[SONG OF THE DAY] Smoota - "That Body Of Yours"

Okay we need to have a discussion about musicians being held accountable releasing crazy sexy jams during Scorpio season. It’s like with every passing day I’m trying to not be all hot and bothered in a coffee shop writing up most of the songs in the past week. Is there some coitus-coaxing conspiracy amongst musicians right now that I don’t know about? jfc.

Today I’m trying to not make eye contact with anyone because New York based sex panther Smoota’s latest single “That Body Of Yours” is making me want to sneak off to the bathroom with the next cappuccino-sipping cutie that walks through the door. The sensual single comes from his forthcoming sophomore album, Pheromones, which drops this Friday (November 2nd). “That Body Of Yours” follows previously released singles, “Ballbuster”, a love song using S&M imagery and the double entendre of the word ballbuster, and title track, “Pheromones”, a playful fantasy about using our biological pheromones to attract a partner inspired by a friend who sells human sex pheromones online.

If you weren’t already sold on Smoota’s sensual 70s groove aesthetic, the video for “That Body Of Yours” should throw you over the edge. Always the clever one, Smoota re-edited a very obscure Japanese film from the 50s into a new story with new subtitles about himself in post-war Tokyo and his relationship with one of the performers at a Casablanca-style exotic nightclub. As he noted about the video, “The imagery from the film is gorgeous and features an ultra-sensual dance routine to my trombone solo on the song. The new story is funny and over-the-top and even features my appearance in the old footage through some studio trickery.” Of course he played the trombone solo. Of fucking course. 💦

If Smoota’s face looks familiar, it’s because he’s a super in-demand musician in New York. You may have seen him on tour with TV On The Radio, who he performed with for several years. He’s also recorded and performed with a slew of other acts such as: Run The Jewels, Steven Tyler, Pretty Lights, Sufjan Stevens, Aaron Neville, and the late Sharon Jones. Currently, Smoota is in the house band on ABC’s The Gong Show, hosted by Mike Myers.

If you happen to be in NYC you can catch Smoota with me at Union Pool in Brooklyn along with William Butler, Superhuman Happiness, and Hearing Things. I normally end up making out with someone at Union Pool, so it only seems appropriate that my first time seeing Smoota will be there. If you’re not in NYC, don’t fret! You’ve still got a chance for Smoota to get you wet on his North American tour that kicks off on Friday. Full dates after over on his website.

[SONG OF THE DAY] Humans - "Going Late"

Good news, everyone! We’ve finally got a release date for the new Humans record!!!! 🙌🏻🙌🏻🙌🏻Oh my good Lorde do I need this batch of vibes like yesterday but I suppose I can wait until November 16th. The Vancouver duo chose to unveil the details alongside dropping the title track, “Going Late” complete with a video that’s basically a walking advertisement for the dope ass bomber jackets they sell as part of their merch offerings (the “Girls” edition of the Boys & Girls bomber is like legit at the top of my Mixmas List).

Now if you’ll excuse me I’m going to see about selling one of my kidneys so I can look cooler than all of you every fall for the rest of my life.

[SONG OF THE DAY] Saro - "Please"

photo credit: Josh Nixon

Proceed with caution as LA based queer musician Saro (pronounced “sorrow”) has a voice that can completely wreck you if you’re not prepared for it. Ever since my first taste of his 2017 EP Boy Afraid, his songs have firmly cemented themselves in my heart and I’ve been eager to hear what he would share with us next.

Yesterday he unveiled his latest single, “Please”, which upon first listen can be interpreted as a song about a lover, but as he explained in an interview with PAPER,

"'Please' is a reflection of my search for something lasting in this increasingly disposable world.The past few years, I've kept a distance between myself and any sort of permanence, caught in a revolving door of temporary homes and temporary people. Temporary has become my constant— the only stability in my life has been music. Now, I find myself reckoning with my growing desire for stability and my willingness to exchange volatility for something more concrete. I wrote this song about longing for something lasting, all the while knowing that nothing is forever."

If you happen to be fortunate enough to be in Los Angeles, you can catch him live next month on November 19th at School Night.

#SKOASelfCare: Wilderado Shares Their Mental Health Maintenance Tips From The Road

Wilderado outside of Sunset Sound in Los Angeles, CA. Photo gently lifted from their Instagram.

Touring is often looked at by musicians as a necessary evil due to how taxing it can be on their mental health. No matter your tour budget, finding moments of self care on the road can be tricky to come up with when you’ve only got so much time before load-in, so I’ve decided to start asking around for ideas from bands while they’re mid-tour.

Since I’m seeing them tomorrow night (10/27) at Music Hall of Williamsburg, I decided to hit up Tulsa rockers, Wilderado (who you hopefully checked out in this week’s diSKOAver weekly playlist) to see what’s been working for them on their tour with other SKOA favorites Sure Sure. Gotta say, I am loving the tips that singer Max Rainer sent through! From my brief stint in tour managing I can tell you that some of these are a hard agree from me.

This is “Thieves”...it smells pretty awesome and supposedly makes you less susceptible to germs. Our drummer’s wife sells this stuff and i dump it on everything (my bag, backpack, arms, neck).

Buy: Young Living Thieves Essential Oil 15ml

Reading books helps me not think so much.

Buy: Fight Club: A Novel

I’m not so sure if this stuff actually benefits me in any way other than tasting great and feeling good. I just like having it around, the name says it all.

Buy: Cold & Flu-Lemon Echinacea Throat Coat

I currently have bronchitis, so maybe i shouldn’t be the one doing this, BUT, these multivitamins are amazing. This is the first time I’ve been sick on the road, and these things are keeping me alive.

Buy: Source Naturals Wellness Formula Wholefood Multivitamin With Vitamins & Antioxidants

Listen to something other than your own music that you’re playing over and over and over. Sometimes I’ll even just hang out listening to the calm app... it sounds so real.

Grab the Calm app on iOS & Android

NY fam come hang with me tomorrow night (10/27) at Music Hall of Williamsburg to catch these guys live. Should you need a refresher of their sound you can find their latest single, “Sorrow” in this week’s diSKOAver weekly playlist below!.

[SKOA PREMIERE] + [SONG OF THE DAY] Niki Black - "Not Coming Up"

IT’S FRIDAY, WITCHES!

Just in time for a weekend that will be undoubtedly be full of Halloween parties I have a song from LA siren Niki Black that is nothing short of supernatural. “Not Coming Up”, the debut single from her forthcoming EP, wastes no time in allowing you to get to know Black, who studied feminist theology in college, as she cries out, “don’t forgive me father”, which I assume is derivative from the crucifixion of Jesus Christ. Whereas Christ was crying out for God to forgive those crucifying him for sinning against God, Black does not wish to seek for forgiveness, as the song is ultimately an arresting ode to her first queer relationship, which as we know, one does not need to seek any forgiveness for. “I felt the church to be central to the song’s idea of being denied entrance to heaven because of your sexuality,” explains Niki. Spoiler alert / non shocker here: Black is also tremendously involved in women’s rights and LGBT initiatives.

Her forthcoming EP, which is slated for an early 2019 release, offers up Black’s perspective on femme sexuality through her feminist theological lens. “I was enchanted by old Judaism, namely the mythology of the female demon Lilith, and how she mirrors Eve,” shares Niki. “The thousands of years of interpretations of the myths of the religious texts are goldmines in the way that they illuminate my creativity and thoughts, and also how they inform so many of our modern generation's conscience, especially when it comes to sexual politics.”

To a certain extent, the EP is like Dante's Divine Comedy, describing the journey from heaven to oblivion, or hell. “I wanted to retell that descent from a modern feminine perspective, one of the damned, which some of us may feel like sometimes, or all the time....whether it's from religion directly, from a relationship, or from yourself,” shares Niki.

Before today I didn’t have a playlist called “Songs To Sin To”, but here we are…

Have a safe weekend, fam! Happy sinning ;)

[SONG OF THE DAY] HEDEGAARD - "Back To You (feat. Stolar & Ylva)"

Normally I hate shuffle but today it completely derailed my morning. I thought I had a Song Of The Day all picked out and then from the depths of my Release Radar the blessed algorithm delivered Copenhagen producer HEDEGAARD back to me. I tumbled into him late last year courtesy of my well trained Discover Weekly playlist but got distracted being on tour to really spend some time getting to know him and my gateway song, “Ready To Love You”.

Upon the first 15 seconds of his latest single, “Back To You”, I was completely enthralled by the combination of the tight production and the vocal stylings of New York’s very own Stolar (who I will admit I was clueless about until this song but plan to get better acquainted with later). But wait! There’s more! The Dutch DJ also enlists newcomer Ylva to contribute a verse and duet with Stolar. Fun fact: the now 18 year old singer had her breakout debut on the Norwegian talent show The Stream two years ago where she ended up in second place on the popular television show.

In my frantic excitement today I’ve poured over HEDEGAARD’s biggest hits and was consistently impressed at how carefully crafted each song is. It’s definitely worth your time to check out tracks like, “Need You Right Now”, “Salvation”, and “Go Back”.

[SONG OF THE DAY] Pizzagirl - "body part"

Photo Credit: Pizzamum

Pizzagirl (AKA Liam Brown) is the bedroom pop artist of your memes. Over the course of 2018 he’s been releasing music from his Beatzzeria (better known as his bedroom) and has been gaining traction with every release. After releasing his debut EP, An Extended Play, in April, he’s now gearing up to release his sophomore EP, cleverly titled, season 2, which is out on November 30th. “body part” is the third offering from the EP and is a hazy glitched out nostalgia number designed for fans of John Hughes movies and people who used to obsess over their Angelfire pages. It’s a bit more melancholy than previous season 2 tracks, “gymnasium” and “highschool” but still would fit in nicely during the credits of your favorite Brat Pack movie.

For UK folk, Pizzagirl will be taking his show on the road in early December, so be sure to bring your AOL trial CD with you for an autograph.

Pizzagirl Tour Dates

1st Dec – Sound Basement, Liverpool
3rd Dec – The Louisiana, Bristol
4th Dec – The Chameleon Arts Café, Nottingham
5th Dec – The Hope and Ruin, Brighton

[SONG OF THE DAY] XO - "Cherry"

One of my favorite finds from 2016, Stoke-On-Trent-based producer XO (born Sunil Heera) has resurfaced after taking a bit of a musical sabbatical following the release of his debut full-length, Those Who Wander last summer. “I had to sorta take a step back and re-evaluate what it was I wanted to do,” Heera relayed via Twitter DM earlier today. Thankfully he’s opted to come back in full force, kicking things off with a brand new track, “Cherry”, as well as an arsenal of songs he’s been stockpiling during his hiatus. XO first grabbed my attention with his James Chatburn collaboration, “Divine Disaster”, before solidifying his place as someone I’d be prepared to brag about finding first before he blew up with tracks like “No Games”, “Flames Of A Phoenix”, “Keep Pulling Me Under” and “Somethin’ About U”.

Given that XO has decided he’s here for the long haul, you have plenty of time to catch up as he preps to ramp things back up at beginning of 2019. In the meantime, keep an eye out for his name on upcoming releases from some noteworthy UK acts that he’s collaborated with recently.