Tame Impala Live in Melbourne

Earlier this month we headed out to Sidney Myer Music Bowl, an outdoor venue in Melbourne (read lawns) to see a major stage of Tame Impala's national tour. The group toured Sydney, Brisbane, Melbourne, Adelaide and Perth (for 2 shows in their hometown) - heading exclusively into outdoor amphitheaters to promote their latest album Currents. They put on a ripper of a show for hours, playing through their entire selection, accompanied by a visual trip, and ending with fireworks (literally), It was clear it wasn't just the nationalism that sold these shows out across the country.

While this group is extremely well known in Australia (with Currents even being named the ARIA Album of the Year), they have only recently started to make major waves across North America. With their psychedelic rock feeling similar to much loved bands like MGMT, Neon Indian or Empire of the Sun, their sound provides a perfect vibe to graze to at the beach, mountain-side or for an easy afternoon backdrop. Although the band has been around for a long time, last year was clearly a breakout year globally - with blog aggregator hypem declaring them the 4th most blogged band of the year. Here's another mention for ya mates. If you haven't stumbled across these guys just yet, take a look at their album below (start with Let It Happen) - could be a nice addition to your selection. Or if you're feeling in the mood - get your horn out and listen to one of their older tracks - Elephant.

Rufus - Live in Newtown, Australia

A few weeks back I had the pleasure of making it out to a little suburb/town outside of the city to take in my first concert on this side of the world. It was only fitting that this first concert was held by Rufus; an indie group that’s originally from Sydney, but was likely one of the only native groups that I had heard of before making the trip down here. Releasing Atlas last year, this tour was sort of a homecoming for Rufus to celebrate the new album, which the crowd certainly reflected. Aussies certainly know how to enjoy themselves and this was definitely one of those times they showed it. Inside of a packed concert hall at the Enmore Theatre in Newtown, Rufus pounded out hits like Take Me and Desert Night to make for an experience that went late into the night. If you haven’t heard of this group (they’re not THAT Australian), check out those two tracks below – which should help visualize the night a bit more than I remember.

Rufus - Desert Night

Skrillex x The Rap Community

 

It's been a while since I've had a chance to get back on here, it's been a crazy few months and I've been a little sidetracked... but we'll get to that later. For now the news today is that Skrillex has released his latest album Recess which is bound to get more than enough enjoyment from his glow-stick wielding fans. While Skrillex doesn't have Ellie Goulding to back him up, he comes with quite the entourage. The most notable addition this time around is Chance The Rapper, who steps into a unique song called Coast is Clear. Chance the Rapper provides his unique tonality over one of Skrillex's hypnotizing beats, but the result is quite interesting. The album leaked recently during a Reddit Ask Me Anything, but can now be purchased through iTunes like everything else.

Skrillex feat. Chance The Rapper - Coast is Clear


Now although pairing rappers with edm artists is still uncommon, this wasn't the first time that Skrillex has made that venture. A few years ago he managed to link up with one of the most up and coming artists at the time in A$AP Rocky to release Wild For The Night (remember A$AP was essentially just picked and given $3m to make 2 albums). This came best visually in my opinion.  

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And while I'm on A$AP's tip, I might as well just end with one of his tracks that has been on repeat for me for a while now. Oh and it features a video with Rhianna aka Badgalriri. Worth mentioning.

A$AP Rocky - Fashion Killa

Stussy Toronto & BEVSTMODE Present: '431 Richmond Mix' by DJ Kicks

I still remember those epic car rides from the Hammer to T.O. to go shopping in my younger days...and by pure chance was wearing one of my purchases from 431 Richmond Street when this mix dropped today (it's gotta be a sign). Encapsulating the diversity of Toronto's fashion district, clothing brand, Stussy, drops a collaborative mix of music, both past and present. Check out Nomad (former tenant of 431 Richmond) for ALL and I mean ALL of your clothing needs at their new location (819 Queen Street West) if brands like A.P.C., Comme des Garcons, and Robert Geller get you all kinds of aroused.

I usually am not a big fan of playlists or mixes, but this one stands out start to finish. Fusing trap beats, old school dance music, and vocal rap samples...this is simply hypnotizing.

Only to be enjoyed under the influence...

Your Friday Banger Session: Jacuzzi - Mizu (EP)

No idea where this guy came from or how I came across him for that matter, but as Friday slowly grinds its way towards weekend glory, I think these tracks provide the necessary pick-me-up.  Hawaiian production artist Jacuzzi has hung around the scene for a while, but he just recently dropped his EP, Mizu.  I'd like to stress the "drop" in that previous sentence, as each one of these tracks is a wild journey of complex and symphonic-like bass builds.  Calling this Trap just doesn't do justice.  Pure instrumental majesty on this one, but don't be surprised if you start hear more from this up and coming beatmaker.

Mikky Ekko - Kids (The Chainsmokers Remix)

Recently another great submission made its way into the Straight Goods inbox (info@straightgoodsmedia.com) from the Chainsmokers, who were able to break through the noise of the many promoters/artists we hear from, with some clever, clever writing from their flight from Seattle to NYC (excerpt below)...  

"We could go on but the guy in front just leaned back and now i am forced to type with dinosaur arms and can literally feel the carpaltunnel syndrome taking affect..." 

Alex and Drew from the Chainsmokers were kind enough to explain their approach to Mikky Ekko's Kids, which is a great track as an original, but i like what they did here. Hope you enjoy. 

"So, Mikky is an absurdly talented writer and vocalist, so when we had the chance to work on a track of his we were delighted because we feel he is this perfect blend of pop/mainstream and indie which is two qualities we hold more dear to us than anything.  Between his really unique voice and its styling which is something we care a lot about and and our style of producing we though we could create a really interesting remix that embodies our tastes... When we started producing the song we gravitated towards the more progressive sound, flush with big synths but wanted to pair it with a sweeping horn over the drop to give it this really grand almost orchestra feeling that gave it a unique feeling, almost cinematic in nature. In doing so it allowed us to maintain a high energy remix but maintain a unique undertone. In the end his rhythmic vocals along with the piano chords allows the tracks to cruise along effortlessly.”

They also signed off as "Kendell Jenners future boyfriends..."

It's always nice to see that the art of quality writing still has it's rewards.

Mikky Ekko - Kids (The Chainsmokers Remix)

Flume and Chet Faker - Lockjaw EP

Flume and Chet Faker collaborated for a 3 song EP... It's awesome


Flume & Chet Faker - Drop The Game

Flume & Chet Faker - What About Us