Oakland producer/musician Glenn Jackson has made a name for himself in the house/dance scene over the past few years with James & Evander, Benefits, and Hoodcats. But now the co-founder of the West in Dust label is stepping out on his own with the release of his solo debut, the Morning Swim EP (Ceremony). The 3-song extended player was released yesterday and highlights Jackson's ability to invoke a sweeping range of moods and imagery through a varied, but unified, sample-meets-synth heavy mix. It fits somewhere between the ethereal and the earthly.
This 8-piece Oakland, CA self-proclaimed "noir pop" band make the best of their number, turning a lovely jazzy, folk pop song into a lush, cool and earnest love song that's both easily accessible and intricately composed -- all eight sound incredibly in sync. The charm is lead by Emily Ritz's lilting, very warm voice, providing the pop charisma to bandleader Rob Shelton (keyboards) and co's jazz-tinged instrumentation and arrangement muscle. Summer might be winding down, but this'll make you feel like that love could never end.
DRMS (pronounced "DREAMS") just released their new, self-titled album, featuring "White Eyes." Pick it up on iTunes or Bandcamp.
Among the many great 2011 releases I didn’t manage to cover before 2012 appeared was Falcons’ mini-LP Indian Summer. It’s a seven-song collection of instrumental music that’s built upon hip-hop style beats. And while seven tracks of extended beats might seem like something that might require central points of rhyming or singing, you end up realizing that vocals, or lyrics of any kind, would be more of a distraction than anything -- detracting from the strength of the music as it currently exists. This Oakland/Vancouver duo finds a happy median between hip-hop, world, and IDM, and they certainly succeed in their mission to mix characteristics from a variety of genres into one exciting new sound. Whether it’s the salsa/latin samples that define “The Trot” or the sound clips in “Anaconda” from the film of the same name (yes, the film starring Ice Cube and J. Lo) that establish a fittingly ominous mood, Indian Summer is not only eclectic, it's unique and cohesive.
There's something indirectly hypnotic about singer Sofia Córdova's cadence throughout "Fiebre Tropical" (ex. at 0:45, 1:16); her voice consumes your attention, almost as if it was the onset of a fever. Although it begins and ends with a celestial ambiance, the core of the song is filled with an ominous sound that balances light and dark -- light enough to dance to and dark enough to possess a bit of a mystique. The song is said to be about the discovery of Puerto Rico in the 15th century, but, even if you don't speak Spanish, it's clear that there's a certain amount of soul-baring going on here.
Oakland, CA-based Chucha Santamaria Y Usted is a duo consisting of Sofía Córdova and Matthew Kirkland, originally from Puerto Rico and New York, respectively. Kirkland says, "Our basic musical process pretty much conforms to the platonic ideal of the synth duo – Sofía is responsible for concept/lyrics/melodies, while I create backing tracks to her specifications... though the separation between our two roles is definitely permeable - I edit lyrics, she rearranges songs, and so on."
