Submersion is a great name for this EP from The KVB(Kat Day and Nicholas Wood). Listening to it is like indulging in a night of psychedelic shoegaze music and then sinking into a warm pool, or lying down on a comfortable bed, or finding a comfy couch in the back of a nightclub.
The title track opens the EP with shimmering synths and simple guitar strums as Day and Wood’s vocals almost chant to us from behind a wall of mist. The synth bass builds and Wood’s guitar lights up the room like a mirror ball. “Outlands” has a great synth-bass groove throughout it that gets your toes tapping and torso writhing.
The alternate version of “Into Life” (from their 2018 album Only Now Forever) is a sultry, breathy make-out track you’ll want to permanently keep on a playlist for such activity. The next two tracks, “Above Us” and “On My Skin,” are also from the same album but remixed by The Holydrug Couple and Miniami Deutsch, respectively. The Holydrug Couple’s mix is, at you might expect, full of trippy synths and heavy reverb on the vocals. Minami Deutsch’s, also as you might expect, turns the song into a krautrock dance track that brings to might sun breaking through gray clouds.
Submerse yourself into this EP. You’ll be better off for it.
RJD2 is pleased to announce his return with new album, The Fun Ones, out April17th on RJ’s Electrical Connections, alongside lead single, “Pull Up On Love,” and its accompanying video. His first album since 2016’s Dame Fortune, The Fun Ones is the seventh solo album in the constantly expanding RJD2 catalog. Assembled as a mixtape using samples taken from a number of conversations with his contemporaries, including PhonteColeman, J-Zone, KidKoala, Mr. Lif, and Son Little, The Fun Ones draws largely from the basic DNA of hip-hop and funk music, with heavy brass, plenty of thump, and slick chord changes.
Though The Fun Ones largely emphasizes modern funk and instrumental music, RJ still occasionally flirts with vocal stylings across the album. On “One Of A Kind,” RJ links up with HomeboySandman, pushing the levels of syncopation into the red. “A Genuine Gentleman” sees RJ and the king of west coast abstract rhyming, Aceyalone, reuniting on record for the first time since 2006 over a Meter’s-esque groove.
Longtime RJD2 collaborators, STS and KhariMateen, reconvene on lead single, “Pull Up On Love,” to bring the spirit of James Brown to the quintessential Atlanta rib shack. JordanBrown steps in to bring a falsetto lilt over a cacophonous drum break that would leave Ginger Baker scratching his chin. “This tune started with some Zigaboo-inspired drums, a nice little sweeping guitar lick, and a bass line that left plenty of space for wherever Slim (aka STS) was gonna take the track,” says RJ. “I purposely left some room to fill out the track once the vocals were in place. So when Slim sent it back to me, and Khari had did his thing on it, it had such a great vibe to it that I didn’t want to drench the track in production tricks and overdubs. I wanted the vocal performances to shine, so I basically cleaned up the mix, did a few breakdowns, and left it as is. It was great for the three of us to link up once again, since it had been years since we did ‘See You Leave’.”
RJ, STS, Mateen, and Brown all appear in the song’s accompanying video, filmed at the Ogden Theatre in Denver, alongside ChuckPalmer on drums, and StephenGreenberg on bass.
RJD2 will play select dates in support of TheFunOnes this spring, including dates in Seattle, San Diego, Austin, Columbus, Brooklyn, and Bostonat Boston Calling Music Festival. A full list of dates are below, with all shows on-sale now.
The Fun Ones Tracklist: 01. No Helmet Up Indianola 02. Indoor S’mores 03. 20 Grand Palace 03. One of a Kind 05. High Street Will Never Die 06. Pull Up On Love 07. All I’m After 08. Flocking To The Nearest Machine 09. And It Sold For 45k 10. The Freshmen Lettered 11. A Genuine Gentleman 12. Itch Ditch Mission 13. My Very Own Burglar Neighbor 14. A Salute To Blood Bowl Legends
RJD2 Tour Dates:
Fri. March 20 – Seattle, WA @ Nectar Lounge Sat. March 21 – San Diego, CA @ Music Box Thu. April 9 – Austin, TX @ Empire Control Room & Garage Fri. April 10 – Boulder, CO @ Boulder Theatre Sat. April 25 – Columbus, OH @ Otherworld Sun. April 26 – Cincinnati, OH @ Urban Artifact Fri. May 22 – Brooklyn, NY @ Elsewhere Sat. May 23 – Boston, MA @ Boston Calling Music Festival
As the story goes, singer-songwriter June Moon (also known as Forever) had just left a terrible relationship and was inspired to write her new EP, Close to the Flame, by a ghost. I’m not sure I can write something that will make you more intrigued by the EP than that, but I’ll give it a whirl.
The opening song, “Blur,” is a Portishead-like groover that details the murder of the woman who would become the aforementioned ghost. It hides a sad story amid bedroom grooves. “Make It Happen” (featuring guest vocals by Just John) is a sharp house cut with Moon’s vocals bouncing around the room like a happy sparrow.
“Devotion” has these cool organ chords throughout it and weird beats that sound like they’re underwater. Speaking of such things, “Diving Bell Blue” has Moon saying goodbye to her ex and assuring herself that “everything is going to be better.”
Moon’s falsetto is nicely matching with synth-bass and chill beats on “Brad.” The ghost at the beginning of Moon’s story has become an angel by the time we reach the closer, “Adonis.” The slow, subtle beats of the track are like the wind pushing the fluffy cloud of Moon’s vocals.
For a record made after a bad relationship ended, this EP sure is lovely – but that’s probably the point. Moon found new life and peace while making it, and she’s kind enough to share it with us.
Acclaimed UK producer and engineer MattKarmil is pleased to announce his new album, STS371, out March27th via SmalltownSupersound, and today presents the album’s lead single, “PB.”STS371 is his most concise album to date, with his signature mix of minimalism and reverb-drenched house still being the backbone of his warm, rich, atmospheric and melancholic sound.
STS371 was made largely while Karmil was travelling. Anticipating the completion of his music studio in The Cotswolds in England, Karmil favored “on the fly” production methods to finish his album. “It was not a linear process of recording,” says Karmil, “and in the end the majority of the work was to arrange and choose the right sounds and vibe.”
While his works fit within the tradition of techno’s timeless anonymity, Karmil’s highly personal music is anything but a xerox on dance music’s previous life. As Karmil puts it – minimally, simply and functionally: “I made a conscious effort to up the energy, and found a collection of tunes that felt coherent to me”.
Of “PB”, Karmil states: “I made ‘PB’ over an extended period, having made a 120bpm tune with the same texture and then resampled it and upped the tempo one evening in Cologne. I wanted to make a committed acid track that draws you in and worked hard to get the drums, percussion and main melody working in harmony, but swapping roles a little.”
STS371 follows 2018’s Will. Since the release of Will he has co-produced and mixed KornélKovács’ acclaimed StockholmMarathon. He has also worked with, among many others, Matias Aguayo for Crammed Discs and Talaboman for R&S, as an engineer, mixing and mastering.
Today, Too Free releases a new single, “Elastic,” from their forthcoming debut album, Love In High Demand, out February 21st on Sister Polygon. It follows “No Fun,” “another piece of earworm dance-pop” (Stereogum), and lead single “ATM.” “Elastic” is driven by a bouncing beat and jaunty percussion. “‘Elastic’ is an attempt to define those intangible spaces between seduction and letting go of your inhibitions,” says Awad Bilal. “Unlearning generations of conditioning to explore the different kinds of love that we are capable of feeling without stigma or fear.”
In conjunction, the band announces additional North American tour dates. Following their shows in Washington, D.C. and New York, they’ll play Chicago, Montreal, Winooski, and Bloomington. More dates will soon follow.
Too Free is the Washington, D.C.-based trio of Awad Bilal (Big Freedia, Vasillus), Carson Cox (Merchandise), and Don Godwin (Callers, Impractical Cockpit). Their only mission is a desire to connect with others in the space that music creates. Drawing from improvisation and experimentation, they deconstruct their songs to their most necessary elements, leaning into their collective punk ethos and DIY backgrounds. Drawing equally from elements of South Florida freestyle and Jersey electro into DC’s signature polyrhythms, the record is a continuous refinement of the virtue of motion – each composition rooted in propulsive energy that envelops. Aiming to make something with a more utopian outlook that counters the pervasive pessimism, archaic ideologies and dystopian timelines we interact with on a daily basis, they approach this project with an open-endedness that incorporates higher concepts of what pop art can sound like.
TOO FREE TOUR DATES Sat. Feb. 22 – Washington, DC – U Street Music Hall Thu. Feb. 27 – Brooklyn, NY @ Trans Pecos Wed. April 1 – Bloomington, IN @ The Bishop Thu. April 2 – Chicago, IL @ CoProsperity Sphere Sun. April 5 – Montreal, QC @ La Sotterenea Mon. April 6 – Winooski, VT @ The Monkey House
Girl Talk, aka Pittsburgh’s Gregg Gillis, is excited to announce his first North American tour in eight years. Throughout the past two decades, Girl Talk has been known for his wholly energetic, sweat soaked, confetti-covered live shows and festival performances. Once again, he will bring this exuberance across the states, playing Chicago’s Metro, Los Angeles’ Echoplex, the 9:30 Club in Washington, D.C., and more. A full list of dates can be found below and tickets go on sale later this week at girltalkmusic.com.
Gillis built his reputation from his meticulous construction of sample-based music and specific style of genre-smashing, breakneck-paced party jams. With each Girl Talk album, from his breakout Night Ripper (2006) to Feed The Animals (2008) and his last, All Day(2010), his work has become increasingly detailed and complex. The last several years have seen Gillis focusing on collaborative work producing hip hop for some of his favorite rap artists. In 2014, he and Philadelphia’s Freeway released the “Broken Ankles” EP, and since then, Gillis has steadily earned an impressive list of production credits and collaborations with his artistic contemporaries, including Wiz Khalifa, T-Pain, Tory Lanez, Young Nudy, Bas, Cozz, Erick The Architect (from Flatbush Zombies), Smoke DZA, and Don Q.
As Noisey so aptly describes him, “The tracks he’s released over the last year show, more than anything, that Gillis is adaptable as a producer. The people he’s worked with are about as different as you can get in the wider rap world, but no matter the circumstance, he’s been able to find palettes that work for each of their voices. . . Given the encyclopedic knowledge of music from across styles and eras, it’s not all that surprising that he’s good at this.“
Girl Talk Tour Dates: Wed. April 29 – Cleveland, OH @ House of Blues Fri. May 1 – Pittsburgh, PA @ Stage AE Sat. May 2 – Toronto, ON @ Phoenix Concert Theatre Sun. May 3 – Chicago, IL @ Metro Tue. May 5 – Minneapolis, MN @ First Avenue Thu. May 7 – Kansas City, MO @ The Truman Fri. May 8 – Denver, CO @ Ogden Theatre Sat. May 9 – Salt Lake City, UT @ The Depot Mon. May 11 – Portland, OR @ Crystal Ballroom Tue. May 12 – Seattle, WA @ The Showbox Wed. May 13 – Vancouver, BC @ Commodore Ballroom Fri. May 15 – Los Angeles, CA @ Echoplex Sat. May 16 – San Diego, CA @ House of Blues Mon. May 18 – Austin, TX @ Emo’s Austin Tue. May 19 – Dallas, TX @ Granada Theater Thu. May 21 – Asheville, NC @ The Orange Peel Fri. May 22 – Washington, DC @ 9:30 Club Sat. May 23 – Boston, MA @ Royale Sun. June 7 – New York, NY @ Governors Ball
Forever – the recording project of June Moon – will release her new EP, Close To The Flame, on February 14th on Cascine. Today, she shares the second single, “Blur,” produced by Ouri. Following the beat-driven lead single “Make It Happen,” “Blur” is sultry and dark. The accompanying video was self-directed by Moon. “The ‘Blur’ music video is a supernatural haunted film,” she says. “It tells the story of a mysterious ghost who turns into an angel on The Mountain, captured on black and white film.”
Close To The Flame captures both the grandeur and grotesqueries of love and loss — including twisted romance and personal struggle. Forever whispers confessions about love and desire with a featherlight touch, refracting pop with glimpses of trip-hop, downtempo, R&B and house productions.
The EP was written after June experienced a transformative heartbreak. She set back to work to discover the natural healing power of songwriting, working with her regular music collaborators Michael Brock (Mind Bath) and Patrick Holland (Project Pablo), and fellow Montreal artists Cecile Believe, David Carriere (TOPS) and Ouri. “I was in a relationship that was killing me, and I had to plan an escape to save my life,” June explains. “The record is haunted by a ghost. I channeled her one night when I was writing because I was so scared to talk about what happened to me; I didn’t know how to tell my story. She came to me and told me to use her story as a channel for my own pain. This release is dedicated to her.” Watch “Blur” video – https://youtu.be/7crualM_HOs
Forever Tour Dates: Sat. Feb. 22 – Montreal, QC @ Diving Bell Social Club (EP Release Show) Wed. March 11 – Sun. March 15 – New York, NY @ New Colossus Festival Tue. March 17 – Sat. March 21 – Austin, TX @ SXSW
When the Belgian duo of David and Stephen Dewaele, otherwise known as Soulwax, were asked by BBC Radio to create an “essential mix” in 2017, they decided to create an entire album of new music based on the meaning of the word “essential” instead of just mix a bunch of material made by other folks. The result, Essential, turned out to be a great record mixing house music, dub, electro, and trance.
The twelve tracks are named “Essential One,” “Essential Two,” “Essential Three,” etc. No other ornamentation is needed. “One” mixes radio static and electronic alarm clock blips into a funky cacophony. “Two” brings in disco bass and what sounds like electro-vibraphone to get your booty shaking. It flows so well into the ready-made-for-the-dance-floor “Three” that you might not notice the transition.
The groovy bass continues on “Four,” and there’s a brief pause before the echoing chants of “Five” fill your head. The bells and other percussion of “Six” are downright addictive. “Seven” is a bit mellower than the previous tracks, but not by much. It still keeps you moving. The bass on “Eight” is fat as a whale and will have your entire house party moving so hard they might topple over your china cabinet. “Nine” mixes in odd rhythms to the funky bass for a cool brew.
“Ten” starts with menace, but drifts into a quiet bliss by its end. “Eleven” has the most discernible, and sexiest, lyrics. The sultry synth-beats certainly don’t hurt either. “Twelve” is the shortest track on the album at two minutes-thirty seconds, but it still has enough swanky bass to supply a half-hour DJ set.
Essential is indeed that if you’re a fan of Soulwax or electro music. They recently announced that their U.S. tour has been postponed, but dates would be rescheduled. Don’t miss them if they’re near you.
Keep your mind open.
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Too Free have shared their newest single and video, “No Fun,” the second single off their forthcoming debut album, Love In High Demand, out 2/21 on Sister Polygon Records. “No Fun” follows the band’s first single, the mesmerizing “ATM,” a song that Stereogum says “feels both organic and computerized.” Brooklyn Vegan described it as “a dose of lo-fi, bongo-aided electronic pop that sounds like a cross between mid/late 2000s Williamsburg parties and ANOHNI.”
“‘No Fun’ is a series of affirmations that I wanted to speak into existence,” explains singer and lyricist Awad Bilal. “Reclaiming agency over your mind and your body – accepting love and using it to activate others.”
“The video for ‘No Fun’ is an investigation of the freedom of movement. We went into a dance studio here in DC with just an iPhone 11 and a backpack full of clothes and I gave myself free reign. It’s an homage to one of my oldest friends, John, and the resilience of black, queer bodies like mine.”
Additionally, the band has announced upcoming Brooklyn and DC shows, which are listed below.
Too Free is the Washington, D.C.-based trio of Bilal (Big Freedia, Vasillus), Carson Cox (Merchandise), and Don Godwin (Callers, Impractical Cockpit). Their only mission is a desire to connect with others in the space that music creates. Drawing from improvisation and experimentation, they deconstruct their songs to their most necessary elements, leaning into their collective punk ethos and DIY backgrounds. Drawing equally from elements of South Florida freestyle and Jersey electro into DC’s signature polyrhythms, the record is a continuous refinement of the virtue of motion – each composition rooted in propulsive energy that envelops. Aiming to make something with a more utopian outlook that counters the pervasive pessimism, archaic ideologies and dystopian timelines we interact with on a daily basis, they approach this project with an open-endedness that incorporates higher concepts of what pop art can sound like.
TOO FREE TOUR DATES Sat. Feb. 22 – Washington, DC – U Street Music Hall Thu. Feb. 27 – Brooklyn, NY @ Trans Pecos
Too Free – the Washington, D.C. based trio of Awad Bilal (Big Freedia, Vasillus), Carson Cox (Merchandise), and Don Godwin (Callers, Impractical Cockpit) – announce Love in High Demand, their debut album out February 21st on Sister Polygon. In conjunction with today’s announcement, they share a video for lead single “ATM.”
Too Free is born of the most innate curiosity – their only mission is a desire to connect with others in the space that music creates. Drawing from improvisation and experimentation, they deconstruct their songs to their most necessary elements, leaning into their collective punk ethos and DIY backgrounds. Taking energy that projects a reverence for legacy with the opposite of nostalgia, they lead with a principle of imagining a future and being in it – intentionally making music that skews towards the inclusive and accessible instead of making things insular and pretentious.
Relying on the power of movement and improvisation, each track on Love in High Demand provides an empathetic space for the listener. Drawing equally from elements of South Florida freestyle and Jersey electro into DC’s signature polyrhythms, the record is a continuous refinement of the virtue of motion – each composition rooted in propulsive energy that envelops. Aiming to make something with a more utopian outlook that counters the pervasive pessimism, archaic ideologies and dystopian timelines we interact with on a daily basis, they approach this project with an open-endedness that incorporates higher concepts of what pop art can sound like.
“ATM” examines the duality of attention. Too much can go to one’s head, corrupting a sense of common ground and innate empathy of the human experience, but on the flip side, the effects of too little unlock desperate feelings inside of us, rendering our morality obsolete. “ATM” is about that beautiful, healthy middle ground where it’s okay to desire being noticed, and was consciously written for marginalized people who don’t always have the platform of being seen. The track is an homage to the group’s shared love of ballroom music and the everlasting courtship between the dancer and the music.
Says frontperson and lyricist Awad Bilal, “When we see people who look like us, engaged in situations we could see ourselves in, and have our experiences reflected back at us – we feel seen – and that is everything.”
