Remember a while back when we posted a quirky little number about my hero Dave Grohl? Well I did a little investigation afterwards and discovered that Wavves has a lot of other cool songs too! I have really gotten into this band recently and funnily enough actually discovered them through their collaboration with Big Boi on his latest album Vicious Lies & Dangerous Rumours.
They have a really cool sound, a mix of sixties surfer rock (think Beach Boys), punk, psychadelia and a little bit of grunge thrown in too (think Nirvana). I'm told that they have a similar sound to a band called The Drums too. Anyways, my favourite thing about this band is that their music is kind of paradoxical, in that the music itself has a really happy sometimes hippy sometimes ubpeat punk vibe to it, but the lyrics are really dark, depressing and negative in an "everything is stupid, life sucks" kinda way. It's a combination that I find really interesting and is part of the reason I'm digging Wavves so much right now.
They have just released their new album Afraid of Heights too, which is also exciting. Below is a selection of some of my favourite Wavves tunes. But like, whatever man, who cares.
The moment that all Cudder fans have been waiting for has arrived! The release of Kid Cudi's 3rd album (excluding his alt-rock side project WZRD). Much like his second album Man On The Moon II, I found it somewhat bizzare and difficult to listen to the first time, but after multiple listens it really starts to grow on you like moss grows on a rock in a moist jungle.
This time around it is evident that the Kid has been hanging with producers and bands like MGMT and Ratatat because he now produced the album himself. Although he is new to the production scheme of things, it doesnt really show, as he manages to make some quality beats. Fans would be delighted to hear that he is clearly back on drugs again, as can be heard in the experimentality of sounds and of course the multiple references to dropping acid and such in the lyrics. Other topics covered lyrically include how much the Wizard doesnt care about what the haters say, how out of his mind he is, how much he loves his fam, friends and fans, the struggles of fame, fortune and loneliness, and of course having a good time with the bitches (naturally).
The overall sound of the album is relatively dark and futuristic, but as I mentioned earlier he really has an interesting sonic style as a producer, an amalgamation of his influences from psychadellic alternative rock to classic hip hop, with some spacey samples and a selection of well chosen guest features, and a couple of instrumental beats thrown in too, really cool in the author's opinion. People always seem to complain that he will never be able to top his first hit album with it's more easily accessible sounds and catchy melodies and hooks, but you have to admire that the Cudder is always experimenting with new sounds and styles, always coming up with something new and unique. That is what makes Kid Cudi one of the freshest names in modern hip hop and that won't change.
My top tracks from the album include the King Chip collaboration Just What I Am (blogged about in Febuary), King Wizard, Brothers featuring King Chip & A$AP Rocky, New York City Rage Fest, Beez featuring RZA from Wu-Tang Clan, Immortal, Burn Baby Burn and finally Afterwards (Bring Yo Friends) featuring King Chip and (strangely) Michael Bolton. The latter song for me is something really special and strange, with a duration of 9 minutes, it is an outer space after party with an wicked beat that progresses and transports you to the strange planet that Mr Mescudi resides on. At first the Michael Bolton vocals seem really weird, I mean, it's friggin Michael Bolton, but when you forget who it is you realise that they sound perfect on the track.
Overall the Cudder has managed to impress once again with an impressive, innovative, experimental and (appropriately) dope album. Definitely worth a listen for any self-respecting Kid Cudi fan.
This is not something that happens everyday. I remember sitting in class at school with this mother-funker sharing tracks and watching him DJ at house parties. Now he's signed to a label, released some bangers on beatport and is tearing it up in Canada. This kid can literally make any genre of dance music.
Here's his bio: Impressive!
Tronique (Victoria)
The South African born mutha f%#&a has been rocking the dance floor for a good 6 years now, with no signs of slowing down! He has a classic vibe of Electro, House, and Progressive House to his music. He first came onto the scene in Johannesburg, South Africa, moving to Vancouver, Canada, in 2011.
After a year of Sound Engineering in Vancouver, Canada, Tronique released his first EP with a record label in Toronto - Don't Look Productions. That fuelled Tronique's productions, later releasing a remix which hit #1 on the Satellite Electro House, and Club House Charts, titled Haakonsen - Straight Stacks (Tronique Remix).
Tronique has upcoming releases with a Dutch/UK Label, later to be released. Keep an eye out for this young talent, he has the never ending ability to send fits of movement through your feet, keeping you up and moving for hours on end.
I''m usually not a fan of Tyler, I find his music far too nihilistic, dark and apathetic. But having said that, you can't deny that the man is talented, his creative output in terms of music, video and even design has a very specific aesthetic that is quite avant-garde and always pushing boundaries if nothing else. He has just released his third album, Wolf, and although I have not (and probably won't) listen to it, he released a single called IFHY and accompanying video for the song featuring Pharrell that really piqued my interest. Personally his most pallet-able track to date, I really love the angst and raw lyrics as well as the sparse booming Pharrell beat, but most of all I love the video. Directed by Tyler himself, it is yet another showcase of his off-the-wall creative talent and multiple personalities and his signature "fucked-up-ness". Check it out below, awesome stuff.
This week I happened to stumble upon a few choice tracks to share with the good people of the interweb, a great selection of electro and electronica to get you dancing like a wild mongoose on cobra venom.
Zombie Nation - Radio Controlled (Hey Today! Remix)
Ridney - At Night
Oliver - MYB
Bailey - Other Gurl
Grouplove - Tongue Tied (Little Dragon Remix)
Justin Martin - Ruff Stuff (Eats Everything Remix)
Now this final track is really something special, all the way back from the year 1999. Do some homework on the song and you will find that it made some big waves in it's time and was a seminal song for electronica. The quality of the song is testament to just how good it still is almost 14 years later. Sit back and absorb the atmospheric and chilled sounds and listen to how the song progresses and changes until finally the last minute of it arrives with pure thunder.
Sunny Lax aka Levente Márton is a Hungarian trance music producer who is signed to Above & Beyond's label Anjunabeats. He's been around a long time and has had plays of his tracks on the worlds most popular dance music radio shows like Armin van Buuren's A State of Trance and Above & Beyond's Trance Around The World and Group Therapy.
I love trance. Alot. And Sunny Lax makes trance that makes me very happy. And if you love trance, it will definitely make you happy too! Below are my three favourite tracks of his. His Isla Margarita EP containing Isla Margarita and Naida and his latest release, a remix called Defying Gravity. Spicy!
What do you get when the King of Hip-Hop remixes arguably the best rapper in world at the moment's track? You get something that SSSB like very very much. There was a lot of speculation about this remix but its official, it's out and its sick! The remix features two new verses from Kendrick. The second verse is destroyed by the one and only Jay-Z. Hopefully in the future these two will collaborate on many more tracks. Don't Kill Vibes... Bitch.
I also came across a remix from Ricky Rozay. It features the first verse from Rozay and the rest of the track is the same as the original. Pretty cool but nothing like the official remix
