the 4th level collective began as a triumvirate of like minds with a common goal - the creation of music, their shared passion and a vital outlet for expression.
stylistically, the three approached music very differently, yet they could relate to each other's work. a mutual artistic respect was short work to cultivate, and magnafide posited the idea of collaborating - combining their respective talents and flavor in the hopes of achieving something greater than they could separately. in that spirit, the original three - magnafide (chris cisneros), phrantek (andy abang), and namaste (erick cheren) - came together to begin this new endeavor. and so, in late 2002, the 4th level was born.
sadly, not much headway was made into the project. availability was always limited, with chris's school and work schedule, andy's newfound loss of sanity in the social circle, and erick often being out of town when he was called upon to work as a boom operator. still, one or two sessions were arranged, a few tunes started, though nothing quite panned out.
then there was a long silence. erick had to leave town to work again. upon his return to town around april / may 2003, he contacted andy. they caught up, discussed their current projects (erick was thrilled to have found a new apartment where he could finally set up his drum kit), and made loose plans to meet again soon.
they never did.
at the end of june, tragedy struck.
on 6/29/03, erick's best friend tavi posted a message on the los-angeles-based dnb community site, junglescene.com. erick had passed away suddenly of a massive embolism.
in the months following, still bewildered by the tragedy and terribly upset, the remaining two members had seemingly put the idea to rest. with each taking on new projects, the 4th level was just a memory.
then, at the end of 2003, after creative differences prompted andy and current 4L member chrisk to take leave of a prior crew involvement, andy decided to reinstate 4th level for up-and-coming talent as a way to promote themselves. after some discussion, the collective was formed.
and so here we are today. we are the 4th level collective. in memory of our fallen brother, we look toward the future - we, the lesser-known voices of tomorrow, speaking in unison.
and we WILL be heard.
