Love & Service is an analog album and animated film by Ali "Brother Ali" Newman and Justin “unJUST” Herman. Evoking the sound and spirit of 1970’s educational cartoons, this project is a musing for modern adults seeking wholeness in community. Brother Ali and unJUST, strangers who were fans of each others' work, connected through a series of voice notes and quickly built a friendship rooted in healing via music-making. They began collaborating on songs from opposite sides of the globe. Justin created musical beds on his Ensoniq ASR-10, a thirty-year-old analog sampling keyboard. Cut off from record stores (the lifeblood of every hip hop producer), he turned to a stash of children's educational films on 16mm and VHS looking for his inspiration. Ali recorded vocals from his new Turkish neighborhood of Uskudar. The music they were writing asked the questions hanging over them both. In an internet age, how do we learn to communicate from a place of love? How do we settle grievances and address harms without replicating the oppressive structures we're fighting to dismantle? How do we push past generations of trauma and create cultures of healing? In the "Love & Service" film, eight songs from this duo are elevated and amplified through vivid and at times surreal imagery. Each song features a unique style of animation meant to harken back to the days of pen scribblings and charcoal drawings. These are not the slick, hyper-realistic computer graphics that define most modern animation. This is textured, choppy art with fingerprints and smudges. "Love & Service" packs a lot into 13 tracks. It's a spectacle without any gloss. It's beautiful but asks uncomfortable questions. It incorporates a multitude of styles, but feels cohesive and organic. And while it explores the myriad ways that humans are failing one another, it lands with the affirmation that we're all worthy of love. Listen to Love & Service streaming below...