Keeping It Fresh

Today I have some music for you by a DJ who played a wicked set at SXSW. This song is originally a cover by an R&B artist, however, has been remixed by the one and only Ekali. The R&B vocalist is one who really knows her own voice and style, and makes for such a good piece to remix.Tinashe is a fantastic singer who definitely captures the more seductive elements of R&B music. But what she does with this cover is take a rap song and turn it into something that is more on the slow jam side of things. I know it is more common to have rap songs turn into slow jams, but Tinashe does a really good job of remaking this Drake song. What is more, is that her rendition of the song makes for a fantastic remix as well. Which is why today I have an incredible remix of the song by Ekali. This remix is one of those that can take a slow jam and exponentially change how seductive the song is. Ekali is the kind of DJ who likes to stick with more chillstep vibes, the kind of electronic music ...

My have we had an incredibly busy week! With SXSW officially done, I wanted to spend some time recapping some of the artists that came and performed, along with some new artists who have been over multiple SXSW playlists. This first song is by a musician and producer known as Jon Santana. Now this song is a little interesting because I feel like it pays more homage to Jon Santana's role as a producer rather than a singer/song-writer. The song is more instrumental focused rather than having lyrically heavy verses and choruses. On top of the song composition, it features vocalist Jack McMullen who is the only source of singing throughout the piece. I found this to be a very cool dynamic, as it is more uncommon to hear that from a genre such as this. Now the genre is actually a little difficult to place. I don't really know what to call it, however, I want to say there are elements of alternative R&B, chillstep, and even a little bit of rock thrown in there. There are no boun...

Today is all about Austin's very own, SXSW. For those of you who may not know, SXSW is a festival that celebrates film, music, and innovation. The week long festival brings people in from all over the world, to showcase what they have. One such artist is Coyote Kisses. Now, it has been a long time since I last blogged about the electronic duo, but I felt so compelled to do so after watching Coyote Kisses perform tonight for SXSW. A huge shout out to chill nation and the whole squad of "nations" for putting together a show and line up as wonderful as the one I just saw. But when it comes to Coyote Kisses, I have to say I was incredibly impressed. We got half the duo (Joe Sussingham I believe) but it was still such a wild show. I guess the first part of what made this so great was the venue. A small enough venue with a relatively smaller crowd. SXSW has everyone spread out and on the move, so for the most part the venue was decently crowded but not overly full. This automat...

Today I have some music for you by a Finnish duo by the name Super8 & Tab. Now this is the trance music of old. I mean the original trance that we used to love and listen to. This is like rave throwback music, which is so cool because this style of music actually used to be really underground. And in a weird way, it has come back full circle and has returned to the underground scene. A lot of clubs and dance venues play house and trap nowadays, but you do have those more underground places which would be more likely to play music like this. That sweet and sensational trance music. It is really nice to know that this song came out in 2014, and that it still sounds like that old trance. This song is honestly kind of a masterpiece in itself. Maybe it is because it has been a long time since trance music like this has been put out, or maybe because it is genuinely freaking awesome. I like to think that it is a combination of the two, but then again, that is just my o...

 Today I have music for you by a band called She Wants Revenge. Now I won't lie, this was not a band I was familiar with until recently, but man was I impressed and jamming to this introductory song. This is a song that has a lot of grit and is a little rough around the edges. The guitar takes on a much edgier sound, which is something we are really missing from rock music today. This is a song that takes me back to the grungier times, the early 2000s style of rock. I mean when I listen to this song, it makes me feel like I am someone who strut down the hallway of some huge corporate office, and have everyone know that I am definitely someone important. This song oozes that kind of suave danger and I like that. It isn't too tame and has a prowess to it that makes the song something of a mischievous one. She Wants Revenge reminds me a little of The Black Keys. It is a two man band with the music consisting of a drummer/percussionist and a guitarist. But there is also a lot of co...

Today I have some Bollywood music for you since it has been entirely too long. This is a really moving song for a few different reasons. First, the way Papon sings this is saturated with emotion and longing. The basic lyrical translation of the song reflects a story of someone who has lost another. What is beautiful about this song is that it applies to any situation of loss. Whether it is someone who has moved away or has passed, this song is heart wrenchingly relatable. In the context of the movie, this song is for someone who's love has gone to another country. We can feel that pain and strife and the roller coaster of emotions with this song, and I love that so much. The multitude of emotions one can feel in the flash of a moment is well represented with this song. Which brings me to the second reason why I found this song so moving. A lot of times, Bollywood tends to favor slower and softer songs when it comes to emotional outpourings like this. However, every once in a while ...

Today I have some really old music for you, by a band that was extremely popular about 8 years ago. The Maine was a band that everyone would listen to, along with the other punk rock bands of that age. Bands like Forever the Sickest Kids and Blink-182 are similar to The Maine, that same kind of angsty punk and alternative pop. However, I was a huge fan of that when I was at that age in my life, and music is music for the sake of loving music. But I have to say, out of all the work The Maine has done, this song is possibly my favorite. It is not at all like the rest of their music. This song takes a much more acoustic and romantic sound. There is not that rough vocalization nor is there that singing style that these kinds of bands have. The long drawn out voice that is supposed to sound a bit nonchalant but also kind of young.With this song, I feel like we really get to hear the lead singer of the band. There aren't any fancy things he is trying to do with his voice, just simple sin...