Today’s Indie: Wonderful / My Morning Jacket
‘with the sun on my shoulders / and the wind on my back’
It is spring, and love is in the airwaves. I went to my dear friends Kirsten and Jon’s wedding on Saturday night, and the whole experience had me overflowing with mushy gushiness long after the I Dos and garter toss and Sunday’s residual vino hangover. This MMJ song has a similar effect, breathing life into my sleepy Monday afternoon. Wonderful. #indie/tory
Today’s Untz: Only Takes / Viceroy & WhiteNoize
‘it only takes a minute girl… to fall in love’
Another great weekend in the books. Tanlines crushed it this past Friday in SF and we had great weather all weekend. The only thing missing was this summertime unicorn disco masterpiece released today by Viceroy. This time around it’s an original track that’s been produced with WhiteNoize.
WhiteNoize consists of DJ and production team Chris Harnett and David Carvalho who make “electronic boogie music.” Seems like a natural fit with Viceroy, especially since all of them are based here in San Francisco. Not only does this town attract world class talent, but it also has it as well.
I’ll be on the lookout for WhiteNoize from now on as I already plan to catch Viceroy the next chance I have. This track is available now on Traxsource and available on Itunes, Beatport, etc. May 7th. #untz/tom
Today’s Untz: Cocaine (Eric Clapton Re Cut) / Lance Herbstrong
I first came across Lance Herbstrong when they were playing a festival called Holidaze down in the Mexican Riviera alongside The Disco Biscuits, STS9, and Umphrey’s Mcgee. They’ve got a really fun thing going it seems…. really cool mashups and edits, but not your typical cheese ball mashups.
A perfect song for a sunny Friday going into a fun night ahead . I’m checking out Tanlines tonight here in SF and I’m excited to see what they bring. Now back to Lance Herbstrong and what they have to say:
“Trusted Friends!
In honor of leap year, we can finally serve you Meth for Breakfast. After just a few listens you will lose your teeth. But fear not, gum jobs are back in favor, and your ears will forever thank you.
Love and Music. Spread it around. Download now at www.lanceherbstrong.com
-Kamal, Bill, and Pete aka Lance Herbstrong
PS – Don’t forget to send us your bank account info, as a rich uncle in Nigeria contacted us on your behalf and wants to send you money.” #untz/tom
Today’s Indie: Never Let Me Go / Florence + the Machine [MTV Unplugged, 2012]
Hearing an old song stripped down can quietly breathe new life into it. I look forward to Neil Young’s acoustic-only Bridge School Benefit concert every year in part for the opportunity to hear such a variety of artists from an entirely new angle, from Arcade Fire to the Billy Idol to Nine Inch Nails. MTV has kept a shred its integrity by alloting a slice of airtime between Jersey Shore and 16 and Pregnant to continue the tradition of its Unplugged series, and they just released a great piece with Florence + The Machine. The whole thing is worth savoring. While I love the theatrics in the original versions of these songs, there are so many subtitles to catch in this performance. That voice, that voice.
Oh – and if you haven’t seen the crying baby get cheered up by Florence’s Dog Days on YouTube yet, you are welcome. Happy Friday folks. #indie/tory
Today’s Untz: Stars (Punks Jump Up Remix) / Rebeka
The Polish duet between a charismatic vocalist, Iwona Skwarek, and a compelling producer, Bartosz Szczesny, make up Rebeka. This gifted twosome of an emerging generation is not to be limited to any musical boundaries. “The laser versus the axe,” they say of their music, “it won’t be disco, rather resounding brass and diamonds.” Discotexas, a powerhouse of a label from Lisbon, Portugal, released their track “Stars” on the 20th.
“Stars” was mixed by Mirror People, who also did a club mix. The original, also great, can be downloaded for free here. Punks Jump Up delivered two remixes and Discotexas made an accoustic version! My favorite of them all is the one featured here today, followed closely by Mirror People. Check it out and enjoy. #untz/tom
Today’s Indie: Slow and Steady / Of Monsters and Men
‘I spend my nights dancing with my own shadow / and it holds me and it never lets me go’
Icelandic sextet Of Monsters and Men caught my attention with their foot stomping jamboree of a single, Little Thoughts, but have cemented their appeal with this slow burner of a song that settles right into the bones. Slow and Steady echos that the all too relatable feeling of a moment in life when things are moving so quickly around you, but you feel stuck in slow motion. Singer Nanna Bryndís Hilmarsdóttir has a beautiful birdlike voice with an edge, like Charity of The Head and the Heart, and I love the drum accompaniment and final ‘wooo-ooo’s’ that carry out the end the song.
I found this gem via 365 Days of Music… mad props to their ambition, I have a hard enough time posting three days a week. #indie/tory
Today’s Indie: Sweater Weather / The Neighbourhood
’cause it’s too cold for you here right now / so let me hold both your hands in the holes of my sweater’
With easy rhythms and rhymes and loads of Cali swagger, it was no surprise to discover up and comers The Neighbourhood sprouted up from LA. There has been some serious internet buzzing around this young fivesome since they got airtime on Radio 1, with echos of “the next Foster the People” ripe in air, but time will tell. Right now I just want to settle into their nostalgic surfer-y rock (new genre?) sound and ride the wave. #indie/tory
Today’s Untz: Every Night I Say A Prayer (Tensnake Remix)/ Little Boots
Little Boots is back after some time off accompanied with a remix from Tensnake. I first heard this remix on The Magician’s mixtape and finally crossed its path again today.
I love the deep 80′s era synth lines and funky bass, backed by her hauntingly sexy vocals along with Andy Butler of New York disco group Hercules and Love Affair. The softer drum claps are a nice touch as well. It’s hauntingly retro and futuristic all at the same time. #untz/Tom
These two songs could not be more opposite…. the beauty of TUATI.
Today’s Indie: Turning Page / Sleeping at Last
‘if I had only seen how you smile when you blush / or how you curl your lip when you concentrate enough’
A sleepy happy love song because it is Friday and beautiful out with even warmer weather ahead and this city is filled with people in good spirits opening doors for one another, smiling, and saying hello… the kind of energy you can soak in.
I have liked this song for a while now but felt conflicted about sharing it because I discovered it via a Twilight movie (hey it was a rainy Thanksgiving break back in Oregon and my sister needed company). Ultimately though, good music is good music, and this is a gem of a song about the kind of love you want to shout about across mountains (or in the movie’s case, across species and generations). Wheaton, Illinois’ Sleeping at Last’s Ryan O’Neal wrote the song exclusively for the film. Obviously Team Edward. #indie/tory
Today’s Untz: Brazilian Rhyme / Earth Wind & Fire (Vodoo Farm Dubstep remix)
So today’s tune is aggressive and that’s the way it’s supposed to be. Voodoo Farm and I go way back. From a lead singer/rapper of a funk band, Stealing From Bandits, to a freaky dubstep producer, my buddy Liam Dirlam has done it all. He’s been making splashes back east, but beware west coast… he’s coming for you.
“whattup trashjuice (that’s me),
Coachella 2012: Gotye proved to have ample talent beyond being somebody someone used to know, The Head and the Heart played a goose bump eliciting old song I hadn’t heard yet amongst my usual favorites, Madeon kept my feet off the ground for an entire set, and I learned that the rumors are true–Florence is a every bit a goddess on stage.
The weather was nothing like previous years and a bit like Goldilocks and the three bears: Friday was brrrr-chella, Saturday was mild-chella and Sunday was just right in the low 80’s. I would take this trifecta over the 106 forecast for next weekend any day, but I did find myself questioning if I had really left SF a few times. Now it’s a week of hibernation to rest up for STS9 on Saturday at the Fox. We don’t miss a beat.
Today’s Indie: Eyes Wide Open / Gotye
‘we walk the plank with eyes wide open’
State of the Art / Gotye
‘invite the neighbours around / start the bossanova beat and limbo from the living to the kitchen’
We made our way to the Mojave tent on Sunday evening to hear some of Gotye’s set and to see if the Aussie was headed for one hit wonderland or had the swagger to keep up with his hype. I had my answer with the performance of his opening track, Eyes Wide Open. Dazzling. With strong, wistful vocals, a catchy chorus and sprawling drums, the song elicits a similar feel to Somebody that I Used to Know, but a few songs later Gotye proved that his sound is anything but cookie cutter. His trippy State of the Art and its accompanying video felt like it came from a totally different state of mind / planet. Great indie to close out the last day of the festi. #indie/tory
Today’s Untz: Fluffy Amadeus / Filipsson & Ulysses
We’re back from the desert and now fully engaged into city life once again. This year my experience at Coachella was way different than years past. For one, I saw a ton more indie music than before, which is in part due to the non-eclectic nature of this year’s untz portion of the lineup (in my humble opinion, of course). I tend to stay away from some of what I would consider “standard anthem house” acts since I’ve caught enough of that over the years, and to be fair, I missed acts like Modeselektor, Flying Lotus, Beats Antique and Sbtrkt to catch some of Tory’s shows.
I did have the pleasure of catching a 17 year old Madeon absolutely crush the Sahara Tent with his upbeat dance floor heaters. Justice did a great job although their performance was delayed by technical difficulties, and M83 blew me away with their epic and soaring instrumental parts that at times had me reminiscing of a Disco Biscuits jam. Martin Solvieg had his moments until he dropped the standard new age American “Dubstep” bass farts and of course Girl Talk was standard fare. With all said and done, I didn’t have one single moment where I didn’t enjoy myself.
Surprisingly, my most intimate and favorite electronic moments of the weekend occurred around our daily pool parties each morning. From summer time pool party disco to atmospheric deep house, the untz ran strong with our crew. The track featured today has nothing to do with the actual lineup, but has everything to do with my Coachella experience. In my own warped head, this is the ANTHEM of the weekend. This immediately brings me back to a pool engulfed in sunshine, surrounded my palm trees and mountains. What could be better? #untz/tom
theuntzandtheindie 