Author: William Ruben Helms

William Ruben Helms is a Corona, Queens, NYC-born and-based African American music journalist, freelance writer, editor, photographer and founder of the DIY, independent music and photography site, The Joy of Violent Movement. Over the course of the past two decades, Helms’ writing and photography has been published in Downbeat, Premier Guitar Magazine (photography), Consequence, The Inventory, Glide Magazine.com (words and photography), Publisher’s Weekly, Sheckys.com, Shecky’s Bar and Nightlife Guide 2004, New York Press, Ins&Outs Magazine, Dish Du Jour Magazine, Aussie music publication Musicology.xyz (photography) and countless others, including his own site. With The Joy of Violent Movement, Helms specializes in covering music with an eclectic, globe-trotting, and genre-defying perspective that’s deeply inspired by and informed by his birthplace and home, arguably one of the most diverse places in the world. Since its founding back in 2010, The Joy of Violent Movement can proudly claim readers across the US, Canada, the UK, The Netherlands, France, Australia, and several others throughout its history. https://www.joyofviolentmovement.com https://www.joyofviolentmovement.com/shop https://www.instagram.com/william_ruben_helms Twitter: @yankee32879 @joyofviolent become a fan of the joy of violent movement: https://www.facebook.com/TheJoyofViolentMovement support the joy of violent movement on patreon: https://www.patreon.com/TheJoyofViolentMovement hire me for headshots, portraits and event photography: https://www.photobooker.com/photographer/ny/new-york/william-h?duration=1?duration=1#
Single Review by William Ruben Helms

Initially beginning his creative career as a renowned video producer, Dutch electronic music producer, artist and video director David Douglas, Douglas released a critically acclaimed full-length effort Moon Observations, an effort inspired by a renowned 18th century explorer and naturalist with the same name, who was known for detailed writings and observations on astronomical phenomenon.  Interestingly, Douglas’ latest single “Lucine” is a shimmering and shimmering bit of electro pop that manages to hint at Kraftwerk — but possessing a breezy and summery quality.

 

 

 

Single Review by William Ruben Helms

With the release of two previous EPs and “Sly,” featuring Winston Surfshirt, the first single off the soon-to-be released Friends EP, Sydney, Australia-based production and electronic music artist duo Polorgaphia have gained a rapidly growing national profile; in fact, the duo’s latest single “Feels Alright,” a collaboration with psych pop act Looks Fade was released as the duo announced a national tour to support their third EP.  Interestingly, the duo’s latest single will further cement the duo’s burgeoning reputation for thematically focusing on wistful nostalgia, growing up and rapid passing of time while sonically the sound was inspired by 90s R&B ballads and 80s synth pop as the duo pair lush and shimmering synths and piano with, plaintive falsetto vocals, old school home-inspired percussion and a wobbling bass line. And while nostalgic, the song manages to be anthemic and hopeful for a bright future.

 

 

Video by William Ruben Helms

New Video: The Continued Psychedelic Sounds and Visuals of JOVM Mainstay GOAT

Building on the growing attention they’ve received internationally, GOAT will be releasing their highly-anticipated third, full-length effort Requiem on Friday. And from the album’s first single “Try My Robe,” the band continues on a similar path to the singles they’ve released earlier this year, as the song revealed an acoustic, psych folk sound that at times seems influenced by African and Middle Eastern music, which gives the song a mind-bending and mesmerizingly hypnotic quality. The album’s latest single “Union of Mind and Soul,” is based around a looping flute line, layers of jangling and propulsive bass and guitar chords, a buzzing and trippy guitar solo and howled lyrics focused on opening one’s mind towards greater understanding of themselves and the universe. And while sonically drawing from 60s folk and psych rock, the song may arguably be the most urgent and yet old-timey song they’ve released to date.

The recently released video is a fittingly psychedelic video that looks as though it could have been shot in the 1960s, thanks to the Instagram-like filters and the use of slow-motion and the use of rewound footage. And in some way, the video accurately captures small town Swedish life in all of its beauty, boredom and sameness.

Video by William Ruben Helms

New Video: The Lush and Trance Inducing Sounds and Visuals of Mauritana’s Noura Mint Seymali

Arbina’s latest single “Na Sane,” consists Seymali’s gorgeous, siren-like vocals, Chingaly’s shimmering and dexterous guitar work that will make you say to yourself “I’ve never heard guitars sound like that,” Toure’s muscular, driving bass grooves and Tinari’s precise, jazz and rock-inspired drumming, with the result is a song that possesses a lush, enveloping and hypnotic quality. And while being thoroughly modern, the song draws from something deeply timeless and unmistakably universal — an aching yearning to be immersed in the love and power of the infinite.

As the band’s drummer and producer Matthew Tinari explains of the recently released video “Essentially, we just threw an impromptu family barbecue. One of the dancers is Noura’s brother Baba; some of the younger boys are nephews of Jeiche. The girl dancer is a friend from the neighborhood. It was a family affair!” The video manages to captures Moorish traditions and daily life in a gorgeous and cinematic fashion.

Single Review by William Ruben Helms

Now, if you’ve been frequenting this site over the past couple of years, you’ve likely come across a number of posts about Detroit, MI-based electro pop duo Gosh Pith. And in that period of time, the act has not only become a JOVM mainstay, they’ve seen a growing national profile for a sound that seamlessly meshes elements of hip-hop, electro pop, stoner rock, indie rock, dub, trap music, drum ‘n’ bass, indie rock and several other related  genres.

Interestingly, the duo’s guitarist and vocalist Josh Smith has a solo side project under the simple mononym Joshua. Influenced by Morrissey, Frank Ocean, Bob Dylan, Bob Marley, Jean-Luc Goddard, Jim Jarmusch and others, Smith’s first single as Joshua is a mash up/cover of The Weeknd‘s “Starboy” and Kiiara’s “Gold,” that he has dubbed “GOLDBOY.” Smith’s mash up/cover retains the glitchy and stuttering production of “Gold” but pairs it with Smith singing The Weeknd’s sultry lyrics. Admittedly, I’m not a big mainstream pop guy but after listening to both songs, my immediate thought was similar to the folks at All Things Go  — “Holy shit, those two songs work together. How come no one has done that before?” Sonically speaking, will further the reputation Smith developed while with Gosh Pith while gently and subtly breaking their mold.

Single Review by William Ruben Helms

Last month, I wrote about San Francisco Bay Area-based electro pop/electro R&B act The Seshen, an act comprised of Lalin St. Juste (vocals), Akiyoshi Ehara (bass, production), Kasha Rockland (vocals), Mirza Kopelman (percussion), Chris Thalmann (drums), Mahesh Rao (keys, synths), Mirza Kopelman (percussion) and Kumar Butler (sampler), that has received attention across the Bay Area and elsewhere for an aesthetic that draws from a diverse array of influences including Erykah Badu, Jai Paul, James Blake, Radiohead, Broadcast, hip-hop, indie rock, electronica and 70s dub to craft a sound that walks a tightrope between sounding remarkably contemporary and retro-futuristic. Interestingly enough, “Distant Heart,” the first single off the act’s soon-to-be released sophomore effort Flames and Figures reminded me quite a bit of the slickly produced, sleek synth-based R&B and pop of the early 80s. 

“Already Gone” the second and latest single off Flames and Figures finds the act pairing St. Juste’s sultry and plaintive cooing with glitchy and stuttering drum programming, swirling ambient electronics and layers of cascading, shimmering synths, some reverberating industrial clang and clatter in the background and a sensual hook to craft a song that manages to feel both deliberately crafted and improvised — all while subtly nodding at Giorgio Moroder’s legendary and incredibly sexy productions.

Single Review by William Ruben Helms

Sawyer Gebauer is a Wisconsin-born, Oakland, CA-based singer/songwriter, who has spent a great deal of his musical career moving back and forth between the States and Europe. When he was 19, Gebauer relocated to Sweden, where he founded and formed Brittsommar, a musical project that featured a rotating cast of musicians and received quite a bit of attention across Continental Europe with the release of their 2011 debut effort Day Of Living Velvet. After the release of Brittsommar’s debut, Gebauer relocated to Berlin where he recored 2013’s The Machine Stops in a dilapidated warehouse. Eventually, Gebauer returned to the States, recording the final Brittsommar effort 2015’s Mary Me EP at TRI Studios in San Rafael, CA.  

After Brittsommar ended, Gebauer started his latest musical project Catch Prichard, which draws deeply from Americana; in fact, Gebauer has publicly cited Townes Van Zandt and Bruce Springsteen‘s 1995 release The Ghost of Tom Joad as major influences on his latest project, and that he wanted to write and record a collection of stripped down songs based around narrative and melody — and the end result is the soon-to-be released Eskota EP, a five song EP named after the Texas ghost town in which it was recorded. 

The first single from the EP “Hometown” is an elegantly simple track featuring Gebauer’s gorgeous and moody baritone, accompanied by his dexterous guitar strumming, and gently padded drumming — and the result is a sparse, spectral song that’s indebted to folk as much as it country, while possessing a narrator’s attention to physical and psychological detail.