Tag: remix

Single Review by William Ruben Helms

Rising Jakarta, Indonesia-born and-based singer/songwriter and pop artist Afgan was raised listening to Stevie Wonder, Whitney Houston and Brian McKnight — and as a very shy boy, he found solace in music, slowly gaining confidence in quiet karaoke rooms. Interestingly, for the Jakarta-born and-based artist, music has always been an equal synergy of far-flung global inspirations paired with a devotion to proudly showcasing his heritage through nods to Indonesian pop.

Since the 2008 release of his full-length debut Confession No. 1, the rising Indonesian pop artist has released five solo albums, countless number one hits and has amassed over 44 million Spotify streams with over 1 million listeners across 79 countries — just in 2019. In the past three years, Afgan has played sold-out shows across Southeastern Asia including a set at Korea’s Yuseong Hot Springs Festival in front of 30,000 and an appearance at Singapore‘s Hyperplay Festival alongside Nick Jonas. The rising Jakarta-born and-based artist has managed to score a bevy of industry awards — and building upon a growing profile, he made his Stateside debut at a Sofar Sounds show in San Francisco.

Released earlier this year, Afgan’s sixth album Wallflower sees the Indonesian pop artist making a foray into the global scene. The album derives its title from his favorite movie, The Perks Of Being A Wallflower and his deep connection to the film’s soft-spoken protagonist Charlie, played by Loghan Lerman. Afgan told NME, “I just relate so much with the main character and felt like my personality had a similar quality with him.” He continues “I looked up the meaning behind the word [wallflower] and felt like okay, that’s actually a good description of me and I want to own that part of myself.”

Thematically, the album, is influenced and informed by the rising Indonesian pop artist’s own tumultuous relationship and battles with his mental health. Much of the album lyrically is inspired by some of the self-help books that have helped him in drier times. “I‘ve been battling anxiety and panic attacks for years, so I wrote “Hurt Me Like You” about it,” Afgan explains. “Nobody can hurt me more than my own self. I really want to change the stigma around mental health, and in Indonesia, it’s still considered a taboo to talk about it. If we became more happy and at peace with ourselves, I think everything would be better.”

Adding to a growing global profile, the album features “M.I.A.,” a collaboration with Hong Kong-based multi-hyphenate Jackson Wong. The collaboration can trace its origins to a chance meeting between the two artists after Afgan played at 2019’s V Live Awards in Seoul. But in the meantime, the rising Jakarta-born and-based artist has released a remix of the sultry Quiet Storm-inspired, Troy Taylor-produced “Touch Me” that features a guest spot from Robin Thicke while retaining the swooning yearning at the core of the song.

`”‘Touch Me’ is a song with a dark and sexy beat that tells the story of one’s physical attraction at first glance, and how that touch may trigger a series of feelings,” Afgan explains. “Usually, these kind of messages are hard to communicate in Bahasa Indonesia, so this is my first time translating these feelings into a song as I’m now singing in English. This was a challenge for me but I am relieved and happy with the result.”

Video by William Ruben Helms

New Video: Redman Contributes to Posthumously Released Third Version of Phife Dawg’s and Illa J’s Loving Ode to Montreal

Born Malik Izaak Taylor, the legendary and beloved Phife Dawg was a co-founder of the multi-Grammy Award nominated, multi-platinum selling, equally legendary and beloved hip-hop act A Tribe Called Quest. Along with his work with Tribe, Phife Dawg was a solo artist, who collaborated with lengthy lists of acts and artists including Fu-Schnickens, Diamond D, Chi-Ali, Black Sheep‘s Dres, De La Soul‘s Trugoy and countless others, eventually releasing his solo debut album, 2000’s Ventilation: Da LP.

If you’re a hip-hop head, you’d remember that the members of A Tribe Called Quest — Q-Tip, Phife Dawg, Jarobi White and Ali Shaheed Muhammad — reunited in 2006 to help Phife Dawg with mounting medical expenses as a result of complications with diabetes. They co-headlined that year’s Bumbershoot Festival and played a handful of sold-out across across the States, Canada and Japan, including making appearances at the 2K Sports Bounce Tour. According to Phife Dawg, the members of the beloved hip-hop had planned to release an album to finish-off their six-album contract with Jive Records.

008, A Tribe Called Quest was the headlining act for that year’s Rock the Bells tour. Taylor, who had been dealing with complications from diabetes over the past decade, wound up receiving a kidney translate from his wife. At the end of the that year, Q-Tip released his long-awaited sophomore album The Renaissance, which he followed with the release of 2009’s Kamaal The Abstract, which had been shelved for over seven years.

Tribe co-headlined 2010’s Rock the Bells and that year, Taylor had planned to release his highly-anticipated sophomore album Songs in the Key of Phife: Volume 1 (Cheryl’s Big Son); however, continued health issues delayed the release of the album. In 2013, it was reported that Phife had went back to work on his sophomore album, which was re-titled MUTTYmorPHosis. During that same period, the tense relationship between the act’s co-founder was famously documented in Michael Rapaport’s 2011 documentary Beats, Rhymes & Life: The Travels of A Tribe Called Quest.

rs of A Tribe Called Quest reunited to perform on The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon to commemorate the 25th anniversary of the release of the act’s debut album People’s Instinctive Travels and the Paths of Rhythm. In what would be the last few months of his life, Taylor had been incredibly busy: he had finished his long-anticipated sophomore album, now titled Forever, collaborating with a collection of trusted, All-Star producers and artists. Additionally, Tribe had secretly gone into the studio to work on what would be their sixth and final album We Got It From Here . . . Thank You 4 Your Service. Tragically, Taylor died as the entire group were finishing the album; the remaining members finished the album and posthumously released the album, as a tribute to their co-founder.

ily and estate will be finally releasing Phife Dawg’s long-awaited sophomore album Forever later this year. “He worked really hard to complete his album before he transitioned, and he was ready to share an album that was near and dear to his heart with his fans,” Taylor’s family says of the album. “His fans meant the world to him.” So far, one single has been released from the album, “Nutshell, Part 2,” featuring Busta Rhymes and Redman — and as a taste of the album, it’s a classic New York hip-hop banger, in which three legendary emcees spit bars and trade zingers over a subtle DJ Rasta Root reworking of a J. Dilla production.

Earlier this year, I wrote about “French Kiss Deux,” which found the beloved and legendary “Five Foot Assassin” teamed up with Vancouver-based production duo Potatohead People and J. Dilla’s younger brother Illa J on a tribute to one of my favorite cities, Montreal that featured the two emcees trading verses admiring the city’s beautiful women and scenery over a subtle Potatohead People remix of the original. The end result is a vibey J. Dilla-like Golden Era hip-hop production centered around shimmering Rhodes, reverb drenched horns and twitter and woofer rocking beats. It’s an infectious, feel good banger — that for me brings back some fond memories of the Quebecois city.

Phife’s estate released a new version of French Kiss, “French Kiss Trois,” which features a new guest verse with the legendary Redman, who helps to build upon a loving ode to Montreal. The third installment came to life when Redman heard “Deux” back in May and fell so deeply in love with the song that he desperately wanted to become a part of a new version of the song.

Redman’s guest verse sees the legendary emcee alternating between hilariously crude while joking about finding a girl that would be comfortable enough to fart in the tub near you, and ask if she wants to watch wrestling or boxing. But simultaneously, Red manages to paint a loving picture of a strong, confident, down to earth woman — the sort of woman that straight men would consider themselves profoundly lucky to find. Maybe that woman can be found in lovely Montreal, right?

“It’s dope to see the evolution of this song, from the first version on my album Illa J to Phife’s version, to 6 years later Potatohead people doing a sick remix of the track, and now Redman adding a verse to it, with Ali Shaheed on the mix,” Illa J says in press notes. “It’s an honor having a track with 2 hip-hop legends on it, this one will always be a special joint for me.”

“When Red called my phone and told me that he had ‘French Kiss Deux’ on repeat, I knew what was coming next,” Dion “Roots” Liverpool adds. “Hedidn’t even have to ask me and I was excited. Once he sent me a video of his computer and pressed play, I remembered yelling really loud!!”

day Dion called and said that Redman had French Kiss on repeat and immediately wrote a verse, I was excited. Phife would be going crazy with Red being on this song,.”Phife’s wife Deisha Taylor shares. “Anytime you hear Redman on any track you know it will be dope. The atmosphere and energy shifts when he is on any song or walks in the building.”

“As soon as I heard the song, I played it back-to-back 100 + times. I had to hit Potatohead People and Dion to tell them I was writing a verse,” Redman says. “Being in the music video was amazing, and I know I’m doing it for Phife. I don’t think he gets enough credit, so God made this my mission to help best way I can.”

Executive produced by Phife Dawg’s longtime friend and collaborator, Dion “Roots” Liverpool and co-directed by Redman, Tony Reames and Konee Rock, the recently released video for “French Kiss Trois” follows Redman and Ill J in Montreal, admiring and hanging out with the city’s beautiful women — at beautiful locations. The video, features some gorgeous animation of Phife and a special guest appearance from Phife’s widow Deisha Taylor, lovingly reminiscing over photos of her husband. The video ends with the group coming together to celebrate and honor Phife’s life and work.

Single Review by William Ruben Helms

Sneaker Pimps — currently founding members Liam Howe (production) and Chris Corner (guitar, vocals) with newly recruited Simonne Jones (vocals) — can trace their origins back to their formation in Hartlepool, UK back in 1994: The act’s initial lineup of Howe, Corner, Kelli Ali (née Dayton), Joe Wilson and Dave Westlake quickly established themselves as one of the pioneers of trip hop with their critically applauded and commercially successful, full-length debut, 1996’s Becoming X, which featured their signature track “6 Underground.”

Ali left the band after the release of Becoming X. Corner took over on vocal duties and the band went on to release two more albums, 1999’s Splinter and 2002’s Bloodsport. Wilson and Westlake left the band in 2002. Shortly after, Sneaker Pimps’ founding members made a mutual decision to explore other creative avenues: Corner and Howe went on to their own highly successful individual ventures in music and film, collaborating with the likes of Gary Numan, Lana del Rey and others with IAMX (Corner) and AMP (Howe). During their initial seven-year run, Sneaker Pimps had five UK Top 40 singles — the aforementioned “Six Underground,” “Spin Spin Sugar,” “Low Five,” and “Bloodsport.”

Sneaker Pimps’ founding members, who are currently split between London and Los Angeles ended a lengthy 14 year hiatus back in 2016 with hints of new music. Since then, the act’s fans have been desperately waiting for new material. Five years have passed but earlier this year Howe and Corner announced that they’d be releasing a new album, their highly anticipated fourth album, Squaring the Circle on September 10, 2021. Last month, Corner and Howe, along with their newest member, vocalist Simonne Jones released a double single of album material, “Squaring the Circle” and “Fighter.”

“After 18 years of dormancy and deliberation we (Sneaker Pimps) are releasing not one, but two new tracks,” Sneaker Pimps’ Liam Howe said in press notes. “‘Fighter’ is a plea for courage and strength against prevailing mental health crises. ‘Squaring the Circle’ (via Nietzsche) is a heartfelt ode to eternal returns of love, in the face of desperate adversity. Contrasting in nature, hopefully these songs describe the diversity and essence of the new album.

“It’s taken many years and many false starts to get Sneaker Pimps back in the game,” Sneaker Pimps’ Chris Corner said on Twitter. “Sometimes [you] need to back the fuck off and let the universe take control. I’m proud and relieved to say that it is finally happening. We officially have new music.”

Album title track “Squaring the Circle” is a yearning duet between Corner and Jones centered around a hauntingly sparse arrangement of twinkling piano, atmospheric electronics and layered backing vocals. Sonically, the track is a decided departure from their commercially successful initial run with the cinematic track reminding me quite a bit of Tales of Us-era Goldfrapp. “Fighter” finds the legendary trip hop pioneers crafting a remarkably contemporary sound centered around wobbling synth arpeggios, skittering beats paired with Jones’ sultry vocals and a rousingly anthemic hook. While clearly being wildly different, the tracks are thematically related with both tracks being tales of survival — in desperate and uncertain times.

Interestingly, in the lead up to the act’s highly-anticipated fourth album, the members of Sneaker Pimps released a remix to “Fighter,” done by the band’s co-founder Liam Howe, under APE MINK PRESS, a.k.a. AMP. The remix is packed with a dizzying array of subtle sonic references and hints including krautrock grooves, shimmering synth arpeggios, chiming Japanese-like percussion and more while retaining Jones’ sultry vocal turn and the song’s rousingly anthemic hook.

“Here is the first ever Ape Mink Press remix. It’s a journey through Krautrock to Synthwave; via the genius of Japan and the splendour of early Ultravox,” Sneaker Pimps’ Liam Howe says in press notes. “It sets out to track the influences of Sneaker Pimps and creates an historical vignette of their origins. At the same time there are modern influences aplenty.”

Additionally, Sneaker Pimps announced a digital pre-release listening event through Moment House on September 8, 2021 at 11:00am PST/2:00pm EST to celebrate the album’s release. The limited event will include an advance stream of the album in its entirety, and a chance to chat live with the band about their new album. An upgraded ticket is also available that will allow a select number of fans into a live video Q+A session with Corner, Howe and Jones after the album stream. Along with the album preview and the chats, attendees will be treated to exclusive downloads and the chance to win a Squaring The Circle merch bundle. More info is available here: https://www.momenthouse.com/sneakerpimps

Single Review by William Ruben Helms

Last year, I spilled quite a bit of virtual ink covering the rising Los Angeles-based indie electro rock act Carré that features:

  • Julien Boyé (drums, percussion, vocals): Boyé has had stints as a touring member of Nouvelle Vague and James Supercave. Additionally, he has a solo recording act Acoustic Resistance, in which he employs rare instruments, which he has collected from all over the world.
  • Jules de Gasperis (drums, vocals, synths, production and mixing): de Gasperis is a Paris-born, Los Angeles-based studio owner. Growing up in Paris, he sharpened his knowledge of synthesizers, looping machines and other electronics around the same time that Justice, Soulwax and Ed Banger Records exploded into the mainstream.
  • Kevin Baudouin (guitar, vocals, synth, production): Baudouin has lived in Los Angeles the longest of the trio — 10 years — and he has played with a number of psych rock acts, developing a uniquely edgy approach to guitar, influenced by Nels Cline, Jonny Greenwood and Marc Ribot.

Deriving their name for the French word for “square,” “playing tight” and “on point,” the Los Angeles-based trio formed back in 2019 — and as the band’s Jules de Gasperis explains in press notes, “The making of our band started with this whole idea of having two drummers perform together. It felt like a statement. We always wanted to keep people moving and tend to focus on the beats first when we write.” The members of the Los Angeles-based act specialize in a French electronica-inspired sound that frequently blends aggressive, dark and chaotic elements with hypnotic drum loops. Thematically, their work generally touches upon conception, abstraction and distortion of reality through a surrealistic outlook of our world. Their visuals tend to feature geometric shapes and patterns.

The act specializes in a French electronica-inspired sound that blends aggressive, dark and chaotic elements with hypnotic drum loops. Thematically, their work generally touches upon conception, abstraction and distortion of reality through a surrealistic outlook of our world. Their self-titled EP was released last year through Nomad Eel Records — and the EP featured the Uncanny Valley-era Midnight Juggernauts meets Tour de France-era Kraftwerk-like “Freeform,” a free flowing and improvised jam centered around glistening synth arpeggios, shimmering blasts of guitar, an insistent motorik groove, hi-hat driven four-on-the-floor and ethereal vocal samples.

“Freeform” was given the remix treatment by Parisian multi-instrumentalist Alex Tran, a.k.a. A.T.M. and interestingly enough, the A.T.M. remix adds a decidedly French house touch to the proceedings with glitchy sequences, muscular guitars, harder hitting beats, vocodered vocals while retaining the song’s free flowing and improvised jam-like feel and dark industrial vibes while essentially giving the song a dance floor friendly air.


 

 

Single Review by William Ruben Helms

Perry, GA-born, Athens, GA-based singer/songwriter, multi-instrumentalist and producer Ernest Greene is creative mastermind behind the acclaimed synth pop/chillwave, JOVM mainstay act Washed Out. Started in earnest in 2009, Greene posted material on MySpace, which caught the attention of a nubmer of influential blogs who championed him, while comparing his work to JOVM mainstay Neon Indian and Memory Tapes.

Building upon a rapidly growing profile, Greene released his first two Washed Out EP in August and September 2009. The Perry-born, Athens-based JOVM mainstay supported his early efforts with his first New York area show at the now, long shuttered Santos Party House. He continued upon that momentum with a set at 2010’s Pitchfork Music Festival. And  “Feel It All Around” was chosen for the acclaimed, smash-hit TV series Portlanadia.

In early 2011, Greene signed with Sub Pop Records, who released his critically applauded and commercially successful full-length Within and Without: the album peaked at #26 on Billboard 200 and #89 on the UK Albums Chart. 2013’s sophomore album Paracosm was a radical change in sonic direction that featured a warmer, tropical-inspired sound — but while retaining the ethereal quality of his previously released material. 2017’s third album, the  Cole M.G.N. co-produced Mister Mellow was released through Stone’s Throw Records, and featured a beatmaker-inspired aesthetic.

Greene’s fourth Washed Out album, last year’s Purple Noon was written and recorded by the JOVM mainstay with production following a brief stint of writing with other artists — mostly notable with Sudan Archives on her debut Athena. Those collaborations found their way into Purple Noon‘s material with the album sonically drawing from R&B and modern pop. While arguably being among the brightest and more robust sounding material he’s released to date, the album is also a big leap forward: Greene’s vocals are placed front and center of the entire mix with the production featuring harder hitting beats.

Deriving its name from Rene Clement’s 1960 film Purple Noon, which was based on Patricia Highsmith’s novel The Talented Mister Ripley, Greene’s fourth Washed Out album is inspired by the Mediterranean coastline — with Greene paying tribute to the region’s island-based cultures, elegance and old-world charm. The surroundings serve as a gorgeous backdrop to stories of passion, love, loss and longing. Purple Noon‘s first single “Too Late” can be descried as a bit of a return to form: it’s swooning synth pop featuring skittering beats, glistening bass synth arpeggios, Greene’s lush vocals, a rousingly anthemic hook and a decidedly Caribbean/Mediterranean Island meets Quiet Storm air. Just under the hook-driven, breezy surface, the song is full of desperately aching longing.

Earlier this month, Green released a remix of “Too Late” by Puerto Rican pop duo Buscabulla. Buscabulla ‘s remix retains Greene’s achingly plaintive and lush vocals and pairs them with a funky and blissed out, New Jack Swing-inspired production featuring a strutting bass line, skittering beats and squiggling synths.

Along with the remix, Greene announced that he’ll finally be hitting the road to support Purple Noon during Winter 2022. The tour includes a February 7, 2022 stop at Brooklyn Bowl. The rest of the tour dates are below. And you can check out the following — https://washedout.net/tour for ticket information and more.
 
Mon. Jan. 10 – Asheville, NC  – Orange Peel
Tue. Jan. 11 – Nashville, TN – Brooklyn Bowl           
Thu. Jan. 13 – Houston, TX – Stereo Live
Fri. Jan. 14 – Austin, TX – Empire
Sat. Jan. 15 – Dallas,  TX – The Granada Theatre
Mon. Jan. 17 – Phoenix, AZ – The Van Buren
Tue. Jan. 18 – San Diego, CA – The Observatory               
Thu. Jan. 20 – Los Angeles,  CA – The Wiltern Theatre
Fri. Jan. 21 – Santa Ana, CA – The Observatory
Sat. Jan. 22 – San Francisco, CA – The Regency                 
Mon. Jan. 24 – Portland, OR – Wonder Ballroom
Tue. Jan. 25 – Seattle, WA – Showbox at the Market 
Fri. Jan. 28 – Salt Lake City, UT – Metro Gallery
Sat. Jan. 29 – Denver, CO – The Gothic Theatre      
Mon. Jan. 31 – Minneapolis, MN – USA – Fine Line
Tue. Feb. 01 – Chicago, IL – Metro    
Thu. Feb. 03 – Toronto, ON – The Danforth Theatre
Fri. Feb. 04 – Montreal, QC – L’Astral
Sat. Feb. 05 – Boston, MA – Paradise                        
Mon. Feb. 07 – Brooklyn, NY  – Brooklyn Steel                                 
Wed. Feb. 09 – Washington, DC – 9:30 Club
Thu. Feb. 10 – Philadelphia, PA – Underground Arts
Fri. Feb. 11 –  Chapel Hill, NC  – Cat’s Cradle
Sat. Feb. 12 – Atlanta GA – The Eastern
 

Single Review by William Ruben Helms

New Audio: Edmofo’s Club Banging Remix of Emma Peters’ “Fous”

usic scene through her YouTube channel, which initially featured attention-grabbing covers of Lartiste’s “Clandestina” and Lomepal’s “Trop Beau” — with her cover of “Trop Beau” receiving over 40 million streams on Spotify. As a solo artist, Peters quickly established herself a songwriter, who writes heartfelt and lived-in material, based from her own life experiences and with an unvarnished honesty with the release of her debut EP Fous, etc.

don’t be a pleaser and most importantly, don’t lose yourself. Be you at all costs. Interestingly, EP title track “Fous” features the rising French artist’s coquettish yet self-assured vocals over a lush production featuring shimmering Flamenco-styled acoustic guitar paired with skittering, tweeter and woofer beats.

Recently, Edmofo gave “Fous” the remix treatment. While retaining the original’s looping Flamenco-styled acoustic guitar and Peters’ coquettish yet self-assured vocals, Edmofo adds harder-hitting, beats, bursts of twinkling keys, turning an earnest R&B/pop ballad into an urgent, club friendly banger.

Single Review by William Ruben Helms

New Video: Homemade Weapons’ Drum ‘n’ Bass Remix of Clipping.’s “Wriggle”

Throughout the course of this site’s 10-plus year history, I’ve managed to spill copious amounts of virtual ink covering the acclaimed Los Angeles-based hip-hop trio and JOVM mainstay act Clipping. The trio — production duo Jonathan Snipes and William Hutson and frontperson Daveed Diggs — have been busy over the past couple of years: they released two critically applauded albums as part of planned diptych — 2019’s There Existed An Addiction to Blood and 2020’s Visions of Bodies Getting Burned — that found the act developing an abrasive and downright messy take on horrorcore, centered around an industrial aesthetic while lovingly twisting familiar genre and sub-genre tropes to fit their politics and thematic concerns: fear, the absurd, the uncanny and the seemingly unending struggle for an antiracist, anti-patriarchal, anti-colonialist world.

But I need to rewind a bit: 2016’s digital-only release Wriggle EP featured six tracks that weren’t finished in time to make it on the JOVM mainstay’s 2014 Sub Pop Records debut CLPPNG. Since its release, the EP has become a fan favorite with tracks like “Wriggle” and “Shooter” becoming staples of their live set. Interestingly, the members of Clipping will release the Wriggle EP as a newly remastered and expanded nine-track set on vinyl for the first time ever on July 9, 2021 — with a 10 track digital version officially dropping today.

The expanded version of Wriggle features the original versions of “Shooter,” “Hot Fuck No Love” feat. Cakes Da Killa and Maxi Wild, and “Our Time” feat. Nailah Middleton, along with “Back Up 2021” featuring SB The Moor and a new verse of industrial rap experimentalist Debby Friday. Additionally, the expanded version features previously remixes by drum ‘n’ bass/breakbeat act Homemade Weapons, Classicworks label co-founder Cardpusher, Dave Quam (formerly known as Massacooramaan) and a vinyl-only version of “Hot Fuck No Love” by footwork producer Jana Rush.

The expanded EP’s latest single is Homemade Weapons’ remix of “Wriggle.” The original was breakneck banger centered around a sample of Whitehouse’s influential power-electronica song “Wriggle Like a Fucking Eel,” skittering, tweeter and woofer rocking beats and Diggs’ dexterous, rapid-fire flow and forceful commands to wriggle like a snake or an eel. The Homemade Weapons remix is a minimalist drum ‘n’ bass take on the song, reducing the song to a chopped up and screwed vocal sample and densely layered staccato beats.

Directed by Cristina Bercovitz and Clipping’s Jonathan Snipes, the recently released video for “Wriggle (Homemade Weapons Remix)” features daytime and nighttime footage on Interstate 110, edited in a way so that the cars more in a glitchy fashion to the propulsive beats.

Single Review by William Ruben Helms

With the release of their debut single “Island of Promise,” the Budapest-based electronic music production and artist duo  Belau — Peter Kedves and Buzas Krisztian — quickly exploded into their homeland’s scene for establishing a buoyant, summery and dance floor friendly sound that according to the band meant to evoke “cheerful places, filled with sunshine, where one can relax, unwind and find peace and harmony.” Since its release, “Island of Promise” landed at #1 on Deezer Hungary, one of the country’s largest string services, amassed over 500,000 streams, was featured in the HBO Hungary series Aranyélet, and in an international  Pepsi ad campaign shown in 33 countries.

Belau’s full-length debut, 2016’s The Odyssey won a Hungarian Grammy for Best Electronic Music Album. The duo supported the album with an intense touring schedule — 120 shows in 19 countries with stops across the international festival circuit with sets at Eurosonic, Sziget, Reeperbahn, Untold, and SXSW. After The Odyssey, the JOVM mainstays released a series of remixes of The Odyssey tracks, which they followed up with their sophomore album, 2019’s Colourwave featured a number of singles I’ve written about, including:

  • “Breath,” a sultry, dance floor friendly collaboration with Sophie Lindinger centered around glitchy beats and a sinuous yet anthemic hook
  • The Massive Attack-like “Natural Pool.”
  • “Rapture,” a collaboration with Blue Foundation‘s Kirstine Stubbe Teglbjærg centered around a trip hop-inspired production featuring shimming synth arpeggios, wobbling low end and Stubbe Teglbjærg’s sultry vocals. 
  • “Essence,” a collaboration with Sophie Barker that features Barker’s sultry vocals gliding over a shimmering production centered around looping, reverb-drenched guitar shimmering synths, skittering beats and an enormous hook that brought Third-era Portishead and Octo Octa to mind  – but a with a brooding air.

Although the duo haven’t been able to tour as a result of the pandemic, they’ve been busy: earlier this year, they released “Luz,” a one-off single with Sexto Sentido that was decided sonic departure for the duo: the single reminded me quite a bit of fellow JOVM mainstays Ibeyi. Interestingly, as the duo explained in press notes, “’Luz’ is kind of a bridge to our future album; it’s a bit different from our earlier releases.,” the Budapest-based JOVM mainstays explain. “This single is a harmonic blend of traditional Afro-Cuban folk music and modern electronica, the lyrics in yoruba and spanish. This song is a spiritual journey for us, it will be the part of Colourwave DLX album with some remixes, reimagined versions and live sessions in April.”

For Colourwave DLX‘s latest single, the Budapest-based JOVM mainstays recruited Ohxalá to remix album single “Breath” with Sophie Lindinger. Interestingly, the Ohxalá remix meshes dub and house music by retaining Lindinger’s sultry vocals paired with a chopped up hook, skittering beats and shimmering synths,. Interestingly enough, the remix gives the song a subtle yet completely different feel: in this case, the Oxhalá remix possesses a bracing chilliness that reminds me quite a bit of Octo Octa’s Between Both Selves.

“‘Breath’ was one of the first single from the album and also one of our favourites. We had some nostalgic feelings about that era, for example the day when we got the final master, that was the first time when we ever met with Sophie,” the Budapest-based JOVM mainstays recall. “Fun fact it was in Texas, where we played at SXSW. After the success of the song, we thought it would be great to have an alternative version, and asked Ohxalá to make a remix. We love their style because they blend traditional folk music with modern electronica, and they made a unique song which also has a new mood.”

Single Review by William Ruben Helms

Emerging Vienna-based electronic music production and DJ duo Oszillator is comprised of two classically trained pianists, who have been friends for the better part of the past decade — 21 year-old Max McManus and 20 year-old Benedikt Meschik. Last year, the duo got together to produce Anima‘s debut single a cover of “Naima,” that was a lush synthesis of atmospheric jazz, skittering techno beats, chopped up vocal samples and glistening synth arpeggios centered around Anima’s ethereal yet soulful crooning.

The duo’s remix of Anima’s “Naima” is a thorough reworking of their original production. Centered around an expanded version of the trip hop meets house music bridge from the original, the remix features Anima’s achingly plaintive melodic wailing and her spoken word-like chants paired with bruising industrial clang and clatter, glistening synth arpeggios and relentless, tweeter and woofer rattling thump to create a song that evokes a hallucinogenic and tribal ritual for a seemingly all-too-soon dystopian future.

The Vienna-based duo are currently working on new material with Anima, which will be released this year; but they also have plans to release their own original material, as well.

Single Review by William Ruben Helms

Super Besse — Minsk-based Alex Sinica (bass) and Minsk-born and Berlin-based Maksim Kulsha (vocals) — supported their first two albums, 2015’s 63610 and 2017’s La Nuit with tours across the European Union, Russia and China, which helped the duo establish a reputation as a rising act on the international post-punk scene. Adding to a growing profile, “Holod” appears in the film Hotel Mumbai.

Last year’s Un Reve, which was recorded in Minsk and Berlin, found the duo moving towards a dance floor friendly, techno-influenced sound featuring rapid-fire beats, shimmering synth arpeggios and motorik grooves paired with a punk/post-punk ethos.

Riga, Latvia-based label I Love You Records, Super Besse’s long-time label will be releasing a remix album of Un Reve material this year. St. Petersburg-based electronic duo Wolfstream was recruited to remix Un Reve single “Ozhog.” The album version is a dance floor friendly take on post-punk centered around stuttering and skittering beats, an angular bass lines and shimmering and looping guitars — and although the song’s lyrics are sung in Russian, “Ozhog” manages to bring P.I.L. and New Orderr to mind. Interestingly, the Wolfstream remix manages to subtly reimagine the song as a trance house banger with a muscular thump with layered synth arpeggios replacing the guitar solos while retaining the angular bass line and skittering beats of the original.

Single Review by William Ruben Helms

Kevin Rodrigues is a Paris-born and-based electronic music artist, producer and DJ, best known in electronic music circles as Worakls. Rodrigues, who grew up in a musical family, started to learn the piano when he had turned three. After studying in a conservatory, he started to dedicate his time to electronic music and composition.

After receiving acclaim for his remixes and his earliest solo releases, Rodrigues along with his friends N’to and Joachim Pastor founded Hungry Music in 2014. Since the formation of Hungry Records, Rodrigues has been praised by Billboard, who referred to him as a “rising French DJ” and described his tracks as “serious techno with a light touch,” full of focused, nervous energy.”

In 2019, the rising French electronic music artist, DJ and producer released his full-length debut Orchestra. The label went on a brief hiatus — and they returned with a slew of releases including a series of remixes to celebrate the second anniversary of Orchestra‘s initial release.

Recently, Patrice Bäumel, an acclaimed East German-born, Amsterdam-based electronic music artist, DJ and producer remixed Orchestra album track “Detached Motion.” The remix finds Bäumel retaining the arpeggiated and gently morphing synths of the original, the East German-born, Dutch-based producer’s take feels cinematic and expansive, with the track slowly and continuously building up energy and tension paired with a muscular and insistent thump and euphoric hooks. Sonically, the song — to my ears, at least — is a seamless synthesis of Tour de France-era Kraftwerk and deep house, imbued with a cosmic sheen.

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Single Review by William Ruben Helms

New Audio: Ruido Selecto Remixes Tremor and Soema Montenegro’s “Cuando Oigo Sonar La Caja”

Soema Montenegro is a Buenos Aires-based experimental singer/songwriter. Arguably one of South America’s most unique artists, Montenegro’s work mixes the sounds and images of the jungle and mountains with her original poetry, which is primarily centered around a theatrical and emotional narrative — and transports listeners to her native Argentina.

Tremor — Leonardo Martinelli, Geraldo Farez and Camilo Carabajal — is an acclaimed South American trio that meshes electronic production and sound manipulation with traditional folkloric instrumentation and influences. Featuring rhythms and sounds known across the region, the trio’s sound fits component parts of varying traditions together in a way that crosses and defies genre-borders.

Medelin, Colombia-based experimental. electronic music artist, producer and guitarist Juan Esteban Herrera is the creative mastermind of Ruido Selecto, an electronic music project that’s largely influenced by Jamaican and tropical rhythms, and other black music.

Tremor and Soema Montenegro collaborated together on “Cuando Oigo Sonar la Caja,” which appeared on a tribute album to Argentine singer/songwriter Leda Valladares, El Caimon de Leda (Un Tributo a Leda Valladares). Centered around undulating and atmospheric synths, traditional indigenous percussion, twinkling guitar, and flute paired with thumping beats and Montenegro’s sing-song vocals, the track is a brooding synthesis of the ancient and the modern.

Ruido Selecto’s remix is a subtle, dubby remix, featuring finger-snapped percussion, wobbling low end while retaining most of the dreamy and brooding instrumentation and Montengro’s vocals. The end result is a remix that feels like a slow-burning psychedelic trip.

Single Review by William Ruben Helms

Thundercat · Dragonball Durag (Remix) [feat. Guapdad 4000 & Smino]

Throughout the course of this site’s almost 10 year history  I’ve managed to spill quite a bit of virtual ink covering the critically applauded, Grammy Award-wining singer/songwriter, bassist and JOVM mainstay artist Stephen “Thundercat” Bruner. Bruner has long been a Brainfeeder Records cornerstone, releasing critically applauded material including  Golden Age of Apocalypse, 2013’s Apocalypse, 2015’s The Beyond/Where Giants Roam EP and 2017’s Drunk while also establishing himself as a highly sough-after collaborator, contributing to Kamasi Washington’s aptly titled 2015 effort, The Epic and to Kendrick Lamar‘s 2016 commercial and critical smash hit, the Grammy Award winning To Pimp A Butterfly. And in 2018, he teamed up with Flying Lotus to compose an original score for an episode of Donald Glover’s Golden Globe and Emmy Award-winning TV series Atlanta.

Drunk, Bruner’s most recent album was conceived and written as an epic journey into the bizarre, hilarious and sometimes dark mind of the Grammy Award-winning singer/songwriter and bassist, but importantly, the album represented a major career transition — from virtuoso bassist and collaborator, to globally recognized star while further cementing his reputation for arguably being one of the past decade’s most unique, genre-defying voices. Thundercat’s fourth full-length album, the Flying Lotus-produced It Is What It Is was released earlier this year through Brainfeeder Records. Much like its immediate predecessor, the album features a who’s who list of collaborators and guest spots from the likes of Ty Dolla $ign, Childish Gambino, Lil B, Kamasi Washington, The Internet‘s Steve Lacy, Slave‘s Steve Arrington, BADBADNOTGOOD, Louis Cole and Zack Fox among others.

“This album is about love, loss, life and the ups and downs that come with that,” Bruner says in press notes. “It’s a bit tongue-in-cheek, but at different points in life you come across places that you don’t necessarily understand… some things just aren’t meant to be understood.”

It Is What It Is‘ second single, “Dragonball Durag” is a mid-tempo strut of a song centered around Bruner’s chunky and wobbling bass lines and his velvety falsetto — and while recalling Quiet Storm-era funky soul, the song is mischievous and funny song that details its creator’s sense of humor and obsession with Dragon Ball Z and the confidence boosting power of the durag.

“I have a Dragon Ball tattoo… it runs everything. There is a saying that Dragon Ball is life,” Bruner explains. As for the durag: “There are two types of people in the world, the guy with the durag and the guy who doesn’t know what a durag is. The durag is a superpower, to turn your swag on… it does something, it changes you. If you have one in the wardrobe, think about wearing it tonight, and it may pop off because you never know what’s going to happen.”

Thundercat’s fourth album was released to widespread critical applause earlier this year and continuing the momentum as best as he could in light of pandemic-related lockdowns, the JOVM recently released a remix of “Dragonball Durag,” that features St. Louis emcee and vocalist Smino and Los Angeles-based emcee, vocalist, creative and like-minded anime fanatic Guapdad 4000. Smino is the co-founder of the Zero Fatigue collective, which features Bari, Monte Booker, Jay2 and Rayvn Layne — and he’s a member of of Ghetto Sage with Saba and Noname. Gaupdad 4000 and Smino are also members of hip-hop supergroup Zoink Gang with JID and Buddy. So all of these brothers are insanely busy. As far as the remix, it’s a straightforward take on the song that with the addition of Guapdad and Smino’s verses, add a new and ridiculous context to the song.  The swag is more, the fuckboi assholery is more and it’s fucking hilarious.

 

 

 

women who kick ass by William Ruben Helms

whypeopledance · PRÉMIÈRE: Agnès AOKKY – Les Poissons-Chats (Hologram Teen’s Ottawa Disco Dub Remix)

 

Agnés Aokky is a French-born singer/songwriter and DJ — and as a songwriter, Aokky doesn’t spare puns or self-mockery to express the rapid changes of her emotions. The French artist has worked with a number of acclaimed indie and underground producers including Maxime Komori and Computer Truck. Nah Like, another up-and-coming producer recently released a remix of  “Rose Bonbon Baby,” which appeared on the Manifesto XXI compilation Open Source.

ManifestoXXI · Agnès Aokky – Rose Bonbon Baby (Nah Like Edit)

Earlier this year, the emerging French artist released “Les Poissons Chats,” a slow-burning and trippy track featuring several different musical sections, centered around twinkling keys, soaring strings, wobbling, wah-wah pedaled guitar, and Aokky’s brooding yet cooed vocals. Thematically, the song finds its narrator remembering and rehashing moments fueled —  and typically forgotten or fucked up — by alcohol.

Recently, Stereolab’s Morgane Lhote, best known as Hologram Teen released a shimmering disco dub remix centered around a motorik groove, shimmering synth arpeggios, subtly African polyrhythm, twinkling keys and atmospheric electronics. And while being dance floor friendly, the track possesses a lysergic air.

 

Single Review by William Ruben Helms

San Antonio-based duo The Holy Knives — New Orleans-born, San Antonio-based siblings Kyle and Kody Valentine — derive their name from a combination of two of their favorite works of art: Alejandro Jodorowsky’s The Holy Mountain and Frank Stanford’s The Singing Knives. Both works — although in very different media — conjure a flood of beautiful, thought-provoking imagery while centered around a fearless quest for truth through the irrational that the duo strive to capture in their own work.

Inspired by Portishead, Leonard Cohen, Arctic Monkeys and Timber Timbre, the San Antonio-based duo specializes in an eerily cinematic sound featuring Western-inspired soundscapes and downtempo grooves to create a sound that sounds as though it could be part of an episode of Twin Peaks or True Detective. The duo’s latest EP Always Gone was released as a series of singles earlier this year — and the band will continue to release a song a month for the remainder of the year.

Recently, The Kills‘ Jamie Hince remixed, the brooding EP single and title track “Always Gone” — and his touch manages to be subtle: it retains the song’s brooding atmospherics, and sonorous baritone but while gently pushing the pace up a bit with some subtly industrial-like boom bap beats and an extra layer of shimmering reverb. Interestingly, both the original and the remix manage to remind me of Daughn Gibson’s work — eerie, brooding and seemingly haunted by lingering, old ghosts of regret and despair.