Busdriver Readies New Album

• Words: Maverick Newberry

Regan Farquhar (a.k.a. Busdriver) wasn't alone in making Jhelli Beam, his latest full-length and the follow-up to 2007's RoadKillOvercoat. The L.A.-based rapper invited a handful of friends to guest on the album, including Islands' Nick Thorburn, underground battle rapper Nocando, Mikah-9, and Deerhoof's John Dietrich.

Making the new album wasn't, despite all the help, an easy process. "This was definitely the most grueling stint of recording that I've undergone," Regan says, adding that the process nearly made him quit music a couple times. Rest assured, he hasn't gone to that extreme, and Jhelli Beam will be released June 9 via Anti-.

Jhelli Beam
01 Split Seconds (Between Nannies and Swamis)
02 Me-Time (with The Pulmonary Palimpsets)
03 Handfuls Of Sky
04 Scoliosis Jones
05 Least Favorite Rapper (featuring Nocando)
06 Quebec And Back
07 Do The Wop
08 World Agape
09 Manchuria (featuring Mikah-9)
10 Unsafe Sextet/Gilded Hearts of Booklovers
11 Happy Insider (featuring Nick Thorburn)
12 I've Always Known
13 Fishy Face (featuring John Dietrich)

Photo of Busdriver by Zackary Canepari.