Ten Questions With Terry Gotham: 2Tone Disco

Posted on July 29, 2016 by Terry Gotham

Interview By Terry Gotham

1. How’s 2016 been for you two so far? Any wild party stories from touring or festival sets you’re looking forward to?
Omni – 2016 has been great. So many great things have happened but I think being an official artist at sxsw for the first time takes the cake. That whole week was just overwhelming in a good way.

James – Yea SXSW was nuts this year I feel it was a tie between that and Magfest. Magfest was giant convention with a 24 hour arcade (pretty much our heaven) and SXSW we were official artists so that was pretty crazy.

Continue reading →

Monday Music: Trademark, Elephante, A-Trak, cln & Jaya Prime!

Posted on July 25, 2016 by Terry Gotham

FGxq4 It’s another scorcher here in the city, so I decided to go with it and pour it on. Trademark brings the sun, Elephante smooths along massively, Jaya Prime bristles perfectly, A-Trak lays down the vintage funk and cln pours scintillating indie feels. San Dimas High School Football Rules!

Trademark is a rare treat now that we’ve passed the era of Pop Mashup. As sad as that is, a couple of acts out there keep the fires burning. Trademark throws together Ariana Grande, ZAYN, 3LAU & Kap Slap to great effect. This mashup is exactly what a summer anthem should be. I will continue to hope for the day when Dance Pop & House beats rule the air waves once again.

A massive tune, Elephante continues to prove that his rags-to-riches story is well deserved. The bass dovetails with the soft percussive pad work as Nevve‘s silky vocals stroll along. This has an August Sunset vibe to it, but when you’re about to write it off, the bass drop knocks it out of the park. Sultry while peppy, with just a touch of melancholy.

Bob Moses remixed by A-Trak. No, seriously, what other reason do you need. A-Trak brings the French house feel to the classic by Bob Moses. There’s a strong smell of Daft Punk pushed through the ever present funk filter of the Champion of Fool’s Gold himself. It’s a triumph and it probably flew under everyone’s radar. Here, just to make sure you didn’t miss it too.

cln is a low-key star from down under that I’ve been tracking for a little over a year. His North American tour is eagerly, eagerly anticipated, as is Mist. The fusion of chip, indie and vintage melancholy works perfectly and makes for a staggeringly potent wave of feels. Great work from the Brisbane native, so happy you’re coming to this side of the planet to drop this kind of vibe on Brooklyn.
I told you I’d be shoving the rest of Jaya Prime‘s discography into your face & I’m a man of my word. This inky, morbid chillstep featuring Peter Weyland from Prometheus is exactly what your goth party scene needs. The murky, staccato beat plays off of the exceptionally well used sample to create an atmosphere second to none. Jaya Prime always sticks the dismount, so put it into your face and save it for a day you need to walk with purpose through a crowd in the rain.

Monday Music: Kenneth Bager, Jesse Futureman, Peter $un, Edwin Raphael & Brutalist

Posted on July 18, 2016 by Terry Gotham

kWsHzia Now that we’re in the thick of the “stuck to your chair” heat here in NYC, I decided to take a break from the throbbing electronic sounds of festivals, and serve up a dose of more analog vibes. Classic guitar, hip hop, indie, lighter drum & bass, and even a tune from a singer-songwriter. Cool off, slow down, and enjoy! Big ups to Stamp The Wax for providing 2 of the 5 tunes this week. They’re definitely one of my crucial daily reads.

Kenneth Bager’s Music For Dreams label has served up some exceptional Balearic, a vibe that some of my younger readers might not be familiar with. Essentially, the lighter, Mediterranean, ebb & flow feel that keeps you moving, but never presses you to dance or make a big show of it. Sunset over Hobro brings together guitar, accordion and soft, sunrise bass pad work for a relaxed intensity that pulled me in immediately. If it intrigued you as well, hit up the album on iTunes & Spotify.

Jesse Futerman, out of Toronto, slid this tune into my reality thanks to Stamp The Wax, and we’re all better for it. The lush, leisurely, morning jam deserves your coffee break or PokeStroll. The squelchy synths never get too aggressive, with a funky melody melting all over the beat. The muted trumpet & bass guitar give the track a vintage feel that I cannot get enough of these days.

Switching gears entirely, but staying at the same tempo, is this cut off of Peter $un‘s new mixtape, Paradise Is A Day Away. It’s been a minute since I repped rhymes, but this was too good to ignore. The heavy bass & ethereal feel seem to match the not-aggressive, but still wicked flow. It’s almost got a tinge of blues which is rare these days. Get at it.

Edwin Raphael does exceptional work here. The guitar soothes, the voice soars, and that’s all you need. No extra wacky synth work, no house beats, no autotune. Just a boy & his guitar, singing his heart out. Enjoy it with someone you love.

Rounding out the list is Brutalist, a group that wins for best new act name of the week, but also really nails it here on Strep. I expected the tune to be way more aggressive & brutal, but it’s a relaxed stroll through piano chord synths, stuttering bass & gorgeous chopped up vocals. Dig in and thanks to Stoney Roads for making sure I didn’t miss it.

Monday Music: La Mar, 2ToneDisco, Cade, Hotel Garuda & Lexy Panterra

Posted on July 11, 2016 by Terry Gotham

34 - c7bGXQe We’re in the thick of the sauna that is Summer in New York. So to cool off, here’s your regular quintet of tunes, upbeat, yet still relaxed, all from excellent emerging talent. Enjoy with a cold drink and a skip in your step!

Sydney duo La Mar surprised me with this one. A slow, crooning start pushes into a delightful indietronica vibe, complete with the vagaries of Asian influences, soft vocals, and some relaxed bass. Can we please start hearing shit like this on the radio in America please?!

Since everyone & their mother is playing Pokemon Go, I figured this week’s tracks had to include at least 1 tune that screams JAPAN, and 2ToneDisco are happy to provide. The fusion between J-Pop, chip and glitzy West Coast house is bouncy, peppy, but still manages to nail the the breakdown at 2min in. All in all a great effort from 2ToneDisco, so now I’ve gotta find a way to interview these cats, especially after their dope JetSet Radio remix.

Hotel Garuda has been moving up that festival booking ladder steadily. Their sound is exactly what so many people need in their day/week/festival, so I couldn’t be happier for them. This sunny remix of the hit by Kaskade & Felix Cartal takes the scintillating vocals from Ofelia K and puts a solid, fest-ready house backing under it. It won’t blow your mind, just make you relax a touch mid-set.

Lexy Panterra continues the smooth, indietronica vibe in effect this week. The soothing vocals, vaguely garage-esque beats, and a distinct lack of audio modulation/auto-tune makes for a great chill/relaxation tune, or for your super secret playlist for getting down.

CADE is a new arrival on my radar, but has an EDEN/Stephen thing going on, so they’re a welcome addition to my indietronica stable. The sweeping chord shift at 1min in is exceptional, showing that heavy modulation can work, especially if you’ve already got chops. You can feel the West Coast influences on this track, but CADE still holds his own, bringing a unique sound to a field that will be very crowded in a couple of years. Indietronica is the future of pop, you heard it here first.