The following text about this project was writen by a rapper and a good friend of mine (CRF of the Bungle Brothers). I asked him to help me with this because i'm not as good with words as he is:

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Dusk. Not unlike a lazy snake, the pitch-black road winds its way through a landscape that seems paler with every further blink of the eye. Only sporadically illuminated by the dim light of a flickering street lamp or the fleeting glance of a headlight. When the fear to stand still makes your car with that deeply red fuel gauge your only true home and only the dark embrace of the night promises healing for the haunted soul, John Sarastro's "Obsidian Roads" unfolds its full effect…

"Obsidian" stands for the mysterious black stone that promises healing and protection from negative energy in various cultures. "Roads" stands for the cathartic effect of driving. Meditative self-discovery through music - in a wrecked Oldsmobile on yor way to nowhere with a full dose of hiphop blasting out the speakers.

"Obsidian Roads" as an album is equal parts self-therapy and seminal Chef d'Oevre of a Swiss boombap producer who has been flying under the radar for much too long. But that only applies to traditionally sleepy Switzerland. Because while J. Sarastro is hardly known in his homeland, he just assembled a stunning selection of East Coast underground artists on this record, enriched by a few international guests from Canada, Russia, and Korea. Lyricists such as Queen Herawin, Uncommon Nasa, Pastense, Warren Britt, Bloodmoney Perez, Lee Reed or Yo Daddy Doe are only too happy to slay these oddly timeless beats of this secretive hermit with his penchant for dusty, obscure samples.

Let's take a look at the beats in general: they feature this peculiar mixture of drive, longing and stubborn resistance to pressure, which John S. expertly weaves into atmospherically dense arrangements. It's difficult to explain, but whoever listens to "Stolen Moments" feat. Boston's only Pastense or "The Bus Ride" with Warren Britt and Yo daddy Doe understands what how this statetement is meant. And if it fits, Sarastro also even puts international turntablists like DJ Koldkuts or DJ Lesh on a beat - without lyrics. Yes, you can hardly call that trendy. Nevertheless "What they tryna get" is perhaps one of the most programmatic titles on the record. Despite all its restlessness, the clarity of the statement is hardly to be underestimated as a commitment to hiphop culture, whose crate digging roots Sarastro always returns to in the end. Because as Pastese says on "Stolen Moments"... "you gotta go home. Like the ball got roofed or the streetlights came on."

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I hope you like this album as much as i enjoyed creating it!
Best
John Sarastro