Showing posts with label lofi. Show all posts
Showing posts with label lofi. Show all posts

stray kites. interview #42

Acoustic instruments and no fears of experimenting. That's what Max (Detrich) and Junior (Roseboro) are making in Ashburn, Virginia, USA.
At a first listen - specially if you start with the single 'Misanthrope' - you get a raw, lo fi and folk feeling (and DIY to the core). 'Primal folk' is how they define their music. But it's not only that...
Their music has strength, heart and concept. And they deal with pretty deep subjects like philosophy and sociology. That might keep one feeling that Stray Kites' music is pretentious. I think the right adjective would be 'bold'. If someone senses a pretentious feeling, I think is due to the fact that their not afraid - as I said before - of experimenting and pushing their musical limits. In my opinion, though, this pretentious feeling is false.
Don't assume this is music to be listened with an 'academic attention'. Music is, after all, made to be enjoyed.
They have an album released last year called 'One Day, Earth Time' and two singles released this year (the already mentioned) 'Misanthrope' and 'All Is Well'. You can find everything available for download on their bandcamp. Later this year, they'll release their second album, 'Mieux'.
This is music that you might like or hate at first listen. Still, it's worth to take check it out for its fresh and original feeling.

"Our music is filled with milk and peanut butter and gluten and pollen and dander and bee stings and a lot of people are allergic to it".



In our interview we talked about DIY, islands with endless lunar eclipses, a place in the woods called Screaming Forest Cove, stealing music and more... 


tropic of capricorn

Work Drugs ~ Tropic Of Capricorn (Independent, 2011)

photo by Work Drugs
A warm breeze is coming from "an abandoned pier on the banks of the Delaware River in beautiful Philadelphia, PA"... it brings along smooth electronic, lo-fi and chillwave songs, performed by Work Drugs.
Benjamin Louisiana and Thomas Crystal (along with Joan Wellfleet backing some songs with her sweet voice), create the perfect mood to lay back by the sea in a quiet beach (while getting stone, maybe).
As mentioned on their description: music for dancing, boating, yatching, sexting and living.
They have two EPs released: Tropic of Cancer and Tropic of Capricorn (the last is a free download on last.fm).
At the moment, they're holding a 'Rad Remix' competition for their song 'Rad Racer'.







01. curious serge
02. rad racer
03. golden sombrero
04. sunset junction
05. third wave
06. dog daze
07. rad racer (cayman islands sessions)


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city lights fade

The Whatevers ~ City Lights Fade (February Records, 2011)

Once a Girl/boy duo and now a four piece band, The Whatevers are back with more lovely tunes. Five to be more precise and this time they have joined forces with (also lovely) February Records. This small label has been building quite a solid catalog. And if that weren't enough, a lot of their releases are given away as free downloads. Don't you just love that?
The Whatevers also are building a strong career and have come a long way releasing singles on Holiday Records, on their bandcamp page and now on February. They are also part of the line-up for Indietracks this year which is "a pretty big deal for us", quoting an email Michael sent me a few days ago.
In case you haven't heard of them before, here's the description on February's page for the release (fun reading, folks):

Mike and Kate met at school. Kate had shaved her head to shock the locals. Mike had just split up with the only other indie punk girl in their small town, so it was natural they would become boyfriend and girlfriend. Kate would buy the NME and Mike would buy the Melody Maker and they would swap halfway through the week and cut the pictures out and practice interview techniques for the day they formed a famous indie band. Mike was in a band called Sparkling Tarts and they played at the local youth club with Kate’s band. After they had broken each others heart for about 15 years, Mike finally had enough songs and they formed The Whatevers. Al was one of their biggest fans, so they asked him to join the band.
The Whatevers sing mainly about their relationship history, radical leftist politics, not being able to get out of bed and conversations about sex that they have had at bus stops.
'City Lights Fade' delivers lo-fi indiepop in its purest state: simple melodies covered by melancholic, fun lyrics and funny music names. The last track is a cover for 'Anne Boleyn', from Eux Autres. When asked - in our interview - about doing covers, The Whatevers mentioned that they'd like to cover Eux Autres but haven't heard back from the band by that time; apparently Eux Autres read the interview and contacted The Whatevers, saying that - of course! - they could do the cover. So, yeah... if you ask me, I'm really proud 'chaotisch und charmant' might be part of this song.





01. city lights fade
02. everything but the kitchen sink drama
03. the second best of the whatevers
04. why girlfriends are better than guitars
05.anne boleyn (eux autres cover)



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little chords

Little Chords ~ Little Chords EP (Independent, 2011)

Here's a little gem in form of 4 tracks filled with reverbs, laid back melancholic melodies and pure lo-fi bliss. This seems to be a side project from prolific canadian electronic act Teen Daze. Here, electronics give space to strummed guitars and shoegazy elements.
The last track is a beautiful take on Yuck's Shook Down.
Great for a balcony with a warm breeze and a sunset. And a heart.
(I hope there's more...)





01. in the guest room
02. summertime
03. valentine's day
04. today
05. shook down (yuck cover)


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the whatevers. interview #27

Today we talk with The Whatevers. A band that makes that sweet mix of lo-fi, 90’s twee and a sensible approach to the subjects that make an indiepop heart skip a bit.
I got to know them via Holiday Records and found out they had more songs available for free download on Last.fm.  They have some covers (including ‘Where Damage Isn’t Already Done’ by The Radio Dept.) and ‘Marshmallow Soundtracks’.
They are recording their first album that’ll be called ‘Art and Sex’’. You can check some of the new songs on their myspace.  ‘Repeat To Fade’ is simply beautiful.
The Whatevers make simple and unpretentious tunes with a DIY sense and a genuine love for music. It’s music for parlour games and sunny weekends spent on the porch.

So here's Mike, Kate, Emily and Al talking about beginnings, dreams, synaesthesia and music, of course...