Category Archives: Music

EP Roundup: Munchi / Bok Bok / Skream

Posted on June 6, 2011 | Leave a comment

Three major names in underground electronic music released EPs, and each deserves a close listen. Don’t sleep on any of these future grooves.

Munchi – Rotterdam Juke

Ever since his remix of Nguzunguzu’s “Unfold,” bassheads have eagerly awaited more juke from Munchi. With the release of the Rotterdam Juke EP, Munchi delivers: over six tracks, Munchi presents a unique view of Chicago from a Dominican living in Rotterdam.

After a few months of hardship, Munchi announces his triumphant return with “Mi Ta Bek,” which features the iconic “guess I got my swagga back” sample (Jay Z by way of Datsik and Excision). The track, along with “Mamajuana,” have the same type of colliding beats of “Murda Sound,” off the EP of the same name.

As always, Munchi’s melting pot style is on full display. The sweet sorrow of Dominican bachata compliments the rapid-fire toms of juke on “Andando,” and only Munchi has the audacity to sample Rage Against the Machine’s “Bull On Parade” – and the ability to pull it off – like he does on “Paperchase.” “Straat Taaki” (“Street Talk”) has less overt juke influence, but the raw, uneven traphouse beat is straight gangsta. The stand out track is “Yazzer Tin Air Max,” which is pure, uncut footwork.


Bok Bok – Southside EP

Night Slugs co-founder Bok Bok takes a break from running the world’s hottest electronic label to release his first ever solo EP. With an 808 in one hand and a 303 in the other, Bok Bok is at his finest, crafting dark, sexy soundscapes that push the boundaries of post-dubstep/post-UK funky dance music.

On “Charisma Theme,” airy synths permeate a sensual beat that has that Night Slugs je ne sais quoi. “Hyperpass” is unrelenting tech house, and “Reminder” has exotic synth lines that give it an Eastern feel. Southside closes with the sinister grime of “Silo Pass” and “Look Dub;” the former is a more dense composition, but the latter imbues the empty space with eeriness.


Skream – Skream EP

While Bok Bok takes a break from his, Skream disengages from Magnetic Man for a major release on his own label. The self-titled EP on Disfigured Dubz brings together four tracks that Skream has been annihilating audiences with. “Heavy Hitter” and “Rigging” have the midrange wobble of “classic” dubstep; while done to death by other producers, the technique still feels vital in Skream’s hands. “Sea Sick” does the same, with descending synths that perfectly capture the feeling of the song’s title. The best track is “Hats Off,” where he returns to the well, combining a Loleatta Holloway vocal and the “amen” break into something more ravey than his breakthough hit “Burning Up.”


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Album Review: Planningtorock – W

Posted on June 2, 2011 | 1 comment

Planningtorock is the alter ego of Janine Rostron, a British-born musician and visual artist who has lived in Berlin for ten years. Her new album, W (on DFA Records), is reminiscent of the avant-but-accessible work of TV on the Radio. The album reveals layers of influence as the chameleonic Planningtorock recreates herself on every song.

Album opener “Doorway” steadily builds, pumping with a kick drum heartbeat and distorted vocals (practically turning Rostron’s voice male). Each pass is an opportunity to add a new sound to the mix, whether horns, synth stabs, or spaghetti western guitar licks, a pattern repeated elsewhere on W. The video for “Doorway” finds Rostron physically altered, just like her voice.

http://vimeo.com/19714047

“Going Wrong” is haunted by mischievous strings right out of a Clint Mansell soundtrack, with layers of weeping sirens, animalistic mewing, and foreboding pleadings of “Am I holding on / to someone going wrong?.” The last notes of “Going Wrong” barely fade before the steady rumbling and Baba O’Reilly arpeggios of “Im Yr Man” kick in. “Im Yr Man’s” insistent lyrics are both self-affirming and a statement of devotion: “I don’t need a microphone / to me what I’m real feeling for you / that deep down feeling you know / I left things out so I could pull them back in.”

[wpaudio url=”/wp-content/uploads/2011/06/im_yr_man.mp3″ text=”Planningtorock – Im Yr Man” dl=0]

Rostron’s vocals are manipulated like another instrument on W. On “The One,” her baroque vocals complement orchestral strings, matching the song’s melancholia. “The Breaks” surges with the measured precision of darkwave, full of evocative lyrics like “don’t be surprised / if I’m ripping out my eyes / I’m on fire.” “Jam” has the same feel, with more exotic percussion, drawing out lyrics into almost childlike taunts. Repeating the lyrical themes of “The Breaks” on the synth pop “Living It Out” (“My head’s on fire“), Rostron’s vocals contort to fit the mood, from the almost spoken word chorus to the breathy verses.

[wpaudio url=”/wp-content/uploads/2011/06/living_it_out.mp3″ text=”Planningtorock – Living It Out” dl=0]

Logging 12 songs and just under an hour, W is not without flaws. PTR gets meditative – and indulgent – on the wandering “Black Thumber.” Her cover of Arthur Russell’s “Janine” features a hypnotic bass riff and her most Antony-like vocals, but fails to develop. W finishes strong, however, on “#9,” which like “I’m Yr Man,” has a melody out of a different era, filtered through PTR’s collage of influences. With W, Planningtorock makes an intriguing addition to the DFA roster.

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Video Rundown: Memories of the 90's Edition

Posted on May 30, 2011 | Leave a comment

Happy Memorial Day. Let me begin by asking, why are you reading blogs? Get outside, fire up the BBQ, pour some drinks (may I suggest Trailer Park Punch? 1 part Jack Daniels, 1 part lemonade), and get the party started. For some inspiration, here are three videos that represented the height of partying for my preteen self.

Ghost Town DJs – My Boo

The song may be timeless, but the video is more a time capsule. “My Boo” is like a spring break edition of The Grind: it’s all hard-bodies chilling at the pool, playing beach volleyball, and (inexplicably) washing cars. Fun fact: watch for a cameo by Jermaine Dupri, who released “My Boo” on his label’s seminal booty bass compilation So So Def Bass All-Stars.

2Pac – I Get Around

2Pac was the rare rapper who could bounce from party rap to gangsta rap without seeming inauthentic. “I Get Around” is an example of the former, and the video is practically a parody of hip hop extravagance. Nearly two decades later, the bikini-clad party girls seem almost modest, the poolside flirting quaint. Fun fact: the song features Shock G and Money-B of Digital Underground, the group that gave 2Pac his first break.

Smashing Pumpkins – 1979

One of the most famous videos of the grunge era, “1979” is a tribute to high school hijinks: the kind of boredom-induced fun that includes trashing convenience stores and throwing house parties. Fun fact: for years, I assumed the pool make-out scene was blurring out nudity, but wistful thinking aside, it appears to be water on the lens.

The Smashing Pumpkins – 1979 by EMI_Music

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Future Grooves: Kingdom

Posted on May 25, 2011 | Leave a comment

Kingdom is a producer that epitomizes my recent obsession, a trend I’ve coined rhythm and bass. The Brooklyn-based producer draws on all types of electronic music – dubstep, UK funky, juke, and kuduro, to name a few – along with the sultry vocals and melodic bent of R&B. With releases on leading labels Night Slugs and Fools Gold, along with a pick on the Trouble & Bass-curated Sounds of NYC EP, Kingdom finds himself at the forefront of a music revolution.

His debut single, the wobbly raver “Mind Reader,” received remixes from Night Slugs label heads Bok Bok and L-Vis 1990, who both altered the song’s tempo to reveal different aspects of its character. Bok Bok’s take is slower, putting Shyvonne’s vocals in the forefront; the remix by L-Vis amps up the song’s already high energy.

Kingdom returned the favor by releasing That Mystic on their label; the EP is one of the highlights of their young catalog. Under the scattershot percussion and foreboding synths are deep grooves that dare the listener not to dance. There are even surprising moments that lift the veil, like the breakdown of the otherwise unrelenting “Bust Broke” that pretty clearly samples Faith Evans’ “Soon As I Get Home.”

[wpaudio url=”https://postcultural.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/05/bustbroke.mp3″ text=”Kingdom – Bust Broke” dl=0]

As alluded to earlier, Kingdom’s love affair with R&B doesn’t stop at a lone Faith Evans sample. He dabbles with baby making music on his remix of Usher’s “Appetite,” and his mix for XLR8R ends with a brilliant mash-up of Girl Unit’s “Every Time” and Ciara’s “Ride.” The latter was just released as a Night Slugs white label, “Ride It Every Time.”

While he can get smooth with rhythm and bass, Kingdom also has a sharper edge. Songs like “Uptown Buck” (on the aforementioned Sounds of NYC compilation) and “Hottest in America” revel in programmed drums, electronic chirps, and vocal slices. With the company he keeps, it’s no surprise that Kingdom makes dance music for all occasions.

Download: Kingdom – Hottest in America
Download: Kingdom – XLR8R Podcast

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The Verge: Big Freedia, the Queen Diva of Bounce

Posted on May 24, 2011 | Leave a comment

Let’s not mince words: the dance music of every American urban center is defined by its ghetto. In the way that DC has go-go, Baltimore has club music, and Miami has (or had) booty bass, New Orleans has bounce music. Bounce fits nicely into the rubrics of these other regional sounds. Like Bmore club, bounce uses simplistic sampling, with songs built around the “Triggerman” and “Brown Beat” breaks, rather than those from “Think” and “Sing Sing.” Instead of remixing popular hits and samples, bounce focuses on the MC, whose call-and-response lyrics are chopped up like Chicago footwork vocals. And like Miami bass, bounce has gritty 808 drums and an obsession with booty. The result? Frenetic, unapologetic party music.

Bounce has had some crossover success, in the beats of Cash Money Records and Beyonce’s “Get Me Bodied,” and while these milestones are notable, artists that have labored in the bounce scene are finally getting their due.

Big Freedia is dubbed the Queen Diva of Bounce, thanks to her relentless energy and matchless personality. Born Freddie Ross, Freedia’s sexual identity gets her grouped into the LGBT-driven “sissy bounce” subgenre; for what it’s worth, Freedia disputes the distinction between “straight” and “sissy” bounce music. Still, bounce is unique in its open acceptance of oft-marginalized people: all that matters is the music.

And as far as the music is concerned, it’s probably best just to watch Big Freedia and the dance insanity that bounce inspires. Don’t overthink it. Take it in, download Scion A/V Presents: Big Freedia (below), and experience bounce the way it’s meant to be: live. Big Freedia plays DC9 tonight with Javelin and Ed the Metaphysical.

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Video Rundown: Creep / James Blake / Frank Ocean

Posted on May 23, 2011 | Leave a comment

Here are a trio of videos that start to fill in the blanks around buzzworthy – yet mysterious – artists.

With only one official release to their name (“Days”), it was difficult to pinpoint the sound of CREEP; it takes more than a single point to define an artist. But with the release of the video for “You,” the points are beginning to form a line.

The video for “You” is a study in duality, in the same way that the’s goth-tinged R&B balances light and dark. The stark, black and white clip intersperses images of both duos responsible for the song – CREEP and twin sister vocalists Nina Sky. CREEP is mostly shown in silhouette or out-of-focus, practically stalking Nina Sky down an otherworldy hallway. There is a sensuality to the clip that matches its eeriness; what’s with the stigmata imagery?

Somehow, the video for James Blake‘s “Lindisfarne” is creepier than Creep’s offering. The mellow, finger-picked song is accompanied by an uneasy, almost cultish video. Who are these misfit toys, with their strange rituals, both corporeal and metaphorical? I’m guessing most viewers will find the literal spit swapping gross, not nostalgic; this generation didn’t have the liberty of becoming blood brothers, or using any other bodily-fluid-swapping bonding. Still, the feelings of abuse and loss in a clip that – at first glance – could be out of a British coming of age film, are quite surprising.

Nothing about Frank Ocean or his associates in Odd Future is predictable, so when he released “Acura Integurl” as the lead video for Nostalgia, Ultra (instead of “Novacane”), no one should have been surprised. Despite not appearing on the mixtape version of the album, the piano ballad is quickly becoming a fan favorite.

The impossibly lush video features Ocean, lovelorn and driving an Acura down the highway. The video effects that obscure the rising heartthrob serve only to increase the mystery and allure that surround him. Nostalgia, Ultra is set to be re-released on May 31, after which he should be able to buy the video’s sports car.

http://vimeo.com/24092206

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EP Roundup: "If you in DC, just turn up the bass."

Posted on May 20, 2011 | 1 comment

The defining principle of moombahton is a battle between the agony and the ecstacy. Sharp-edged bangers that wear their Dutch house and dubstep influences on their sleeves versus tropical baby making music. To genre pigeon-holers, moombahcore versus moombahsoul. To a skilled moombahnista, the two styles are the ebb and flow of a set, pulling from all across the spectrum of passion.

On new EP NightVision, it’s clear that Cam Jus has the battle under control. After teasing audiences with original compositions “The Stabs” and “Even the Gringos” and remixes of M.I.A.’s “Boyz” and Doctor P’s “Big Boss,” the Tropixxx DJ releases four tracks that will surely be in moombahton sets everywhere.

For your soul, Cam flips Lisa Fischer’s 1991 classic “How Can I Ease the Pain.” Then he digs even deeper, remixing Earth, Wind, and Fire’s “Keep Your Head to the Sky.” Both tracks are tributes to Cam’s deep musical knowledge.

For the party, Cam brings it on both the title track and “Metro Center (Step Back).” “NightVision” is a pulsing jam that bounces between sawtooth synths and bubbly bass. The highlight, however, is the previously released “Metro Center.” The WMATA sampling tune is the best tribute to DC since Dave Nada’s “Moombahton” demanded that “If you in DC, just turn up the bass.”


Tittsworth and Alvin Risk need no introduction, and their long-awaited Two Strokes Raw EP brings moombahton to new levels. Like Munchi’s Murda Sound before it, Two Strokes Raw combines the duo’s Baltimore club, electro and rave influences with the nascent genre, birthing something exciting and new.

For the most part, this isn’t straight, 108 moombahton – and that’s a good thing. “Porcacheese” is more tropical electro than moombahton, and “Carta Boost” (featuring club legend Scottie B) is the sound of being lost in Baltimore at 4 in the morning.

The next step for moombahton is songs with organic, recorded vocals – not just samples. To that end, “La Campana” features Mad Decent singer Maluca over its skittering club beat. And as good as “La Campana” is, it has nothing on siren-fueled banger “Pendejas.” The bass is funky and unrelenting, and the 30-second build halfway through the song is simply explosive. Keep an eye out for the track’s video, recorded at an especially rambunctious Tropixxx party.

Two Strokes Raw was written expressly for the sound system of U Street Music Hall, so tomorrow night’s EP release party is sure to be epic. In the same vein, mark your calendar for the next Moombahton Massive – June 16 – featuring Nadastrom, Jen Lasher, Billy the Gent & Cam Jus, Tom B, and Obeyah.

Download: Cam Jus – NightVision
Buy: Tittsworth & Alvin Risk – Two Strokes Raw

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The Verge: Kreayshawn and the White Girl Mob

Posted on May 19, 2011 | 3 comments

This will teach me to plant the flag early on an intriguing artist. Here’s someone I’ve been trying to write about for a while, but couldn’t fully wrap my head around. Now she’s starting to catch some Internet buzz, so I might as well give my (belated) two cents.

I first heard of Kreayshawn late last year, when I came across her video for “Bumpin Bumpin.” Who was this ghetto fabulous white girl from Oakland?

Kreayshawn is a multimedia artist, very much in the style of 2011: she raps, DJs, directs and edits music videos, and even makes NSFW pixel art. In LA by way of East Oakland, Kreayshawn is part of the swagged out, post-hyphy based movement spearheaded by Lil B and the Pack. She has even directed and edited some of Lil B’s most viral video hits, including “Like a Martian.”

On Kittys X Choppas, Kreayshawn won’t blow anyone away with her lyricisim or flow. But in the based world (or that of Odd Future, for that matter), that’s not the point. This is about stripping it down to the irreverent essence of hip hop. This is grimy party rap about drug-induced insanity (“High,” a freestyle over Salem’s “Whenusleep”) and unapologetic violence (“They Wanna Kill Me,” “Killin Hoes”).

In comparison, associate V-Nasty makes Kreayshawn look tame. While “Free Earl” has become an esoteric battle cry, “Free V-Nasty” is far more concrete: V-Nasty was recently released from Alameda County Santa Rita Jail. As expected, she’s raw, violent and lives up to her name on her Don’t Bite Just Taste mixtape. She’s also a freestyler in the vein of Lil B, dropping ad-libs and punchlines with reckless abandon.

Rounding out the White Girl Mob with Kreayshawn and V-Nasty is DJ Lil Debbie, another based artist with a diversified portfolio. Check out the crew’s latest release, the video for Kreayshawn’s “Gucci Gucci” (and watch for a cameo by Odd Future’s Left Brain). On “Gucci Gucci,” she’s actually made strides as a rapper; I can’t get over the hilarious simplicity of “Bitch you ain’t no Barbie / I see you work at Arby’s / Number two, supersized / Hurry up I’m starving.”

Odd Future and Lil B are re-writing the book on hip hop. Kreayshawn and the White Girl Mob might get their own chapter.

Download: Kreayshawn – Kittys x Choppas
Download: V-Nasty – Don’t Bite Just Taste

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Music video revival: meet CANADA

Posted on May 13, 2011 | 3 comments

During the 90s, the music video reached its pinnacle as an art form. Directors like Mark Romanek, Spike Jonze, Michel Gondry and Chris Cunningham established distinct visual styles, thanks to big budgets and bigger ideas. A successful career in music videos could even launch a film career, as it did for Jonze and Gondry; it was a great time to be a music video director! Inevitably, the bottom fell out: between MTV’s dwindling music video airtime and record company budget cutting, music videos went back underground.

Thankfully, the medium is too rich for something like “music industry collapse” to kill it. Just look at Barcelona’s CANADA: a trio of directors (Luis Cerveró, Nicolás Méndez & Lope Serrano) who are making some of the most innovative – and provocative – videos in over a decade.

Last year, the video for Spanish exotica artist El Guincho’s “Bombay” (directed by Méndez and produced by the collective) was a surprise hit. With El Guincho as Carl Sagan, the clip is a journey through the cosmos. A collage of found footage and surreal images, “Bombay” is teeming with sexual energy. While fleeting glimpses of breasts dominate the video (either painted, with sparklers, or au naturel), it’s more titillating than pornographic.

The brand new video for “Ice Cream” by math rockers Battles has the same vibrant style (on first viewing, I immediately thought of “Bombay”). Once again, CANADA goes for sexy, opening with a nude girl eating ice cream in a bath tub and including shots of girls licking things like pine cones. And don’t forget the climatic, ladies-only paint fight. The real fun in “Ice Cream” is found in CANADA’s playful use of double exposure. Watch out for a man cliff diving into a woman’s bikini, or a brilliantly choreographed sequence where a woman dances with herself.

CANADA is saving the music video, one clip at a time. Check out their gallery for more, but here is their effort for Scissor Sisters’ “Invisible Light:” another NSFW mind trip!

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The Verge: Dawn Golden and Rosy Cross

Posted on May 12, 2011 | Leave a comment


Photo courtesy Jim Newberry

Despite the laborious name, Dawn Golden and Rosy Cross is the work of just one man: 24-year-old Chicago producer Dexter Tortoriello. Last year, Tortoriello garnered praise for his work as half of Houses (with partner Megan Messina). Houses’ quickly assembled All Night is ambient electronic music (chillwave, if you must): a very de rigueur mix of programmed drums, atmospheric synths and dreamy vocals.

As Dawn Golden and Rosy Cross, Tortoriello cuts through the gauzy haze of Houses with a scalpel. The instrumentation has the same starting point, but with dramatically different results. Rather than nostalgia, the tone here is paranoia; the music is more immediate, if a little uneasy.

Dawn Golden’s Blow EP opens with “On the Floor.” What starts as melodic and light turns unnerving (a shift captured by the creepy video), with pounding drums and white noise that is somewhere between static and screaming. Before the listener can decipher it, the song powers down – a 90 second introduction of things to come.

The standout track is “Blacks.” The song is driven by pneumatic, industrial percussion, which is juxtaposed by Tortoriello’s airy vocals and accents of precise strings.


Throughout the EP, programmed drums appear as skittering attacks, as on “Blacks.” On “Blow,” they make the song more ‘nightmare’ than ‘dream.’ On “White Sun,” the drums progressively consume more and more of the song’s oxygen, which has a piano melody on reminiscent of that on “Something I Can Never Have” (blame it on heavy doses of Nine Inch Nails in my diet, but it has the same melancholy feel).

[wpaudio url=”/wp-content/uploads/2011/05/White-Sun.mp3″ text=”Dawn Golden and Rosy Cross – White Sun” dl=0]

The instrumental “Lamont” sounds like a Houses song, but with the optimism of a Postal Service offering. The EP closes with “Black Sun,” a collage of piano, live drums, and natural ambiance that gives way to horns. Blow is only 19 minutes, but the songs have an addictive quality that demand repeat listenings. Houses introduced Dexter Tortoriello to the music world, but Dawn Golden and Rosy Cross better realizes his potential.

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