Josh Messer – Page 6

Breaking: Kanye West Shares Two New Tracks

Kanye West has premiered two new tracks, “Say You Will (featuring Caroline Shaw)” and “When I See It,” via his official Soundcloud account. “When I See It” sounds to be a reworked version of The Weeknd’s “Tell Your Friends” which Kanye produced. The two tracks mark a return to a singing style for Yeezy, something that… [continued]
PressPlay >>Rewind #1 – Gorillaz, Bloc Party, Radiohead Set To Return With Albums in 2016; Condé Nast Buys P4K; Molly Hankins Wins The Week

Happy sunday, PressPlay fam. I’m Josh, the new North American managing editor here at PressPlay, and every week, on Sunday afternoons and evenings, we’re going to be bringing you the top-to-bottom run down of all the need-to-know news from our side of the music industry, for the week that was. We know that the people… [continued]
ESSENTIALS: “Slowly” (Hi Tom Remix) – SIROJ feat. Ayden

You know what we hate? When producers put dope tracks on Soundcloud with no release details AND no download. Such is the case with the Hi Tom remix of SIROJ and Ayden’s “Slowly,” which takes the track to proper DJ-secret-weapon levels that will immediately crawl into your ears and get stuck there. Banging bass that’s toeing the… [continued]
Pioneer Announces Affordable, CD-less XDJ-700

Pioneer has launched a pro-sumer model of its popular XDJ-1000, dubbed the XDJ-700. Slated to hit retailers worldwide by Christmas, the machine condenses the best features of the disc-free XDJ-1000 into more consumer-friendly trappings — complete with a full color touch-screen, jog-wheel, and the ability to play files from computer, flash drive, or smartphone. The XDJ-700… [continued]
ESSENTIALS: “Apathy” – Delta Heavy

One of Ram Records’ undisputed champions of the last few years, Delta Heavy have been churning out high-tempo, high-energy drum and bass records with machine-like consistency. The duo’s latest, “Apathy,” was made with everything but — a DnB smasher that hearkens back to classic vibes with sonically crisp modern-day production tastes. The result is a well-layered tune that… [continued]
Jamie Hewlett of Gorillaz Confirms New Album is Underway

Jamie Hewlett, the man in charge of the look and feel of all things Gorillaz, has confirmed their next album is in production, according to an interview with DIY Magazine and corroborated by multiple sources. “That’s next year. I’m working on it at the moment, and it’s going very well. I’m very excited. I don’t… [continued]
Essentials: “The Sound Of Silence” (Simon and Garfunkel Cover) – James Blake

One of several covers that made waves this week, this might just be the most appropriate early-Fall track we could possibly ask for. Bringing his signature, ever-minimalistic melancholy to the Simon and Garfunkel classic, James Blake bends “The Sound Of Silence” to his utter will. The result is not only a lovely rendition of “one of those songs… [continued]
Essential: “Love Will Never Do (Janet Jackson Cover)” – Bee’s Knees feat. Scavenger Hunt

The last few weeks have brought a veritable flurry of major releases, but this new blip on the radar from Bee’s Knees and Scavenger Hunt is one of the best bits we’ve heard. A sublime and warm treatment of Janet Jackson’s classic and oft-sampled “Love Will Never Do,” Bee’s Knees’ affinities for 80s pastiche and futuristic synth… [continued]
Festival Review: Mamby On The Beach

Josh: For several years, the surprisingly simple equation of ‘beach + music = quality festival’ has proven to be anything but in Chicago. After the gradual decline of WaveFront and a variety of off-shoots that never came to full fruition, we’re happy to report that React has mostly solved it with some relatively simple math.… [continued]
The Underground Isn’t Dead

Maybe this is a given to people around the world, but in midwestern America, the culturally-always-two-years-behind part of the world, rave culture is a fragile concept. [continued]