Mike D will release his first solo album since the Beastie Boys era on Aug. 28. The project, titled Thank You, draws on sounds from a vintage sampler once used by the group.
The album marks the first new music from the Beastie Boys camp since the 2012 death of Adam “MCA” Yauch. Mike D said he spent years grieving and unable to create, adding that shutting down his computer was the easiest way to avoid the sadness.
Producer Tyran Donaldson recalled working with Mike D’s sons Skyler and Davis Diamond on the E-mu SP-1200 sampler loaned by Adam “Ad-Rock” Horovitz. “It’s a time machine,” Donaldson said. “They’d be trying to find a sound, and you’d randomly hear a drum break that was on a Beastie Boys song.”
Tracks released so far, including “What We Got,” “Switch Up,” and “True Colors,” lean experimental and psychedelic. Mike D 5D, the band formed by the Diamond brothers, is scheduled to tour this summer.