take a walk

7 May


‘and tonight I swear I’ll come home and we’ll make love like we’re young’

There are few worse places to find yourself than a middle seat in the second to last row of a plane on a turbulence ridden cross country flight, but with my better half beside me, half a a Xanex, a little red wine, and this new Passion Pit song, I think I will pull through.

A tricking music box intro gives way to heavy, foot stomping drums with a steady and systematic chorus sliced with soaring wooah-ohs. Subtle auditory explosions abound. Take a Walk is our first taste of PP’s follow up to Manners, Gossamer, out July 24th. Breath bated.

I remind myself that times could be much worse.  #indie / tory

river runs dry with drvgs

7 May

Today’s Untz: DRVGS / DVBBS & River Runs Dry / Gladkill

We’re on our way back from a hot and relaxing weekend in Florida. The hot sun jetting out its sweet, sweet Vitamin D can sure do a number on your soul. It feels great to have gotten out of the city, but I’m excited to return. Since I missed Friday’s untz I’m going to post two tracks today.

The first is a chilled out melodic remix of a DVBBS track from my buddy VOODOO FARM. Liam Dirlam, the mastermind behind this musical project, normally puts out tracks that bang pretty hard. This one certainly does just in a different way than what we’ve come accustomed to. I’m hoping we get to see this side of VOODOO Farm more. Having seen his productions skills evolve over the years, I know he’s capable of dominating any musical genre. It’s been fun to watch. Keep an eye out for some more remixes and an original album dropping in the future. The Future is bright for VOODOO FARM.

The second track is from Gladkill. He produced it a few months back and decided he wanted to share something new. It certainly is in the same chillstep, luvstep, whateverstep as the VOODOO FARM one. This song has a warped ninja dojo vibe to it. Dig it. tom/untz

i’m god

2 May

Today’s Untz: I’m God / Clams Casino

Clams Casino, aka Mike Volpe, is an electronic musician and producer of hip hop music from the dirty Jerz. He’s produced beats for the likes of Mac Miller, Lil B, The Weeknd, A$AP Rocky, and many more. Here, however, we have an dreamy track with some spacey female vocals.

It’s a perfect song that soars above the clouds… sublime. It’s not reminiscent of Washed Out musically, but certainly brings about similar emotions. Go check out his soundcloud, download the tune, turn it up and go to wherever it is this song takes you. For me, it’s somewhere in between a scene on the Pacific Coast Highway and the picture above. Cheers. #untz/tom

trampled by turtles

2 May

Today’s Indie: Alone / Trampled by Turtles

Wait So Long / Trampled By Turtles

‘it’s a coffee stained earth ever’ time it happens / liven up honey it ain’t that bad’

Since my dad found himself in a family of four women, we figured the least we could do growing up was have male pets, including a tortoise, Thaddeus. Thaddeus was a faithful tortoise for many years, roaming in the backyard, nomming on mealworms, and exploring our basement, sometimes hiding out for a few days before resurfacing. One day Thaddeus got sick and so we took him to the vet, and while prescribing medicine she gently let us know that we had been misinterpreting Thaddeus’ anatomy and that all this time the he was a she.  Thus Thaddeus carried out the rest of her life as Sally– at that point my dad had long given up on any chance of an upper hand anyway.

What does this story have to do with a bluegrass band named Trampled by Turtles? Very little, except that they have the most awesome band name that I have heard in some time, and that their music has all the fixings in it to have me stirring for home and earlier times, including those shared with Thad– er Sally.  Wait So Long is a foot stomper off of 2010’s Palomino, while Alone is a wistful slow burner off of the Minnesotan quintet’s new album, Stars and Satellites. ‘You come into the world alone  / and you go out of the world alone  / but in between, there’s you and me.’ Sounds about right. To close out the hat trick, check out their great recent cover of an Arcade Fire classic. #indie/tory

wonderful

30 Apr

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

only takes

30 Apr

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

herbstrong

27 Apr

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

unplugged

27 Apr

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

stars

25 Apr

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

slow and steady

25 Apr

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