Alec Rojas is afraid to sleep. With a law degree and a philosophy degree, he works in law during the day and writes by night. You can find him DJing in downtown LA or on top of a California mountain, probably talking about Hegelian Aesthetic philosophy as applied to the Snoop Lion record.
Stuart Howard’s music feels accessible and removed all at once. Known more popularly as Lapalux, the Essex based producer has melded perfectly into Brainfeeder’s world of ambient, bass-filled downtempo stylings. We featured his music last year on Anon’s excellent mixtape. Unlike some of his contemporaries, the music of Lapalux never completely rests or relaxes. His songs swell with feeling only to enervate, emotional residue accumulating long after the song has ended.
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May 15, 2013 - See more posts by Alec
This week (technically Monday) marks the 10th anniversary of one of the most challenging, beautiful, and intriguing records of this millennium. A spasmodic, convulsive compilation of glitch melodies, head nodding beats, quick rap verses, and expansive soundscapes. Prefuse 73′s One Word Extinguisher isn’t just IDM or hip hop or downtempo. It focuses on evolving sounds into music, cobbling them together only to rip them apart over and over again.
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May 9, 2013 - See more posts by Alec
Ryan Hemsworth might be one of the fastest rising DJs and remixers in the game. The 22 year old producer certainly has his own style and sound. As opposed to the multitudes of heavily-layered, over manipulated trap-house artists, his style lends more to the shoe-gazing, half speed beats. He redid Frank Ocean’s “Thinkin’ Bout You” with snappier drums and a heavier melody. And, quite excellently, redid the TFIB favorite “Open” by Rhye into a heavier, speedier club jam. And for me, his mix for Diplo & Friends has been one of the better mixes of 2013, combining ambient, ethereal, and dubtrapr™ like few can.
Yet it seems like his remix of “Genesis” by Grimes might be one of the few tracks of this year to get the idea of a remix right. Upon initial listen, the track feels like a swirling reduction of Grimes’ iconic piano lines, her voice phased down to smack against the bass. But the drums kick in, then, finally, the heavy harmony in the compressed synths. Splicing the lyrics into pieces, the echo-drenched “My heart” almost never leaves the mix. It’s a crystallization, a focused reinterpretation of one of the best songs of 2012. Just as good as good on the beach as it is on the dance floor.
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April 30, 2013 - See more posts by Alec
Say what you will about the two, but few have revived interest in Jamaican music as Diplo and Switch’s zombie-killing creation, Major Lazer. Guns Don’t Kill People… Lazers Do was a stunning record, a perfect follow up from the iconic mixtapes Diplo put out in the years prior. To some extent, the hype for their new album Free the Universe is not just necessary, but proper. The record mashes dancehall, dub, trap and thatratchetmusic all at once, perfect for dance floors from Silver Lake to Brooklyn to Kingston.
Yet the song to watch might be this one. “Get Free” displays the beauty of dub reggae so perfectly. Equal parts Augustus Pablo and classic R&B, there’s something beautiful here. Amber Coffman asks “What will I do without my dreams?” as the beat bubbles back and forth like water on a choppy stream. A synthy horn pops in, dancing on the reggae rhythm. The chorus rings out on so many levels: “Look at me, I just can’t believe what they’ve done to me: We could never get free, I just want to be…” Are they talking about the government? The style of music? The oppression in Jamaica? Or just that subconscious desire to live? No matter. We all want to get free, don’t we?
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April 25, 2013 - See more posts by Alec
The words “honky tonk” will always feel hokey to me. A ragtime style originated from dive bars of the early 20th century, it evolved into “Okie” or “hillbilly music” through it’s simplicity and straight rhythms. It didn’t really have a place in country or popular music until the legendary Ernest Tubb brought it to Nashville. Much of the Nashville sound in the 50′s and 60′s steeped itself in the minimalist style, eschewing strings and large bands for simple instruments and solid stories. Since then, the style, moreso than the word itself, became ingrained in American culture. Buck Owens gave it a pair of telecasters and global appeal, Gram Parsons asked us to “close down the honky-tonks” in 1969, the Byrds lost themselves in a honky tonk, the country bad boy Waylon Jennings put out a record called Honky Tonk Heroes, and even the Eagles gave the Bakersfield style a try. The legend sealed itself into American consciousness.
Son Volt’s latest release, Honky Tonk is more than just a throw back. It is a uniquely American record, each song loaded by Jay Farrar’s expert song writing in a way few records have offered in years.
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April 22, 2013 - See more posts by Alec