The atmosphere in the venue has a modern look with two floors serving up drinks from the back of the room. Tables align on the side with individual couches offering bottle service while the balcony on the second level overlooks the main stage and DJ booth. 

With the lights turned low, the Truth X Lies logo popped up on the large screen illuminating the room. The crowd began to scream with applause, finishing up their drinks and rushing to the dance floor ready to let loose.

Truth X Lies took over the stage with Bertles wearing an Argentina soccer jersey and Howard stylized in colorful Adidas gear. The duo fed off the energy of the crowd and kept it going all night. What I appreciated from their set was they played classic jams from the early 2000s. Taking us back to yesteryear with great throwbacks like Don Omar’s “Dile” or Jagged Edge’s “Where the Party At?” mixed up with a modern EDM twist getting the crowd bumping and popping bottles. The duo kept the dance floor grooving with funky change-ups like KRS-One’s “Rappers Delight” sped up to a frantic pace. It was great seeing both Bertles and Howard having fun taking turns on the turntables and egging the crowd on to keep moving.

Once the set was over Truth X Lies were exhausted but radiating with pure adrenaline after the performance. The duo were nice enough to take the time to sit down with me and talk a bit about their musical journey up to this point. Here’s our conversation.

Vidal Granados: Thank you so much for taking the time after an awesome performance. First off I want to say happy birthday to Ryan! You just turned 21 right [laughs]

Ian Bertles: 75!

Ryan Howard: No just 21, never had a drink in my life so let’s go!

VG: Is this your first time celebrating out of town or just another day as an artist?

RH: No not my first. But the first time I celebrated out of town I was stuck in the Atlanta airport. It was miserable. This is way better!

VG: Where did you celebrate while you were in Chicago?

IB: We went to this place called Girl & The Goat. Fire!

VG: In the West Loop! Did you get the pig cheek?

RH: Sadly, they didn’t have it. We had the goat belly with goat cheese. It was good though.

VG: That’s pretty solid as well. So to start off, you guys grew up in different parts of the country but both were involved in music at an early age. Can you give a brief background history?

RH: I grew up in St. Petersburg, Florida area. I went to music school studying classical music for many years. I got a Masters’s Degree in playing the trumpet. Once I graduated I didn’t know what I wanted to do so I started music production. 

IB: I grew up right outside of New York City. I’ve been playing drums my whole life. I grew up playing jazz drums. Then I went into audio engineering school and then got into DJing and then got into music production school. It’s been quite a musical journey my entire life.

VG: How did Truth X Lies form? What has the experience been like working together for a number of years?

RH: I was playing trumpet in orchestras in New York Broadway shows for a period of time. I got really burnt out being in that environment. I had been DJing for a little while to make some extra money on the side. I was throwing events with a guy who brought in Ian. And we started working together in 2014. It was good for us cause we learn a lot about the industry during that time but also not what we wanted to do in the end. We’d throw parties every Saturday, 10 pm – 4 am. Then clean up everything afterward before going home and all the promotional work. It was exhausting! We worked, played local shows, and made bootlegs. We dropped our “official” release in 2017. And in 2019 we put out our first Tech House track. In 2020 we put out a bunch of music, which helped us get ready to tour once quarantine was lifted. Now it’s all music. Getting to travel, meeting great people, and eating great food everywhere. We love it!

IB: We both had a background in this industry before we started writing music together. We started throwing parties together in Manhattan. We did black light paint parties and such. It definitely helped us on each end of the spectrum as both a consumer of EDM, which we are, but also as people who’ve hosted events. We’ve switched genres throughout the years trying to figure out what we wanted to produce. We’ve made everything from Trap type beats and different s**t. Then got addicted to making house music like Deep House before going with Tech House because it’s fun for a live audience to perform and we just took it from there. During quarantine, we really buckled down and started writing a bunch of music and were able to tour right after quarantine lifted. We’ve been touring for the last year and a half. This is our second time in Chicago, we played in the city last New Year. Fucking love Chicago!

RH: Love Chicago!

VG: That’s a lot of hard work you guys put into this. What advice would you give anyone trying to pursue their art?

IB: Don’t ignore the branding! Really work on it through social media because it’s just as important as the music. Also, do a shit ton of networking within your industry. Don’t be discouraged; keep going. Even if you’re not seeing results right away, push through. But also listen to your body, and respect your limits. You need that work/life balance or else you’ll burn out and that’s really hard to figure out. But you have to fall in love with your craft first of all. Stay focused but also learn to love yourself.

RH: I agree 100%. The other thing that is important to note is you have to be brutally honest with yourself. If your music isn’t good enough, why isn’t it good enough? Why am I not meeting people, not getting books, etc.? You have to put your entire life into it. You have to commit really hard to it. Otherwise, if you don’t commit to it, you won’t go further than a local DJ/artist. Get into a routine and set goals. Weekly, monthly, or whatever. Commit to them so when you look back you can see what you achieved. It’s the best thing in the world when you achieve a goal! Put the time in but make sure you take care of yourself.

VG: Thank you so much for taking the time to talk and for the great show!

The post Truth X Lies reflecting on origins and sharing sage advice appeared first on Quip Magazine.

But before we get into the interview let’s look back at who NTO is and his latest releases.

NTO was drawn to music from an early age when he started playing guitar. At the age of 18 he became a regular at a couple of legendary clubs in the South of France when German minimal techno was at the top of the music pyramid. These club experiences inspired NTO to take a stab at music production and after a mandatory DJ phase and some impactful collaborations, Anthony began a solo career.

One of his latest releases is a track called “Invisible“. The music video focuses on a story of a single protagonist going through life feeling painfully invisible until he meets, you guessed it, a woman. Despite the romantic undertones of this story the song and the music video tackle a range of serious issues and evoke a wide range of emotions. When speaking about the release NTO shared:

“This track is for all those who already felt « Invisible » in the eyes of the world. The whole atmosphere is inspired by the idea of a dropout, introverted teenager who is unconsciously looking for this one person who will make him feel « visible », true to himself, alive.”

Earlier this spring NTO released a piano version of “Invisible” – a collaboration with French pianist Sofiane Pamart. “This collaboration came from a desire to go further with Invisible and explore multiple versions,” NTO shared with the release announcement. “I wanted the core of this track to be supported by one main instrument. As I truly admire Sofiane Pamart’s work, it was obvious I had to ask him to make an alternative version, where he could tell his story of Invisible, at the crossroads of our two universes”. The result is an equally powerful rendition of the track.

The latest remix (out today, April 14) is by one of NTO’s favorite artists, legendary German producer Paul Kalkbrenner: “Kalkbrenner is one of the artists who inspired me to become a producer when I first started making music 15 years ago,” NTO commented, “So remixing a track, which means a lot to me, is a priceless gift! The original track combines an evolutive narrative story and a dancefloor beat. Paul Kalkbrenner adds the characteristic color and production that gave him the title of melodic techno icon”.

Kateryna Topol: Hello Anthony and thank you for chatting with us, how is 2021 treating you so far?

NTO: Thank you for the invitation!

To be honest, 2020 was tough, that’s for sure, but this 2021 is quite different. I’m still missing the concerts big time but I can smell change is gonna come, there’s something in the air…

Really, I already consider myself very lucky for this energy around my album with the participation of Meute on “Zig Zag,” the video clip accompanying my last single “Invisible” and the collab with Sofiane Pamart who did me a big honor and so many other surprises I can’t talk to you about so far…I’ve been working so hard on my album and there are so many beautiful things ahead, the release of my album in September…well, I choose to be optimistic

KT: Same here, cheers to optimism. Ok, so your romance with music started at an early age, but at which point did you decide this can and will be your career?

NTO: I really consider Passion is the key. It has to start with passion, I remember when I was 17, completely absorbed for an insane amount of hours in front of my computer, driven by the magic of it … back then, if someone had told me this would become a career, I would have shit my pants ahaha …but you know, you feel deep inside of you the urge to tell your story and music is your only medium of communication so you try harder and harder ’till more and more people show you they understand your language…I’m very lucky to be doing this!

KT: Haha, that’s great. You are currently working on a new album, how is that coming along?

NTO: I have reached a very good point in my life. I’m surrounded by the greatest team and I never felt so inspired and free to produce. The timing was right and it was evidence I was ready for an album.

There’s beautiful energy around this project…Great artists I admire came along to participate as well as film producers since I’ve always wanted to link my melodies to images, I’m really happy about this…We have so many ideas, these collaborations are so inspiring for me…

I can’t wait to present all the surprises we got in store!

Image: NTO with Sofiane Pamart. Photo by Diego Crutzen

KT: Let’s talk about “Invisible” – what a powerful video! What was the inspiration behind it?

NTO: When I first started to draw the contours of the track “Invisible” on my keyboard, I had a very precise idea in mind. It would humbly try to speak for those who feel voiceless, misunderstood, and invisible in the eye of the world…I may have felt this way at a certain time of my life but I know we all do at times. At first, I pictured a little boy who would unconsciously look for someone who truly sees him and considers him…Then, of course, everyone can imagine his own story, I like that idea…

KT: How did the story and collaboration with Jean Charles Charavin, the director for the “Invisible” music video, come about? 

NTO: The track was built on a narrative pattern so it felt very instinctive for the great JC Chauvin to imagine the scenario. We started to work with Incendie Films and very naturally, JC invited me into his world and we started to collaborate very closely together on this in order to develop the original idea. I’m just very impressed and thrilled by the work they all put on this project given that, to me, the video clip completely sublimates the original track.

It was the first time for me on a professional cinema set and I can tell you it was a blast!

KT: Very exciting. And speaking of exciting, you are entering a new chapter of your career, the press release mentioned letting the instincts you cannot control speak aloud – what brought on this adventure, was it a particular moment or growing over time?

NTO: It really felt like the planets were aligned for me [smiles]

I needed to express some deeper feelings hidden inside of me, maybe things I didn’t allow myself to explore before and it definitely felt so good… Everything started to roll naturally but I also have to thank my killer team who truly encouraged me to fulfill myself…I feel like I owe them a lot and they gave me the strength to contemplate the album project…life is often about meeting the right people you know…

KT: For sure. You’ve done some performances with the Cercle – can you talk about that experience?

NTO: I love the crew of Cercle, first because they simply are very nice people and then, because they always make me do crazy things, only they have the secret. I played 3 times for them: under the concord, on top of the Saint Jacques tower in Paris, and recently, in the mountains of Les Dents du Midi, right in the middle of le Lac de Soi, altitude 2500 meters! And every time it’s been unique and unforgettable for me, like a timeless moment in addition to a human adventure. The dents du midi session gave birth to a track « Lac de Soi » released on their label.

Image: NTO and Paul Kalkbrenner. Photo by Thibaud Robiolle.

KT. Let’s talk about what you listen to, in the past you’ve said Paul Kalkbrenner is the “biggest music crush of all time” but what are you listening to these days – sticking to the legends or exploring new talent?

NTO: It’s actually very important for me to do both. I always enjoy an old good classic (all musical genres included ) but at the same time, I’m very attentive and receptive to what the evolution of music offers lately. There is so much creativity in the air these days, it’s obviously enriching!

KT: Very true. How do you find the electronic music scene in Europe right now, compared to when you were growing up?

NTO: Electro music has always had its roots in the underground but I feel like it is more and more democratized in the sense that there are so many different electros now, so many new passionate producers…

It’s very vast and vibrant. I really think the electro scene is just fine and dandy, including in France.

KT: Haha, I love that – fine and dandy. What are your plans and goals for the rest of the year?

NTO: I have an album to finish, so the rest of the year is going to be pretty exciting for me. I really do hope we’re gonna see the end of this all global pandemic situation and that everyone will eventually be able to have a little peace of mind…I miss playing live music so much, feeling the vibrant energy of the crowd…fingers crossed it will soon be possible again, hopefully, this Summer, maybe September…

The post Interview: NTO speaking to changes in his music, latest release and new album appeared first on Quip Magazine.

The man behind the stage name, Joshua Steele, is regarded by many as a pioneer of bass music. But earlier this year Steele announced that he was “no longer a dubstep person” and this news was followed by a new album release .wav (via his Circus Records imprint), an album that manifests his arrival in the more melodic, atmospheric music world. 

Reflecting on this shift Steele admitted that he fell into bass and followed the stream for as long as it made sense to him as an artist, “Now I’m jumping off that ride. It’s not that I never liked it, I’m more reconnecting with myself and what makes me happy” he shared in a press release. 

The new album is an upgrade to the Flux Pavilion sound, “90% of the synths on this album are all analog, and I was really paying attention to the sound and to the tone of everything” hence the name: .wav, “To me, a WAV feels like a visual vinyl, a thing of beauty, a crafted piece of work.” 

Having listened to the album a few times we wanted to catch up with Joshua to discuss this transition and his approach. 

Kateryna Topol: Your new album .wav just came out – congratulations! How are you feeling about the release? 

Flux Pavilion: Very, very good! And thank you for the congratulations. Writing the album was a slow process because I wanted to really feel every moment, so when it was finished it really felt like I’d had my time with it. There is something about that which is quite peaceful and gratifying in itself, in a way it didn’t matter how it’s received because I knew it was what I wanted it to be. To get such an overwhelming response is a feeling that I can’t possibly describe, but I feel super proud of my work and more connected with my fans than ever.

KT: Fantastic! There are quite a few collaborations on the record, how did those come about?

FP: Each song is its own little journey, some of them I wrote in a room with the collaborator, some of them over email and we still haven’t met. One of my favourite ways to work is to be sent a fully formed a capella of a song and then I write around it. It sort of feels like you have a character and you can put them in whatever environment that suits them, which is a totally different experience than trying to form the character itself.

KT: Ha, interesting! What was the process like collaborating in this environment? 

FP: It’s actually not that different from collaborating in the past. Being an electronic musician I can really work anywhere, and due to constant touring I basically have too. There are countless tracks in my repertoire that I’ve written with people I’ve never met, and I don’t think that’s a bad thing. I like speaking to people and gathering ideas, but I generally like to leave a session with a good idea of the person rather than the song we are going to write. When it comes to writing I always prefer to do it on my own and be inspired by my meeting, rather than try to create in a room with someone else. So working digitally I get an idea of the person based on their musical ideas that they send, and I can respond with my own, it’s a nice way to process the work

KT: Very cool. Speaking of production, most of the synths on this record are all analog, what did you use to make them?

FP: Prophet 6 – UDO Super 6 – Moog Model D – OB6 – Deckards Dream – Digitone – Monotribe . . . . they are the main synths that I’d say created this album, but that’s not including the massive wall of eurorack modules that I’ve got, which is pretty hard to sum up. I’ve got a room at Ten87 which is basically littered with electronics, writing music is basically me floating about experimenting on different synths until I twiddle the right knob for the right moment in the right song [images below].

KT: You mentioned the shift to a more atmospheric sound is about reconnecting with yourself and what makes you happy – how has this journey of self discovery been going? 

FP: Yeah it’s been a real treat if I’m being honest. I’ve always been a huge fan of atmospherics and I never really knew how to get it into my music. The beginnings of this album weren’t actually intended to be Flux Pavilion tracks, I was mainly exploring my electronics and creating long sprawling atmospheric pieces, and then I realized I could work the other way around. I didn’t know how to get my new atmospheric sound into what Flux Pavilion used to be, but what if I tried getting Flux Pavilion into these new atmos pieces. That’s basically what gave birth to the sound of .wav.

KT: Amazing, any highlights or moments of enlightenment you’d be open to sharing?

FP: I write a lot of sketches and they are all over the place, never really going anywhere but I enjoy writing them. Then when I find or write a vocal I really like sometimes I’ll just go through old sketches and play the vocal over the top to see if it works. That’s exactly what happened with “Somebody Else”. The intro to that song I actually wrote about 8 years ago, and then the drop I wrote fresh for the album, it’s quite a nice feeling knowing that every second of music I write can potentially be used, makes me feel like no time is wasted, as long as I’m creating.

KT: You have a participative experience up on your website right now, tell us a bit about it…

FP: Yeah we have set up a submission for people to leave us audio files of their own voices. I did something similar on the track “Twitterbird,” I asked for people to sing a single note and then I cut them all up and created a keyboard that played the sung notes back to me when I pressed a key but in a random order, it was nice creating something like that with my fans so I wanted to do it again.

KT: Sound like a fun and inclusive approach. How many submissions have you gotten so far?

FP: Well this time it’s a bit different, it’s not actually about the audio itself, it’s about the waveform. I’m really fascinated by waveforms and using them to control and modulate other waveforms, it’s really the building block of complex synthesis. With the live show I wanted to get my fans involved so we have been using the submissions to modulate the visuals. I’m starting to get really tired of computer generated stuff and wanted my show to have a human element, having my fans control the visuals of my show feels like a cool way to do that

KT: Looking froward to seeing this show realize! All right, needless to say this past year has been different, how have you been staying motivated and creative? 

FP: Yeah it’s certainly been an interesting year. I’ve been working with a therapist for the past 3 years and found the strength to get myself on some medication just before COVID hit. I can honestly say it has absolutely lifted my motivation and creativity. Depression has been something I’ve lived with my whole life, taking the step to reach out has helped me start breaking through the sludge and noticing the fresh air that was just out of reach. My music wouldn’t be coming out the way it is without the help and support of my team.

KT: You have also been working on a new Flux Pavilion show with guitar and keyboard, are you planning on having a live band on stage? 

FP: I’ve actually already done a live band show, we never took it on tour because it never felt like the right time. This new show is a condensed version of that. Being able to travel as a one man band is one of the perks of electronic music and I wanted to keep that going whilst putting the DJ in a box. It was always about working out how to perform this music in a way that allows for improvisation, this show is the first step in a pretty exciting direction.

KT: Cool cool. What’s the first venue and/or festival you’d like to play this awesome new show in?

FP: Who knows, I’ve just put a live steam together to support the album and I really enjoyed the freedom of being able to perform in whatever space I want, thanks to a green screen and some amazing visual artists. It’s been born in my basement and imagined on a digital stage, I haven’t even thought about making it happen in real life yet. I think when I do I’ll use the opportunity to upgrade it all again!

KT: Makes sense. Any past or upcoming live streams you’d like us to share?

FP: I’ve been doing a studio live stream called from FromtheLab, all episodes are on my youtube channel, there are a few tracks on my album that were born on these livestreams, so that was really cool to capture and would be a fun watch for any fans of the album I think.

KT: Awesome, thank you for your time Joshua and the playlist!

*  *  *

Flux Pavilion curated playlist, hit save and enjoy

Photo credits: Top two: Fiona Garden; Bottom: Jasmine Safaeian.

The post Interview: Flux Pavilion’s evolution of sound and the makings of “.wav” appeared first on Quip Magazine.

Matt and Andy met in school, way back when they were eight years old. The coming of age years were spent clubbing and as they got older their paths split geographically but that did not stop these friends from setting up a joined music blog, Feel My Bicep, at the age of 20-ish. 

“This is before YouTube or Spotify. YouTube existed, but not for the music” shared Matt. “It was just cat videos. And we did focus on this music blog. It was a chance to [uncover unheard] music. We wanted to put music online that didn’t exist anywhere else. We wanted to put up b-sides, rarities, strange edits.“

For a few years the duo focused on the blog, which led them to consider a career in music and eventually, to begin experimenting with beats. The early taste of success lead to a few gigs and so Matt left the Middle East, where he had been living for a few years, and joined Adam in London. This was the time they both decided to focus on music full time: “That was three years of eating only bread and like deejaying only in clothing stores, [it was] really tough. But we kept going.” Eventually, the blog took the backseat and the music production took the wheel. Fast forward 11 years of slow and steady production Bicep release Isles, an album The Guardian called “the ultimate living-room rave” – but as we already know, this living-room friendly vibe will evolve to a live experience, an experience we are definitely here for. 

The album title, Isles,  is a culmination of different musical genres on the record, reflective of their geographical roots: “it’s quite apparent [from the styles on the album] that half of our life has been spent in Ireland and half of our life is spent in London,” pointed out McBriar, “And it was just like a reflection of the two islands,” Andy chimed in. Ireland brings forth influences like techno, trance, melodic, “quite in-your-face, quite aggressive music,”  while London “ is much deeper, much more influenced by all over the world. It’s like Jungle, the Garage, the Deep House, Jazz.” explained Matt. Once the album was completed “we reflected on the music we’d written and kind of understood that ‘Isles’ was a kind of a good way of summing up”. 

In some ways, this album is an ode to world music, something the duo are quite famous for sampling and mixing. This ability was “definitely born out of just me and Matt sitting in record stores all day,” said Andy. “We used to go in in the morning and spend like six hours actually sorting the records and getting paid in records we wanted.” A lot of their combined influences also come from old heavy hip hop, collected along with Japanese drumming recordings, Turkish pop, and “the Bulgarian choir stuff”. “We’ve actually made a website, bicepmusic.com/samples,” added Matt,  “and in that we actually discuss everything about all the samples used in the album. So definitely check it out.” 

For Isles Matt and Adam created 150 demos, which scaled down to 20 produced tracks which were cut down to a 10-track album. This time “for us, it was really important, especially having toured live for two or three years and not have a chance to write music, to just be super open and free and broad and kind of allow eventually that album to kind of come together naturally,” explained Matt. When it comes to track titles, however, the duo do think through the options – “we want the names to be ambiguous”. Andy points out that each track has its own meaning for them, “it’s quite amazing to even see it in different languages, certain tracks translate and people interpret them in their own way”. In the duo’s opinion, track titles can be restrictive and they don’t like to tell people the meaning “because I think it’s much more fun for people to imagine their own” sums up Matt. While some song titles, like “Atlas” and “Apricot,” are quite instructive the goal is to always keep things open and ambiguous: “It’s like there’s a balance,” jumped in Andy, “It’s really hard because if a track doesn’t suit the name, it kills us”. Quite a few weeks went into deciding on the track titles but the pressure of the album release date, expressed by the management, lead them to make choices we see on the record today.

Bicep released their wildly acclaimed self-titled debut album in 2017 after getting signed by Ninja Tune. The album’s lead single “Glue” became a touchpoint for electronic music that year and was later named “Track of the Year” by DJ Mag. The album release was followed by a wildly successful tour with features on stages like Primavera, Coachella, Glastonbury, and a 3-night run of shows at Printworks in London. The new album may seem calmer, but let’s not forget it was finished in social isolation and has a growing life of its own that we are yet to see. Having released Isles this year the duo have big plans (and hopes) for 2021 including headline dates across the UK, EU, and the US.

As we all wait for life-after-Corona to take stage Matt and Adam are focusing on their hopes and goals: “When you have hopes and goals, it’s a lot easier to cope” shares Matt, “I think at the beginning when it didn’t seem like there was any end, it was quite hard to have positivity. I feel like now with the vaccine, it’s looking a bit better.”

Photo credit: Dan Medhurs [top images], Vien Tran Van [below]

The post Summing things up: The story behind Bicep and their most recent release “Isles” appeared first on Quip Magazine.

A View of U opens up with “The Relic” featuring Rochelle Jordan. There’s a nice contrast between Jordan’s soft vocals and the dark gritty beat. She hazily sings “I’ve been dreaming, don’t wake me up”, only to be awakened by dirty wub bass sound. It’s a great way to begin the album providing all the vibes. The track is followed up by “Star” with Mono/Poly and Tanérelle. This continues the theme of spacey dimension with soft vocals taking you into a state of bliss. There’s a wonderful guitar solo at the breakdown that allows you to zone out.

After two back-to-back mellow tracks, Machinedrum wakes listeners up with bombastic horns on the intro to “Kane Train.” Like a true G, Freddie Gibbs spits a solid verse in collaboration to produce an absolute banger. “Kane train came out the trap. If I fall off, I could do the same thing. Rap game, face all over these magazines I can’t slang things.” With fantastic wordplay and head-bumping instrumental to match, you can’t help but react with an appreciative “Woooo!” Hearing this single for the first time made me ecstatic for this projects release and is one of the reasons why I looked forward to reviewing A View of U. This song doesn’t disappoint and I’d argue it’s the best song on the whole album. Feddie Gibbs is a monster and Machinedrum feeds him the perfect beat.

Machinedrum’s song with Father, “Spin Blocks”, will certainly get the club popping. It harmoniously opens up with a nice wind section before static drums shape the tune to feel more rugged. Once the bass drops, Father’s smooth melodic rhymes completely takeover. The chorus is catchy making you want to dance and pop a bottle. “Pipe down, I know some n****s love to spin blocks (Spin block). Inhale, exhale, make the block hot (Block hot)…” When talking about his collaboration with Machinedrum, Father stated, “Working with Machdrum was effortless. There were no limitations of what I could do and he really supported that for the track. I was able to just be myself and it worked out perfect.” Machinedrum returned the sentiment by saying, “I sent it over to Father and he smashed it! I’m a huge fan of his so it was really thrilling to get him on this track.”

“Believe In U” does a great job showcasing Machinedrum’s talent of blending the modern electronic sound with old-school funk. Here Machinedrum pays tribute to a classic, the Jackson Sisters’ “I Believe In Miracles.” Aggressive sample chops and claps paired with wavy effects make the soulful piece refreshing to share with ravers in 2020. Machinedrum once again demonstrates his appreciation for the history of DJing while infusing his own electronic sound on the legendary break beat like the pro that he is.

Machinedrum ends his album with grace on “Ur2yung.” It’s a super groovy instrumental that is lighthearted allowing the audience to keep the party going one last time. A bumping horn section filtered in and out with heavenly voices spliced in-between makes for a song filled with passion and fun. Throughout the track Machinedrum epically continues to build up the tension making you never want the journey to end and thus the perfect way to finish A View of U on a high note.

A View of U offers a fantastic experience. Machinedrum does an excellent job showcasing everything he’s learned over the years displaying his soul through merging a variety of different genres. He features a slew of artists on this project allowing them to shine while also reminding you he can damn near do it all. Whether you are an EDM fan or hip-hop head, there’s something for everyone to enjoy. Check it out now on all major streaming services.

The post Machinedrum’s “A View of U” masterfully blends EDM & hip-hop appeared first on Quip Magazine.

Many of the songs themselves frequently shift elements throughout the course of a tune: moods changes, tempo changes, and intensity changes are unleashed and run amok. Nearly all the tracks on the album have multiple facets to them. There are elements of industrial noise reminiscent of artists like Throbbing Gristle on title track “The Upward Spiral,” a pounding, mercilessly forceful intensity on tracks like “Inexadorable”, and traphouse vibes on songs like album standout “Nexus”, which, like much of the album, goes through sonic shifts that leave you wondering how Bougaieff could have possibly sewn them together. The first 45 or so seconds of “Nexus” sound like something that Pop Smoke or Chief Keef would’ve crooned over, before shifting to a techno-industrial mood that grinds for the remainder of the track.

Throughout the record, Bougaieff employs deep, pounding bass and synths that could seemingly cut their way through sheets of metal so don’t come to this album looking for an easy, chill listen. The tracks force the listener to engage and to focus. But if you choose do so, then Bougaieff will take you on a journey that you better make sure you’re strapped in for. 

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Kateryna Topol: Let’s start at the “beginning” so to say, what inspired you to make music?

Topic: I owe it to my former music teacher that I became a producer at all. I knew that he was ahead of time and that he had planned a project where we could use music programs on computers. And as I was young of course I was drawn to media. That was it! I got stuck on that and also started producing at home as a hobby.

I actually worked in a business job for 5 years, but in 2014 music became a bigger and bigger part in my life and I finally decided to quit my job and only make music.

KT: What is your production and creative process like? 

T: Let me take you through my usual process of creating a track: before we start writing a song we get together as a group and everyone talks about what currently goes on in their lives and what moves them. These topics [laughs] are processed in songs.

However, a song itself is not always about a certain situation that has been experienced by yourself – but an emotion that many might know and could empathize with.

KT: Awesome! Do you play any instruments?

T: Yes I do. I play the guitar and the piano, which is quite essential for producing.

KT: And how do you choose who to collaborate with for vocals?

T: This is always different. Sometimes you get into the room with people in songwriting sessions and then end up doing the single with them. And other times you already have songs and pitch them to other artists, which you think could be suitable for that track.

KT: And with “Breaking Me” – how did this song and collaboration with A7S come about?

T:  A7S and I started working closely in 2018, since then we went on several songwriting trips to the US and Berlin. In one of those trips in Summer 2019 we made “Breaking Me”.

We came up with the initial idea in Berlin, but we got stuck so we decided to work on it on another day. We didn’t work on the track for almost 2 months then. Until we decided to work on it on a songwriting trip in Miami.

KT: You’re based in Germany, how would you describe the dance music scene there?

T: It is pretty diverse. We have a huge rap scene here with some great artists. Then we have some domestic pop artists as well. And then of course a huge DJ and dance scene, which also is pretty diverse. From commercial to super underground techno. What I like the most is there are no boundaries anymore, every genre can be turned into a dance track.

KT: How has it been coming up there as an artist?

T: I got to know a lot of different great musicians, songwriters, producers, artists etc. from many different genres.

KT: Nice, and what’s next for Topic, 2020 and beyond?

T:  I’ve spent a lot of time in my studio the past few months, so there is a lot coming up. My “ily” Surf Mesa Remix has come out now and there are also some more remixes coming. And a follow up single sometime this year!

I now also have a great international booking team on hand for the first time in my career, which is working on international gigs for 2021. So there is a lot to look forward to.

KT: Looking back, what are some of your favorite live performances from the last few years?

T: There have been so many to be honest. It’s impossible to choose. But all Parookavilles I played so far were great as well as Lollapalooza. I really like playing festivals as there is a very special vibe to them.

KT: What venues or festivals are you looking forward to playing again?

T: Parookaville is setting up a Mini-festival in July, which I’m very looking forward to, as I’ve been playing there over the past years. It will be in compliance with the guidelines so a much smaller crowd. Playing the big festivals globally is something I’d like to accomplish as soon as it’s safe again. Let’s hope for 2021!

KT: Social media had a big role to play in your music career, what were some of your favorite channels?

T: I’d say YouTube, as I kind of started my music career there. I love a good music video, it’s a great channel to show people what we created visually for the music.

KT: True true. What tips can you share for up-and-coming artists when it comes to becoming a social media success?

T: Me myself, I had quite a few setbacks when it comes to my music career. But consistency is key! That would be my tip for every life situation not only music or social media: don’t give up – stay consistent!

Photo Credit: Vien Tran Van

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The event brings together thousands of DJs from around the world to host a dance music marathon during which participants will be live-mixing simultaneously from their homes. The full list of participants is yet to be released but Mixcloud and Nightmares On Wax have been supporters form the start and in the first few hours the likes of Point Blank, Loopmasters, Loopcloud, Audiolock, Brighton Music Conference, Data Transmission, Funktion One, DanceTV, Izotope, and Mixmasters joined the initiative.

According to Jonny Lee, Founder of LNADJ “The idea for Set for Love Live Streams has been born out of the adversity our partners in developing countries are facing during these challenging and unprecedented times. We work with organizations helping the most vulnerable and they have been drastically affected by lockdown. In some of these communities, a day without work means a day without food.”

“In this current moment” Lee continues, “we were able to contemplate the most effective and simple way for LNADJ and the dance music community to come together and make an urgently needed difference in such a beautiful way. We’re calling on DJs of all levels, whether amateur or professional, to get involved. The same goes for promoters, record labels and all within the electronic music industry. Whether you’re streaming to thousands of fans or your friends and family, you really can make a difference. Just £20 can feed a family in Uganda for a month.”

The first event launched in Las Dalias in Ibiza 2019 and featured 30 artists donating their sets to charitable causes. That year all of the money raised from tickets went to building freshwater wells in India and Africa. Since than LNADJ has supported children in criss across the world by “creating positive change through harnessing the energy of the dance music” (and off course, fund-raising).

Live stream time: from 12am (GMT) on Friday 8th May until midnight (GMT) on Sunday 10th May.

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As a passionate music fanatic Yozipovic is also a co-founder of the Afro-Caribbean New York party series Sweatshop, which over the years has showcased the likes of Jada Kingdom, DJ Tunez, Electric Punnany, UNIIQUE, Florentino, BAMBII, Jubilee, Riobamba, and Uproot Andy. This year, however, M!NT has also been focusing on releasing new music. First came a remix of Brent Faiyaz’s “Rehab (Winter in Paris)” and today we are super excited to share with you his brand new single called and video called “The Contradiction“.

The single is a part of a bigger story-telling video series: “I’ve always sampled phrases from movies, and lyrics from rap songs in my music to create a theme for my songs,” Cody shared, because the story is “more subliminal because you’d have to really listen to put it together.” The tracks samples “Taxi Driver“ and “21 Savages ‘X’‘, which Yozipovic turned into “a modern-day love story about the common contradiction we all face.”

“We are sold sex, money, drugs, multiple partners, rockstar lifestyle on a daily basis in commercials, hip-hop, pop, tv, film, almost everything,” he pointed out, “But what times like these prove to us is that most people really just want true connection with someone real. I tried to convey that with ‘Taxi Driver’ and the scenes I chose, then by splicing together some scenes from the ’21 Savages’ video to give it some ironic context: what we want vs what we think we want/are told to want.”

Kateryna Topol: Hello Cody, how is your week going?

M!NT: Hey, my week is going pretty smooth. I made pancakes this morning, so I consider today a win so far.

KT: Nice, nice, how are you spending your time in isolation?

M: I’ve been trying to occupy my time maintaining the things I used to do regularly, keeping routines like exercise, cooking healthy meals, plus dedicated time with my dog and for writing music. I was already working from home before everything changed, so I try to throw in something new each day so my weeks don’t get too redundant. There’s good days and bad days, just depends on how much I let the outside world affect me.

KT: Yeah, feeling the same as well. You posted a call for collaboration on Instagram a few days ago – have you gotten anything interesting?

M: Yeah! There was a great response from a bunch of local musicians, I plan on starting up a few projects throughout the next couple weeks and see where things go. Right now I’m working on things with Gi Major, Ricky Sour, Nic Hanson, Indigo General, Zaj, Pwest and YaSi out in LA, and a few artists out in London. 

KT: That’s awesome! So, “Formations” versus “If You Ain’t Nasty Dont @ Me” – two very different tracks, let’s talk about your style variety…

M: I honestly don’t really have a process for writing music, whatever comes to me in a certain moment flows out into either a piano part, a top-line melody, a guitar part, or a drum pattern. Sometimes I’ll just hear a sound in my head and then spend hours trying to replicate it, which either turns into the foundation of a new song or just an addition to something already written.

These processes always change though, but both of these songs had naturally different processes since one is completely original and the other is a remix. “Formations” started with just the piano chords, then came the drums, the bass, and then some vocal samples and other little bells and whistles. “If You Ain’t Nasty Dont @ Me” was a super fun remix to build since the original Brent Faiyaz song had no drums at all. I treated it like a melody pack where I took out all the low frequencies, created some harmony layers out of his vocals, sprinkled some subtle new sounds on top of an already solid foundation and then went to town on the drums. What started as a vocal RNB ballad quickly turned into a UK garage and club-ready track, all while maintaining the original BPM.

KT: How did you first get into music?

M: My mom and dad were both musicians, and they’re still in a band together to this day. I attempted lessons for a few months, but just ended up teaching myself with guitar tabs and playing along to music I liked. I got my first guitar when I was 13, joined a band when I was 15, played empty shows in the sketchiest of bars after that, and the rest is history. From punk, screamo, and metal to jazz, hip-hop, and reggae, I loved and played it all.

I wrote an album of weird alternative music when I was in high school and hired my best musician friends to play the parts I couldn’t, then shortly after that I was gifted a free Ableton trial in college. No one could afford turntables so we all just had our school laptops and whatever programs that were around at the time. It was a horrendous and embarrassing start, but everyone I knew was learning how to DJ at the same time so no one really gave a shit. My friends still give me crap for it though. After a while, I started obsessing over the production process and really tried to hone my skills over the years, but luckily there were a ton of friends all trying to do the same thing so we all kind of levelled up together.

I went from playing empty bars and house parties to festival crowds in just a couple years, and this was all when electronic music was still considered electronic music in multiple forms, and not EDM. Things were so much different back then, no genres or sounds were commercialized yet… everything was just for fun.

KT: Do you have plans for putting out an EP or an album?

M: I do have plans for a bunch of upcoming releases, but they won’t really be M!NT projects besides a possible release of all my remixes (shh). M!NT is an older alias that umbrellas all the sounds I used to make and play live, but today I’m more settled into the role of an executive producer and musical collaborator. Artists will either bring projects to me to work on, finalize, or start from scratch. Or, I’ll have a ton of beats ready to go and I’ll tap different artists to feature, which will end up becoming their songs. These days I’d rather sit in the back and write music that helps forward the careers of my friends, all the other stuff doesn’t really appeal to me anymore. Even with DJing nowadays, I’d rather play the events I truly care about with people I actually vibe with so I like to keep my live performances spaced out.

KT: You are flexing your creative muscles in film and commercials as well, how did the “Outlaw Ocean” gig come about?

M: The Outlaw Ocean was a project that was randomly pitched to me by Ian Urbina, a Pulitzer prize-winning journalist for the New York Times. I’m not even gonna lie to you, I’m still geeking over it and my portion of the project isn’t even out yet. Ian sent me a strange email out of the blue with a subject line that included “this is a real email from a journalist, not a scam”…so I opened it. He even included his Wikipedia link so I knew it wasn’t bullshit, haha. Turns out, this legendary dude had been investigating crimes on the high seas for the past six years and wrote a best-selling book about it. While risking his life to uncover all the terrible things that go virtually unpunished on our world’s oceans, he realized that in order for his stories to gain enough traction they needed to connect more with a younger audience. He then created the Outlaw Ocean Music Project, tapping a ton of producers from all over the world to help blend his journalism with the power of storytelling through music, kinda like a soundtrack to a movie…but for a book.

Ian has a great taste in music, so he was able to build a pretty incredible roster of musicians fairly easily since so many of us align with his passion for the environment. He wanted us to combine audio elements from his B-roll, interviews, and snippets from his investigative reporting into the original music that we created; an attempt to retell some of the main themes from his book, but in musical form. Scoring and composing music for films, commercials, and TV has always been a dream for me, so this couldn’t have been a more perfect way to jumpstart the new phase of that journey. My six-song portion of the project comes out on all streaming platforms on June 5th, and I couldn’t be more grateful to be a part of it. 

KT: What an amazing story! Ok, let’s talk about Sweatshop, how did it come about…

M: Ah, Sweatshop. I’d have to start with why I got into throwing shows in the first place. I never wanted to be a promoter, I always thought it was a slimy title. That was just an incorrect assessment based off my personal experiences in the electronic and hip-hop scene throughout my touring career. Looking back on the history of rock n’ roll, jazz, and blues, some of the most prolific promoters like Bill Graham, Michael Lang, and George Wein literally changed the musical landscape by exposing people to bands they’ve never heard of, or by exposing people to things they already loved, but in totally new ways.

After living in NYC for six years, I was totally fed up with the club scene. The same house, the same techno, the same top 40. Shitty clubs with shitty sound systems, expensive drinks, sloppy guests and cop-like security. I started to focus on my recording studio business and stopped DJing, but then I saw that my good friend Max August was throwing a new party called Sweatshop. The design on the flyer hooked me first, but the music listed on it even more so. Bossa nova, calypso, dancehall, afrobeat, reggaeton, soca, samba, zouk, jungle, soul, moombahton…phew. It listed pretty much every genre of music that defines a good time and a full-on dance party. So I went, and it was exactly that. It was a lighter crowd since it was a brand new party totally conceptualized on Max’s own, but what I noticed happening there set it apart from anything else I had seen in the city: every single person was dancing. New Yorkers have a tendency to play it too cool at the club, but not at this party for some reason.

After the first show I approached Max about wanting to DJ the next one, so he graciously squeezed me on to the next line up. The show went great, but the crowd was still a little light so we decided to join forces on a promotional and marketing level. That’s when I decided to tap into my incredible community of artists, musicians, and hustlers who’ve been throwing shows in NYC for years, the elders if you will. Shortly after that, Sweatshop sold out for the first time..and for the next 7 shows after that. Max and I have been partners ever since, and I couldn’t be more grateful for the guy. We don’t do anything crazy with marketing or promotions really. It’s all generally low budget and out of pocket, grassroots, word of mouth, and simply for the love of music and people.

We showcase the music we like, introduce up and comers we’re paying attention to, and then fill in the bill with local support who already vibe or work with each other. Our whole take on it has been, if you get enough friends on a line-up, your show is naturally going to turn into the place to be. We wanted our shows to feel like house parties, where you either came knowing everyone through some degree of separation or left after making a bunch of new friends. We made sure that security was a breeze, entry was affordable to everyone, drinks were reasonable, meanwhile keeping the production and programming top of the line.

I’m a live audio engineer on the side, so I have always tried to make sure that proper sound is #1. That model is what has given us the opportunity to collaborate with so many different artists and venues, big or small, with the same mission statement: no matter who’s on the lineup, it’s going to be a good time.

KT: Awesome! Is there a plan to host these events in other cities?

M: Our plan before Coronavirus was to expand Sweatshop to LA this year, then Miami, then London, but obviously all of that is on hold until it’s safe for the public to attend live events again. In the meantime, we are currently strategizing ways to keep people tapped in, more on that soon…

KT: Speaking of Coronavirus, do you have any live streams planned?

M: Oh yes, live streams. Well…I have yet to dive into that pool. Don’t get me wrong, I truly commend and respect everyone trying to bring music to the people during these strange and disconnected times, but putting a video camera in front of me so people can watch me select songs just isn’t my bag. I am warming up to the idea of a more integrated experience, with cool visuals, multiple cam angles, maybe some crowdsourced inspo for certain themes and genres, etc., but I’d honestly prefer to host live stream production sessions where people can watch original music being made. I went live for the first time ever two weeks ago and made a beat from scratch in 20 minutes, almost 60 people tuned in! But even still, you’re expecting people to sit there and watch you tinker on a beat that sounds like shit until the 4th quarter when it finally starts coming together, so I’m still trying to come up with new ideas for that concept too. If I don’t personally live stream, I have a feeling Sweatshop might launch a new live series in the near future…and if so, you’ll be the first to know.

KT: Ah, all right! Well, thank you for your time!

M: Thanks for letting me share some stories!

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Colorado-based electro/hip-hop fusion duo Big Gigantic – made up of saxophonist/producer Dominic Lalli and drummer Jeremy Salk – dropped their seventh studio album, Free Your Mind, this February. A collection of heart-thumping EDM, hip-hop and reggae beats, the 13-track album is laced with the duo’s signature funky basslines, sexy saxophone riffs, and sweet, soulful vocals. With a balanced mix of uptempo club bangers, hard-hitting beats and smooth jazz grooves, Free Your Mind is an electronic hybrid of musical genres that imaginatively blends styles to create a truly inventive sound.

Kicking off the record is the atmospheric and instrumental “Daybreak,” signifying the electronica dawning of their new album that bleeds into the funky jazz beats of “Let the Speakers Blow,” a hip-hop track bursting with energy and infused with the Lalli’s infamous sax riffs.

More hip-hop/funk tracks on the album include “Higher” featuring The Funk Haters. Starting with a solid funk guitar riff the track switches gears and turns into a bouncy raver tune, with heavy computerized beats that build the tension until it explodes into a cool disco groove with a blaring horns section. “Supergigantic,” a gritty rap track featuring Nigerian-Canadian rapper and singer TOBi, brings the swagger to the party. A more traditional hip-hop track with sleek rhymes, the pulsating beat is elevated by a smooth sax break that is pure ecstasy. Closing out the funk tracks is “Baad,” featuring Pell and Louis Futon. Starting off slow, the song kicks up the drums to an uptempo breakbeat and sprinkles it with more jazzy sax licks.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=phcvubBTQfA&list=PLVBt2St_ZHB4xZGJt5hwAzzWKlSEa3Z_z

“Burning Love” is a fun pop song with pretty R&B vocals that dance over an electrified calypso beat, and “Friends,” with sultry vocals by Ashe, is a hypnotic R&B love story with a vintage feel.  The laid back pop song “You’re the One”, featuring EDM vocalist Nevve, about a girl longing for someone to notice her, makes you feel like relaxing in front of a campfire on a beach, and “Where I Wanna Be” will lift you up with its booming vocals, infectious sax riffs and heavily produced beats – a true dance number that will pack any dance floor!

“St. Lucia” is a suave reggae song with slick lyrics by American rapper, singer, songwriter, and producer Felly, and the title track “Free Your Mind” is a beautiful soulful tune with powerful vocals by Jennifer Hartswick that transforms into a hardcore EDM track.

A fun dance album that incorporates multiple styles, voices and rhythms to create something truly unique, Big Gigantic’s Free Your Mind will change the way you hear musical genres as they break all the rules to create another hit record that will keep you dancing from start to finish.

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Sudan grew up in Cincinnati as Brittney Parks, a name she didn’t quite identify with, so with a suggestion from her mother, Sudan was born. As a self-tough violinist and well-rounded musician and performer, Sudan brings a lot of influences into her music and even more charisma to a live performance. Admittedly, the violin isn’t the most common instrument in today’s popular music but Sudan found a way to bring a whole new life and a refreshing take on incorporating this very classical instrument into her unique compositions. Inspired by Northeast African folk music she blends R&B, jazz, and experimental electronic music into her very recognizable signature sound.

This live tour (her first tour ever, she pointed out early in the show) is a showcase of Sudan’s debut album Athena. Released in early November the album is a 14-track story about duality. Unlike with the past EP and LP releases, which she produced alone in her bedroom, on Athena she worked with other writers, producers and instrumentalists and the resulting album, clean and catchy, is her most impressive work yet, or as The Guardian called it: “viscerally gorgeous”.

The first track released ahead of the album was “Confessions” and it still echoes through the EarPods of fans across North America (perhaps even the globe). Unlike most musicians who hang on to that top track till the encore, Sudan put her cards on the table in the same order she wanted the story to be told. The shaky stage was decorated with candles spread across multiple levels while Sudan’s equipment was neatly set up in the center. Throughout the set, she worked every corner of that stage, singing, playing the violin, kneeling, and making eye contact with the audience.

“This is crazy, I feel like I was just making donuts and serving coffee and now you’re here,” she looked out at the packed room filled with embracing, supportive faces. “You’re beautiful!” every now and then someone would shout from the back of the room or the balcony, and she’d laugh humbly.

The many ways in which Sudan Archives makes music with her bare, custom violin is truly impressive, sometimes it’s sparse string-plucked notes, other times she would go into full violin solos, and in between, she’d pick at it like a guitar. The rest of her equipment set up is very much electronic music-based allowing Sudan to mix live on stage, creating beats, picking up pre-recorded samples, and sampling her own voice and strings live as she goes.

The opening monologue of “Did You Know” heard live is a lot more visceral than on the record, Sudan’s voice quieted the dimly lit room with thoughts and reflections: “Oh, did you know / Oh, did ya know  / Life is, life is not perfect,” she continued to sing. The singer went through Athena, thanked the crowd, and left the stage. Despite the loud audience demands, there was no encore, but somehow that didn’t feel like a big surprise, after all, she did work the room non-stop for well over an hour.

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