A new year always needs to start
off with great new music! What good is a new year with out the help of the
previous one? 2012 brought many different, talented artists along with fresh
and interesting albums. It was also the rise of various blog sites competing to
bring music lovers the most up to date music. Whether it was Soundcloud or Zippy, Youtube or Beatport, new tunes were spreading fast. At one point my iTunes
library filled up my hard drive, forcing me to back it up. I was not alone. Music
fans were definitely appreciating the easily accessible tracks. Many of them
started looking into becoming DJ’s with all the new music.
New sub genres emerged such as
Moombahton, Hipster Dance, Trap and Ratchet. (Most, if not all are still
working its way through beginning stages of development.) "Trap Shit" is
surprisingly catching on in the club scene and can be heard at certain raves.
The combination of hip-hop and electronica make it the perfect crossover genre.
2012 was indeed a year for musical exploration and experimentation. I
thoroughly enjoyed hearing bands combine the best of both electronic and analog
sounds. With free downloads left and right music finding had never been easier.
Ever since Limewire, online sharing
has tremendously affected the way we discover music. Rather than relying on a
show to find a good new band, music lovers can come across new sounds in the
comfort of their home. Thanks to the online file sharers. Though it isn’t the
same type of experience as heading to your local venue it is undeniably more
efficient. With the Internet being fed overwhelming amounts of data, I feel many
artists are over looked. For people like us it is going to take more web
surfing in 2013 to come across something golden. Although, I do have my eyes
set on certain artists whom I hope to see thrive this year.
[Check out this compilation of various artists and songs I was into this past year. I recommend geting the albums for most of them too. You can't go wrong with these awesome new bands. Take a listen...]
Robert Delong
Newly emerged producer/live
performer Robert Delong is climbing up charts and getting huge recognition
throughout the music scene. The song Global Concepts is ranked number 5 most
viral tracks on Spotify. In June 2012, Happy was KROQ’s locals only number 4
song. Aside from the radio stations, he’s been on great line-ups and shared the
stages with some unforgettable DJ’s. For example, Snowglobe 2012’s main stage
also included Deadmau5 and Madeon catching the later sets. There is also a great
possibility that Robert’s rising fame is due to the fact that MTV has featured
him on 2013’s artist to watch list. Artists like Zedd and Twenty One Pilots are
also mentioned.
Not only does Robert Delong create chart-hitting
tunes, his live shows are more of giant dance party than anything. The sets
usually consist of indie dance fused with Moombahton. Yes, that means catchy
poppy vocals sung over an electro type beat at 110 bpm. Just because the melodies
and lyrics are usually easy to follow doesn’t mean the meaning isn’t deep. A
lot of his lyrics are very trippy, especially ones coming from the song, "Just
Movement". If Robert were to do something else with his time I think he’d make a
great philosopher. Let’s hope he sticks with what he’s currently during now!
The song I recommend checking out is Big Broom (Robert Delong Remix) originally
by Races.
Django Django
After sitting through various songs from new
artists on XM 47 I finally came across a great new band. Or so I thought. These
four musicians have been around for a while now. They’ve been rockin’ out since
2009 but it seems that the band just made it to the mainstream light this year.
After releasing a self-titled album. KEXP had them featured live on the radio
stations’ Youtube channel. Missing from the KEXP set list was the one I heard
on XM 47, “Default”. This personal favorite keeps me grooving the whole way
through. It’s a crunchy cool combo of folk rock with a dash of electronic
sounds.
Earlier in January 2013, La Blogotheque
recorded an intimate session of the band performing a couple hits. They
introduced each song wonderfully and successfully grabbed my attention. The
bands vintage, hipster aura, along with catchy folk melodies is so welcoming. I
still have yet to attend a Django Django show. Hopefully I’ll get a chance to
catch them on their tour at the Fonda. The band’s 2012 success will certainly
ripple into the New Year as they continue to establish a unique sound. I also
recommend checking out their Soundcloud for some creative versions and remixes
of the songs. The song I picked to feature is Firewater, which finally grew on
me after watching "La Blogotheque’s" version.
The Orwells
Who
knew that teenagers could make such badass sounds? They know how to completely
rock out, each with a different instrument. I first heard them on a Youtube
blog site performing 3 songs that really caught my eye. I was instantly drawn
to their sound and presence. The stoner front man, Mario Cuomo, can really belt
his voice into that poor microphone while the band tightly jams along. He can maintain control of his voice
while dancing and stomping around on the FYF stage. After watching live videos
of The Orwells I’m reminded of another band. The liveliness and high energy is
very similar to that of Cage The Elephant. (Both great bands to see live
sometime.)
After checking them out a bit by
going through some songs on Youtube, I had to get the album. I imported it into
my iTunes and was without a doubt impressed with the work done on it. The
band’s debut album Remember When is strong the whole way through. The modern
rock vibe of the album is steady and the music sounds full. The Orwells did a
great job of developing catchy hooks one after another. There are quite a few
high school related themes mentioned in the lyrics but it never takes away from
the bands professional sound. The lyrics are constructed from simple ideas that
Mario can easily share with the listener. “12:00 and the town just died” part
of the chorus for “Ancient Egypt” is repeated in several clever ways and
manages not to feel repetitive. In time these guys’ popularity will grow and
we’ll most likely see them at more festivals around LA. I decided to share
their song “Mall Rats”
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