Fifteen years is a long time to wait. “Switch Up,” the debut solo single from Mike D, is out now, and it marks the first new music from any member of the Beastie Boys since ‘Hot Sauce Committee Part Two’ in 2011.
The track started in Mike D’s home studio during sessions with his sons, Davis and Skyler Diamond, who record and perform together as the indie-dance duo Very Nice Person. What began as a family experiment became something worth releasing. The single was co-produced by Very Nice Person and Carter Lang, mixed by Derek “MixedByAli” Ali at No Name Studios, with artwork by San Francisco-based artist Thad Higa.
“Switch Up” premiered live on May 7 at Mike D’s sold-out show at Plaza Nightclub & Dance Hall in Los Angeles, dropping while he was still on stage. That kind of release is a statement in itself. The track carries drum ‘n’ bass influence, a melodic bassline, synth textures, guitar, and strings that arrive with real emotional weight toward the end.
The Plaza show is part of a series of deliberately intimate, unconventional performances Mike D has been staging. Previous stops included Brothers Marshall Surf Shop in Malibu and The Ojai Valley Women’s Club. Upcoming dates include Sid the Cat Auditorium in South Pasadena on May 10, and two nights at Xanadu Roller Arts in Brooklyn on May 22 and 23.
The road back to this moment has been gradual. In April, the Diamond brothers brought their father on stage for a surprise show, where he performed Beastie Boys cuts including “Looking Down the Barrel of a Gun” and “So What’cha Want.” The response made clear the appetite for new music was very much alive.
Since the death of Adam “MCA” Yauch in 2012, the Beastie Boys’ legacy has been maintained through vinyl reissues, a greatest hits album, a Spike Jonze-directed documentary, and an official New York square at the corner of Ludlow and Rivington, the site of the Paul’s Boutique cover shoot. In March, Mike D and Ad Rock released a deluxe reissue of ‘To the 5 Boroughs’ as a triple-vinyl and double-CD set with 11 bonus tracks.
“Switch Up” is a solo debut that carries real history behind it, and it holds up on its own terms. Whether it signals a larger project remains to be seen, but as a first move, it lands exactly right.
Upcoming Tour Dates:
May 10 – South Pasadena, CA – Sid the Cat Auditorium
May 22 – Brooklyn, NY – Xanadu Roller Arts
May 23 – Brooklyn, NY – Xanadu Roller Arts