[Video] Jordan Bratton: "Stranger"
Jordan Bratton, an 18-year-old 'alternative R&B' singer from Long Island, New York dropped a hell of a debut project in December of last year called The Grey Area. Endlessly compared to Justin Bieber because of his age and talent, Bratton possess an edge and brevity to his voice that is lost on his 19-year-old Canadian peer. The project, which left room to grow, also established Bratton on a larger scene as a vocalist to take note of. Similar to the way Frank Ocean's 2011 project, Nostalgia/Ultra got insiders and music aficionados talking, The Grey Area may be the vessel Bratton needs to break out of his hometown in New York. The video for one of the standout tracks on the project, "Stranger" got a visual today, premiering on The Guardian. Thus far, Bratton has kept his face and identity somewhat out of the public sphere, allowing for the tracks to be the focus of listeners. In the video for "Stranger", directed by Ronald Reid, the camera follows Bratton on his journey to the studio via BMX bike. As the story goes, Bratton, who lives in Long Island, travels across the boroughs to make his music. Check out the full video for "Stranger" below, with the full stream/DL of The Grey Area.
[youtube id="WkRIr6JriBE"]
[Album] LIZ: "Just Like You"
LIZ has been popping up all over our radar since just before the start of the new year. The Los Angeles-based Mad Decent signee may very well be the best example of the theory of a "twenty year loop" in fashion, media, art and music. Her website literally has the Millennium embedded into the title and is a templated Google Image search page. Her music pulls from the early 2000s, adding the grungy dance vibes of today's EDM world with the angelic-ness of artists like Aaliyah to produce a sound that is described on her Mad Decent profile as "reminiscent of that perfect Pop/R&B tune from the 90s that you couldn’t wait to burn onto a CD so you could play it endlessly in your car after dropping your summer crush off at their house." Great imagery there. Honestly, just try LIZ on for yourself. Her project, Just Like You hit the Internet yesterday and the complete, seven-song project is sure to be talked about for some time. Pick it up/listen below!
[Video] Moody Good: "MusicBx" (Feat. Eryn Allen Kane)
Moody Good is the English producer, formerly a part of production team 16Bit that helped craft Bjork's 2011 album, Biophilia responsible for the latest track to come out of the always popping UK dance music scene with his track, "Musicbx" that came complete with a visual rendering today with a premier on NME.com. The video traces what seems like one man's stumbling post-trip experience as he wanders, looking for something and finding a lot of what he doesn't need. Vocals for the track are supplied by one of our artists to watch out of Chicago, Eryn Allen Kane, who shows her full flexibility with this latest offering by taking a step outside the soul/r&b vibes that she has been linked to thus far. She continues to impress as she heads toward her own album release soon. Moody Good keeps the song going and lays out a solid canvas from which Kane can work with his expert production and playfulness throughout. Check out the full video for the song, streaming now below.
Disclosure Announce 'Wild Life' Series
Disclosure has been on a tear as of late. Having just stepped off tour earlier this week from a monster world journey of shows across the globe that saw them appear on almost every late night show stage there is and raise their profile ten-fold across the board. Not ones to be satisfied, the Lawrence brothers announced plans to continue the party this summer with their 'Wild Life' series that will take place across two dates so far that have been announced with acts that they enjoy. The first event will take place on April 18 in Berkeley, Ca., at the Greek Theatre and will feature the likes of Kaytranda, Claude Von Stroke and Bishop Nehru. The second date is slated for June 11 in Chicago's Lincoln Park Zoo and is expected to have New York City artist Joey Bada$$, Green Velvet and George Fitzgerald in attendance. Keep it locked for ongoing news from the talented pair.
April 18
Berkeley, CA - Greek Theatre
Disclosure LIVE
Claude VonStroke vs Justin Martin
Kaytranada
Bishop Nehru
June 11
Chicago, IL -Lincoln Park Zoo
Disclosure LIVE
Joey Bada$$
Green Velvet
George Fitzgerald
[Video] King Krule: "A Lizard State"
King Krule is a weird guy. From his voice to his style to the music he makes, everything has a bit of a different feel to it. That sensibility is on display in his latest visual, this one for his track, "A Lizard State" from his latest project, 6 Feet Beneath The Moon, which made waves when it dropped late last summer. The video opens with a scene out of Alfred Hitchcock's Dial M For Muder, with Hitchcock walking sideways on a wall, explaining that the following story is about "An undertaker and who he undertakes" before cutting to a phone and a growl from King Krule, who then jumps into the somewhat haunting, 60s-inspired song. The whole video has a bit of film noir to it with dark shots and shadows throughout.
According to Director Jamie-James Medina: "Archy and I both love Hitchcock and we've spent a lot of time away from music talking about his films. When I heard the phone ringing over the intro all I could think about was Dial M For Murder and the scene where Grace Kelly answers the phone. That really started the conversation. I had this idea of Hitchcock introducing King Krule. I've seen every episode of Hitchcock Presents and every introduction that he gives is brilliant - you could use any episode and it would work. We loved the idea of Archy defying gravity and that being the setting for his performance. But right up until shooting we didn't know if we'd get permission to use the Hitchcock footage - to have him appear. Its such an honor that the Hitchcock estate gave us the opportunity. And then at the very end he said, 'and the room is full of lizards', so we had to find a set of lizards and managed to get a guy who entertains at children's parties."
Check out the latest from Krule below and catch him live on tour now.
[youtube id="kpkr79srKTE"]
AfroJack: "The Spark"
Afrojack is currently in the lab cooking up his debut album, due out in early 2014. To stoke the flames of excitement for the project, DJ Nick van de Wall released "The Spark" via Pete Tong at BBC Radio 1 on September 27. While you can listen to the song below, apparently it doesn't come available for download until October 11 in the U.S. British fans have to wait until November. Anyway, check out the latest from the Dutch producer below.
http://youtu.be/8dNHd1x2dZI
Miranda Kerr For Vogue UK
The Aussie supermodel Miranda Kerr's newest photo spread is for the September issue of Vogue UK shot by Alasdair McLellan. Unfortunately for us, before we know it, summer will be gone, and to help with the transition, Vogue enlisted the pair to give us a very hot pictorial. Miranda is styled in a variety of coats for the upcoming season, barely wearing anything (if anything at all) underneath. The portraits really capture Kerr's sex appeal, and with the use of natural light, it's easy to forget that the reason for the photo shoot was to show off the coats. Check out some of the photos below from the spread.
[Photos by Alasdair McLellan] [Via Pedestrian TV]
