Tag: vinyl mag
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Kristin Hoffmann: ‘New Directions’ EP
Kristin Hoffmann recently released a follow-up EP to her full album, The Human Compass. The EP, New Directions, is comprised of three remixes to songs from the previous album. While the EP attempts to transform her ethereal Renaissance pop songs into something more electronic, it fails to realize the true purpose of a remix, which is to take an old song and shed new light/offer a different perspective by adding and subtracting certain qualities.
The original album has some undeniably beautiful piano melodies. Add Hoffmann’s distant, ethereal vocals and you’ve got a catchy pop tune, right? Unfortunately not. One of the qualities that the original album lacks is the presence of a single catchy hook or pop-ish melody. While melody is certainly important in any remix, it often does not have to drive the track like it does in most pop songs. With this in mind, I was hopeful that the three remixes could offer something that the original album did not.
With the exception of the “Ghosts” remix, New Direction doesn’t do much for the original tracks. While the songs do manage to maintain their prettiness, there isn’t much there electronically. I kept wondering when the track was going to “hit,” and then the song ended. For me, the piano and the vocals only carried the tracks for so long until I started drawing comparisons to Evanescence minus the crunchy guitars.
I do feel as though New Directions more successfully captures Hoffmann’s ideas and the original album’s ethereal goals, but it is unfortunate that the EP lack the sort of electronic punch that remixes need to be cool remixes that are worth a listen. Hoffmann sings about “a distant lullaby” in “Ghosts,” and that seems to be what this endeavor is: A distant lullaby that is too far away to serenade us to sleep, but just enough to keep us awake, like the ticking of a fan or the dripping of a faucet.
SXSW 2014: Aer x Vinyl Mag
New-age hip hop duo, Aer, is comprised of Boston natives Carter Schultz and David Von Mering. Having just released their sophomore album earlier in March, the evolution in their style over the years is not only prevalent, but pioneer-style impressive. During SXSW, and (literally) hours into their arrival in Austin, we sat down with the two to pick their brains and find out what’s going on in their world. Give it a read, and follow that up with giving them a listen (I recommend “Feel I Bring,” but note that it’s been in stuck in my head for weeks now, and that’s a commitment in itself).
VM: It appears March and SXSW are the beginnings of an extensive tour for you two- what is the ratio of time spent on the road as opposed to off?
Carter Schultz: I’d say about 65 percent on the road and 35 percent off. It’s definitely what I prefer; I get stir crazy when I’m home in Boston.
VM: Are there any artist comparisons that you frequently get that you’re over hearing about?
CS: Anything “Frat Rap” – get out of here with that. I hope you didn’t have all of these bands you had compared our sound too…
VM: Well, I did have one in mind, but I wouldn’t consider Gym Class Heroes “Frat Rap.”
CS: Oh, no, I’ll take Gym Class Heroes any day. I just hate being put into that pool of college rap, or anyone who is just doing it really “normal.” If you really listen to our music, it’s clear how different it is than that, but I honestly think the real comparison solely comes from our age. We are of the typical college kid age, but that’s as far as it actually goes.
VM: What are you most excited to see and/or do, being that this is your first year at SXSW?
CS: I want to go to Iron Works; I want to see The Felice Brothers, and I’m really excited to be playing the same showcase as Dom Kennedy and Casey Veggies.
David Von Mering: I’m looking forward to everything Carter listed, but also to finding a new artist.
VM: Do you feel like you’ve had a breakthrough moment into the industry yet?
CS: I feel like we’re not even close. We’ve had our moments where we’ve had sold out shows where it felt a little surreal, but I wouldn’t say there’s been a “break.”
DVM: It’s funny, because I feel like five years ago the big “break” was just signing a deal, and now deals aren’t really prominent or even normal. I wouldn’t say we’ve had a break, but the “Feel I Bring” video did a lot for us.
VM: Currently, what are your favorite releases of 2014?
CS: I’ve been bumping Satellite Flight (The Journey to Mother Moon) by Kid Cudi a whole lot lately, and obviously the new Arctic Monkeys has been on replay non-stop since it came out.
VM: Are you two hands-on with your own social media accounts, or does anyone handle that for you?
DVM: Our manager usually does boring, dry announcements, but other than that it’s one of us.
CS: I think it’s so important to give that personal interaction. It takes tweeting, “Haha thanks” or a little smiley face, but that means so much to the fans. I’d say that we owe most of our success to the tools on the internet.
DVM: I’m not totally satisfied with my Twitter, personally, but I’ll get there. The thing with that is you can tweet one thing, and it gets totally misconstrued into something else. I do love Instagram, though, and all the photos from artists that I follow- I like that sh*t.
VM: Have you ridden in a pedicab yet?
CS: A bike cab? I have not, but our hotel is like seven miles away, so maybe they can take us that far. It’d probably take like eight hours or something insane like that. I did see this beautiful girl today who was a pedicab driver, and she had these leopard pants on- I may have to find her later.
VM: Do you both participate in songwriting, or is one of you more prevalent than the other in that aspect?
CS: David is the one who is most prevalent, because he produces all of the music that you hear. But in terms of songwriting, we each collectively come up with a concept, and I’ll write my verses to the concept, and David will write his hook to the concept. So I’d say we each have our respective duties, but David takes on the bulk of it.
DVM: Our songs usually start with instrumentation, so I usually try to let that dictate where I personally go with it. Also, if I have an idea but Carter doesn’t like it, we scrap it or vice versa. But definitely instruments come first and play the most part.
VM: What can we expect from Aer for the rest of 2014?
CS: Over the summer, we are touring the UK, and later in the summer we’re going on another tour that’s still in the works. In the fall, expect videos, more music, and just more.
DVM: This is just the beginning, kind of like one of those sitcoms like Seinfeld or Friends; there’s still a lot more to come from us.
SXSW 2014: Sol Cat x Vinyl Mag
Sol Cat grooved all the way to SXSW from their home base in Nashville, Tennessee, and boy are we glad they did. Filling the airwaves with explosive psychedelic guitars, Sol Cat made an impressive showing at the Austin music festival with several showcases. We were lucky enough to get to sit down with the Johny Fisher (guitar) and Taylor Craft (bass) of the band and talk about their sound, funny stories from tour, and what is next for them.
Vinyl Mag: So you guys have an eclectic sound that brings together different elements from such a range of genres; how would you define your sound?
Johny Fisher: I would say we have a rock ‘n’ roll sound, where we really just like to get funky and groove. There are six of us, and we all have pretty simplistic parts, but we are fooling everyone with so many of us. We really just like to play music that we can groove to and bob our heads. The groove defines us.
VM: You guys have been touring for quite awhile now – any favorite memories or funny stories?
Taylor Craft: Every time we go on tour is great, but we have a running joke where we call Tom, our drummer, anything but Tom. One time we had the people at Chick Fil A people call him Toby, and he had no idea that was him. He is the newest member of the band, so we have to give him a hard time.
VM: So you all played last night at the Thirsty Nickel. How did that go?
TC: Yeah we did; it was our first gig of South by [Southwest] for Big Picture Media. It was kind of nutty, and the sound was out of wack where you couldn’t hear much. But we had an absolute blast playing for a packed crowd.
VM: Any showcases you guys are super pumped to perform?
JF: Yeah for sure! The Big Picture Media showcase yesterday was awesome, and we are really excited to play all of the others, but especially the Audio Tree party tomorrow night.
VM: You guys have been at SX a few days now; any other artists that have really impressed you?
TC: Well, we saw Snoop Dog hanging out, which was really cool. He is such a crowd-stopping guy. But as for bands, most of us are friends, and it is tough to discover new ones, because we are trying to support the ones we know. Also, we roll about ten deep everywhere we go, so that makes it kind of difficult to move around too much.
VM: Do you guys have a favorite city or venue to play?
TC: Laredo, Texas has definitely been one of our favorite spots. It’s almost like a little mini festival before South by Southwest every year. We are always treated like family there.
VM: What is the song-writing process like for you guys?
JF: We usually write songs part by part; no one writes each other’s either – we all just write our own. When we find something good that we can all agree upon, we build it up from there part by part. It is impossible to go into the studio and record a good record in a week with everyone rushing. Nothing great is made quickly; it’s about sitting on a track and seeing what comes to you with fresh ears.
VM: Would you say your music has evolved, and if so, how?
JF: Yeah, our music has most definitely evolved. We started with two and now we are a six-man group, so that has definitely changed the dynamic of the band. I would say our sound has changed as we have grown up, but if you don’t evolve as a band, you are doing something wrong. We really just focus on not being anything we aren’t, and if something isn’t turning out well, it is helpful to have five others telling you that it sucks and being honest with you.
VM: If you guys could collaborate with anyone dead or alive, who would it be?
JF: Wow, it’s really hard to narrow it down to only one. We are all influenced by such a variety of artists and genres. Our keyboardist really likes hip-hop, and the rest of us are so different as well. But if I had to narrow it down, I would say Willie Nelson, Herb Alpert..really anyone that’s real.
VM: So, what can we expect next from Sol Cat? Any new music in the works?
JF: Yep! We have a whole slew of new tracks sitting in our computer at home. Probably 40 or 50 tracks that we are just sitting on, tweaking. And we probably have about 50 more that we are in the process of making.
SXSW 2014: Quiet Company x Vinyl Mag
Hailing from Austin, TX rock ‘n’ roll band Quiet Company is definitely not a company to keep quiet about. The five-member group lays out punchy guitar beats with meaningful lyrics that have warranted coverage on NPR’s “All Things Considered” as well as several Austin Music Awards. We were graced with the opportunity to sit down and chat with them at the Chuggin’ Monkey in downtown Austin during SXSW and talk about their biggest successes, the new album coming out, and their love of Game of Thrones.
VM: So 2013 turned out to be quite the year for you guys. What do you guys think was your biggest success of the year?
Tommy Blank: It was the first year we were able to fully dedicate – all of us – to Quiet Company, so we were a full-time band. And we toured, so any one thing really encompasses everything. We were able to spend the full-time amount on rehearsals and writing up songs. I guess we got All Things Considered on NPR too, and that’s a pretty big thing. It was kind of an interesting thing, because it wasn’t all songs, and [it was] based on the topic of our last record and Taylor’s tackling of religion and his perspective.
VM: I saw on your website that you guys have started recording a fourth studio album. Can we expect to hear any thing off of it during SXSW?
Taylor Muse: Yes, I think we are only playing like one old song. Everything else we are playing is new. We are really excited about the new material, and we just got out of the studio Tuesday. We are adding some mixing now, and Tim Palmer is mixing it. He is one of – if not the – best mix engineers in the world for our money, so we are super excited about what we are hearing back. We are really proud of it. It’s our first record we have done with a producer, and we are working with Matt Novesky.
TB: It’s also the first one we have done completely in the studio, and we are using Orb Studios, which the grand opening is actually this Sunday, so we were in there before they actually opened the doors, and it was a really good experience.
VM: What should your fans expect from the new album coming out?
Evan Smoker: They should expect loud, catchy rockin’ guitars and awesome drums from me, the best drummer in the band and super hard punches. It’s going to be a great tour de force of rock ‘n roll greatness.
VM: What has it been like working with Matt Novesky producing?
TM: [Jokingly] Matt is just real human garbage. No, Matt is just a really lovely, amazing person. He is really kind and generous, and he made our recording experience so much fun. He was really all about getting the best version of us, you know, instead of making us into to something else. He helped us to see the making of the album as more about capturing a moment rather than capturing an idea. It was all about capturing a particular performance, something believable, something pure and genuine. Not how we have seen records before, when we were trying to capture the idea of something instead. We recorded it live, which is the first time we have done that, and I would hate to have to go back to recording any other way in any other studio. It was a really great experience, and Kevin Butler was the engineer, and he is fantastic.
TB: Because we had a great producer and an amazing guy like Kevin, we were able to focus on it being a live performance on this record. We were able to just perform and focus on that, instead of all that bullsh*t like miking amps.
VM: You guys recently re-mastered and re-recorded your 2006 album Shine Honesty. what was the inspiration to get back in the studio and give it another shot?
TM: Part of it was bad advice, but that’s the one record we didn’t own since it was on our record label. And they did nothing with it, and so it had been out of print for three years. So really, it was just a way for us to own the record again. We corrected a lot of things, but we were pretty true to the original as far as arrangement goes. It sounds better now, and it ended up being cheaper for us to just do it where we can manufacture new copies whenever we want, as opposed to spending money buying them back from the record label. It wasn’t a big thing for us; [it was] really just to fill that hole in our catalog.
VM:I know we are all dying to know, was the title of the Christmas EP Winter is Coming a Game of Thrones reference or just a coincidence?
TM: Oh yeah, of course.
TB: What’s Game of Thrones?
TM: Tommy doesn’t really watch game of thrones, but the rest of us do. It’s an overt reference; we weren’t really trying to hide it.
VM: Who writes the songs? Is there a common theme or subject that tie them together in any way?
TM: We did Belong, and that record dealt exclusively with the whole religion thing and not having one anymore and all the emotions and stuff that come with that. But we aren’t ever going to talk about that again. Oddly enough, I have always been a big fan of that imagery. To some degree, you can take the boy out of East Texas but you cant take East Texas out of the boy. There is still a lot of very religious imagery on this new record, but there is not a religious thought on it whatsoever. The new record just deals with this past year that we have had, and the overall message of the thing is anything that you love that is worth having, you will have to struggle for to some degree, so it deals with struggle in different aspects.
VM: What is the process you guys go through to make new music? Do you have a routine, or does it vary?
TM: I don’t know, since we have a new band now, we got a band that really wants to be here, so our process may differ from how it was in the past. Bill has only been our keyboard player for about a week. He has gone from being a piano player to a sensation worker. Evan may be the best drummer I have ever met; he’s phenomenal, but we have only had him for maybe a couple of months. We had been struggling to write this record for about a year, but then there was such an energy there with these new guys. We were just plowing through stuff, and everything was so easy.
TB: All the doubt from the writing room that we had been having was gone.
TM: Not to say anything bad about the guys from before; you can’t really control what you like and don’t like. But now we have a group that is a little more like-minded creatively. We all like big guitars and big rock songs, so let’s make big guitars and big rock songs.
VM: Could you give us any hint as to when the new album will be available?
TM: No. Not in the past; it’ll be in the future! We have never shopped a record before, so we aren’t going to do that. And if the right deal comes along, we just have no idea. If we don’t get it picked up or don’t find the right match for us, we will just release it ourselves, and it will probably fail. But we are really hoping it does get picked up. Plus, it is not even done mixing yet; we have done that thing in the past where we set a goal before the record is even done, but this year we finally learned all the lessons we need to learn.
Street Style Profile: Lawson Chambers
Lawson Chambers is a stylish Athenian who thinks of himself in general terms as “a story-teller.” Whether he’s performing stand up comedy, hosting his local radio show or working hard to earn his animation degree at UGA, he’s keep himself busy, and he looks sharp doing it. We sat down to find out more about Lawson and – most importantly – what his super power of choice would be!
VM: When it comes to your personal style, where do you get your inspiration?
Lawson Chambers: Well, I like to think that what you wear is reflexive of your personality, as if you were a cartoon character, so I try to wear things that represent a facet of my life. I may wear a Neutral Milk Hotel shirt with a leather jacket, so people can correctly assume I work at a radio station. Or I might wear a Homestar Runner shirt to make friends with other nerds. Usually though, I try to wear nicer clothes with bold colors to show that I care about how I look, but don’t take myself too seriously. I also like doing this, because whenever I perform stand-up, it helps me get across the kind of person I am. This practice is also an admittedly blatant rip-off of my favorite comedian, Paul F. Tompkins. To answer more succinctly why I like to wear nice clothes, I’ll quote Paul: “I dunno, I just like dressin’ up… (smiles) It’s fun.”
VM: You’re currently pursuing a fine arts degree, correct? What are you studying, and what is it that speaks to you within the realm of art?
LC: Not exactly; I’m actually pursuing an Independent Studies degree in Animation. I don’t know if I actually want a career in animation, but since I take both theater and visual art classes, I get to nurture two skill-sets that are important to me. I do like animation though, as all of my interest in art comes from the want to entertain, make people laugh, and to tell a story. Ideally I’ll end up working a lot of different, smaller jobs where I’ll get to do a variety of things; performing stand-up, writing for a TV show, cartooning, or going back in time to tour with a vaudeville troupe.
VM: As for stand up comedy, has this long been an interest of yours or it it a new hobby? And how nervous were you your first time on stage?
LC: I’ve always been a huge comedy nerd, but for a long time my only experience in doing it myself was creating silly comics about secret agent monkeys or singer-songwriter Morrissey. I didn’t think about doing it myself until a couple of years ago when I started listening to podcasts like The Nerdist where I would hear comedians talk about themselves, and I realized I was a lot like them. I shared both their love of comedy and a system of neuroses and anxieties that propels one to seek attention from strangers. So I first went on stage about two years ago, and it was horrible. I was extremely nervous, and I visibly shook. I think I may have gotten one laugh. But if you do anything long enough, and you care about it, you get better at it. So I’m still performing every week and getting slightly less horrible with each time I go up.
VM: Do you have any upcoming projects or shows you’re looking forward to?
LC: I have an ongoing radio show and podcast called Comedic Conversation with Colorful Characters that I greatly love doing. It airs on WUOG 90.5 FM on Tuesdays at 7 PM, and is available for download on iTunes or comedicconversations.tumblr.com. Basically, we invite on different comedians from around Athens and Atlanta to talk, play games, and just act silly. Other than that, I’m starting to get more into sketch and improv comedy, and hope to get some comedy friends of mine together soon to put on a variety show. Also, I want to make a web-comic series about a dad just being a dad and doing dad things.
VM: If you had one superpower what would it be?
LC: The only acceptable answer to this question is flying, or telekinesis – which would also give you the ability to fly. Popular opinion is that most people will say flying, but if they were being honest with themselves they would choose to read minds or turn invisible. I say that’s bull-honkey. It would be amazing to fly: at any speed and at any height. What kind of whimsy-less monster would rather hear gossip about themselves than soar through the air like a majestic bird of prey? Flying.
Check out Lawson’s playlist below!
Children of the Stones: ‘The Stars and the Silence’
Extended Play, the first EP released by the collaboration of Mark Van Hoen (of Black Hearted Brother, Seefeel, Locust, Scala) and Martin Maeers, has proved only to be a tease- the best is still yet to come.
Children of the Stones is the new project from Van Hoen and Maeers, and they will release their upcoming LP, The Stars And The Silence, on March 25th. Joining them on this album are Rachel Davies (Esben & The Witch), Neil Halstead (Slowdive, Black Hearted Brother, Mojave 3, solo) and Al Forrester, plus Angus Finlayson, amongst other friends. For over 30 years, Van Hoen has been creating and innovating the electronic music genre. With the help of vocalist Maeers, it seems that The Stars And The Silence is the next step in the right direction and perhaps just what electronic music needs.
Where the EP, Extended Play, displayed a bleak sadness, The Stars And The Silence explores a lightness that can be found within the shadows of love’s darkness. “Love’s Last Loss” is a subdued and humbled testament of what was and a realization of a love and life that will no longer be. The composition of this first track is somewhat a cut and paste of appropriate sound bits, bleak glitchy transitions, oceanic dream, and mournful raw emotion. “Love’s Last Loss” is an appropriate choice as the start of this album as it introduces the listener to Van Hoens’ use of technology as a catalyst for creativity and expression.
The Stars And The Silence takes an upbeat turn with “Out of Reach.” As one of the more uptempo compositions of the album, this track is reminiscent of songs found on The Postal Service’s 2003 album, Give Up. The title track, “The Stars & The Silence” follows and maintains the form of a mystic lullaby that hypnotizes the listener into a dreamlike state which was first introduced on Extended Play.
“Just Like Coming Down” is a seductively somber track with heavier downtempo wobble. It is easy to immerse oneself into this track and, as the title of the song suggests, allow the vibrations to bring the mind, body, and soul completely down. The eight track on the LP, “Every Word You Say,” has similar vocal and musical composition to the song “Guiding Light,” found on Extended Play. Where as “Guiding Light” is disjointed with low monotonous vocals and overpowering electro beats, “Every Word You Say” is is more united and cohesive.
One of my favorite tracks on this album was the triumphantly dark “Toward the Umbra.” Similar to the undertones conceived in many MUSE songs, the composition of this song sets the tone of go forth and conquer, Musically I found this track to be the most commercial of all the tracks found on The Stars And The Silence.
Overall, The Stars And The Silence was a pleasant surprise. The variation and play of technology keeps this LP interesting and entertaining and I look forward to more releases from this collaboration of artists.
The Stars and The Silence will be released on March 25th.
Craig Bicknell: “Hymmmn”
Craig Bicknell’s new single “Hymmmn” is meditative and soothing. The track starts with a simple humming. I wait for lyrics but none come. The track is composed of layers of “hums”, “ooh’s” and “ahh’s” and seamlessly grows.
This is the beginning of Bicknell’s “Hymmmntronica”, a new style composed of intermingling sounds. The track begins to grow with more harmonizing “hum’s” but becomes lighter. Electronics are present, but not to the point of overpowering the main attraction. The piece reaches highs and lows and even combines the two. Bicknell can layer soft on soulful to create a beautiful melody of “hums.”
It’s odd quoting a sound rather than a lyric, but for Bicknell it works. More layers create more depth, and the listener becomes totally relaxed, and I can’t help imagining the movement of mouths. The track carries an airy, southern feel, like a hymn. The track is that of a contemporary composition; it ends with the same, simple humming to complete a piece with an opening and a closing.
Yet, I wish it would go on. In fact, after listening to the track several times, the melody stuck in my head like lyrics, and I continued to repeat the humming cycle even after the track had ended.
NGHBRS x Vinyl Mag
Propelled into the public eye thanks to their Instagram video for “Hold Up Girl,” NGHBRS plans to bring their energetic Rock & Roll show to SXSW 2014. Hailing from Long Island, these rockers boast a sound that is both punchy, smooth, and melodic. We got the chance to talk with Ian Kenny of NGHBRS about their iconic Instagram video, their 2013 album, Twenty One Rooms, and their beef with vowels.
VM: It seems like you guys have blown up overnight. Does it seem that way to you?
Ian Kenny: Haha, it definitely does not seem that way to us. We have been working hard for about four years and counting, and have endless goals as a band, but we are insanely grateful, and will always be, for our current successes.
VM: What made you guys decide to go with the Instagram medium for your “Hold Up Girl” video?
IK: We wanted to do something completely out of the box and share-worthy. Instagram is a great platform for being creative and unique, and it is built on the idea of sharing. So, with that being so readily available, it was easy to conceptualize the video. The hard part was actually doing all of the work.
VM: You guys basically posted the coolest selfie ever. How does it feel to be the Kings of Instagram Rock & Roll?
IK: It feels great to have our mark on the rock, social media duo. We could not be more proud of our release.
VM: Ever had any good app ideas? I promise I won’t Zuckerberg you…
IK: Haha, we actually have a running app idea list on our white board in our practice studio. One of our favorites is Find-A-Sh*tter (Yelp for public bathrooms), We were pretty stoked on that one – would be great for touring bands.
VM: I saw on FUSE that you guys recorded Twenty One Rooms in an old mansion that William Cullen Bryant (the late American poet and journalist) used to live in. How do you feel like that environment helped shape the record’s sound?
IK: The mansion was the life force of Twenty One Rooms, and I believe it would sound completely different recorded anywhere else. We had such a beautiful and life changing experience living in that house and on those grounds, it was definitely the fifth member of the band on that record.
VM: Do you have a favorite song from the album? Favorite to play live?
IK: Twenty One Rooms is both my favorite song on the record and to play live. It is such a vibey tune, and I believe it says a lot about the barebones of the NGHBRS sound. Emotively, it really transports me to a special place every time were playing the bridge.
VM: The album has a really pure Rock & Roll sound. Who in the band is the most Rock & Roll?
IK: One hundred percent Tommy Fleischmann is the most Rock & Roll NGHBRS member. The dude has so much talent, has not let technology dilute his brain, and sometimes he wears cut off sleeve shirts. That’s ROCK.
VM: You guys are from Long Island. Do you feel like New York has influenced you as musicians; if so, how?
IK: Completely; living so close to a melting pot of music and the most toured-through city in the world has given us the chance to see so many incredible bands live. As well as growing up in such a historically praised place for alternative music, like Long Island, really has shaped our sound and influences.
VM: If you could play a show with any rock band past or present, who would it be?
IK: I’m going to be specific here and just say Nirvana, 1992.
VM: What did vowels ever do to you guys? Or what favors did consonants do?
IK: Vowels aren’t not for everybody; we like to trim the fat.
VM: You guys are playing at SXSW 2014. What are you most looking forward to about the festival?
IK: Just the ability to see so many awesome bands working hard and playing hard in one place is going to be awesome. We’re stoked to play four showcases and show Austin how we roll. We definitely intend on leaving our mark this year.
VM: Do you think this will be the coolest place you’ve yet to play? Or do you have a particular venue from the past that holds the number one spot in your hearts?
IK: I’d say nothing really beats playing Irving Plaza. We played to a sold out room, and it was our seventh show as a band. In the moment, we knew we were doing something special.
VM: Any chance there will be a Twitter-themed sequel to “Hold Up Girl?”
IK: Haha, definitely not. We definitely are not going to put out the same thing twice. All I have to say is be prepared for the next one; it’s going to be insane.
SXSW Showcases:
TUES. MARCH 11TH –
9 PM – Third String Productions Showcase – The Aquarium – 403 E 6th St.WED. MARCH
WED. MARCH 12TH –
5PM – Red Gorilla Showcase– Bourbon Girl (The Alex And Ani Stage) – 212 E. 6TH STREETTHURS. MARCH
THURS. MARCH 13th –
5:25PM – Set.FM Showcase @ Hyde Park Bar and Grill – 4206 Duval St.
FRI. MARCH 14TH –
TBD – Charlie Says Fest @ 2336 E Cesar Chavez St.
FRI. MARCH 14th –
4:40pm – Big Picture Media Showcase @ Blind Pig Rooftop – 317 E. 6th St.
Lakker: ‘Containing a Thousand’ EP
Digital audio workstations meet the end of the world on Dublin duo Lakker’s new EP Containing A Thousand out on R&S March 11.
This EP takes the listener on a journey through a post-apocalyptic wasteland where music is made from the grinding of machines left to continue manufacturing hunks of metal without a human in sight. Dark, almost foreboding melodies swirl around hard, industrial beats, creating a sound that could only be described as coming from a cosmos with only the faint memory of human existence.
Although it is their first album released on esteemed electronic label, R&S, this techno duo is certainly not an amateur act. They have been creating electronica beats for a decade, even having the honor of being spun by Richard D James (Aphex Twin) in his live sets—a distinction coveted by much of the electronic music world.
Complex, but intense beats begin the journey through a robotic wasteland with “Counting a Thousand.” Techno vibes from a satellite far from Earth circulate the air, as machines grind and churn perpetually, having continued their course despite the absence of humanity. Perhaps, the human race has jetted off to inhabit a new planet, and left only the remnants of parties and discos floating noisily over the crackling radio waves on a used-up earth.
“Mausoleum” continues with more metal-crunching, mechanical beats. Lakker’s roots in punk, metal, and broken beats can be clearly heard, mingling with the distinctive techno sounds they have become known for. Sounds that evoke images of machines humming through long plastic tubes elicit ominous, almost eerie feelings.
The EP gets a bit more tribal with “K’antu.” This track is curious sounding, like exploring the home of a person you have never met from a culture you have yet to experience. A little bit brighter and more optimistic sounding than the preceding tracks, “K’antu” feels as if it would make the perfect background music for Alice, had she fallen down the rabbit hole in outer space.
“Thermohaline” hits the listener like a meteor, from the moment the song begins. Powerful beats boomerang as the melody builds intensity in the background. This track has the horsepower of a Ferrari, but takes quiet moments for the listener to catch their breath before pulling them back into the music—hard.
Containing a Thousand certainly distinguishes itself from all other electronic bands out there. It takes the intensity of Excision minus the screeching sounds and dub step scratches and fuses them with the spacey after-world beats of Mimosa, taken to a whole new level of brooding intensity. While the album is rather dark and ominous, techno fans will certainly be swept away to another land by this EP.
RAW Natural Born Artist: PIXELS at Terminal West: Music
I’m not sure if everyone at Terminal West Wednesday night was prepared for the amalgamation of creativity that was to take place inside the brick walls of the former steel foundry, but I know I certainly wasn’t. Courtesy of RAW Natural Born Artists, an international organization that connects artists of all kinds, the Pixels showcase featured three talented, up and coming musical acts as well as fashion, art, photography, and performance art from the Atlanta area.
Four Flats, a trio comprised of David Blackmon and Brad Garner on guitar and Courtney Rogers on lead vocals was first to take the stage. Their set consisted mostly of covers with a southern influence such as Otis Redding’s Sitting on the Dock of a Bay, Dolly Parton’s Jolene, and Whipping Post by The Allman Brothers, a band in which Rogers said has had a huge influence on their direction as a band. Despite the fact that Four Flats has no original compositions yet, they show real promise as a band.
The second act of the night, and undoubtedly the crowd favorite, was Bonnie Bordeaux. Bordeaux and her powerhouse of a band, who have only been collaborating for a few months, used their contagious stage presence to transport the audience to the 1940’s. They performed mostly original songs, which were innovative and unique. Never a boring moment, the set combined Pop, Jazz, and R&B. Bordeaux also performed an ambitious cover of Settle Down by Kimbra, which she pulled off stunningly. Between Bordeaux’s musical range and ability to put on a great show, this group has grand potential to be the next big thing to come out of Atlanta. Bonnie Bordeaux will also appear at SCAD Atlanta on February 28th.
The last musical act of the night was Athens-based rock band American Mannequins, who have become a steady presence in the greater Atlanta music scene this past year. Lead vocalist Curtis Vorda, effortlessly hit high notes belting out melodies that ranged from uplifting to haunting. Although their involved prog-rock arrangements and somewhat awkward stage presence didn’t strike a chord with all audience members, their solid musicianship was more than redeeming.
The Pixels showcase put on by RAW Natural Born Artists featured musicians with raw natural born talent and an eclectic variety of music that the audience appreciated. Check out these great new artists and upcoming RAW events here.