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Hip-hop trio 81355 (pronounced “bless”) made a strong statement about Indianapolis artistry with its 2021 debut album “This Time I’ll Be of Use,” a trailblazing journey of fantasy/action-adventure/sci-fi rap.
Oreo Jones, Sirius Blvck and David “Moose” Adamson are now working on their second album, a task they’ll interrupt for a March 10 show at Deluxe in the Old National Centre and a string of performances at this month’s South By Southwest festival in Austin, Texas.
Blvck said the debut album provided an outline for what’s next.
“At first we were just trying to create something out of the ether, but now we have a handle on it and it’s ours,” Blvck said. “We have this foundation, and now we can build cool [things] on top of it.”
Part of the construction process is an expanded lineup of contributors, namely guitarist Dimitri Morris, bass player Sharlene Birdsong and drummer Pat Okerson.
“The band has been with us since we started playing live shows,” Blvck said. “They became an integral part of that. Bringing them into the studio just made sense.”
Blvck and Jones are the rappers of 81355, and Adamson produced the instrumental beds for “This Time I’ll Be of Use.” For the sequel, Jones is creating beats for 81355 for the first time.
“The thing that always blows me away when we work together is how quickly things happen,” Adamson said. “That’s really exciting. It gives me a feeling of magic or something. I don’t really like the word ‘magic,’ but I don’t know a better way to explain it.”
The members of 81355 are making the upcoming album with recording engineer Matt Riefler at his Fort Wayne studio.
Blvck estimated that half of the songs performed at 81355’s upcoming shows will be new to listeners. On March 8, the group will release a single titled “All That It Takes” to preview the second album.
“I feel like it’s a good intro to the new sound, because it eases into the full band,” Adamson said. “It starts out more minimal, and by the end, everybody’s in there.”
In the lyrics of new song “Tears Come Down,” Jones delivers rhymes depicting the claustrophobic environment of gun violence.
Jones said he wrote the lyrics while living in an area of Indianapolis where gunplay happened at nearby houses.
“It was pretty hectic,” said Jones, founder of Indianapolis hip-hop festival Chreece. “That was the imagery I was dealing with at the time. But also just the pressure of the last couple of years made me feel claustrophobic living and being a person. I think that’s what we all have been struggling with as artists. It’s just existing and trying to navigate.”
Along with New Albany native Katie Toupin, 81355 is one of two Indiana artists scheduled to play official showcases as part of this year’s SXSW festival March 13-17. The event, founded in 1987, is known as a place for rising artists to catch the attention of tastemakers.
Shows outside the festival’s official framework are prevalent, and 81355 expects to perform at least four times in a span of 72 hours.
Before 81355 formed, Jones, Blvck and Adamson made recordings and performed together in different configurations. Blvck remembers the trio sharing a stage at a SXSW party about a decade ago.
“We went out there just to go and experience it,” Blvck said. “We were just in the chaos of it and we figured it out as we went. Going back now, we’re a little more clear headed and a little more mature with more experience under our belts.”
It’s too early to talk about a release date for the second album. 81355 made “This Time I’ll Be of Use” for independent label 37d03d (pronounced “people”), founded by Bon Iver’s Justin Vernon and siblings Aaron and Bryce Dessner of the National.
Blvck said distribution plans for the second album are uncertain.
“We’ve made connections and we love everyone over [at 37d03d],” Blvck said. “It’s been a great experience. If we can continue to build with them, I’m sure we would love to. But we want to get this music done first and then see where we want to go.”
81355
- With: Inner Peace, Flaco.
- When: 8 p.m. March 10.
- Where: Deluxe in Old National Centre, 502 N. New Jersey St.
- Tickets: $22.
- Info: Visit livenation.com.
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