Polyrhythm does not begin to describe. REKchampa has always been on something else as far as rhythmic and percussive intricacies. But where his other songs are artistic exercises, “Rollers” is a living, breathing being. It’s a little bit shy at first. It wheezes and stutters. But it finds its voice before long, and it yells louder than the rest of ‘em.
Here’s “Rollers”:
Drag and witch house have grown relatively stale recently since there hasn’t been a whole lot of innovation in the genres or a championing of the sound since King Night. Austin-native Signs has still been trudging through the triple-six sludge and occasionally helps me remember that drag ain’t dead. Check out the refix of Wooh Da Kid’s “Body Bag” he dropped earlier today.
Download it while you can here:
SXSW is finally over, meaning the great pause in music is finally over. Life resumes.
With that in mind, Young Montana’s new composition seems to befit that conclusive shift from the weird back to the regular. Showing their adeptness in creating dissonance as well as working a coda, they’ve put something together that’s at once meditative/thought-provoking and crackly/beat-leaning.
Snag it here.
Ra Cailum isn’t (yet) a big name on the bass scene, but he’s already been putting out some pretty decent releases (check out his Bandcamp). It’s been nice to watch him progress and find more of a focus, which was my only complaint about his previous releases. Finally we have a focused three song EP in Mapzzz that makes a strong argument for itself even with the slew of amazing Ghostly and Brainfeeder EPs that have already dropped in 2k12.
“Dirac Sea” and “Sakuya” are the fast-paced bass bookends that journey through Ra Cailum’s heavier worlds. These tracks surround the slowly dripping “Celestial Being”. It’s a comparatively minimal track with screws in all the right places. Maybe it’s just the flood we’re getting in Austin right now, but this EP seems like the perfect music for an underwater Spring Break/South by.
“Brains” has been out for a little while now, but in preparation for SXSW, I’m putting this one up. Lower Dens are going to be playing at the Hype Hotel on March 16, and they’re definitely one of the few traditional guitar-based groups that I’m really excited to see. “Brains” chugs along and jumps through melodies in ways you wouldn’t at all expect. Yet somehow they make their melodic stumbling seems so simple.
Here it is:
Wheez-ie, whose “Leave Her Alone” I posted about a while back, makes Houston-informed juke. In all honesty his last release through Brighton’s Well Rounded Records should’ve wrecked more year end lists. Anyways, a few minutes ago on his SoundCloud, he dropped a track simply entitled “Clip”. It’s generally brighter than his All Werked Up EP, but all those lovable juke (and even trap) elements hit just as hard. Let’s hope this a preview of what’s coming next.
Wheez-ie will be playing here in Austin at Plush for their monthly Elevater Action night (mark your calendars: 3/15). This round falls during SXSW week and Well Rounded will be putting it on. Maybe we can get Wheez-ie to tell us a little more about the next release.
Here’s the clip:
Since dropping his ultra low-key and painfully gorgeous Wander/Wonder last year, we haven’t heard much from Alex Koone, until a few minutes ago when he posted this throwback remix of K.P. & Envyi’s 1998 Billboard-buster “Shorty Swing My Way” on his SoundCloud. Usually submerging his tracks in deep aquatica, Balam Acab bubbles stay around the water’s surface for this one. Forgoing the poignant, this one’s for giggles, obviously a labor of love.
Here it is:
Also, if you haven’t heard it, here’s the wonderful Usher/Balam Acab combo, mixed together by none other than 19AD6:
Another lo-fi R&B artist. I know. The likes of Active Child and How To Dress Well (and I guess even Yawn Iver in a folksy way) have established themselves as the forerunners for the R&B revival. But where AC and HTDW bring their falsetto highs and often sad-eyed lyrics, Evy Jane’s Evelyn Mason has codeine-covered vocals that wander around the icy aphotic zone. Yet, she still maintains a sadistic sexiness in her lyrics and slurring vocals and subtly breaks the downer tones with her pleading chorus, “Didn’t I tell you/Didn’t I tell you/Didn’t I tell you/Not to be so kind to me?”
Here’s “Sayso”:
Thuper ecthited (Endearingly, of course. Cutest lisp in the world.) that Grimes’ video for “Oblivion” finally came out earlier today. Extra special because “Oblivion” was one of my first posts on 365s4u. If you aren’t already head over heels for Claire Boucher, the video will definitely take care of that. It has football games, motocross, musclemen and ohmygodshe’sdancingw/aburrito@0:48. Yes, it’s okay to keep replaying it. It also sounds like she wants a music video to accompany every song on the album, so we should have a lot more Grimes coming our way.
Fall in love:
Thanks to In Love Not Limbo for the tip on these guys. Bondax are a couple of kids (17- and 18-years-old) from Lancaster, Britain who produce like they’ve been doing it for decades. They’re currently touring through the Kingdom and will be performing with Star Slinger in Slovenia on March 29 after Star Slinger swings through here for SXSW.
“Just Us” has the drone element of one general melodic line, but where Bondax shine on this one is through playing a game of timbres. They throw all sorts of filters over the leading line and break it up with the proper synths and high-end drums, making for an electronic trip.
Here’s “Just Us”:
Check out “All Inside” too, which is more understated but is probably their best track so far:
