M.I.A.’s third album /\/\/\Y/\ (MAYA), is now available for stream on her MySpace. After giving it a couple of quick listens, I’m surprised to say that I’m a little disappointed. I really wanted to fall in love with it, since I still listen to Arular and Kala on a weekly basis, but it didn’t happen.
I walked away thinking that there isn’t a standout song on /\/\/\Y/\. I know she’s been pushing for “XXXO” and “Born Free” to be her hit songs ever since they were released a few weeks ago, but I just haven’t been feeling them. Maybe this album needs a little time to grow on me. Take a listen and decide for yourself: [read more…]
Experimental electronica duo Crystal Castles’ self-titled second album was released just last month to critical acclaim, and with good reason. It’s easily one of my favorite albums of the year, on par with Broken Bells’ self-titled debut, Broken Social Scene’s Forgiveness Rock Record, and The National’s High Violet. Tracks like “Doe Deer,” “Empathy,” “Vietnam,” “Intimate,” and “Celestica” have been on repeat on my iPod for the last 30 days.
The Canadian duo’s latest music video for “Celestica” has just been released. It features lead singer Alice Glass taking a leisurely stroll through a forest and eventually an overgrown cemetery during the day. A little strange and eerie, but then again, I’ve seen worse. [read more…]
American folk-rock singer Lissie recently performed a cover of Kid Cudi’s hit single “Pursuit of Happiness” while at England’s Great Escape festival. The woman’s got an amazing voice and really puts an interesting spin on the song. The only singer that I would liken her to would be Karen O. of Yeah Yeah Yeahs fame, but even that’s a stretch.
Lissie’s debut album Catching a Tiger is set for release later this month. [read more…]
Check out the new music video for the opening track off of MGMT’s sophomore album, entitled “It’s Working.” Directed by French graphic designer So Me, the video is both less disturbing than the “Kids” video and less trippy than the “Time to Pretend” video. Fear not though, because that’s actually not a bad thing. So Me’s creation is interesting enough without monsters and acid trips. [read more…]
Stumbled across this gem today from Pitchfork. It’s Big Boi (of Outkast fame) freestyling over one of Crystal Castles’ new tracks, “Empathy.” It’s cool to hear that famous voice freestyle over such a different type of beat. Watch the video. [read more…]
Thomas Wesley Pentz, better known by his stage name Diplo, is one of the hottest DJs/producers in the hip-hop/dance-funk genre today. To most people, he’s known for producing the 2007 smash hit single “Paper Planes” by M.I.A. But to others, he is one half of the collaborative side-project Major Lazer with fellow DJ Switch. Diplo is also owner of the Mad Decent record label, which has signed such artists as Blaqstarr, Boy 8-bit, Crookers, Rusko, and Toy Selectah.
Recently, Diplo sat down for an interview with Creators Project at Bob Marley’s legendary recording studio down in Jamaica. Check it out. [read more…]
Going into this article, I had this idea of finding local musicians around the US and writing about them one at a time. As a student at the University of Florida, I’m fully immersed in the local scene, so I’ve found some really great local musicians. And, as a budding journalist, I had hoped to share these awesome local musicians with the world. My personal favorite Gainesville local is Morningbell. I bought their newest album at their show a few weeks ago (best $10 I’ve ever spent) and have been listening nonstop. Now, sitting down to write this article, I found that Morningbell has obtained national attention. They’ve played Bonnaroo, they played this year’s SXSW, they’ve been featured in Blender Magazine, on Pitchfork.com, and they’ve released 4 albums. (They also have a side project called Shitty Beatles which just plays incredible Beatles covers in Gainesville.) The reason I had no idea about all of this is because they really are Gainesville locals. They play shows almost weekly, they hang out with people in Gainesville, and they play shows at the university that are free to the public. They also don’t brag that they’re bigger than Gainesville, which is always a good thing. But the truth is, they’re amazing.
Morningbell is a psychedelic rock band that’s vivacious and ready for a party. Every song has a unique drum beat, an individual sound, and a succulent vibe. Their sounds make you taste the rainbow more than Skittles ever has or ever will. They use hard-hitting, vivacious sounds to suck in their listeners and keep you hanging on with sweet vocals. They could even be called white boy funk… That might just be my analysis.
But there’s no doubt, you just gotta get up to get down with Morningbell.
If you’re looking for something that makes you jump around like the Mad Hatter, take three minutes and listen to this band. You won’t be disappointed.
You can purchase their most recent album, Sincerely, Severely on iTunes.
What to say about Die Antwoord… This group of rappers, DJs, and singers is creating the most ridiculously strange dance/rap music of all time. First of all, it isn’t all in English, they choose Afrikaans instead. When they do decide to speak English, it’s almost completely unintelligible. With names like Ninja, Yo-Landi, and DJ Hi-Tek and lines like, “Be my samurai.” or “This is like, the coolest song I ever heard.”, you can’t help but love this group. They fill the niche we didn’t even know existed: weird foreign dance rap! It’s new, it’s innovative, it’s… well, it’s just plain odd. But just take my word that you’ll be so happy listening to them that you won’t be able to sit still. You’ll be up dancing with me as soon as you hear DJ Hi-Tek’s “next level beats”.
Despite the total ridiculousness of everything they do, Die Antwoord has beats that are curiously awesome. Ninja’s Dizzy Rascal-esque raps, Yo-Landi’s high-pitched, eerie, childlike voice, and DJ Hi-Tek’s beats come together to form this crazy, strange, non-stop party. It’s like, Dance Dance Revolution meets South Africa meets the hood. All you want to do is figure out what they’re talking about and when you can’t do that, you just have to join in and party with them.
The best thing about Die Antwoord is how absolutely serious they are about what they’re doing. At the beginning of their album, Ninja says, “I represent South African culture…I’m like all these different things, all these different people fucked into one person.” From what they say in their lyrics and the way they act in their videos, I’m pretty sure Die Antwoord thinks they’re the best thing since sliced bread. The sad thing is, I might have to agree. Listening to Die Antwoord will make you want to giggle and dance around and possibly punch something/someone… but don’t hurt anyone. Just enjoy the ridiculousness of it all and grin because the Ninja will always protect you. [read more…]
M.I.A.’s third album /\/\/\Y/\ (MAYA), is now available for stream on her MySpace. After giving it a couple of quick listens, I’m surprised to say that I’m a little disappointed. I really wanted to fall in love with it, since I still listen to Arular and Kala on a weekly basis, but it didn’t happen.
Stumbled across this gem today from Pitchfork. It’s Big Boi (of Outkast fame) freestyling over one of Crystal Castles’ new tracks, “Empathy.” It’s cool to hear that famous voice freestyle over such a different type of beat. Watch the video. 
Thomas Wesley Pentz, better known by his stage name 
