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Au Palais – Pathos

aupalais

The Au Palais train rolls forward with the second single from the Tender Mercy EP, “Pathos”. It’s dark, it’s eerie, it’s synth-y but with enough soul/underbelly/songwriting skill to separate it (and the band) from their other dreampop-low-fi-synth peers.

Au Palais – Pathos

Au Palais canada (Bandcamp) (Facebook)

Rating 8.0

brown8

reviewed by
12-12-11

Mystery Skulls – When I’m With You

mysteryskulls

Mystery Skulls is a DJ out of Dallas. Mr. Skulls’ top shelf synth pop jam “When I’m With You” just became your new favorite song.

Mystery Skulls – When I’m With You

Mystery Skulls texas (Tumblr) (Facebook)

Rating 8.4

brown8

reviewed by
12-12-11

DJ Khaled – I’m On One (Shlohmo Remix)

imonone

Our dude Shlohmo dropped this lights down 4 AM screw of “I’m On One” over the weekend and we’ve had it on repeat ever since. Double M-G til we get the chair.

DJ Khaled – I’m On One (Shlohmo Remix)

Shlohmo california (Facebook) (Soundcloud)

Rating 8.1

brown8

reviewed by
12-12-11

EVENT REVIEW! Re:Mix Labs in Los Angeles

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Last week Re:Mix Labs took on Los Angeles at 401 S Main in Downtown. The City of Angels was the final stop for Re:Mix, which started at CMJ in NYC and made pit stops in Miami, Chicago and Las Vegas, of the Hyundai Veloster-sponsored multimedia event. Check out a recap of the week’s happenings below as well as earlier coverage during the event here.

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Exhibiting at the LA Artwalk on Thursday was Robert Reynolds, whose gallery is located at 4th and Spring, one block away from the Re:mix festivities. His ship sculptures have a Nordic, medieval fantasy element to them, but are still unmistakably contemporary at the same time. There’s also much to love in his tactile and inviting mixed media piece that depicts a bonfire in the woods.

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Friday’s Re:mix events kicked off with a Q&A session featuring English filmmaker Edgar Wright. He’s curator/guest programmer for the third year at The New Beverly Cinema at 7165 Beverly Blvd. LA; this year’s theme: movies Edgar has never seen! The humility of such an idea is commendable in a world where everyone’s too quick to boast their intellectual prowess. The screenwriter/director of Shaun of the Dead and Scott Pilgrim vs the World further retained his humility as he was showered with praise by several admirers. The most interesting part was a discussion re: the innate comedic value in a wide angle lens, popularized by the Coen brothers in early classics like Raising Arizona, and how film directors moved away from the style after it was copycatted by the funny commercials of the 90’s.

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The second Q&A was with Jane McGonigal, TED fellow and author of Reality is Broken: Why Games Make us Better and How they Can Change the World. She was interviewed by Shira Lazar, HuffPo contributor and founder of What’s Trending. Both proud supporters of the new ‘geek chic’, McGonical argued that the old stigmas attached to video games have dissipated, as the public has grown to accept that games make us resilient and bring us into contact with a host of positive emotions: joy, relief, love, surprise, pride, curiousity, excitement, awe/wonder, contentment and most importantly, creativity.

A set by chiptune indie band Anamanguchi, who also composed the Scott Pilgrim videogame soundtrack, was the perfect compliment to McGonigal’s discussion.

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On Saturday, VIBE sponsored a 101 crash course for all the wish-to-be DJs in the house. The event was followed by creative innovators and close friends, Director Jason Reitman and turntablist Cut Chemist who discussed using music as a connecting point in their personal discussions, in an interview curated by KCRW Morning Becomes Eclectic host Jason Bentley. The conversation was nice. Reitman was dropping “cool dude” bombs left and right (“Why won’t people stop asking me to direct Ghostbusters 3?”, “I do script readings at LACMA with Natalie Portman and Steve Carell.”) and the Chemist sharing insight on what it is to be a turntablist in the year 2011. Following the interview, the duo joined forces on the 1’s and 2’s, (Reitman: a capellas, Chemist: beats) mashing up everything from Playaz Circle and Dr. Dre to Soundgarden and Donna Summer.

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UK’s The Boxer Rebellion took stage after an epic soundcheck (seriously, you should’ve seen it!). Having seen the four-piece several times in the last few years, their performance on Saturday easily ranks atop their best. The band opened strong with “Step Out of the Car” and didn’t look back. Despite some onstage technical difficulties, the band rolled forward with fan favorites like “If You Run“. TBR proclaimed it was the “first time we’ve played in a bank” in fact the downtown space centered in LAs old bank district was actually the first time I’d partied in a bank. So there was that and there was also the fact that the band’s guitarist looks like that dude from this season’s X Factor. He had that certain Krajcik-esqueness to him. The band’s set while brief, had the right rockus and stood a highlight to the week’s mix of events.

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Re:Mix Labs california (Event Info) (HyundaiVeloster)

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reviewed by
12-12-11

SHOW REVIEW! CAVEMAN w/ RACES @ the Echo, LA. December 8th, 2011

Contributed by Chris Gedos

caveman

Industry bees were buzzing Thursday Night, December 8th, for Caveman and Races at the Echo. Sponsored by Stereogum and the 2012 Chevy Sonic, there was a certain excitement for the free show w/RSVP, held on the eve of the Echo’s 10th anniversary.

Caveman capitalized on their CMJ momentum with the triumphant CoCo Beware, sure to make many a year end list, that increasingly rare LP which actually requires a wire-to-wire listen in order to uncover its nuance. By switching the set list dramatically from the album sequence, Caveman was able to create a live experience which was no less enjoyable and gave everyone in attendance a greater appreciation for the Brooklyn five piece.

With All Things Must Pass as the DJ preset, Races started their soundcheck. Their demurely rebellious style is KROQ ready with a San Fernando stamp of approval. “Can you pull the guitar out of the monitor? This vocal isn’t right.” Wade Ryff, the band’s vocalist, knows that there’s a lot of potential converts in attendance, and the LA industry contingency always lurks in the shadows. Eventually they get into their first song. It’s an instrumental with a great 60’s sensibility, not from their current EP, and possibly the opener on their upcoming LP, slated for March to coincide with the SXSW season. After about two minutes of guitar solos over bass, drums and red nord electric 3, everyone in the joint was fucking slayed by the majesty of the shredding. We applauded as the vocals commenced.

There’s a lot of buzz surrounding Races. They’re worth every droplet of it. I went in with high expectations and was still blown away by their set. They can go big and emotive like Arcade Fire (their most immediate influence), a quality that not even Arcade Fire continuously possesses. The mic for singer/percussionist Devon Lee was only at 50% capacity, but her back-up vox on “Big Broom” were magical. And I even love “All for You” and its moog filched from a still lost Pinkerton b-side. Like, love and follow Races before 2011 punches its time card, because these cats might be the ones to watch for 2012.

In between sets: I stared at the Chevy Sonic light projection on the wall and contemplated the infamous “Pink Moon” Cabrio ad, the first time a compact car married an “indie” sound and aesthetic. “Some of Them Are Old” by Brian Eno also played (no more Quiet Beatle) as a perfect prelude to Caveman’s set. However, during the second soundcheck, it was revealed by the sound guy that the backing mic would only continue to work at 50%. As a result there were mic problems later on during Caveman’s set, somewhat on “Thankful” and especially during “Great Life”, where the mic feed was especially unfortunate. Other snippets sounded grainy and distorted. So much of Caveman’s music is defined by its gentle undulations, which sounded perfect through the amps for about 87% of the set.

The fact that Caveman was able to rise above these minor sound snafus speaks miles about their innate professionalism. From the set’s first song, album opener “A Country’s King of Dreams”, one of the only songs played in order, with its “There There” hyper percussion techniques, it became apparent that Caveman‘s uniqueness is their most impressive quality. Even “My Time”, a single if there could be one, is a song driven by its uniqueness, a downbeat Feelies for the 21st C. I’d rather not rack my brain to come up with another apt comparison. CoCo Beware sounds so 2011, but it’s one of the least representative LPs of the year. They’re louder than most bands and they’re softer than most bands as well. They played the entire album and one new song with a slightly more populist vibe.

I left the venue equally impressed with both Caveman and Races. Walking out, The Kink’s “I’m Not Like Everybody Else” plays over the PA, originally the B-side to “Sunny Afternoon.”

Caveman – Thankful newyork (Facebook)

Races – Big Broom california (Facebook)

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caveman-shirt

Rating 9.0

brown92

reviewed by
12-12-11

Ty Segall – My Sunshine

Contributed by Trevor Meyer

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If you’re in need of beating a lingering music hangover, Ty Segall’s “My Sunshine” should fix you right up. Ty’s gritty and unfiltered tone is most impressive and it almost sounds like he’s boiling nails somewhere in his vocal pallet. This is my favorite track from Ty, it’s off of his 2010 album, Melted. Ty has also released music in 2011. Below is a nice cover of The Vibrators, “Baby Baby.”

Ty Segall – My Sunshine

Ty Segall california (Facebook)

Rating 8.5

brown8

reviewed by
12-12-11

Bad Sports – I May Be Cruel

Contributed by Trevor Meyer

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Austin punk rockers, Bad Sports have an awesome sound. It’s true that parallels can be drawn to The Ramones, but it’s undeniable that Bad Sports have a focused, modern sound. This is Garage/Punk with likable melodies and no BS. “I May Be Cruel” comes from their 2011 album, Kings of the Weekend. Spin it.

Bad Sports – I May Be Cruel

Bad Sports texas (Facebook)

Rating 8.2

brown8

reviewed by
12-12-11

Jim James – Man in Me (Bob Dylan)

Contributed by Trevor Meyer

jimjames

Here is Jim James doing a wonderful rendition of Dylan’s, “The Man in Me”. Stunning harmonies, highly believable and relatable vocals, and a little something special for everyone. In other words, this is Jim James being Jim James.

Jim James – Man in Me (Bob Dylan)

Jim James kentucky (Official)

Rating: 8.3

brown8

reviewed by
12-12-11

Theophilus London – I Stand Alone (Skream Remix)

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Mr. London gets a transatlantic helping hand from Skream on this new souped electrostep version of “I Stand Alone”. The mix has got a big floor filling sound and nice dynamics. Props to our friends at DoML for the track.

Theophilus London – I Stand Alone (Skream Remix)

Skream england (Facebook) (Soundcloud)

Rating 7.9

brown71

reviewed by
12-10-11

Snoop Dogg & Wiz Khalifa – OG (Feat. Curren$y)

snoop

Smoke weed everyday/Don’t give a fuck.

Snoop Dogg & Wiz Khalifa – OG (Feat. Curren$y)

Snoop Dogg california (Official) (Twitter)

Rating 8.0

brown8

reviewed by
12-10-11

Avicii – Levels (Skrillex Remix)

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It’s finally here…. We saw Skrill drop this at the Regeneration party in LA on Weds night and the mix got on like a house on fire. Now the Full HQ version arrives. Turn it up.

Avicii – Levels (Skrillex Remix)

Skrillex california (Official) (Facebook)

Rating 8.5

brown8

reviewed by
12-09-11

SunSquabi – Coming Back Rich

Contributed by Elliott Porter

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Here’s a jamming electronica group that’s on the rise out of Boulder, Colorado. Their name is SunSquabi and the track is called “Coming Back Rich”. It almost sounds as if Disco Biscuits and Sound Tribe had a baby and it was this song. Turn this one on, dim the lights, light an incense and become entranced. These guys are going places.

SunSquabi – Coming Back Rich

SunSquabi colorado (Facebook)

Rating 8.5

brown8

reviewed by
12-09-11