[SONG OF THE DAY] Ry Jones - "Choose"

Yooo check it out we got a baby band that’s so fresh that his debut single is less than 24 hours old!

Fam, please meet Ry Jones. Despite being raised on grunge in Seattle, Jones opted to immerse himself in R&B and pop upon moving to London. As he devoted his time to working on songs, he happened to meet Blair MacKichan (who wrote/produced Sia’s “The Greatest” featuring Kendrick Lamar) and things really started to fall into place.

His debut, “Choose”, was written about the crossroads we sometimes face in deciding between pursuing what we're truly passionate about and what is expected. Of his decision to become an artist Jones says, "I knew music had to be part of my life. But I want to find a way to make it all work together, bring people together from all fields and perspectives who wouldn’t otherwise. To solve problems and communicate meaning and a message that we couldn’t while we’re all isolated in our own worlds."

Very much looking forward to hearing more from this project as it unfolds, amirite?

[SONG OF THE DAY] Yak - "Bellyache"

Photo credit: Zackery Michael

I have been cheering along London’s Yak for quite some time now and I am SO THRILLED that their latest single, “Bellyache” was released on Third Man Records last week. These dudes are the real fuckin’ deal and I genuinely hope that being on a label like TMR will get them to the audiences that they deserve.

Believe it or not, the song was written while frontman Oli Burslem was living out of the back of his car. As he explains, "I was living out the back of my £205 car, completely broke as I had put all the money we had from the label into the band. It really felt like the last piece of music we would ever make and that we had to put everything we had into it. That's where the last lyric "if you're going for broke just make sure you don't choke" comes from."

Real. Fuckin. Deal.

Love them!

The band will be hitting the road in the UK at the end of the month. Hopefully they’ll make it to the US of A early next year. Fingers crossed!

Yak's upcoming tour dates:

October 23rd: The Crescent, York
October 24th: Think Tank?, Newcastle
October 25th: Sneaky Pete's, Edinburgh
October 26th: Picture House Social, Sheffield
October 27th: Deaf Institute, Manchester
October 30th: The Horn, St Albans
October 31th: The Exchange, Bristol
November 1st: Heartbreakers, Southampton
November 2nd: The Haunt, Brighton
November 7th: Bethnal Green Working Mens Club, London

[SONG OF THE DAY] Mason - "Disruptor"

NEW MUSIC FRIIIIIIDDDDAAAYYYYYYY 🙌🏻🙌🏻🙌🏻

It’s officially October because I’m so overwhelmed with everything that dropped today but in the spirit of making sure you can dance your way through the weekend I am leaving you with the latest from Dutch DJ Mason, “Disruptor”.
For over twenty years now Mason has had this “fuck you I’m doing it my way” approach to both music and the industry, which has in turn made him into one hell of a musician. His sound is so wonderfully eccentric and distinctive that you always know when a new track drops it’s going to be catchy quirky little banger and “Disruptor” is very much that.

The single comes with 2 remixes from the likes of Pimpo Gama and Malikk as well as a single edit in case you don’t have a minute and a half extra to be a proper house head.

Happy weekend!

[SONG OF THE DAY] Humans - "Breakfast With Liz"

Vibey Vancouver duo HUMANS announced last week that next month they’ll be dropping an album called Going Late. Although they didn’t specify a release date (ugh) they DID release a new song (eee!), “Breakfast With Liz”.

When I try to describe HUMANS to people I normally say something like, “oh they’re sexy electro jams that you strut around to in the dead of night when you go out dancing”. Apparently this is a spot on description for the guys, because as Robbie Slade told Clash, “This song is about bouncing around from party to party in the rain. A thing that often happens to the youth of Vancouver, thanks to our thriving underground scene. As these nights can get somewhat out of hand, the simple refrain is a mantra to help keep one grounded.”

To accompany the song, other half of the duo, Peter Ricq directed the video, which takes place in a laundromat and TOTALLY didn’t go in the direction that I thought it would so be sure to watch this all the way through! “This was the most challenging video to date,” Ricq explained to Clash, “and when your mother says 'I watched it, it's not for me' you know you did it right... we've achieved our goal.”

Yep. It’s one of those.

Watch now!

[SONG OF THE DAY] Holy Ghost! - "Anxious"

HOLY GHOST! IS BACK!

The dynamic disco duo have returned and managed to coax West End Records out of a 30 YEAR RETIREMENT/HIATUS to release their upcoming 4-track 12” EP, Anxious. That’s right, this is infamous disco label’s first original release in OVER 30 YEARS 😱.

The EP will feature the original and a Tom Moulton remix on Side A, and Side B will have the 1977 classic ‘Spirit Of Sunshine’ by Chuck Davis Orchestra as well as a Holy Ghost! remix of that one. Anxious is out 10/26 on West End Records, which you can pre-order here. BONUS WE LOVE: a portion of proceeds with benefit the Gay Men’s Health Crisis and LifeBeat.

Holy Ghost! have also announced that in addition to a couple of upcoming shows at Good Room and Philadelphia Museum of Art this month that the band will be performing at Elsewhere on January 24th 2019. I am excited to be making advanced plans to dance my ass off (and also to be over with 2018…).

[SONG OF THE DAY] B00TY - "Good For It"

Photo credit: Brian Charles Lehrer

On the heels of the announcement of their forthcoming EP of the same name, LA’s B00TY shared the first single and music video for “Good For It” on Friday. In the video the dancetastic duo are chasing after lost loves (Farrah Faux and Natasha Bure) and overcome some hilariously over the top obstacles in an attempt to prove their commitment.

As the duo explained, "The message of the song really comes down to the line 'only wanna treat you right.' There are other levels to the idea, but it’s mainly about wanting to approach someone you’re into, treating them with respect and wanting them to know you’re for real."

The Good For It EP will be out on November 9th via Geffen Records.

[SONG OF THE DAY] Moontower - "Long Hair"

Happiest of happy Fridays my loves!

As you bop your way into the weekend make sure you include LA trio Moontower’s latest single, “Long Hair” into you party playlists. “Long Hair” is the finale in a three-single narrative, following “William” and “Leaving You Behind”. The story unfolds with the tale of William Hollywood, a young man from suburban California who’s on a quest to rescue the love of his life (“William”) but ends up learning that unrequited love will haunt you no matter how far you try to run (“Leaving You Behind”). Fortunately *spoiler alert* the story ends (“Long Hair”) with William gaining his groove back and defiantly telling off any haters that cross his path. The band says simply of the track, “'Long Hair' is a song about letting go of people who told you you would never be anything.” 

The band first met as students at USC's music program where they spent a year writing music and building custom staging and lighting before welcoming listeners into the Moontower world. Inspired by the Moonlight Towers from Richard Linklater's "Dazed And Confused," Moontower seeks to build a surrealist, come as you are community around their music and over the last 8 months the trio have been transforming backyards and living rooms all over Southern California with their one of a kind live show doing just that. 

Fingers crossed that they’ll be bringing those vibes to the best coast v v v soon.

[SONG OF THE DAY] KINGSWOOD - "Messed It Up"

So fun true story, on Tuesday night at the opening night party of Mondo.NYC I was on the rooftop of The Delancey and I caught the eye of a tall gentleman who I could tell was trying to place how he knew my face. Suddenly it hit me like a ton of bricks.

Below is the hilarious recreation of the moments that transpired after:

Me: “I KNOW YOU! I’VE INTERVIEWED YOU!”

Him: *heavy Australian accent* “YES!”

Me: *brain goes into overdrive* “YOU’RE IN KINGSWOOD OH MY GOD MOTHER FUCKING KINGSWOOD IS BACK IN NYC HOLY SHIT”

Him aka Alex Laska (guitarist, Kingswood): “YES! AHHHH!”

*hugs all around to Fergus and Braiden and briefly catch up*

For those just tuning in, during CMJ 2015 I chatted with these awesome Aussies about the singles that were the beginning stages of releasing their debut album, Microscopic Wars, in the US. Since then the four-piece released their follow up last year, After Hours, Close To Dawn, and are now gearing up for album number three(!). The band is kicking things off for the forthcoming album with a new single, “Messed It Up”, a song that centers around the story of a relationship fracturing following a series of avoidable mistakes that seemed necessary at the time and where to go when it seems as though there's no way back. This is a different kind of vibe for the band, self-described by Laska as, “fucking Thriller vibes”. We love. 💖

I won’t be able to make it out to their set tonight (10/4) at Pianos (who now charges 10 DOLLARS for their margs when it’s not happy hour what the actual fuck), but I was informed that tomorrow (10/5) the dope ass dudes will be playing at a free show at Freehold in Williamsburg so I will be at that one plotting my inevitable move to Australia muahahaha.

Okay I just ignored an entire panel I g2g ttyl!

KINGSWOOD NYC SHOWS

10/4 @ 7pm - Pianos

10/5 @ 10pm - Freehold