“Recorded an album in our bedrooms // released an album // played a few shows // recorded another album in a deserted house // toured all over europe // built a studio // built another studio // went to america // recorded an album in a proper studio”
Normally you might not associate Barbie pink with a crew of girls whose name means either ‘rich girl,’ ‘a girl who thinks she’s nicer than she is,’ or, well, just plain stoned. But StooShe, a girl group borne of Southeast London (which I’m told is usually said by locals as ‘Sowfeese London’) combining pop, soul, and hip-hop vocals makes the color that covers their website into pure irony.
Once an artist reaches a certain plateau of success it’s hard to remember why they’re famous. Lest we forget there are architects and then there are archetypes, Madonna, in all her detached deliberateness has created a visual gem, arguably unmatched in her videography since 2005′s “Hung Up.”
Now a little over two years old, Art Nouveau Magazine & GREATeclectic’s Noise Porn music compilation still bangs. Take a look back at our first musical project as told by Swiper Bootz.
Good music speaks volumes… rather than impose analysis, step back and expose linguistic artistry… why critique that which has achieved perfection at its own masterful conception… listen, look, and linger in fantastic rhythmic reality: lyrically speaking
Just 13 seconds into Kendal Elijah‘s music video for “The Wild” I’m well aware of the unique cinematic approach. Thanks to Jared Soule’s direction and Jon Tanners superb editing, the video starts off by displaying close-up shots of skyscrapers, open fields and a swing (Which I’m guessing the swing is a reference to lost adolescence). These motifs enable Kendall to have a great setup for the beginning of his verse. Vivid lines like “I’ve been kicked where it feels funny” and “I heard the devil beats his wife when it rains when its sunny/ And pyramid eye has the reign over country” proves Kendal has a way of holding your attention through the honesty in his words, rather than gimmicky antics.
Kid Cudi has been in the music business for almost five years now, and with this 3rd studio album we have a brand new Cudi for the masses. I have been a fan of Cudi since he dropped his debut album Man on the Moon: The End of Day back in 09 and I have been constantly on the lookout for any type of music this guy has been dishing out ever since. WZRD is a duo consisting of Kid Cudi and his long-time producer Dot da Genius and with this long relevancy still intact, they decided to drop an LP composed of different sounds of rock music. Needless to say, this is nothing similar to the “usual” Kid Cudi, this is completely its own monster and I have to say it is pretty darn good stuff.
Indigo Charlie is by far Los Angeles’s realest female “indie alternative artist.” Taking the DIY approach, Charlie models the hustle mentality when it comes to making a name for yourself in the industry and being both a student at FIDM and current employee with Giorgio Armani, she ain’t too shy when it comes to style or drive either.
Lately there has been an overuse of “contemporary R&B” to describe music that essentially is an amalgamation of dubstep, electronica and soul, as well as 90’s R&B. It’s like the collective indie music media are trying to shed the dubstep label it helped bring to the mainstream as a way to disassociate itself from the type of music that Skrillex makes. The word ‘dubstep’ doesn’t have the connection to dub or two-step anymore. It is about oppressive bass manipulation. You could easily forget that it was a label which once described gentle but gritty urban laments from the likes of Kode9 and Burial. It was the first time in a while that music felt somewhat reverent. However, if this is the label being given, let’s run with it for a while. (I would argue the same applies for dark ambient and trip-hop, but I digress).
Contemporary male R&B and soul crooners get the least amount of play in my iTunes library. Of course the heyday of the genre saw greats like Marvin Gaye, Teddy Pendergrass and more shift out classic after classic with ease. They had something to say, but more importantly as men when sex was on their mind, it was expressed with a sweetness that is a stark contrast to the tastelessness of contemporary R&B. Go ahead, compare Marvin Gaye’s “Let’s Get it On” to Chris Brown’s “Wet The Bed.” After you give the hardest side-eye of your life, please give Brooklyn based visual connoisseur and musician Mr. Boyd a chance.
Style is cyclical. What goes pop once, goes around again and again. That doesn’t mean this generation of indie DIY musicians can’t keep it fresh. A throwback to 70′s, 80′s and 90′s dance with a modern twist, Brandon Tarver and Elsa Nuñez are New Jersey based band Kids Don’t Stop.
