Happy Monday! Here is the first proper single from Active Child's forthcoming EP Rapor. It features Mikky Ekko, who's a sultry vocalist you might remember from Rihanna's "Stay." Here's ME's most recent work "Kids." If you're a fan of playlists, I made one for LYED's Favorites Tracks of 2013 and it's featured on there as well! Last month Patrick Grossi released "She Cut Me" which is the opening track on Rapor, which parallels to the level of bone-chilling that AC is known to produce. Check it out below to hear for yourself!
Like what you hear? Active Child will be going on a fall tour through the US & UK with JMSN starting on September 21st in Oakdale, California.
For a list of dates & places, visit AC's bandpage by clicking here.
If you haven't heard of Kisses, then this is the post for you. I decided to zero in on the boyfriend-girlfriend duo from Los Angeles who first caught my attention when a friend shared "Lovers" with me awhile back. I could've sworn that was Zach Condon of Beirut singing, but I then found out the name to the soothing voice was Jesse Kivel. The unique style of pop that Kivel and girlfriend Zinzi Edmundson create is easy on the ears & gets the feet tapping. So what I'm trying to say is - it's amazing. Since the 2010 release of their debut album The Heart of the Nightlife, Kisses released Kisses – Other Planets - EP along with a handful of singles backed with remixes from artists like Joe Goddard, Active Child & this one from DyE that I am extremely obsessed with.
The first track to be released from their upcoming album KIDS IN LA is "The Hardest Part", and you can check it out for yourself below! The release date is set for May 14th via Cascine & here's a little something in support of the forthcoming album.
Yesterday the duo dropped their remix of HAIM's "Send Me Down" via Facebook & guess what - it's a free download if your ears decide it's a keeper!
(K i'm through being corny for the night.)
I really love this remix & appreciate how Kisses give this percussion driven track a new disco-esque feel.
Welcome to Round 2 of my favorite cover songs! Hope you weren't expecting to see the "Rhiannon" cover recently destroyed by Best Coast. Yes, I did give it a listen and the benefit of the doubt, but it was so painful that I couldn't stick around to hear the end.
If you would like to see for yourself, click on the links below.
In case you weren't aware: this upcoming weekend is not only Memorial Day Weekend but it also marks the 10th annual Sasquatch Music Festival held at the Gorge Amphitheatre in George, Washington. It's a 3-day festival sponsored by: esurance (an AllState company), Kokanee, Honda, Verizon, Matador, and Alaska Airlines. Some of the high notes for the festival are without a doubt: Jack White, Beck, Bon Iver, Tenacious D, The Shins, and Pretty Lights.
So HERE is the first dose of my personal high notes that I highly suggest you check out for yourself while you're there (because unfortunately I'm a full-time student and finals are in less than two weeks, boo).
If you want to learn more about the festival itself, feel free to checkout their website by clicking here!
Alright, so you're probably thinking "no shit sherlock" that Metric is a must-see on my list. I might be a fairly young(22) music enthusiast, but Metric and I go WAY back. Thanks to a dear friend of mine, I was immediately attached to this group following the 2003 release of their first full-length album Old World Underground, Where Are You Now? "Dead Disco", "Combat Baby", "Wet Blanket" were bonafied jams of mine. They have an undeniable "sparklepunch" sound that I find addicting; and spikes your curiosity about what influences the words that come out Emily Haines' mouth. Other tracks of mine that I'm head over heels about and hope you'll hear live are: Police in the Private, Monster Hospital, Help I'm Alive, Collect Call, Gold Guns Girls, Gimme Sympathy, and this newly released track you'll find below titled "Youth Without Youth". This single will be on their upcoming release Synthetica that is out on June 12th. If you think about it, this is the perfect time to expose some of the new material.
Take it from me as I've had the pleasure of catching The Joy Formidable live twice last year-THEY PUT ON AN AMAZING LIVE SHOW. Not only did I catch them at a festival setting (Outside Lands), but also at a small nearby venue (SoHo). TJF is a trio consisting of Ritzy Bryan(lead vocals/guitar), Rhydian Dafydd(bass guitar/backing vocals), and Matt Thomas(drums/percussion) from the UK. Don't let Ritzy's pint-size frame fool you, she's a beast (just watch how big her eyes get). It really amazed me how identical they sounded to their recordings. Below is my favorite track by them "A Heavy Abacus" off their first (and only so far) full-length 2011 album The Big Roar. Have no fear, the amount of roar in their music will not cheat you whatsoever.
I predict Purity Ring to be one of the standout sets for this music festival. With the amount of hype that's been generated off their 3 tracks that have been swimming for what feels like forever, Purity Ring is barely a year old. After an amazing delivery at this year's South By Southwest (SXSW), a surprise release of a new single "Obedear" that was followed by the announcement of an upcoming album release has graced our attention. Shrines is the first full-length from Purity Ring, and will be released July 23rd on 4AD/Last Gang Records. Below is the first single off Shrines titled "Obedear".
Recently when I posted about favorite duets, Active Child was featured in it along with How To Dress Well for their hypnotizing track "Playing House". Active Child (aka Pat Grossi) is easily one of the most talented solo artists today, and I am extremely envious of you who get to catch him in the flesh this weekend! I would love to hear what your thoughts were in regards to his live performance. Enjoy Active Child's Live Performance on KEXP Radio below from last September.... that harp-playing is mighty wonderful.
Zola Jesus aka Nika Roza Danilova is the voice of your darkest dream. The first word that comes to mind whenever I listen to her music is "release". Therapeutic or cathartic also appear. In my opinion I wasn't much of a fan at first for her 2nd EP Stridulum, which is the 6th release from Zola. Conatus on the other hand, was an immediate attraction for me. What I found is that the music on both Stridulum and Conatus reflect identically upon their album covers. While Stridulum captures Zola completely drenched in a dark liquid, Conatus displays Zola wrapped in a white sheet as well as wearing white clothes. This isn't to say that the music on Conatus is super airy and lacking the operatic darkness, because it is still there in full force. Also, Zola Jesus is featured on the first track "Intro" of the latest M83 album Hurry Up We're Dreaming & collaborated with Orbital on "New France". Those are two tracks that are definitely worth checking out if you haven't already. Below is my favorite Zola Jesus track which is found on Conatus titled "Seekir". Enjoy!
Originally I imagined a post devoted to duos in music that I dig nowadays, but when I started to list them out I realized I had more than I planned to....after 2 minutes of brainstorming. They were as followed (and yes there were more after the 2 minute mark but I'll save those for another post):
The Kills
Kids At The Bar
Sleigh Bells
Tennis
Purity Ring
Beach House
Wye Oak
NERO (originally there were two, but with the addition of Alanna I guess this kicks them out)
The Hundred in the Hands
Phantogram
The Black Keys
Matt & Kim
Memoryhouse
Major Lazer (as of right now, Switch is no longer in ML- sadface)
CocoRosie
She & Him
Adventure Club
Postal Service
First Aid Kit
& I'm not trying to write a novel as a post, I'm just here to supply your ears with some good tunes. SOOO to switch it up a bit- here are some duets I dig instead! To narrow it down a bit I focused on vocal duets rather than collaborations (because that easily would have been a mile-long list). Enjoy!
Active Child & How To Dress Well - "PLAYING HOUSE"
*This is a personal favorite of mine. I just love Active Child...a LOT. Tranquility is literally embedded in this track. Listen Listen Listen, and then listen to what's below. ;)
I consider myself quite lucky to have experienced this track live during Miike Snow's set at Coachella during Weekend 1. The image of myself immediately shrieking at the top of my lungs "IT'S LYKKE LI!!!!!!!" when she revealed herself on stage still plays in my head, one of several idiotic moments that seem to occur in my life. Sigh.
This track is found on SVE's latest full-length release Tramp, and it's definitely a beautiful track to say the least. With Sharon's raspy yet convincing voice flowing from beginning to end, Condon literally soars with his easygoing yet overpowering tone. Meowza
A few years back I had a massive Amanda Blank addiction (and it still lives on to this day) which was right around the time she released her first full-length LP I Love You. & who could forget Let's just say I worshipped that album enough to give AB credit for the crazy individual that I tend to be. If you have time on your hands, please YouTube the heck out of this little woman from Philly who spits faster than any other female out there (Amy Heidemann is a close call but not in my book). "Leaving You Behind" is the last track on the album, and what a way to slam the door on the album? "Using my legs because my head ain't right" BOOM.
Santigold Ft. Karen O of the Yeah Yeah Yeahs - "GO!"
This is the first track off Santigold's latest album Master of My Make Believe & I hope with the success of this particular track that we will hear more from both of them.
If you haven't already, then here is your time to do so...
"YOUTH" from their 2011 (2012 for US) EP The Wild Youth.
"CANDLES" from the 2011(2012 for US) EP His Young Heart. By far my favorite track from Daughter, and If I could I would talk about Daughter until your ears started to bleed. THEY ARE AMAZING. Please check out their soundcloud & bandcamp site listed below along with the link the US Itunes Store, this trio is a band worth supporting!
