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Festival Rundown: FYF 2017 (P.S. It’s Hot.)

FYF has an absolutely stacked lineup this summer, which is awesome, but makes it very hard to narrow down a preview. Fuck Yeah Fest has heavyweights from just about every genre that you won’t want to miss. With so much to see, here’s a list of my highlights from each day to make your planning [continued]
Gig Review: James Blake vs. Bon Iver in Los Angeles

After seeing both James Blake and Bon Iver, I felt that reviewing my experiences together would best capture the mood I felt at each show. Part of this is because I associate these two artists for their beautiful voices and creative mixed acoustic-electronic production, but also because they highlighted two contrasting styles of performing very well. Regardless, I [continued]
Essentials: “Smoke Break/ Fly Away” – Flatbush Zombies

Flatbush Zombies released another video for 3001: A Laced Odyssey. The joint video for “Smoke Break/ Fly Away” exhibits some interesting visuals full of trippy textures drawn on top that plays into the group’s initial psychedelic following. Ever since the “Good Life” music video, I have loved the combination of film and drawing. This isn’t the same [continued]
Essentials: “Know Me From (Stööki’s Panda Edit)” – Stööki Sound

London based production group Stööki Sound mash up Kanye‘s rework of Desiigner’s “Panda” and Stormzy‘s “Know Me From” (#inception) for a combination that absolutely goes off. Hopefully we hear Kanye working on some grime soon… But for now check out Stööki’s website and the song below. Keep up with Stööki Sound on Twitter. [continued]
Essentials: “IT G MA (josh pan Opus Remix)” – Keith Ape

josh pan, a recent signee of Skrillex‘s label, OWSLA, just released a crazy remix of the remix of Keith Ape‘s “IT G MA,” set to release on 2/12. The 14 minute ballad traverses the soundscape of electronic music changing its beat completely six times, essentially breaking it into separate songs. While I realize a 14 minute remix of [continued]
EP Review: 22 – Nyck Caution

Pro Era kick off the new year with a promising EP titled 22 from Nyck Caution. If you follow Pro Era you’ll know him, but if not, you should definitely give him a listen. The tracks display a gritty series of verses from the crew accompanied by guest verses from Desmond Lewis, Denzel Curry, and [continued]
Essentials: “Khaki Loafers” – Chester Watson

Chester Watson and fellow NüAgeSyndicate member Kent Loon have come out with a new track titled “Khaki Loafers.” Their drowsy flows are laid over some icy production accompanied by fun ad libs, with their laid back sound giving a relaxed vibe to the tune. The cover art for the collaborative track is an interesting collage, adding to [continued]
REVIEW: “Darkest Before Dawn: The Prelude” – Pusha T

“Espera, ven aquí, who you wanna be? Drug dealer? Demon? Rap nigga? You tryna save the culture? Ay dios mio. You gotta pick one, daddy.” Mr. Lee narrates in the opening lines of Pusha’s latest, Darkest Before Dawn. The first track, “Intro“, proceeds with an incredibly strong verse from Pusha addressing the trap lords and [continued]
Essentials: “Accelerate (Andrés Remix)” – Boo Williams

Boiler Room has just released an Andrés remix of Boo Williams’ “Accelerate“. The combination of Boo’s Chicago sound and Andrés’ deep Detroit influence makes for quite the collab. Andrés takes Boo’s lighthearted track and, with some simple tweaks, gives it a UK garage spin apparent by the raised tempo. Right from the start Andrés has left his [continued]
ESSENTIALS: TOKiMONSTA – “Put It Down”

ICYMI: TOKiMONSTA uploaded “Put it Down” to Soundcloud just a few days ago and it’s an instant essential. Her most recent release, and coupled with the announcement of her upcoming mini-album Fovere, the L.A. producer boasts her characteristic ultra-synthetic lush sounds — but “Put it Down” goes many layers deep. Additional production via KRNE adds a slightly harder edge to the TOKiMONSTA’s lighter production and vocals by Dr. Dre [continued]