Question in the Form of an Answer | ||||
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Studio album by People Under the Stairs | ||||
Released | June 6, 2000 | |||
Recorded | 1999-2000, Los Angeles, California | |||
Genre | Hip hop | |||
Length | 73:41 | |||
Label | Om Records | |||
Producer | Thes One, Double K | |||
People Under the Stairs chronology | ||||
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Singles from Question in the Form of an Answer | ||||
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Professional ratings | |
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Review scores | |
Source | Rating |
Allmusic | |
PopMatters | (favorable) |
Entertainment Weekly | (B+) |
Question In The Form Of An Answer is the second studio album by the People Under the Stairs. Recorded following their first world tour, the album was their first release on Om Records (the label would later re-release People Under The Stairs' first album the following year). The release spawned three singles, each selling their entire first pressing run of 15,000 copies, and a second world tour.
In 1999, People Under The Stairs signed a four-album deal with Om Records, and the title of their second album, Question in the Form of an Answer, came to them while driving up to San Francisco to meet with the Om staff. Om offered them a cash advance on the record deal, and the group immediately went to a local record store, Groove Merchant, and used the money to buy a large amount of records, several of which would contain samples that wound up being used on the record.
Planned as a logical extension of their first record, Question in the Form of an Answer opened with the same music sample that the previous album closed on. Also similar to the first album, Question... was self-recorded at Thes One's Los Angeles home, and utilized the same instrumentation - namely, Thes One's Akai MPC3000 and Double K's E-mu SP-1200.
Despite the similarities, the music departed from the sound of the debut album. Thes One and Double K's knowledge of sampling techniques had grown during the intervening years between the first two albums, and the music on their second release contained more complex filtering techniques, sound manipulation, and analogue recording techniques. "Earth Travelers", the first music track made for the album, incorporates a large number of layers, including high- and low-pass filters, resonance, horn loops, and drum loops. The creation of a portion of the track can be seen on the bonus DVD which accompanies PUTS' 2006 release Stepfather.