[SONG OF THE DAY] HEDEGAARD x Matt Hawk - "Sa-My-D"

welp, found the soundtrack to this Monday and maybe the rest of my LIFE at this rate.

Danish producer HEDEGAARD has taken a sharp turn from the sugary sweet vibe of his late 2018 single, “Back To You” with the moody Matt Hawk collab, “Sa-My-D”. The punchy deep bass track is a return to more sweaty club jams that one might find themselves grinding to in underground basement clubs than his more pop-forward EDM as seen on other tracks from last year like, “Ready To Love You”, “Need You Right Now”, or “Salvation”. Along with it come much edgier lyrics that are a middle finger to all the “fake filter” nonsense of today’s society, encouraging us all to put our foot down to bullshit that doesn’t serve us. Speaking on the track, HEDEGAARD shared, "This is a completely new journey a change of style back to the club -and a different sound universe that has opened up for renewed passion and inspiration in the music."

Along with the song comes the unforgettable music video. I won’t spoil it for you, but def keep your eyes on it the whole time. 👀👀👀

[SONG OF THE DAY] The Scribes - "Righteous (feat. Leon Rhymes of Too Many Ts)"

still taken from The Scribes - “Righteous” video

It’s VIBE O’CLOCK ON FRIDAY FAM AND HERE WE GOOOOOO.

Hot off the presses comes the lead single from Bristol hip-hop trio The Scribes. “Righteous” is our first taste from their forthcoming LP, Quill Equipped Villainy, and features one of our bruvs from another mum, Mr Leon Rhymes of Too Many Ts.

Along with the bouncy single full of throwback vibes the band has shared an accompanying video which features the group (and Leon) as various characters of “righteousness” *best Stefon voice I can muster* this video has everything. A shamanic medicine man wandering the woods and healing the infirm, a door-to-door preacher passionately preaching the gospel of hip hop, a voodoo witch doctor exorcising demons, and even a vicar presiding over a wedding ceremony with an unusual amount of swagger.

Quill Equipped Villainy drops later this year.

[SONG OF THE DAY] La Bouquet - "Sad People Dancing"

Earlier this week LA trio La Bouquet shared the video for their latest single, “Sad People Dancing”, which is also the title track from their forthcoming debut LP that drops on March 29th. The band consists of Bryan Sammis (formerly of The Neighbourhood), Jake Lopez and Drew Bruchs. Following “Names Like Songs”, this new track is a beautifully sad synth-pop number that will have you dancing it out, tears and all.

The band is slated to perform on March 30, 2019, in Santa Barbara, CA @ Velvet Jones to celebrate their album release. They’re also confirmed to perform at The Hi Hat in LA on April 4th. Additional tour dates are forthcoming.

[SONG OF THE DAY] Royal Teeth - "Show You What I Can Do"

Today synth rockers Royal Teeth unveil their dopest flex to date, “Show You What I Can Do” along with the accompanying video. If we’re to interpret the the momentum that we’re seeing from the band, I feel like we all need to brace ourselves for what they’ll release next. Last year the band released tracks, “Never Gonna Quit” and “It’s Just The Start”, which build from determined to reassuring. This new track is explosively assertive and has the chops to back up that the band clearly has some tricks up their sleeves that they haven’t shared with us yet. The track also features the sensational NPR darling and Flint-native Tunde Olaniran, who brings his signature flavor to the song. 

Speaking on the track, singer and guitarist Gary Larsen of Royal Teeth shared, "The song is about showing the world what you're made of. We tend to hide pieces of ourselves because we are afraid of negativity, and I've noticed from my own experiences that it only holds me back from truly being myself and achieving my goals in life. This song is saying that it's time to be brave and be yourself."

The aforementioned accompanying video itself is reflective of the band’s current energy. With singer Nora Patterson staring as an aspiring race car driver and bandmates cheering her every step of the way, Patterson trains in her “Underdog” car before *spoiler alert* crushing her competition.

Larsen added, "My Dad is a race car driver and I used to go a lot as a kid. When we started thinking of ideas for the music video, I became obsessed with using the race track as the location, and from there, we brought the idea to life with the help of Solar Cabin, Tunde Olaniran, and the Whitlow family. My dad is even in the video as Nora's coach, and Nora is driving his car "Underdog". A fitting name for the song and for this band."

ROYAL TEETH LIVE

4.13 New Orleans, LA - French Quarter Festival

4.28 New Orleans, LA - New Orleans Jazz & Heritage Festival

[SONG OF THE DAY] Miro Shot - "Leaders In A Long Lost World"

Miro Shot (live performers, from left to right): Alex Parsons, Kashman Harris, Jamie Keegan, Roman Rappak, Tom Carter, Hinako Omori, Jay Udo-Udoma, Timothy Han

Today sees the launch of global collective Miro Shot and their debut single, "Leaders In A Long Lost World" along with its accompanying music video, courtesy of AllPoints/Believe. The genre-bending track carefully weaves together a variety of textures, from orchestral movements to delicate synths, all layered atop a bed of pulsating electronic beats. Do not be thrown off from them releasing a single and assume that Miro Shot is a band that just calls themselves a collective to sound cool. One quick glance at the video and you'll see that there is much more to this than just music from the erratic nature of the dazzling visuals that showcase the essence of their live performance as the compilation demonstrates the open source mixed media collaborative ethos at the heart of Miro Shot.

Music is merely the nexus to centralize the group of artists, graphic designers, and coders who flesh out the current roster of the collective and focus them on their primary objective. For the video specifically, the full scope of the collective was utilized, including award-winning VR filmmaker Nicole McDonald, VFX supervisor Haz Dullul, artist and roboticist Charles Aweida, and graphic novelist Oliver Harud. At the helm of the collective is frontman and de-facto leader Roman Rappak. Speaking exclusively with Some Kind of Awesome, Rappak shared the collective's origins, his optimistic outlook that technology will have on our future, and Miro Shot’s aforementioned primary objective.

In 2017, the early members of the collective located a space for them to collaborate in Dalston, which acted as a “lab” of sorts as Rappak would refer to it. It was a place where they could tinker on multiple levels. They developed the early versions of their app for their immersive VR experience, test AR and VR ideas, and also work on music. Feeling eager to put their efforts to the test, they applied for and were awarded a grant by the Dutch government. As Rappak explained, “[The Dutch government] is really into AR/VR events. And we said [to them], “Look, we’re gonna put on a concert that’s like a different take on a normal music show.” In May of that year, Miro Shot premiered a VR show at the Centre for Contemporary Art in Amsterdam. The performance lasted around 8 minutes and the band played to roughly 10 people. As luck would have it, BBC happened to be in attendance. As they would later describe the performance,

“The band became graphic versions of themselves before the audience was suddenly flying over an empty landscape and then a giant blue head of a woman emerged.

The show is designed to appeal to every sense: Electric fans wafted specially-concocted fragrances over the audience. Some people were quicker than others to work out that the event is 360 degrees: It's a good idea to look up or down and turn to see what's behind you.”

After the debut performance, a major visual effects company reached out to offer their services and they began to work on writing more music. “Suddenly we’re in Macedonia recording an orchestra,” Rappak recounted, “Then we were having to learn Cinema 4D and all these different tools that we hadn’t used before.” Since then, the band has continued to perfect their immersive VR show at various locations in Amsterdam, Paris, and London, ranging from galleries, cinemas, theaters, and even squats.

Miro Shot’s focus on technology comes from the collective’s notion that technology makes things better, or in this case specifically, how technology can enhance your appreciation for music. While the public majority views the ever-rapid technological advances as the means to the demise of humankind, Rappak has a more optimistic approach to the onslaught of breakthroughs. “It isn't because there is “too much technology” or because human beings are lazy or evil,” he explained, “It’s because tech is so new and so powerful. We are adjusting to a new world that is being built around us. As much as your phone has more computing power than the computers that sent rockets to the moon, it is incredibly primitive compared to what’s ahead. Not only is it primitive, it is badly designed, it is bad for your eyes and your world view.  But every day it improves.”

“We are adjusting to a new world that is being built around us.”

— Roman Rappak, Miro Shot

As we discussed the inspiration that informed his personal contributions to the music portion of Miro Shot, obvious renowned shows like Mr. Robot and everyone’s favorite techno-paranoia Twilight Zone rework Black Mirror came up. These are not the kinds of futurism-centric art that Rappak gravitates to. “I actually don’t like science fiction that’s really kind of… ‘light saber-y’ *laughs*.” In his mind, these futuristic worlds that are clearly a different timeline from our own make us feel inherently bad about our present because that particular future is essentially unattainable. “I actually like [science fiction] things that feel like they can happen,” he gushed, “Because that’s more optimistic and makes me think, ‘Maybe we’re not fucked!’”

Which leads us to the purpose of the collective’s existence. “War, poverty, pollution are not there because someone evil decided to ruin our day - they are organisational problems,” Rappak explained, “Problems that really well-made technology can help us fix.” As ambitious at it may sound, Miro Shot aims to be a catalyst for impactful change on society by leveraging their network and pool of resources to present a window into a world that could be. They understand that it’s unrealistic to assume they can do it all themselves, but recognize that by showcasing the future’s potential for greatness on a smaller scale, they have the opportunity to inspire action in someone else.

They're literally acting as leaders in our long lost world.

Miro Shot does not end at the current collaborators that worked on the the variety of multimedia elements that one can currently experience, but eagerly encourages newcomers to sign up to be part of the collective on their website. Pre-today’s public launch the collective has amassed around 450 already (including yours truly). You can head to their website to sign up now.

You can also find the band on Twitter, Facebook, and Instagram.

[WATCH] Empath - "Soft Shape" (Official Video)

Philly lo-fi rockers Empath have announced their debut full-length album, Active Listening: Night On Earth, which drops in April. On the heels of the announcement, the band have shared lead single, “Soft Shape” along with the accompanying video. Following up their Crystal Reality Vol. 1 & 2 EPs, “Soft Shape” chugs fuzzy bass and plinky guitars through your eardrums, all the while weaving howling synths to and fro.

The video features the band performing in a spooky retro-looking house, including a room full of dolls. As you follow along you’ll find yourself thinking, “Somehow…this….actually….fits….perfectly?”

The band will be performing at SXSW in addition to a handful of gigs on the east coast. Dates below!

UPCOMING SHOWS:

Friday March 8 Savannah, GA @ Savannah Stopover Festival
Saturday March 9 Atlanta, GA @ The Earl
March 13 - 15 Austin, TX @ SXSW
Saturday March 16 Dallas, TX @ Not So Fun Weekend
Wednesday March 20 Columbus, OH @ Ace of Cups
Saturday April 6 Harrisonburg, VA @ MACROCK Festival 

[WATCH] tiLLie - "faith" (Official Video)

still taken from “faith” music video

tiLLie is back and she’s got some goodies for us! ✨

After releasing her infectious karma-laden anthem, “faith”, the shimmering songstress has unveiled not only the accompanying music video, but also news that she will be releasing her sophomore EP LOUD MOUTH on March 8th.

The video features our heroine cathartically dancing around in her bedroom before taking to the streets. Inspired by an actual evening in her own bedroom, she revealed the inspiration behind the video in a recent interview with Galore,

"I had just gotten home and was listening to the demo as I was washing my face and suddenly I just felt like I was a teenager in my bedroom again listening to a song that was written just for me. I started jumping on my bed and just had this cathartic dance party. So, the video basically became a recreation of that with the help of the ever so talented Erik Rojas. It represents what I hoped this song would feel like to whoever hears it and is going through the emotional rollercoaster of a bad break up or healing from abuse. There’s no endorphin boost quite like carefree dancing through all your feelings. I’ve done it since i was a kid and will do it till the day i can’t dance no more. It gives me a release like no other."

I love the symbolism of her working through her frustration while in her bedroom before hitting the streets celebrating the power that she’s reclaimed.

UPCOMING TOUR DATES

March 7th - Portland, OR @ Lola's Room

March 9th - San Francisco, CA @ Brick + Mortar

March 11th - Los Angeles, CA @ The Echo

March 12th - San Diego, CA @ Casbah

March 14th - Phoenix, AZ @ Valley Bar

March 15th - Tucson, AZ @ 191 Toole

March 18th - Dallas, TX @ Cambridge Room

March 19th - Houston, TX @ Bronze Peacock

March 21st - Austin, TX @ Stubbs Jr

March 24th - Atlanta, GA @ Purgatory

March 25th - Nashville, TN @ High Watt

March 27th - Chapel Hill, NC @ Local 506

March 28th - Washington, DC @ DC9

March 29th - Philadelphia, PA @ Voltage Lounge

March 30th - New York, NY @ Mercury Lounge

April 1st - Boston, MA @ Great Scott

April 2nd - Pittsburgh, PA @ Smiling Moose

April 4th - Detroit, MI @ Shelter

April 6th - Grand Rapids, MI @ The Stache

April 8th - Cleveland, OH @ Basement

April 9th - Columbus, OH @ Cambridge Room

April 11th - Chicago, IL @ Schubas

April 12th - Milwaukee, WI @ Shank Hall

April 14th - St. Paul, MN @ Amsterdam Hall

April 16th - Kansas City, MO @ Encore

April 17th - Denver, CO @ The Globe

April 18th - Salt Lake City, UT @ Kilby Court

[SONG OF THE DAY] I Know Leopard - "Heather"

photo credit: Lisa Businovski

Folks who have seen my Tweetdeck setup often give me the side-eye like I’m a nutcase with all my different columns going, but my FOMO-driven nosiness on Twitter dot com is how I end up with absolute fucking gems like the latest from Sydney four-piece I Know Leopard. Given the level to which I love Slum Sociable’s songs so hard some days I’m afraid I might break them, this would lend you all to agree that I’d be more likely to trust their taste if they’re talking about music. One casual tweet from them, a few moments of digging around later, and I was HOOKED.

I’m still getting caught up on everything that makes this band amazing, but we’ll start with their brand new track, “Heather”. This earworm of a song is three minutes and twenty-four seconds of indie pop perfection. Taken from their forthcoming [apparently] highly anticipated debut full-length, Love Is A Landmine, the song is a totally #relatable love song, with frontman Luke O’Loughlin lamenting a lover who has obviously been playing some serious head games. The song follows lead single, “Landmine”, another infectious poptastic track about the perils of love. Actually according to O’Loughlin, "I'd be lying if I said it wasn't an album full of love songs, but not always in the classic romantic sense.” He adds, "It reflects on experiences where attempts at love are met with confusion, pain and alienation. The record also explores the importance of learning to love yourself before you can successfully love someone else."

Imma keep it 💯 with you guys, I would endure SXSW just for this band if the opportunity presented itself. If you’re going, you must see them. I will get more info as I get more acclimated to this hit factory of a band and share though, trust.

Love Is A Landmine is out on April 5th, because of course this is dropping during birthday month.