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.
RatKing Announces Album With "Canal" Single
RatKing is an act I couldn't seem to hear enough about throughout last year. The New York trio took the indie music scene by storm in 2013, en route to playing Fun Fun Fun Fest in Austin, Tx., and booking a set for this year's Coachella in Indio, California. The eclectic and begrudgingly different group, led by artist Wiki whose solo music was the first whiff anyone had of Ratking initially. Today, the crew announced the release date of their highly-anticipated debut project, So It Goes, due out on XL Recordings with production allegedly coming from the likes of Young Guru. April 8 appears to be the day the masses can expect a proper release from the group, but they offered up their latest single, "Canal" to hold listeners over for the time being. Take note, Ratking will be around for awhile.
[Album] Death Grips: "Government Plates"
Death Grips just continue to do things the way they see fit. The off-kilter hip-hop/punk band that left fans waiting at North Coast Music Festival earlier this year dropped their latest release, a free album titled "Government Plates" that originally premiered on the band's website, thirdworlds.net, before being taken down. I have to admit, I don't fully get Death Grips yet and their antics and seeming disregard for fans has turned me off thus far, but maybe this latest album will help dispel that. The 11-track project comes complete with videos for each song, a somewhat forward-thinking idea that acts as a sort of overload of Death Grips media all at once. Can you handle all of it? Find out by watching/listening below. Check for download HERE.
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Death Grips Cancel Fun Fun Fun Fest Appearance
No surprise to Death Grips fans, they have officially canceled their fall tour. That's including their Nov 8th appearance at this years Fun Fun Fun Fest. No other dates were ever announced, so it has left people confused if the band had other dates lined up. After Lollapalooza's no show, Death Grips have canceled a slew of their performances. So until they start doing shows again, here is Death Grips' NPR performance to hold you over.
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Death Grips: "Birds"
Death Grips skipped out on their Lollapalooza set and after show, which apparently gave them some free time to get in the studio. Last night, the duo released their new single, "Birds" via Facebook. Check out the track below or go ahead and download it here.
http://youtu.be/ZoPCJisvlNE