Where the food sounds good, and the music is pretty tasty too.
No the band name is not a misprint, but the NYC-based project is worthy of a double-take, or should I say double-listen? Mind me not, but do check out their latest release “Wings“. The track provokes one (or at least me) to sky-gaze and makes me feel all grandiose and gossamer inside. Again, don’t mind me, but do find enjoyment in the music and video. Continue reading “haerts // wings”
hot off the press exemplar nyc producer/dj dBerrie is up to his usual musical antics, this time out he has put together a high-energy mix that’ll get the party started. listen to the 2:20 teaser of “Aquarius” then head over to beatport to cop the whole enchilada for a mere pittance. peace. Continue reading “dberrie // aquarius (original mix)”
brooklyn, nyc-based foursome body language lets loose with the shining star disco laden, “lose my head” from their recent grammar ep via om records. you can cop the release here and on itunes. by the way, i highly recommend the band’s 2011 release ‘social studies‘ peace. Continue reading “body language // lose my head”
i think an artist should do a song cover only if they’re going to do it justice. in the case of blood orange‘s (devonté hynes) cover of lemonade’s track “neptune,” it exceeds all (well, at least mine) expectations. the track is taken from lemonade’s current album ‘diver’ released via true panther. by the way, you”ll also hear a pretty dope rap verse by the veritable practitioner of rhymes starchild. peace. Continue reading “blood orange // neptune (ft. starchild)”
freelance whales is a fun band to listen to. period. just take into account their previous effort, weathervanes (2009). on that album they collectively managed to craft euphoric and giddy music replete with thought-provoking songs that took it easy on our collective ears and hearts. and while melancholy does exist too in the freelance whales universe, it is isn’t something of which the band dwells on. now, almost 3-years later the band’s 2012 sophomore offering diluvia materializes, and we get to experience the fun all over again. but it is a bit more than “more of the same.” present still is the above excellent song-writing and those sonic compositions which vacillate between the rife and rich swaths of wide open space grandeur to those dazzling earthbound odes with sparse beautiful simplicity. this is am album with the power to, maybe not fix things, but it does offer an atmosphere in which all seems a bit less pressing and a lot more hopeful and possible.
i got my hands (read ears) on an advance copy of the album diluvia and from the first song, “aeolus” it begins with soft synths and choir-like chanting. this is tranquil easement into an album which blossoms into a deluge of pale and spiraling colors. the second, third and fourth songs, “land features,” “follow through” and “spitting image” is familiar ground. in that they closely resemble the “freelance whales sound” we fell in love with in the first place (the synths, glockenspiel, banjo and harmonium are all still there). yet, it is a bit of a misnomer to even attempt to nail down the freelance whales sound, because it is a wide and uncharted land where the mandolin cozies up with the water phone, and synthesizers make strange bedfellows with a bamboo pipe organ.
the song, “red star” judah dadone shuts us into the dreamscape of hist wistful heart and a torn scrim of red falls down around us…, “i don’t wanna jump from this scarlet star tonight
and bend things so much I can’t remember how they were, let her nova alone breathing outwards to burn,” this is a bitter lump of coal in my throat and a sweet doleful segue into our fragile humanity as one can get.
to some it up diluvia is a fine album right down to the last song, “emergency exit“. this lp it is filled with enough good music to keep you warm and listening the whole winter through. i also want to mention how freelance whales make good and magical use of the lithe and feathery vocals of doris cellar‘s angelic voice, adding just the right amount of buoyancy to various tracks throughout. peace. Continue reading “freelance whales // diluvia”
it’s hard to rise about the proverbial fray in the nyc indie music scene. so, it is quite an accomplishment to hear the band young unknowns as their well-made music, spreads like wild-fire above and beyond their local Brooklyn environs. listen to a couple of tracks, “far enough” and “target practice” taken from the band’s forthcoming debut ep you are a young unknown. no solid release dates for the ep as of yet, but i’ll keep you informed. peace. Continue reading “young unknowns // far enough”
It is songs like, “Only Fields” which the world should be filled with, to ease everything from a stubbed toe to a broken heart. Graph Rabbit (Austin Donohue and Shy Kedmi) is something special to listen to in the wee hours of melancholy. And, we’ll get a chance to expand our collective introduction and adoration when the band releases its debut release Snowblind on October 9th via Butterscotch records. After the jump check the duo’s live performance at the Lomography Gallery. Peace. Continue reading “graph rabbit // only fields”
The duo consisting of Will Nichols and Craig Campbell who make up the NYC-based Space Command have expertly carved out a niche in the electronic music spectrum by crafting the Machines Make Music LP with a rock-edged sound, adding a bit of gritty charm along the way. One of my recent favorites is their, “Insult To Injury” track. These veterans of the NYC indie music scene are basking in a well-deserved limelight. Peace. Continue reading “space command // insult to injury”
When you surround your head space with the music of the legendary veteran producer/rapper Large Professor it’s hard not to have a good time. His music has a vibe wherein the unimportant and frivolous dissipate in the furthest recesses of your mind. Large Professor drops jewels of wisdom and profound insight like they were penny candy. Here is a man who has accomplished plenty in the Rap/Hip Hop game having worked alongside such figures as Eric B. and Rakim. And you can count such Hip Hop notables as Kool G, Kane, Slick, Busta Rhymes, and Common among his peers and proteges. And still thorough the years the man remains true to his origins. After the jump watch his “Keys To The City” video and witness classic Hip Hop at its finest. For more, check out Large Processor’s interview at HipHop DX. Peace. Continue reading “large professor // keys to the city”
What better way to get it jumpin’ off than with a combo featuring Das Racist trading verses with Talib Kweli over ultra beats. Listen to “The Actual” from the Eastern District Presents Mosholu the compilation is available now as a free download. Continue reading “das racist & talib kweli // the actual”