Browsing Tag

producer

Growing Boi made a malady of sentimentality in his psychedelically experimental single, Overflow

Posted on 24 February 2023

After years of success as a touring artist, session musician, songwriter and producer, Chris Matthews obliterated the notion of genre with his exploratively alternative single, Overflow, under the moniker Growing Boi. The artfully melancholic track makes a malady out of sentimentality while exhibiting the same instrumental alchemy and ingenuity as the Legendary Pink Dots and the vocal gravitas of Leonard Cohen.

The spacey amalgam of psych, folk, electronica, trip-hop and 70s pop is devilishly clever, but never to the detriment of the accessibility of the intimately bold score that will stay with you for long after the complex chords have faded into silent obscurity. From honkytonk piano keys to motifs you’d expect to hear in a Tame Impala production, Overflow is a treasure trove of artful beguile that allows you to drift to a higher plateau.

Overflow will drop on February 24th; hear it on SoundCloud.

Review by Amelia Vandergast

Rae Larz drifted into the 5th dimension in her spacey synth-pop debut, Tea in the Stratosphere

Posted on 23 February 2023

Here to warn us that reality isn’t what we think it is, is the up-and-coming experimental artist Rae Larz, who could give Bjork a run for her Avant-Garde money with her introspectively spacey hit, Tea in the Stratosphere.

Stirring her artfully psychedelic single with a heavy dose of futurism ensured that she established herself as an orchestrator of soul-emancipating sonic remedies, which take us far beyond the maladies of the 21st century.

The decadently soft synth lines lustfully collide with the trip-hop-y percussive fills and the nuanced slithers of jazz timbres and other world music elements that heighten this elevated hit to the nth degree.

Every aural inch of Tea in the Stratosphere was written, performed, produced, and engineered by Rae Larz herself. Evidently, the Brooklyn-based originator will become an unreckonable force in the industry.

Tea in the Stratosphere was officially released on February 3rd via Jupiter’s Luck Records. Hear it on Spotify.

Review by Amelia Vandergast

 

Florida’s DJ Blitz breaks down the windows on Taking Over Future 3

Posted on 18 February 2023

With a sensory overload which might trigger many sentiments usually saved for a blockbuster movie, DJ Blitz destroys all fragility with a rather laser-swooshing effort to turn up when the day is dull, Taking Over Future 3.

DJ Blitz is an in-demand Miami, Florida-based electronic producer, songwriter and acclaimed DJ who loves it when thousands are bending the floors of dance floors everywhere.

”At the age of 16, Blitz knew that he wanted to be a DJ after hearing a song titled “Alone” by one of his influences, Producer / DJ Marshmello.” ~ DJ Blitz

Fleeing the trenches and gaining steam like a runway train throughout, DJ Blitz justifies the hype with the type of performance to wake up early for. With a dominant production and so much to be inspired by, this is a rather sledgehammer-like display for those who love it rather barrage-filled.

Taking Over Future 3 from Miami, Florida-based electronic producer DJ Blitz is a rather weighty experience to cherish for anyone who needed to knock the dust off. Lathered in a powerful vortex of menace, while the hardcore soundscape tears down the frantic and grows up the innocent ears left.

This is one for those clubheads who are still on the sweaty dancefloor.

Listen up on SoundCloud. See more on IG.

Reviewed by Llewelyn Screen

London’s QURE destroys all fragility with weighty electronic piledriver ASTER

Posted on 8 February 2023
https://soundcloud.com/quremuzic/aster?ref=clipboard&p=i&c=1&si=129ADA108CE7492A9BDD57B7A69A4C50&utm_source=clipboard&utm_medium=text&utm_campaign=social_sharing

Edging the crowd on with something so thunderously entertaining, QURE lacerates the tires with a sensationally stimulating techno beat-slammer to knock all shyness away inside with the finger burner that is, ASTER.

QURE is a well-established London, UK-based indie electronic music producer and DJ with a rave-like single to get truly excited about.

”Aside from music production and disc jockeying, I am also an aspiring audio engineer.” ~ QURE

Sometimes you hear a track and it invokes so many memories which were previously forgotten about. ASTER from the underground legend QURE is an exceptional entry into any playlist imaginable.

ASTER from London, UK-based indie electronic music producer/DJ QURE is one of the most powerful songs likely to be heard in 2023. Gosh, there is a hardcore component here which will thrill many, and scare others away under their blankets again.

Steaming through the curtains like a runaway iron, we find a truly ear-popping single to elevate all moods like a natural booster.

Listen up on Soundcloud. See more on the IG page.

Reviewed by Llewelyn Screen

The Sun Hit an 80s New Wave Atmosphere in Sabet and Doherty’s Single, At the Brink of Dawn

Posted on 30 January 2023

Docking their boat at the harbour of 80s new wave atmosphere, the soundtrackers, professional songwriters and producers, Sabet and Doherty, orchestrated a sonic depiction of when the sun hits in their single, At the Brink of Dawn, taken from their sophomore EP, The Secret.

Starting with cavernously choral angular guitar work in the same vein as Slowdive, the instrumental aural escapade builds into a feat of full-bodied beguile through the percussive fills brought by Doherty, best known for his work with Ben Folds and They Might Be Giants.

The oceanically cathartic testament to the collaborative chemistry that spills between the two artists is a unique invitation to slip array from the fray of typically structured music and become part of the flotsam while you trust in the expert orchestrators, who drift you into one of the sweetest 80s rock crescendos towards the outro.

At the Brink of Dawn is now available to stream on YouTube.

Review by Amelia Vandergast

Skinny G Radio reached the pinnacle of existential humour with his alt-electro hit, Unplug Me!

Posted on 17 January 2023

Unplug Me! is just one of the eccentrically disarming alt-electronica singles found on Skinny G Radio’s funky 8-Bit album, The Heightening. The tongue-in-cheek exposition on the perils of social media in the age when fear and hate are relentlessly pushed to keep us transfixed to platforms is an all too efficacious reminder that we should consume media not the other way around.

Instead of letting the doom and gloom from the lyrical messaging control the track, the LA artist and producer utilises his on-brand sense of existential humour to give back some of the serotonin stripped by doom-scrolling. The playful polyphonic synth sequences make delving back in for repeat listens all too tempting. Can someone protect Skinny G Radio at all costs, please? He’s ingeniously precious.

Unplug Me! is now available to stream on Spotify.

Connect with Skinny G Radio on Twitter & Instagram.

Review by Amelia Vandergast

Float with the tropic flotsam in Agaaze’s open psychedelic love letter ‘Cinnamon Paradise’

Posted on 31 December 2022

Rochester, NY multi-instrumentalist, artist and producer, Agaaze reached the pinnacle of sonically sugared electronic dream pop with his latest single, Cinnamon Paradise.

With tropic pop textures adding temperate soul by the smorgasbord, the dreamy release envelopes you with the pure pining emotion which inspired the love letter to his crush. For six sweet minutes, the breakthrough artist takes you on a psychedelic trip through his innocent affection while the genre-fluid instrumentals break the monocultural mould.

Currently attending the University of Michigan, Agaaze built the foundations for his music career at age six while learning classical guitar. In the coming years, he experimented with jazz guitar, trumpet and South Indian Carnatic vocal lessons, winning classical and jazz guitar awards along the way, in addition to performing at the Rochester Jazz Festival and playing classical guitar on WXXI radio in 2019.

In 2020, Agaaze started to compose his own music, inspired by an eclectic array of artists, including Tame Impala, Tyler, the Creator and Pink Floyd. His debut EP, A Portal Inside, arrived in December 2021.

Cinnamon Paradise is now available to stream on Spotify, along with the sophomore single, For You, which dropped on December 30th.

Review by Amelia Vandergast

GrainyPastel – Ovrdone: Kaleidoscopically Euphoric EDM

Posted on 19 December 2022

The Oklahoma-hailing independent music producer, GrainyPastel, siphoned euphoria through his latest entrancing EDM earworm, Ovrdone. The jazzed-up hip-house instrumental hit flexes its polyphonic charm as the snares meet the synths to spill a kaleidoscope of polished colour that will brighten any mood in just one hit.

His ambition and drive to spread the love through his high vibe productions sonically shines through in the transcendently electric feat of electronica, which refuses to colour inside the lines of an electronic sub-genre. You’d be incredibly hard-pressed to find another electronica producer with a more vibrant sonic signature. When he’s not crafting floor-fillers and dopamine-spillers, he is often found dabbling in other genres, from cinematic scores to jazz ensembles to pop hits.

Ovrdone was officially released on December 2nd; it is now available to stream on YouTube.

Stay up to date with all the latest releases from GrainyPastel by following him on Instagram.

Review by Amelia Vandergast

The Alt-90s Cinematically Lives and Breathes Through Agent Envy’s Grungy Industrial Rock Single, No Friend

Posted on 9 December 2022

San Diego artist and producer Agent Envy is fresh from the release of her sultrily fierce single, No Friend, which cinematically amalgamates trip-hop, industrial rock, grunge and metal. Under the wide-spanning influence of acts including NIN, Tool, Massive Attack and Deftones, Agent Envy found her own striking sonic aesthetic that is nothing short of iconic in itself.

Any fans of Warpaint and Wolf Alice will want to sink their teeth into this demurely powerful protest against life’s prolific protagonists who guise their usury entitlement as friendship to take what they can, and guilt trip you when they’ve bled you dry of your empathy but still haven’t quite had their fill.

“No Friend is about finally saying, “enough is enough,” and captures the triumph and catharsis of setting a boundary. The track explores a powerful side of my vocal range not previously featured in my earlier songs, along with the deep, sultry vocals that my audience is familiar with.”

No Friend will be available to stream and purchase on all major platforms from December 9th. Catch in on Spotify & YouTube.

Review by Amelia Vandergast

Suspenseful and Seductive in the Instrumental Realm

Posted on 5 December 2022

This has been a great week for new lo-fi tracks. In addition to the stellar producers that I’ve been handed earlier, a couple of days ago, I also get to talk about playNo’s newest instrumental “My Chick.” The Texas born producer and composer has released a fantastically psychedelic music video on his YouTube channel. The music is great, but the swirling colors looking like a tie-die fractal is something I could stare at for days.

The track is simultaneously upbeat and laid back, which in and of itself is quite an accomplishment. Beginning with some sound-design cascades offering a mood setting intro, the track breaks into new chords and pulsating static notes that take over the tune. The playful marimba and piano dialogue make for a mysterious sound – but not something that takes itself too seriously, which is nice. If you could cross some of the best music from “Plant Vs. Zombies” with an upscale jazz club in Harlem, you might get a sense of what I’m describing. Background vocal samples round out the dazzle with “My Chick” and we have a lovely listening experience.

Hopping over to playNo’s Instagram page will be a joy for dog-lovers. Many of his stories feature his pet pit-bull which is an adorableness overload. It’s nice to see the personal side of a gifted producer who obviously works very hard on his craft but isn’t afraid to play also.