July 13, 2017 · 2:53 pm

Check ‘Em Out: Gold Fir – “Night Walk”

Simply known as James and Mabel, the pair’s eccentric, soulful sound is known to be inspired by their favorite places, friends, and films. This love for the latter led to a collaboration on the video with Jack Brown, a London-based animator and director whose credits include Rejjie Snow. Their artistic vision is to celebrate the vibrancy and energy of nighttime, and they achieve this by seamlessly mixing 2D hand drawn animation with digitally filmed environments in their forthcoming video. A strong aesthetic is vital to Gold Fir’s identity and positively reinforces the slick sonic production on “Night Walk”.

The name Gold Fir, as unique as the duo’s style, is symbolic of various ideas. According to the duo, “It can be fun, funky, sassy, serious, sad and amusing…It’s about trying to be bold and to enjoy the writing process as much as possible.” This focus on the sonic personality and the duo’s relative anonymity lets the spotlight fall wholeheartedly on the music’s soul.

Off the back of the soulful sound and forthcoming corresponding artistic visuals with the “Night Walk” video, Gold Fir look ahead to transposing their colorful palette of sounds into a live set to look out for in 2017.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=v6Pr8xUTrXs

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July 13, 2017 · 10:42 am

Newest Love: Kamaliza

 

Sydney artist Kamaliza has released a rather powerful and lyrically charged track called “Zanzibar”.

Having decided to quit his office job and pursue music full time, Kamaliza is wide-eyed and ready for whatever the future holds.

Inspiration is key when creating music and that was no exception for Kamaliza as he wrote this song.

I woke up feeling extra inspired one morning in mid-January this year. It took me about five hours to complete the bulk of the song; when a song writes itself so quickly it’s usually a great sign. Most importantly is that I felt so emotionally connected to the song.

Beginning with a whimsical flow of R&B electronica, the song develops into a multi-layered work of rich productions colored in with percussive rhythms and scorching synths.

I used a mixture of software and hardware to get it done and recorded it in my home studio in Western Sydney. I played the song a couple of days later at my first gig under Kamaliza and it got such a great response, so that added fuel for me to polish the song.

Given Kamaliza’s recent career change, there’s no wonder the song blossomed from personal experience and feelings.

The song is about taking the next step in the direction you feel you were destined for, even if that means saying goodbye to those that you care about. I believe there are unknown forces that guide us; in this tangible world of science and fact, it’s the unknown that I’m learning to trust.

To compliment the track, Kamaliza teamed up with Cape & Monocle to create a narrative-based video that continued on from their previous project “Zermatt”.

There was a scene where a robot was used. We wanted to build off that scene and this time create a narrative to go along with it. The story takes place in a post-apocalyptic world where technology has consumed society entirely. Our main character is a robot searching for something that has been missing from their life.

 

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July 10, 2017 · 4:15 pm

Startup Drinks Pittsburgh Event July 26th

Startup Drinks Pgh is back and headed to @TheShopPgh for #SUDPgh on July 26th!

Enjoy refreshments and snacks from local makers, live DJ, the ever popular startup swag table (bring your t-shirts, stickers, etc.), and more surprises TBA!

New to Startup Drinks Pgh events? Here’s why you should attend (and bring a founder friend):

You’ve got an idea: share it with other free-thinkers, get some feedback, and find help in getting it off the ground.

You’re a talented developer, designer, etc.: see those aforementioned “idea” people? They need your help…

You want to invest in something big: there’s certainly no shortage of game-changing ideas and people in Pgh… meet them here and help them grow!

You just want to help good people do good things: most entrepreneurs could benefit from more experience and connections, so anyone who can bring those to the table is highly appreciated.

You have a cubicle job and want to get out of it: welcome, my friend. Welcome.

Any questions, feel free to ask…otherwise, put on your paradigm-shifting cap and head on over.

Space is limited, and this will sell out — so get your tickets, today – bit.ly/JulySUD

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June 30, 2017 · 11:37 am

Are You In or Are You Out? Of Course You’re In

“…like what might happen if Beck produced a track for LCD Soundsystem.” – Stereogum

“Think of this new track as the nonchalant older kid that just embodies cool. It doesn’t have to try very hard… Try to get this one out of your head.” – Earmilk

Black Kids, who have announced their new track “Obligatory Drugs”, have released the first of some new music since their 2008 debut album Partie Traumatic. The single appears on their forthcoming sophomore album Rookie, out September 15.

 

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June 26, 2017 · 11:47 am

Highly Anticipated: New Album From The Technicolors

Phoenix-based band the Technicolors’ forthcoming album Metaphysical (out July 7) focuses on “a void”—the one between where its frontman, Brennan Smiley, is, and where he’d like to go. Today we are pleased to premiere “Impostor!,” a single from that very LP, which seems to encapsulate this concept. “The song is about everyone’s constant need of explanation for everything,” says Smiley. “Everyone wants you to explain yourself, tell why you did something a certain way, as opposed to just feelin’ it and letting it move you, or maybe challenge you to think differently.”

Fittingly for summer, “Impostor!” is a roll-your-windows-down tune. The guitar intro has a ’90s rock grittiness and bite that sets the tone, and next comes Smiley’s Julian Casablancas-esque voice—a softer swoon that creates a needed contrast for the song to flow (and makes it ideal to leave on repeat). Smiley says the track started simply with a guitar riff, courtesy of guitarist and vocalist Sean Silverman. The lyrics came later when Smiley was sitting in a unair-conditioned room in the thick of an Arizona summer. He watched an early-2000s “Magic Tricks Revealed” documentary in the guest room of the studio the where the band was recording and realized he would have to sing “Impostor!” the next morning. He didn’t have any lyrics—yet. “I started literally sweating out the most ridiculous lines ever,” recalls Smiley. “The last line of the second verse is about making an elephant disappear.”

Smiley wrote the lyrics in about five minutes, and the track’s guitar riffs ultimately powered Metaphysical as a whole. “We plugged the acoustic guitars straight into this old Neve console that mixed some pretty legendary records, and cranked it till it sounded like what you would imagine if Raiden started a band with Johnny Cage,” says Smiley. “I think we stumbled on some wild guitar sounds that have since inspired us to go even further down those roads.” – Interview Magazine

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June 26, 2017 · 11:34 am

New Music From Panama

Credit: Mitch O’Neill

 

Panama’s brand new HOPE FOR SOMETHING EP is arguably singer-songwriter Jarrah McCleary’s richest and most moving work yet. A 5-track journey of confessional story-telling that navigates turmoil and peace; his latest work is warm, nostalgic, and rich. McCleary sings, writes, produces and plays on the record, beautifully blending live and electronic sounds that equip him with a musical palette to paint each and every element; from writing at the piano to the ultimate last touch in the studio.

Panama’s second single from the EP, “Undertow”, marks the passing of a loved one and the onerous feeling of trying to hold onto them despite them being gone. It’s a floating, dreamy journey underpinned by driving drums, clambering synths, and harmonious hooks that give it a stirring, anthemic quality.

“Undertow” follows the EP title track “Hope For Something”, a song about a battle with yourself, and proved therapeutic for McCleary. Unsurprisingly, since its release, the message has resonated far and wide. The track was premiered by Pigeons & Planes and Milk, and since release in late April has clocked over 1 million streams, hit #1 on Hype Machine and landed itself in Spotify Viral Charts across Australia, NZ, Taiwan, Philippines, Malaysia, and Ireland.

Throughout the rest of the EP, McCleary touches on the complexities of relationships, communication and deeply missing the one you love, each song drawing from his personal stories.

The lyrics are real and the emotion can be thick, to the point where I struggled with some of the songs because of how naked they are to me. The positive tone of the EP seems to be the counter weight of the darker things I was experiencing when writing this project. I always draw upon personal experiences when I’m writing. It’s that fine line between truth and poetry. For the production this time around, I was able to work with Classixx and also Filip (Poolside), who were great to bounce ideas off in the studio.
– PANAMA’s Jarrah McCleary

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June 21, 2017 · 2:51 pm

Newest Love: Juic3box + Alice France – “True Love”

“True Love” is the debut single from JUIC3BOX, an artist alias from singer, songwriter, and producer Sam Gray. With over 30 million streams on Spotify across 4 current single releases, Sam is ranking the charts with hits from Hardwell (“Creatures of the Night” – 5.6m), Julian Perretta (“Tied Up” – 4.5m), DJ Katch (“Lights Out” – 23.5m) and Manovski (“My Redemption Song” – 680k). While attending ADE in Amsterdam, he discovered Dutch singer Alice France and immediately invited her to record this outstanding new dance anthem. Alice France is a vibrant young artist and songwriter from the Netherlands. Her appreciation for singing and R&B started early on, inspired by legendary divas like Whitney Houston, Mariah Carey, and Aretha Franklin. Her classic, soulful vocals bring “True Love” to life, and leave every listener wanting more.

“True Love” has already been well received, with the Wide Boys Pool Party mix giving a great electro house boost to the already invigorating track. You can check out the original and the Wide Boys mix via SongSpace here.

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June 16, 2017 · 2:14 pm

FINALLY!!!!!!!!!! The Debut Album From Night Drive Is Heeeeeeeere!

I can’t even tell you how LONG I’ve been waiting for this! It feels like YEARS! Rodney Connell and Brandon Duhon make up the duo that is Night Drive.

Fun Facts:

Both of the guys started as frontmen for the bands MoTel Aviv and Glasnost (!!!YASS! I remember loving Glasnost).

They previously supported acts such as Yelle and Digitalism — again YASSSS!!!!

Night Drive is the type of music you would hear on a car stereo if Giorgio Moroder and Ray Bradbury were driving late at night through a buzzing metropolis. Inspired by the bygone era of glamour and excess, kaleidoscopic neon lights, Studio 54 and Tony Wilson’s Hacienda, the band pulls influence from acts such as Brian Eno, New Order, OMD, The Drums and LCD Soundsystem to name a few. Night Drive rides a nu-wave of fast-tempo, synth-based electronic sounds driven by rich guitar melodies and arresting vocal hooks.

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June 14, 2017 · 1:08 pm

Check ‘Em Out: D’Opus & Roshambo – “Paradise”

D’Opus & Roshambo are pleased to share their brand new single “Paradise” for 2017. The song is a positive and uplifting anthem for the now – taking inspiration from feelings of escape whilst finding a place of inner paradise.

“The new single takes the cliché of finding escape from the pressures and stresses of the current chaos of the world, to signify that whilst it is good to “get away” from it all, sometimes finding that “paradise” is simply just being somewhere simple with people you love and finding the inner-peace and contentment within yourself.  To us, “Paradise” is finding, sharing and putting that positivity back out into the world to combat negativity, insensitivity, and misunderstanding,” says the duo on their thoughts behind the track.

“Paradise” features the talents of LA-based singer/songwriter Breana Marin who has worked with the likes of Keyshia Cole, Fifth Harmony, Darkchild, Red One and more.

The duo released third album Mayday in 2016, which premiered through themusic.com.au, and features the singles “Mayday”, “Brush You Off”, which received multiple spins on on Triple J, and “After Midnight”, which was added to rotation on Triple J Unearthed.

They’ve supported the likes of Lupe Fiasco, Xzibit, Blackalicious, Cut Chemist, The Bamboos, The Herd, Krafty Kuts, Remi and The Funkoars and performed at festivals such as Soundscape, Foreshore, and Corinbank.

“Paradise” is the first single in what looks to be a big year for D’Opus & Roshambo in 2017.

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June 14, 2017 · 12:16 pm

Video: Fujiya & Miyagi – “Impossible Objects of Desire”

Check out the video for Fujiya & Miyagi’s track “Impossible Objects of Desire”. It is the 9th track off their recently released self-titled album. When talking about the video lead vocalist David Best said, “The song is a hymn to vinyl and the rush that music can provide,” offers vocalist David Best. “It loosely began as a homage to  Bowie’s ‘Be My Wife’ Video, but then morphed into something else. The song is also about the physical and chemical reaction music has on the mind and body.” You can order the self-titled LP here.

Many musical projects approaching almost two decades of existence begin to show signs of stagnation or perhaps start to crook their neck as looking over their shoulder becomes a more common stance than focusing on the horizon. However, for the Brighton-based, genre-hopping, Fujiya & Miyagi the opposite can be said as they see in 2017 by wrapping up a unique year-long musical project that represents one of their most adventurous to date.

Two EPs join a third to make up this album, a carefully staged project that sees the group traverse disco, electro, pop, and the now synonymous 1970s Germany-inspired groove they so seamlessly ooze. Whilst the EPs all contain a distinct personality and fluidity of their own, the new dynamically focused position of the tracks as a full album embodies a long-term plan. “From the beginning, I have always thought of this as an album rather than three separate records, ” Singer David Best says.The now melded album is a vast one stylistically with influences and references that span from Arthur Russell to JG Ballard, yet the undercurrent that connects it all into one universal groove is one of honesty and joy, a surging sense of euphoria and hope that attempts to cut through the foggy world that welcomes its release. “On this album, I have tried lyrically to find the positives and not rely on my factory setting of a general contempt for the world around me.” Best says.

The positivity and propulsive energy of the record is not only carried by its natural rhythm, lyrics, and sparkling melodies but is also a reaction. “The album is a really strong resistance to societies compulsion to suck the energy out of everything. It’s a really good thing to provide an antidote to all the scary stuff that is going on, even if it’s just for 5 minutes.” Best says although the album proves to be more than a five-minute distraction and more like a 45min escape.

Fujiya & Miyagi – S/T tracklist
01. Magnesium Flares
02. Serotonin Rushes
03. Solitaire
04. To The Last Beat of My Heart
05. Extended Dance Mix
06. Outstripping (The Speed of Light)
07. Swoon
08. Freudian Slips
09. Impossible Objects of Desire
10. Synthetic Symphonies
11. R.S.I.

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