Illegal Art Revived With Girl Talk, Myth Math

After more than a decade in hibernation, the famously subversive label Illegal Art is back — and it’s returning with both its original ethos intact and a noticeably more personal twist from the mysterious man who started it.

Founded in 1998 and shuttered in 2012, Illegal Art built its reputation on sample-heavy, legally provocative releases that challenged the music industry’s definition of originality, a la Girl Talk’s Feed the Animals. Now, as questions around authorship resurface in the age of AI, the label is relaunching with a new slate that blends its collage roots with broader, genre-fluid experimentation.

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Leading the reboot is Myth Math, a new project from founder Matthew S, who previously operated behind aliases like Oh Astro and the pseudonymous label head Philo T. Farnsworth. With the relaunch, he’s stepping out from behind the curtain for the first time, both personally and creatively.

Myth Math’s debut EP Tongues arrives July 10, preceded by the single “Deep Down,” which features drumming from Failure’s Kellii Scott. The track signals a shift from the purely sample-based work that defined Illegal Art’s early years, folding in live instrumentation, original songwriting and a more direct lyrical voice.

Elsewhere on the release schedule, longtime label cornerstone Girl Talk (aka Gregg Gillis) is set to return with a new EP featuring underground rappers, while People Like Us will deliver a new full-length album. Producer Yea Big is also back, teaming again with collaborator Kid Static (Moses Harris, Jr.) for a new instrumental hip-hop project built from improvised sessions.

During its original run, Illegal Art operated as both label and statement — a kind of musical counterculture hub that embraced mashups and sample-based experimentation at a time when those practices often flirted with legal boundaries and the limits of copyright.  “The word ‘art’ is very important in Illegal Art,” Matthew says. “We released anything we thought took samples and elevated it to the point of art, to a fresh expression, to something new.” 

That mission hasn’t disappeared, but it is evolving. Matthew describes Myth Math’s Tongues as a more “song-based” effort inspired by artists like Sufjan Stevens and Wilco’s Jeff Tweedy. The EP also reflects a period of personal change, including his departure from a restrictive religious community during the pandemic — a shift that informs both the music and its accompanying visuals.

“Maybe I grew disenchanted with hiding behind so many aliases,” he says. “I became attracted to the idea of saying I’m just a person, with no illusion of a larger project.” 

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