Category Archives: video

April 12, 2017 · 2:13 pm

Video: Night Drive – “Rise and Fall”

photo credit: Daniel Cavazos

Like a synesthesia-induced landscape found within the vivid worlds of films a la Tron or The Neon Demon, Austin + Houston duo Night Drive are back with scattered and lo-fi visuals for their track “Rise and Fall“. The group is also thrilled to announce their debut self-titled record, due June 16th via Roll Call Records.

The duo – comprised of Rodney Connell and Brandon Duhon noted, “Rise and Fall is about unexpected change as two people find themselves going in different directions. A sudden and untimely break-up. We wanted the overall sound to be a bit dreamy and distant, which relates to that feeling of your life disintegrating and slipping through your hands like smoke, being unable to hold on to it. But we also wanted an energetic intensity to it, which relates more to the feeling of rushing headlong towards an inevitable tragedy and being unable to avert it, no matter what you do or where you turn.”

Inspired by sci-fi cinematic landscapes, the duo’s modern synth-pop seeks to explore the darker currents of abstract emotion. With infectious melodies wrapped in thoughtful lyrics, layered over pulsing dance beats, the group creates an ethereal electronic world drenched in noir aesthetics. With the handful of tracks and remixes they’ve released, the duo’s dreamy songs have already garnered attention from the likes of SPIN as well as causing a stir from tastemakers in the blogosphere, including myself — I LOVE them!

Night Drive’s self-titled debut album brings to mind the aesthetics of acts like Interpol or The Knife and is an effort best consumed in its entirety. From the John Carpenter-esque stylings of hazy album opener, “Hyperion” to the urgent synth of “Strange Telepathy” or the slow-burning and subtle “Ghost Craft,” from start to finish, the LP is a textured soundscape and surreal journey through sound.

Having recently toured with the likes of CHVRCHES, Austra, Yacht, Robert DeLong, and Miami Horror, Night Drive has several dates coming up in Houston, New York, and Austin.

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February 28, 2017 · 12:58 pm

Video: Daily Holla – “Waves” ft. J Fitz

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Gold Coast Producer Daily Holla, AKA Harry Deadman, has today released a brand new track with a complementing video. “Waves” is an emotionally charged piece of work with layers of dynamic production contrasts.

What started out as a chilled synth-based track, has now become somewhat of an identifier for Daily Holla, and a beautiful mistake.

“‘Waves’ was the first track I wrote off what eventually became the second Daily Holla EP. I started writing the song back in mid 2015. It all started with a plastic sounding arp loop, which was initially meant to be a placeholder, but it’s still there! I completely forgot about replacing it later on and I both love that silly mistake and hate it.” – Daily Holla

Teaming up with newcomer J Fitz has given this melodic banger a juicy ambiance that really enhances the delay and distortion effects of the overall song. This duo clearly has their mojo in sync, as they continue to create a cohesive vision.

“I’ve never seen someone work like her. She came in and listened to a rough mix of the track, half an hour later the vocals were cut and we were eating some Vietnamese take away. I was so used to doing everything on my own in my bedroom that sitting in a studio in Sydney felt so surreal.” – Daily Holla

Having studied film at university and loving the combination of music and film, Daily Holla brought his two passions together for “Waves”. Enlisting the help of former uni mate, and now film director/cinematographer Mark Desiatov, the video follows the struggles of ballet dancer Jade Moris, as she suffers through injuries and anxiety leading up to a final performance.

This short-film style video is the perfect way to show the strength and willpower it takes on both sides of the spectrum in creating a work that translates to an audience. The imagery is raw and will have you gasping for air, much like J Fitz’s powerful ending.

“I’ve always wanted to mix the fluidity and timeless beauty of ballet with more of a modern and contemporary sound which I thought Harry (Daily Holla) has. The concept revolves around the lyrics and the idea of self-belief through adversity; a common theme that most people can connect with. I believe there’s nothing more breathtaking than a live ballet or dance performance where the artist defies the pain and physical hardships throughout their routine; which is a reflection of the underlying theme of the clip,” – Mark Desiatov

Daily Holla’s upcoming EP has been shaped around “Waves,” with the new track available now on Spotify & iTunes through Inertia Access. 

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February 20, 2017 · 1:04 pm

Newest Love: New Portals

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Following the release of a string of stunning songs last year, New Portals were championed in a number of high profile end of year lists and tips for 2017, including The Guardian who listed their single “Stay Here Tonight” in their ‘Top Tracks Of 2016’ critic’s choice selection. They’ve made a host of playlists at Spotify, receive regular in-store rotation at a number of leading UK high street brands and recently featured in the soundtrack for feature film She Has A Name. New Portals have developed into one of the most promising and highly acclaimed new acts to come from Ireland today. With the forthcoming release of their debut EP Stereo, the band are set to cement themselves as one of the Emerald Island’s most cherished exports.

“Stereo” is the title track and lead single from New Portals’ debut EP, due out on March 10th — check out the video below.

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December 30, 2016 · 4:53 pm

Video: Nils Bech – “Glimpse of Hope”

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“Intricate instrumentation crashing into electronic flourishes, ambient sweeps” – Stereogum
“Absorbing soundscapes and shuddering beats… fragrant vocals” – Clash
“Combines the symphonic with the technology & musical currents of today” –  Impose

Acclaimed Norwegian avant garde pop performance artist and stage actor Nils Bech reveals an alluring new video for the album single “Glimpse of Hope”. The track has been described as the sound of “soaring, operatic vocals with the sound of cutting edge club music”.

The video was directed by one of Oslo’s most revered artists, Ida Ekblad, whose artistic practices incorporates painting, sculpture, performance, filmmaking, music and poetry. Her bold and vibrant work, often characterized by the use of found materials is celebrated as a unique take on urban folk art.


Shot on location at the director’s home in Ekberg, Oslo, from dusk till dawn, the intriguing and playful video features 21 year old Norwegian fashion photographer and model Jakob Landvik.  Ekblad describes the concept of the video as <<house>> and the elements that make up the film: “There is a household and time to be wasted. Playstation games, a glue-gun, lawn-mowing and ass-selfies, cigarettes, a robe, white wine, make-up, leg shaving, clear eyes and stockings”

The elegant use of natural light and movement within “Glimpse of Hope” is credited to the cinematographer Cecilie Semec, whose work has featured in the Venice Biennale and the Museum of Modern Art in New York.

“Glimpse of Hope” follows the release of the theatrical video “Please Stay” earlier this Autumn, which featured a scene between Lady Anne and Richard, taken from Shakespeare’s’ tragedy ‘Richard III’, as performed at The National Theatre in Oslo earlier this year.

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“I wanted to make an album where romantic harmonies meet hard beats, with sudden transitions between the painful and the beautiful. Just like love.”  – Nils Bech

A favorite of the art world, Nils Bech has performed at such venerable venues and events as Venice Biennial, ICA (London), New Museum (New York) and the Van Gogh Museum (Amsterdam). He has also featured in two plays at the Norwegian National Theater, most recently in Shakespeare’s Richard III; where he performed excerpts from his third album Echoout now on DFA Records.

Already a star at home, Echo is Bech’s first album with DFA.  The album explores “echoes” of the people in his life over the past five years; their search for love, how love can deceive and destroy, but also be the key to everything. Sonically, the record infuses urban, contemporary dance music with hip hop roots – hard beats in juxtaposition to Bech’s vulnerable bass-baritone.

Echo is out now via DFA Records.

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December 22, 2016 · 12:24 pm

Video: Crystal Fighters – “Good Girls”

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“Simply the perfect tropi-pop party soundtrack”  – VICE’s Noisey
“There is nothing more alive or energetic than Crystal Fighters” – Dazed

Following the release of their third studio album Everything Is My Family which garnered acclaim from the likes of NPR and Noisey, London-based Crystal Fighters share the virtual reality inspired, disco-flecked video for “Good Girls.”

Everything Is My Family embodies the band’s ecstatic lust for life and as singer Sebastian ‘Bast’ Pringle says, the album is “more dance-floor, more psychedelic, more tropical, more rave, more sunshine, more pretty much everything” than anything they have done before.

Since the release of acclaimed second album Cave Rave in 2013, Bast has spent time living in the Basque Country, The Canary Islands, and Central America – a field recording of tropical wise-men in conversation from Costa Rica opens the album – and says his time away from the overpowering buzz of modern civilization has given him a new perspective.

Meanwhile, bandmate Graham lived “up a mountain” in Maine before traveling down to Peru in a modern life-provoked quest for otherness. He says that the time they each individually spent exploring the world has helped them come to terms with some of the highs and tragic lows the band has already experienced. Stay tuned for U.S. tour news coming soon!

Everything Is My Family LP Out Now via Play It Again Sam

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December 22, 2016 · 11:09 am

Newest Love: Uppermost

uppermost1

French electronic artist and producer Uppermost has been busy preparing for the release of his new album Origins (2011-2016) coming February 2017. In anticipation, he has already released two brand new tracks – “Thousand Colors” and “Constellation”. Today, he releases a never-before-seen live video of his cult single “Reminder” and announces his career-defining track “Beautiful Light” will be available as an immediate download with album pre-order.

In-line with the important conversation that’s taking place currently in the electronic music scene about live performance, the video gives viewers some insight into the various instruments and technologies that are part of making some of our favorite jams come to life.

Uppermost says of the video:

“The live video was shot in the Musée de l’Air et de l’Espace, located in Paris-Le Bourget airport – a beautiful and inspiring place for space lovers like myself. The guitar player is Mathias Di Gusto. I really love his instinctive creativity when it comes to efficient funky riffs. He’s also the player of famous french rapper Maitre Gims, playing on France’s biggest stages such as Paris Bercy. The bass player is Klem Aubert, a very talented slap bass monster and member of the awesome band Minuit.

The idea of a live performance grew in my mind after I started to feel constrained by the limitations I’d meet in my DJ sets. I wanted to be able to change the structure of my tracks on the fly, to create a beautiful interaction between every part in my mix.

So I’ve decided to build the live performance in a way that I can rearrange my tracks live but most importantly sample, loop and apply effects on what the guitar and bass players are doing at any moment. It took a lot of time to build the right workflow, and a lot of repetitions with the players in order to set up specific effects racks on each instruments according to which section of the track I trigger on the midi controller. For example, the guitar player instantly knows that whenever I trigger an atmospheric section of the track, his guitar will be going through a huge reverb and delay. The creative possibilities are really endless and that’s what makes the performance so exciting!”

The sick track is played using various instruments and controllers, including electronic music tools such as a Behringer BCR-2000 and iRig Keys 37Pro, as well as some more traditional instruments including a Fender Precision bass and a Gibson SG guitar.

“Reminder” will be featured on the new LP along with “Beautiful Light”, available as an instant download with pre-order today, and “Mistakes”. Combined, these songs have over 30 million streams. Also featured will be Uppermost’s recently released singles “Thousand Colors” and “Constellation”.

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December 22, 2016 · 10:43 am

Check ‘Em Out: Bloom Twins

bloomtwins

Check out the video below for “Set Us Free” from Bloom Twins. The exciting plot, which takes the viewer through a series of breathtaking extreme sports scenarios, features Go-Pro headcam footage from skiing, bungee jumping, scuba-diving and zip-wiring to name a few, and was shot in several countries around the world including the USA, UK, Italy, Japan, Lithuania, Poland, the Maldives and of course, Ukraine.

20-year-old identical twins, Sonia and Anna Kuprienko co-wrote this track with talented Fiona Bevan and Max McElligott, then handed it over to Greg Fitzgerald for some production magic. It was the first track they wrote after returning from Ukraine where they got stuck for half a year during the uprise. The track is not political at all, rather a call for freedom, but it was certainly influenced by everything that was happening in Ukraine and the fact that they couldn’t return to their new home – London.

On the making and narrative behind the video, Bloom Twins say;
We tend to forget about the simple pleasures in life that make us happy. The world is our oyster. It’s only needed to be prized open to be enjoyed, with the pearl as the prize. Life should be about love, peace, happiness and freedom, and a home for it all is our beautiful planet.
Their debut album, which has been recorded and produced by Duran Duran’s Nick Rhodes, will be out in 2017.

“The twins have serious promise” – MTV
 
“Divinely dynamic yet dark sisterly harmonies” – The Guardian

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December 15, 2016 · 2:12 pm

Video: Tesla Boy – “Circles”

tesla-boy

Tesla Boy, the russian electro-pop quartet made up of  Anton Sevidov, Leo Zatagin, Stas “Pioneerball” Astakhov, and Mike Studnitsyn, is back with a new video.

If you’re not familiar with the group, they make electronica music fused with some synths and a dash of 80s new wave. Back in March they released a video for “Nothing” directed by LA auteur Ryan Patrick, who’s helmed videos for Cut Copy, The Weeknd and more. (See video below.)

Noisey says: “It’s less a music video than a rad short film featuring a girl under house arrest. She’s visited by some social worker peeps and asked to show them, using a life-size burlap doll, “what happened to Sergei.” This leads to the most brilliantly freaky and fabulous interpretive dancing and elegant dry humping sequence. As if a fully grown Maddie Ziegler was reworking Lars and the Real Girl as a murderous musical. She re-enacts her entire relationship with Sergei and we’re officially in love with this lead actress Jade-Lorna Sullivan.”

For their video for “Circles” (a house-meets-Italo-disco number) they re-team with and the results are similarly stunning.

“The idea for this came from the band referencing referencing Cloud Atlas—my mind went to the actors playing different roles,” explains Patrick. “For me, the final treatment came from mixing references of the film Holy Motors, Mission Impossible (both of which I love), and old cartoons where a character is striving for an inanimate object that always seems to be getting away. The video also serves as a prequel to Tesla Boy’s Nothing video we released back in March. But I tried to make it so “Circles” could also stand its own too.”

Anton Sevidov—the Tesla Boy mastermind—had this to say about it. “I really like how my original ideas and impulses are captured by Ryan and presented with additional meanings. I feel nothing but joy collaborating with him. ‘Circles’ is a continuation of our creative tandem, which will surprise and inspire everyone in future.”

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November 22, 2016 · 3:06 pm

Newest Love: Gibbz – “Bright Lights”

gibbz

Gibbz first single + lyric video “Bright Lights” is  from his upcoming EP Oh My God out 12/16. When talking about the track Gibbz said, “Bright Lights was the first track written for the record. It’s about a night out with friends on whatever drugs you can find. The bright light is referring to how some substances can cause lights and colors to be more vibrant. The pacing of the track and its build of instrumentation are to show how there’s a delicate balance between taking just the right amount, and going too far.” You can catch Gibbz on tour this fall with Dragonette and also, check out his podcast “Drinking With Gibbz”.

In 2014, New York native Mike Gibney wanted to get away from his past, working for touring artists as a sound engineer and tour manager, to focus on writing and recording his own music. His debut EP Who Gibbz a F#@$ showed that he was no longer content with being behind the scenes, but rather yearned for the spotlight. Following up with the Chardonnay EP, he aligned himself with other artists that began to see him more as a peer, than a hired hand. He toured extensively through the US and Europe with Gramatik, Cherub, Exmag, Ghost Beach, and the Floozies before independently releasing his first full-length album, Above Water in 2016. Gibbzwill finish off 2016 with another EP titled Oh My God, before tackling his first headlining tour beginning in 2017.

TOUR DATES

11/26 – Doug Fir Lounge – Portland, OR
11/27 – Neumos – Seattle, WA
11/29 – The Independent – San Fransisco, CA
11/30 – The Roxy – Hollywood, CA
12/02 – Metro Bar – Salt Lake City, UT
12/03 – Bluebird Theatre – Denver, CO
12/05 – 7th Street Entry – Minneapolis, MN
12/06 – Lincoln Hall – Chicago, IL
12/08 – A&R Music Bar – Columbus, OH
12/09 – U Street Music Hall – Washington, DC
12/10 – Warsaw – Brooklyn, NY
12/11 – Royale – Boston, MA
12/31 – Marathon Music Works – Nashville, TN
01/12 – Knitting Factory – Brooklyn, NY
01/19  – Knitting Factory – Brooklyn, NY
01/26  – Knitting Factory – Brooklyn, NY

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November 8, 2016 · 11:23 am

Video: SSHH – “Dominoes” (Big Pink Cover)

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UK duo SSHH is bringing in rhythm sections from Marilyn Manson and The Big Pink for their latest endeavor: the team took on The Big Pink’s classic “Dominos,” and the track and accompanying video are now streaming exclusively via Team Rock. Singer Sshh Liguz and guitarist Zak Starkey, also known as the current drummer of The Who, formerly of Oasis, and son of Ringo Starr, have gathered a full force of legendary rhythm sections for their upcoming full length of covers, titled ISSUES: because all bands have them. “Dominos” enlists Gil Sharone of Marilyn Manson on drums, Twiggy Ramirez of Marilyn Manson on bass, Robbie Furze of The Big Pink on vocals, and was produced and mixed by Nick Launay.

 

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