Category Archives: Check ’em Out!

November 14, 2013 · 12:31 pm

Music and Remixes From Tourist.

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Don’t miss UK’s TOURIST, the classically trained producer when he returns to play live in New York, Miami and Los Angeles this December. You can watch a piano version of “I Have No Fear” to get in the mood…

or listen to the NPR Live in Concert session that was taped at his Mountain Oasis show here.  The recent signing to the UK duo Disclosure’s label Method Records will release his brand new Patterns EP in 2014. In honor of his first American tour which brought him to CMJ to do showcases with Pigeons & Planes and Pitchfork, and visits to Chicago, Miami, San Francisco, Denver and Los Angeles’ HARD Festival, he had shared the track “Together” which you can listen to below.

Listen: Tourist. – “Together”

The new collection, self-produced by William Phillips, features the track “Stay”, which you can also have a listen at.

Listen/download: Tourist. – “Stay”

His new remixes for CHVRCHES, Haim and Sam Smith tracks are out now and reached #1 spots in the Hype Machine charts (listen to them all below).

You can see a live video registration of Tourist’s live show at Boiler Room TV HERE.

TOURIST Tour Dates: 

11/17 – Milan (IT) @ Elita Sunday Park Teatro Parenti
11/18 – Leeds, UK @ 02 Academy (w / Disclosure)
11/19 – Newcastle, UK @ 02 Academy (w / Disclosure)
11/22 – Manchester (UK) @ Warehouse Project (w/ Disclosure)
11/23 – Barcelona, SP @ Razzmatazz (w / Ryan Hemsworth)
12/5 – Brooklyn, NY @ Rough Trade (tix HERE)
12/6 – Miami, FL @ Grand Central (No sale / RSVP only)
12/7 – Los Angeles, CA @ The Lyric Theatre (tix HERE)

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Listen: CHVRCHES – “Lies” ( Tourist Remix)

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Listen: Haim – “The Wire” (Tourist remix) 

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Listen: Sam Smith – “Safe With Me” (Tourist remix) 

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November 8, 2013 · 11:01 am

Check ‘Em Out: KNTRLR

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Shot in a Brooklyn warehouse at 4 a.m., the new video for “CCA” by electronic rock duo KNTRLR features snarling vocals and swift-kicking drums from KNTRLR members Michael Henry and Charles Davis as well as a fast-paced chase between trained fighters J. Parker Wood and Andrew Chaffee.

KNTRLR may be an electronic production duo, but it contains the kinetic energy that can only come from humans beating on instruments. Live they play with friends they know from the NY music scene who help fill out the sound and provide an energy you can’t get with samples streaming out of a laptop.

Also, have a listen to “Stab” below. It’s quite a cool down from the adrenaline rush of “CCA”.

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November 7, 2013 · 2:36 pm

Listen: Lewis Watson – “Colorblind” (Ft. Hudson Taylor)

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Years ago, I used to listen to the original of this song by The Counting Crows ALL of the time. Now, London-based Lewis Watson has brought his own version. Hot on the heels of his critically acclaimed Four More Songs EP and hitting the iTunes Top 10 with all four of his EPs, he will release his new Some Songs With Some Friends, December 17 via Warner Music.

Produced by Mike Crossey (The 1975, Arctic Monkeys, Foals, Jake Bugg) and Richard Wilkinson (Lianne La Havas, Adele), Some Songs With Some Friends features a re-recorded, re-mastered version of single “Even If.” The rest of the EP sees Lewis interpreting some of his favorite songs joined by friends Gabrielle Aplin, Kimberly Anne and Irish duo Hudson Taylor.

Teaming up with Dublin-based act Hudson Taylor, “Colorblind” is an ethereal track with powerful pop vocal harmonies and lush piano washing over gentle strings and echoing percussion. Check out “Colorblind” ft. Hudson Taylor below.

Listen:  Lewis Watson – “Colorblind” (Ft. Hudson Taylor)

Lewis Watson has developed a thriving fan base in his young career, already hailed by BBC Radio 1 and The Independent. He grew his fanbase organically through sharing his original songs and heartfelt covers of Bombay Bicycle Club, Bon Iver, etc. He recently played to sold-out audiences in NYC and LA– stay tuned for more news from Lewis Watson coming soon!

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October 29, 2013 · 11:37 am

Check ‘Em Out: Deep Sea Arcade

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Having just completed a blistering run around Australia, DEEP SEA ARCADE blew audiences away with some killer new tracks crafted during their nine-month sojourn to the UK, a preview of next year’s sophomore album. 

The band have today dropped a psychedelic visual feast for their new track “Black Cat”, drawing both on footage from their trip and on footage submitted by fans.

The band have spent the best part of the last year soaking up the UK culture and imparting some of their own while working on a slew of new tracks, quickly creating the same buzz in their temporary home of London which lead to them being one of Sydney’s most respected indie acts. 

Recorded and mixed by Dan Grech-Margueray (Lana Del Rey, The Vaccines, Howling Bells, The Kooks), Black Cat has proven a worthy followup to their debut album Outlands, which had a worldwide 2012 release through Ivy League Records, with singles heavily supported in Australia by national youth network Triple J and influential community station FBI and in the UK by BBC 1, BBC 6, and XFM. 

Aside from a sold out tour Australia’s major cities and a spot on Australia’s prestigious Big Day Out festival, the band have been on the road with Noel Gallagher’s High Flying Birds, The Charlatans, Girls, Kaiser Chiefs, Cloud Control and Modest Mouse. They have also toured the UK and Europe extensively, including appearances at Barcelona’s Primavera Sound Festival, The Great Escape In Brighton, Liverpool Sound City, Berlin Independent Night, Reeperbahn Festival in Hamburg and sold out shows in London before returning to Australia for their recent welcome home tour… a warmup to what is going to be a huge 2014.

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October 24, 2013 · 2:28 pm

Newest Love: Nova Heart

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“A delightful shock from China ….. a sly variant on Seventies New Wave: a dynamic singer, Helen Feng, who bears a strong vocal resemblance to Blondie’s Debbie Harry, fronting a White Stripes-style rhythm section – male guitarist, wicked female drummer – that threaded loops and programming through heavy blues and dance floor rhythms….. – at once rough and digital… my first best of the fest.”  – ROLLING STONE (David Fricke, Senior Editor)

If the music planet these days is inhabited by candy colored pop munchkins, ruby red dance floors, and twerking teddy bears, here comes the Wicked Witch of the East.  Staunchly opposed to the oh so technicolored predictable dance tracks that have goo’d and gaga’d the world, a band out of China, yes you heard me, China, has produced an electronic EP finally with a nasty, nasty side to drive fear into the all the denizens of OZ.

This is not for the club, but for the lonely, lonely walk home after a night at the club.  It’s music for walking through streets filled with tranny prostitutes (Beautiful Boys) and coming down from lord knows what (My Song 9).  As if emerging from the polluted fog of Beijing, Nova Heart gives you garbled transmissions from an enemy satellite, telling you that for every up there is a down, for every pleasure there is a price.

And this message, like an ominous counterpoint, is filled with sex unfulfilled and builds that lead to a slide into oblivion. Dark analog scenes created by Italian cowboy Rodion are filled to the brim with the siren’s call of lead singer Helen Feng that promises both sex and mortality – all at the same time.  Deceptive pop melodies that lead you down the road as if setting you up for the kill before they diverge and you drop down that endless well.
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Live, Nova Heart is like watching a gathering at a religious service gone dangerously wrong.  The world’s most amazing female drummer, ATOM, the size of a munchkin herself, powers through a show that feels like a voodoo ceremony while Helen holds the pulpit like an evangelical preacher shaking and panting as if she´s feeling some spirit possessing her body and asking for your souls.  The guitarist (LOOP), sends only the dirtiest warbliest Floyd-like hooks out in crashing waves as the bassist plays distorted grooves that seems some strange baby called industrial funk.

And from the music and the sound they tease at past hours on that ruby dance floor, dancing around aged genres but never landing flat footed in anything predictable.  Perhaps only a group coming out of China can dare to make such predictions, the exuberance of the never ending 80’s finally in coda, and all we are left with is an illusion, the afterglow of the ecstasy, and the fear of facing the consequences of our excess.  Perhaps it takes a band that lives in a place where the foibles of a self-obsessed world are exaggerated to 1.6 billion degrees to create the come down album of their generation.  This is not a political statement as it is more of a moment of contemplation on just how it feels when the party is over.  And if you’re lucky, these are the tracks for the after-after party in purgatory.

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October 7, 2013 · 10:12 am

Listen: Gossling – “Never Expire”

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Tastemakers around the US have been buzzing ever since Gossling’s new single, “Never Expire” hit the web in late August, climbing to  #7 on Hype Machine at the same time it hit the Top 20 on Australia’s Triple J.

Plucked harps, guitar climaxes, and retro, European disco. Such is the amalgam of sounds that form the musicianship of Melbourne’s Gossling, also known as singer/songwriter Helen Croome. With sonic inspiration found in records by artists such as Goldfrapp and Metronomy, combined with Gossling’s heartfelt, diverse, and seriously enchanting talent and dreamy, startling voice, her upcoming full-length, Harvest Of Gold (to be released in the US in early 2014), insures that another great Australian talent is about to sweep the globe.

Listen: Gossling – “Never Expire”

“Hopefully with this album the people who’ve only heard my singles will realize the extent of my songwriting,” says Helen, who signed to Dew Process in September 2012 following three acclaimed independent EPs: 2009 debut If You Can’t Whistle, 2010’s Until Then, and 2012’s Intentional Living. “I want listeners to stick with me as an artist, and enjoy the progression I’ve made.”

Gossling has already caught quite a few ears in the US via TV placements in American Horror Story, Gossip Girl, Nashville and Graceland.

October 15 @ Pianos (NYC)
October 18 @ Pete’s Candy Store (NYC)
Oct 19 @ The Delancy (NYC)
Oct 19 @ Arlene’s Grocery (NYC)
Oct 21 @ Bootleg Theater (Los Angeles)

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September 25, 2013 · 2:10 pm

Listen: The Wanted – We Own The Night (The Chainsmokers Remix)

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And here we have another remix from The Chainsmokers, probably the only emails that I actually like to read as the duo (Alex and Drew) are fun dudes.

Check it out!

Listen: The Wanted – We Own The Night (The Chainsmokers Remix)

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September 25, 2013 · 1:49 pm

Video: Pompeya – “Slaver”

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Pompeya is about a month away from releasing Tropical, their first LP in America out on October 29th via No Shame. Today, the band is putting out the single for the third track on the album, “90“, and a music video for the song “Slaver“. While both tracks feature the signature Pompeya groove, they each have their own distinct flavor, showing off the consistency and versatility of the band’s songwriting abilities.

MTV Hive had this to say: “Slaver”, the first single and opening track off ‘Tropical’, is a supreme debut into the celestial world that is Pompeya. With a clear knack for arrangement, the band merges lush synths with spiraling guitars and a rhythm section bringing relentless, heavy funk.“ Click here for the full feature.

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September 13, 2013 · 11:07 am

Video: Kwes – “36”

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Following the recent announcement of Kwes’ debut album ilp, the young singer/songwriter/producer is sharing the video for its lead single “36”.

The video candidly showcases the highs and lows of school-age first crushes, when simply locking eyes or sharing headphones could cause a roller coaster of emotions. The song itself was inspired by the relationship of Kwes’ grandparents, proving that giddy feeling of young love can endure.

His ability to craft unique, heart-on-the-sleeve lyrics is rooted in his production skills, which he has honed over the years working with everyone from the xx to Damon Albarn. With ilp his sound has evolved to an experimental take on pop sensibilities, referred to as Freepop by Kwes.

Debut album, ilp, out October 15th!

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September 11, 2013 · 2:40 pm

Video + Download: Victory – “This, That or This”

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Victory’s music is sun-bleached rock ‘n’ roll with a pop edge. Set on a foundation of buzzing guitars, fuzzed-out bass, and archaic drum machines, his howling vocal licks and pop hooks make for songs that are energetic and playful, but still rooted in ’60s-era rock. His latest LP, Victory Is Music, explores a range of styles & influences, featuring everything from doo woo-inspired tunes to dancefloor bangers.

Listen/download: Victory – “This, That or This”

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