A little while back, I brought y’all this cool EP by an artist named Allume. Thankfully, she’s kept the work going, including with one of her compatriots Souda. This new group is called Hummingbird, and they’ve got the indietronica sound down pat. This almost mournful, yet potent track is a winding delight. The soothing vocals and the soft, but persistent synthy bass got into my head and hasn’t left. So now it’s in yours. It’s good for one of those moody days where you want to feel good, but you can’t deal with sunshine & lollipops in your ears. Great work from down under. I really need to get to a festival in Australia.
Monthly Archives: March 2015
MOTW: Just Dan’s Throwback Hospitality & Lucid Dreaming 2 By Steve James
This week ladies & gentlemen, I’m happy to bring you two more dope mixes by people I’ve actually had conversations with. We’ll see how long I can keep this streak going, but starting us off, Steve James! I’ve talked about this wunderkind excessively, but please hit play if you’re still one of the 4 people that don’t think kids learning how to produce their own music on laptops won’t get you farther than learning how to play the bassoon. Not only is the mix done right, but there are definitely tracks on it I’ve never heard and need in my life. Imagine that, the younger ones finding it faster and serving it up nicer than I could. Almost the way of things, huh? If you’re in Miami get at his sets here, you won’t be disappointed. Switching gears to my always favorite, liquid drum & bass, my boy Just Dan delivers. This set of impressively vintage Hospital records hits shows what the guy can do when he wakes up with an idea in his head. He’s also doing a mix experiment which I’m super into. He’s going to do a series of “One Takes,” which will be one off-recordings, authentic, however it goes, it goes. This kind of risk taking is something we only hear from the DJs that do live shows, at regular intervals and it’s the same sound week-to-week. This series, spanning genres & styles, is definitely not something our press-play DJs do. Respect.
Midnight Music: Soular Order – Stay Close
https://soundcloud.com/soularorder/soular-order-stay-close Soular Order has been breaking new ground in soundscapes for quite some time. This Stay Close demo is a perfect example of what Mr. Order (Soular?) is capable of. This ethereal bass structured around sound principles (I’m terrible I know) gives him such a competent oeuvre (look it up kids), that he can put out an early demo and I’ll not only eat it up, I’ll post the everliving crap out of it. This is chill like few others can make it. The vibes here are real, so put this into your face as your systems shut down one by one. At some point, I’ve gotta convince/trick Soular Order into doing an interview with me. If only so I can learn more about how the hell he creates these amazing tracks. Stay close to your loved ones indeed. Once the EP is out, y’all will know, I promise that.
Hometown Fire: Miss Sabado
Miss Sabado is incredible. That’s as simple as I can put it. I’ve never really experienced someone like her, whether behind the decks, in casual conversation, or when she’s feeding a room full of people she cares about. A model by day & DJ by night, this best coast transplant is one of those success stories NYC is known for throughout the world. She threw her own series of parties a little while back, a relaxed affair at a few of the more obscure bars & basements in the city. There were a couple of really good nights there, with fashion forward people dancing to exotic & skillfully arranged beats, while sipping on good wine until late in the evening. I’ve been at a party of hers that was standing room only, and when I was one of a dozen on the floor early in the night. Much respect for this lady DJ, and Resident Advisor agrees with me.
I’ve highlighted two of her most recent mixes to give you over 2hrs of ear time with Miss Sabado. Her global yet understated take on deep & tech house is something that we’re only just starting to hear more of in Brooklyn over the last 6 months. Guess who has been on that tip for longer than tropical house has been a genre? I highly encourage signing up for her newsletter as well because if you do, then when you get the new mixes & gig information, it also comes with what’s below. You’re welcome. Check her out and you’ll be as captivated by her work as I was.
Midnight Music: Coleman Hell – Thumbalina
Tonight, I’m keeping the indie presence here going with this fun little ditty out of Mr. Coleman Hell from Toronto. While I really expected leather, this guy’s got a great sound and so much energy. This kind of upbeat, hopeful, optimistic sound is exactly what you need on Monday night. The lyrics are smart, romantic and may give you a reason to think that you’ll find someone after that last trainwreck. It’s effervescent and that is coming from the old, cynical grumpy Gotham cat himself. It’s entirely difficult to get me to smile this much, so props to Mr. Hell. Can we please get Mr. Hell to be a metal/emo/brutal side project? I mean, probably for my own amusement but it could work? (via Fresh New Tracks)
Eclectic Method Is Back!
This kind of annotated video isn’t something we see very often, but just in case you wanted a little refresher on the origins of the music you’ll be dancing to all summer, check Eclectic Method‘s video out. People generally never remember it, or cleverly forget it when they’ve lifted something profitable from the past (coughrobinthickecough). While it’s a little light on the morass of darkness, just in case you wanted something a little more geeky fun, I’ve got a bonus video from Eclectic Method just on lightsabers. Because, when you’re as good as the Eclectic Method at video editing, you can make a music video from pretty much any sound you want. Check it & more of his projects out at his site.
What Lies Beneath: That Noble Fury On Ludlow. A Sweaty, Rocking Time.
I don’t make it down to Ludlow as often as I used to anymore. I hadn’t found myself in a sweaty basement full of hard-working, hard-drinkings in a while. The allure of DJs and all of that right? A very good friend, a very old friend was performing, and I couldn’t miss it. To the point, he had given me the privilege of being my very first interview. It was a rare full band appearance, so I took my place at the bar, sipping a vintage Miller Light for effect. Continue reading
Midnight Music: Vices & Jailo & BrassTracks & K.B. Starr – We Bout It
So, I’m kind of annoyed at my West Coast people. They didn’t tell me about Moving Castle, this stunning label that’s been making waves at SXSW this year. They just dropped their 4th compilation of future hotness and I wanted to bring you this highlight. This tune combines so many of my favorite things. We’ve got future bass, brass, syncopation, appropriate vocal work & quite a fun set of vibes. This is the kind of work I really like seeing from the EDM universe. The collab between the half dozen pieces of talent that honestly need to keep working together. Hit up the soundcloud page and show some love to these guys on Facebook & Instagram, because you’re going to be hearing way more from Moving Castle in the coming months.
Shlohmo’s Music Video For “Beams” Is Everything About Being Young In NYC
I am so happy Shlomo has gone down the Daft Punk “no fucks given” track of artistic pursuit & accomplishment. We are all better for it. In keeping with the internet, I got wind of this music video from an Australian blog, though it looks to have been entirely filmed in places I travel weekly. This is the true majesty of the city, especially when you are young, irresponsible, invincible, and for a brief moment some nights, free. The track is a stupendous blend of drum beats, indie synth chords and a great twangy vibe. The track may seem brash & organic, but any fan of Shlohmo knows how exact he can be. Each sound in the song, just like each image in the video is there specifically. This kind of youthful exuberance & brash risk taking has been associated with creativity & rose-colored memories for so many for so long. Shlohmo is able to give us one of the most sophisticated looks at what that’s like, in a raw, dangerous form, in under 4 minutes. Take that Ken Burns. (via Stoney Roads)
Midnight Music: Dan Deacon – Learning To Relax [Seizure-Inducing Music Video]
Welp, this one is a bit much. It’s wonderful, but I wouldn’t recommend projecting the music video or staring directly at it for too long if you have epilepsy. The tune is tremendous. A fusion between chip & indie with whole lot of fun synthwork on the top, but it’s totally only half the story. The serenity of the track is contrasted with an exceptionally simple music video that complicates itself to the point of insanity by mathematics. It may be a lot, and could give the weaker among us nausea. So, listen to it in another window if that’s you. If not, wheee! It’s crazypants.
Terry Gotham 