One of my favorite albums of this year, no question, is Mndsgn‘s woozy warmer Yawn Zen, released on the venerable Stones Throw label. It has an experimental, hip-hop-influenced vibe similar to Endtroducing-era DJ Shadow… Continue reading
Free art! Kool A.D. teams up with friends Toro Y Moi and Amaze 88 for a laid-back, off-the-cuff, old school rap sesh over a benign descending organ line and a Stevie… Continue reading
When they’re not hanging out in derelict seaside holiday resorts in Dubrovnik, Croatia that were abandoned during the Croatian War of Independence in 1991, Berlin friends Anton Feist and Fabian Fenk make… Continue reading
“Bengal tiger for my pet tho…” Cool Kid Chuck Inglish rolls heavy over a whirring siren synth and a snare hit with so much reverb it sounds like it… Continue reading
Love this heavy-hitting German hip-hop cut from MC Umse featuring Berlin rapper Megaloh and Deckah on the beat. No idea what any of these words mean—apart from a possible shout… Continue reading
Hold tight the clockwork glockenspiel! Love this brand new R&B-pop song strongly sung by Bewdley, England’s Becky Hill and produced by Two Inch Punch, he of the formerly mysterious BenZel duo (read… Continue reading
Love, love, love this brand new electronic shuffler from the UK’s Aaron Jerome bka SBTRKT and Vampire Weekend‘s Ezra Koenig, hot off the press from Annie Mac‘s radio show on BBC Radio 1.… Continue reading
“All I can say is that I know where I belong…” So the obvious comparison here is the Streets’ “Weak Become Heroes,” minus Mike Skinner’s chirpy Brum brogue of course, and while… Continue reading
Why aren’t we talking more about the return of Souls of Mischief? The Oakland, CA group, famous for the ubiquitous underground hip-hop cut “93 ’til Infinity” in the early… Continue reading
New favorite genre alert: astrophysical psychedeli-tropical new wave indie-dance! New York producer Erin Rioux recently teamed up with Dartmouth theoretical physicist and Trinidad-born cosmology professor (who also happens to play a mean… Continue reading
“Seven billion residents of the Earth…” How are London hip-hop trio Hawk House not massive? Brothers Eman and Sam and their friend Demae’s track “Tidal Tendencies” was number 42 in my Top… Continue reading
Christchurch, New Zealand’s Ladi6 gets spacey on this downtempo jazz-soul jam with a delectably drowsy ‘n’ snappy beat. Ladi6 – “Hold Tight” (Official Video) … Continue reading
Heartfelt Renaissance ruminations on youthful ruination from 22-year-old Nigeria-via-East London singer Vicktor Taiwò. Says Taiwò, “Before, children had time to think that the world was beautiful, and I think that should… Continue reading
CLICK HERE TO WATCH THIS SEGMENT ON VEVO.COM NOW. Asher Roth recently played the Troubadour in West Hollywood for the release of his eclectic, sophomoric album, RetroHash. … Continue reading
CLICK HERE TO WATCH THIS SEGMENT ON VEVO.COM NOW. I interviewed the tremendously talented LA post-disco duo De Lux and produced this segment on their record release show at the Echo for NUVOtv‘s flagship music… Continue reading
Diggin’ the indie-disco-funk-pop of “Pulse” by UK duo Cash+David. Cash+David – “Pulse” (Official Video) You will also find me doing similar ballet moves in deserted and… Continue reading
“Skydive” is the sound of a summer’s day gone wrong, then right, then wrong, then right again, according to East London electronic indie-folk band Astronauts aka Dan Carney, formerly of Dark Captain and… Continue reading
CLICK HERE TO WATCH THIS SEGMENT ON VEVO.COM NOW. “We wanted to create a world for people to fall into…” British psychedelic rockers Temples recently came to Los Angeles to play one of the best… Continue reading
Switzerland’s Kidd Feather creates kaleidoscopic, refracted, psychedelic electronic pop. Now living in East London, he says that his homeland was instrumental in influencing his musical style. “I grew up… Continue reading
Singer Amelia Meath & electronic music producer Nick Sanborn hail from Durham, North Carolina. Together they make experimental, beat-driven, indie-folk as Sylvan Esso. Their previous single, “Hey Mami,”… Continue reading
“First step is intention…” Love this new track and Cosby Show-riffin’ video from Chicago-born, LA-based rap artist Open Mike Eagle. Love, too, these squealing synth strings that open… Continue reading
Let Toronto’s Harrison take you back in time with this monochromatic, retro-fantastic music video for his track “Akira.” Harrison – “Akira” (Official Video) Hear more… Continue reading
Lazy horns and laid-back rhymes from Chicago’s Nico Segal aka Donnie Trumpet and Chicago’s Vic Mensa, both formerly of the live hip-hop band Kids These Days and both teaming up here on… Continue reading
Argentina-born, London-based musician Sebastian Litmanovich is Cineplexx. Sounding like Manu Chao if he lived in Ibiza, “Te Quiero” is a multicolored, multilingual, tropical and subtle indie-disco groove. Cineplexx… Continue reading
North London’s Wolf Alice set the guitars to “overdrive” and “early 90s” on the fantastic “Moaning Lisa Smile,” whose ah-ah-ah-ah-ah-ah-ah refrain will get lodged in your brain for days. … Continue reading
CLICK HERE TO WATCH THIS SEGMENT ON VEVO.COM NOW. Watch this piece on New York City’s tropical grit-pop duo Ghost Beach that I recently produced for NUVOtv‘s flagship music program, The Collective. I’ve been a… Continue reading
In addition to sounding like the most awesome animal ever or a fighter pilot had Tim and Eric directed Top Gun, the superbly-monikered Dublin trio Hawklion make wonderful falsetto indie synth ‘n’… Continue reading
CLICK HERE TO WATCH THIS SEGMENT ON VEVO.COM NOW. I recently produced a story on the incredible We Are The West for NUVOtv‘s flagship music program, The Collective. I’m honored to be able to tell… Continue reading
If the new Star Wars movie looked like Auckland, New Zealand director Markus Hofko‘s video for Flying Lotus‘ otherworldly “Phantasm,” I would not be mad at all. The visuals are a… Continue reading
CLICK HERE TO WATCH THIS SEGMENT ON VEVO.COM NOW. I recently produced this piece on the awesome Austin three-piece rock band Ume for NUVOtv‘s flagship music program, The Collective. Ume Interview… Continue reading
“We have no time to pretend, we have no time…” New York’s Mizan does this electronic soul business right with an assortment of glowing organ chords and a strict, bouncing kick drum.… Continue reading
The subtle genius of Theo Parrish. Ever since first hearing his track “Twin Cities” on Gilles Peterson’s BBC radio show back way back when, I’ve been hooked on his hypnotic audio… Continue reading
This beat! Berlin’s Clara Hill started out by teaming up with the German DJ greats, Jazzanova, to create experimental, electronic jazz. She’s taken a turn in musical direction since then, and on… Continue reading
CLICK HERE TO WATCH THIS SEGMENT ON VEVO.COM NOW. Have a listen and a watch of this piece on Los Angeles brother-and-sister indie-folk duo The Belle Brigade that I recently produced for NUVOtv‘s… Continue reading
Good night! This is a jam right here! “Boa Noite” (“Good Evening” or “Good Night” in Portuguese) is the latest single from Brazilian rap artist Karol Conka. … Continue reading
I’ve been following the music of Aussie crooner Chet Faker ever since I got switched on to his brilliantly lethargic haze-hop cover of Blackstreet’s “No Diggity” in April 2012. … Continue reading
Grime innovator and Boy Better Know head honcho Skepta steps up with “That’s Not Me,” a brand new cut with an aquatic, bleepy and bloopy sample that sounds like Spongebob Squarepants’ ringtone.… Continue reading
Those vocodered vox, those synthetic finger clicks, that loose twangy gee-tar, and that chorus. Stockholm’s Mapei may have just written this year’s answer to “Royals.” Not… Continue reading
Your new favorite dance genre, Shangaan Electro, is the brainchild of Soweto, South Africa’s Nozinja. He’s just been signed by Warp Records, and as they put it, Shangaan Electro… Continue reading
Double video feature jam! Getting way into this lethargic, listless slow disco dancer (“Disco//Very”) and this gentle, ride cymbal-tappin’ indie incantation (“Keep it Healthy”) from L.A.’s Warpaint. Warpaint – “Disco//Very” &… Continue reading
Cardiff, Wales singer and producer Pete Lawrie Winfield aka Until The Ribbon Breaks has newness for you. I first got switched on to UTRB’s (as he was known back in February 2012)… Continue reading
CLICK HERE & SCROLL TO 4MIN 16SEC TO WATCH THIS SEGMENT ON VEVO.COM NOW. Check out this piece on one of the most talented and experimental soul and jazz musicians I know, Washington D.C.’s Diggs Duke,… Continue reading
Too future. Night Slugs head honcho Bok Bok teams up with LA-via-Maryland singer Kelela to deliver some stuttery, synth-blastin’, and very 2014 R&B. I see you, flickering-screens,… Continue reading
This Manchester, UK jazz trio reminds me of a less rambunctious Bad Bad Not Good. GoGo Penguin‘s influences include “Aphex Twin to Brian Eno, Debussy to Shostakovich and Massive Attack to EST,” which means… Continue reading
Put aside, if you will, your prejudices about all things Coldplay and give this track a chance! Chris Martin and his cohort’s latest offering is deep, soupy, nocturnal experimentation that sounds like they’ve… Continue reading
Warp Records, you are good to us. This live version of “Dye the Water Green” by West Midlands, UK musician Bibio is some much needed Friday afternoon chill. From Bibio… Continue reading
Really cannot get enough of this latest wave of late-night electronic soul transmissions that seem to be dominating my headphones at the minute. Ed Thomas, Erik Hassle, Perera Elsewhere… all of these mightily… Continue reading
Usually the only time you would say the title of this track is when someone accidentally drops a gourmet pizza. In the new video for “Caprice Down” below, D.C. beatmaker Oddisee provides a… Continue reading
My favorite song of today. British Berliner Perera Elsewhere turns the volume down to two and delivers a hushed, intimate, ghostly transmission of understated indie-soul. Perera Elsewhere – “Drunk Man”… Continue reading
Tru Thoughts‘ latest signing is psychedelic electronic San Francisco seven-piece The Seshen. The heavy bassline that oscillates throughout “2000 Seasons” is especially tasty. The Seshen – “2000 Seasons” (Official Video) … Continue reading
