Looking at Dr. Apollo’s Beatport discography, which begins with a track called “Red” on Hospital’s Sick Music 2019 compilation with fellow SoCal selekta Dip Vertigo and vocalist J. Leo Phillips, it’s clear that he not only hit the ground running, but he was always headed for big things. From there, Reid Speed’s label Play Me took a shining to the artist, releasing most of his work in 2019 and 2020, including collabs with Ms. Speed herself and MC Chickaboo.
From there, Viper and Bassrush got ahold of Dr. Apollo for their Bassrush 4.0 collab compilation as he teamed up with Bassrush baddy, Richter. Then he was clocked on RAM for their 2021 Annual with a track called “In Color” before releasing probably one of the most fun tracks of the year, “I’ve Been Waiting” on DeVice with Rene LaVice and Richter, featuring Gracie Van Brunt on vox. If we were reciting this whole list out loud, we’d be out of breath. The point is, Dr. Apollo’s star quality seems to already have been written in the stars.
It may have seemed inevitable that Dr. Apollo would come back to RAM via Program, but not everyone who has a track on the annual gets a stand-alone release signed. Even fewer American and none until now have managed to hook a full LP with the notoriously picky A&R team at RAM. It’s a big deal, and given he’s barely been on the release radar releasing since 2019, it’s literally unheard of.
The album, called The Simulation LP, is diverse and ravey, full of snares, amens and general sounds that someone who’s only been producing for two years shouldn’t know about. Like many artists from LA, however, Dr. Apollo is clearly tapped into the old school. In fact, there’s even a track on the album called “Mo90s,” which, unsurprisingly, is all blown out, ameny snares and rave piano. The Doc has clearly been waiting a long time to release some of this stuff and he’s pulling on 30 years of D&B to do it.
Our premiere today is “Holy Grail,” the album’s opening track and an excellent cross section of what’s to come on The Simulation LP. The intro is a chopped up amen break snare fused with those lovely rave pianos and sound design. The snares continue to make up the bulk of the drumline as well as the phrase transitions but after the first drop, Dr. Apollo shows the audience that its not dealing with just another 90s nostalgia track. A sine wave synth comes in after said drop that instantly modernizes the track and wakes up any listeners who may have been lulled into the melodics of the stings and ambient sound design. It’s a perfect blend of classic and modern and a full-on homage to the amen break.
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Jazz, jungle, dark synths, banger bass and a fusion of old and new is what fans can expect from this first ever American LP out on RAM this Friday, August 27 on Beatport. If you haven’t been paying attention to Dr. Apollo The Simulation LP, now is the time to start. The labels certainly are.
