Tag: The Joy of Violent Movement

New Audio by William Ruben Helms

 

Maya Killtron is a Toronto, ON-based DJ, violinist and singer/songwriter who first came to attention across both her native Canada and the States with the 2012 release of her debut EP Hipster/Gangsta, and as a result, Killtron wound up touring the festival circuit across both countries, including appearances at Miami’s Winter Music Conference, Pride Toronto, The Halifax Jazz Festival and CMJ. Adding to a growing profile, Killtron’s 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 a video 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 the song — with the City Kid Soul remix being named in the Top 5 at Toronto’s Bestival.

Killtron is currently working on a multimedia mixtape project featuring MCP champ and producer Fresh Kills, videographer Diana Piruveska, best known for her work with Nelly Furtado and photographer Natalie Caine; however, in the meantime, her latest single “Never Dance Alone” is reportedly a return to the Canadian singer/songwriter’s roots in funk, pop and R&B — and much like the work of JOVM mainstays Rene Lopez, Dam-Funk, Tuxedo and others, the song sonically sounds as though it could have been a B side to Chaka Khan‘s “I Feel For You” as a sinuous and ridiculously funky bass line, warm and explosive blasts of horns and layers of synths are paired with Killtron’s sultry vocals. Along with that is a breezy bridge that emphasizes the song’s infectious hook. Listening to the song immediately reminded me of being out and about in the summer, whether at a house party, a roof top party or a block party desperately trying to talk up that pretty young thing you’ve wanted since the beginning of summer  — and more distinctly summer 1983.

 

Video by William Ruben Helms

New Video: Boogarins Returns with Yet Another Breezy and Contemplative Song, and Gorgeous Visuals

Boogarins latest single “Tempo” is an contemplative song with an expansive song structure consisting of alternating dreamy and moody section with a loud, anthemic section featuring buzzing guitar chords and feedback — and much like the album’s previously released singles the latest single sounds as thought it draws from Pink Floyd, 60s garage psych, Tropicalia and jazz, which gives the song a breeziness that belies its thoughtful and psychedelic nature. According to press notes, the song’s lyrics speak about stopping time and freeing yourself from the everyday grind of work, school and obligations and escaping from the pressures of daily life.

Interestingly, the members of the band reached out to their fans on social media and asked them to shoot footage of two different moods: the first being “man’s world,” a world full of soul-crushing and demeaning imagery of urban life — commuting and rushing about, working, studying and starting at computer screens; and the second being images of sanctuary and safe places — friends, being out in nature, music, art and anything that would make you feel open, free and whole. As a result of their open call, the band received hundreds of submissions, which were then edited and crafted into a gorgeous, surreal and coherent whole by Cobrandit Films’ Owen Mack.

Video by William Ruben Helms

Over the past year or so,  Grand Rapids, MI-based psych rock trio HEATERS, comprised of Andrew Tamlyn, Nolan Krebs and Joshua Korf have become a JOVM mainstay act. And with the release of  the “Mean Green”/”Levitate Thigh” 7 inch, their full-length debut Holy Water Pool last year, along with a series of singles, the Grand Rapids-based trio also received a growing national profile for a 60s inspired psych rock sound.

Earlier this month I wrote about “Centennial,” the first single from the Grand Rapids, MI-based trio’s highly-anticipated sophomore effort, Baptistina. Interestingly, “Centennial” continues in a similar vein as the material on Holy Water Pool as the band paired dense layers of shimmering guitar chords played through tons of reverb and effects pedal, ethereal vocals, propulsive drumming and a throbbing bass line in a towering and anthemic psych rock song that feels as though it may descend into cacophonous chaos — but with a towering swagger that gives the song an effortless, larger-than-life feel. The album’s second and latest single “Garden Eater” is an epic and sprawling song that has a lengthy introductory section featuring dense layers of shimmering guitar chords and propulsive drumming that slowly fades into a dreamy and contemplative fade out, which allows for the slow build up of  an atmospheric section consisting of subtly droning guitar chords and vocals — an interestingly enough this section sounds as though it were indebted to Directions to See a Ghost-era The Black Angels before fading out with tons of reverb. Structurally the song may arguably be the most expansive song the trio have committed to wax

Single Review by William Ruben Helms

Over the past 12-18 months your’e likely come across posts about Grand Rapids, MI-based psych rock trio HEATERS. Comprised of Andrew Tamlyn, Nolan Krebs and Joshua Korf, the band can trace their origins to when founding members Tamilyn and Krebs relocated to Grand Rapids to start a music project together. Korf, who was coincidentally Tamilyn’s and Kreb’s next door neighbor was later recruited to flesh out the band’s sound. With the release of the “Mean Green”/”Levitate Thigh” 7 inch, their full-length debut Holy Water Pool last year, along with a series of singles, the Grand Rapids-based trio became JOVM mainstays while also receiving a growing national profile.

The psych rock trio’s highly-anticipated sophomore follow-up effort Baptistina is slated for an August 5, 2016 release through Beyond Beyond Is Beyond Records, and the album’s first single “Centennial” continues a bit on the path of Holy Water Pool as the band pairs dense layers of shimmering guitar chords played through tons of reverb and effects pedal, ethereal vocals, propulsive drumming and a throbbing bass line in a towering and anthemic psych rock song that feels as though it may descend into cacophonous chaos — but unlike their previously released material, “Centennial” possesses a towering swagger that gives the song an effortless, larger-than-life feel while sounding a though it could have been released in 1967.

 

Video by William Ruben Helms

New Video: The Blaxploitation Channeling Visuals for Homeboy Sandman’s “Nonbelievers” Video

Homeboy Sandman’s latest single “Nonbelievers” which pairs the Boy Sand’s ridiculously playful rhyme schemes with a hip-hop golden age-leaning production consisting of a looped, slinky guitar line and a propulsive rhythm section of stuttering drum programming and a rolling and swaying bass line. But just underneath the surface is an equally playful sensuality as the New York emcee talks about being in love with what may be one of the more interesting women in the entire world.

The recently released music video for “Nonbelievers” plays with some of themes and motifs of Pam Grier’s most beloved Blaxploitation films while subtly suggesting that the entire time the New York-based emcee was having an extremely vivid dream — or maybe not.

Video by William Ruben Helms

New Video: Check Out Neon Indian and Friends’ Funky and Breezy Cover of Prince’s “Pop Life”

As a child of the 80s there is a rather lengthy list of songs, artists and albums that have profoundly influenced and transformed my life — in particular David Bowie, Talking Heads, Madonna, DEVO, R.E.M, […]

Video by William Ruben Helms

New Video: The Kaleidoscopic and Nervous Sounds and Visuals for Roisin Murphy’s “Ten Miles High”

Roisin Murphy’s latest single “Ten Miles High” pairs cascading layers of undulating synths, dramatic drumming in a song with an unusual structure — not only does it focus on a propulsive motorik groove, the song is much more concerned with establishing the sensation of anxious, anticipation, vulnerability and ache.

Video by William Ruben Helms

Live Footage: Homeboy Sandman Performing “God” at Stones Throw Records’Dungeon

If you’ve been frequenting this site since its inception six years ago, you’d likely be familiar with JOVM mainstay artist, the New York-born and based emcee Homeboy Sandman. Arguably, the New York-based emcee is one […]

New Audio by William Ruben Helms

New Audio: El Dusty’s Anthemic and Club Banging, Cinco De Mayo-Inspired, New Single

Corpus Christi, TX-based producer, DJ and electronic music artist, Horacio Olivera, best known as  El Dusty has a long-held reputation as the pioneer of a revolutionary, new subgenre that he’s dubbed “nu-cumbia” as it possesses elements of […]

Video by William Ruben Helms

New Video: The Wistful and Trippy Visuals for Gosh Pith’s “Scoop”

Over the course of the past 18 months or so, Detroit, MI-based duo Gosh Pith have become JOVM mainstays while gaining a rapidly growing national profile for a sound that possesses elements of hip-hop, electro pop, stoner rock, indie rock, […]

Video by William Ruben Helms

New Video: Hanging Out on the Streets with El Dusty, MLKMN and Happy Colors in the VHS-Styled Visuals for “We Out Chea!”

Corpus Christi, TX-based producer, DJ and electronic music artist, Horacio Olivera, best known as  El Dusty has a long-held reputation as the pioneer of a revolutionary, new subgenre that he’s dubbed “nu-cumbia” as it possesses elements of […]

Single Review by William Ruben Helms

With the 2015 release of Hairless Toys, Irish electro pop singer/songwriter and producer Roisin Murphy quickly became a JOVM mainstay artist — and that shouldn’t be surprising as Murphy has a long-held reputation for being an inventive and genre defying artist, whose sound and aesthetic incorporates elements of jazz, pop, electronic dance music and found field recordings and samples. And although her 2005 full-length solo debut Ruby Blue was a critically applauded departure from her early work in pop act Moloko, the effort was a commercial failure; however, her 2007 release Overpowered was a critical and commercial success as the album was considered for nomination for that year’s MTV Europe Music Award for Best International Act.

Over the next few years, Murphy hadn’t released any album-length material but she did collaborate with an impressive array of internationally acclaimed artists including the likes of Fatboy Slim, David Byrne, Crookers and others. 2014 marked the release of the Mi Senti EP, a collaboration with her frequent collaborator Eddie Stevens and her partner Sebastiano Propezi, which featured the Irish singer/songwriter singing covers in Italian. And according to Murphy, the album’s material was written to intentionally channel Edith Piaf and Studio 54 in a style that Murphy coined “very adult-orientated disco.”

The aforementioned Hairless Toys was Murphy’s first full-length release in over eight years and the material off the album reportedly drew from very similar influences to the Mi Senti EP — in this particular case, European house music, Casablanca Records, and the legendary Grace Jones. Simply put, the material is effortlessly elegant and shimmering electro pop that slowly reveals that its narrator is on the verge of mental breakdown — you can practically feel their psyche crumbling from the weight of her own failures and anxieties. And as a result, it gives the material an aching, desperate urgency. Interestingly,  the forthcoming Take Her Up To Monto an album that takes its name from an Irish folk song popularized by The Dubliners, is comprised of material that was written and recorded during the intense writing and recording sessions that wound up resulting in Hairless Toys.  And although drawing from disco, cabaret, pop torch songs some of the material was radically reimagined and reworked once the Take Her Up To Monto‘s tone and character revealed itself.

Monto’s latest single “Mastermind” is a slinky and tense song that sonically seems to draw from classic house music, freestyle and confessional singer/songwriter pop as Murphy and her frequent collaborator Eddie Stevens pair layers of shimmering synths, propulsive beats and swirling electronics with Murphy’s plaintive and aching alto in an song with an expansive song structure that eschews easily discernible hooks and choruses for a driving motorik groove reminiscent of Kraftwerk as the song comes and goes about in strange and unfamiliar angles revealing an artist, who relentlessly pushes her sound and aesthetic forward and into new territories.

 

New Audio by William Ruben Helms

 

If you’ve been frequenting this site over the past couple of years, you’ve likely come across a post or two about JOVM mainstay act Monogem. Comprised of singer/songwriter Jen Hirsh and producer/songwriter Scott Smith, the indie electro pop act derives their name from a unique cosmic phenomenon — a Monogem Ring, the leftover glow of an supernova explosion.Interestingly enough, one of the largest monogem rings in the observable universe is located near the Gemini and Cancer constellations. And for Hirsh, whose birthday is on the cusp of the astrological signs Gemini and Cancer, the project’s name has a deeply personal and special meaning for the singer/songwriter.

Now, you may also know that in the same period of time Hirsh and Smith have received critical praise from the likes of Interview Magazine, Vice’s NOISEY, Elle Magazine, Indie Shuffle, Hillydilly, Earmilk and others, which has expanded their profile nationally — and that shouldn’t be terribly surprising as the duo has described their sound as “disco-tinged California pool party tunes” with elements of funk and soul. It’s been a while since I’ve heard from them but their latest single “Take It Slow” is arguably their most sensual, Quiet Storm-era R&B-tinged single released to date as Hirsh’s sultry and breathy vocals with glistening synths and propulsive, boom-bap like drum programming in a song that evokes a plaintive and urgent need, an aching vulnerability and a come-hither before it’s too late vibe that fits with the slinky production.