Category: instrumental

Single Review by William Ruben Helms

Over the past couple of months you may have come across a couple of posts on Behdad Netjabakshe, Paris, France-based electronic music producer and electronic music artist, best known in electronic music circles as Uppermost. Netjabakshe has received international material for material released through a number of renowned labels including Sony BMG, Ministry of Sound, BugEyed Records, Starlight Records and his own Uppwind Records. And adding to a growing internationally recognized profile, Netjabakshe’s “Equivocal” landed at number 3 on Beatport’s electro house charts back in 2009, his Biscuit Factory EP ranked first on the JunoDownload electro-house charts — and he has had his work playlisted by superstar artists and producers such as Tiesto, Armin van Buren and Steve Angello, as well as received attention for his remixes of Daft Punk, deadmau5, Burial, Crystal Castles, Jonathan Coulton, Syl Johnson, Congorock and countless others.

You may remember that the Paris-based producer and electronic music artist’s forthcoming full-length album Origins 2011-2016 is a massive 23 song LP that features some of the Frenchman’s most popular tunes — including “Flashback,” “Beautiful Light,” “Reminder” “Mistakes” as well as a ton of new material including the shimmering and anthemic M83-channeling single “Thousand Colors,”and the Pink Floyd-channeling, funky and cinematic “Reminder.” “Emotion,”Origins’ latest single much like “Thousand Colors” will likely remind some listeners of the aforementioned M83 as the song features layers of cascading and shimmering synth chords paired with a soaring and anthemic hook and a sinuous bass line — with a swooning and Romantic heart at its core.

 

Video by William Ruben Helms

Live Footage: Uppermost Performs Reminder in Paris

Now, if you’ve bee frequenting this site over the course of the past month or so, you may recall that I previously wrote about Behdad Netjabakshe, Paris, France-based electronic music producer and electronic music artist, best known as Uppermost. Netjabakshe has received international material for material released through a number of renowned labels including Sony BMG, Ministry of Sound, BugEyed Records, Starlight Records and his own Uppwind Records. Adding to a growing internationally recognized profile, Netjabakshe’s “Equivocal” landed at number 3 on Beatport’s electro house charts back in 2009, his Biscuit Factory EP ranked first on the JunoDownload electro-house charts — and he’s had singles playlist by renowned artists and producers such as Tiesto, Armin van Buren and Steve Angello. Additionally, he’s received attention for remixing the work of Daft Punk, deadmau5, Burial, Crystal Castles, Jonathan Coulton, Syl Johnson, Congorock and countless others.

Netjabakshe’s forthcoming full-length effort Origins 2011-2016 is a massive 23 song LP that features some of the French electronic music artist and producer’s most popular songs such as “Flashback,” “Beautiful Light,” “Reminder” and “Mistakes” as well as a ton of new material including the shimmering and anthemic M83-channeling single “Thousand Colors,” that possessed a bit of muscle and forcefulness. The French electronic music artist and producer recently released live concert footage performing the cinematic, shimmering and funky “Reminder” in Paris. Interestingly, while the retro-futuristic gently nods at both M83 and Pink Floyd, the song manages to sound as though it should be part of the soundtrack of a sci-fi thriller.

Single Review by William Ruben Helms

As an obsessive music fan and as a blogger, I become a fan of particular labels, frequently admiring their rosters and their overall output — and over the years, I’ve become an enormous fan of Stones Throw Records, a Los Angeles-based indie hip-hop label, who have released the work of an impressive array of artists across hip-hop, soul and funk including the imitable Homeboy Sandman; Dam-Funk and his various collaborations with the likes of Snoop Dogg, Slave‘s Steve Arrington and others; the great Mayer Hawthorne, whose Impressions: The Covers EP landed at number on this site’s Best of List several years ago; Detroit‘s and arguably the country’s best contemporary emcee Guilty Simpson; hip-hop’s most beloved producer J. Dilla; Vex Ruffin; and counties others. The renowned label has recently started a subscription service: for $250 USD plus a one-time, flat-rate shipping fee, subscribers will received every new Stones Throw Records vinyl album released throughout 2017 as soon as the label receives them — and this includes singles, double albums, 12-inch singles, 45s, box sets and special edition reissues.

2017’s first vinyl release will be Madlib and J. Dilla’s Jaylib Remixes for the first time ever on vinyl — and it’ll include a previously unreleased track “Da Ruckus,” which was originally recorded back in 2002. Additionally, the first vinyl shipment will also include a bonus LP Oh No‘s Ultimate Beats & Breaks, a 17 track instrumental hip-hop album, which also marks the long-awaited return of the Ultimate Breaks & Beats series, a series which can trace it origins to the original series of DJ-friendly compilations that was released between 1986-1991 or so. Created by Lenny Roberts, a Bronx-based record collector, and studio editing partner “Breakbeat” Lou Flores, their Ultimate Breaks and Beats series came about as sampling was beginning to take shape. And as you can imagine, the series was instrumental to the increasingly sample-based hip-hop of the period; but also managed to influence electronic dance music and pop as DJs and producers started using the series to help them create some of their genre’s seminal works.

 

“Breakbeat” Lou Flores is reviving Ultimate Breaks and Beats — this time as a producer series, debuting with an album by renowned producer Oh No, which was made entirely from samples from the original UBB series. Check out the  first single off Oh No’s Ultimate Breaks & Beats, “The Troubled” a swaggering track that features twinkling piano chords, tweeter and woofer rattling beats, warm but distorted blasts of horns and vocal samples coming out of the ether. And while nodding at J. Dilla,  the track possesses a cinematic quality just underneath its crowd-pleasing hook.

 

Video by William Ruben Helms

New Video: Introducing the Funky, Jazz Fusion Sounds of A Tree Grows

The New York-based jazz quintet’s self-titled EP (which will serve as a teaser for their forthcoming full-length album) was released earlier this month and the band’s sound which is clearly jazz/jazz fusion based, also possesses elements of funk, bop jazz, jazz fusion shines through on the coolly atmospheric and funky first single “Wau Wau Water,” a composition that manages to evoke seething, bubbling and frothing water. And that shouldn’t be surprising as the band explains that each composition on both the EP and the LP is based around on a different concept, describing a distinct state in the evolution of life on Earth as we know it. “The images are snapshots, extending from the beginning of life, to the emergence of emotions, to aspects of modern human life. The cycle closes with possibilities for future development: self-perpetuating intelligence. The composition ‘Wau Wau Water’ is based on the following concept: ‘Enzymes are forming in a prehistoric ocean — evolving into bacteria. A stew of life is brewing, the cycle starts and intensifies in this patch of fertile Wau Wau Water.” As the band’s Emanuel Ruffler added “Defining and discussing these concepts during the rehearsal and recording process created a sense of purpose among the musicians and a deeper engagement with the compositions. This has transformed our creative process.”

Created by acclaimed videographer Hideki Shiota, who won Best Cinematography Award at the Asian American International Film Festival, the video employs a simple concept as you see the members of the band performing the song in the studio; however, the video is shot in a way so that you don’t see the musicians faces.

Video by William Ruben Helms

New Video: Indie Rock, All-Star Side-Project’s Orchestral Interpretation of Their Noisy, Debut Material

While expanding upon the sound of their most famous primary projects, the band finds each member of the band sonically pushing themselves and crossing as many creative barriers as possible. Interestingly, the project’s soon-to-be released effort, Orchestral Variations is an album of orchestral and instrumental interpretations of the material off Minor Victories’ debut album. The concept, as the band’s Justin Lockey explained to the folks at VICE THUMP began with Lockey “fucking around” but as he progressed, it felt increasingly valid because it presented the songs and harmonies in a completely different light — revealing a stunning beauty underneath the vitriol. In press note Lockey explains that Orchestral Variations’ latest single “Give Up The Ghost” is an orchestral arrangement on the original song. On the full band album, the song begins with an enormous bit of fuzz and vitriol; however, the Orchestral Variation version has Lockey stripping the arrangement down to Rachel Goswell’s vocal melody, which was buried underneath layers of guitar tracks and arena rock-like drums. “In the end, I started with marimbas . . why? Because everyone loves a marimba (if not, they ought to). I guess from my part, it’s a huge nod to Steve Reich, with some melodramatic strings woven in for good measure.” And the result, is gorgeous and soaring and melodramatic composition that sounds as though it should be part of a movie soundtrack while capturing the mood of harried commuters rushing to and fro.

Interestingly, as Lockey explains in press notes, the video was shot by his brother James while they had a day off in Berlin and it features an incredibly simple concept — the band’s Rachel Goswell riding the Berlin metro with enormous headphones on, sitting next to her fellow commuters. And as the train travels you see the Goswell and her fellow commuters sitting next to her, lost in their thoughts and daydreaming; at points the motion of the train or the length of their day has someone close their eyes and nod off; at other points, people get off at their various stops; people and train stops rush by. If it wasn’t so relatively clean, it would look and feel as though you were riding the subway in New York.

Video by William Ruben Helms

New Video: Tokyo, Japan’s LITE and Their Funky Take on Prog Rock

Comprised of Nobuyuki Takeda (guitar), Kozo Kusumoto (guitar / synthesizer), Jun Ozawa (bass) and Akinori Yamamoto (drums), the Tokyo, Japan-based instrumental rock band LITE have over their 14 years together and four full-length albums and six EPs developed both a national and international profile for mischievously playful and complex compositions featuring edgy riffs, complex rhythms and a prog rock and math rock-leaning sensibility, a well-regarded live show and a relentless touring schedule across the US, Europe and Asia. And with “-D,” the first single off the Japanese quartet’s fifth full-length and second proper Stateside release Cubic, the band has released a composition that playfully bridges funk, jazz, prog rock and hip-hop as angular guitar chords are paired with a regular yet ethereal horn line from trumpeter Tabu Zombie, a sinuous bass line and old school-like breakbeats which hold together a composition featuring three distinct yet incredibly funky sections together. Sonically, I’m reminded of the Josh Roseman Unit‘s Treats for the Nightwalker (in particular, their rendition of Burt Bacharach‘s “Long Day, Short Night,” which Dionne Warwick sung) and of a contemporary batch of Afrobeat and Afro-pop inspired acts that includes Superhuman Happiness (think of “Half-Step Grind” off their excellent Hands) and others.

Cubic is slated for a release through Topshelf Records on Friday and the Japanese quartet will be touring to support and build up buzz for the album with a handful of West Coast tour dates, which you can check out below. And interestingly, as the band was in the middle of seven date West Coast tour, they released an official music video comprised of the band performing the song in a studio in front of alternating colored lights — and in some way it gives a sense of what their live show would be like.

Single Review by William Ruben Helms

Over the past 18-24 months or so,  Berlin, Germany-based producer, electronic music artist and DJ Lennart Richter, a prolific artist and producer, who has released a series of singles through a number of renowned electronic music labels including Sleazy G, East Project, G-Mafia Records, GUN PWDR, Ensis Records, Blue Dye, Mondal Recordings and others has become one of a long list of this site’s growing mainstay artists — all while further cementing his reputation across Europe and elsewhere for composing, writing and releasing singles that explored the gamut of electronic music subgenres such as deep house, nu-disco and others with a slick, crowd-pleasing, club-rocking production. And unsurprising, Richter had several Beatport Top 25 releases under his belt, including his Berlin Brawling EP landing at  #10 on the Beatport Indie Dance/Nu Disco Charts.

Earlier this year, the Berlin, Germany-based producer, electronic music artist and DJ released an incredibly slick remix of Yes‘ “Owner of a Lonely Heart,” which retained the original vocal track but paired with a densely layered production that featured handclap-led percussion, slowly cascading synths — and while retaining something of the song’s original feel and spirit, turning the song into a mid-tempo club banger. Richter’s latest single “Still Hawt” is a retro-futuristic, 80s-inspired synth rock instrumental track that has the German producer and electronic music artist employing the use of shimmering layers of cascading analog synths paired with some blistering guitar work by Slync. Sounding as though it could have been part of a John Carpenter movie soundtrack, the duo manage to pay homage to a familiar sound while possessing a subtle yet contemporary slickness.

Single Review by William Ruben Helms

New Audio: Introducing the Arena Rock-Friendly Prog Rock of California’s Strawberry Girls

With the release of their 2015 release American Graffiti, the California-based instrumental trio received a growing national profile as the effort landed at #22 on Billboard’s New Artist charts, and they followed that with a busy live show schedule that included touring with Dance Gavin Dance and CHON. Adding to a busy schedule, the members of the band managed to begin work on their forthcoming effort Italian Ghosts, which is slated for a February 17, 2017 release. And as the band’s Ben Rossett says in press notes “Italian Ghosts is a testament to how much we’ve grown as a band, and what we believe is our best sounding experience as of yet.” The album’s first single “Vanilla Rainforest,” as the band’s Zac Garren explains “pulls from lots of different influences, like dub reggae, hip hop, electronic and progressive rock;” and while being an arena rock friendly, headbanger, the song also possesses a jazz fusion-like sense of improvisation, as the song feels as though it captures three musicians in complete simpatico jamming as hard as possible.

Single Review by William Ruben Helms

Deriving their name from the computing term “soft error” — or a fault occurrence in a digital memory system that changes an instruction in a program or a data value, Soft Error is an accomplished production and DJ duo of Tim and Rupert, who have been well-regarded in electronic music scenes and composition for film, theater and TV respectively. Their full-length debut Mechanism which is slated for a January 6, 2017 through Village Green Records was recorded at Valgeir Sigurðsson’s renowned Greenhouse Studios in Reykjavik, Iceland and draws from 1907s Krautrock, the BBC Radiophonic Workshop, Cliff Martinez, John Carpenter and Jon Hopkins — while also dimly nodding at the likes of Kraftwerk  and contemporary acts like Collapse Under the Empire.

“You Caught Up,” the duo’s cinematic and retro-futuristic debut single and first single off their forthcoming full-length was written and recorded in Paris, arranged in London and mixed in Iceland, consists of layers of shimmering and cascading synths, a sinuous bass line and propulsive drumming and a gorgeous wind section arrangement. Interestingly, the composition reveals a painterly nature, as each note and each chord adds a bit of texture and color like a brushstroke upon a canvas — while sounding as though it should be part of a soundtrack to a futuristic thriller.

Single Review by William Ruben Helms

Comprised of Nobuyuki Takeda (guitar), Kozo Kusumoto (guitar / synthesizer), Jun Ozawa (bass) and Akinori Yamamoto (drums), the Tokyo, Japan-based instrumental rock band LITE have over their 14 years together and four full-length albums and six EPs  developed both a national and international profile for mischievously playful and complex compositions featuring edgy riffs, complex rhythms and a prog rock and math rock-leaning sensibility, a well-regarded live show and a relentless touring schedule across the US, Europe and Asia. And with “-D,” the first single off the Japanese quartet’s fifth full-length and second proper Stateside release Cubic, the band has released a composition that playfully bridges funk, jazz, prog rock and hip-hop as angular guitar chords are paired with a regular yet ethereal horn line, a sinuous bass line and old school-like breakbeats which hold together a composition featuring three distinct yet incredibly funky sections together.  Sonically, I’m reminded of the Josh Roseman Unit‘s Treats for the Nightwalker (in particular, their rendition of Burt Bacharach‘s “Long Day, Short Night,” which Dionne Warwick sung) and of a contemporary batch of Afrobeat and Afro-pop inspired acts that includes Superhuman Happiness (think of “Half-Step Grind” off their excellent Hands) and others.

Cubic is slated for a November 18, 2016 release through Topshelf Records and the Japanese quartet will be touring to support and build up buzz for the album with a handful of West Coast tour dates, which you can check out below.

TOUR DATES
All dates with Mouse on the Keys

Nov 10 – San Diego, CA @ Soda Bar
Nov 11 – Los Angeles, CA @ The Hi Hat
Nov 12 – San Francisco, CA @ Slim’s
Nov 13 – Sacramento, CA @ Harlow’s
Nov 14 – Portland, OR @ Mississippi Studios
Nov 15 – Vancouver, BC @ Biltmore Cabaret
Nov 16 – Seattle, WA @ Sunset Tavern

Video by William Ruben Helms

New Video: Introducing the Cinematic Sounds and Trippy Visuals of Sudden Beach’s “The Beast”

Sudden Beach is Guren’s solo side project of sorts and as he explained to me by email, the music he has created with the project, evokes suddenly coming upon a beach while traveling on a desert road. The project’s first single “The Beast” reminds me quite a bit of John Carpenter’s retro-futuristic soundtracks and Pink Floyd’s “On The Run” as the single consists of layers of undulating synths, cascading shimmering synths and samples of children yelling and talking.

As Guren explains of the video, “To feed the feeling of the music I’ve created, I’ve manipulated the footage taken from the cult documentary Koyaanisqatsi, the pictures of empty buildings without any human. I’ve added some sounds from the amazing Stranger Things, like human breath or playing children to this unmanned atmosphere and tried to emphasize to the past and the memory; to the life before the buildings were demolished. ”

Video by William Ruben Helms

New Video: The Deep, Psychedelic Grooves and Visuals for Dos Santos Anti-Beat Orquesta’s “Camino Infernal/Phantom Weight”

Led by founding member Alex Chavez and featuring Pete Vale, Daniel Villarreal-Carrillo, Jaime Garza and Nathan Karagianis, the members of Chicago, IL-based Latin music quintet Dos Santos Anti-Beat Orquesta have storied careers in a diversity […]

Single Review by William Ruben Helms

Led by its founding member Toby Pazner, a member of Lee Fields and The Expressions and El Michels Affair; and featuring Dave Guy, a member of the Tonight Show with Jimmy Fallon Band and The Dap-Kings; Leon Michels, a member of The Arcs, Lee Fields and The Expressions and El Michels Affair; Nicholas Movshon, a member of The Arcs, Lee Fields and The Expressions and El Michels Affair; Homer Steinweiss, a member of The Dap-Kings and The Arcs; Michael Leonheart, Steely Dan‘s musical director and a member of David Byrne‘s backing band; Neal Sugarman, a member of The Dap-Kings and The Sugarman 3; Aaron Johnson, a member of Antibalas and El Michels Affair; Evan Pazner, a member of Lee Fields and The Expressions, The Olympians are a Daptone Records All-Star band who can trace their origins to when founding member Toby Pazner recruited a bunch of New York’s finest soul musicians during the 2008 Summer Olympics to record material that would comprise the collective’s first 45, which was released through Truth and Soul Records.

However, as the story goes, it wasn’t until a few years later, when Pazner was touring Greece and the Greek Islands when his true vision for the project materialized. After playing the Acropolis and swimming in the Aegean Sea, Pazner had a series of recurring dreams in which he was visited by an ancient, toga-clad, curly-haired Greek man, who told him to return home and build a “Temple of Sound.” And in that temple, Pazner was to retell the tales of Ancient Greece through music. Of course, considering the strangeness of those dreams, Pazner initially ignored them but since they were recurring and so vividly forceful, Pazner began to feel a decided urgency. When Pazner finished the tour, he returned to New York with a singular focus on completing The Olympians’ full-length debut and he immediately went to work acquiring the best studio equipment he could get his hands on. He then promptly followed that up by recruiting his Daptone Records friends  to help him flesh out the material that would comprise the collective’s self-titled album, slated for an October 28, 2016 release.

The self-titled album’s latest single “Apollo’s Mood” is a smooth, old-school soul inspired composition featuring the Daptone horn players, some of the best, contemporary horn players in the entire world paired with a twinkling, twisting and turning organ chords, a slow-burning and sinuous bass line, and a steady back beat. And although contemporary — in the sense that the musicians who composed and recorded the song are contemporary — the song sounds and feels as though it could have been recorded in 1963.

 

 

 

 

Video by William Ruben Helms

New Video: Renowned Director and Composer John Carpenter Returns with an Eerie and Cinematic New Single Paired with Equally Creepy Visuals

Lost Themes II’s latest single “Utopian Facade,” is a moodily atmospheric and cinematic composition consisting of throbbing and insistent bass, cascading layers of shimmering synths, and a staccato, string-based sample in what may arguably be Lost Themes II’s most haunting and eeriest single while nodding at Carpenter’s imitable and familiar sound.

Produced and directed by Gavin Hignight and Ben Verhulst, the recently released video for “Utopian Facade,” is the story of an android’s nightmare, hidden in dark, murky forests, set in an uneasy yet relatively near future that feels and looks dimly familiar. As Hignight explains in press notes “We were instantly haunted upon hearing ‘Utopian Façade’. It conjured images of jagged tree branches, dark woods and things that go bump in the night. Our goal was to explore these feelings combined with the visuals of the electronic synth driven world established in the ‘Night’ video from the prior album.” Unsurprisingly Hignight and Verhulst manage to further emphasize the slowly creeping dread and horror within the song, while hinting at the dystopian future that seems almost inevitable.

Single Review by William Ruben Helms

Comprised of founding member and frontman Jon Wirtz (keys),  Eric Imbrosciano (drums), Taylor Scott (guitar) and Todd Edmunds (bass), both of whom have worked with Otis Taylor, Gabriel Mervine (trumpet) and The Motet‘s Matt Pitts (tenor sax), the Denver, CO-based psychedelic funk sextet Space Orphan can trace their origins to early 2015 the act’s founding member had been hitting creative roadblocks with various solo projects when he was reminded of what made him excited about music and creating music — deep funky grooves. After writing a few compositions, he rushed into the studio with the aforementioned group of collaborators and dear friends to finish the songs and record them before Wirtz could overanalyze them.

As a result of the Denver-based sextet’s growing profile, they’ve opened for the likes of legendary bassist George Porter, Jr. and Jans Ingber’s Funk Fellowship — and adding to that, the band will be releasing their full-length debut Shut Up About The Sun is slated for September 30, 2016 release. “Free Swag,” the album’s first single is a strutting and swaggering bit of futuristic funk that owes a sonic debt to Mothership Connection-era Parliament, Expensive Shit/He Miss Road-era Fela and contemporary acts such as Lettuce and Soulive as the song possesses a trippy yet funky groove — but with a drum ‘n’ bass-leaning bridge. It’s the beloved old school funk sound but with a modern take.