Real Estate at Daytrotter
SXSW, 2010

Real Estate just put out a record that I love, late last fall, so I was excited when I realized I’d be able to sit in on their session tonight. It’s getting late outside, night is falling and the lanterns strewn on cables are starting to shine. It is literally the perfect backdrop for Real Estate’s cool, ambient pop. Dreamy but conscious and subversively psychedelic, Real Estate invokes autumnal breezes and cerulean blue (I swear, that’s the color I see what I hear their music). The first track they play, which they tell us is still “Untitled”—making me feel like I’m in on something good, which I am—naturally leads way into the next song, another somnambulant number. This one uses dual guitars and pedals to glide their chords together, which causes me to ask Phil, one of the guys who runs Daytrotter and who is in here sitting next to me, if that’s a keyboard they are using.

Then I realize, when you can’t see the bands, when you’re taking it in from this vantage point and unable to visually watch the action unfold, your mind starts to shift and create its own parameters, and metaphors. It’s an interesting realization, listening to the creation process from this perspective. After playing another track, “Suburban Dogs” from their new record, and another I can’t really make out the name of, Read Estate is done, having completely a quick, mere three-song session. When I exit the control room, the band is talking to one of the engineers and already saying they’re planning another Daytrotter visit. It must be infectious all around.

Listen: Various Tracks [at myspace.com]

Like this article? Digg it and sign up for our RSS feed!

SXSW From the Frontlines of Daytrotter: Real Estate is a post from Crawdaddy! - The Magazine of Rock.

Wave Machines at Daytrotter
SXSW 2010

After the lightness of the last session, Admiral Radley, the funkier, more rockin’ sound of Wave Machines is welcomed, especially as the afternoon is slipping away. The energy outside is both simultaneously starting to wan—as many of us have been up early and wilting in the sun all day—and just getting going—as the beers are kicking in and nightfall is but a few hours away.

One of the guys in the band, James, asks for his vocals to be turned down in the mix. They are British and I’m more focused on their accents than anything else at this particular moment… When you’re trying to absorb start-and-stop sessions without seeing any of the band, who are behind the walls while I’m taking it in through the soundboard, those are the sorts of details you start to fixate on. Wave Machines has a sound guy on tour with them, and he’s proving to be immensely helpful as they prepare the perfect mix. The first song the band plays is synthy, vaguely reminiscent of Wild Beasts, but not quite so glam rock, a little bit more retro new wave. “Iko Iko”s are sprinkled throughout. It sounds pretty good, but the band decides to lay another version over top of that one, to really nail it to their specifications.

The next number is shuffling and funky, projecting that same notion of alternative new wave for the 21st century. “And until the morning comes, and when we sleep, I keep the lights on,” the falsetto lead sings. I have to leave a song before the session is finished to return an internet card I’ve been using to its proper owner (yeah, there’s no wireless here), but I can hear the band through the walls from outside the room. They’re doing their best to capture a perfect session. Check back to Daytrotter in a few weeks when the session is posted to see if they succeeded.

Listen: Various Tracks [at myspace.com]

Like this article? Digg it and sign up for our RSS feed!

SXSW From the Frontlines of Daytrotter: Wave Machines is a post from Crawdaddy! - The Magazine of Rock.

SXSW From the Frontlines of Daytrotter: The Scene on Thursday Afternoon is a post from Crawdaddy! - The Magazine of Rock.

The group’s first single, and arguably most notable track, “Sleepyhead” has been of exceptional interest to remixers, receiving myriad makeovers by artists of varying stature. The great thing about file sharing and YouTube is that a remix crafted by some kid in his parents’ basement can live next to the work of production heavyweights like Calvin Harris (who put his electroclash stamp on another of the quintet’s hits, “The Reeling“).

After the jump, I’ll have a look at four quite different retoolings of “Sleepyhead”.

The first mix we’ll look at belongs to NYC duo Streetlab. Mark ‘Coz’ Lamorg and Ryan Leary have been in the game for almost 10 years, and it shows, as the group take the direct approach, giving “Sleepyhead” the four-to-the-floor treatment while keeping it simple. The club-friendly remix only subtly tweaks the original and is sure to get the song out of your ear buds and onto the dance floor.

Our second remix comes from Starsmith and Ellie Goulding. Those of you who read UK press have probably already heard of the talented Ms. Goulding. For those who haven’t, let me fill you in. Goulding is an adorable, 23 year-old, who plays twee, unsurprisingly adorable electro-tinged indie pop. Driven by the success of her EP, An Introduction to Ellie Goulding, and her status as the winner of the BBC’s influential Sound of 2010 poll, the Londoner’s debut LP, Lights, was released in March and immediately shot to the top of the UK Album Charts. Along with her go-to producer (and serial remixer) Starsmith, Goulding crafts a delicate, ethereal re-imagination of the hard-hitting original.

Up next is an effort from up-and-coming Oakland retro synth-pop duo Wallpaper. Spearheaded by frontman Ricky Reed (aka Eric Frederic of Facing New York), the remix opens with stabs of MIDI-horn and a heavy bassline, but, before long, the the warm, syrupy keys that the group built their substantial buzz on show up, combining nicely with Michael Angelakos’ shrill falsetto vocals. Though it doesn’t feature Reed’s signature auto-tune, the track is pure Wallpaper and, in truth, sounds more like a collaboration than a straight remix.

While all of the above are legitimate remixes, the work of little-known Welsh DJ NEO TOKYO (né Ben Watts) stands above the rest. From my extensive research (read: A brief perusal of his Myspace), I have attained the following biographical information. He owns an emu, which is actually a goose, and he enjoys the word GASH! (somehow I feel like he isn’t referring to his cutlery skills). As far as the track goes, it is what a great remix should sound like. Watts injects the track with new life, adding his own infectious, meaty bass-heavy riffs  without sacrificing the integrity of the original. While one great remix won’t guarantee fame and fortune for the young DJ, the track’s quality and popularity—the version has notched well over 200,000 views on YouTube—show that you don’t have to be a big name to create the definitive remix of one of the songs of last summer.

Like this article? Digg it and sign up for our RSS feed!

Remix Wars: Passion Pit’s “Sleepyhead” is a post from Crawdaddy! - The Magazine of Rock.

Yesterday, when I arrived here at the Daytrotter studio in Austin, my intentions were to give you “fly on the wall” type reporting on what the happenings are from the control room during sessions (or perhaps when it calls for it, from the lounge area outside—where the mingling takes place and the handshakes are given, where we say that we’re attempting to hydrate but are collectively going for the PBRs instead). I want you to get a sense of being here in the room with the engineers, taking in the banter between the band members next door with their respective headphones on, catching the songs come through on the two-track tape to be added to Daytrotter’s already impressive catalog.

Next door, on the other side of the wall, Admiral Radley just started their session. Admiral Radley is a new project by members of Grandaddy (Jason Lytle and Aaron Burtch) and Earlimart (Aaron Espinoza and cutie Ariana Murray). Lytle and the engineer are working on getting the appropriate vocal levels. Lytle sounds great. “California” he’s singing in a falsetto, “I heart California.” I love Just Like the Fambly Cat, and while he produced a considerable amount of music before that 2006 Grandaddy album was released, it’s still the one that comes right to mind when I think about him. I figure he must have a great sense of humor.

Now it’s Murray’s turn to check her vocals, and she’s saying something silly, and everyone’s laughing.

After a few false starts, trials and errors, the taping commences, and each song is sweet, but not too saccharine, earthy and pretty instead. Admiral Radley has a soft sound, with light rhythm and vocals. Lytle and Murray play off each other, rarely getting too rollicking or rockin’, always retaining their poppy accessibility, much like you’d expect from this collaboration. Lytle identifies one track as “Ghosts of Syllables” and it turns out to be a charming, keyboard-driven number, the type of song that enables you to find a semblance of serenity during the madness that is SXSW.

After the session, walking out into the bright sunlight that’s rapidly heating up the lounge area into Texas levels of soon to be summer, the vibe is relaxed but softly celebratory, and it’s pretty apparent that there’s nowhere else most of these folks would rather be. Admiral Radley members carry their equipment out to their van, moving it out for the next group to get in there, packing up and then they’re off on the relentless local tour that is many musician’s schedule during this week.

Watch: This video [at admiralradley.com]

SXSW From the Frontlines of Daytrotter: Admiral Radley (Grandaddy and Earlimart) is a post from Crawdaddy! - The Magazine of Rock.

MTV reported last month that she was teaming up with Travis Barker, Randy Jackson and Steve Vai to get it done, which was a clear enough indication of what to expect. But now that it’s out there… Well, this just furthers my theory as to why she’s always so proud of all those sexy corpses she drapes herself in. She gets a discount for cutting furrier’s labor costs, see, by strolling between the cages singing classic rock covers, compelling the animals to kill themselves. And yet, while their deaths may then be construed as voluntary, sadly, they are no less cruel.

Mary J. Blige Punishes Foreign Markets With Covers of “Whole Lotta Love,” “Stairway To Heaven” is a post from Crawdaddy! - The Magazine of Rock.

Andrew WK recorded Close Calls with Brick Walls back in 2004-2005, but it only saw a limited release in Japan and Korea; interesting that four years later it is seeing its US debut. Mother of Mankind features rarities spanning his career.

Like this article? Digg it and sign up for our RSS feed!

Watch the New Video from Andrew WK, “I’m a Vagabond” is a post from Crawdaddy! - The Magazine of Rock.

The New Mastersounds with Trombone Shorty and Orleans Avenue
March 13th at the Fillmore, San Francisco

San Francisco’s Fillmore Auditorium embraced a one-two funk-party punch this past Saturday night. The Leeds-based New Mastersounds made a trip across the pond for their spring tour and were supported this evening by New Orleans’ native, Trombone Shorty and Orleans Avenue. It was an appropriate pairing of acts, as both bring different styles to the modern funk world and boast a level of success in their ability to get the crowd to shake it.

Trombone Shorty got the party started with a well-executed mix of both covers and originals. “Trombone Shorty” Andrews is a very dynamic performer who is equally adept at trombone, trumpet, singing, conducting, and working the crowd. He switches between each of his trades at will. He leads a six-piece band that features another horn, percussion, drums, bass, and guitar, and though they played a selection jazz, hip-hop, rock, and soul, the music was clearly rooted in the loose, rubbery funk that hails from New Orleans. Twenty-four year old Trombone Shorty has command of his instrument and a sound that hardly reflects his young age. He and his band brought lively character to a set woven from original music mixed with modern covers, like Mystikal’s ”Shake Ya Ass.” In addition to featuring tracks from his new album Backatown, we also saw Trombone Shorty offer up a sexy version of Marvin Gaye’s “Let’s Get It On” and Lenny Kravitz’s “Fly Away.” The energy of the set and power of soul really gave me the impression that 2010 is going to be a breakout year for Trombone Shorty and Orleans Avenue.

New Mastersounds then came out and offered up one the tightest funk sets I have seen in years. The New Mastersounds, who hail from Leeds and have been laying it down since 1998, are frequent US visitors these days. Their sound is old-school, raw boogaloo coupled with a fresh edge that is derived from their focus on a live dance sound that welcomes improvisation. New Mastersounds have gotten back to their original configuration recently, a mere four-piece of bass, drums, guitar, and Hammond. There are no horns or vocals implemented, giving the music an older feel that is singularly concerned with bringing heat to the dance floor. They bring both authenticity and uniqueness to the “New Funk” scene.

When the show was over, the Fillmore crowd tumbled out into the street ready for more, and per usual,  I’m pretty certain contingents from both bands continued the party across the street at the legendary jazz club, the Boom Boom Room.

Listen: Trombone Shorty, Various Tracks [at myspace.com]

Listen: New Mastersounds, Various Tracks [at myspace.com]

Live Show Review: The New Mastersounds at the Fillmore, San Francisco is a post from Crawdaddy! - The Magazine of Rock.

“So whether you make hip-hop, folk, noise-rock, jazz or a genre of your own invention, we are looking for all types of original music video content. One thing to keep in mind is that right now this program only supports video content by U.S.-based artists, though there are plans to roll out the program more widely in the future.”

Find out more here.

YouTube Agrees to Pay Indie Musicians In Some Kind of Capacity is a post from Crawdaddy! - The Magazine of Rock.

Hear the original from Slayer after the jump.

Fun Fact: “Raining Blood” was featured in the South Park episode “Die Hippie, Die”, its plot centering on the town of South Park, which for some reason has been overrun by hippies. Cartman states, “Hippies can’t stand death metal,” and hijacks a hippie concert and audios in “Raining Blood”, upsetting all the hippies who flee. Slayer guitarist Kerry King has said of the episode: “It was good to see the song being put to good use. If we can horrify some hippies, we’ve done our job.”

Like this article? Digg it and sign up for our RSS feed!

Who Covered It Best: “Raining Blood” is a post from Crawdaddy! - The Magazine of Rock.