Tycho, Eyes Wide Open
March 18, 2014
Tycho has grown. With the release of Scott Hansen’s fourth album, Awake, we see the audiovisual project of the San Francisco-based musician and graphic designer develop into something more than ambient synth pop: it’s the realization of Hanson’s dream to form a full band at the cusp of rock and electronic music.
Pajaro Sunrise Wakes Up
November 11, 2013
Translating to “Bird Sunrise” in English, Pajaro Sunrise is a peculiar alias that aligns with the bittersweet texture of Yuri Méndez Jr.’s songs. His lyrics tell of lost love and forgotten memories, woven into a pop-folk canvas of driving rhythms and electronic undercurrents.
Cut Copy Lets Go
November 5, 2013
If Cut Copy’s fourth album proves anything, it’s that the band has adopted the “don’t give a fuck” attitude vocalist Dan Whitford says is inherent to the dance music genre.
Robert Glasper and the New Jazz Age
October 28, 2013
From where Robert Glasper stands, jazz and hip-hop are kindred spirits in need of a reunion.
Until the Ribbon Breaks, On Tape
September 23, 2013
There’s a unique power to the pairing of music and film; energy harnessed in droves by Pete Lawrie Winfield. The British DJ, producer, and singer elicits an ominous shade of pop under the moniker Until The Ribbon Breaks, fusing R&B beats with prophetic vocals that speak of isolation, social decay, and the crumbling world around us.
The Moderat Compromise
August 5, 2013
The three members of Moderat may have been playing together for over a decade, but they still find it hard to establish common musical ground. It’s not surprising; the German electronic supergroup comprises Sascha Ring—who creates soulful opuses under the moniker Apparat—and Gernot Bronsert and Sebastian Szary, co-producers of a harder fusion of techno and glitch as Modeselektor.
Thundercat’s Touching Bass
June 4, 2013
From an early career six-stringing for R&B’s big guns to digging a soulful hole in the music sphere of his own, Stephen Bruner, better known as Thundercat, has come a long way in a few short years.
Mount Kimbie and the Machine
May 24, 2013
Though Cold Spring Fault Less Youth bears the polish of a professional studio, the Mount Kimbie grittiness is furthered with a percussive focus and the vocal contribution of King Krule, who casts his pained croon across two tracks.
Junip, at Fifteen and Two
April 22, 2013
José González, Tobias Winterkorn, and Elias Araya go back a long way. The trio formed Junip in 1998, uniting over a desire to explore a softer, more acoustic sound than their respective hardcore backgrounds had afforded them. But busy side careers and a zooming solo trajectory for González left the band little production time; this week marks the release of the band’s self-titled sophomore album.
Bonobo Ventures Beyond the Borders
April 1, 2013
For Simon Green, beat-making is personal. The British musician did the band thing in the 1990s before emerging as Bonobo, alone with a sampler and a cacophony of instruments, at the turn of the millennium. The North Borders is a pure reflection of Green as a musician, demonstrating more than ever his ability to transform myriad influences and thoughts into rich soundscapes that enthrall and enlighten.
Foals Are Not a Botox Band
February 12, 2013
Yannis Philippakis forms each sentence with consideration, following from his lyric-writing mantra: “Every word has its worth.” Spoken in gruff tones with punctuating outbursts of excitement and frustration, the Foals frontman personifies the humanity that erupts from the band’s latest album, Holy Fire.
Darkstar, in a New Space
February 4, 2013
Listening to the latest album from Darkstar, you wouldn’t be blamed for wondering what on earth went down to provoke such a dramatic shift in musical outlook.
It All Comes Back Around for Stephen Morris
October 18, 2012
New Order’s music is more relevant than ever, inspiring a new generation of musicians and producers to revisit the sound that took many of its leads from New York’s early 1980s club scene. After a temporary breakup in the 1990s, the band went on to release a new album in 2005 and their first Joy Division-New Order compilation last year.