The video “Eyes Down” premiered a few minutes ago on Pitchfork. Last week, SSG got really excited about this song; you can read about it here. As excited as we still are, this video changes things a bit. Not for better or worse, just laterally. Whereas “Eyes Down” evoked feelings of relaxation and soul food before, this video conjures images that mix between M. Night Shyamalan’s The Village, and Cirque Du Soleil. It’s an interesting video. Check it out.
Tim Kasher is getting buckwild. He and his band of merry men, Cursive, have a new song out as a backhanded tribute to The American Indians. Backhanded might sound a bit negative, but the negativity is not towards the American Indians. Rather, it is calling out those who have forgotten or simply do not care about those who ‘discovered’ our country long before Columbus sailed west. With flippant references to the story of our founding fathers and the hostile acquisition co-mingled with current travesties such as murder and the inherent right that some feel they have to take a young woman’s virginity, Tim Kasher sings “Home of the brave. What the f*** was that supposed to mean?” Kasher continues by showing how Native American culture has been used in decorative ways throughout modern day consumerism with little thought.
All of this is not to for people to raise their noses and disgust and go about their business. Cursive is actually doing something about it. The single “Discovering America” is out now, and all proceeds are going towards The American Indian College Fund. More details can be found at www.collegefund.org.
Here is the song “Discovering America.” Please visit Saddle Creek to download.
The most ambitious undertaking, however, comes courtesy of do-it-all production virtuoso, OC Notes. His Coffee Beans…The Glamour ReWorks is a complete and utter re-imagining of Fresh Espresso’s now seminal debut. Listening to it is like stumbling down a dimly-lit hallway, where sobriety is possibly compromised and every room you pass is a doorway into trip-hop psychedelia and fuzzed-out experimental music of Fresh Espresso’s original Glamour. It’s worth the trip, readers. And best of all, it’s free. Here are a couple tracks:
Any group that’s interested in properly representing Left Coast hip-hop should first take a trip down I-5 to the Golden State, the place where the West Coast sound was originally developed, nurtured, and fully realized. Something about the combination of fresh Pacific Ocean air, perpetually sunny weather, and other (ahem) “natural” remedies, fuse to get the creative juices flowing something proper.
Seattle keeps losing some of its biggest and brightest hip-hop artists to California (THEESatisfaction, GMK, et al). Thankfully, the exodus for these groups has been temporary for the most part. State of the Artist (SOTA) had a brief dalliance with the home of the Dodgers this past Fall when group members Parker, Young TH, and Hyphen8d went south, looking to take advantage of all Southern California has to offer in the way of hip-hop inspiration.
They returned rejuvenated, sounding more focused on the brief (but still crackin’) Hank Moody EP, a three-track suite that felt like the last warm rays of sunshine reflecting on an endless Pacific Ocean horizon. The threesome’s July 2009 entry into the local rap game, Shapeshifters Mixtape, introduced us to the raw talent of these 206-natives, but the Hank Moody EP showed a glimpse of true progression in their craft.
Now, the SOTA boys have released the first track from their forthcoming debut album, SeattleCaliFragalisticExtraHellaDopeness. “Extrahelladope” (featuring also-set-to-blow local cats Helladope and Jarv Dee, both of the Cloud Nice camp) is a further chapter in SOTA’s coming-of-age story. It’s decidedly West Coast G-funk, updated for the 21st century. Parker handles production, doing his best imitation of Beacon-Hiller Tay Sean (one half of Helladope), with spaced-out synths, a danceable computerized beat, and licks of electro high-hat and bass.
“Extrahelladope” is a worthy successor to “Just So You Know” (Helladope’s already established hip-hop/funk Town anthem), and a further indicator of great things to come from dem SOTA boys.
Ninja Tune is celebrating their 20 year anniversary, and what better way to celebrate then putting out an LP of one of their all time favorites, Bonobo. Set to release on March 29th around the world, Black Sands is sure to be a credit to Ninja Tune’s name sake. Bonobo has been a pioneer in the realm of down-temp, chill producers. Bonobo together with Andreya Triana give Massive Attack’s signature allure with Elizabeth Fraser a run for it’s money. Andreya Triana, who just signed to Ninja Tune, guests on Black Sands, and lights up the featured song, “Eyes Down.”
“Eyes Down” leads in with calm keys accented with gentle drum kit pops. As the listener is eased into the track, Andreya Triana adds a soulful flirtation. As multiple tracks of Triana’s vocal harmonies wrap the listeners ear, horns add a new dimension. More layers build adding soft tension followed by a delicate release. “Eyes Down” is relaxed perfection.
Enjoy the “Eyes Down (preview edit)” and get ready to check out Bonobo at a city near you. See Bonobo’s tour dates HERE. He’ll be at The Showbox at the Market on April 25, 2010. Be excited for the release of Black Sands on March 29th–it’s coming.
Fort Worth, TX has given SSG more than we bargained for. The Burning Hotels are up-and-coming post-punk contenders and they are here to leave their mark. On April 27th, The Burning Hotels will be releasing the third release and first ever LP Novels, and it is a grand occasion to be looking forward to.
In the featured song “Boy or Girl,” bright guitars introduce standard structures to give Chance Morgan and Matt Mooty’s vocals a clean platform. As the mood thickens, The Burning Hotels erupt in their anthemic “How long, how long will I be alive?” and so on and so forth they sing. This mix of positive energy with thought provoking context will be interesting to hear on an eleven-track disk. Keep an eye out for The Burning Hotels at SXSW if you’re going, and check out their new album Novels on April 27th.
We have a hit! Are you surprised? Viper Creek Club’s vision behind this video was to embody the real feeling of a house-party with the underlying story of one, Eliza. Viper Creek Club (VCC) invited Seattleites far and wide to make a video of an actual party, not a staged one–they came, and they came. Check out the Q. and A. SSG conducted with VCC at the inception of the project here.
Check out the fruits of your labor! Even if you as an individual reader weren’t in this video, you were as part of the music community of Seattle. The imagery is lush, the story is vivid, the party is wild, and of course, the music is fantastic. Viper Creek Club presents: “Eliza.”
If you haven’t heard of CMJ, as the saying goes, you better ask somebody. As hundreds of thousands of artists, music lovers, and industry types descend on New York towards the end of October, CMJ ranks in the top-tier of independent music festivals nationwide. Although SXSW currently occupies the collective conscious of the music industry, many of the artists that debuted at CMJ have found the critical reception necessary to propel them to a SXSW showcase. Take for example the upcoming Sub Pop/Hardly Art showcase that will be in Austin, March 18th. Made up of the bands that were the top CMJ picks from these labels, this showcase promises to show off the best finely tuned (or untuned, in the case of our featured lo-fi artist) goods they have to offer.
Headlining the Hardly Art half of this event is Golden Triangle. Unknown to almost everyone when they opened the CMJ showcase, this band is currently wrapping up an acclaimed tour where they rocked audiences nationwide before their album Double Jointer releases on March 2nd. SSG has been on this band like white on rice, covering their previous single and video releases, both of which have us very excited about their debut release. To further express our infatuation with this decidedly lo-fi, girl-fronted, garage rock band, SSG presents their latest single “Jinx,” which combines the aforementioned styles with, dare I say, Motown soul? Decide for yourself by checking out “Jinx” below, and stay tuned to SSG for more on Golden Triangle, SXSW and all the best new music!
Alright, this is another one of those moments where I talk about how I try to keep the blatantly commercial music off of SSG, but this song, like the above picture, was just too freaking funny to pass up.
Ludacris has got jokes! Tiger Woods seems to be the brunt of this months punch lines, but Chain Chain Luda Mang(Ludacris) has taken it to the next level–and as one of the funniest rappers, he’s the perfect one to make Tiger Woods satire. In the featured song “Sexting,” Ludacris has taken the hilarity of Tiger Woods alleged sex addition, slapped it on in first person, and sings about his perilous experience of getting caught and going to sex rehab. Ludacris is also pretty clever stringing together social networking acronyms and golf innuendos for your punny pleasure. This song is complete with catchy, thick beats. It’s fun for the whole (TV14) family. Download the song below, put it on all your mix tapes, shamelessly get your dance on, and send a sext out today as a nod to your close, personal friend, Tiger. Enjoy!
Seattle Show Gal is in hot pursuit of undiscovered talent! How many great bands are out there that are slipping through the cracks? Seattle is saturated with so much music, it would be nearly impossible to sift through it all to find the good stuff. The Seattle Show Gal staff is not so proud to think that we can bring you all of it, but we are actively pursuing all different types of acts to give you a pulse on what is going on--right here in Seattle! (See more in "About")
