Keeping It Fresh

Today I have round 2 of ACL features! One of the newer and bigger artists made an appearance at the festival these past two weekends. The Chainsmokers have recently gained quite a bit of popularity and fame. But what is nice is that they continue to do their own thing, make music the way they want, and create music that speaks to so many people. This is definitely a different vibe that we get from The Chainsmokers. A lot of the time, they are known for being a super energetic duo, one with more hype music than anything else. But this song is a nice step back from that and is a great exploration of something completely different. This song by The Chainsmokers is one that is more about getting you in that atmospheric frame of being. It is more along the lines of being melodic house, which is a genre that gets overlooked and overshadowed by things like house, trap, and dubstep. But melodic electronic music is where my hear and ears really belong, which is why this song ...

HELLO! I have been on a bit of a hiatus this past weekend, but for an absolutely great reason! I had the opportunity to attend one of the biggest music festivals in the world- Austin City Limits. This festival was an experience that I would not trade! Austin City Limits is an annual festival hosted in Texas and features artists from all over the country and world. Across genres and levels of pop culture, Austin City Limits caters to the inner music junkie and brings all kinds of music lovers together. Being hosted in the live music capital of the world, ACL is a festival that showcases so many incredible performers, the kind of performers that leave you even more impressed when you hear them live. Yes, of course, there are many well-known artists who perform, but there are also so many lesser-known musicians that are absolutely incredible. From rock music to rap music to EDM to jazz, Austin City Limits is home to so many amazing artists. Going to a music festival is an experience that ...

Today's song is more  electropo  and New Wave music. Dragonette is a UK group that has definitely not been highly introduced in the USA. Their music is very interesting and I personally believe that this group is not for everyone. You will either like them or you won't. A few people are in between, but not many. I really like the beat and deeper tones used. Dragonette is one of those "weird" acts that can catch people off guard, but I kind of like it. Honestly, I haven't heard enough about Dragonette to really be ably to classify their style as a while. With this song though, we get this really good blend of rock music and electronic music. This is something we see a lot more of nowadays, but at the time that this song came out, the whole electro rock thing wasn't super popular. A lot of what we hear at the beginning is some more intense guitar synth work which is pretty wicked. This is one of those songs that makes you feel like a bad ass when you listen to i...

Today I have a pretty eclectic and psychedelic kind of song for you all. This song is  by  the electronic music project known as Magnetic Man. I think the biggest take away with this song is the idea that dubstep and electronic music can  possess  that genuine  heart-wrenching  soul that comes with singers like John Legend. Despite the fact that John Legend is a singer who tends to stick with more contemporary and R&B styles, he is still able to sound and perform like himself with the presence of electronic work all around him. And Magnetic Man makes very good use of their dubstep background to make this a song that is not too heavy on bass or video game sounds. A lot of dubstep these days include that screech and scratch kind of sound, with a little bit of video game sound thrown in, and a ton of "wub." But this song is not like that at all. Magnetic Man makes this song sound really eclectic and almost ethereal. Part of the reason this song sounds so t...

Today I have some music for you by one of my favorite artists out of England at the moment. George Ezra came into the spotlight recently, and I think it is quite understandable as to why. He is a special artist in many ways. For starters, he is only 21 years old and has the low, rumbling voice of an older man. But the thing is, he is so impressively smooth with his voice as well. It is beautiful and a little rough, deep but very warming and cozy. When I hear George Ezra's music, I think of the cozy warmth of a fireplace and snuggling up to a guy on a cold winter day. It envelops you in this feeling of home. And I love that so much. It is so hard to find that in artists these days, a time when a lot of music is revolved around electronic work and pop genres. But George Ezra stays in the realm of folk, blues, and some rock. But the thing about George Ezra that makes him so spectacular is his ability to easily switch between a high paced song, to something more mellow and contemplativ...

Today I have a very interesting song for you. This is a remixed version of a Bollywood song and I can tell you that I like this version a lot. Now I am going to say now that I am not condoning nor rejecting the use of hookah. You do what you need to. Now, this song has been very well remixed. It retains a lot of the original content of the song. If you go listen to the original version you can definitely hear what stayed the same and what was changed. For example, this remixed version is faster and maintains the same beat throughout. The original song has a period of time in which the beat is slowed down and it kind of breaks the song a bit. From the get go we get that Eastern feel while also clearly hearing the more European electronic influences. Especially the Romanian/Israeli/Middle Eastern style of electronic music. The way the the synth work is done has that Middle Eastern and Eurodance sound, that very Edward Maya sound. Honestly, I love that so much! Sometimes I find it way...

Today I had the opportunity to be in the presence of two of the most incredible singers I have ever heard live. Atif Aslam and Sonu Nigam are two Bollywood playback singers, and my oh my are they ridiculously talented. I have to say, out of all the concerts I have attended, this is one of the greatest shows I have been to. Each vocalist was stunning, singing their own hits as well as covers of others. They paid tribute to some of the trailblazers in Bollywood music, and all in all delivered performances that were breathtaking. What I find magical about Indian music, is that each song is sung with full heart and meaning. Hindi is a deep language, and the way that these singers perform completely conveys that depth of emotion. Atif Aslam has a deeper and stronger voice, a voice that is like molasses. Sony Nigam has a voice like birdsong. His voice is sweet and beautiful, playful and romantic. Both singers have incredible skill and technique, and because of that, every song seems effortle...