Showreel '09 From The Mill

This is the 2009 showreel from the studio The Mill. It was a great year for them in '08 and the vid showcases some of their most beautiful works. Not to mention, the music's cooler than the other side of your pillow. Kudos Phase02.

Local Girl (The Shoes Remix)

France's concrete Adam Kesher's been cooking up some buzz recently with his music vid for the instant classic "Local Girl", which you can watch on his MySpace. I have a remix of the track that completely redefines it. 

The song itself is a fantastic balance of slow dance beats, melodic synths, and Jerome Alban's weeping voice, while The Shoes have ingeniously edited and replaced the instruments with happenin' piano, horn and drum kits. This is going to be on my iPod for a while. Constant repeat.

ADAM KESHERLOCAL GIRL (THE SHOES REMIX)

Dollar Mambo

Dollar Mambo - a unique mixture of infectious beats, eerie synths, and beautiful piano. The 35 year-old Swiss has invented a beautiful new subgenre which is eerily reminiscent of dark alley ways deep in the heart of a sleeping city. This sleeping city has a thriving underground, if you catch my drift. 

Dollar Mambo just released a bootleg edit of Nate Dogg's "Liquor", and even though it's very good, it's actually a mashup with piano legend Keith Jarrett. What's truly amazing is how much better it sounds than the original. 

DOLLAR MAMBOLIQUOR (DOLLAR MAMBO BOOTLEG/EDIT)

It's All Weezed Up

The Hood Internet have once again committed the unholy. Should this be attempted by other remixers, mashers, or DJs? NO. These guys are professionals, and they've broken it down to an art. The Hood Internet, or as I lovingly refer to the duo, Da Hood, just recently released a mashup of Weezer and Glass Candy, placing Rivers Cuomo's wailing voice in front of a firey-pop mash of synths and beats. The shocking combo of indie rock and synth pop works, and should be considered a dance floor anthem.

Album Review: I Am Your Bastard Wings

If you heard someone say "I Am Your Bastard Wings", you definitely would think of big brassy/orchestral instrumentation, right? If you did, you’ve pretty much described Eksi Ekso’s debut album. 

Eksi Ekso, formly known as On Fire from Boston, combines grandiose string arrangements with a heavy bass and drum line to form a sound undeniably theirs. ‘I Am Your Bastard Wings’ starts with the very Moody Blues-y ‘The Wintering’ which quickly leads into ‘O’God, They’ve Frozen’; rightfully so. Equipped with a very dramatic horn and very regal orchestrations, you quickly come to an understanding that they are not the weird indie band you thought they were based on their album title. ‘Killing Texas’ has a different aura from the last two and it happens to be my personal favorite. The drum and bass combination is really ideal, and the heavily distorted orchestra really creates a nice effect. ‘The Choir Will Always Sing’ is very similar to ‘Killing Texas’ but a lot more fantasy/dreamlike. The drums are the work of pure brilliance though, I must say. ‘Albatross’ is not quite as nice as the previous two. The horns that start the song off are promising, but then the song just gets way too artsy and over the top. ‘I Thought You Died Last Time’ is a decent song. About the only true thing that sticks out is that the strings are the exact same sound as Ra Ra Riot’s signature strings. ‘Nitnb’ starts with a lone violin and piano. The piano effect is really very effective because they shockingly hardly used a piano until now. Though only a minute and a half long, every second is packed with melancholy splendor. ‘Marvi’ sticks out from the rest but really not in a good way. The guitar and drums overtake the song so much that it sounds like an emo-mess rather than a nicely arranged masterpiece, which is not for me at all. The bassline in ‘The Gallows’ is possibly its best attribute, but the dissonance is a little too unpleasant for my liking. ‘Just Leave’ is a little too over dramatic for me, especially after hearing the last song, but the vocals in this song are the best they’ve been. ‘(Spouse Of) The Blind Hunter’ is a very nice little song. Like ‘Nitnb’, it’s very melancholy, though the vocals are pretty creepy, but that was probably not the point. ‘Russian Excuse’ is a very calm song and the very subtle build-up is a very good effect. The very end sound is like a guitar clicking or something and it goes on for about 30 seconds: that to me is just a little weird. 

Though no song really stands out unless it was really bad, and it gets pretty repetitive without actually repeating itself, I must say, ‘I Am Your Bastard Wings’ wasn’t that bad. Eksi Ekso are very good instrumentalists and the majority of the songs are truly very nicely arranged. The combination of drums with a light string section is definitely their forte. If you’re not into a too mainstream sound and you like your obscure compositions, I would very strongly recommend this album to you.

EKSI EKSOKILLING TEXAS

Written by Double Hawk

Nic Xedro

Nic Xedro is an experimental pop musician that loves what he does. If you've ever seen him live, you'd know that he practically spazzes out from an overdose of passion. His latest track, a cover of the Nirvana classic, is no exception. Wailing along with the bass synths and techno beats, Nic Xedro builds up the song perfectly, showing a completely different side of the Nirvana track. 

I'm looking forward to more from Nic, but until then, listen to this.

NIC XEDROSMELLS LIKE TEEN SPIRIT

Discobot - Lights Out

Got a great track for you from the Brazilian electro group, Discobot. "Lights Out" is the perfect combination of robotic vocals melting into a party-hard riff of electronic synths and excited club beats. 

Check out the new track, and if you love it as much as I do, you may want to check out their latest mixtape over at BIGSTEREO.

DISCOBOTLIGHTS OUT