This is the place to listen to music that inspires me…old or new, organic or electronic; all genres are fair game.
Made To Stray
Mount Kimbie is a London-based producer duo. I’ve had this song on repeat, and look forward to checking out more of their material.
Shadows turn to grey
A slave today
He cowered beyond reckless tracks of impulse
Made to stray around rough coasts
When grace is close to home
Sure it’s time to break
It’s late today
You gotta find your way
Let’s try some new hopes
Made to stray around those
Whose place is close to home
Ganja Warrior
I can’t seem to find much information on this artist, but the song is on point.
Budding Trees
This music video for Nahko and Medicine for the People is beautifully nurturing. Enjoy it and may you find joy and inspiration today, whatever you may be doing.
Walk In The Sky
This song resonates in my mind. Bonobo is a groundbreaking musician of beautiful, melodic music that is classified by sultry lyrics, enchanting soundscapes, and nostalgic harmonies that coalesce perfectly.
The lyrics from this song will probably be my next tattoo. That’s how much they mean to me.
They walk in the sky
So near and so high
They’re stopping for none
And when the day’s done
They agree that the sea
Is the best place to be
Wondrously free
They live happily
They know from the past
Life simply doesn’t last
So they live for today
For tomorrow they may
Not be able to walk in the skies
Sun slips into horizon
Moon reaches for the stars
Music is the healer
No matter who you are
No Diggity
This downtempo remix of classic R&B song “No Diggity” is just perfect for my mood this Wednesday. The artist, Chet Faker, hails from Australia and specializes in soulful electronica.
Run Away As Fast As You Can
I stumbled upon this song and absolutely love the video game feel. The producer, 3LLL, is based out of Chicago. Crunchy bass and futuristic sounds…happy Friday!
Russ Liquid [Artist Spotlight]
Okay, I’ll admit it…I have a bit of a crush on a trumpet-wielding bass producer who goes by Russ Liquid. His music is sexy, psychadelic, and unlike any music you’ve heard before. I got affiliated with his whole vibe when he sat in STS9 on several occasions last summer as part of the horn section deemed the Liquid Horns.
He just released two tracks on his Soundcloud that tickled my eardrums. The first one he says he made in 2012 and the second one he made “awhile ago.” Fantastic releases – check ’em out!
Brought To You By Kitties
California Soul
California dreamin’ today my loves. This groovy, relaxed throwback is perfect for this blossoming sunshiney day.
4Sight
Resonant Frequency, a new quartet of electro-soul brothas, has arrived! Fresh as can be, the group recently played at a house party together and the rest, as they say, is history. Dripping in musical chemistry, their sounds coalesce magically and it seems as though they’ve been playing together for years.
Composed of producers Diamond Cuts (Vincent Seidl), Lando (Landone Reichle), Local Color (Ben Slade), and Focal Point (Preston Flynn), they are just getting started. This is their first EP, with a second one to follow. Can’t wait to see the progression of these guys sound. Check ’em out and try to remain still. I dare you.
Slippin’ Into Darkness
My obsession with future funk continues. A Lettuce remix by the sax-tastic GRiZ. Oh my!!
People Of The Sun
I’m loving this new track by The Grouch & Eligh featuring Slightly Stoopid. It is quite the groovy tune just in time for spring. The two parties share same artist management – Silverback Music – along with Dumstaphunk, The Expendables, Pimps of Joytime, and several other unique and talented artists. This collaboration is on point and will probably be on replay for the next hour.
Do It Like You Do
Ah funk music. The soulful ish that has a rhythm you can’t not dance to. I love me some funk masters Lettuce, having seen them at Summer Camp and All Good and hearing their music for years. I am so pleased to announce that these guys have teamed up with one of my favorite burgeoning electro-funk bands – The Floozies – for a series of tour dates this month.
This is a big step in the music biz because talented electronic musicians are finally starting to get up there with the big boys. None of the poppy-housey garbage that has somehow made it to the top of the charts. Artists like The Floozies, their record label don and electro-soul sax-man GRiZ, Big Gigantic, STS9, even Pretty Lights with his Grammy nom…these are real producers of original music who are incorporating traditional instruments with modern instruments. And people are starting to take notice. It’s the revolution of music and what is going to take music fans from the days of Bob Marley, Grateful Dead, Jimi Hendrix, etc. into the future and without a decrease in music quality, innovation, and pure bad-assness.
Can’t Kill Us
Classic producers of heavy glitch meets melodic electronica The Glitch Mob are about to drop their new album, Love Death Immortality. The first album since 2010’s Drink The Sea, this is a highly anticipated release for me as well as many of my cohorts. Here’s a sneak peek at one of the tracks.
Lucid Dreams
I found gangster Bay Area electro trio The M Machine through my editor at The Untz. Regarding this track he affirms:
All journalistic integrity goes out the window, because these guys GET IT. Taking the almost nu-disco sound of Mat Zo’s original and adding space – that’s the most important ingredient – SPACE, they re-invent the gorgeous melody and flip it on its ear. The bouncy vibe and joyous, almost effervescent tones, lay in sharp contrast to the signature dark and brooding M Machine sound–which further proves they can do it all!
-Anand Harsh
I coincidentally have found myself helplessly stuck on their Soundcloud. The “Space Jams” mixtape for OWSLA Records a particularly crispy basstastic ear addiction and the just-released “Superflat” – some delectable (and haunting) fresh beats. Get ’em while they’re hot.
Over Your Shoulder
Winter is in full force here and as I prepare for my journey out West I can’t help but dream of warmer days filled with sunshine. I’m spicing today up with my favorite Chromeo track. Released a few months ago, “Over Your Shoulder” is a funky, flirty track that makes us ladies smile. Everything about this song is utter perfection.
Chromeo, known as the “Funk Lordz” are an electro duo from Montreal who have been making sweet cutting-edge tracks since 2004. They work on the dancefloor, they work when you’re driving in your car, heck they work in the bedroom too.
On that note, I want to share another Chromeo gem, taken up a notch by Boys Noize. A German producer who began his musical quest around the same time as Chromeo, he’s a remix king and always offers a fresh take on epic songs.
Swoon
I’ve been unable to get this track out of my mind for the past few days. It’s sultry, deliciously smooth sound coalesces beautifully with deep downtempo beats. The Human Experience is the brainchild of David Block – a composer, multi-instrumentalist and producer who has developed an enchanting take on sacred bass. He’s been collaborating with many noteable artists, playing festivals like Burning Man, Lightning in a Bottle, and Symbiosis Gathering, and touring internationally.
“We don’t play music, music plays us” – David Block
Rebel Era [Album Release]
Talented producer of sexy, smooth electro-soul, this man has captured my heart over the past few years. His ability to incorporate his saxophone (and now guitar) into his music is something that makes him stand out from the barrage of producers nowadays.
Recently selling out at Red Rocks, he is a force of nature taking the world by storm one dirty flirty song at a time. And he’s only 23.
Check out his brand-spanking-new album released just yesterday and join him in questioning, not accepting, all that is going on in this crazy world of ours.
“In a time where words and phrases like the occupy movement, personal freedom, the NSA, riots, elections, and war are on the tips of everyone’s tongues, I can feel a shift in global energy. This is a time where classism and competition is tearing a rift in society. A time where imperialist democratic capitalism is fighting its way to dominate cultures and separate people into selfish consumers. A time where people are turning against the powers that be and are speaking out against these values. A time that is inspiring people to seek change. Its the time that we live in, an age that we created.
I wrote this record over the past year in many different states and phases. From tour busses, to bedroom studios, from green rooms full of friends and scenesters, to planes thousands of feet flying through the sky. I’ve met and worked with so many new people through the creation of this album and pushed my limits as a producer to create something challenging and dynamic. Taking every single moment that I wasn’t on stage and dedicating it to developing ideas of sound; at times, left me breathless and laid out on the floor of my room with songs on repeat – anxious thoughts melting away into space.
But thats the thing. I’ve found that music sets me free. Its up to us to use that which is most compelling and manifest a new reality. One free of apathy. A world of compassion, empathy and cooperation. A world of action of and love.
This is Rebel Era.” – GRiZ
Changes in the World of Furthur & Primus [My 2 Cents]
There has been a high level of interest in Furthur’s recently announced 2014 hiatus. The group has stated their desire to pursue their own side projects is the reasoning. While I am a die-hard Grateful Dead fan, and more than ecstatic when I get to see a Furthur show, I still want what is best for these amazing musicians, who have been providing incredible music for over five decades.
Where does Primus play into all this? Primus’ drummer Jay Lane is going to be leaving the group to explore his project with Bob Weir – RatDog. Meanwhile, Primus’ previous drummer (I’m talking 80’s and early 90’s) has reemerged. Tim “Herb” Alexander will be rejoining Primus for a return to their original band members – what Rolling Stone has called the “quintessential Primus lineup.”
My unsolicited advice – stop whining about Furthur’s hiatus and make an effort to see RatDog and/or Primus on their new, shiny 2014 tours. Cheers!
From the days with Herb; off of Tales From The Punchbowl (1995)
RatDog at Peach Music Festival earlier this year
Tennis Court
Lorde is a 16-year old singer/songwriter from New Zealand with a showstopping voice. Her first recorded LP, The Love Club, was released in March 2013 and has had international acclaim. Her debut album Pure Heroine is due to be released next week (September 27).
Her well spoken, no-bullshit lyrics coalesce beautifully with downtempo ambient sounds creating a soothingly catchy style. This single is a great representation of her abilities and has me anticipating her new album.
Don’t you think it’s boring how people talk
Making smart with the words again – well I’m bored
Because I’m doing this for the thrill of it – killing it
Never not chasing a million things I want
And I am only as young as the minute is – full of it
Getting pumped up on the little bright things I bought
But I know they’ll never own me
Love, Sex, & Fancy Things
This fresh new track from The Floozies is perfect for those hot August nights in full crush mode flavor. This due of brothers, guitarist/producer Matt Hill and drummer Mark Hill, have taken funk and turned it upside down with amazing skill, resulting in a futuristic electro funk on the cusp of exploding in the EDM industry. This is the first single off their highly anticipated new record.
Float Away
This track provides an intriguing combination of hip hop, melodic synth sounds, and undertones of trap. ill-esha‘s rework of this song takes it to another level. Smooth beats trickle down on the colorful lyrics, making this a gangster track perfect for summer. Enjoy!
From Vancouver, B.C., ill-esha has emanated a unique and multi-dimensional approach to bass music, having participated in a variety of projects spanning the electronic scene.
Summer Camp 2013 [Mixtape for The Untz]
Festival season is finally upon us and I am ecstatic! First off, I will be covering Summer Camp. Looking forward to so many wonderful acts like Umphrey’s McGee, The Wailers, Thievery Corporation and many more!
Here is my Summer Camp 2013 Mixtape.
Summer Camp Music Festival is less than a week away! If you’re getting excited like we are at The Untz, listen to this rowdy mixtape in preparation for a weekend of good vibes and awesome music. There are many artists to check out…here are some electronic acts you should be sure to see.
Check out my Summer Camp Preview for more information on the festival and keep an eye out for my review next month!
One By One
“One By One” by The Black Seeds conveys a positive, sunny energy with an eclectic reggae vibe. Hailing from New Zealand, The Black Seeds use guitar, bass, keyboard, saxophone, trumpet, bongos, and wood block to create a unique combination of dub, funk, rock, and soul.
Your words are like throwing stones
Skipping across my skin
Take a warm look at what has gone before
There’s no way you will win
Come on and take me on
Cause when the war is over, the fight is done
We’ll be lying in the sun
Wild Flower
This is a laid-back reggae tune that perfectly suits this gorgeous spring day. E.N. Young is the incredibly talented keyboardist and melodica player for Tribal Seeds. His dreads as thick as his wrists bounce around while he plays, nearly reaching his ankles. He has a lot of original music, the latest of which is a collaborative album on Roots Musician Records.
The Crown [EP Review for The Untz]
Below is my review for Papa Skunk’s new EP, The Crown.
The Crown is a fresh new EP featuring original and remix tracks from Papa Skunk, who’s mastered a groovy, glitchy sound. His music is characterized by pleasing harmony alongside sultry, downreaching dub. This latest release has progressed to a slightly heavier sound, but maintains that sense of balance Papa Skunk has always demonstrated.
The title track has a smooth, dripping bass that engages the eardrums right off the bat. Intrinsically, “Loud Noises” is a pulsating, high energy track–as one would guess from the title–and the remix featuring Alpha Data kicks it up a notch. “Knife” provides slices of delicious techno with a bit of smooth, downtempo glitch. The remix from Samples is a dirtier, more explosive adaptation of the song.
The overriding style of the EP incorporates waves of choppy, sticky beats intertwining with smooth, more acute melodies. The Crown offers a nice variety of heavy hitters in a small package and collaborations with AMB, Alpha Data and Samples polish off this seven track EP. Get yours – out now on Adapted Records.
Okami
Zoogma is a four-piece hybrid band fusing together rock, jazz and dance beats that are sure to get you moving. Their original music is fantastic to see live.
zoog-ma [zoog-muh] – The act of using a word, particularly an adjective or verb, to apply to more than one noun when its sense is appropriate to only one or in different ways.
The Sky Is The Limit
Rebelution’s wonderfully modern reggae sounds are always warm and inspiring. This is one of my favorites and I like the acoustic version even better.
Now I’m coming stronger than ever
You say I’m a fool
I say whatever
I’m in it for the good vibes together
And the love lasts forever
With My Own Two Hands
As Ben Harper says:
I can change the world
with my own two hands
make a better place
You can’t do all the good the world needs, but the world needs all the good you can do.
Ecstatic Magnolia 