Tag: Miami FL

Single Review by William Ruben Helms

Now, if you’ve been frequenting this site over the past few years, you may be familiar with Miami, FL-based JOVM mainstay and electro pop artist Brika. And as you may recall, the Miami-based pop artist has received attention both from this site and across the blogosphere for a sound that draws from trip-hop, jazz and several other genres, as well as a slow-burning neo-soul reworking of Shaggy‘s “It Wasn’t Me,” as well as her debut effort Voice Memos.

Brika’s latest single “Just Wanna Be Single” was produced co-written and produced by R&B singer/songwriter and producer Shy Girls with Grammy Award-winning producer Julio Reyes Capello, and the single pairs a slick but breezy and chilled out production featuring strummed guitar, finger snap-led percussion, languid cascades of synths and an infectious, radio-friendly ear worm of a hook with Brika’s coquettish yet self-assured vocals; but underneath the radio-friend airiness are unusually self-aware and introspective lyrics that capture a modern woman, who is perfectly okay with not having anything particularly serious holding her down; in fact, she wants to simplify her life and her relationships — in some way, she sees relationships as a difficult, time-consuming burden, full of heartache. Certainly, the woman who narrates the song is a fully-fleshed out woman, the sort of woman you’d find self-possessed and self-assured but a bit of a player, and yet beguiling all the same.

 

 

Single Review by William Ruben Helms

If you’ve been frequenting this site over the past 12-15 months or so, you’ve likely come across a couple of posts on the Brampton, ON-born, Toronto, ON-based DJ, violinist, singer/songwriter and indie pop artist Maya Killtron. And as you may recall, Killtron first came to attention both nationally and Stateside with the 2012 release of her debut EP Hipster/Gangsta, and as a result of the attention she received, Killtron wound up making the rounds across the North American festival circuit with stops Miami’s Winter Music Conference, Pride Toronto, The Halifax Jazz Festival and CMJ. And adding to a growing profile, her collaboration with NYC-based production duo Love Taps “Back For More” received attention from the likes of Stereogum and Huffington Post for a sound that meshed moomba and R&B – and for visuals that showcased a sadly bygone NYC. Additionally, Smalltown DJs, The Slow Waves, Eyes Everywhere, Brothers In Arms and City Kid Soul have all have remixed “Back For More” — with the City Kid Soul remix being named in the Top 5 at Toronto’s Bestival.

“Bad Decisions,” which I wrote about while in Amsterdam, The Netherlands earlier this year, was a written as a review of some of Killton’s best and worst decisions when it came to affairs of the heart paired with a sound that nodded at 80s synth funk and early 80s disco in a fashion reminiscent of JOVM mainstay act Escort; in fact, that shouldn’t be surprising as Killtron explained in an email to me,  “With ‘Bad Decisions,’ as well as my first single ‘Never Dance Alone,’ I wanted to pay tribute to; but not copy my heroes — Teena Marie, Prince, and The Gap Band.”

“Whiplash,” the third and latest single off Killtron’s Never Dance Alone EP is influenced by a childhood memory of a young Killtron listening to Michael Jackson‘s “PYT‘ for the very first time. “It was my driveway one July and my dad let me take our little radio outside while I washed the car, ” the Brampton-born, Toronto, ON-based pop artist explains. “‘PYT’ jumped out of the speakers and pretty much changed my ears forever. I never listened to the music the same way again.” Sonically, Killtron describes the song as having touches of elastic funk, roller rink dance, New Jack Swing and candy-coated pop paired with modern electronic production — and while that may be true, the song reminds me of Morris Day and The Time‘s “Jungle Love,” The Gap Band’s “You Dropped a Bomb on Me,” Cherelle‘s “Saturday Love,” Chaka Khan‘s “I Feel For You” and others as it features a sinuous bass line and a stomping groove; however, Killton’s latest single is at a much faster BPM than the sources that inspired it. Of course, much like the preceding singles, “Whiplash” is a love song — this time focusing on the sort of swooning love that comes about suddenly and feels so right, even if it’s just for the moment.

 

 

 

World Music by William Ruben Helms

Preview: Secret Solstice Festival 2017

With its inaugural run back in 2014, Reykjavik, Iceland’s Secret Solstice Festival has quickly become one of Iceland’s largest music festivals, featuring a diverse and eclectic array of established and internationally recognized artists, locally renowned acts and up-and-coming artists from all over the globe, performing in one of the most unique backdrops in the entire world – the roughly 72 hour period of near constant daylight Iceland experiences during the Summer Solstice, because of its proximity to the Arctic Circle. (After all, Reykjavik is the northernmost capital and administrative region of the northernmost country in the entire world.) Building upon its growing reputation as one of the world’s most unique music festivals, the fourth edition of the festival may arguably be one of the biggest and most diverse lineups to date as it includes Foo Fighters, Rick Ross, the UK electronic act The Prodigy, The Verve’s former frontman Richard Ashcroft, Pharoahe Monch, Chaka Khan, Foreign Beggars, Dubfire, Novelist, Rhye, Dusky and Chicago house music artist Kerri Chandler. Along with those artists, some of Iceland’s renowned acts, including Högni, Úlfur Úlfur, Amabadama, Emmsjé Gauti, GKR, Tiny, Aron Can, KSF, and Alvia Islandia will be performing. And adding to the 72 hour party vibe, the festival’s organizers have planned a series of electronic dance music takeovers and showcases featuring some of the world’s best party crews – including Ibiza’s Circoloco, Above & Beyond Records’ deep house imprint Ajunadeep Records’ dance floor collective Crew Love, ATG and Dubfire’s SCI+TEC among others.
Interestingly, for the second consecutive year, Secret Solstice is currently the only major music festival in the world to be certified CarbonNeutral®, as the festival sources almost all of their power needs from the use 100% renewable geothermal energy, hybrid vehicles provided by Toyota Iceland – and from offsetting any residual emissions through the purchase of high quality, verified carbon credits. Unlike any other festival I’ve attended or heard of, festivalgoers and artists alike can know that they’re being environmentally responsible while partying and catching some of the world’s most interesting artists. Of course, during a multi-day festival like Secret Solstice, it’s difficult and damn near impossible to catch everyone and everything, so consider me as a helpful guide – with some information on artists I’d love to catch while in Reykjavik.

Single Review by William Ruben Helms

More than enough real and virtual ink has been spilled on Iggy Pop throughout his incredibly influential, lengthy and prolific music career — a music career that he can trace back to 1960. And with the legend’s 70th birthday on Friday, we should all enjoy him for as long as he’s here to kick ass. Interestingly enough, Iggy Pop has collaborated and championed a number of contemporary bands including the Miami, FL-based rock trio Jacuzzi Boys, who in 2015 started their own label Mag Mag Records with the primary purpose of releasing their own music.

April 21, 2017 marks the release of Mag Mag’s new flexi disc series, which begins with the release of a dusty and scuzzy, Mississippi Delta blues-inspired new single from the iconic Iggy Pop titled “Asshole Blues.”

 

 

 

 

 

 

Single Review by William Ruben Helms

Comprised of founding members Mario Giancarlo Garibaldi (vocals) and Jorge Velásquez (guitar) and later joined by Alex De Renzis (drums), the Peruvian-born, Miami, FL-based members of Hunters of the Alps derive their name from a reference to the citizens in the Alps region, who were actively working and fighting for a united Italy in the 1800s — and as the story goes, the trio can trace its origins back a bit as Velásquez had played in several wave-making Latin Alternative rock bands while Garibaldi had fronted the indie rock band Modernage. Feeling an increasing desire to break away from his then-primary project and have more creative freedom, Garibaldi eventually branched out into Hunters of the Alps.

Building upon a rapidly growing profile, the Miami-based trio have opened for several renowned acts including Twin Shadow, Tanlines and Unknown Mortal Orchestra and have played sets at Ill Points, Transatlantic Festival and House of Creatives — all before the recent release of their debut Time (How To Love) EP, which features EP title track “Time (How to Love),” a track that caught the attention of All Things Go and Atwood Magazine. The EP’s latest single “It’s You” will further cement the trio’s burgeoning reputation for a New Wave and 80s synth pop sound reminiscent of New Order and Depeche Mode as the trio pairs angular guitar chords with propulsive drumming, a sinuous bass line, shimmering and fluttering arpeggio synths, and Garibaldi’s slightly detached crooning with an anthemic hook in a dance floor friendly song.
Video by William Ruben Helms

New Video: The Trippy Visuals for Miami-based Electro Pop Duo Eons’ Latest Single “All The Time”

Comprised of Johnny D (vocals, guitar and keyboards) and Matty G (keyboards, sampling and vocals), the Miami, FL-based indie elector pop duo EONS have received praise from the likes of  Huffington Post and others for […]

Video by William Ruben Helms

New Video: Miami-based Production duo GTA Teams Up With Paul Wall and Clyde Carson

Comprised of Julio Mejia and Matt Toth, the Miami, FL-based production duo GTA have developed a reputation for a genre defying sound that caught the attention of renowned producers Laidback Luke, Diplo, and A-Trak. And […]

Single Review by William Ruben Helms

Multi-Grammy nominated, Grammy-winning, Canadian-Jamaican DJ and reggae vocalist Shaggy is probably best known for his mega-hit singles “Boombastic,” “It Wasn’t Me,” “Hey, Sexy Lady” and “Angel.”  More than enough ink has been spilled throughout Shaggy’s career but I will say that “Boombastic” and “It Wasn’t Me” are so hugely popular that you’ll still occasionally hear both of those songs at parties, more than 15 years after their initial releases.

Miami, FL-based pop artist Brika has been something of a mainstay on JOVM as I’ve written about her a number of times over the past year or so. And in that time, Brika received attention across the blogosphere for an electro pop sound that at times seemed to owe a debt to trip-hop and jazz. Interestingly, Brika recently covered Shaggy’s mega-hit “It Wasn’t Me,” turning the uptempo reggae song into a slow-burning, sensual neo-soul-leaning reggae reworking that completely changes the song’s melody while employing the use of strummed guitar, organ, skittering percussion, double bass and Brika’s breathy coos. Certainly, by having a woman sing the song’s lyrics, it creates a completely different interpretation of the song while retaining the original’s spirit.

Single Review by William Ruben Helms

New Audio: maticulous Teams Up With Pittsburgh-based emcee Beedie On the Haunting New Single, “The Journey.”

maticulous is a Pittsburgh-born, Brooklyn-based producer, who has worked with the likes of Doom, RA the Rugged Man, Ruste Juxx, and is one half of emcee/production duo Audimatic, with Audible Doctor of the renowned hip-hop collective, Brown Bag AllStars.  As a producer, […]

Single Review by William Ruben Helms

New Audio: Red Traces’ Retro Futuristic, New Single “Adcom”

Much like VIRGO, Red Traces the solo recording project of Miami, FL-based musician, producer and electronic music artist Albert Ovadia has been written about a number of times on JOVM over the past year or so. With […]

Live Music by William Ruben Helms

Live Concert Review: New Music Seminar, New Music Nights Festival 2015 Misfires in its Attempt to Showcase New Music

Live Concert Review: New Music Seminar, New Music Nights Festival 2015 Misfires in its Attempt to Showcase New Music New Music Seminar can trace its origins back to 1980 when over 200 people gathered at […]

Uncategorized by William Ruben Helms

Originally starting her career in Miami, where she attempted to forge an identity which captured “the essence of melancholy and yearning, while finding beauty in the sadness and pain that all of us carry inside,” up-and-coming […]

Uncategorized by William Ruben Helms

Comprised of John Paul Pitts (lead vocals, guitar), Thomas Fetke (guitar, backing vocals), Kevin Williams (bass, backing vocals) and Tyler Schwarz (drums), the West Palm Beach, FL-based indie rock band, Surfer Blood can trace their […]

Uncategorized by William Ruben Helms

If you’ve been following JOVM for quite some time, you may be familiar with the Miami, FL-based pop artist Brika, who has received quite a bit of attention across the blogosphere for an electro pop-based […]