawling LP which fused funk, soul, r&b and hip-hop delved into topics of grief, desire and a holistic accounting of what it means to be Black in America. BLK VINTAGE: THE REPRISE released the following year, with added songs featuring the likes of George Clinton, Mereba, Benny The Butcher and Baby Rose. Sophomore release DIAMONDS & FREAKSsaw his storytelling taken to the next level, with the concept album being presented as an erotic novel split into four chapters. Again, the project featured a cast of stellar collaborators including Bootsy Collins, Keisha Plum, Rapsody, Kirby and The Alchemist.

The subsequent DIAMONDS & FREAKS tour was an extensive run of dates that saw the whole band play across North America and Europe and included a sold-out debut show in London at Hoxton Hall. The live show brought to life the concepts explored across their first two albums, inviting fans along on a dizzying, psychedelic journey.

There has been no slowing BLK ODYSSY’s ascent in 2024. In January, the full band delivered an awe-inspiring Tiny Desk Concert on NPR, presenting the first offering from their new era, the Tyler Johnson (Harry Styles) co-produced single ‘WANT YOU’. Continuing to showcase their electrifying live performance skills, BLK ODYSSY have also graced the From The Block and COLORS platforms, premiering the songs ‘XXX’ and ‘PHASE’ respectively. Additionally, this year BLK ODYSSY was an executive producer on North Carolina rap elite Rapsody’s latest album Please Don’t Cry.

This Autumn, BLK ODYSSY will return to Europe playing a string of dates on their THE FANTASY HOUSE TOUR, including a performance at the iconic Jazz Cafe in Camden on October 21st.

Refusing to be pigeonholed into the ‘slept-on’ category and with a coordinated effort to explore all corners of Black music’s influence, the release of ‘1-800-FANTASY’ speaks to BLK ODYSSY’s continued desire to push their artistry in new and exciting directions.