Description
BLACK DOUBLE LP
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This album is unique for a lot of reasons, but a lesser-known one is the fact that it was conceptualized, conceived, and completed by means of Instant Messenger and the World Wide Web. Phonte (half of this duo and Little Brother MC vet) and Nicolay (Dutch super producer/musician and the other half of the duo) never held a telephone conversation and never met face to face. Nic would just send Phonte tracks via Instant Messenger, and Phonte would record to them and send the finished product back. This kind of recording process may be common in 2026, but back in the dawn of the 2000s, it was almost unheard of.
The two originally connected on Okayplayer.com, and the end result of those initial encounters was "Light it Up" - the B-side single for Little Brother's 2003 album The Listening. Although Nicolay was based in the Netherlands at that time, and Phonte in North Carolina, they continued to trade music and plan for a full-length project.
Once the idea of a full-length album became clear, The Foreign Exchange came to life.
Drawing off his classical music training and his love for funk and soul/R&B bands, Nicolay arranged tracks and corresponded solely through email, IM, and snail mail to his other half across the pond. Phonte, taking on what he likes to call his "Quincy Jones 'Back on the Block' role," spread his wings as an artist/producer by selecting tracks, writing lyrics and choosing talent for the project.
"Here I was blindly sending out beats to a guy who lived thousands of miles away from me," says Nicolay of the process. "When he sent the songs back to me though, the harmonies and melodies and concepts fit my tracks perfectly. It was like tossing somebody a few water colors and watching them come back with a beautiful canvas painting. I knew we were on to something special."
After more than a year and a half of "file swapping" Connected was completed. More melody than machinery, the duo composed a musical soundscape unifying all that is great about hip hop, R&B, and electronic soul. From the '80's soul/funk synthesized sound of "Come Around", to the churchy organ-driven "Hustle Hustle," to the street-wise “Raw Life”, the duo blended all of their musical influences to come back to hip hop. Renewing their love affair for hip hop and music in general.
In an age where AI has already produced both exciting and frightening moments for the music industry, Connected remains proof and serves as a gentle reminder that the worlds of music and technology can not only co-exist but also unite.
"The purpose of music is to bring people together," says Phonte. "I think it really says something about the power of music when two people who've never met can work together on blind faith. Music was the force that helped me and Nic make that connection."
Taking a look back on the project, Phonte states: "Connected will always be special to me because it came from such a pure place: two music fans on opposite sides of the world trusting each other’s ears before we had ever even shaken hands. At the time, we were making the kind of hip-hop and soul record we wanted to hear; twenty years later, seeing people recognize it as the beginning of The Foreign Exchange’s story and as a blueprint for how artists could build across distance is incredibly humbling. I’m grateful that the music still feels alive, and that a new generation will get to experience it the way so many of us first discovered records we loved: on vinyl, front to back."
Nicolay adds: "When Phonte and I made Connected, there was no grand plan—we were simply following a creative spark from North Carolina to the Netherlands and back again. The fact that an album made through message boards, instant messages, and trust could grow into a lifelong musical partnership still feels remarkable, especially now that so much collaboration happens that way by default. Hearing Connected return to vinyl is a beautiful reminder of where we started, how far the music has traveled, and how powerful a genuine connection can be."
Tracklist:
Side A
001 Foreign Exchange Title Theme
002 Von Sees
003 Raw Life
004 Hustle, Hustle
Side B
001 Let's Move
002 Nic's Groove
003 Be Alright
004 Sincere
Side C
001 Brave New World
002 The Answer
003 Come Around
Side D
001 Happiness
002 Foreign Exchange End Theme
003 All That You Are
