summer

shortcircles – remember me EP

My sister recently asked me if I considered myself ahead of the curve when it comes to finding music to listen to. It made me quiet for a moment and I told her it was kind of difficult these days to be truly ahead of the curve with music, what with social media and the easiness of sharing songs. As a rule, I try not to think about those kinds of things because it makes for a more narrow-minded music listener. Even three years ago I would have labeled myself as a music elitist – the moment anyone listened to an artist who had been around for ages I’d be quick to call them out on it and say, “I listened to this way before you knew who they were.”

In the last couple of years, though, I’ve made a concerted effort to listen to, literally, all types of music. Even the genres and artists that I usually can’t stand, I will give every song a chance. I’ve noticed that with my most music obsessed friends, only two or three of them have overcome the dismissing-music-genres phase and have instead worked to listen to everything. It’s a hard move to make, but I think that’s what has made me a better music listener. Now I don’t care about being ahead of the curve – at the end of the day it’s about the songs themselves, amirite?

That being said, I still feel so much joy when I find an artist or song very few people have listened to – how can I not? All of us get that giddy feeling over finding gems.

This ties in perfectly to my love for the Oakland producer, shortcircles, who is a master at genre blending. He released a brand new EP just under a week ago called Remember Me.

FIRST LISTEN

1. Remember Me (feat. Miss Kia from Parentz)

It opens with a trip into space and distorted vocals repeating “remember me” with Miss Kia adding her actual lyrics. The initial vibes of the song reminded me of Rimar and an overall nostalgic element to it. The best songs are the ones which are most familiar to you, and this was an instant pleaser. There are some truly dirty synths on this track creating a very rich sound.

2. Take Flight (feat. Tiana Vallan) 

At first the song reminds me of an elevator, well, a very sexy elevator. The drum lines and bass are sensual beyond belief. This is a perfect late summer jam – makes me want to DJ so badly. It’s not dancey by any means, but for those who have DJ’d before, you’d understand what kind of gig this would be perfect for.

No, it is not lounge, stop saying that.

3. Find You (feat. Tiana Vallan)

This has some serious Asian vibes to it. The opening guitar and subsequent strings make me feel like I’m in a salon in old Kyoto. Gorgeous. Vallan’s vocals pair so well with the instrumental and makes it a stand out track.

4. Love My Man (feat. Miss Kia from Parentz)

From the get go, this feels the most like a traditional shortcircles track with the bassline and drums. It’s got a glitchier feel to it mixed with his penchant for melodic buildups. This was easily my favorite track off the EP because of it’s quieter, humbling elements to it. I love nighttime, and this was the first song that made me want it to be dark out. It’s got a similar Asian feel to it tying it well into the previous track. There’s a definite flow to the EP as a whole which makes me love this song even more.

5. Searching for a Reason (Glenn Jackson remix)

HOLY CRAP. In the first twenty seconds I fell for this song, hard. It’s sexy, glitchy, and has undertones of a darker melody. It’s a perfect late-August, summer drive kind of song. Damn. This is going on repeat for awhile.

SAS

Like I mentioned before, “Searching for a Reason” is still going strong on repeat. After putting the EP on shuffle, I noticed that “Remember Me” reminds me of the LASERS song, “3027” (this is a different LASERS than the one I blogged about before). In general, I have to say that all of these songs can stand on their own and work well in context. In most EPs and albums, that I’ve noticed at least, it’s hard to get every song to work cohesively and still be okay on their own. shortcircles once again proves himself as a competent and diversified producer. Keep this guy on your radars, please.

-jo.

spring awakening recap

A couple weekends ago I hit up the first Spring Awakening Music Festival in Chicago. It was a standard, douchey electronic festival with a lot of bros, women who were in their thirties dressing like 17 year olds, and and far too much neon in all the wrong places.

Ladies, remember how you look and what your body type can handle before you dress yourself. My roommate and I remarked on how, at music festivals, girls treat it like Halloween: you can dress as scandalously as you like, and you can get away with it. Trust me though, you should really reevaluate.

Rant over and out.

SATURDAY

I dunno if you guys heard about the hellish heat that hit Chicago that weekend but it was an inferno of humidity and sweat. The sister, who accompanied me that day, and I decided to forego seeing Bart B More and wait until the A-Trak set to arrive at the festival. Despite Spring Awakening having a bunch of well-known DJs and producers performing, it was still a relatively empty event. Even 150 feet away from the main stage during A-Trakky Trak’s set, I still had room to tribal dance with myself.

That’s impressive.

This was the second time my sister and I have seen A-Trak perform and he absolutely killed it. His had to be one of my favorite sets at SAMF based on his varied set (dance, hip hop, quirky electronic stuff), energy, mad scratching after his final song, and epic posing on the amps.

After his set, the sister and I ran over to see Dillon Francis perform (no pictures, it was awkward lighting) and the cutest thing happened – after A-Trak finished on the main stage, he high tailed it to “Da Equinox Stage” (<– seriously SAMF? Weak) and hung out with Dilly. He hung back side stage where my sister and I just stared at him, seeing as that A-Trak was now 30 feet away from us. Crazy. Made awkward eye contact and continued Bernie-ing around the field.

It was also the second time catching Dillon Francis, when, the first time, he made a guest appearance at the Skrillex/Dada Life show back in November. That was a high energy performance if I’ve ever seen one. Haven’t felt that lively since I saw The Hives back in high school.

Grabbed sushi after Dillon Francis finished since we had no desire to see Skrillex (well, not again at least) and the sister had to prep for her flight to San Fran in the morning. Solid first day, overall.

SUNDAY

I was mad pumped for Sunday, mainly because I could finally see Felix Cartal live, which I’d been waiting to do for just under two years. This time, my best friend came with me since the sister decided to ditch me to go across the country (she actually left to go bike from San Fran to Indiana – pretty baller), and after a filling brunch at Sunda we made our way over.

Felix Cartal was the first set of the day, and he started and ended his set strongly. The middle was pretty boring, for a live setting. As a fluid set it made perfect sense, but when I’m at show I want surprises. Throw curveballs, take risks, because that’s the whole point of live performances – the messiness of it all.

The best part of the FC was his hair. Have you seen his hair? It should be illegal. I got a shot of him trying to act cool by playing with his stupid hair.

He finished up, we sat off to the side during Datsik’s set, then headed back to the Equinox stage for Diplo.

I’ve now seen a Major Lazer performance (which Diplo did – does anyone know if Switch ever does ML sets?) and a solo one by Diplo and can say, without a doubt, that if given the opportunity to see either show, go for the Diplo one. He had all the parts that FC’s set was missing and more.

It was a mix of weird Diplo finds with ML tracks, old school Snoop, and playing out many tracks I’d never heard of. Frequent dance festival goers will know just how exciting it is when you can’t recognize a song a DJ plays.

The best friend and I got mad sweaty at his set since everyone had turned into the best kind of raging monsters while I went into straight animal dancing. Madness.

Diplo at SAMF

Spring Awakening scheduled Sunday like complete turds. They decided that it would be a good idea to put Laidback Luke, Wolfgang Gartner, and Moby on at the same time. Seriously, guys? Luckily, I’d seen Laidback Luke a couple of months back down in Urbana, so we high tailed it to the main stage to catch Moby’s set which was so nostalgic. His style is classic DJ. The guy actually plays out his tracks. We got into our dance grooves and I nerded out over his older stuff.

It’s a mild pet peeve of mine that most DJs think they need to be ADHD with the way they play sets. Only getting 30 second snippets (if that) of songs doesn’t let me feel out how I want to dance. Nowadays it’s all about the drops and less about the melodic buildup. Thanks brostep.

We saw half of his set then ran over to some other crappily named stage to catch the second half of Wolfgang Gartner’s performance. It was a wave of sweaty air and drugged out dancers everywhere, but he also put on a great show. My inner nerd may or may not have freaked out a ton when I saw all the Japanese on his shirt.

This was the last guy the best friend and I were going to catch so we gave it our all in dancing, and befriended the security guy who let us into the VIP section just for being friendly. We had no desire to actually be in there but he seemed to like our old school moves: definitely busted out the sprinkler and shopping cart numerous times.

Gartner finished his set out strong, then the best friend and I parted ways and headed back to our respective apartments for the night. I could hear Afrojack’s set from the high rise I was in a good fifteen blocks away. Intense.

Gotta say it was a pretty fantastic weekend for SAMF. I’m assuming that next year’s will be more packed, but that’s the advantage for having an under advertised music festival for the first one. Wouldn’t have it any other way. It’s nice having that intimate of crowd interaction between most of the performers and the audience since it’s an uncommon occurrence at these big festivals.

Next one on my list is Pitchfork. Bring it.

-jo.

hoodcats – hoodcats EP

You will quickly come to realize that by following this blog, I will be posting on James & Evander and shortcircles. A lot. It’s inevitable, seeing as they’re a couple of my new, favorite producers. I go through phases, but over the last six months I’ve consistently loved everything both have released.

You can only imagine my excitement when I found out about Hoodcats which is a collaboration between the two. Every track on its own, and as an overall EP, is absolutely perfection. Ugh. I twitch every time one of the songs comes on – it’s impossible to skip a Hoodcats track. It’s also a good sign if I continue to play an EP on most playlists, at parties, and any lengthy drive for five straight months. A sign from the heavens, actually.

Even better is all the vocal samples from the 90s. Brandy or Christina Aguilera, anyone?

1. Streed Fung

The opening track starts us off with a catchy drum beat going, with layering vocals of various “hey’s” and “boy” going along. When I listen to this I always want to drive around LA, on side streets, and groove. That’s the overall sentiment with this whole EP. Initially, this song wasn’t as strong to me as “One Pacifico Swing” or “Jeans Colliding,” but in the overall flow, it makes sense. It’s definitely a favorite of mine now, though no one Hoodcats song stands out over the other for  me. Each one is sexy in its own right.

2. One Pacifico Swing

Juuuuuke. God. These drums. The vocals. The friggin’ horn samples. How can you not fall in love to this song? It’s so sexy with lyrics like, “even though you know I’d die for you/ yes I’d die,” and then glitched up to make for such a charming song. This is that absolutely perfect summer jam to surprise friends with. And for more surprises, read below for “Jeans Colliding” where I will nerd out for quite awhile.

3. Jeans Colliding

It’s a really slow buildup. Pianos, synths, and snippets of vocals. It’s a “comfort” track because of how recognizable everything is in the makeup of the song. From the get go, I was entranced by the sounds. It’s a six minute song and, honestly, I wouldn’t have it at any other length. The first time through listening I did the standard head bobbing along while practicing kanji. Then, you have the break. Oh my god, what a surprise! You hear the vocal samples for the first time and instantly think, MY 90s CHILDHOOD! Come on, who else couldn’t resist turning up the volume when you caught the “Genie in a Bottle” vocal sampling? Hm? HM?

The accelerated pace of the song, with jukin’ drums, and an absolute sex-dominated beat makes me drool. I’m also looking up photos of cupcakes so that doesn’t really help the situation. This song is on my Top 10 Songs of 2012 and we’re only halfway through. It’s that good.

James & Evander and shortcircles released their EP for free off their bandcamp page. If this doesn’t make you a fan of the producers I don’t know what will.

Always remember, dear readers, to never toss a dwarf.
-jo.

donnis – nippon sounds

Summers always make me nostalgic for Japanther. The last two times I’ve been there during summer months to rival Chicago’s heat index, have been life changing. Seeing the boy band who changed my life for the better, finding myself (or some BS like that), and meeting new friends has resulted in a large scrapbook (if I did scrapbook, that is) of fond memories.

Did I really just say fond?

In summer 2011, Donnis released a mixtape with a bunch of Japanese producers, Nippon Sounds. Onitsuka Tiger took the initiative by creating a cross-cultural sound for his mixtape featuring three different DJs/producers from Japan: De De Mouse, Joe Iron, and Taku Takahashi. De De Mouse, one of my favorite Japanese producers who also makes some of the happiest electronic music around, put Donnis on my radar. His rapping style is clean (not in a Will Smith, Miami, sorta way) and very biting. Not too hard but still witty enough to make me smile throughout any of his songs.

This was on repeat constantly last summer. It’s catchy as all hell, with dancey jams, summer afternoon drives, and even playable for poolside sexy time.

1. All I Need Freestyle (Baby Star’s Jam remix) – Produced by DE DE MOUSE & Luke Walker

This song makes me feel like a badass. It’s riddled with references to living that “high-class” life but there’s almost a mocking tone to it. Donnis doesn’t rap as harshly as Danny Brown, like in “Radio Song” where he’s openly looking down on rappers who make songs solely for the money and fame. Following Donnis on his Academy Black Hearts blog, you know he appreciates fashion, every type of music, and legitimate artists. The production of “All I Need” is stunning. De De Mouse’s original song, “Baby Star’s Jam” is upbeat and meant for smiles. I like how Luke Walker slowed down the vocals, and took a darker tone with the remix. Solid song.

 

2. Roll Up Poe Up (Freestyle) – Produced by Joe Iron & Luke Walker

Honestly, I didn’t really focus on Donnis’ rap on this track because I was so focused on the overall musicality of the song. That’s not to say I think any rapper could be put on top of the instrumental and make it well, because Donnis compliments the song well.

3. Gone (Before Gone Japan Mix) – Produced by DE DE MOUSE

Here we have a perfect example of classic De De Mouse production. Only he can take a song about drugs, partying, and egoism and turn it into something you bounce along to and giggle constantly. He uses as a DAW a combination of Cubase and HALion, which, as a software, makes very little sense to me. It suits his tweaking personality and production style – he’s always screwing around with his sounds and layers to create a really diverse sound. The distortions on Donnis’ vocals can get overwhelming at times if you are a fan of listening to his rap in a purist sense. However, what De De Mouse does is tough – gorgeous composition.

 

4. Ring My Bell (Invader Moon Assault Japan Remix) – Produced by TakuTakahashi

 This is the third song off the tape featuring a Japanese producer as a remixer. The song itself wasn’t a favorite of mine, but after a few listens, all I wanted to do was blast this and roll around on the floor doing primal dances. So great to drop on a hard dancefloor night, where people are willing to get sweaty and turn into disgusting individuals in the name of a good time. I’m distracted writing about this track due to the dance breaks. Sorry, be back in a bit.

Biggest bonus to this mixtape – Nippon Sounds released it for free. That’s right. Link to download is in the cover image above. Enjoy.

-jo.