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Tuesday, April 30, 2013
Sunday, April 14, 2013
Three more LIB musicians Haywyre, Herbert Bail Orchestra, HeRobust
Haywyre has been back in the U.S. since 2008 after living in Austria for a number of years. Martin Vogt currently resides in Minnesota. He started in music as a child as a pianist. Today he takes that keyboard background into the digital world and creates gorgeous mixtures of glitch-hop, dub step and jazz.
Vogt's keys take a front seat on most of the tracks I listened to and that property invited me to listen more and longer. Haywyre takes a simple melody and adds a nice, complimentary "left hand" then layers in all the other electronic sounds along with samples of real sounds. I can feel a genuine creative process and hear the talent for skilled composition. Haywyre's music will definitely have people dancing while feeling the warm-fuzzy kind of happy.
Herbert Bail Orchestra is not only a live band from L.A., they are a rather large group:
Anthony Frattolillo - voice, guitar
Andrew Katz - accordion, vocals, trombone
Colin Waling - keyboard, piano, vocals
Michael Villiers- drums, percussion
Jack Dawson - violin, banjo, guitar
Ryan McClain - bass
Danny T. Levin - trumpet, trombone
Ian Souter - trumpet
Jacob Hasset - viola/violin
Their most recent album, "The Future's In The Past" is an homage to gypsy folk music. It definitely is it's own version of musical storytelling.
The group are definitely bards who write some very interesting lyrics. The sound is folk/indie. I'm sorry but I'm tempted to don my hipster garb for their set. But for real I'd like to have some tinker's apparel with me and get into my own Irish traveller heritage for a while. This is music to listen to, really pay attention and hear the tales being told. You may come away with more knowledge than you arrived with and you will have felt a number of emotions.
HeRobust comes in to represent the Southeast. Hayden Kramer hails from Hotlanta GA. Although only at the electronic music thing for two years, HeRobust has pushed himself to the limit recording and releasing his own music along with collaborations and commissions. Like most artists who, good things come to those who bust their asses while waiting, Kramer has caught the eye and ear of Skrillex, 12th Planet and Mad Decent among others. They have spun his tracks live and on their websites helping grow his fanbase.
I like this guy. He's fun. On more than one track I got "video game soundtrack" only to learn that that was just the intro. The songs then grow into more than something to roll monkeys around to. Some songs have a whimsical feel and others have a wink and a nod. All of the titles will at least make you smile if not laugh out loud. Like I said, fun...a whole lot of fun.
Weekend One of Coachella is coming to a close but there's still #2. If you're going next weekend remember to look up DoLab and checkout the snail from The Giant Storybook Project. His/Her name is Helix. DoLab and Lucent rest up for the next few days. Peeps, get those tickets ordered for LIB. Talk to you again tomorrow.
NY, NJ and CT - Wanna see IAMX for FREE on 4/26?
Fourculture will be giving away two pairs of tickets for IAMX’s April 263 show at Irving Plaza in NYC…wooot!
We were approached to give these tickets away so this is kind of a big deal…Fourculture got noticed!
The contest is set up on Facebook: http://woobox.com/kkm5fe
It begins Wednesday, April 10 at 8 AM EST and ends Tuesday, April 16 at midnight.
Please help keep this contest in everyone’s face for the next week with RTs and shares!
Thank you in advance!!
Friday, April 12, 2013
Today's three LIB musicians - Gladkill, Goldroom, GRiZ
Gladkill is a native New Yorker who migrated to the other city-by-the-Bay, Oakland where he joined the Headtron collective. Boris Gladkikh's popularity continues to grew since he first started playing out live in 2009. He has booked slots on numerous large music festivals including Coachella.
Let's start with Gladkill's website. I think he may be one of the many innovators that will usher the industry into new and profitable options. Gladkill is not the first artist to give music away but in doing so, especially in the environment of a visually beautiful while being well laid out site definitely plants seeds to grow his base. People come to the site and want to stick around. They can click on songs in the Soundcloud widget then go read a great bio, look at tour schedules or compose an email. There is a merch link but the store is not open yet. It's just a very pleasant experience. Feeling good about an artist just from their web presence already entices people to pay for a ticket to a show or buy merch and other recordings that are for sale.
As for music? Fantastic in the fantasy sense. It feels like a quest through a storybook from the future. Castles, heroes and villains from some far away planet. The compositions are "pretty". I'd want to dress up for Boris's performances in something flowy and maybe put on a pair of wings of some sort. Then dance the tale being created by the music. I really like it and will try to experience it in July.
Goldroom or Josh Legg is a Los Angelan who has physically toured the world already. He has had successful singles that charted and got mentions in major music medium. He has collaborated with yesterday's heavy hitter, Gigamesh. His website contains a lot of audio/visual treasures. The homepage is filled with videos to feast your eyes and ears on. Before going off on his own as Goldroom, Josh was part of the synth-pop trio, NightWaves.
This music has a soul full of pop. Besides wicked electronic and instrumental hooks there are sweet vocals that people can surely sing along to, especially cruising down the highway. This is was I classify as summer music. I imagine a lot of group and couples dancing going on to these tracks. If its spirit is pop, its heart has an island/beachy beat, one that is most definitely one that requires heads bobbing and bare or sandaled feet doing that little moving around about a 5' circle in the grass or on the sand. This is pop without apologies. It is original, well written and performed. Too bad radio doesn't spin good music like this.
GRiZ is just a babe. Only 21 years old and hailing from the Motor City, this guy is currently in the midst of a U.S. tour before doing the summer festival circuit. According to his Facebook this is his first time at LIB and he is stoked to come. Grant Kwiecinski is another artist building his rep by giving away his recordings. If you visit his site you can download his current record, "Mad Liberation". Make sure to read Grant's explanation of the album and note the fact that he is humble enough to thank you for listening. I am impressed when he admits to not having a fancy studio. The other thing I liked was his statement that he is a "vinyl lover and a people hugger" . Leads me to believe there is a great stripe of humbleness that runs through him.
His music really is, as GRiZ describes, a collection of noise. But there are melodies and a solid beat working as the bread to hold these sound sandwiches together. Grant likes to play with all the new buttons and knobs on the deck or in his computer while also throwing in some cool vocal elements that act as flavor enhancing condiments. His songs are really fun. I even came across little humorous add ins to make sure you are smiling or even laughing while listening. I think I'd love some of these tracks as replacements for the ones in Mario Kart. Especially "Yesterday's Dream" is music to game by.
To all my fellow nerds and geeks, weirdos and freaks doin' the Coachella, don't forget to boogie it at the Woogie with the DoLab crew. Everyone, if you haven't already, get your tix for LIB and support all the really great arts and artists out there. Peace.
Let's start with Gladkill's website. I think he may be one of the many innovators that will usher the industry into new and profitable options. Gladkill is not the first artist to give music away but in doing so, especially in the environment of a visually beautiful while being well laid out site definitely plants seeds to grow his base. People come to the site and want to stick around. They can click on songs in the Soundcloud widget then go read a great bio, look at tour schedules or compose an email. There is a merch link but the store is not open yet. It's just a very pleasant experience. Feeling good about an artist just from their web presence already entices people to pay for a ticket to a show or buy merch and other recordings that are for sale.
As for music? Fantastic in the fantasy sense. It feels like a quest through a storybook from the future. Castles, heroes and villains from some far away planet. The compositions are "pretty". I'd want to dress up for Boris's performances in something flowy and maybe put on a pair of wings of some sort. Then dance the tale being created by the music. I really like it and will try to experience it in July.
Goldroom or Josh Legg is a Los Angelan who has physically toured the world already. He has had successful singles that charted and got mentions in major music medium. He has collaborated with yesterday's heavy hitter, Gigamesh. His website contains a lot of audio/visual treasures. The homepage is filled with videos to feast your eyes and ears on. Before going off on his own as Goldroom, Josh was part of the synth-pop trio, NightWaves.
This music has a soul full of pop. Besides wicked electronic and instrumental hooks there are sweet vocals that people can surely sing along to, especially cruising down the highway. This is was I classify as summer music. I imagine a lot of group and couples dancing going on to these tracks. If its spirit is pop, its heart has an island/beachy beat, one that is most definitely one that requires heads bobbing and bare or sandaled feet doing that little moving around about a 5' circle in the grass or on the sand. This is pop without apologies. It is original, well written and performed. Too bad radio doesn't spin good music like this.
GRiZ is just a babe. Only 21 years old and hailing from the Motor City, this guy is currently in the midst of a U.S. tour before doing the summer festival circuit. According to his Facebook this is his first time at LIB and he is stoked to come. Grant Kwiecinski is another artist building his rep by giving away his recordings. If you visit his site you can download his current record, "Mad Liberation". Make sure to read Grant's explanation of the album and note the fact that he is humble enough to thank you for listening. I am impressed when he admits to not having a fancy studio. The other thing I liked was his statement that he is a "vinyl lover and a people hugger" . Leads me to believe there is a great stripe of humbleness that runs through him.
His music really is, as GRiZ describes, a collection of noise. But there are melodies and a solid beat working as the bread to hold these sound sandwiches together. Grant likes to play with all the new buttons and knobs on the deck or in his computer while also throwing in some cool vocal elements that act as flavor enhancing condiments. His songs are really fun. I even came across little humorous add ins to make sure you are smiling or even laughing while listening. I think I'd love some of these tracks as replacements for the ones in Mario Kart. Especially "Yesterday's Dream" is music to game by.
To all my fellow nerds and geeks, weirdos and freaks doin' the Coachella, don't forget to boogie it at the Woogie with the DoLab crew. Everyone, if you haven't already, get your tix for LIB and support all the really great arts and artists out there. Peace.
LIB music line-up, the "Gs" - Gigamesh, Giraffage, gLAdiator
Gigamesh aka Matthew Thomas Masurka is the first artist on this list from the "Midwest". Gigamesh is from 1/2 of the twin cities, the half with the Mall Of America (and home of my absolute favorite pop-punk band Motion City Soundtrack - yes totally shameless promotion). Matthew comes to Temecula with a pretty impressive pedigree. This dude is a multi-platinum selling DJ and producer. Not many people have not heard Mike Posner's "Cooler Than Me". Yeah, Gigamesh produced that schnizz along with that song you wish you could get out of your head, "Pumped Up Kicks" by Foster The People which won them a Billboard Award and got them a grammy nom (another shameless plug-this time for my friend Meghan Tonjes for her phenom acoustic rework of 'Kicks). But back to Gigamesh. He's got balls of steel for remixing the heavyweights like Fleetwood Mac, Michael Jackson and Radiohead. His music is definitely for dancing and has deep pop roots.
I found the tracks I listened to just plain fun. Listen we all know that Pumped Up Kicks can get annoying as hell cuz you can't get it out of your head but you know why? It has huge, honkin' hooks. Gigamesh's own work is the same...five minute long hooks that get stuck in your head, get your body moving and will find you still dancing to the song as it plays in your brain an hour later. I wanna swing by his stage just to be part of a good old fashion dance party.
Giraffage does have an official site besides the Facebook link here but the background is rather intense and there's really not much there. But we digress. Giraffage is Charlie Yin representing the Bay Area. A DJ who likes to take his samples from the pop world, he records on Alpha Pup Records. He's kind of a man of few words. Charlie has a number of social network presences but not a wiki. Guess that gives me a reason to try to book some press time with him.
This DJ likes to "warp" sound from the tracks I listened to. For me its definitely more techno/electronica than pop. Tracks feel like explorations of what one can do with computers and decks. It's not unpleasant but mixes patterns. Before you can get settled into one the piece will change up and take a side road. It is more soundscape-y and even meditational. It feels morning music to coffee to.
gLAdiator are Dani Goodman and Ian Johnson from "LA" of course. They list their genres as trap, bass and turn up. There is definitely an urban background to their tracks but with a trippy alter ego. Oh but then in comes the rap. Some of the tracks on their Soundcloud point to some good dance-offs or could soundtrack a decent cardio workout. I can see them drawing an audience that has a love of hip-hop. However, if repetitive agitates you, this might not be your cup of tea. This maybe another artist I need to come back to in a different state of mind. Right now it is just not resonating with me. By the way, you'll have to go to Soundcloud to listen to these guys as they are not on Spotify.
So safe travels to those going to Coachella this weekend. Do NOT forget to check out my friends DoLab and Lucent Dossier while your there. Look these artists and all the others up on Facebook, Twitter and Soundcloud. Also some of these folks are on tmblr, Pinterest, Youtube and Vine.
Thursday, April 11, 2013
Lightning In A Bottle Music Line-up A-Z: Eprom, Eskmo, François K
Eprom is a San Francisco producer respected by his fellow artists. He collaborated with Boreta from Glitch Mob. He has recorded and released tracks on numerous labels around the world.
Reading Eprom's bio in his press kit I was really curious if it was just creative wordsmithing or if there was something to it. Crunchy? Mutated? Neurocrunk? Well the first word that was proved out was experimental. This is definitely the music of the new generation. It sounds like nothing from the past or from the current mainstream. So many different elements piled on top of each other. There was on track that did have the twisted flavor of something from centuries past but the emphasis is on twisted. I'll be honest, this is not my steez at all but I have to give this artist cred for true creativity, ingenuity and innovation. Eprom thinks way outside the box and does not allow himself to be boxed in by traditional definitions of music. This is what art is about and so I hope there is a lot more to come. I imagine attendees of LIB who are into electronic soundscapes or looking for something really new will be hanging out for this producer's set.
Eskmo could not have worked out better in my alphabetical run-down as Brendan Angelides has collaborated with Eprom. Eskmo is a very prolific Los Angeles producer who has released numerous EPs, singles and LPs.
The first tracks I listened to were the one done with Eprom. Their styles are very complimentary. Continuing to Brendan's solo creations, I feel his more grand, yet smooth sounds balance out Eprom's more compact and staccato ones. I find Eskmo is more "dancey" and include some traditional instrument sounds that I like. If we're going to talk overall creative eye and being able to pick great fine art to grace the covers of his recordings, Eskmo's choice of working with Trek Matthews art for "Languages" and "Earth and Words" is brilliant. Thank you Brenda for adding another new fine artist to my list of favorites.
François K according to his Wiki is a Frenchman who migrated to New York City in 1975. He has some pretty impressive roots in the NYC scene having his name associated with Studio 54, the disco icon that will go down in history for the very, very good and worst of the worst but still iconic. He is a bit of a patriarch in electronica. He has been inducted into the Dance Music Hall Of Fame and remains a prolific studio recording engineer and live performer.
Francois K's top tracks on Spotify are all over 7 minutes long so you have time to really immerse yourself in them. I definitely heard and felt the earliest elements of electronic music in these recordings. This producer is leaving a legacy for the up and comers. He is teaching them about their history. Francois' also takes classic modern genres such as hip-hop, reggae and pop and intergrates them flawlessly with digital elements. Where Eprom is where 21st Century music is going, Francois K is where it came from. For nostalgia sake I will surely drop by his performance at LIB to reclaim my own history.
Francois K's top tracks on Spotify are all over 7 minutes long so you have time to really immerse yourself in them. I definitely heard and felt the earliest elements of electronic music in these recordings. This producer is leaving a legacy for the up and comers. He is teaching them about their history. Francois' also takes classic modern genres such as hip-hop, reggae and pop and intergrates them flawlessly with digital elements. Where Eprom is where 21st Century music is going, Francois K is where it came from. For nostalgia sake I will surely drop by his performance at LIB to reclaim my own history.
Of course I'm going to remind you all to check out these artists' official websites, social network presences including places like SoundCloud. I found all three this time on Spotify. Drop in and woogie with the Do-ers at Coachella this weekend. Visit LIB's site to order your tickets and buy some merch. Let's have fun.
Wednesday, April 10, 2013
Lightning In A Bottle music line-up CryWolf, Eduardo Castillo, Emancipator
CryWolf is Justin Taylor Phillips who calls Denver, CO home. He has joined the electronic music world a year and a half ago and has taken it by storm. He has be recognized by heavy hitters in the genre and been featured in both mainstream music media and better known blogs. He has been signed by Le Castle Vania's label, Always Never and CryWolf's debut EP dropped today.
This producer mixes original vocals or samples with all manner of musical noises. Most of the tracks I listened to are real patchwork quilts of sound that result in things you could dance to or just listen to. Justin has remixed numerous well known pop and alt songs, from Justin Timberlake to The Killers. There's a lot to listen to on his Soundcloud so you get a pretty clear idea of what you will hear at a live performance. I think I will stop by his set for at least a taste as I am interested in the pieces he uses to build a track.
Eduardo Castillo is originally from Venezuela but now lives in Los Angeles. There's not much biographic information on him on his official site or on his Facebook. However, his SoundCloud is stocked fairly well with music. Most of what I took quick listens to was very ambient which was nice. It's soothing and I found piano used a good deal. Eduardo is another one of those artists that I think anyone would use his music as more of a soundtrack for some activity other than dancing and yet in the same breath, I could see someone doing an intricate hula hoop number to more than one track.
Emancipator (Doug Appling) lists both Vienna, VA and Portland, OR as hometowns. His recorded music was first released in Japan but people who heard it and liked it passed it on to enough other people that the album was released in the U.S. in September of 2009. His latest LP, "Dusk To Dawn" was released at the end of January of this year. He is currently touring in Europe and has a full summer schedule, hitting numerous music festivals. Emancipator lists trip-hop, downbeat and electronica as his prominent genres.
My experience listening to the selections posted in the player on his site was very "visual". These compositions paint very distinct pictures of landscapes, seasons, architecture or will create a "video" in your mind of some scenario. I found myself wandering through Manhattan or watching a time-lapse of a full year in a deep part of an old forest. This music is almost tactile. Smooth and rough, sharp and soft. For me Doug's music is more inspirational than meditational. I could see it sparking the creation of other arts, from clothing design to modern ballet. He is on my must-see list for sure.
Please do you own research on these and all the artists scheduled to be part of LIB. I'm only fourteen artists in to a list of sixty-five and already it has been a journey that has something for just about any taste. Don't forget to hit up the LIB and DoLab websites along with following them on Twitter and Facebook for all the latest info. DoLab is hangin' with the desert homies at Coachella this weekend so go find them and Lucent Dossier if you're attending.
This producer mixes original vocals or samples with all manner of musical noises. Most of the tracks I listened to are real patchwork quilts of sound that result in things you could dance to or just listen to. Justin has remixed numerous well known pop and alt songs, from Justin Timberlake to The Killers. There's a lot to listen to on his Soundcloud so you get a pretty clear idea of what you will hear at a live performance. I think I will stop by his set for at least a taste as I am interested in the pieces he uses to build a track.
Eduardo Castillo is originally from Venezuela but now lives in Los Angeles. There's not much biographic information on him on his official site or on his Facebook. However, his SoundCloud is stocked fairly well with music. Most of what I took quick listens to was very ambient which was nice. It's soothing and I found piano used a good deal. Eduardo is another one of those artists that I think anyone would use his music as more of a soundtrack for some activity other than dancing and yet in the same breath, I could see someone doing an intricate hula hoop number to more than one track.
Emancipator (Doug Appling) lists both Vienna, VA and Portland, OR as hometowns. His recorded music was first released in Japan but people who heard it and liked it passed it on to enough other people that the album was released in the U.S. in September of 2009. His latest LP, "Dusk To Dawn" was released at the end of January of this year. He is currently touring in Europe and has a full summer schedule, hitting numerous music festivals. Emancipator lists trip-hop, downbeat and electronica as his prominent genres.
My experience listening to the selections posted in the player on his site was very "visual". These compositions paint very distinct pictures of landscapes, seasons, architecture or will create a "video" in your mind of some scenario. I found myself wandering through Manhattan or watching a time-lapse of a full year in a deep part of an old forest. This music is almost tactile. Smooth and rough, sharp and soft. For me Doug's music is more inspirational than meditational. I could see it sparking the creation of other arts, from clothing design to modern ballet. He is on my must-see list for sure.
Please do you own research on these and all the artists scheduled to be part of LIB. I'm only fourteen artists in to a list of sixty-five and already it has been a journey that has something for just about any taste. Don't forget to hit up the LIB and DoLab websites along with following them on Twitter and Facebook for all the latest info. DoLab is hangin' with the desert homies at Coachella this weekend so go find them and Lucent Dossier if you're attending.
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