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annie ellicott | the going prayer

The Going Prayer – Annie Ellicott from The New Honey Shade on Vimeo.

 
The music of Oklahoma-native Annie Ellicott is composed of a rural folksome jazz-tempered quintessence. This is an otherworldly beauty which caresses a listener’s ear like the whisperings of angels.

The first song from her anticipated album, The Going Prayer is all gem-like refraction; a soul tome washed clean of all pretense. This is no faux artistry here, this is a woman standing on solid euphonious ground.

Ms. Ellicott’s as yet untitled debut release is scheduled to drop Fall 2015. “So when this body no more can hold the high tide, I can fall into the sea, arms opened wide.” Beatific. Buoyant. Badass. All three descriptors are more than apt. Rest assured I will keep you posted about this very talented artist. Peace.

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chet faker | built on glass | talk is cheap | official video


 
Chet Faker has been plying his trade for a minute or two now, making it look easy as he drops track after track of irresistible music. And now this certified soul-man has gone and dropped his debut tour de force, Built On Glass (Downtown Records) and there isn’t an ounce of fragility within a light year of this release. Peep the Toby & Pete-directed video below.
 

 
The tracks are boisterous and sensual just like everything else Mr. Faker has touched in the past few years. Yes, he keep it frosty and no doubt he is moving with confidence. Get Built On Glass via iTunes. Peace. Continue reading “chet faker | built on glass | talk is cheap | official video”

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lyla foy | mirrors the sky


 
Lyla Foy gives listeners a glimpse into her forthcoming debut album, Mirrors the Sky with the track Feather Tongue and it drops like molten lead from a shot tower. Kerplunk! This is sweetness dousing your heart with pure evanescence.
 
In an recent interview with her label (Sub Pop) the 25-year old artist said, “When I first started writing for the project, I wanted everything to be really focused on the melodies, but also really simple and minimal,” says Foy. “Just using a lot of bass, and simple drum patterns. So it was completely different to anything I was doing at the time. I wanted to try something new, and that one song happened and I felt like it was the beginning of something.”

Mirrors the Sky is out now, but you can check out the tracks, Feather Tongue and Easy after the jump. Peace. Continue reading “lyla foy | mirrors the sky”

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ben khan | 1992 ep


 
There is something to be said about youthful enthusiasm, and although London-based Ben Khan has youth aplenty he also has the ability to put the music where his mouth is. With his latest, the debonair and totally sexy 1992 EP the music comes out swingin’.

Last year he offered up the twin pleasures of Savage and Eden as mere demos, but now we get to listen to the aforementioned tracks fully fleshed out and alive with the most beat-i-ful heart.

All four-tracks on the 1992 EP possess a high energy, they sway and drip with R&B licks, pulsate with bassiness and crisp synth lines. Check it out below and I betcha’ your body will respond in kind. The 1992 EP drops May 5th courtesy of Blessed Vice Records. Peace. Continue reading “ben khan | 1992 ep”

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things we like: julien dubuque international film festival (2014)

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This year I am attending the Julien Dubuque International Film Festival for the first time and I am having an amazing time. Before I start talking about some of spectacular films I’ve had the pleasure of viewing let me take a moment to thank executive director Michael Coty and Maria J. McDonald (CEO of MOmentum Production) and a host of others who have really welcomed everyone attending the JDFF (2014) with open arms. Mark my words this film festival is destined for bigger things.

(Below, me and executive director Michael Coty)

 
Now, let’s talk film. When I checked-in there was a booth set up in the hotel lobby, the booth was manned by smiling faces and these folks were eager to not only talk about this year’s entries, but also recommend their favorites as well.

If you’ve ever attended a film festival it is all about the buzz, not the media buzz but what films the people are talking about. I just arrived and just like that within minutes I already got two wonderful recommendations so I jot them down. First up, the wonderful Aaron Douglas Johnston directed My Sister’s Quinceañera
 

 
This film is wonderfully anchored by Silas, the oldest son of a Iowan Mexican-American family. Silas is by proxy the man of the house, a title he never asked for but finds hard to shed. Yet, he is a man-child beset by indecision and a yearning to break free of a small town with limited options and a blurred future. I sat, watched and felt the palpable tension radiating from the screen as Silas bore the brunt of his father-like responsibilities. The depiction of this family is as organic as it is sincere in it’s approach to familiar themes. Themes which weave in and out of our every day exhalations. The commonality of his barely restrained wants versus his almost paternal presence is something, if not readily identifiable, then not far removed from our emotional core. The need to look after, and in many ways protect and provide for his younger siblings seems to engulf him and blot out is own desires for something different. For if he leaves his family will surely suffer through the exodus of yet another father. Yes, this film deals with the complexities of youthful aspirations clashing with familial responsibilities but it is also much more. This is art not imitating life, but rather it seems we witness these lives bare-eyed and up close rather than through the distant barrier of the camera’s lens.

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wife | heart is a far light


 
James Kelley, former frontman of Altar Of Plagues, is prepping for the release of his debut release as WIFE. For fans of electronica this is a boon, for Kelley brings loads of talent into this otherwise uncharted realm. Check out what he had to say during a recent Dazed interview:

“My natural instinct with this record was to be 100-percent honest and simply make the songs I wanted to make,” Kelly told Dazed. “That may seem trite for me to say, but I think that I could have also taken the easier route and succumbed to expectations people may have based on any music I have created in the past. I’m acutely aware of certain styles that exist in the electronic music arena, ones which a former metal musician could easily apply his skills towards. But that is not something that I currently have any desire to pursue, and ending my former band was in many ways (although not solely) a statement of sincerity—that WIFE is a new beginning for me, and that I am very much stepping out of my comfort zone with it.”
 

 

The What’s Between LP drops June 9th courtesy of Tri Angle Records, and the album features production turns from Roly Porter, The Haxan Cloak and LIE. Peace. Continue reading “wife | heart is a far light”

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other people | just friends | don’t tell me


 
Saying Nicolas Jaar wears many hats is a given. It’s like saying Mr. Shakespeare was pretty adept with a quill and a ink well. But it more than evident that he consistently rises to the realm of the splendiferous in relation to stunning resonating sound waves.

Other People is the collaborative project between Nicolas Jaar and Sasha Speilberg (Cate Capshaw + Steven Speilberg = Sasha). Regardless of her parentage, she is quite the talented noisemaker.

Check out the track Don’t Tell Me and know what a earful of sonic dopeness sounds like. Look for the Don’t Tell Me 10″ to drop soon. Peace. Continue reading “other people | just friends | don’t tell me”

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digits | keeping secrets | official video


 
Digits delivers a Karaoke-themed video riff with dark haired lovelies (the best kind of lovelies there is if you ask me, but alas you didn’t ask(SIGH) and muted, hazy lights. The song Keeping Secrets is a steady drone of electronic pulses which prickles your skin-drums like a spring shower of candy coated raindrops. Oh by the way, you can DOWNLOAD the track Keeping Secrets for FREE. Peep the video below.

Also, Keeping Secrets is the last single from the Shake Your Body Down mixtape, which you can still download for free or buy on cassette here: Shake Your Body Mixtape. Peace. Continue reading “digits | keeping secrets | official video”