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(02/19/15 11:37pm)
ForteBowie.
It's tough to put the 24-year-old musician into a box. Is he a rapper, a producer, an R&B artist? He's all of the following and in position to be next in the long line of breakout stars from Atlanta. He sat down to talk about collaborating with Trinidad Jame$, his top five rappers in the game, and what to expect in 2015.
You can catch him at The Bluebird tonight (February 19) alongside Cherub and Mystery Skulls as a part of the Strip To This Tour.
(02/19/15 3:25am)
Doors: 8:00/ Show: 9:00
Cherub/Mystery Skulls/ForteBowie
Seldom serious though thoroughly entertaining electro-pop duo Cherub will be gracing the Bluebird stage this Thursday February 19th. Since garnering national attention with 2012's "Doses and Mimosas", Cherub has had a handful of releases that follow the single's tone, including their most recent EP Leftovers.
By pairing together lyrical content that revels in hedonism with upbeat synth work and electronic drum patterns, their music fills your head with thoughts that are best carried out to the type of music they provide you with. Whether it has been the Nashville based group's own material or their collaborations with acts like Big Gigantic, their 80s reminiscent pop tunes will be sure to fill the dance floor at any venue they visit.
For the Strip To This Tour, Cherub is joined by Mystery Skulls and ForteBowie. Mystery Skulls is a wildly underrated indie pop act who stuck viral success with their track "Ghost" and most recently collaborated with Brandy and the legendary Niles Rodgers on a series of songs. Atlanta bred R&B up-and-comer ForteBowie will be kicking off the show with a number of smooth, atmospheric tracks from his new project Passion & Confusion.
Here are a few tracks to get you ready for what should be a memorable Thursday night at the Bluebird.
(02/12/15 8:13pm)
Perplexing. I'm really just utterly confused how this song doesn't even have 2,000 plays a month. The chorus is club ready and the drum work by Jollie Laundry is menacing. Dusty blacks out on this one.
While Mr. Robert Shmurda battles the court system in the great state of New York, Romby provides a new pace to the name recalling track.
We catch up with Jonah Baseball, finding him more minimalistic than usual on this Antonio Mendez collaboration. We still don't have an EP from Jonah but for now we can throw this dance circle enticing track and know that when it comes, it'll be something strong.
Future house? Deep house? East coast house? Diversa chooses to call his genre blending track "actual house." Bouncy synths and vocal isolation make this a breakthrough track for the ever-changing producer.
When the first drop comes, the drums don't make sense for a split second and then they do and it's wonderful and this is a run-on now but listen to it and hear what I mean and be amazed by it.
Amended title of this week's single watch: Electronic songs you WON'T BELIEVE rappers haven't hopped on. (Fill in the blank with whatever Buzzfeed attention grabbing title you'd like. If you think of any good ones, please leave them in the comments. plz.)
Kreayshawn stomped into the spotlight with "Gucci Gucci" in 2012. It's now 2015 and Kreayshawn has since quietly backpedalled into obscurity. Mura masa temporarily brought her back and further confirmed her one hit wonder status with this re-work.
Throwback of the Week
Stones Throw's often overlooked Jonwayne totally changes this Gucci track with an insanely melodic, analog remix of the Trap God's ode to jewels. Reminiscent of Lindsay Lowend and worthy of an ice cream cone face tattoo.
(02/06/15 10:06pm)
From the unlikely pairing of heavyweight producers Cashmere Cat and DJ Mustard, to Oshi further establishing himself as a producer bound to take center stage in 2015, these are the tracks that have been on repeat all week.
(01/30/15 4:59pm)
Building off of last year's coming out party (and mixtape of the year) Days Before Rodeo, Travis Scott unexpectedly gifted us with a pair of tracks that each boast high profile features. The first, "Nothing But Net" is a menacing track featuring his tour mate Young Thug and OVO signee PARTYNEXTDOOR. The second employs Future to do seemingly the only thing he knows how to do, drop a chorus that is catchy as all hell. When Scott jumps on the track, we hear more of his incredible production with assorted reverb-heavy yells of "GO" and "STRAIGHT UP" which work behind his sparse rhyming to give this track his patented texture.
If God made a future bass song, this is what it would sound like. Perfection.
I'll go ahead and file this one under the "HOW IN THE WORLD IS THIS NOT A HIT!!?" folder. Everything from the cover art to the beat to the rhyme structure make this feel like a modern, British NWA.
This man would have my vote for the world's best producer if Lido didn't exist. "Fluxed Out" gives us a bed of gorgeous chords alongside muted drums and in doing so, we receive further proof of Carmack's ability to produce at the highest level across so many styles.
After announcing the star studded feature list for his debut LP (Passion Pit, Bastille, Foster The People), Madeon graced us with this beautiful, guitar-chop infused remix of "You're On" courtesy of Gramatik.
Add this one to "Wimme Nah" and Goldlink's "Sober Thought" and it becomes clear why Kaytranada is crossing the electronic/hip-hop line as well as any producer out right now.
Flipping one of the most underrated songs of this decade, Frank Ocean's "Crack Rock", and keeping it as soulful as the original is an ambitious task. Esta lives up to it here.
(01/28/15 8:30pm)
Released: 1/20/2015
6/7 stars
“Y’all ready for Joey Bada$$?”
From hip-hop fans everywhere, the answer to that is a resounding yes. Since the first time the masses heard Joey on 2012’s 1999, they've been ready for a proper release. That release, B4.DA.$$, is exactly what hip-hop needed to start off 2015. This might come off as a bit strange considering heavyweights like Kanye, Kendrick, Drake and Big Sean all have albums slated for pre-summer releases but let's think about what hip-hop was in 2014.
It was Shmoney dancing. It was mid-week partying with Makonnen. It was Rae Sremmurd's sudden rise to number one. It was Migos' mixtapes and Travis Scott yelling "Straight UP!"
It wasn't lyrical.
Don't get me wrong, it was an all-time year for club rap. We also saw more of an electronic crossover (in a production sense) that has begun to push rap into a sonic space it has never been before.
That being said, where were the releases full of MCs putting on a display with their words?
This is why B4.DA.$$ is a perfectly timed release.
The 20-year-old Brooklyn native doesn't waste time getting to work on the lead track "Save The Children", re-working Shad’s “I Don’t Like To” and dropping bombs within the first verse.
(01/22/15 9:02pm)
So, I know the song's title is "... So I Wrote Her This Song and We Drank Monster and Watched Adventure Time" but its soulful aggression and impossible catchiness have kept it on repeat all week.
Joey Bada$$ is here to stay. In his first proper release, B4.Da.$$, the 20-year-old has a field day on some crisp, fairly simplistic boom bap instrumentals. On O.C.B. he finds a way to wow with wordplay that is equal parts impressive and effortless.
This soul piercing vocal FINALLY received the gorgeous backdrop it has so desperately deserved to be paired with. Yung Wall Street is one to look out for in 2015.
Vista Kid Cruiser is on fire right now. After "Heart" got the remix treatment from a handful of Japanese producers, we get "Soul." Once again flipping a classic track into a soul sample infused synth parade. REMINDER: THEY ARE FROM BLOOMINGTON! This is truly my favorite string of releases from a local group since arriving in Bloomington.
What a time to be alive. Really, who thought to mash up hits from an Atlanta trap rapper and an eccentric electronic producer? The tracks share a name and that's about it, however this incredibly hard hitting mash-up has been gifted to us by a higher internet power. Thank you Tim Berners-Lee.
Another one from Juizify, who first caught our attention with a handful of GoldDash release, that helps paint what 2015 is going to sound like in electronic music. In 2013 it was progressive house, in 2014 was deep house, this year future bass is going to grow exponentially; artists like Something That are a reason why.
This "Stay" remix has been around for quite some time now, but it got the re-remix treatment by the means of a tough Fashawn verse. In regards to re-working tracks from artists (spanning from Kendrick Lamar to King Krule) and making them sound like originals, 20syl is one of the best out.
P.S. Since we haven't done this since the end of last semester, here are my favorites from 2014
Top Songs
1. How To Dress Well- Repeat Pleasure (A.G. Cook Remix)
2. Caribou- Can’t Do Without You
3. Run The Jewels- Oh My Darling Don’t Cry
4. Mac Demarco- Chamber of Reflection
5. August Alsina- Sucka (DJ Sliink & DJ Hoodboi & Trippy Turtle Remix)
6. St. Vincent- Prince Johnny
7. Hermitude x Flume- Hyperparadise (GANZ Flip)
8. Rustie- Attak ft. Danny Brown
9. Les Sins- Why
10. Alvvays- Archie, Marry Me
Top Albums
1. Porter Robinson - Worlds
2. St. Vincent - St. Vincent
3. Mac Demarco - Salad Days
4. Run The Jewels - Run The Jewels 2
5. FKA Twigs - LP1
6. Frankie Cosmos - Zentropy
7. Caribou - Our Love
8. Les Sins - Michael
9.. Travis Scott - Days Before Rodeo
10. Tycho - Awake
Top DJ Mixes
1. Lido - Diplo & Friends Mix
2. Cashmere Cat - MoMA PS1 Warm Up Mix
3. Porter Robinson - BBC Radio 1 Essential Mix
4. What So Not - Flying to Europe Mix
5. Tycho - Black Sunrise
Artist of the Year: Lido
(12/11/14 3:21am)
10.
Void actually exceeded expectations.
The Big Sean collaboration "Kingpin" will skyrocket him in terms of popularity.
His trademark earth shaking bass, best showed off in "Core".
All reasons to believe the (incredible amount of) hype surrounding RL Grime.
9.
"THE LAWNMOWER"
8.
Carmada capitalized big time off of the success of "Maybe" and used a 4th quarter push, fueled by one of the year's most ambitious EPs, to end up alongside the likes of RL Grime, Jack U and What So Not on a recent Triple J mix. Replace the wildly unique drop in "Realise" with a catchy chorus and it could easily be a pop tune found in the thick of the top 40. That speaks volumes about the guest vocal performance from Noah Slee.
7.
In a year where PC Music produced so many wonderful twee pop tunes (see: "Hey QT"), their most visceral effort, Sophie's "Hard", left the largest impact on audiences. Its in-your-face, genre-bending future tone is the perfect canvas for Sophie's pitched-up vocal.
6.
Baauer can exhale. He's not a one hit wonder. Releases like this VIP of "One Touch" prove Baauer's staying power in the electronic landscape and his collaborations with the likes of AlunaGeorge and Rae Sremmurd show off his range as a songmaker. 2014's best Moombahton track gives fans a strong reason to be excited for 2015 and the release of Baauer's freshman LP.
5.
What's not to love about "Pretty With Her Eyes Low"? There's the Rick Ross grunt sample. The verse, which essentially serves Diplo's answer to Beyonce's "Partition". The menacing strings. The fact that this was a free release as a part of "Diplo's 1 Million Facebook Follower Bootleg Pack". Grandtheft and Diplo prove once again that they are a golden production team, see remixes of "Summer" and "Sweet Nothing" for further proof.
4.
The drumroll that begins at :52. The way the bass holds out just a split second longer than you think it will. It's as if Lido is just toying with the competition and in many ways he is. 2014 was Lido's year. No question. In his only voyage into trap music, he crafted one of the year's best tracks in the genre.
3.
If only this version of the M.I.A. track was used in the Nissan commercial that seemingly every channel shoved down the cable watching public's collective throat this summer. Valentino Khan and Bro Safari team up for three minutes of unbridled energy and madness on this YALA remix. Massive low-end synths and a flurry of gunshot and shattered glass samples come together to form the biggest triumph of either artist's career.
2.
How could anyone take Flume's remix of "Hyperparadise" by Hermitude and improve upon it? The thing was an absolute masterpiece. By reversing the vocals in the intro and letting the chord progression fly loose at the drop, GANZ gave the track an absolutely gorgeous new flavor.
1.
How could anything else end up in the top spot? Jack U, the super-duo comprised of OWSLA boss Skrillex and Mad Decent front man Diplo, dominated the scene in the second half of 2014. Between a legendary Diplo & Friends mix, looming collaborations with Nicky Da B, 2 Chainz, Snails, and AlunaGeroge among others, and an upcoming NYE show at Madison Square Garden, the duo rolled out their new project in grandiose style. The upcoming Jack U tape is the Watch The Throne of electronic music; two titans of the field combining to create a product that makes all other attempts sound laughable. The lead single off the release, "Take U There", uses budding pop star Keisza's vocals to set the stage for a drop that is truly one of a kind. In a world where Jack U has no contemporaries, it is fitting that there is no song that matches the brilliance and innovation of "Take U There".
(12/05/14 2:51am)
If most musicians take the stairs to the top, A$AP Ferg took the elevator. In a little more than a year we've seen Ferg turn from a Rocky tag-along into a full fledged rap superstar. After riding out success from Trap Lord, he hopped on (and subsequently smashed) Haim, Young Thug and SBTRKT tracks. A Gangsta Grillz mixtape is a fitting end to a great year for Ferg and the Big KRIT produced "Bonnaroo" is a perfect first-person account of all that's changed.
The was made by 1/2 of Daft Punk and remains one of the all time great dance songs. The remix is a slowed down, pitched down beauty whose lyrics still ring out just as meaningfully.
melodymelodymelodymelodymelodymelodymelodymelodygorgeousmelody
Juizify has wowed with a ridiculous amount of new talent this year and their latest release is no exception. The bouncy Nashville collab between Gold Dash and Soft Serve packs so many unexpected elements from the heavy flute presence to the "Drop It Like It's Hot" clicks to the Missy Elliot sample. This track is as blissful as it is original.
No genre can capture this Kappa Kavi track. Trap drums, future bass elements and an absolute monster of a lead synth all combine to make this the best track on Moving Castle Vol. 003. Being that this is one of the year's five best releases, this is a strong feat for such a young artist.
If the original pops, this flows. Tycho steps out of his usual downtempo wheelhouse to smooth out the edges of this Spoon track.
The tension of the first 1:20 is gently brought down by the sultry French vocals. This track shows off the range of the latest Moving Castle release more than any on the collective's new tape: Moving Castle VOL. 003.
Bonus for your weekend's most ignorant moments
(12/04/14 12:06am)
WIUX's very own Assistant Special Events Director, Ben Wittkugel, has brought a bevy of eclectic shows to Bloomington under his management upstart Winspear. Here's Winspear's top five moments, in Wittkugel's words brought to you by Paramount Pictures' new film, Top Five, starring Chris Rock.
1) Bully at The Bishop
“Brainfreeze”
Nashville band, Bully, has only released a 7” and one EP, but they have more than enough material to shred through a 35 minute set. The highlight of the show was “Brainfreeze”, which perfectly captures their scuzzy, 90’s rock influenced sound.
Catch them on their short run of Midwest dates either with Cloud Nothings in Chicago on Jan 16th or with Strand of Oaks in Indianapolis on Jan. 21st.
2) White Reaper at The Bishop
“Half Bad”
The young Louisville trio brought their garage rock to the Bishop for WIUX’s Pledge Drive Show. Once they counted off the start of their track “Half Bad”, they didn’t look back.
After finishing up a tour with Deerhoof and Priests, hopefully we’ll hear a full length from them in the coming year.
3) Ellie Herring at The Big House
“Mickie”
When I first heard Ellie Herring’s remix of Doss’, “Softpretty”, I checked out her other material, including her first EP, “Chipped”. A few weeks later at The Big House, a basement full of fans vibed to “Mickie”, a track off Ryan Hemsworth’s Secret Series compilation.
After playing CMJ showcases presented by Gorilla Vs. Bear and Godmode and opening for Glass Animals in Louisville, Ellie Herring will travel to Austin this March to play SXSW.
4) NE-HI at The Bishop
“Since I’ve Been Thinking”
After a friend recommended NE-HI’s debut self-titled release on Chicago based label Manic Static, I couldn’t stop listening to their melodic songs like “Since I’ve Been Thinking”. Their show at The Bishop with locals Dietrich Jon was one of my favorites of the year.
Since I've Been Thinking by NE-HI
After joining the Billions Agency’s roster and working with the same management that handles St. Vincent and Sleater Kinney, NE-HI is on their way to become a name you won’t forget.
5) Varsity at Rachael’s Café
“Turns Out”
The first show of the year featured Varsity, The Tourniquets, and Sunspots at Rachael’s Café. After Sunspots burned through their set, Chicago’s Varsity took the stage to play a handful of songs off their EP, “Thanks For Nothing”, released on Jurassic Pop Records.
Similar to other Chicago bands NE-HI and Landmarks, Varsity has worked with Public House Sound Recordings, a studio founded by IU alum, Dave Vettraino.
Varsity is gearing up for another release and is back in Bloomington to play with Dietrich Jon and more at The Big House on Saturday, December 6th.
It’s been a great year, thanks to everyone who has come out to a show. We’re working on some awesome shows for next year and releasing new music from Dietrich Jon, Sunspots, The Tourniquets, and more!
Keep up with us on Facebook or Twitter:
https://www.facebook.com/winspearmusic
https://twitter.com/WinspearMusic
(11/25/14 5:30am)
Listen to The Soil & The Sun do a live in-studio in WIUX’s 99.1 FM studio. Hailing from Grand Rapids, the eclectic seven-piece stripped down their sound to just guitars and vocals yet, the incredible beauty and texture of their music remained.
Their new album, Meridian, is available now on iTunes.
Check out the interview and performance below.
(11/21/14 8:13pm)
The Travel Edition
~whether it's by air or ground, here are some undeniably beautiful songs to accompany your scenic ride home for break~
(11/13/14 7:31pm)
After Drugs EP earlier this year, there's been a consistent flow of Soundcloud releases from Carmack. This one's title is as unconvential as the sound is. The ominous horn looms over a slew of downright filthy bass chops. His crossover into hip-hop is inevitable and could help shape the future-progressive sound in hip-hop.
I've said everything there is to say about Lido. Brilliant, I'll just leave it there.
If 808s and Heartbreak came out in 2014, it would not only have been more revered by critics and fans, but it would have yielded a ridiculous amount of remixes. This is just a taste of what producers could do with the album's dark lyricism and vocal arrangements.
One of 2013's most overlooked tracks, "Telegraph Ave.", was the track that solidified Donald Glover's transformation from an internet rapper to a legitimate song craftsman. The chorus reads as a distressed journal entry about long-distance relationships and when this is contained within Bear//Faces airy edit, the result is emotionally charged excellence.
TroyBoi is going to have a breakout 2015. Mark it down. He's producing tracks that sound like nothing else in the electronic music landscape and there's a Flosstradamus collaboration looming that sounds nothing short of bonkers.
Using Flosstradamus's change-of-pace track "Rebound", CRNKN gives us another legitimate reason that they could be the next group to capitalize on deep house going mainstream.
Skrillex is turning people who scoffed early tracks like "Scary Monsters and Nice Sprites" and "Bangarang" into fans at a rapid rate. His evolution has seen the OWSLA boss hone in the raw aggression he previously used throughout entire songs and use it much more tactfully. This has made those spots of aggression pay off in a bigger way, the first drop in this Trollphace collaboration is the perfect example.
(11/06/14 10:59pm)
Joe Newman's smoky vocals are isolated, pitched up and tension is masterfully built up and torn down. This is a serious contender for track of the year, but for Lido, it's just another track. The Norwegian producer has been the breakout artist of 2014 in electronic music.
Fofofadi boss Cashmere Cat took the sultry vocals of Ryn Weaver and gave it a new taste with the controlled aggression of the lead synths and his trademark drum sounds.
Much like Lido, Jauz is unable to be categorized in a single genre and has a flair for the eclectic. This time we see him flipping the Five Knives track across a whole spectrum of kick drum pattern and BPMs. The result: absolute madness.
Athletixx dropped All-Stars Vol. 1 this week, a tape chalked full of Jersey Club madness from some of the genre's most promising stars. The most promising, Hoodboi, is seen here taking Drake's "All Me" and lint rolling it to another sonic dimension.
The rhyme structure of the verses is remarkable; and though the constant Kanye illusions run the risk of coming off as gimmicky, they pay off, especially to Yeezy disciples.
The most important mix in the show's history. Plain and simple. It's almost not fair when Skrillex and Diplo team up. The mix is chalked full of Jack U collaborations with AlunaGeorge (1:26:40), 2 Chainz (12:49) and Nicky Da B (0:00).
As so much future bass does, this Juizify tune sounds like your thumbs mashing A and X on a Super Nintendo controller in your favorite (fill in the blank with whatever article of clothing the 80s version of yourself would be wearing).
(11/04/14 4:40am)
Released 10/28
3/7 stars
Next to the Calvin Harris LP Motion, Money Sucks, Friends Rule will enjoy the most mainstream attention of any electronic music release in 2014. This is a huge deal most notably because the 27-year-old doesn’t fit the mold of a usual mainstream “EDM” success story. He became a mainstay at Mad Decent through his incredibly raw remixes and innovations in moombahton, a reggaeton infused brand of Dutch house whose byproduct has become synonymous with twerking. Francis is also rather good at the Internet. His multiple personas (DJ Hanzel, DJ Rich as F**k, Rave Dad), viral videos and in general his constant fan interaction over social media, much like Mac Demraco, have brought him a huge internet following making Francis electronic music’s perfect superstar in the smartphone world we live in.
This is why MSFR was such a pivotal album for Francis, after building a steady following and becoming one of the world’s most popular DJ/producers he had finally been thrust into a spotlight for the masses with a full-length major label release.
The album starts off with a 100 syllable per second verse from rap veteran Twista. The drop after Twista’s second verse, fluidly guides all the testosterone coming from the excessive chorus (“Hella women, hella bottles poppin’ we got all that”) into a head-bopping outro. The album is then thrust into “Get Low”, the DJ Snake collaboration that dominated this summers’ festival scene. The Arabic synth and classic DJ Snake snare pop, make it easy to understand why it was the lead single off of MSFR.
Then comes “When We Were Young”.
The electro pop anthem fits in a category with a slew of other tracks on the album where Francis delves into a realm of music that seems perfectly suited for the candy bracelet, knee-high fur boots clad girls and neon tank-top wearing bros who populate so many festivals. We’ve seen Francis delve into electro pop before with last year's standout T.E.E.D. collaboration “Without You” but whereas “Without You” captures the listener with a compelling lyrical storyline, “Drunk All the Time”, “Hurricane” and “We Are Impossible” get underwhelming vocal spots, both sonically and lyrically, from all collaborators involved.
This is a narrative is prevalent throughout the album but is no more blatant than on “Love in the Middle of a Firefight”. Brandon Urie, front man of The Panic at the Disco, delivers a Warped Tour ready vocal on a bed of bright, non-aggressive synths that never take control of the song.
Compare the difference for yourself
It comes as an enormous shift from one of the pioneers of Moombahton, which has been one of the most original, raw sounding trends in modern electronic music.
Even in his attempts at the type of music he’s gained a great deal of praise for, Francis never seems to take form in the way he has in previous triumphs.
“Not Butter” and “I Can’t Take It” are both solid tracks and the transformative vocal in the latter hits especially hard when it’s pitched up into a soulful scream. Both drops are undeniably heavy and with their successive order on the album, the listener receives what most Francis fans thought the album would sound like as a whole.
While the Martin Garrix collaboration “Set Me Free” contains the rawest sounds on the album, “We Make It Bounce” is the album’s best song.
"We Make It Bounce" finds Francis at his best, when he’s working within the genre he practically helped found. Major Lazer makes the most sense of any co-collaborator on the album and Stylo G provides a vocal which captures the ass-shaking essence of Moombahton. That’s why this song pays off in such a big way, it’s an effortless Caribbean-infused track within an album of miscalculated electro anthems.
MSFR has its bright spots, but ultimately its major ambitions do not pay off and Francis feels lost in a genre that he has seldom been a part of in the past. The album’s countless weak guest vocal appearances and the album’s general lack of raw emotion make this a very underwhelming debut LP for Francis. While he remains one of the world’s best DJ/producers, Francis needs to embark on a project that showcases the style of music that he has previously thrived in.
(10/30/14 9:58pm)
Plain and simple: Run the Jewels just dropped the hottest rap album of the year and this is its' hottest song. El-P and Killer Mike have the rest of the rap world on notice right.
We were brought back 10 years with this soulful production by none other than Yeezus himself on this cut from the new Theophilus London album. Ye comes through with a verse complete with his references to his legendary "Sway in the Morning" interview and a refreshingly subdued version of his usual braggadocios flow.
When you think Sam Gellaitry, think young FlyLo.
Sweater Beats dropped the Cloud City EP this week and it didn't disappoint. There's a reason that everyone from Flosstradamus to Diplo is making future bass, because stars of the genre like Sweater Beats have made it the hottest genre in electronic music.
Another week, another appearance from an 'I Love You Too' track. This time it's Lindsay Lowend and his analog synths that transform the Lido track "Money". Lowend continues to impress and this is further proof that no matter what genre or tempo he's in, he's one of the best newcomers in electronic music.
You probably know Salva from his production on this year's standout rap track Old English (feat. Young Thug, Freddie Gibbs, A$AP Ferg) and other incredibly tough hip-hop beats. This time around, he's throwing out some seriously smooth bedtime vibes on the lead track of his new EP.
An OWSLA on OWSLA remix whose product is a massive canvas for the rhymes of the ever-evolving Pusha T.
(10/28/14 10:09pm)
Last week Brett Bassock, Director of Live Entertainment for the Indiana Memorial Union Board, stopped by WIUX's studio to talk about tomorrow's Union Board concert featuring the incomparable Chance The Rapper, budding pop star Kiesza, and R&B influenced indie rockers Young & Sick. Bassock discussed the vision that he and Union Board had with this event, how it was a priority to get Chance back after he had to drop his IU appearance earlier this year, and why people should be excited about Kiesza. You can catch the entire interview below and be sure to check back with wiux.org tomorrow as we preview all three artists, complete with a playlist of tunes to get you ready for one of the biggest Bloomington shows in recent memory!
Brett Bassock Interview Pt. 1
[audio mp3="https://wiux.indiana.edu/wiux.org/wp-content/uploads/2014/10/Brett-Interview-2.mp3"][/audio]
Brett Bassock Interview Pt. 2
[audio mp3="https://wiux.indiana.edu/wiux.org/wp-content/uploads/2014/10/Brett-Interview-pt.-2-2.mp3"][/audio]
For more info. on Union Board, visit their website.
(10/23/14 10:01pm)
From a ground-shaking RL Grime edit to Hoodboi's take on a Lido track, here's what you should be listening to this week!
This track, complete with its' menacing bass and insane vocal chops, is reason number 193781379 that RL Grime is the best trap producer in the world. Also, we're only one week away from his annual Halloween mix!
On one of the most scatterbrained productions of the year, Timberlake's vocals go perfect over Lido's light chords and quick hi-hats. *listen closely for the Eleanor Rigby chorus at 2:07*
Perhaps Vic Mensa didn't get the memo on how modern rap careers are crafted, but more likely he just didn't care. This Chance the Rapper tagalong left his genre-bending project Kids These Day in May of last year and he is truly on the brink of being massive. Whether he's rapping on a deep house beat on "Down On My Luck" or a more traditional beat like the one above (which Kaytranada crafted for him), his unique cadence and lyrical prowess will make him a rap mainstay for years. Don't be shocked if five years from now he's bigger than Chance.
The quintessential bedtime mix from the master of downtempo. For those unfamiliar, clear 50 minutes of time and listen to his 2011 masterpiece Dive.
After teasing this track last week, Baauer finally gave people a full length length cut off of his upcoming album. The AlunaGeorge collaboration DID NOT disappoint. The thunderous latin-infused first drop gets balanced out by the always smooth vocals from AlunaGeorge in a minimalistic second "drop." Baauer is always evolving and with tracks like this, the Mad Decent signee has safely avoided the dreaded "one hit wonder" label.
First premiered on Lido's Diplo and Friend's Mix, this Hoodboi Remix strips down the original, adds some bouncy synths and continues in the long tradition of soulful Hoodboi remixes. *see his remix of Future's "Honest" and Janet Jackson's "I Get Lonely".
With his incredibly smoky vocals and modern take on acoustic music, it's no wonder why 18-year-old Raury has been in the studio with the likes of SBTRKT and Kanye West. Pair his vocals with Snakehips production and you have this ultra-chic remix.
(10/16/14 7:09pm)
It's Homecoming Week, which means parties on a Tuesday, the biggest tailgate of the year and "Indiana Dad" sweatshirt clad men stumbling around campus all weekend. In this special edition of Single Watch, we'll have all the songs that should accompany your 2014 Homecoming Week!
Pre
Future/Jersey Club vibes that will have you in a previously undiscovered
state of dance.
Party
If all else fails, just throw on a mix
TNGHT's BBC mix is the stuff of legends. Of the hundreds of mixes done by the world's best DJs across various BBC programs, such as Essential Mix or Diplo & Friends, this one still retains the spot of my personal favorite. TNGHT perfectly blends new-age urban influenced electronic music with hip-hop and the result is an hour of head-bopping bliss.
note: if you don't listen to the mix in its entirety, at the very least peep the Mercy x Furnace Loop mash-up at 31:54.
Post
You're made it back to your place and the Little Caesar's/Karkov combo is annihilating your stomach but you're still making a play on that BB girl/boy whose name you keep forgetting.
(10/09/14 8:33pm)
iLoveMakonnen came though with the hook of the year on his slow jam ode to mid-week partying "Tuesday" but the track truly took off when Drake hopped on with an ever-so-sensitive verse. This time another superstar, DJ Snake, is making the track his own via a wonderful, atmospheric trap remix. One song at a time DJ Snake is proving he's much more than the gimmicky flash of "TURN DOWN FOR WHAT."
We've received another impossibly smooth and sexy track from Brit electronica duo, but what else are we to expect from AlunaGeorge? "Supernatural" is just a further, slightly more progressive version of their sound from 2013's Body Party.
Djemba Djemba completed this edit of RL Grime's "Core" with crazy Caribbean vocals and a major BPM switch at the 2:12 mark, where the song slows down and seemingly turns into a slopped, not chopped version of Miley Cyrus's "23".
Owsla signee MUST DIE! tones down his usual hard-style, ear busting synths in exchange for some bells and less aggressive leads. The result? His biggest triumph to date.
Full-time twitter philosopher/offspring of the Fresh Prince and part-time rapper, Jaden Smith, was the latest recipient of a glitchy remix via Gravez. First Migos, then Rae Sremmurd and now Jaden Smith; Gravez always adds groove-laced synths and future sounding hip-hop drums that make any remix uniquely his.
Illegitimate child of Pavement, Sunspots, dropped their first single this week. "My Baby" is a warm, lo-fi love song that has its shimmering guitar layers busted through by a powerful closing solo. With a steadily growing following and some wonderful demos, there's great reason to believe Sunspots is poised to be one of Bloomington's break-out bands in 2015.
Caribou (a.k.a. Dan Snaith) can do no wrong currently. With the release of Our Love, we have been graced with one beautifully crafted soundscape after another. This summer Snaith garnered attention once again with the single "Can't Do Without You" (which in my estimation is the year's best single) and backed up the single with a marvelous album whose deeply moving second track "Silver" is just as repeatable as it is deeply moving.
Throwback of the Week
Diplo dropped this previously unreleased gem as a part of the reissue of his 2004 LP Florida. We see massive changes in both style and production quality, but as is always the case with Diplo, it's a superb track.