IT’S SO SEXY…
This is Dom. He’s also in a band called, well, Dom.
Siren on Saturday was fantastic. Shout out to Mill-alumna Fran Stabile who was workin’ her ass off to throw the whole thing together along with the rest of the people over at Village Voice and whoever else was behind it. If you were there early enough, and I was lucky to be, you caught the set from Dom, a band hailing from Worcester, Mass who were the first on the stage and probably performed under the hottest conditions of the entire day.
Dom released a 10” on Burning Mill Records (not really sure how I feel about any name that refers to the burning of our fine establishment) called Sun Bronzed Greek Godz and it is just fantastic. Tracks like “Bochicha” and “Rude As Jude” have a very distinct surf-rock feel to them while “Hunny” and “I Wonder” echo the grungy feel of late 90’s alt-rock with a new better produced tilt.
The best two tracks on the record, though, are the first two: “Living In America” and “Burn Bridges”. High pan-flutey synths soar on top of really grimey bass while Dom preaches ideals about patriotism and relationships with the sage of your best friend who gives his/her best advice when he/she’s wasted. It’s like if Neon Indian and MGMT had a love child that just wanted to dance, even when the music wasn’t playing anymore. Really fun stuff. And come on, how dope is that lyric? “It’s so sexy, living in America!” Isn’t that what we want snooty Europeans to think about when they hear whispers of Americana from afar? Hell yes.
Check it. And go and pick up a copy of their record from Burning Mill.
NAKED
You know when you find a song that changes your life? This track is fucking unbelievable. Orchestral. Danceable. Emotional. Beautiful. Everything I want pop music to be.
The Naked And Famous - Young Blood (mp3)
Kilian Martin: A Skate Escalation
Oh my god this is incredible. The track is called “Tracy’s Waters” by Patrick Watson off of his 2009 album Wooden Arms. Go to the YouTube page to watch it in HD.
MAY 4 IS ALMOST HERE!
I’m sure you’re aware by now, but The Mill is throwing a HUGE show on Tuesday 5/4 featuring some pretty sweet acts, and they are….
THEOPHILUS LONDON
This guy has been making moves in the indie-hip-hop realm like nobody’s business, and it’s no mystery why. His style is sick, a perfect union between production and rap. His samples are perfectly selected and placed, and span everything, from Michael Jackson and Whitney Houston to techno beats that were premiered last week. His flow is completely different - he’s got this preach-hiss-sing aspect to his voice that is reminiscent of nothing I’ve heard before. He’s got a little electro, a little R&B. All in all, Theophilus has the best of every world in hip-hop right now. If you’re interested in his music, you’re in luck. All of his mixtapes are available for free online, as he hasn’t released his first full-length yet. Check them out here:
- I WANT YOU (released 4/10)
- This Charming Mixtape (released 1/09)
- JAM! (released 4/08)
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SAVOIR ADORE
Savoir is a full, five-piece pop-rock outfit from Brooklyn. Their style is simple, but infectious - their sound is raw and polished, focusing on melodies that glide through one ear and out the other with ease. They’re just damn fun and effortless, and perhaps that’s what makes them so endearing considering the movement towards overproduction and over-complication in the studio and on the stage (of which we are all certainly a willing participant). Savoir is signed to Cantora Records, who held a showcase at The Mill last fall that featured Bear Hands and Rumspringa. Now, Savoir is ready to blow the lid off this place. Should be difficult considering we’re outside, but still… Check these tracks.
- Bodies (mp3)
- We Talk Like Machines (mp3)
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WET BANDITS
You probably know these guys as Ayad and Jeff from a little band called Passion Pit, in which Ayad serves as the lead sampler and Jeff does synth work. Anyway, these guys also DJ under the name Wet Bandits and, well, I have no clue what to expect. But hey - these guys know what they’re doing. Here are a couple of their remixes you shouldn’t miss.
- Chairlift - Bruises (Passion Pit Remix) (mp3)
- Two Door cinema Club - Undercover Martyn (Passion Pit Remix) (mp3)
- Lady Gaga - Telephone (Passion Pit Remix) (mp3)
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SLEEPY MAILBOXES
Trinity College’s own Alli Millstein will be opening this whole thing off with her new project Sleepy Mailboxes. A fun electro-ass time!
SO GET YOUR ASS TO THIS SHOW! IT’S GOING TO BE ABSOLUTELY EPIC! TICKETS ARE $5! RESERVE THEM NOW! SEND AN E-MAIL WITH HOW MANY YOU’D LIKE TOMILLTIX@GMAIL.COM!
Check the promo tattoos for the May 4 show at THE MILL!
Theophilus London / Savoir Adore / Wet Bandits / Sleepy Mailboxes
E-mail milltix@gmail.com to reserve tickets ASAP!!!
THEOHPILICIOUS!
Theophilus London will be hitting the stage at THE MILL in less than a week. Joined by Savoir Adore and some friends from Passion Pit (they’re swinging by for a DJ set), Theophilus is going to rock it. Plain and simple. Reserve your tickets now at milltix@gmail.com.
Today, however, Theophilus released a new mixtape I WANT YOU, available for free download here. I haven’t checked it out yet, but if it’s anything like what he’s put out in the past, it should be mind-blowingly good. Check it out.
BODY LANGUAGE.
Body Language is going to be here THIS SATURDAY AT 10 PM AT THE MILL.
Holycrap.
As Big Stereo puts it, Body Language is like “worn out cassette tapes playing back big pop tracks, not quite chillwave but not quite club — a beautiful healthy mix.”
Body Language is a 5-piece outfit from Brooklyn (because who isn’t these days) who are being hailed all over the place as a move-your-feet act that can bring the noise. Comparisons with Friends Electric, Little Boots, Crystal Method, Toro Y Moi, Hey Champ, Treasure Fingers, and Yes Giantess (who has rocked TrinColl twice already) abound, so you know what you’re getting yourself into… In other words, prepare to sweat. At the same time, though, they’re subtle - you decide how hard you want it to hit.
Here are some tracks not to miss from their 5-song release Speaks EP…
“Huffy Ten Speed”
A nonsensical hymn for our generation, featuring hypnotically dark synths and a build to boot that erupts in an addicting chorus.
“Work This City”
Barry White with synths - laid back electronica that is simultaneously sexy, incredibly well layered, and fun to move your feet to.
Yes Giantess - “Demons” (Body Language Remix)
This is how Yes Giantess would sound if they were zombies playing in the middle of an empty ampitheater for the last time before the apocalypse hit. This is absurdly good.
So stop by. Gaffney, Fadil, and Austen will all be DJ-ing hard starting at ten before Body Language hits it. Tickets $2 and can be purchased in advance by e-mailing miltix@gmail.com. Get them fast - they will sell out.
Enter Ninja, a South African MC who, along with Yo-landi Vi$$er and DJ Hi-Tek, comprise Die Antwoord.
Ninja is one of the more curious guys I’ve seen up-and-coming for a while. His work is obviously in the realm of what most of us would consider hipster, for its absurdity suggests that it should be taken ironically. To Ninja, however, it’s not. He’s serious that he has “you know, some serious gangster skill on the mark”, and these guys embrace what would immediately be looked upon as ridiculous and trumpet it as the best thing since sliced bread; that’s certainly something not to be overlooked.
I’ll admit, there’s nothing groundbreaking about “Enter the Ninja”, but there’s a ton that is just damn interesting. For one thing, the hook is addicting beyond belief (try and not get it stuck in your head - I dare you). Also, you cannot deny that Ninja is just awesome to listen to, and while his accent is sometimes incomprehensible (if he’s speaking English at all), his flow is undeniably unique and he spits with a fervor that echoes the intensity of Eminem and K’naan.
Summary: Die Antwoord is, if nothing else, at least worth a look and, depending on how you feel, maybe a laugh. The video I’ve posted above is the official music video for their track “Enter the Ninja”. Really cool visually and really addicting musically. Be sure to check out the impromptu interview and short-form-video for their track “Zef Side” as well - that thing’s ridiculous.
I just watched a promotional copy of We Love You, a documentary by New Jersey Pictures Productions from three-time Academy Award Nominated Producer Steve Kalafer and Director Jonathan Kalafer. I got a hold of it because Steve happens to be a longtime friend of my family’s.
The Rainbow Family holds gatherings each year in a democratically-selected national park somewhere in the U.S. (there are plenty of other gatherings, but I suppose this one gathering is as official as it can be unofficially be). These gatherings are the members’ attempts to emphasize togetherness with Mother Earth and your fellow Brothers and Sisters with whom she is shared. They focus on community, music, and prayer, all an attempt to show that world peace is in fact possible.
The film, which was unbelievably moving by the way, attempts to understand and communicate the ins and outs of the Rainbow-way by compiling interviews and scenes captured at the 2008 Rainbow Gathering in Bridger-Teton National Forest in Wyoming. There’s really no way to describe it without being having been there I’m guessing, but I’m sure this documentary is as close as anyone has ever gotten.
I decided to do a little research and came across a whole archive of mp3’s of live music recorded at Rainbow Gatherings over the years, and like the film, these recordings are pretty magical; they’re completely unedited and don’t attempt to filter out background noise, so if you’re wearing some sweet headphones, it really feels like you’re there.
Above, I’ve posted a song called “So The Story Goes” by a man the archive refers to as Hawker - I can’t really find any further information on him, and I’m not sure if he’s the man with the guitar or the man with the microphone. It was recorded at the Rainbow Gathering of 1998 held at Apache-Sitgreaves National Forest in Arizona and the track is just beautiful.
Click here to go visit the archives of Rainbow music.
Click here to visit the We Love You website.
I’ve wanted to go to Rainbow for a while, and word on the street is that it’s coming to the East Coast this year. Who’s down?
EMPIRE OF THE SUN (Where the hell have I been?)
So I don’t know where I was, but I completely missed the whole Empire Of The Sun thing. Finals means I’m procrastinating more, which means I’m on Elbo.ws more, which means I come across things that I should have come across a long long time ago.
Anyways, Empire Of The Sun, like so many of their indie-electro contemporaries, are riding the psychedelic coat-tails of MGMT; they’re not just another one-hit wonder though. They’ve got their own theatrical twist, not to mention they just pretty much cleaned up at Australia’s rendition of our Grammy’s. Track after track is more of a transcendental thing than anything else; the vocals jump out of a flowing sea of synths. It’s pretty sick. And try to check out a video of what their live shows are like - it looks like one hell of an experience. On top of their all-enveloping sound, they’ve got costumes, dancers, and a whole menagerie of visual effects to boot.
I know this is the their track that everybody knows, but nonetheless I feel as if I must share it. I’m obsessed. And check out the Kolt13 remix. Fantastic.
Walking On A Dream (mp3 via You Are The Music)
Walking On A Dream (Kolt13 Remix) (mp3 via Trashbags Kids)
TALK HARD.
