The Bay Area is one of those few standing cultural hubs in the United States where you can find music of all genres. The rap scene there has given birth to the Hyphy movement as well as weirdos like Lil B. Indie rock is still strong as ever in the Bay, as Girls are the latest buzzband to make a name for SF. And the electronic music scene, with its roots in SF’s burner community, remains extremely diverse to this day.
Enter Avalon Emerson, a young DJ/producer from the Bay who recently caught our ears with her tribal-influenced deep house tune “Warm Up Love.” In fact, we liked it so damn much we reached out for an interview to ask her about her influences and where she gets her unique sound. What started out as a talk about music, quickly ventured into a conversation about her wonderful home, San Francisco, and why it’s so freaking awesome.
Hit the jump for LFTF’s exclusive interview with Avalon Emerson:
Trying to figure what genre the music coming from Charlotte duo Clicks & Whistles fits into is like asking M.I.A. to be composed when placed in front of a camera with 11 million viewers watching. It’s just not going to happen. Sure their influences read “hip-hop, dubstep, and UK garage/funky,” but what Clicks & Whistles specialize in is music that’s yet to be explored. As T&A describes it, “Their beats could be instrumentals for Waka Flocka Flame or Rick Ross, but also bring to mind the bent minimalism of post-dubstep innovators such as Joy Orbison and Jamie xx.” We couldn’t of said it better ourselves. Since joining forces about a year ago, Clicks & Whistles have released a grip load of stellar EP’s on a number different trendsetting imprints such as AC Slater’s Party Like Us Records. For being such a new group to the scene–which is already crowded– the amount of hype these dudes have been able to build for themselves is pretty impressive. But then again, when you have the beats to back it up, the sky’s the limit. Recently we caught up with Clicks & Whistles and talked with them about their backgrounds, recent touring experiences, and what’s in store for C&W.
Hit the jump to check out LFTF’s exclusive interview with Clicks & Whistles:
Late last October–if you can remember that far back–we debuted a mix from a 19-year-old upstate New Yorker named RAJA, who at the time, we really knew nothing about. In fact, the only prior knowledge we had of the dude was that he once performed at the infamous Boiler Room (watch his set here) under a previous moniker of his, InfinitiRock. The name RAJA, he told us, was a new musical brainchild, and he was coming to us to help get the word out. Flattered at the opportunity to work with someone who has even stepped foot inside the Boiler Room let alone played there, we jumped at the chance and summoned RAJA for an official LFTF mix, not knowing one bit what the outcome would be. A couple days later, our inbox bestowed a 32-minute set of entirely original material, strung together by way of one single take on a pair of turntables. Needless to say, and I promise we’re not just saying this because it’s LFTF affiliated, the mix proved to be one of the best mixes we had the pleasure of hearing all year.
Fast forward to today–we loved RAJA’s LFTF mix so damn much that we decided to catch back up with the dude and see how things have been. We also wanted to get a better understanding of who RAJA is, and find out what the influences are that go into the wonderfully unconventional soundscapes his music is soaked in. Check out the interview (and some new RAJA tunage) after the jump.
Hit the jump to check out LFTF’s exclusive interview with RAJA:
It’s really hard to come by a genuine love album with an organic feel these days. Most are filled with overstated cliches and contrived sentiments that provide no deeper meaning than what you find on the surface. But every now and then, one album comes along that describes the feeling in poet-like wonder to make you reexamine your perspective.
Back in April, Australia’s Oscar + Martin released their heartfelt and warm record For You. This is not any ordinary love album folks. It’s filled with complex metaphors that scream unbridled passion in its purest of forms. Furthermore, the duo experiments with toy instruments, which does wonders for their tunes as it mirrors the childlike whimsy and fickle nature of love. It’s a refreshing take on our most interesting and sometimes untenable emotion.
Hit the jump for LFTF’s exclusive interview with Oscar + Martin:
We might be going out on a limb here, but it feels like 2011 was the first time hip-hop producers started being considered “artists” in their own right. That is, not just as producers, but as actual musicians. For decades hip-hop instrumentalists have played behind the scenes roles in the creation of rap songs, resulting in the rapper gaining all the praise. This past year though, producers have stepped out from behind their laptops and into the limelight. Artists like Clams Casino, Lex Luger, and Araabmuzik have changed the way people view rap music in general, sticking to a specific style and building off it relentlessly. Producers have always been essential parts in the creation of good hip-hop songs, it’s just that they never really attained the gratitude they deserved until this past year. There’s now a lane open for hip-hop producers to strive out and become their own entities, as well as gain recognition/fame for their beats without the need of an MC.
With that said, one of our absolute favorite hip-hop producers to pop up in 2011 was without a doubt Friendzone. This Bay Area duo consisting of James Laurence and Dylan Reznick made major waves early last year with the release of their Perfect Skies EP, a collaboration project with fellow Oakland-ites, rap group Main Attrakionz. On the EP, James and Dylan lace together ambient piano melodies with blissed-out synhts and air harp plucks, creating the perfect canvas for Squadda and Modre’s light-footed flows to flourish in. Friendzone’s instrumental work is instantly captivating, each song built off a visceral, raw emotion that is felt rather than heard.
Since then, Friendzone has continued to impress, releasing a grip load of one-off production pieces on their Soundcloud pageas well as curating a beat tape entitled Kuchibiru Network 2 that garnered nods from bigwigs such as The Fader, Mishka Bloglin, and Nah Right. Recently, we got in touch with the duo and talked to them about everything from their musical upbringing, to they’re thoughts on the Bay Area music scene, to what they make of hip-hop’s newfound love for producers. The dudes were also kind enough to put together a little mixtape for us featuring songs that have had an influence on the creation of Friendzone over the years. Check out the mix and interview right after the jump.
Hit the jump to check out LFTF’s exclusive interview and mixtape with Friendzone:
Gracie is a dog walker from Philadelphia. He’s a jokester, picking fun with those he loves. He’s modest, afraid to brag in the most appropriate of situations. He’s pensive, diving deep in thought when valued opinions are desired.
His music is a bleeding version of R&B. A general feeling of uneasiness creeps under a more saturated layer of comfort carried by smooth and warm vibes. It’s haunting at times, but brilliantly satisfying.
Listening is not intended to merely pass time, rather his music demands attention. Colorful subtleties are rampant and the sonics are mystifying. At its worst, his music is captivating. At its best, his music is otherworldly.
Hit the jump for LFTF’s exclusive interview with Gracie:
Producers who can fuse attributes of rap and R&B into the sounds of progressive electronic music will always have a soft spot in the hearts of LFTF, and right now, there’s no one doing it better than Sinjin Hawke. Releasing a considerable amount of–mostly free–material through the waves of his Soundcloud over the past year, the Montreal producer has found a nice little niche for himself: turning traditionally non-club jams into dancefloor killers.
In preparation for his debut imminent dropping on Pelican Fly this November, Sinjin recently released this amazing eight-track compilation for the blog Truants of signature bootlegs he’s created over the past year. The collection of tunes shows off the producer’s versatility as well as his skill, morphing together a collage of music and sounds into eclectic club anthems. Along with the bootlegs, we spoke with the man himself about the compilation and his inspirations behind it.
Tell us a little about your roots. Did you grow up listening to hip-hop and r&b songs like the ones you’ve remixed?
Unfortunately, Khaled, Flocka and The-Dream weren’t really around at the time but I remember having a few Brandy cassettes when I was growing up. From the age of 10 onwards I was listening to a lot of R&B and rap…a lot of Nas, Wu-Tang and MOP. I also got into some more hip-hop stuff like Gangstarr, Little Brother and some stuff coming from Def Jux and Stones Throw. I guess you could say that I was all over the map with my ‘urban’ tastes, but I was always way more focused on the instrumental and rhythmic aspects of the music then the lyrics or meanings behind the songs.
Hit the jump to check out the rest of our interview with Sinjin Hawke
