[SONG OF THE DAY] Dan D'Lion - "Give What You Take"

Oooo y’all I just found a brank spanking new baby band for you!

Fresh out of the box with his debut single only a few hours old, please meet London newcomer Dan D’Lion. His debut single, “Give What You Take” is a vibey blend of electro-pop and nu-funk that deals with the idea of capturing polarizing aspects of your personality. Over the past few years he’s been writing/producing for artists like Salen, Punctual, Delilah Montagu, Zilo, and Feder, all the while working on his debut release.

Drawing inspiration from his time working with artists, writers and producers, both in London and internationally, the music for his personal project is written, produced and performed in full by himself. "This was the first track I wrote for myself where everything started to make sense,” he noted, “As it all came together it felt like a real turning point, and the lyrics actually ended up becoming motivational to myself in a way, taking away the daunting aspect of crafting something for myself."

This is one hell of a first impression. Very anxious to hear what else this Dan D’Dude has up his sleeves.

[SONG OF THE DAY] + [INTERVIEW] Too Many T's - "Patterns"

photo credit: Phoebe Montague

The loveliest London lads known as Too Many T’s are some of the most creative people I’ve had the pleasure of coming in contact with. When they’re not releasing cheeky videos rapping about bees to the tune of Destiny’s Child’s “Jumpin’ Jumpin’” or enlisting Alexa (yes THAT Alexa) to rap with them, the duo have been working tirelessly on visuals to accompany their debut full-length, South City, which was released last year. I delightedly tuned in for the debut of “Hang Tight”, the first ever one-take video shot on Facebook live and have been consistently inspired by their persistence in taking their innovation to new heights with the release of every video.

Their creation to accompany “Patterns” is their latest tour de force, which will be premiering live on YouTube Premier, a feature that allows the creator set its upload like a premiere and watch together with their viewers when the video goes live, and like a live stream on YouTube, both the creator and viewers will be able to engage in a discussion at the comments section. 

Yours truly got a sneak peek of the stunning video, which is the first time that gaming hardware has been used to both capture and render a music video. Get this, y’all: it was painstakingly put together over the course of over 600 hours of production and rendering with the help of triff (born Stuart Trevor), a video game artist who had been exploring motion capture using an Xbox Kinect camera, more conventionally seen attached to a games console. His work repurposes the camera to capture both movement and depth, which he then places within CGI environments created using visual effects software such as 3ds Max, Redshift and After Effects – which is then output through two powerful gaming-orientated graphics cards.

The final result is nothing short of insanely impressive. “Patterns” is a song about overcoming mental health issues and the struggle to escape patterns of bad habits which the band fell into on tour. The scenes throughout the video are meant to showcase how dark and isolating this uphill battle can be. I’d say they absolutely nailed that aesthetic. As if this wasn’t already mind blowing enough, the jaw dropper of a video is set premiere at the prestigious BBC Amplify event at The Rattle in Tobacco Dock with three daily screenings on November 8th - 10th. The screening will include a presentation by the duo on how new artists should innovate and collaborate with emerging technology, and will also include a demonstration by Play On Player - a new interactive app allowing users to immerse themselves within the song by experimenting with the stems of the track, creating their own fan versions. 

As can be expected I had too many Qs for Too Many Ts about all of this but managed to contain myself enough to only shoot over a few to these dope ass dudes. Peep our convo below!

still from “Patterns” video courtesy of Too Many T’s

How did you manage to link up with triff?

Standaloft: On the information highway.

Leon Rhymes: We knew we wanted to create something special for the “Patterns” video - something we’d not seen before. So from the start we knew we needed more brains than just our own.

Standaloft: We began by reaching out to our extended community to see what and who people knew. One of those people was the legend that is Stuart Trevor or as we like to call him, Triff.

In the past you guys have rapped with Alexa, now with Triff's help you've essentially hacked a Kinect to shoot mo-cap for "Patterns", what inspires you to tinker with new technologies in unconventional ways? 

S: Creativity and limitations. 

LR: And the desire to explore opportunity. 

S: We always want to create something that we’re proud of musically and visually and by incorporating new technologies it forces us to think outside of convention.

LR: Couple this with financial limitations of an unsigned band and you get to a special place of creative innovation. 

“We always want to create something that we’re proud of musically and visually and by incorporating new technologies it forces us to think outside of convention. ”

— Standaloft, Too Many T's

How does video extend the narrative of your music? 

S: With the rise of affordable professional camera equipment the accompanying music video to the track has become almost expected.

LR: And the a visual is such a powerful tool - just take a walk down the street or a train across town to see the amount of adverts everywhere. Not only is the visual expected we’re also fighting against more visuals than ever to stand out. 

S: So it’s important to do try and make something different or something only you can do. 

LR: I think the idea of a story is important - it’s why stories are still read and will survive all digital technology. So if you can create a storyline to run alongside the song I think that’s really strong. 

S: That’s something we did with the music video for “Panther”. 

LR: For “Patterns” the video enhances the mood and feeling within the song. For “Panther” it was more of a simultaneous (and different) storyline running alongside the track. 

still from “Patterns” video courtesy of Too Many T’s

What's the symbolism behind the different scenes depicted in "Patterns"? 

LR: This was very much led by Triff. We’d always seen the song as a whole but he broke the track up into  6 scenes + an epic intro. 

S: What this did though was treat all the scenes and characters in isolation which really works in the world of the song and that feeling of being alone with no one to turn to but your demons. 

LR: It enhances the overall feeling throughout the song.

How do you manage life on tour so you don't fall into the same patterns that inspired the song?  

LR: Honestly!? Not gonna lie, it’s difficult - can resist anything but temptation! 

S: Late nights can help you lose the days and we’ve had to be professional when on tour this year. We’ve grown up (slightly) and learnt to know our limits. 

LR: You need to make mistakes sometime to learn about yourself. 

What's next for you guys? 

LR: We’re certainly not stopping here and really excited about the next 12 months!

S: We’ve had a really successful year in France so we’re working on a French connection project with our label Banzai Lab and all the artist we’ve met out there - stay tuned for that cos its gonna be sick! We’ve recently started writing some new tunes for the second album as well. Watch out 2019, you’re getting had!

LR: More immediately we’re going on tour in Australia and South East Asia for three months January to March with gigs in Melbourne, Sydney, Bangkok, Chang Mai, Hanoi, Phnom Pehn, Tokyo and more TBC.

UPDATE: “Patterns” premiered LIVE today (11/6) on YouTube at 7:30PM GMT (2:30PM EST). Check out the video below!

[SONG OF THE DAY] Galantis - "Emoji"

photo credit: Jimmy Fontaine

Last week Swedish sweethearts Galantis released a shimmery new single, “Emoji” complete with an adorable music video that brings the “💗”emoji to life. At least I’m pretty sure that’s the correct emoji featured here as I just learned that 💗 is the “growing heart” emoji and 💓 is the “beating heart” emoji. Who gets tasked with naming emojis anyway? I personally would have gone with my far superior go-to 💖but that’s just me.

If you happen to be in San Francisco next Friday you can catch the dazzling duo at the Bill Graham Civic Auditorium, unless you’d prefer to catch them for NYE related festivities in Chicago.

GALANTIS LIVE

Fri Nov 16 - San Francisco, CA - Bill Graham Civic Auditorium [TICKETS]

Sun Dec 30 – Chicago, IL – Aragon Ballroom [TICKETS]

Mon Dec 31 – Chicago, IL – Aragon Ballroom [TICKETS]

[SONG OF THE DAY] Crush Club - "Trust"

The boys are back in town! The boys are back in town! The boys are back in town! The boys are back in town! Of course I’m talking about the dopest disco dudes to roam the New York City streets in a minute, Crush Club. The delightful duo are back home from their tour with SOFI TUKKER and LP GIOBBI, but of course when you’re as high energy as they are there’s no slowing down. Yesterday my new favorite humans dropped another single, “Trust”, a song about the complexities of feeling like you can’t be 💯 with a partner due to lack of trust. As vocalist TC Milan explained, “‘Trust' is about how sometimes the hardest thing to do is say what you need. Love can blind and confuse you, and when I was recently in this emotional state the thing I needed the most was trust. I didn’t get it. So we wrote this song.”

Been there, TC bb. It sucks.

NY fam I wasn’t exaggerating about the fellas slowing down at all. They’ve got a set tonight at Brooklyn Bowl + a couple more this week so make sure you go dance and hug it out with them.

CRUSH CLUB LIVE IN NYC

1/3 @ Brooklyn Bowl w/ Escort

11/8 @ Ted Talk Salon (Private)

11/9 @ Club Cumming (DJ Set)

side note: do we think I could sneak into a private Ted Talk event? I feel like that would be the most *me* thing I could ever do in my life (Ted Talks + electro pop). 😂

5 Videos To Help You Coast Your Way Through Your Friday Afternoon

Friday afternoon got me like.

Let’s be real, you have no interest in doing any real work on Friday afternoon. If you’re like me it’s a fun challenge to see just how little work you can do but still look like you’re being productive.

If you’re at a loss of worthwhile distractions, fear not. I’ve got just the distract-a-thon for you!

‘Black Mirror pop’ artist Big Data released this 10-ish minute trailer for his latest single, “Monster” and it’s as delightfully dystopian as one could expect from our AI obsessed friend.

My latest obsession in life is the YouTube series Two Minutes To Late Night, which is a metal late night talk show featuring backing band Mutoid Man and is hosted by fictional character Gwarsenio Hall (played by Jordan Olds). I happened to sporadically attend one of their tapings at legendary metal club Saint Vitus and have been hooked on the show ever since. Anyway, like all late night talk shows the episodes feature pre-recorded sketches and the second installment of their Poseur Cops sketch will have you laughing until you’re crying. The nice thing about 2M2LN is you don’t really have to be a huge metal fan to feel like you’re in on the jokes, so music fans of all genres can appreciate their brand of humor.

If you enjoyed the techo-making robots created by artist Moritz Simon Geist and want to see an in-depth look at his cute little music making machines, this behind the scenes video is super informative.

Casual fans of Gorillaz will appreciate this super detailed recap of the Gorillaz universe from their early beginnings to present day. This dude is so thorough with the band’s timeline that while I feel a little guilty that I haven’t spent more time immersing myself in the band’s carefully crafted world, I do have a much stronger appreciation with how just much effort goes into the project.

Y’all know I try to encourage people to love Beck as much as I do as often as possible so I’m rounding out my reccos for today with a close examination of one of Beck’s wackier videos (and we know he’s good for the weird stuff) for his single, “Sexx Laws”, off his 1999 album, Midnite Vultures. I always knew that Beck went super deep with his weirdness, but the painfully obscure inspiration he references in “Sexx Laws” based on what this guy pulled up just further prove that he is my weird cool dad and I hope that maybe one day I might be even half as awesome as him.

[SONG OF THE DAY] DAVID44 - "Truth"

photo credit: Samy Khabthani

IT

IS

FRI-YAYYYYYYY!

We know how much I love leaving you with some feel good dance vibes to start your weekend off on the right foot and today is no exception. In fact, this very much so leans into the feel good aesthetic on multiple levels.

Today sees the release of Denmark-based electro-pop artist DAVID44 (born David Olafsson)’s latest single, “Truth”, a song about the universal struggles we all have with self-image. It can be incredibly frustrating to see someone not love themselves as much as we love them and Olafsson perfectly articulates the perspective of desperately trying to get someone to see their self-worth. “It’s about speaking the truth but also how reality and words can be twisted by the one hearing it,” Olafsson explains, “It’s about having a misunderstood self-image, not believing in yourself or accepting your true self. These can be very dangerous thoughts and I wrote ‘Truth’ to boost the missing self-esteem.”

“Truth” is the first single from his forthcoming debut full-length album which is due in 2019.

Here’s to dancing your way to loving yourself this Friday, fam. I hope y’all know that you’re some kind of awesome. 💖

[SONG OF THE DAY] Michl - "Pulse"

When Riverside, California artist Michl hit the scene in 2016 I was borderline obsessed with his self-titled EP. Since then he’s trickled out a handful of singles including his latest, “Pulse”, which dropped last week. The reflective song about love and loss was over a year in the making. According to Michl,

"John Calvert and I started this song in London and I worked on lyrics for over a year...I can't even count how many times I rewrote it. After a session with Justin Tranter and Kennedi, I knew the direction the song should go. I almost let this song die a few times, but glad it finally came together."

Thankfully he didn’t give up on the song, which is full of staticy ebbs and flows paired with emotive lyricism. It follows prior 2018 releases, “Fight It Rough04”, “Borrowed Time”, “Tell Her”, “I’d Do It All Again”, and “Better With You”, so be sure to have a listen to those as well if you’re getting caught up on his latest movements like I admittedly had to.

[SONG OF THE DAY] Sakima - "Apps"

Yooooo London’s Sakima is out here raging against the hookup culture machine and I am HERE THE FUCK FOR IT, Y’ALL. His latest single, “Apps”, from his forthcoming debut full length, Project Peach, speaks to the overall disillusionment from the current state of modern dating. Although he’s speaking to Grindr related careless hookup culture, yer girl knows first hand what it’s like to come back from a bathroom break on a date and see a dude swiping away on Tinder to kill time. App dating is garrrbbbbaaaaaggggeee fam please for the love of everything in your being just go meet people at shows ffs.

As Sakima told Highsnobiety about the inspiration behind “Apps”,

“I was dating someone in particular and it was going really well but by the end of it, it transpired that even though this guy really liked me he just wasn’t ready to give one person his attention. Not because he wanted to sleep around or anything like that, but because there’s just so many endless opportunities to meet someone new 24/7, how can I compete with that? I’m the kind of person where if I like someone I get rid of all the hook up and dating apps on my phone and give whoever it may be my full attention to see where things go, and I don’t think it’s too much to ask for the same in return. So through the frustration and psychological stress that comes with feeling like you’re not good enough to compete with an entire world of new possibilities through an app, I sort of found this inner voice in me that was much stronger and self-knowing than before all this dating apps shit that’s ruining potentially meaningful relationships.”

“Apps” is a departure for Sakima, who typically relies on his angelic voice to be the central focus for his songs. Instead, he enlisted the production stylings of Robokid, who also contributed a verse on the song about dudes being “glued to [their] phone looking to get [their] dick sucked.”I especially appreciated Sakima’s jab at the end of the song about people being too disillusioned to vote. Impeccable timing considering we’re a week out from Election Day here in the US.

Suffice it to say if I didn’t already hardcore stan for Sakima I sure as shit do now.