Death Grips & Local Natives Release Stems For Free
The trend of releasing music for free is not a new concept, but in the past six months even, the practice has taken on a whole new attitude and usefulness. Death Grips, never ones to wilt to social norms or adhere to expectations or ethics, released both the a capella and instrumental versions of their albums, Government Plates (click here) and NO LOVE DEEP WEB (click here) for free via their Twitter account. While the move is similar to Beyonce's instantaneous release of 14 songs and 17 music videos as one entity, it is a different kind of openness.
Local Natives also followed suit, dropping the stems from their album Hummingbird (click here). While Bey gave the world a host of new entertainment to sift through, Death Grips and Local Natives offered music geeks and production nerds an endless amount of material to work with, encouraging remixes and the use of their work. It is the sort of openness that breeds new genres and new sounds and is honestly a responsible move on the behalf of both acts and it will be interesting to see where the stems lead in the near future.
Beats Music Enters the Streaming Game
Dr. Dre and Interscope CEO Jimmy Iovine took over the headphone industry with their celebrity-driven Beats By Dre line since emerging in 2008 and now have their sites set on the online music-streaming market. The pair behind the iconic Beats Electronics announced plans over the weekend for their next project, Beats Music, an online music-streaming service not unlike Spotify, Pandora or iTunes Radio. Beginning on January 21, users can subscribe to the service for a $10 monthly fee after which they are prompted to provide three genres and three artists from which the program creates a custom algorithm from which to browse music.
While Beats Music does boast a 20-million song roster, it still couldn't swing The Beatles or Led Zeppelin, but that doesn't seem to be stopping others from getting on board. According to Mike Snider of USA Today, "Already, AT&T is on board with an economical $15 monthly family plan. Another major player, wireless speaker company Sonos, plans to have Beats Music operational on its speakers and music systems on Day One. More collaborations will likely become public as the launch date nears." It seems that the next big race will be for Internet streaming supremacy, and Pandora and Spotify better watch out because Beats Music seems ready to take things up a notch.
[via USA Today]
[Mixtape] Kaytranada: "Instrumental Hip-hop Is Dead"
Today, Hypetrak released its latest artist-rendered mix from the ever-eclectic Kaytranada. Instrumental Hip-Hop Is Dead is described by Hypetrak as "an intriguing selection of hard-hitting unreleased production. Much closer to Dilla's Donuts than a DJ mix". Apparently, Kaytranada is declaring the end of instrumental hip-hop, just when it seemed to be making a comeback. His mix is a compilation of what he characterized as "some old hip hop beats" of his. It is a smattering of trap drums, heavy bass, and sample-laden interludes, all sandwiched inside of a comfortable synth sandwich that can carry you through the day with it's smooth transitions to airily different areas. Check out the full mix from Kaytranda streaming down below!
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[Mixtape] Von Vuai: "STANK"
As a 21st birthday present for the rest of us, Chicago producer released his collection of beats, STANK. Mostly known as the producer for St. Millie's debut, No Religion But Up, the Chvrch crew member has also produced for Rockie Fresh, D-Win, Phlyy B (who is featured on this drop), and has future collaborations with both ShowYouSuck and Netherfriends.
First hinted at during Sean CK's interview with Von Vuai back in February, STANK takes samples from a number of other songs and movie clips, resulting in a a spacey sound that isn't really the "typical" sound found in hip hop. Personally, this is the kind of sound I wish was more prevalent in the genre. "RADIANT" stands out exactly for this reason, but also because it's sampling a song that I've, at the time of this writing, spent the past hour trying to figure out where it's from. (It's Frank Ocean's "Pyramids," which is ironically the only song I've listened to outside of two specific bands this week. What are the odds?)
Rappers: I'm looking forward to what you can do over these STANK beats. Make me and Von proud.