Category Archives: Awesome

September 23, 2016 · 11:31 am

Listen: Eclypse Volume Two

eclypse

Eclypse Records began in 2015 by Grammy Nominated DJ/Producer duo, Feenixpawl (Josh Soon + Aden Forte) and Jason Forte. The label, launched in conjunction with Wind-up Records in April, have released singles and remixes by Feenixpawl and Jason Forte, and are developing a reputation as well-known curators.

Together, Josh, Aden and Jason have been hand selecting music from a fresh batch of up and coming DJ’s, releasing tracks from the likes of Bynon, Michael Brun, Reez, Corey James, Joakim Molitor and more.  The singles, which have garnered attention from major EDM and electronic outlets like YourEDM, EDM.com, Magnetic Mag and Earmilk, have also gained recognition from the likes of Billboard and other tastemakers in the blogosphere.

The label arrive today with their second compilation of original tracks, Eclypse Volume Two; available for free download now and featuring original tracks from Maxum & Simon Alex, Badr Avsar, Jose De Mara and more. Speaking of the download initiative, label bosses Jason, Aden and Josh noted, “We launched our free download initiative to release some of the amazing music we get sent every single day and it’s been an incredible success so far. We are so happy to give the opportunity to some upcoming producers who we are sure you’ll be hearing more from in the future.”

The Eclypse Records label bosses have been busy working on their own music on the label as well. Feenixpawl recently released a new single, “Quicksand” with APEK,  which continues to grow across all streaming platforms, with the track being added to several select Spotify playlists, as well as play-listing looks from Proximity and Zoedic. To compliment the track’s major buzz and success, Eclypse launched the “Quicksand” Remix package following the release and an official WAVO Remix Contest. Additionally, Feenixpawl once again prove their remix abilities by releasing a Fitz and the Tantrums REMIX for “Handclap”, premiering via Blackbook. The remixed track was recently added to Spotify’s New Music Friday and Fresh EDM, and ‘Best of the Week Pop’ on apple music and currently at 146k streams in just 9 days. To further confirm, Feenixpawl’s remix of Rihanna’s “Kiss It Better” hit #1 at Hype Machine.

What’s next for Eclypse Records? “We feel the journey has just begun and we’re constantly pushing ourselves to take our music and Eclypse Records to even further heights,” adds Josh Soon.

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September 21, 2016 · 3:10 pm

Video: Miniature Tigers – “Crying In The Sunshine”

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“Persistence is the key ingredient when it comes to the story of Miniature Tigers. Originally started as a bedroom project by front-man Charlie Brand in Phoenix, Arizona in 2006, the band has since released 4 studio albums, toured the planet and cultivated a cult base of die hard fans through their constant output of brilliantly written records. Early albums such as Tell It To the Volcano and FORTRESS garnered them critical acclaim from the likes of Pitchfork, NPR and Stereogum while later albums such as Mia Pharaoh and Cruel Runnings (recorded in Jamaica) sent them on more futuristic indie-pop realms, garnering support from Neon Gold and festival appearances at Lollapalooza, ACL, Fun Fun Fun, and international touring with multi-platinum act Fun.
Like many bands after nearly a decade of hard work and moderate success, Charlie Brand started considering his future. He started an exciting buzz-worthy project with close friend Jeremy Malvin (Chrome Sparks) called Promises Ltd. , wrote and produced for other artists such as rapper Skizzy Mars and after a long relationship came to and end, naturally he turned to what he always turned to….and the output took shape in what eventually would become Miniature Tigers 5th LP.
 “I Dreamt I Was a Cowboy was written after the end of a long relationship. I wanted to leave those recordings intentionally raw to maintain the feeling of that time. I wanted it to feel clear and immediate.” As the “demos” came together, it became evident that the recordings were actually album cuts. “I spent a few months couch surfing with friends in Texas and New York before eventually moving to Los Angeles. Many of the songs on the record were written and recorded while I was living on someone’s air mattress. This album felt so specifically personal that when it came time to finish I decided to not re-record anything in a studio and to just mix and master it myself. ”

The end result is a 5th album jam packed with the excitement and energy of a debut album…but with the mastery that can only come from a seasoned writer like Brand, where the lessons learned and scars born from a life dedicated to music are not in this case in vain but celebrated in the mastery of expression in it’s truest form.

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September 21, 2016 · 2:27 pm

New Single From Jake McMullen – “Giving Up”

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This fall, Nashville-based songwriter Jake McMullen will release a new EP that follows his critically-acclaimed Always EP. Yesterday, USA Today premiered his single “Giving Up” and called it a “startling ballad that is equal parts Bon Iver and Bruce Hornsby, name-checking the 1980s but still sounding fresh.”

“‘Giving Up’ was produced by Micah Tawlks and myself. This song served as a very liberating experience for me while working on it as I felt like I really didn’t put any limits on what I could or couldn’t try.  It has acted almost as a catalyst for the mindset I now have when making music,” said McMullen about the track. “Going with what feels right and not thinking too much about things. Everybody involved was also essential to making it what it became — Dabney Morris (drums), Molly Parden(vocals), Steve McKellar (bass), Kevin Dailey (guitar). Excited to finally be able to share it with everyone.”

Check out this earlier post of his cover of Robyn’s “Dancing On My Own”

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September 21, 2016 · 1:56 pm

Video: Harts – “Power”

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Harts has already had a huge 2016, releasing two hit radio singles in “Peculiar” and “Power“, as well as touring non-stop – storming the UK and Europe earlier in the year, before returning home for a triumphant set on the hallowed Splendour In The Grass stage in July. He is now poised to unleash his sophomore album, the follow up to his critically acclaimed debut Daydreamer in 2014, and the follow up EP Breakthrough in 2015 – records that caught the attention of some of the biggest names in music, including the late, great icon Prince, who became a mentor to the young Melbourne phenom.

 

Despite the mammoth sonic scale already exhibited by “Peculiar” and “Power” and set to be revealed across all of the album’s 14 songs, Smoke Fire Hope Desire was remarkably self-recorded in Harts’ home studio in Melbourne – its impressive scope the culmination of what the “one-man music-making machine,” attributes to spending years developing his sound as a performer and a producer. The album is the sound of an artist who has locked his musical identity and his voice into his sights, and as Harts admits has allowed himself to be influenced by, “a lot of what I was seeing in the world around me – very current day issues, mixed with my own thoughts and challenges in my life.” 

The result is a record that seems destined to find success on both a local and a global level.

Smoke Fire Hope Desire track-listing:

1. Smoke (Intro)
2. Fear In Me
3. All Rise
4. Fire (Interlude)
5. Peculiar
6. Power
7. Deeper The Hole
8. Hope
9. Unfamiliar
10. Wisdom (Interlude)
11. Realize
12. Here I Go
13. Desire (Interlude)
14. Ain’t Too Far Gone

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September 9, 2016 · 9:55 am

SSHH: “Supergroup” Like Whoa

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UK band SSHH, made up of Sshh Liguz and Zak Starkey (Ringo Starr’s son and drummer for Oasis and The Who) is teaming up with TONS of amazing musicians (members of Oasis, Sex Pistols, Marilyn Manson, Amy Winehouse’s band, and more) for their upcoming album ISSUES. The album is a collection of covers using the members of the original bands! Heads up — it kicks ass!

The first single just premiered — it’s a cover of Sex Pistols’ “Problems”, featuring Glen Matlock, Pistols bassist, and Paul Cook, Pistols drummer.

ISSUES is a modern homage to all of the epic bands that made SSHH what they are today. The idea behind the record was simple. Zak and Sshh had been asked to do a radio series on SiriusXM, chatting through the music that has influenced them. But why not go a step further? Why not find the original rhythm sections from those bands and play with them? Why not make an album in the process?

The first call went out to Glen Matlock and Paul Cook, the bass and drums, the meat and veg of the Sex Pistols. If they were up for it, everyone would be up for it, and they were.  And thus, during the last week of November in Los Angeles, the project began. Clem Burke, Blondie’s drummer, turned up in the studio on day one to cut an unorthodox “One Way or Another”. Day two, Marilyn Manson’s rhythm men, Twiggy Ramirez and Gil Sharone, arrived for their turn. Fellow musicians Santa Davis and Fully Fullwood (of Peter Tosh’s Word, Sound and Power) also came forward and re-recorded Tosh’s original version of “Get Up Stand Up”, with an added touch from Eddie Vedder.

The duo moved on to London and got back in another studio for “one of the most intense recording sessions of [her] life,” according to Sshh. They began with “Babylon’s Burning” and “Jah War” with the rhythm section of The Ruts, followed by “Back to Black” with Amy Winehouse’s drummer, bassist, and musical director. Darren Moonie and Simone Butler of Primal Scream showed up for a full-on, no-holds barred take on “Shoot Speed Kill Light”. Guests also include Martin Chambers (The Pretenders), Mick Ralphs (Mott the Hoople), and Kenney Jones (The Small Faces, The Who), and production credits include Youth and Ian Brodie, among others. “Of all the people who’ve taught me drums – Keith Moon, my dad [Ringo Starr], all of them – Kenney showed me the most,” says Zak.

Zak and Sshh first came together in March 2006. Zak, playing drums on tour with Oasis, played a guitar riff down the long-distance line, Sshh recorded it, built it, and put it together, and their first track “Jet Engines” was born. Years passed as Sshh was in a different kind of studio as an award-winning visual artist and Zak was touring with Oasis and The Who. In 2008, the pair played a few gigs in East London under various band names, opening for Kasabian. The two eventually settled on SSHH, the call came from Sirius, an idea was hatched, and SSHH had ISSUES.

The result of those two mad, unpredictable, spontaneous, serendipitous weeks of phone calls, new handshakes, old hugs, musical conversations, long shots and crossed fingers is a record which straddles a huge swathe of modern music history. From the original rock ’n’ roll of the sixties through punk, reggae and dub into modern soul and electronica, this is a wild journey in just eleven steps. And despite all that, it exists as its own work, knitted together with the unique sound of SSHH – a fortnight in the making but a decade in its evolution. ISSUES will be released later this month, and proceeds from album sales will go to Teenage Cancer Trust.

Preorder ISSUES Exclusively via PledgeMusic

ISSUES Tracklist:

1. Problems
with Paul Cook and Glen Matlock of The Sex Pistols (producer Chris Thomas)(mix Thom Panunzio)
2. Jah War
with Dave Ruffy and Segs of the Ruts (producer Ian Broudie)
3. Shoot Speed Kill Light
with Darren Moonie and Simone of Primal Scream (producer Youth)
4. All The Young Dudes
with Mick Ralphs of Mott The Hoople and Martin Chambers and Glen Matlock (mix Thom Panunzio)
5. Dominoes
duet with Sshh and Robbie Furze of Big Pink with Twiggy Ramirez and Gil Sharone from Marilyn Manson (producer Nick Launay)
6. One Way Or Another
with Clem Burke of Blondie and Steve Fishman (Mix Thom Panunzio)
7. Back to Black
with Dale Davis and Nathan Allen of Amy Winehouse band (producer Ian Broudie)
8. Private Life
with Martin Chambers of The Pretenders and Glen Matlock (mix Youth)
9. Get Up Stand Up
with Eddie Vedder of Pearl Jam, Santa Davis and Fully Fullwood of Peter Tosh, Word Sound & Power (mix Youth)
10. Babylon’s Burning
with Dave Ruffy and Segs of The Ruts (producer Ian Broudie, mix John Gray)
11. Tin Soldier
with Kenney Jones of The Small Faces, Glen Matlock of The Sex Pistols, Gem Archer of Oasis (mix Shel Talmy)

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September 2, 2016 · 2:05 pm

Thrival Innovation + Music Festival – Pittsburgh 2016

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Pittsburgh’s thriving culture of innovation and some of the most cutting-edge tech and art from around the country will be showcased across 100,000-square-feet of free exhibits, demos, and interactive experiences during the fourth annual Thrival Innovation + Music Festival, from September 20-24, 2016.

In just three short weeks, the Thrival Innovation + Music Festival will welcome its most ambitious lineup to date for its two-day live outdoor music experience — headlined by Billboard #1 artist The Chainsmokers, as well as CHVRCHES, Thievery Corporation, Ty Dolla $ign, Metric, Lettuce, and more. Set times below.

The Chainsmokers and CHVRCHES will co-headline Friday night, with the Scottish electro-pop group hitting the stage at 9:00 PM and the meteoric rising DJ duo will close out the night, beginning at 10:30 PM. Festival mainstay funk outfit Lettuce, summertime scion Sir the Baptist, and Pittsburgh-native (and Chainsmokers collaborator) Daya will also perform, with notable local acts Meeting of Important People and the Bastard Bearded Irishmen opening the festival.

Thievery Corporation closes out Thrival 2016 on Saturday night with a full 20-piece ensemble to mark their first visit to the Steel City in their 20-year history. The band of “Thieves” will begin their headline set at 9:30 PM. Recent MTV Video Music Award-winner Ty Dolla $ign performs at 8:15 PM, immediately prior to alt-indie darlings, Metric, who kick-off their set at 9:15 PM. Rubblebucket and Wild Child bridge the afternoon with a marquee early evening set by DJ/producer Hudson Mohawke that starts at 7:00 PM. Wu-Tang Clan member Cappadonna and syndicate group Killarmy will perform with the WuLords and Ezekiel XI on a unique national/local collaboration. For an early afternoon dose of EDM, rising stars The Cheat Codes will get the crowd going at 2:15 PM. Brooke Annibale, Chalk Dinosaur, Beauty Slap, and Balloon Ride Fantasy round out a strong local showing for Pittsburgh.

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The two-day show is hosted at the historic Carrie Furnaces, a national historic site just minutes outside of Pittsburgh. A 125-foot-tall blast furnace will serve as a dramatic backdrop between two stages, with performance times staggered so festival-goers do not miss an act.

“So often, festival-goers pay top dollar to attend these events, and they’re forced to choose between multiple acts they very much want to see but can’t due to time overlaps. As such, the experience has a built-in sacrifice for attendees, even though they are paying promoters for the full experience. It’s our approach to ensure that each performer has the stage to themselves, and the audience can celebrate the entire lineup, from beginning to end,” says Thrival Executive Producer, Dan Law.

According to Martin Potozcny, Thrival’s Creative Director and CEO of LUXE Creative, the music is only part of the experience.

“The moment you pass through the gates of a music festival you’re struck with the sensation that you’re on the cusp of a remarkable experience. Our goal is to tap into the deep emotional current that music evokes, and we have a unique opportunity to transport each and every individual to a world where all of their senses are engaged. Whether this is a concert goers’ first festival or tenth, at the forefront of our mind is creating an experience that inspires, surprises and engages — it will be a transformative experience that can only be described as the magic of being part of a growing international festival,” says Potoczny.

On the innovation side of things —- for the first time this year, the festival will transform over one hundred thousand square feet at Nova Place and Alloy 26 — a former indoor/outdoor mall and Woolworth’s five-and-dime — as its home base for its Thrival Innovation programming. A 14,000 square foot “Innovation Hall” will feature highlights from experiential electronic music collaborations through smart devices (CEEMI) to live demos by noted Pittsburgh chefs of a new hands-free cooking assistant app (Yes, Chef). This will be paired with an outdoor “Innovation Playground” that includes aesthetically graffitied demolition derby cars (PGH Art Car), adaptive sports games for people of all abilities (Find Some Flow), and a mobile office bus equipped with 3-D printing, laser engraving, and robotics (Tech Tank).

“The debut of Innovation Hall and the Innovation Playground this year will take Thrival to an exciting new level — offering festival-goers and city residents alike a chance to experience some of the most dynamic art and tech from Pittsburgh and from around the country,” says Law.

“We started with a blank slate of huge spaces on the North Side of Pittsburgh. We took on the challenge of transforming it into an alternate universe — and definitely an experience people won’t forget,” says Kenny Chen, Thrival’s Director of Innovation.

Highlights include:
  • Pick up official merch through Pittsburgh-based street wear pioneers 412 partner with Thrival for the first time this year, introducing a brand new line of festival gear aimed at a new generation of culture creators, athletes, musicians, and original thinkers.
  • Participate in an eclectic mix of DIY projects led by Kelly Malone, founder of award-winning makerspace Workshop SF, who is returning from California’s Bay Area to reboot in Pittsburgh with Workshop PGH (tagline “Drink Beer. Make Stuff.”).
  • Experience awe-inspiring industrial production through live iron pours on the concert site with Rivers of Steel Arts.
  • Multimedia troupe Squonk unveil a first-time artistic collaboration of the group’s “Pneumatica” structure paired with the both quirky and surreal “Cycle Sonic” performance.
To register for these features and more, and for information on the Thrival Innovation schedule, visit thrivalfestival.com/innovation-schedule.

To purchase concert tickets or pickup keynote talk passes, visit thrivalfestival.com/tickets.

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August 24, 2016 · 4:05 pm

NENA’s Coming To The States!!!

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NENA coming to America: it’s one of the great unrequited love stories of pop culture history.“99 Luftballons” was the first German-language song to enter the US charts since Marlene Dietrich, yet although the pop queen toured all over the world, she never made it over to the US to perform. NENA has continued to rule the charts in Germany with sixteen studio albums and countless hits, and now is finally her time to take America by storm.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fdiUyMmVQ7E

In the 33 years since it was released, NENA’s “99 Luftballons” (“99 Red Balloons”) has had an unmatchable impact on popular and music culture.  Although NENA never stopped making music – she’s had a three-and-a-half decade career of hits and 16 studio albums behind her in Germany – and has toured in countries as far as Japan, NENA never got to tour the US. It’s one of those flukes in music history where what should have happened didn’t happen. But in NENA’s own words, “…now’s the right time. It’s always now!…When you want to do something and it just doesn’t happen, you shouldn’t be sad or disappointed because, well, 35 years later, it happens! It’s perfect timing.”

At the heart of NENA is a rock’n’roller with unbeatable stage presence and energy to spare, whether she’s playing to regularly sold-out crowds at the biggest arenas or more intimate club venues. Just take a listen to NENA’s latest outing – the excellent, energetic and rocking live album Live at SO36, recorded during a within-minutes sold-out concert at the famed Berlin club SO36. The opening rocking riffs of “Noch Einmal” NENA struck on her Telecaster sent out a shockwave of energy that carries through an entire night. From pure rockers to new-wave favorites to the touching ballads that fans sing along word-for-word, NENA can electrify a crowd with her incomparable, instantly recognizable voice and her own brand of rock’n’roll that includes influences of The Ramones, Blondie, and Talking Heads, among many others. The dancing never lets up with NENA until the lights finally go on at the end of the night. That’s what NENA is going to ultimately bring to the US – an amazing live energy that can shake an entire audience to its core.

She’s captured the hearts of Germany: her numerous top ten hits and 25 million sold records are proof of that. Now it’s time to share that with America. NENA’s most recent studio album, Oldschool, is the perfect fusion of her constant drive for artistic development and genuine authenticity. Produced and co-written by German hip-hop superstar Samy Deluxe, it blisters with a sense of immediacy and newness while especially playing lyrically with references to her past.

NENA has never been a nostalgia act; she still delivers onstage an exhilarating mix of her amazing and expansive discography. With that much spark, it’s a recipe for an utterly mind-blowing evening. American fans that missed the opportunity to see NENA when they were first introduced to her now have that chance. To paraphrase her latest single, there’s no time like “Genau jetzt” (right now).

NENA will be playing San Francisco on September 30, Los Angeles on October 2, and New York City on October 4.

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August 18, 2016 · 2:53 pm

Must Listen: Coast Modern – “The Way It Was”

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“Coast Modern debuted with “Hollow Life” and followed it up with “Animals” both jaunty, summery songs with lyrics that go deeper than you might think on first listen. (Check out my post from back in May.)

The Los Angeles duo’s new single is “The Way It Was,” and this time they introduce a surprising electronic element towards the end alongside their usual pop/rock blend.

“With so many songs about ‘better times,’ we thought there’d be no better time to write a song about the wetter times—the lush rainforest of the present. In such a turbulent era, it’s easy to get stuck in the quicksand of nostalgia or tangled in vines of worry. Come on this jungle cruise with us as we explore the wonders of now…because we all know it’s never gonna go back to the way it was.”

Coast Modern Tour Dates:
September 2 – Bumbershoot – Seattle, WA
September 19 – Wonder Ballroom – Portland, OR***
September 21 – Commodore – Vancouver, BC***
September 23 – Life is Beautiful – Las Vegas, NV
September 25 – Gothic – Denver, Colorado***
September 27 – Varsity – Minneapolis, MN***
September 28 – Metro – Chicago, IL***
September 29 – Majestic Theatre – Detroit, MI
September 30 – Phoenix – Toronto, ON***
October 1 – The Meadows – Flushing, NY
October 4 – Royale – Boston, MA***
October 5 – TLA – Philadelphia, PA***
October 6 – 930 Club – Washington, DC***
October 8 – Variety Playhouse – Atlanta, GA***
October 9 – 3rd and Lindsley – Nashville, TN***
October 11 – Granada – Dallas, TX***
October 12 – White Oak – Houston, TX***
October 13 – Emo’s – Austin TX***
October 16 – Observatory North Park – San Diego, CA***
October 17 – Observatory – Orange County, CA***
October 18 – Belasco Theatre – Los Angeles, CA***
October 19 – Warfield – San Francisco, CA***
*** supporting The Temper Trap

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August 18, 2016 · 1:36 pm

New Music From Krautrockers, Dinowalrus

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“…a heady concoction of swirling mellotron and jangling guitar, a deep Madchester groove that will inspire some serious head-nodding.” – Stereogum

“…the magical surrealism that could only come from a band named Dinowalrus” – NPR

“…a strange and heady brew of psychedelia, Krautrock, Gang Gang Dance-style electro experimentation and, perhaps most strangely of all, take on late 80s British indie-dance.” –The Line of Best Fit

“…will leave you feeling all kinds of happily dazed.” – Consequence of Sound

Brooklyn DIY stalwarts Dinowalrus are announcing their latest endeavor – the fourth studio album from the band will be released September 23, and the world can get a preview with the jangling psych-gaze single, “Tides.”

FAIRWEATHER, the fourth album from omnivorous Brooklyn rockers Dinowalrus, sees the quartet refining their potent post-modern psychedelia and distilling the successes of their previous two outings, COMPLEXION and BEST BEHAVIOR, into a coherent and compelling package of eleven single-worthy songs, covering territory ranging from baggy Madchester party beats to melancholy space ballads and perpetual-motion-machine krautrock groovers. After albums marked by exuberance and moodiness, FAIRWEATHER is more even-keeled—the sound of a fundamentally playful band that has attained a steady level of confidence, calm, and poise, even as they bob and weave through their ocean of sounds.

The album begins with psych-rock offerings “Tides” and “Falling to the Periphery,” fueled by jangly guitar and punchy mellotrons, with sunny textures belying a cosmic angst via a ’60s meets ’90s meets 2016 aesthetic. Next, the album’s tempo gradually increases into an acid rock/house-derived middle section anchored by the lumbering squelch of “Guilty,” with frontman Pete Feigenbaum begging for forgiveness: “I’m guilty—do you still believe me?” After the Motorik minimalism of “Light Rain,” the album descends into a murky, shoegazing dreamworld of infinite breakbeats yielding optimistic flashes (“Compass Rose”) and futuristic wall-of-sound doomscapes (“The Silent Earth”).

Produced by the band in their own studio, FAIRWEATHER brings back the excitement and playfulness of their debut album % (PERCENT), while imbuing a newfound sense of refinement and clarity to the mixes, coupling the experience from their recent studio endeavors with more concise and quick-moving yet provocative arrangements.

Although heavily dosed with electronics, FAIRWEATHER contrasts the dystopian industrial arpeggiators of their previous albums with a warm, timeless palette of organs, looped breakbeats, and radio-ready vocals, including the occasional psychedelic flourish of reversed guitars and exploding delay trails. As a result, the music moves forward by looking back, bringing to mind the work of contemporaries like Jagwar Ma, Tame Impala, and Deerhunter, while also incorporating some of the more exciting and psychedelic pop sounds of the early ’90s Creation Records back catalog with aesthetic nods to The House of Love, Primal Scream, and Ride.

Dinowalrus will also be playing a hometown release show at Rough Trade NYC on September 25 (tickets available here). The band will be joined by Sharkmuffin, Dead Leaf Echo, and Drawing Boards.

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FAIRWEATHER Tracklist:
  1. Tides
  2. Falling to the Periphery
  3. Plain Sight
  4. Guilty
  5. The Payoff
  6. Light Rain
  7. Scarcity
  8. Final Wave
  9. Compass Rose
  10. The Silent Earth
  11. The Painted Desert

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August 17, 2016 · 4:06 pm

Cover Of Robyn’s “Dancing On My Own” By Jake McMullen

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This fall, Nashville-based songwriter Jake McMullen will release a new EP that follows his critically acclaimed Always EP. Today, Ones To Watch premiered McMullen’s cover of Robyn’s “Dancing On My Own,” the first single to be released from the EP, and said “Jake McMullen has succeeded beyond our highest expectations. The young singer/songwriter has managed to re-invent the 2010 hit with a brand new, very personal flair.”

“I worked on the song with producer, Micah Tawlks and producer/drummer, Dabney Morris. I have never done a cover song before so it was a fun experience to re-imagine things,” said Jake about the song. “I originally proposed a more ballad-eque down-tempo version of the song when talking with Micah about it. But after a few hours in the studio things just weren’t presenting themselves in the way I imagined. Then Dabney found that pad sound you hear at the beginning and laid down the drum beat and from there things took off and ideas started to come very naturally. The whole process was a lot of fun.”

Jake McMullen is originally from Orange County, CA and relocated to Nashville to pursue his passion for songwriting as a solo artist. In the past, he fronted the rock act York and released a split EP with Ellex Bree. Drawing on influences from James Vincent McMorrow, The National, Johnny Cash and Broken Social Scene, McMullen strives to create honest, relatable songs, unafraid to show vulnerability. Combining elements of folk and indie rock, McMullen’s writing style is mature beyond his years. At only 23 years old, he’s already established himself as an accomplished songwriter.

His debut Always EP has received more than 2,000,000 plays on Spotify and was released to great acclaim. Paste Magazine said his song “If I Go” “…lets you reflect on your own past misfortunes, and McMullen’s soft tones and emotional melodies give that extra tug on the heartstrings.” Consequence of Sound premiered his single “Always” and said “It’s a tenderly sung and played introspective song, brightened by the background harmonies makes for a near perfect indie folk track.”

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