The New LoFi has a special place in its heart for Chillwave and Deep House so we were really excited to get an email from the new Tropical House artist named Mountain Of Youth this week. Their debut single “Tropical Fire” is a sweeping tropical house track that is the perfect chillwave compliment to your summer mix.
Check out the full EP on the Mountain Of Youth soundcloud page and you can buy the single on iTunes now: itunes.apple.com/us/album/tropica…ngle/id899805156.
A little pick-me-up for Monday morning: Check-out the sweet-ass Rube Goldberg-esque music video for A-Trak & Tommy Trash’s single “Tuna Melt.”
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Quite a perfect track for a chill sunday morning. GEMS is a Washington DC duo who already have an impressive array of electronic pop tracks. We featured them a while back in a Chillwave Wednesday post and now we’re happy to announce that they’re back with a new single entitled ‘Scars.’ The single is set to debut on Tuesday (July 24th) but you can get a first crack at it here. Then check out their US tour below.
GEMS ≠ Scars
≠ Upcoming Shows ≠
www.GEMS-band.com
www.facebook.com/GEMSband
instagram.com/gemsband/
Not being the biggest country music fan, I will be putting on an adventure cap for this festival in Cincinnati, Ohio. There are a few new bands that I plan on checking out Saturday, and of course, I will be seeing Willie Nelson in the evening, because… well, he is Willie F****** Nelson.!
Houndmouth
4:15pm Mainstage
I’ve seen this band once before, and they definitely made me move my hips. Hailing from Indiana, this band is touring with their debut album, “From the Hills Below the City.” Houndmouth, to me, is the folk voice of twenty somethings who graduated in the early 2000′s to a jobless market. Their songs encapsulate the life of a 1920′s hobo in today’s world. Houndmouth is Katie Toupin, Matt Myers , Zak Appleby , and Shane Cody. If nothing else, they’ll make you want to sing along. https://www.youtube.com/user/Houndmouth
The 23 String Band
6:30pm Ampitheater Stage
Get ready to stomp your feet! The 23 String Band is Chris Shouse, Curtis Wilson, David Howard, Scott Moore, and Martin Stam. They are old-timey and bluegrass for sure! I think I can get down. These guys have two albums, and I’ll be excited to see what they do live. It should be fun to watch. http://the23stringband.com/
The Tillers: 8pm Amphitheater Stage
If the Cincinnati music scene has a sound, The Tillers have it. They got their start in August 2007 when they started thumping around with some banjos and guitars and a big wooden bass. By 2013, they had released five albums. I’ll be seeing them, because they are more folk and bluegrass than country. http://the-tillers.com/home/?page_id=9
Allison Krauss and the Union Station Featuring Jerry Douglas
7:45pm Main Stage
I know her from the breathtaking song, “As I went down in the River to Pray”on the Cohen Brother’s film “Oh Brother Where Art Thou?” soundtrack, but her stage presence with Jerry Douglas is something new to discover. Allison Krauss has released fourteen albums, appeared on numerous soundtracks, and helped renew interest in the bluegrass music in the United States. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2-0drZqMdR4
Willie Nelson
10pm Main Stage
Ready to see a music legend on stage? Yea, that is why I am going to Buckle-Up. He’s not exactly new music to discover, but this concert is off the beaten trail for someone like me and maybe you? Willie Hugh Nelson is an American country music singer-songwriter, as well as an author, poet, actor, and activist. I believe, simply put, he is one of THE voices of American folk music. We’ll see what he brings on Saturday night. http://www.willienelson.com/
See ya there,
Katie
Attending music festivals is a means of discovering new music while seeing the bands we love: all in the same weekend. Bunbury 2014 made this hard for us. While individual stages like the River Stage (a built in amphitheater in Sawyer Point) provided a memorable experience unique to the City of Cincinnati, it made the experience as a whole difficult to get a taste of new bands while waiting for the ones we know and love.
We felt like the first two years of Bunbury were much fuller than what we experienced last weekend. At Bunbury 2014, there were less vendors, the crowd wasn’t as big, and the entire scene felt neglected in general. This could have been due to the line-up, which seemed a miss for the typical indie-rock fan, the World Cup finals, or the constant threat of severe weather. Whatever the reason, it was a bit of a disappointment. Despite our opinion on the festival as a whole, we want to review the few great shows we did see.
Flaming Lips
The Flaming Lips did not disappoint. We are still picking confetti out of our hair with a smile. It was certainly the trippy and magical mystery whirlwind we were hoping to see as an old fans of Mark Coyne‘s vocals and epic costume choices. This show he was adorned with what looked like a skeletal body suit and silver tinsel robe. We love this band for their vibrant and colorful stage decor, which neither distract nor take away from the originality and harmonic nature of the music. “Yoshimi” might be considered “overplayed,” but that was quickly forgotten when hearing it live for the first time.
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The Orwells
“Um, excuse me! You’re not 21 mister” was all we could think when The Orwells hit the Warsteiner Stage Sunday evening. Beer in hand, the young California band took us back to high school punk shows where everyone was just being too cool for school. Mario Cuomo’s facial expressions of disdain for everyone and everything was so far beyond that it became comical. All and all, it was an entertaining set and I would look out for these kids in the future. They’re going somewhere.
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“>1-02 Mallrats (La La La)
Saintseneca
This four-piece was favorite band we saw at Bunbury 2014. The Ohio-based band’s set evoked a beautiful and emotionally stimulating experience. We were smiling through the entire set and really hope to hear more out of them in the near future. Unfortunately, the stage was the farthest away from the rest of the festival. We wish there was more a crowd, but we enjoyed the intimate performance. And the communal funnel cake.
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Kopecky Family Band
We started our day late after a downpour of rain and an hour delay at the River stage with the Kopecky Family Band. We expected them to be more energized and less burdened, but the continuous threat of the rain might have played a role in their lack of stage presence and enthusiasm.
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Kopecky Family Band – Heartbeat
Joywave
We didn’t write a preview about Joywave because we weren’t familiar with the New York based band. Walking by, we thought “why not.” It turned out to be a great decision. The indie-pop band brought a genuine presence to the stage and set up an atmosphere for the crowd to let loose and dance. A great example of finding new music we love at music festivals
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Joywave – Tongues (feat. KOPPS)
Katie & Katie
Really excited to shout about the new single from Brooklyn based Prinze George. Both Naomi Almquist and Kenny Grimm grew up in Prince George County, Maryland (hence the name) but they’re crushing the Brooklyn seen right now.
Check out their latest single “Make Me” and head over to the Prinze George Facebook page for a free download. Then pray that an EP is on its way later this year and DEMAND MORE LIVE SHOWS. these guys rock!
Seriously though, go right now and buy all of their singles on the Prinze George iTunes page.
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Chillwave Wednesday: a semi-weekly shortlist of chill music around the internet.
Lana Del Rey – West Coast (The GRADES Icon mix)
MNEK – Wrote A Song About You (Kaytranada Edition)
EVVY – Collide (Keljet Remix)
Technotronic – Pump Up The Jam (Invoker Remix)
Indian Summer – Shiner ft. Ginger & The Ghost
Caribou – Can’t Do Without You (Extended Mix)
In the middle and the end of the 2000s, at the very moment when the funky disco based in guitars and synthesizers sort of came back to life, the montevidean underground scene showed that some musicians were able to follow the path with a proper style. Tiny but full-packed shows in typical rock venues of the capital city such as the historic “BJ” were the places where Closet showed their danceable experience with powerfull sparks of rock (even a powerful homage) alla RATM.
Since their beginning, they were the ultimate local project with a modern approach: they seemed to be connected with the pop music trends since day 1 and also kept in permanent motion, from a mainly electronic approach to more organic ways of making music to paying more attention to other sounds, maybe in pursuit of a more ‘glocal’ identity. And also moving from singing in english to doing it in spanish, at least in the live sets. For us going to shows, Closet made us feel that we had a band in Montevideo that could be playing and making people dance in any world festival, also able to compete in glamour and great photo shoot looks. For their listeners, that feeling was just glorious, because this scene does not regularly produce bands such as them.
Maybe the ‘glocal’ approach is not anymore the main obsession, but a truly authentic sound seems to be on sight. Somehow, this song called Barcos is definitely Closet but way more mature: there are keys that resemble some french touch bands, the voice of Camila Sapin fits perfectly with the poppy chorus and the song finishes in style, even when it jumps to a sort of hip hop moment. It is also a song that seems perfect for us who went to see them years before just to dance. Maybe now we´re still eager for it but also can enjoy the pleasures of finding more than that in a simple track. The new more complex climates, also evoked in the cover of this EP, are something to be thankful. Closet still deserves to keep evolving and also to keep conquering new listeners.
Trampas is the new Closet EP. you can listen to it here. Make sure you also give them a like in their facebook page.