Earl Scioneaux, III has been making music out of New Orleans for nearly his entire life. He studied jazz piano and composition at NOCCA and eventually became the Preservation Hall’s production engineer. As the Madd Wikkid, his electro-jazz compositions have paid tribute to the eclectic style of New Orleans music.
Yesterday, the Madd Wikkid released his final set of tracks recorded and produced from New Orleans. He recently relocated to the West Coast in Los Angeles, but not before gifting one final EP to his home base in the Big Easy.
None of It is Scioneaux’s synergy of electronic and classical music techniques. With local backup from Khris Royal, Joe Scatassa, and Bryan Wilson, the glitchy production takes the composition techniques of old-style Baroque and turns it into electrofunk. Fans of All Good Records or Griz might hear a similar tone.
Musical mashups have been a trend for the producer. His claim-to-fame was Brassft Punk: a Daft Punk tribute album rearranged for an all brass band. After that, he got signed to Chicago’s iconic Trax Records. He took Brassft Punk on the road with his band to popular festivals North Coast and Hangout.
Nowadays, Earl designs sound for virtual reality games. But he wanted to give one last goodbye to the city that made him.
“I’d been sitting on these tracks for awhile, but with me changing cities it just seemed like the right time to release them.”
– The Madd Wikkid
We’re sad to see him go, but his contributions to the music and culture of the city will live on.