Prins Thomas//Aloe Blacc//Sonny and the Sunsets//Thomas Fehlmann

It's really difficult for me to choose tracks for this site. I like a lot of different types of music, but I really started this site as a vent to talk about music that I like without bothering my friends because they're into different music than I'm into (if anyone was wondering).

Prins Thomas peeped his head into our world around 2002 with some remixes that he put out. At this time he was more of a house/tech house kind of producer. He's really blossomed into this wonderful, airy, spaced out, jam oriented, minimal disco producer. With all the elements of 70's production and a deep knowledge of disco that I'll never be able to compete with, he dominates this modern electronic scene. I'm personally drawn to him because he's never gets cheesy. He has a good ear for what each instrument in his songs should do, and how to arrange them.

Thomas recently put out a stellar album collaboration with another Nordic electronic hero, Lindstrom. The album was simply entitled II. This album (self-titled) is Thomas' first solo album. I've played a few tracks out early in the night at clubs and I listen to it constantly in my room. I can't get enough. The album is mostly disco, but contains elements of house and deep house and was released on his own label, Full Pupp. If you are someone looking for a pop hook or if you have a short attention span, this is not for you. I heard Yeasayer just put a new album out, maybe you'll dig that, Pitchfork does.

Prins Thomas: "Uggebugg"

Prins Thomas and Lindstorm: "Urkenvandring"

Aloe Blacc has come a long way from his indie rap debut in Emanon in the mid 90's. He has really blossomed into this influential modern American soul signer. I really hope he keeps progressing.

His new single "I Need a Dollar" seems like a very appropriate song for the life in times in America currently. Shine Through, Aloe's 2006 release seemed a lot more abstract than the new single, which will be on his new album Good Things. The new album will feature members of the groups The Expressions (from Lee Fields and the Expressions) and El Michels Affair. If you haven't heard anything from those guys yet, get the fuck on it.

Good Thing is going to be a pure soul record, unlike Shine Through. Hearing all the Latin influence on the last record though, and knowing that both of his parents are Panamanian, we can expect more Latin influenced music from Aloe to come. I'm very excited to see what this artist does with sound.

Aloe Blacc: "I Need A Dollar"

Aloe Blacc: "I'm Beautiful"

Sonny Smith, the singer/songwriter from San Francisco, CA has a lo-fi, beach-pop sound, which may be some of the most charming music that I've heard in a while. I am a classic pop fan (especially the Beach Boys) so this to me is very reminiscent of what maybe a demo version of what a Brian Wilson song would sound like pre-Pet Sounds on just an acoustic guitar. Sonny can't sing as well, but he gets the genre perfectly, which makes me like the music more.

Tomorrow is Alright is the full length and Hypnotist is the new 7". My Friends in the Jacuzzi Boys are playing with Sonny and the Sunsets soon in San Francisco, so if you happen to be in San Fran. around May 21st, go.

Sonny and The Sunsets: "Too Young To Burn"

Sonny and The Sunsets: "Lovin' On An Older Gal"

Thomas Fehlmann, a sometimes collaborator with the Orb as well as a DJ, musician and producer has just released a full length on Kompakt Records entitled Gute Luft. It's a soundtrack to a TV show in Berlin called "24H Berlin". The album is all electronic based with dub techno, tech house, and ambiance being the basis of sound for the record. I know when most people hear techno they think party, party but this record is the opposite of that. It's a very chill, relaxing record. There's a lot of really beautiful melodies that play throughout it and sometimes the melodies resurface in other tracks throughout the record.

I wouldn't put this record on before I went out to a club or bar but it might be nice to drive home to or listen to on a Sunday morning after a little smoke, doing some Sunday cleaning.

Thomas Fehlmann: "Permanent Touch"

Thomas Fehlmann: "In The Wind"

Drummer Steve Reid died this week. He was a frequent collaborator with Four Tet and a well know jazz drummer.

The Sandwitches interview

It's funny to me that bands like the Sandwitches don't get more press. They have soul, song writing ability, and they're never cheesy. It seems people just want to hear over-produced pop songs that mean nothing and have some shitty hook. Even more appealing to me is that sometimes you see the Sandwitches in clown costumes and sometimes you see them in Loretta Lynn type outfits from the 1960s. People are so obsessed with image that they don't know how to have fun and enjoy quality music anymore.

The Sandwitches are a lo-fi lady trio (I feel sexist saying girl group) from San Francisco, California. The members are Grace Cooper, Heidi Alexander, and Roxy Brodeur. Their sound goes from gothic folk to 60s pop with deep influence in soul, especially the vocals. There is an overall 60s production style going on but without ever feeling gimmicky.

The newest record is called How To Make Ambient Sadcake and was released on Turn Up Records. If you haven't heard it yet, dip your balls in it. The band is also playing Gainesville, FL on Sunday, March 14th at venue TBA and lots of other shows across the states with bands like Thee Oh Sees, Washed Out, Real Estate, and Best Coast.

(for some reason my fonts, sizes, bold and italics aren't working so this interview doesn't look as nice as it could)

So who are you girls and where are you from?

We're classy ladies from California.

Who are some of your biggest influences (could be music or non-music related)?

Dad, Todd Rudgren, Gene Wilder, Grandma, all the boys.

When I first read your band name, I thought this might be a silly, lo-fi, female band. Is that the intention you had or is there some long running inside joke?

Well, that's sort of what we are -- except now we've got our man Lance -- but moreover we accidentally happened upon the name in conversation and unfortunately couldn't help naming ourselves that once we though of it, despite our own better judgment.

You ladies are playing the Gorilla vs. Bear Showcase at SXSW, and you're playing with Thee Oh Sees out west in March. To me, all that sounds like a pretty big deal, how do you feel about all that?

We feel pretty good about it. Thee Oh Sees are good friends but all the kind press was unexpected and we feel real lucky to have it.

I believe this is going to be your first trip to Gainesville and Florida. Are you excited about that as well? I'm excited that you are playing, we get a lot of punk, metal and alt country shows here which is fun but there's a lot of good music out there that's not coming to Gainesville.

Heck yes, and we'd love to see a gator.

Are there vegetarians in the band?

Lazer's a veg.

What fast food do you eat on the road? Do you make food before hand, gas station snacks, weed brownies, hot-pockets, fruit roll ups?

Mostly Slim Jims, beef jerky, and weed brownies.

Are there any straight edge people in the band?

Nope.

How often do you do laundry on the road and how often do you wear the same thing before washing it?

We'd rather not answer that question.

What are your plans for 2010?

Take it to the max we guess.

What bands would you like to tour with?

Sludgehammer.

If anyone could produce your next record, who would do it?

Phil Spector, so has he keeps his trigger finger in sight.

Domino's recently said their pizza won in a taste test over Papa Johns. Do you believe this and whom do you prefer?

ROUND TABLE!!! We're no fools.

Anything you want to tell Gainesville before you play here?

Those we seek only loves peace and pleasures are better to pass out of love's domain, but they will not laugh all their laughter, nor cry all their tears.

See you soon,

xxx

SAndwitches

The Sandwitches: "Back To The Sea"

The Sandwitches: "Tarantula Arms"

Pantha Du Prince/Joy Orbison/Beach House/Wild Nothing

A few months back the track "The Splendor" was released and I started to get really excited about the hint of a new Pantha Du Prince album. The last album he (Hendrik Weber) released was The Bliss on Hamburgs Dial Records and was one of the most sonically impressive albums I heard in 2007. I actually think I heard the album more in 2008. Regardless, the man knows who to make minimal techno. Shit, I mean he remixed Animal Collective. Not every producer gets asked to do that. Only Dam Funk, Black Dice, Zomby and a handful of others have been asked to do so so far.

For the new record, Black Noise all the dry parts of the last record are cut out to make a new more solid Pantha Du Prince. All the lush strings and intricate bell and percussion parts are still here. But instead of the long winded string and bell parts in some tracks along with the too hard for the record techno tracks, this record has more of a solid mix of the two here. The only part that I don't love on this record is the track with Panda Bear a.k.a. Noah Lennox of Animal Collective. I don't really feel his voice is right for minimal techno. He breathes this kind of child like essence into the track that Weber doesn't have or need to produce his brand of music. Fans of shoegaze also might like this being that Weber uses droning notes and chords that fans of My Bloody Valentine, Slowdive, Ride and Moose might be into. Weber himself is also a hugh fan.

(first photo from the top)

Pantha Du Prince:"The Splendor"

Pantha Du Prince: "Bohemian Forest"

Joy Orbison! I've written about this guy way too much. I'm still consistently impressed with the tracks he (Peter O' Grady) puts out. His dubstep/house/disco tracks are smarter than most guys twice his age. He's only 22 and every single he's released had been blogged about. Even his b-sides are blogged about. I'm not going to write too much more, I'm tired of blowing this guy. Here are some new tracks. Where’s the full length O’ Grady?

(second photo from the top)

Joy Orbison: "The Shrew Would Have Cushioned The Blow"

Joy Orison: "So Derobe"

Hailing from the Baltimore, MA and having released two albums already, I didn't really see Beach House doing much more with their sound. Signing to Sub Pop Records, I should have known that things might have changed. I'm always really interested to see what bands do when they have bigger budgets, from their newfound labels. Whether they go for that all reaching pop sound that usually is not very good in order just to see how far their sound can reach commercially and how long they can last on a decent label without getting the boot. Here, that's not the case. Beach House, instead of going down that pop route, they go for a bigger, more in touch with who and what they are Beach House record. I love them for that too.

The new record Teen Dream has been playing almost non-stop in my room since I got a hold of it. The record is dark and beautiful without ever stepping into the "this is too angsty" realm. I'm getting older and I'm very hesitant to get into an indie rock record nowadays. Something about that genre is too gimmicky or "white" sounding for me to pay mind to. This record has soul though, check it out.

(3rd photo from the top)

Beach House: "Silver Soul"

Beach House: "Norway"

Beach House: "Zebra (Ring Trick Remix)"

Beach House "Silver Soul" from Sub Pop Records on Vimeo.

Wild Nothing is a recording project for Jack Tatum who's a Virgina native. There's not too much I can write about this because there's not too much info available yet. The vocals are breathy, the back-up vocals are haunting, the guitars are bright and the production value is that of a 90's alt rock bands. The new single "Summer Holiday" reminds me of the guitar in the Cure song "Pictures of You". Wild Nothing is playing some shows up in New York soon, so Brooklyn friends, make sure to take note and try to see them.

(4th photo from the top)

Wild Nothing: "Summer Holiday"

Nite Jewel Interview

Nite Jewel is Ramona Gonzalez from Los Angeles, California. She released a record last year entitled Good Evening to rave reviews and is currently on tour and on her way to Florida. She will be playing in Orlando on Feb. 9th at Backbooth and in Tampa on Feb. 10th at Crowbar.

Nite Jewel’s sound can be described as lo-fi dreamy bedroom disco with 80’s synths and hints of 90’s R&B. I know that sounds like a lot, but when you hear it, it makes sense. The lo-fi end would come from the fact that she only records on an 8-track with analog keyboards and drum machines, which to me gives the recordings the edge and uniqueness that makes her work different from other indie bedroom-recording artists.

Ramona is married to Cole from Haunted Graffiti (who sounds like a more FM pop, lo-fi, tripped out version of Syd Barrett). Together with a few other friends they create Nite Jewel. Ramona is also working on a record with Dam-Funk (a futuristic funk artist) under the name Nite Funk, how great is that? That record will be released on Stones Throw Records sometime in the future. Did I just say in the future? No shit. Ramona also just released a podcast mix for Stones Throw, which is killer and sounds a lot like her music. It’s podcast 54, check it out.

I had a chance to catch up with Ramona and ask her a few questions. Also, I feel more in love with the fact that she answers her own e-mail. How many artist do that nowadays? Make sure to see her while she is in Florida.

Where are you right now and what have you been up to lately?

I'm working right now. I'm reading about Eno's Another सोमेव्हेरे वर्ल्ड.
Lately I've been recording and figuring out how to get from my house
to the car without getting drenched in rain.

I feel the LA scene has one of the most progressive scenes right now in terms of alternative music with acts like Flying Lotus, Nobody, Health, No Age, Dam Funk, Nite Jewel, etc.. How do you feel about it and how often do you see live music?

I love it here, I feel that I'm surrounded by a lot of creative
people. I haven't been out to see many live shows since I've been
touring a lot. As one of my professors said, "We get to the point
when the only shows we are able to see are our own."

I just watched your XLR8R Tune in an Afternoon with Dam Funk entitled Nite Funk. How was that experience and how was working with Dam Funk?

It was pretty much exactly how you see it on the program. Chill, easy
breezy, and fun.

How do you find out about music new or old (blogs, magazines, friends, infomercials, B.E.T.)?

I find about old music as a daily ritual. With new music, I usually
get advice from friends about what to listen to. Once in a blue moon
I'll turn on KCRW just to see what the kids are into, which
occasionally is good.

I know you're coming to Florida on your tour. Will this be your first trip to Florida and did you purposely miss out on Gainesville? Just kidding about the last part.

First time in Florida, yes. I'm super excited! I hear Gainesville's
a liberal town, don't know how it was overlooked!

I've been seeing your record Good Evening sold out on lots of websites. Does this give you a comforting feeling or are you pissed that your record company didn't press enough copies?

Haha. I put it out myself so I don't mind really.

What are your plans for the new year?

Recording new material. Academic applications.

If anyone could produce the next Nite Jewel album, who would you choose and why?

It's currently being produced by myself, Cole Greif-Neill, Scott
Thiessen, and David Barrett.

To me your record is a kind of staying inside, cooking dinner with friend(s), smoking some weed and taking it easy. Did you have any intention on making a record like this and does this reflect who you are?

I had no intention in making this record, but I'm glad it ended up
soothing. Seems obvious that my music would reflect who I am. I
guess lately I have been sort of a homebody.

I saw in another interview the other day that you still have a day job. To me you released one of the best records of last year and it blows my mind that you're not making a living making music. Are there artists you love that still have day jobs and does it blow your mind that they're not making a living off their art?

It's hard to make a living doing music. You have to be extremely
savvy. There are lots of desperate people in the industry trying to
find any way of giving less money to the artist. That's because less
money is coming in to the industry due to the internet and what not.
So we as artists have to do it our own way. That's why I am trying to
self-release my recordings most of the time, which means I don't pay
myself an advance. So I have to work, but I don't mind really, my job
is pretty easy. It doesn't blow my mind that my favorite artists have
day jobs. A lot of my favorite artists were never and will never be
popular. That's okay. Many great artists aren't. Hopefully with the
internet though, they can be popular in a different way, where they
have a day job and they still get accolades from web crawlers and
bloggers like yourself. It's a beautiful paradox.

If you and your husband divorce, would you ever go on a date with me? I think any girl I'd be dating would be okay with this.

If my husband and I divorce, I'll probably end up living in ashram somewhere।


Nite Jewel: "What Did He Say"
Nite Jewel: "We Want Our Things"

The Knife/Nite Funk/Young Man/Gigi

I haven't written anything in a while, instead I've been watching 30 Rock and Jersey Shore. I don't get it, I talk shit about all the trash on television and then I watch the trashiest show on TV, Jersey Shore. Maybe I like it because I love sub-culture and I really know nothing about this sub-culture? I'm not sure. Anyhow, this is what's been good. 

All of you know who The Knife is. If you don't, WHAT FUCKING ROCK HAVE YOU BEEN HIDING UNDER? Everything this group does pushes the boundaries of sound and never looks back on the past, only the future. If you didn't hear either of their solo projects last year, you need to get on that shit. It's quality stuff. 

Either way, they're currently working on an opera. What the fuck? An opera? They're pretty ridiculous, but that makes them far more interesting. Riiiiight? The opera is a tribute to Charles Darwin and is called “Tomorrow, in a Year.” The work should reflect the text by Darwin from On the Origin of Species. The work will contain 3 singers. Each singer will be singing from a different background, electronic pop, classic opera, and performance. The Knife will be arranging the music and words to the opera. I've only heard one song from this but I am very excited to see what else comes out. Hopefully this is released on DVD. I'm sure visually this will be amazing. 

(top photo)

The Knife in collaboration with Mt. Sims and Planningtorock: "The Coloring of Pigeons" 

In case you guys haven't been following, Dam-Funk and Nite Jewel have collaborated on a great new track called "Am I Gonna Make It". It's a great mix of Nite Jewels lo-fi funky disco and Dam-Funk's futuristic funk. The recording was made for XLR8R's video podcast Tune in an Afternoon. Nite Jewel produces the track and Dam-Funk sings and adds his own input on the production. Make sure to watch the video. Watching the song come to life is half the charm. 

(second photo from the top)

Nite Funk: "Am I Gonna Make It"

Dam-Funk: "Mirrors" 

Nite Jewel: "What Did He Say"

Young Man is a new lo-fi, dream pop, bedroom artist. This style is very popular right now and seems to be making the blog lists all around. This guy is very reminiscent of Panda Bear and Atlas Sound to me but is still charming in its own way. Don't think I'm dying to hear this live but it's nice background music for my room or nice waking up to. I'll see how the full length comes out. It's due out early this year.

Young Man: "Five"

Young Man: "Playtime"

Gigi is a project of two men who love Phil Spector and the Wall of Sound. The group is based out of Vancouver and is the work of Nick Krogvich (songwriter) and Colin Stewart (producer). For those of you who love 60's pop production and harmonies, this should be your cup of tea. 

This record comes out Jan. 26th, 2010. The record also contains credits to groups such as Black Mountain, Cave Singers and Destroyer. In some way, this reminds me of a Martin Scorsese movie, mostly Mean Streets.

(third photo from the top)

Gigi: "No, More Heart Will Go"

Gigi: "I'm Not Coming Out Tonight" 

Gigi: "The Old Graveyard (Feat. Karl Blau)"

Metro Area, Moon Duo, Tycho, Lyn Collins, Joy Orbison

I first heard Metro Area on a DFA remix album. The song was "Orange Alert" and I was pretty unimpressed. Although, I follow the blog discodelicious.com, and the guy that runs it usually has an excellent selection of songs. I saw there was a Metro Area song and I was kind of surprised. He usually stays away from the indie-tinted disco club tracks that DFA and hipster DJs tend to eat up. I usually listen to all the tracks discodelicious posts and that day wasn't any different. As soon as I pushed play, I was into the track. The song was more on the house/disco side, which scares most indie kids, thinking they might start turning into that douche bag who hates indie rock and loves club music, or so they think. 

The group is made up of super producers/DJs Morgan Geist and Darshan Jesrani. They made a few tracks together in the 90's but didn't decide on the name Metro Area until 1998. Since then they've made about a dozen 12"s. 

The track is called "We Also Not" and is a six-minute journey that's perfect for doing homework and recovering from a hangover to. If you're lucky, maybe making out with somebody. That's depending what kind of kid you are. Around 4 and a half minutes these beautiful space-aged synths come in and really give the song the eyebrows that it needs to last those six-minutes. 

(first photo on top)

Metro Area: "We Also Not"

Moon Duo is the side project of Ripley Johnson, Guitarist/vocalist for the group Wooden Shjips. It's supposed to be the Velvet Underground inspired side group, but it's more than that. It's very hypnotic in the sense that the beat traps you in with its repetition. Sometimes having Motown style drums with noisy/droning guitars, bass and effected out vocals. Sounds good to me. I don't have the whole EP Killing Time yet, but it's on my list. I think I like this better than Wooden Shjips. 

(second photo from the top)

Moon Duo: "Stumbling 22nd St."

The new EP from Tycho is entitled Coastal Brake and the title track starts off like an acoustic Boards of Canada track...until the drum beat kicks in. Then you're swirling down a wave of colors and synths as you chill out to the sounds of San Fransico's newest producer. I'm going to put him on my producers-to-watch list for in 2010.

(third photo from the top)

Tycho: "Coastal Brake"

Lyn Collins is a woman who we've all heard sampled but most likely know nothing about. Most famously you'd know her in Rob Base and DJ E-Z Rock's "It Takes Two". It's the "Woo! Yea!" that we know so well from her 1972 hit "Think (about it)". She's been sampled by about a dozen other artists as well. Collins was born in Texas and known most for working with James Brown. Listen to this track and you'll hear the James Brown similarities. 

Lyn Collins: "Think (about it)"

Rob Base and DJ E-Z Rock: "It Takes Two"

With just two singles released and a handful of remixes, this guy (Joy Orbison) has created more buzz in the club music/producer world than just about anyone else this year. Being only 22 and born in the UK (living mostly in South London now), Joy can have a lot of potential to become a great producer, being that South London is the heart of the garage/dubstep scene. Every song has been a great listening track but also a great club track. These songs are made for good headphones or club speakers. If you're an audiophile who loves textures, this should be right up your alley.

Joy Orbison: "Hyph Mngo"

Joy Orbison: "J. Doe"

Oni Ayhun, Animal Collective, Four Tet, Chicago, Peter Tosh

It's been recently confirmed that Oni Ayhun is the work of Olof Dreijer of the Knife. The Knife is supposed to be on a 3-year hiatus so that Olof can work on his DJ project Coolof. Oni must be his techno producer outlet. Upon first listen of Oni Ayhun, I was reminded as to why I like the Knife. All the soundscapes they like to play with are here but more specified to the techno genre, with a little dub influence (there's a little dub break down around 7 minutes into the track) on side b of the single OAR003. 

Following in The Knife’s tradition of anonymity, Olof did a good job of staying out of the press and hiding his face to avoid it being a distraction from the sounds. It wasn't until he started DJ-ing this project that people figured it out. He played a show recently in Germany with Joker and a few other big shot producer/DJs and I've only read great things. I'm not sure how much longer The Knife’s hiatus will last but I like both solo projects (Fever Ray being the other) and can't wait to hear more of what these two create. Sweden has birthed us two creative mo fo's. 

The first photo on top is the Oni Ayhun EP.

Oni Ayhun - OAR003-B

The new Animal Collective Ep is out, Fall Be Kind. All the weird more introspective songs that Merriweather was missing are on this release. Being that Merriweather was the Animal Collective pop record, this had to be released because there are great songs here that didn't make sense to release on the full length. I happened to see them play a few of these tracks in Orlando at Club Firestone. "What Would I want? Sky" killed it. That song is the second song in history that was given permission to sample the Grateful Dead. I won't write too much about this because too many other blogs/critics already have and have done a better job. All and all this should be a good winter chill-in-your-bedroom record while you're reading or just hanging with friends. Smoke more weed. 

Second photo from the top.

Animal Collective: "What Would I Want? Sky"

Animal Collective: "Bleeding"

After the Four Tet and Burial collaboration being somewhat of a let down, I wasn't sure how this single was going to be. Four Tet has done great things in the past but recently hasn't done anything to impress me. Honestly, I've been bored. "Love Cry" the new single is more inline with what I'd like to see Four Tet doing. The raw sounding drumbeat, the experimental/ambient style electronics and maybe even some glitchy elements for some extra flavor are all here. When the vocals come in they hit you like a ray of sunshine. This is a Four Tet style house track. This is not made for a club though but maybe your bedroom or a long drive in the winter. The fact that Burial worked with him and Joy Orbison is willing to work with him is a good sign. People and producers still have faith in Four Tet and this track is why.

Third photo from the top. 

Four Tet: "Love Cry"

Four Tet: "Love Cry (Joy Orbison Remix)"

Chicago's album 13 came at a time when disco was at it's peak and Chicago's fans were dwindling. They decided to go disco and follow the crowd. I usually hate this, but in the case with this song, I'll let it slide. The track "Street Player" kills. The conga heavy latin breakdown is my favorite part. Sounds like an awesome dance party. A 90's house/disco group sampled the hell out this song. That's the only way it might sound like you've heard it before. Unless you're a die hard Chicago fan. Douuuuubt it!

Fourth photo from the top. Fucking duuuuuuuuuuuh.

Chicago: "Street Player" 

The Bucketheads: "The Bomb (Youth's Street Player 2 Turbo Edition)"

You might know Peter Tosh as a soulful reggae singer and former member of The Wailers, but you can hear him now with this nicely done disco edit. Disco's never sounded so soulful. This edit is done by SirBilly who does a bunch of killer edits. Check him out.

Peter Tosh: "Buk In Hamm Palace (SirBilly Edit)"

(last song on the page but downloadable there)

Last photo at the bottom.

Edited by A. Gilwit