Noble Robot Sideways Mobility
On the new track from Noble Robot, Rory Barber continues to blow minds. A longer number,“Bright Side” plays with plenty of journey behind it. This band has always taken the adventure road, exploring, experimenting in this uneven box they continue to develop for themselves. Few groups bend genres in a successful manner. Noble Robot has no problem delivering a blurry line on the new single, while exuding their (trademark) quirky musicianship, tinged with improvisational risk. The new song comes in over six minutes, and listening at a distance you’d think it was an EP full of short bursts. Rory and his better half Nellie Gillis just keep releasing wonderful music. Sounds that are filled with compassion, angst, a yearning for love and adventure. I surely hope Noble Robot gets a larger audience in 2013, they deserve it. Also included here is the other new track “Icarus,” which if comparing the two from a stylistic point of view, it completely solidifies the case for a bending musical persona. A+
Cristallin Swirling Memory
Cristallin out of Switzerland released “Terranea” last week. The new song opens up in the ocean setting. The emotions released and resonating off the coral reef, it boomerangs back to you, the image walking underneath the clouds. This is a really wonderful song. Cristallin is a filmmaker who makes music to accompany his visuals. It’s easy to hear the emotional input on this track. Inspired by something unsaid, but vivid from the start. Funny thing about this, I wrote the review while streaming via soundcloud, then watched the video. Great to see what the song put in my mind is exactly what this filmmaker translates on the screen. The imagery is super cool, hard not to picture yourself hanging with these dudes, skating, seeing all the beauty their set has to offer. There’s plenty of others to watch and explore over on vimeo. Get the song for a NAME YOUR PRICE over on bandcamp, along with some other wonderful sounds.
Choongum Droplet Fire
In San Francisco, Choongum is blasting this loopy dream drench all over the coast. Dazzling atmospherics, with a hooky arpeggiated pulse. The new song “Rainbow Syrup” wastes no time getting to its place, from the intro its pull takes you in, drops you on a seat, then you fly away. Surfing around online Choongum has plenty of releases to listen to, a recent album with Shisha on cassette, and a bunch more. Hop over to his bandcamp to go through it all.
Is And Of The – New EP – Latepril
Washington, DC is home to Is and of The, an experimental electronic music project which incorporates sampling, with live instrumentation. It’s an impressive outing, one that puts the search to build something spectacularly explorative over all else. A beautifully designed bandcamp page exudes thoughts that would require you to search yourself. Lovely painted pieces that fit without gaps to this risky, and refreshing music. Its more or less great IDM that incorporates some true blue sounding organic instruments. I love the anarchist approach on some of these numbers. All of a sudden you’re at this place, then within seconds the transition is skipped and you’ve given birth to a new aesthetic, one that has you burnt from the scary yet dazzling adventure. The brand new 7 track EP, latepril was just released via bandcamp, nab it for a FREE DL, and explore the other great releases. Album artwork by Anissa Najm.
Feint Motion Color Go
The word “Epic” is sadly overused, especially now in the music review world. But even worse is the word being dropped in random conversation regarding something that’s hardly worth repeating. But, in the case of Andy Isaac aka Feint, the word Epic is all I can think of after listening to his brand new song “Sky Dance”.
At 20 years old, Feint cast his shadow in Britain making his mark with songs that build up like a bonfire. These imaginary visuals pump ideas into your mind, a reflection of the past sneaks in on occasion, but mostly you have this new-found energy to grab colors and paint your new canvas of life. The new song is a NAME YOUR PRICE over on bandcamp.
Pick Of The Week: Kanada
Kanada out of France, has this track called “Bowling” on his soundcloud page. When I was walking through to grab another, in the long line of cups of coffee, it began to play. The tracks before it I liked so the decision to post had been made. Then came the “epic” moment where I declared in my mind this song is going to be the one I love, I know it. But that’s not to say his collection isn’t amazing. He released an EP called Parade back in September, which can be grabbed for a FREE dl.
Kanada has a passion for the ambient no doubt. He rests blurry objects on floating planes, which take off from the standard beat treatment. The music is highly addictive “brain food.” Something I enjoy b/c there’s a special place I go in my head, the one you can get to easily with a drop of LSD, or Fungi. Being older now, I stay away from whats alters us, finding the way with music, the obviously more wholesome choice.
But we won’t stop at the cerebral offerings from Paul Teyssédou Aka Kanada. His track “Elliptic Tricks” is another special treat. This one is more up beat, including the soulful blues guitar over hoppy heat. It has this vintage sound to it, instantly attractive. It sticks to the shakers core, a groover you once adored, refreshed with new blood from Kanada, a very deft French Producer.
I also put up his mixtape Handy Drummers Silent Square.
Swim Good Under The Radar’s Radar
Swim Good released “Dollar Iced Tea” last year on Soundcloud. From what I can tell this song has gone relatively under the radar, way under it. It’s a great song! From the moment it begins, the invisible colors we see from the bright sun in our eyes, comes out like vibrations. You’re half blinded and the pulse transmits the sound. A FREE one I might add. “ALL I WANNA DO” is listen to this song, and be in this video.
The song is a car commercial just waiting to be plucked from the cloud. Who is this Swim Good? Why is this song not being blasted everywhere? How the hell did I find it? The last question is easy, traffic on one of my own releases turned me onto Swim Good. I noticed the name, so I went to explore, and here we are. I’M IN LOVE! It looks like Swim Good is Ben Hoffman, honestly I wish Artist would get on the “links” tip so when we cover them I know WTF I’m looking at, no worries, the song makes up for it. Cheers Ben! There’s also a pretty Rad mixtape on his Soundcloud. Be sure to hop over and nab that as well both FREE. WE WANT MORE DUDE!!!!
- In case this is some big hit I just completely missed, and Swim Good is one of these maestros posting CR material, my apologies up front. The song is that good people. It’s so damn good that I think it’s possibly this massive hit that everyone has already loved on. This can happen, hope its the real deal so I can feel good about my discovery.
Estate Champagne Balloon Room
A new find of some older tracks along with a new EP. Disco House is an essential piece to my musical upbringing as a listener, and at one point a house music DJ. I started out listening to this kind of quality, the summer time house dancers that are so HOT they excuse themselves from being overly funky or cheesy. Basically going so far one way, you come back through the other side, making the thing you’re doing transcendent.
Estate out of Minneapolis and NYC, consists of Josh Johnson, Dan Kramer, and Jessie Lesmeister. There sound is Nu Disco with shades of Phoenix (esque) cadence. There’s a ton to go through, all setting them up on their own plain as a real purveyor in this “champagne” style music. The sounds entirely crisp, moving smoothly, while making sure to have some fun within all the WHITE ON THE WALLS. They released a massive album via iTunes back in 2011. Massive in this sense its 40 plus tracks for you to munch on. This music is essential party music. Feel good sounds, no doubt. They have some seriously campy videos over on vimeo, I laughed my ass off at the featured video, which is the new single leading the new EP they just released, available on Traxsource.
The new single “Slipstream” is a glitter pop throw back, layered in so much disco I put on a head band and started busting a move. The new EP contains new music from Estate as well as the remix treatment. Below I picked the new single, and two older tracks that I really thought were great, especially “Pick Your Fight”. Nothing like a new EP to bring in a new audience to your older material. Perfect timing!
Dauss Day Rider See
Monday morning blast off, Dauss released “Cycle Points” a few back, and it surfs the concrete like a white coat wearing wizard sage. You’ll hit play on this, and get zoomed into the YOU vortex as you drive the city with the lights blinking the fade. Dauss has some NAME YOUR PRICE on BC.
Tropical Tobacco Color Color Surf Surf
Saturday Morning! Not your typical day for a blog post. I’m chilling out in the country basically sitting in the front yard of the National Park. Last night I came across Tropical Tobacco. Now, I can’t say for certain I haven’t seen this name before, either at a glance while surfing some of my favorite sites. Maybe, I get him confused with the other Tobacco fella, who sings in that creepy acid trip band who shows the B movie roles at their concerts (See Black Moth Super Rainbow)?. This is not him, or that group, nothing the same, except the SUN.
Tropical’s sound is quite simply “Tropical”. With the song “One Ounce” released back in January (missed it), this is indeed the setup of the summer for me. Every blog or site from here to Pluto is saying that about one song or another, sure this one as well. It’s probably the most over played thing to say, a cliché no doubt. But who cares about superfluous jargon. We’re talking about summer here, the season when people feel young, and run around like crazy people for a few months. And that’s why we post about “summer songs” so much when we hear them.
On this color filled, drug induced beach run, Tropical Tobacco just hits all the right notes, for me especially. The song induces a running down the beaches of Lake Michigan visual for me. Now instead of Holly and me holding hands, and tripping on ourselves while laughing like goof balls, I see that plus my son strapped up in the Ergo, bobbing back and forth on my back. It’s interesting how your kids can make you see the colors all over again, make you see the youth in yourself as you explore the sand for the very first time together. This song is that experience, and it’s just FUN. Also nab the track “Debris/” to come down off the super high experience. Get them both FREE HERE! They have a new album coming out sometime this year, thank goodness.
Pink Elephants EP
Bradley Coy, San Diego’s Pink Elephants just released his first EP on April 7th. Its a four track sound blaster, riding heavily on the shoegazer in all of us. Coy, a 17 year old explorer of sound makes a variety of different things based on his own words. A trip to his soundcloud backs that up quickly. The EP is good, bold, and its drenched in this pull, sort of that blurry vision the Sun gives you when you’re trying to focus in, and it freezes you for a few moments in time. The song “Indescent” was a standout for me, but honestly the EP is solid on all four numbers, the closer is a big take off song, “The Flying Bandstand” ends the record, and really serves as a jump off closer for this project. You know this is just a “wet your beak” moment. The LP must be around the corner, and with tunes like this, I have no doubt its going to thrill the blogosphere. Well done Mr. Coy. Make sure to “name your pice” for this record.
Future Valleys Jumbled Star
England’s Future Valleys, currently splitting time between the 60′s, the 80′s, and now he’s into a more experimental electronic music. Its to the point where you’re unclear whose making what, I had to email him to make sure the rock stuff was actually him, or an accidental upload with the new electronic material. Future Valleys really connects all of them together on some of these numbers. Take the song “I will never die,” a White Fence style vocal showered in an 80′s ether, leaving the edge for a garage oriented rock.
I appreciate explorers like this, people wanting to make everything they can. Not a product, not a plot to swoop up a market, but instead self discovery through the lens of some unknown desire to create. The first track on this list of great work, is a summer time player for sure. And probably will be on Acres mix #2. I’m pretty stoked I found this Artist. You can’t put the Lo-fi like this in front of my ears without pure excitement. I love the mix of sounds, but I would really love a Future Valleys record of the hazy garage sound. There might be one, but like so many great talents on soundcloud, there’s a lack of links to info on them. So I have no idea if there’s more info, an album, or maybe a side project making elevator jams? Regardless, the soundcloud pages are a good start.
Polar Baby Sugar Ear
London’s Polar Baby (Christopher Hegarty) released “Out of This Love” which is an erratically pleasant tune. The plethora of randomness brings a lot to the ear. At the 3:00 minute mark we’re treated with a delicious break down, that enables that bright cadence to really breathe. And its does, flawlessly. Great production with a very nice vocal to ride with it. Then there’s the “Colours Fade” a lake side chiller with enough ponder wave to make you feel like you’re getting reiki or something. Love both of these tunes. Great work!
Tonmo Zip Line Swirls
Tonmo, wonderfully crafted chiller out of Iceland. The new tune “Vashite” has a nice vox clip, which gives the track an early morning beach vibe. There’s a nice selection of tunes on SC worth listening to. I included a few of the newer ones all which cross into this sample drone hip-hop, shifting in the realm of experimental chill. Not sure if Tonmo has an official release, no link on his page, but worth the stream no doubt. Dope!
Ether Teeth Cerebral Forrest
Ether Teeth, the “Washed Wave” group from Phoenix has this nice number called “Memory Leak”. A rattle of smooth soundings haze, with a pleasant vocal to match. In the middle of the tune it drops into this super dope instrumental for a few beats, then right back into the hook, just like a good Pop number should. REQUIRED DL INDEED. The song is part of an EP that came out back in Dec. called Elysian Dreams. Nab both for Free.
Powercut Vintage Polo
Powercut out of Italy will make you do a double take, and try to turn up the volume more. It’s a blast from the past, almost so damn vintage 80′s I couldn’t tell if it’s just released as a fake artist. They sound like they’re dropping polo shirt wearing, cocaine snorting tracks, that no one heard in 1985, but were on the backup record for the Beverly Hills Cop soundtrack. Once I went to their label Future City Records I saw they are real. The group Powercut is Terra, Toto, and Big Mike and they have big love for things French, and Disco.
Tiiiza Drops Youth EP
Previously featured on Acres Top 20 of 2012 list for the cut “July,” Tiiiza just let loose a hand full of new chiller waves via soundcloud. His music has space, and a vintage hue which lends us all some time with the past. There’s an eerie back drop to his production. If you’re into some true blue soundscape atmospherics (this would be dope in a movie like Drive) pay attention. His new EP just came out called Youth, via Ultra Vague Recordings.
Remixed Mountain Range Dazed With Sun Glitters
Mountain Range can’t just stop with his own amazing talent for delivering the wonderfully cerebral aesthetic of leaves crashing within the mist of memories. He went out and linked his visions to Sun Glitters, the great Ole Torjus, and Teen Daze offers a smooth, cozy ride within the parameters M.R. sets up every time he releases something. There is no one out there doing it quite like this, and the online popularity of this roster solidifies the original version into a great EP. And it just sounds so damn good.
Artifakts Throwback Jones Holler
This is an early favorite for my top 20 of 2013 list. When the beat drops you’re in full “cool boy” mode. Its early in the AM at the nest, and these slow-mo. crowd thrillers just blasted my groove shake. For such killer instincts you’d think the big city vibe was something embedded in these songs from growing up on the inner part of it all, nope. This beat maker is a small towner, from the cold racks of Newton, Wisconsin. Which I believe you can here in the atmosphere of these songs. The center is thick, solid productions, deft hands. You can always tell the dreamers from the samplers, the kids with soul from the styles that might sound good, but miss the fundamental element of passion in art (I’m the authority). Artifacts sends out some real heart on his tracks, it’s very clear sounding.
Follow this LINK to nab some FREEness. Especially Raw Cuts Vol 1, and Clean Cuts.
Caveman The Wise Shadow Heat
This record has a nice warmth to it, similar to that evening when you decide a movie from the early years is what you’re looking for. Those films never step all over themselves to get to the next scene. Old movies relieve us from the obvious impatience of a modern scenario retread, with soul. The opening track “Getting Along” is the peak of chill, and “Little Leviathon” is the highlight of the record. A cool like jazz ether, and the vocal hits to perpetuate a state of zen. Oh and Don Draper and Biggie Smalls make appearances on the record, which is never a bad thing to work with. Caveman is a jazz man, no doubt.
Caveman the Wise (Chicago), Time in the Shadow of the Thing too Big to See, is FREE which is almost criminal. Creators gotta start asking for their worth, regardless of how many listeners we might lose. But free is nice, I’m broke right now. The album is hosted by The Day Old Recording Company, they have others worth exploring.
“…an up and coming producer in the Chicago and Nashville areas. A professional saxophonist, jazz colors his sound, no matter what style he produces. Tastes and genre are constantly evolving as he experiments with new sounds and old, always finding a new groove.”
BMB. Expansive Profundity
With an expansive soundcloud platform, BMB. aka Spacekid has a variety of outlets to genrify his blendy brand of spacious hip/hop. There’s so much material and other links on his page for other projects, just plenty of pieces to get lost in, including a grip of mixtapes. He just put out a Cassette Tape sampler of a new EP coming soon, which goes everywhere like Doc Brown. I posted that, and a track featuring Om ‘Mas Keith, along with a demo tune. This is easily one of the best profiles I’ve seen on the cloud. A massive market of true musical thought, skillz, along with any other hyped explanation you can come up with.
CANS Foggy Ridges
Atmospherics on the hip-hop tip are one of my favorite things about the current state of music, and the vast amount of “finds” out there. CANS out of Romania keeps me happy with his formula on the track “Medicine.” Skillz are skills, and he’s bringing them to you easily. Oh, and he’s got a sweet dog, we love dogs! In July he released Beat Tape Vol 1. Nab the free download.
White Blush Mirror Tasers
LA is the home of White Blush, aka Carol Rhyu whose album is out now on bandcamp. This track “Mirror” really caught my attention. A fluttery IDM bend, with enough similar Lali Puna roll to make me reflect on a certain period. There’s also a dark element to this record, which I guess we’re suppose to call “Darkwave” at this particular point in our genre timeline. Her vocals are very well placed in Pop, but the musical edge makes everything breathe a fresh sense of artful noise.
Mute Speakers Loud Earth
Brighton’s Mute Speaker (Rob O’Hara) provides sample laced “jazz-hop” of the finest order. With two big releases the last two Aprils, Mute Speaker history is shaping up to be some of the choicest sounds you can find. Luckily I tripped on this latest track while searching for gems online. Be sure to surf his bandcamp and nab the full length albums.
