Archive for the 'Upcoming Guests' Category

About Black Radio (full bio here):

What may be most remarkable about Black Radio is how Glasper (who also produced the record) was able to weave all these different voices into a cohesive album, avoiding the random patchwork feel that many “special guest” projects suffer from. “The record doesn’t seem like it’s a special guest record because of the relationships we all have,” he says. “These are all friends. All the guests on the album have musical similarities.”

That common ground and comfort level is what created the spontaneous spirit of adventure and experimentation that permeated the recording sessions, which all the band members describe as being more fun than work. Friends would drop by the studio in Los Angeles to hang out, listen to the band, get inspired, and jump into the vocal booth to lay down a track. “These are all people who are known for being in another genre,” says Glasper, “but at heart they’re jazz musicians, so they’re like ‘Let’s hit it. We don’t really know what’s going to happen but let’s go for it and see what happens.’ We all have that in common, which is why I chose the people I chose.”

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New Look – Nap On the Bow by New Look

About New Look:

Recorded over the past three years, across the creative trinity of Berlin, Brooklyn and the sleepy hollow town of Hamilton, near Niagara Falls in Ontario, Canada, New Look’s self-titled debut album is a feverishly anticipated affair. The Canadian future pop duo of Sarah Ruba and Adam Pavao first emerged in 2008, landing in Europe with a self-released EP of pitch perfect, experimental pop entitled, “How’s My Hair?”. This was accompanied by a masterfully stripped back yet soulful reworking of close friend and polymath producer, artist and photographer Jimmy Edgar’s anthemically androgynous smash single, “Function of Your Love”. The couple’s undeniable creative synergy translated directly to the stage, where the stunning, synth-playing chanteuse and former model, 25-year-old Ruba (previously shot by the likes of cult fashion provocateur Bruce Weber) and multi-instrumentalist, 31-year-old producer Pavao played a series of hypnotising live shows across the UK and Europe, with early support from the UK’s premiere music and style press, including an upfront spread in Dazed & Confused magazine.

“We’ve since developed a lot more and now fully realise what we have always wanted to do,” introduces Pavao, speaking from their home studio in a converted Victorian house in Hamilton, Ontario. “What’s most important to us is that every song has to sound super new to our ears. That feeling of unpredictability within every second of each song,” says Ruba. “We’ll never re-do a vibe and that’s the whole basis of what everything jumps off from.” There is a confidence and wit to their songwriting, coupled with a sublime subtlety in the cosmic tweaks and soft synths underpinning their future pop aesthetic. It’s controlled yet wistful pop perfectionism. “We try not to keep anything superfluous in our songs. We’re always conscious of the negative space in our music and that’s a constant theme,” explains Pavao, their trademark sparse 80s snap dynamically lifting Ruba’s crisp, siren-esque vocals and synth driven melodies.

Signed to !K7, certified home to Jimmy Edgar, Chromeo and the classic DJ-Kicks series, the first single to be released from their debut full length is “The Ballad”, a magical synth pop record, perfectly aligned to introduce New Look’s soaring ambition. “We recorded the song four different times, the vision of this was so strong and clear in our minds that it took us so many times to get it how we knew it should be,” Ruba explains. “We attempted it twice in Berlin, once in New York and finally got it in Canada. The song is a message to someone we know and even though it’s a fleeting message to them, we would never want them to find out. It’s too personal.”

“The Ballad” is set to a psychedelic music video directed by celebrated Australian fashion photographer and filmmaker Will Davidson. “It’s so beautiful, I can’t wait until it’s out,” enthuses Ruba. “I can really hear the energy of the different cities that we recorded in,” adds Pavao. “When we first got to Berlin and it was Spring and we felt so free, and then also moving back to New York, it definitely translates to the music.”

The self-titled album is also the inspired sound of a personal uprising for New Look, whose initial plan was to move to Berlin for nine months to finish the record amidst the critical acclaim surrounding their self-released EP that was followed by a sold out European tour supporting The xx. “We moved to Berlin to get a flow going, to focus just on music,” reminisces Ruba. “But last Fall it felt like absolutely nothing was happening. All these plans never came to fruition and we were really frustrated and felt like shit. So I wrote this song with super inspirational and motivational lyrics and – however cheesy it may sound – it actually somehow created a new hope. It’s called “A Light” and somehow actually manifested itself.”

New Look will be returning to the UK and Europe this Summer with their debut album and headlining tour which will see Sarah Ruba’s mesmerising vocals and melodic keys front Adam Pavao’s live analogue synths, drums and visuals performance. “It’s been three years and for us the album is hard to put into words, concludes Ruba. “We’re still super perfectionists and whilst some of the record is New Look pop, there are tracks that are pretty badass and serious. But it all reflects our grand vision.”

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About Hold On:

Last year, Brooklyn’s Krts released Remixes for Beards and Flannels, a mix-tape of top shelf classics from hip-hop’s ‘80s and ‘90s heyday. This September, he’ll follow this with his newest and first-ever proper EP release, Hold On, on the Berlin label Project Mooncircle.

With sounds ranging from the eclectic side of Hip-Hop, Broken Beat, Downtempo, soulful Dubstep, Indie Rock, and Fusion Jazz, Krts crafts a soundtrack to an ever-changing NYC landscape, fraught with struggles and flashbacks of what-was, all while letting go of ideals in favor of a new, raw, and heartfelt future. The album’s title track, “Hold On”, concerns the battle of a fleeting love – electronic and psychedelic sounds lead to a heavy, mid-range looped chorus and a deep, rumbling dubstep-style bassline. A taste of struggle is represented in “Whatever”, with it’s 808 kicks, layered snare, eerie and rattling samples, sweeping syths, and improvised piano… all as an ode to the cluttered market of Brooklyn’s indie art scene.

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About iSHE + Hezekiah Project:

iSHE + Hezekiah are an experimental soulful duo composed of singer/songwriter iSHE’ from San Diego and producer/emcee/songwriter Hezekiah from Philadelphia. Two unique artists with an unspoken understanding of music provided the perfect ingredients. A mixture of organic classic soul, a slight touch of electronic flourishes; a beautifully-composed sonic stew with a traditional hip hop edge. Timeless.

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About Space Madness:

Space Madness is a dazzling collection of songs showcasing Sarah White’s remarkable songwriting skills, vocal abilities and her knack for dropping incredibly hypnotic, well refined, electro-acoustic soul bangers. The album is tightly reinforced with stylistically inventive and deep-leaning, future soul-funk productions from multi-talented musician and producer Rico Simon Mendez (a.k.a. DJ Don Cuco) with additional productions from Hadyn, Teddy G, and PoLo (PapaJazz) and vocal contributions from Cecilia Stalin and Nicholas Ryan Gant.Space Madness is an emotionally honest, life-affirming, and gorgeous record, full of unrelenting positive messages. Album opener “Reachin’ Up” is a compellingly sombre yet blues melting jam which beautifully highlights Sarah’s understanding and sense of classic American soul, while songs like “Fam” and “Nu Life” are positively woozy, future boogie electrosoul transmissions, absolutely lush with impressive synths, string orchestration, and tastefully distorted guitars. All this suspended atop propulsive rhythms and percussions, and Miss White remains consistently arresting, on point, and elegant throughout. It’s truly a beautiful collaboration; a brilliant voice with a forward-leaning, unique musical vision.

About Sarah White:

Born and raised in the beautiful lake-filled city of Minneapolis, Sarah White has been surrounded by art and music since birth. Singing her first melodic notes in the stroller, music has been an essential part of her life; a driving force behind her. A musical journey, Sarah has studied the piano, flute, guitar, electronics and voice, learning everywhere from moonlit freestyle ciphers to classical training. Once she discovered her voice, experimenting with song and emceeing, have brought her the most pleasure and continues to inspire her to experiment and take risks.

Collaborating with many talented Dj’s, Musicians and Artists, Sarah has traveled on a ride through Hip Hop, Trip-Hop, Soul, House, Folk and eventually landed in her current home, Brooklyn, NY. Sharing stages and building with the likes of Amy Winehouse, K-OS, The Coup, Imani Uzuri, King Britt, Rucyl Mills, Jose James, Dj Moni, Ursula Rucker, Afta-1, and many more amazing talents, she feels humbly inspired while inspiring others.

Sarah continues to grow and create by ‘spreading love the Brooklyn way’! She is currently working with her partner and Producer, Rico Simon Mendez aka DJ Don Cuco, developing Cultura Love, a non-profit devoted to bringing music and art to kids in communities in need. Their new collaborative album, “Space Madness”, will be released on Cultura Love Records, where they will dedicate 50% of all proceeds to the development of Cultura Love and its first workshop.

CULTURA LOVE is a world where all artists can express their true passion in the form of color, sound, mind, body, vision and spirit.

Sarah is also a mother of 2 lovely girls, a photographer and a writer.

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About Ta-Ku:

Within just 3 years of operation in his chosen field, Regan ‘Ta-Ku’ Matthews has evolved from a self-taught student of music into a scholar of progressive beat production, cultivating a unique sound that has since resonated to all corners of the globe. As an astute observer of the melodic elements of soul music and the percussive elements of hip-hop, Ta-Ku takes influence from pioneering beatsmiths such as J Dilla, 9th Wonder and DJ Premier.

In 2008, an invite to the prestigious Red Bull Music Academy in Barcelona, taking counsel from the likes of of DJ Toomp, Chuck D, Bun B, Omas Keith and Dennis Coffey and sharing alumni status with artists like Teebs, Onra, Dorian Concept and Pursuit Grooves. The trip was a breakthrough moment for Ta-Ku as he channeled his experience and new found motivation to liberate a slew of free beat tapes within months of his return. Shortly after flooding the internet with a diverse array of releases, his output was rewarded with subsequent collaborations involving CyHi Da Prynce (G.O.O.D music), John Robinson, Raashan Ahmad (Paper Chain labelmate), Joe Scudda, Outasight, Kid Daytona, Phil Ade, Raaka (Dilated Peoples) amongst many others. Ta-Ku’s work ethic continued to garner worldwide attention and within two years of his return from the Red Bull Music Academy he’d become a regular fixture on countless blogs and online zines, securing himself a prized feature on Giles Peterson’s esteemed Brownswood Electr*c Compilation.

In 2011, Ta-Ku aspires to take his hip-hop roots and apply them to further experimentation within the electronic and new soul realms. His musical identity continues to evolve with the progressive nature of the genres he has contributed to, illustrated most recently with a Soulection-endorsed 24 mixtape and his debut EP and 12″ releases through PROJECT: Mooncircle and DarkerThanWax respectively.

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About Miles Bonny:

Miles Bonny was born uptown in NYC (Payson Ave.) and grew up in Teaneck, NJ until college when he returned to his parent’s roots in the midwest USA’s Kansas and Missouri regions. Grandson of a music therapist, son of a trumpeter, Miles also produced hip hop beats, leading to a feature in the now defunct Scratch Magazine at it’s height. Since first recording as a vocalist in 2006, he has traveled to Europe to tour 3 times in the last 4 years, focusing on Germany, where he records for Melting Pot Music. Currently residing in Kansas City, Missouri, Miles will play for the first time in NYC at the Brooklyn Bodega CMJ Showcase “we got the jazz” at DROM on Oct 18th.

About Majestic Mood:

If there’s anything any good DJ should be able to do, it is to set a mood. In the case of this cat from Vienna/Austria/Europe, the mood is going to be majestic – no matter which musical genres are involved. Inspired by Hip Hop, he explored it’s various roots – Jazz, Soul, Funk… – at an early age and paid his dues playing some residencies around his hometown. In recent years, he’s been immersing himself in the international Beat movement that fuses Hip Hop aesthetics with more electronic soundscapes and even deeper bass frequencies. His online radio show Groove Merchants is a good starting point for explorations into the field as it also features interviews with artists like Hudson Mohawke, Waajeed, Tokimonsta & Mount Kimbie. He is also the resident DJ for “The Message Radio Show” on Vienna’s Superfly FM and co-hosts the club series Royal Eclectic.

Trishes (FM4/MPM)

Krystal Klear, who regular listeners will recognize from my Best of 2010 show (among others), will join me tonight at midnight to share some music and conversation in the East Village Radio studio tonight for the 121st edition of The Main Ingredient.

Krystal Klear – Tried For Your Love (ACKK12x1) by allcitydublin

About Krystal Klear:

Born and raised in Dublin, making music his whole life Krystal Klear was at first inspired by Hardcore Punk and Metal, he began playing lead guitar and gigging around Ireland. His major inspiration was always Boogie, Funk and Hip-Hop – leading him to create the Krystal Klear moniker in 2008.

Since early 2010, Krystal Klear has recorded an exclusive mix for the now defunct (but forever infamous) Mary Anne Hobbs BBC Radio 1 show, been chosen as a resident for the successful Hoya:Hoya club night in Manchester, toured the U.S.A (stopping off at Dam Funk’s Funkmosphere night) and garnered love from XLR8R, Mixmag and Dazed & Confused. Brodinski, FACT Mag and Juno have all named him ‘One to watch in 2011′ and recent shows in Hamburg, Amsterdam and London have garnered hype from the European audience.

KrystalKlear’s contemporary take on Boogie/New Jack Swing pricked the ears of Cooly G who signed him for the debut A-side on her Dub Organizer label. The single ‘Tried For Your Love’ off All City Records was played 6 weeks in a row on Benji B’s BBC 1XTRA show and a collaboration with Olivier Daysoul led to a deal from the tastemaking Eglo label. With remix commissions from legendary synth-pop bad O.M.D., The Count & Sinden, Lazer Sword and collaborations with Skream and Hudson Mohawke.

Being renowned as a firecracker live and a versatile DJ, his recent sets at the Warehouse Project, Doldrums and The Producers House club nights playing everything from modern boogie, chicago house to Anita Baker have solidified his presence on the U.K. club circuit.

Endorsed by Dam Funk, Hudson Mohawke, Skream, Joy Orbison, Brodinski, Toddla T, James Pants, Jack master and many more – 2011 is gonna be a big year for KK.