For years Scotty Trimble, the former professional motocross racer and indie rap producer better known as Sixo, has questioned the validity of free will and believed that every outcome has a likelihood of occurring or not occurring. Can our actions truly be considered under our control when existing within a limited amount of variables? Are perceptions of free will merely illusion? With those lingering concepts and a head full of ’60s and ’70s psychedelic rock, Sixo entered his home studio and began crafting The Odds of Free Will, his third full-length record.

Sixo spent three years on the album, initially sketching beats out on Acid 7 before polishing them up on Pro Tools. His mix of sampling and live instrumentation on The Odds of Free Will is augmented by Jinx McGee on guitar and synths, David Moss (The Brother Brothers) on cello, and Sixo’s brother Maddox Trimble (Messer) on bass.

Speaking on his last release, 2012’s Free Floating Rationales, Okayplayer said, “the ideas here are uncharacteristically heavy for a compilation record of this nature, which comes as a refreshing surprise.” That trend is continued on The Odds of Free Will, with help from indie rap heavy hitters such as Open Mike Eagle, Milo, Ceschi, Awol One, and Onry Ozzborn. And while each guest brings something different to the table thematically, five eerie, nebulous instrumentals woven in between tie the album together.

Grace Park, lead singer of Texas folk band The Blue Hit, lends her gorgeous, emotive vocals to “Eye of the Needle”, a track which sets the tone for the varied meditative pieces to follow. Gregory Pepper appears on “John Conner”, showcasing his trademark deadpan wit and weapons-grade self-deprecation. One of the more powerful moments on the record comes in the form of “Trees Pt. 2”, a spiritual song featuring Myka 9 that pays respect to Sixo’s dear friend Stephanie Bledsoe and reflects on the protective nature of trees. Stephanie, who was a back up singer for The Blue Hit, was buried with the planting of a new tree on her farm in San Marcos, TX.

Sixo has seen his share of tragedy and triumph in the high stakes world of motocross. He’s woken up being pushed into a CAT scan not knowing where he was, had concussions he can only describe as “a trip,” seen friends suffer brutal injuries, won arenacross in Portland, and climbed all the way to being ranked 9th in the nation. In the downtime that comes with frequent injury, Sixo taught himself to make beats, and over the course of the last decade and a half has grown into a singular producer equally capable of outright bangers and melodic headphone introspection. The Odds of Free Will, his third release on Fake Four, channels loss, resilience, and the life of the mind into an engaging and ruminative listen.

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