On January 24th, Mauro Remiddi — better known by his bedroom pop alias Porcelain Raft — will release his debut LP Strange Weekend. Though produced by one man, the layered sounds of this record belie the singularity of its origin. Stream Strange Weekend in its entirety down below, via The Hype Machine.
Though often oddly overlooked by the rest of the country, the San Diego music scene has quietly remained a hotbed for some truly awesome bands. Some have modestly achieved great things while keeping their feet planted solidly in San Diego, others have thanked us for the good times and moved on to the greener pastures of Los Angeles and New York, and others still have churned out some stellar tunes without ever receiving their due. However, even in light of its past excellence, the San Diego music scene is in the throes of what should be considered a notable renaissance and is currently saturated with an impressively diverse range of talent.
Well, guess what kids? Now there’s yet another San Diego band for you to get excited about. I speak of Mothlight, the dreamy experimental pop project of one Matt Billings. Actually, Billings has been recording and performing with a revolving door of collaborators for a few years now, but my first experience with his actual music — beyond hearing him play a little acoustic guitar at a mutual friend’s house now and then — is this rough mix of the striking title track of his upcoming EP American Spirit.
Produced and mixed by Ryan Solomon of the awesomely monikered, standout San Diego band DUDES, “American Spirit” is an at-once lush and minimal drift through absorbing melodies and ethereal atmospheres, guitar-driven and yet tastefully accented with flourishes of synth and head-nod inducing beats. A cause for excitement, indeed. Check out the initial mix down below and ponder the promised excellence of the soon-to-be-finished product.
American Spirit MixXx UNO by Mothlight
Black Milk and Danny Brown have both been busy the last couple years: Black with his acclaimed 2010 solo record Album of the Year and this year’s Random Axe LP with Sean Price and Guilty Simpson; Brown with two remarkable full-lengths, last year’s The Hybrid and XXX which just dropped back in August. As each continue their own meteoric rise — Black Milk is fresh off his Jack White collab and Danny Brown just got signed to Fool’s Gold Records — it’s wholly satisfying that they decided to enter each other’s orbit for the Black and Brown EP.
Black Milk’s production is as stellar and cinematically soulful as ever, one part Stones Throw psych-hop, one part neo-Dilla chipmunk soul-chops. He also spits a solid verse on the title track, but the rest of the vocal work is handled by hip-hop’s resident force of nature Danny Brown. And Danny Brown is… well, Danny Brown. Misogynist, but so painfully clever, foul-mouthed and offensive, manic, hilarious, and brutally detailed— on the mic the man is an absolute beast.
Black and Brown drops on November 1st. Stream the whole EP down below and then pre-order it from Fat Beats on CD or vinyl.
Black Milk and Danny Brown - Black and Brown EP by BLACK MILK
In 2009, The Big Pink released A Brief History of Love, an impressive and distinctly British debut LP that was informed heavily by shoegaze, as well as the best of the 90s UK indie and electronic scenes. By the sounds of their new single, the markedly catchy “Stay Gold”, the ingredients for their tunes remain largely the same. Not that it bothers me any— this delivers with at least as much gusto as anything off the first record, save perhaps the so-good-it’s-gonna-be-hard-to-top single “Dominos”.
Check out the original version of “Stay Gold” and the remix from Dipset’s resident King Midas araabMUZIK down below. Look for LP2, Future This, to drop in January 2012.
After finally going to see Drive last night, I feel very much compelled to write something about it. I’m sure I could speak at length on the merits of the work as a whole — which are numerous — but I’ll just stick to the excellent soundtrack.
Cliff Martinez’s score is a dark and tempered work of oscillating, ambient synth that helps set Drive’s stark and austere tone. Though it radiates warmth in the brief, but beautiful and tender moments between the Driver, Irene and her son Benicio, the score spirals downward with the events of the film, morphing into a cold wave of pulsating electronics and slow drones. Masterfully complemented with songs from Kavinsky, Desire, College, and Chromatics that contribute brilliantly to the subtle 80s vibe of the film, the soundtrack is key in the crafting of a few of the best scenes in Drive. The opening title sequence comes to mind immediately: the stunning overhead shot of Los Angeles’ downtown skyline at night, the credits written in hot pink cursive, the cool, measured pacing, Gosling’s emotionless gaze (and scorpion jacket)— all set to Kavinsky’s slow-burning “Nightcall”. Perfect. Check out a couple more tracks after the jump.
Bravo to Nicolas Winding Refn and Cliff Martinez on their work. And be sure to see Drive in theaters.
Audio clip: Adobe Flash Player (version 9 or above) is required to play this audio clip. Download the latest version here. You also need to have JavaScript enabled in your browser.
Download: Kavinsky - Nightcall (feat. Lovefoxxx)
Buy: Download the Drive soundtrack over at eMusic.
Continue reading ‘“I’m gonna show you where it’s dark, but have no fear…”’
Hailing from Huntsville– one of the major hip-hop powerhouses of the South and beyond — Alabama boys G-Side and crew hooked up with Yours Truly at the Pitchfork Music Festival in Chicago to lay down a slick acapella version of unreleased track “Relaxin’.” Though it reportedly will not appear on their upcoming LP Island, you can peep a studio version down below.
Audio clip: Adobe Flash Player (version 9 or above) is required to play this audio clip. Download the latest version here. You also need to have JavaScript enabled in your browser.
Download: G-Side - Relaxin’ (Feat. G-Mane)
Buy: Download The ONE...COHESIVE over at the G-Side Bandcamp page and look for their second record of 2011, Island, to drop November 11th.
From the ashes of San Diego band Da Bears arises DUDES. Fresh off the July release of Narcissists Anonymous, they laid down a slick — barring a bit of a tuning hiccup — and enjoyable set at last weekend’s San Diego Music Thing. The songs on their latest are a sweet, layered mess of Korg-laden psych-pop that dips into a myriad of other genres and refashions disparate, borrowed bits and pieces into DUDES’ own uniquely warped vision.
Check out my favorite track, “Who’s That Lady? (We’re All Anonymous)” and follow the Bandcamp link below to get yourself a copy of Narcissists Anonymous.
Audio clip: Adobe Flash Player (version 9 or above) is required to play this audio clip. Download the latest version here. You also need to have JavaScript enabled in your browser.
Download: Dudes - Who’s That Lady? (We’re All Anonymous)
Buy: Download Narcissists Anonymous for free, or buy the cassette for $5, over at DUDES’ Bandcamp.
St. Vincent, aka baroque indie-pop chanteuse and composer Annie Clark, just premiered her latest video on the Huffington Post. Not only is it maybe the best video I’ve seen this year, but the song combines orchestral whimsy and galloping rock with the kind of deft and effortless skill that seems to come naturally to Ms. Clark. Also, that guitar solo is grimy. Marry me? No… really.
You can stream and download the previously released “Surgeon”, also taken from her forthcoming LP Strange Mercy, down below.
Audio clip: Adobe Flash Player (version 9 or above) is required to play this audio clip. Download the latest version here. You also need to have JavaScript enabled in your browser.
Download: St. Vincent - Surgeon
Buy: Pre-order Strange Mercy, which is due out Sept. 13th, from Beggars Group USA.
Here’s another rad performance filmed at the 2011 Pitchfork Music Festival. Animal Collective drop a bonkers and as-of-yet untitled new jam centered around layers of electronic loops and Avey Tare’s beastly vocal performance, along with Merriweather Post Pavilion highlight “Brothersport”— watch the crowd lose their collective shit during the epic build of the latter. Awesome.
