[RH Interview] Conspirator
Conspirator is a band of chance, really. The project came together when The Disco Biscuits' Marc Brownstein and keyboardist Aron Magner as a way to explore the burgeoning and seemingly endless world that was electronic music, back in 2005 after Sam Altman left DB at that time. Allowing for a more free electronic experience, the pair established the side gig as a way to add and remove musicians at a whim to create a range of sounds. The duo has been playing regularly with Chris Michetti of RAQ, and KJ Sawka of Pendulum and last year released the head-thumping EP Unleashed before heading out on a slew of national headlining dates under the banner of "The Dynasty Tour." The crew rolls through Chicago's Concord Music Hall as they continue to roll through the polar vortex as the musical journey they started years ago takes them from coast to coast throughout this year. I recently got to catch up with Brownstein while the band was just getting out on tour, check out or conversation on the later pages.
James Blake Releases Pair of New Songs
James Blake took to his BBC Radio 1 show residency last night expecting to catch up with fellow British electronic artist Burial last night, and instead ended up dropping two new songs of his own. The 25 year old musician/composer gave fans a first listen at his latest, "40455," which is inherently Blake through and through with its linear, dark, growing instrumental lines and Blake's melancholy vocals. He also dropped a remix to Beyonce's "Drunk in Love" track with Jay Z, under his alter alias, Harmonimix. Check both tracks out, streaming below here.
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Sampha: "Can’t Get Loose" (Jacques Greene Remix)
Ever since Drake put talented artist Sampha on "Too Much" off his latest album, Nothing Was The Same, it seems that the track is all people have heard from one half of SBTRKT. Well, Jacques Greene went beyond just hearing the one track and remixing it, giving Sampha's solo track, "Can't Get Loose", off his Dual EP, his own special treatment. Sampha has one of those voices you can listen to all day, and Greene deftly adds his unique up-tempo dance vibes that up the ante for the song while not overshadowing the original aesthetic of the track. Check out the track, available courtesy of Audiomack here below.
Grading the Grammy Nominations
As the music industry has evolved over the past decade into the digital world, things have changed quite a bit. Hard copies are hardly ever bought anymore, nor does anyone seem to buy whole albums at all, as the iTunes Store model has taken over and the industry has increasingly become about what the consumer wants as opposed to what the labels want the listeners to hear. While this has resulted in a sort of musical reawakening, creating a culture where listeners can stream, download or play any track they can think of with the touch of a button, music has expanded at a rapid pace, creating new genres and sub-genres and infinite new off-shoots that don't fit cleanly into any one established genre or sound.
Standing behind this industry, bearing the largest prize of all, is the Grammy Awards. This year, the award show enters its 56th installment and, while a dance music category was finally introduced last year, the judging seems more out of touch than ever, but of course this has been an issue for some time. The Grammys are like Social Security. You don't really care about it much until you're too old to get up from the sofa. Generations have rallied against the award for years. In 1991 Sinead O'Connor simply refused to show up and boycotted the show, despite being nominated in four categories. After winning "Best Hard Rock Performance" in 1998, Pearl Jam frontman Eddie Vedder stood onstage perplexed and, staring at the golden trophy, said into the microphone, "I don't know what this means. I don't think it means anything." It's not news that the team behind the Grammy Awards has been out of touch for some time, but at no time in history has it been so blatantly about the money in an industry that today makes significantly less money than it used to. It's macroeconomics of the current American condition played out with celebrities and gold gramophone statues. Plus, Kanye already spoke out. So, for this latest round of Grammy nominations, I figured I would sift through who was chosen and offer up my own choices for the top prizes in music this year.
Hardwell named No. 1 DJ
Hardwell rose up the ranks over the past year through incessant marketing, a radio show and a live set that is a highlight at every festival and lineup to become the world's number one DJ, according to DJ Mag. Ranked last year at number six, the dutch sensation hit the top spot in 2013 against stark competition from the likes of Avicii and Armiin Van Buren. I had the chance to catch him while covering Electric Daisy Carnival in Joliet this past May, check out the interview below via The Frontliner.
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[Album] Four Tet: "Beautiful Rewind"
Kieran Hebden, better known as Four Tet, released a stream of his latest album, Beautiful Rewind, today via Soundcloud. It is a bit of a different feel and style than many are used to, but also what inherently makes his Four Tet. Hebden took a minimalist approach to the public relations side of the album, saying this summer: "no pre order, no youtube trailers, no itunes stream, no spotify, no amazon deal, no charts, no bit coin deal, no last minute rick rubin." Well, give it a shot yourself below and pick up the full project October 15.
Chromeo: "Over Your Shoulder"
The Chromeo duo is back with a the first single and trailer for their upcoming album, White Women, entitled "Over Your Shoulder." The Montreal-based electronic team has been making waves in the music world for awhile now with interesting collaborations over the years with the likes of Darryl Hall, Mayer Hawthorne and Feist, they may be right on point with that album name. For now, take in the song and video here below.
SBTRKT: "IMO"
London-based indie pop act SBTRKT has been gaining international attention since the release of their 2011 self-titled album for their genre-bending, all-inclusive style that can appeal to a wide range of listeners. The duo of Aaron Jerome and Sampha are back with a new track, "IMO" which features less of the vocals of Sampha with a smattering of instrumental-tinged grooves. Check out the track below.
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