Mike D’s home studio experiment becomes first new music from a Beastie Boy since 2011
Mike D has released his first ever solo recording, "Switch Up", ending a 15-year hiatus from new music by any member of the Beastie Boys.
The track arrived overnight while the artist was on stage at Plaza Nightclub & Dance Hall in Los Angeles. It is the first new music from any individual Beastie Boy since the group’s 2011 album Hot Sauce Committee Part Two. Mike D has not performed with the Beastie Boys since Adam “MCA” Yauch died in 2012.
"Switch Up" began as an experiment in Mike D’s home studio during sessions with his sons, Davis and Skyler Diamond, who perform as the indie-dance duo Very Nice Person. The Diamond brothers brought their father on stage for a surprise show on 11 April, where they played Beastie Boys cuts including "Looking Down the Barrel of a Gun" and "So What’cha Want".
The single was produced by Carter Lang and Very Nice Person, and mixed by Derek “MixedByAli” Ali at No Name Studios. Artwork comes from San Francisco-based artist Thad Higa.
Check out the visualizer for the new song below.
The Plaza Nightclub show is one of several intimate pop-up dates Mike D has scheduled in unconventional venues. Recent performances have included Malibu’s Brothers Marshall Surf Shop and The Ojai Valley Women’s Club. Upcoming dates include 10 May at Sid the Cat Auditorium in South Pasadena, California, and 22 and 23 May at Xanadu Roller Arts in Brooklyn, New York.
Since Yauch’s death, the Beastie Boys have continued to preserve their legacy through vinyl reissues, a greatest hits album, a Spike Jonze-directed documentary, and an official square in New York named at the corner of Ludlow and Rivington – the site of the Paul’s Boutique cover shoot. No further new music from the remaining members has been announced.
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