[SONG OF THE DAY] Emotional Oranges - "Someone Else"

LA’s mystery collective Emotional Oranges have returned with another sampling from their forthcoming debut 8-song compilation, The Juice: Vol I, which drops on May 10th. Following up, “Built That Way”, their latest “Someone Else” is the first time that the group collaborated with someone outside of their team. This time around the group teamed up with Dante Jones of THEY., ,who produced the track. The song is all about openly telling your partner that if you’re unhappy in the relationship that they can simply find someone else.

Shortly after The Juice: Vol I drops the group will kick off their Chill Baby Chill tour on May 20th in Toronto. Tickets are sold out for most dates but def going to be worth trying to go check out.

[WATCH] NAO's AI-Driven "Orbit" Video

photo credit: Jay Carroll

…..did someone say, “NAO made an AI-driven music video”???

This is so super fun and cute you have to give it a try for yourself!

Playing off the theme of her sophomore album, Saturn, which dropped last year, soul singer NAO teamed up with the likes of Microsoft for a gorgeous interactive piece for “Orbit”. Given the number of variables that go into generating the dazzling music video, everyone is guaranteed a completely unique viewing experience.

To see how dope this is firsthand, all you have to do is head to the Orbit site and plug in your birthday. The AI then generates a zodiac-filled night sky in which NAO and a dancer move. From there you’re able to customize the colors of the sky, stars, and the dancers bodies. The AI also picks up the different constellations in the dancer’s bodies as well as the fan’s own astrological sign. This Aries bitch is ALL ABOUT FLAUNTING MY STARRY SHIT so I could just play with the colors and watch NAO and the dancer do their lil motion capture all day long.

If you want to flaunt a sampling of your starry creation, there’s an option to share to Facebook and Twitter, as well as download a square or vertical video should you want to post on Instagram as well. As you’ll see below, mine shows NAO posing in an Aries stance along with a plot of Saturn’s return.

Soooo the interactive video for "Orbit" that @this_nao made with @microsoft is super fun. You can head to the site to learn more about how it's made and where to go play with it yourself. - #nao #interactive #interactiveart #saturn #aries #microsoft #microsoftazure #mocap #motioncapture #constellations

0 Likes, 0 Comments - Some Kind Of Awesome (@somekindofawesome) on Instagram: "Soooo the interactive video for "Orbit" that @this_nao made with @microsoft is super fun. You can..."

You know I love a nerd moment so here is the official explanation of how the video was made:

“The process for the music video began at Microsoft’s volumetric capture studio in San Francisco, where cameras captured NAO and a dancer performing choreography to “Orbit” that transformed their bodies into point clouds of data. The Microsoft Azure Custom Vision Service was then trained to identify constellations within their movements, resulting in a truly customized experience that allows fans to connect emotionally with NAO’s own personal story.”

Go give it a try for yourself! Bonus points if you show me your videos!

PS YOU HAVE TO WATCH THE BEHIND THE SCENES VIDEO! Omg NAO is so precious and excited about leveraging this kind of technology to tell her story. I just wanna put her in my hoodie pocket and keep her safe foreverrrrrrrr.

[SONG OF THE DAY] Big Data - "Put Me To Work"

Black Mirror popstar Big Data resurfaced with a brand new track from his forthcoming sophomore LP, 3.0. This new song, “Put Me To Work” while in the same vein of his well-known digital dystopian subject matter, is this time from the perspective of the robot rather than his semi-regular human-centric point of view. This is actually a really clever move on project mastermind Alan Wilkis’ part because the observations that we can take away from this perspective are really quite interesting. The robot mostly gushes about how eager it is to be put to work and all the ways it will be beneficial to the human it’s presumably addressing. Then almost in the same breath the robot is singing a different tune, alluding to replacing humanity without any regard of our collective well being. Maybe Mayer Hawthorne should be co-writing with Alan more often if songs like this are the fruits of their collective labor.

Tell you what, I’d love to put Alan Wilkis and Roman Rappak of Miro Shot in a room together and facilitate a lengthy chat about technology. Given how drastically their respective projects envision technology’s impact on society, it certainly wouldn’t be a boring discussion by any means.

PS - still no word on an actual release date or any other details about the elusive 3.0, but you know who will be more than happy to keep you posted once that info is readily available.

[SONG OF THE DAY] Tycho - "Easy (feat. Saint Sinner)"

Friday. Vibe O’Clock. Let’s fuckin GO.

Earlier in the week electro-zen masters Tycho revealed that they have plans to release a new album this year on their newfound home Mom + Pop Records after a long love-filled relationship with Ghostly International. On the heels of the announcement the band also shared a brand new track, “Easy”, featuring Saint Sinner.

Speaking on the track, primary composer, songwriter, and producer Scott Hansen said, "Music can transport us to other realities but can also ground us firmly within ourselves, after a trilogy of records spent exploring the outer reaches of experience I am focusing inward to reveal a human side to the music."

He continued, "My journey as an artist has been defined by an iterative cycle with each album building on and refining an overarching vision, ‘Easy' is about coming to terms with my past and defining a clear vision moving forward.  It's a comforting voice that reminds you not to get so lost in the work, but to take it easy and enjoy the ride. 'Easy' is the bridge to the future."

THE. BRIDGE. TO. THE. FUTURE.

Between Hyperspace and this new record (details TBA), the future looks very very fucking good.

OH PS did I mention they have some mind boggling shows coming up (not in the US of course ugh ugh ugh). I would probably sell a couple of organs to see them at the Sydney Opera House. CAN YOU IMAGINE!? 😍😍😍

TYCHO ON TOUR

JULY

21 - Yelgun, Australia - Splendour in the Grass

23 - Melbourne, Australia - Forum Melbourne

24 - Sydney, Australia - Sydney Opera House

26 - Yuzawa-machi, Japan - Fuji Rock Festival

SEPTEMBER

19 - Resonance Music & Arts Festival - Slippery Rock, PA

[SONG OF THE DAY] Young & Sick - "No Good"

photo credit: Galen Oakes

Just this morning I was bopping “Jet Black Heart” this morning and thought to myself, “ugh yo Young & Sick is so good. When is that EP coming out again?”

Totally forgot it dropped on Friday. No worries tho. Crisis averted and all of that. It’s A Storm has been ingested into my chest cavity and HOOOO BOY THERE ARE A LOT OF FEELS GOING ON WITH THIS RECORD.

Life, you see, it’s not a breeze. It’s a storm.

If you wanna shimmy your way through your complicated feels about life, this is the absolute perfect soundtrack for that.

Word on the street is that the LA producer allegedly has more in the works so I promise to be more diligent in checking in on his whereabouts.

[SONG OF THE DAY] NVDES - "Stupid Dope"

After dropping their debut LP Vibe City Utah late last year LA’s NVDES are back and have dropped what will soon be the anthem for sativa smokers everywhere on Saturday, April 20th, 2019 and every 4/20 thereafter. This shit is high energy and the perfect length for someone whose regularly adequate attention span is….suddenly impaired.

Best know if you follow my personal Instagram that I will be doing stoned lip sync videos to this on Saturday. Happy to compete to see if anyone can outdo me as I will be leveraging as many of the wild ass indie IG filters that I’ve acquired over the past few months as I can. 🥴

[SONG OF THE DAY] Beck - "Saw Lightning"

Photo Credit: Citizen Kane Wayne

lol of course you knew I was going to excitedly smash into my keyboard about this.

My most favorite person in the entire world blessed us yesterday with a brand new single and the delightful news that his 14th studio album, HYPERSPACE, is coming FROM THE FUTURE (press releases actual words).

Technically, aren’t all albums coming from the future? I guess technically for this one it’s all the more accurate because per Beck’s conversation with Zane Lowe yesterday on Beats1 that the record isn’t actually done yet.

I don’t think this is going to be another “Dreams” situation. When that was dropped in 2015 there was no naming of an upcoming album, etc. We had to wait 2 damn years between that dropping for him to release Colors. Even still, it would be very polite of him for us to have more than one new song to lose our minds to on this upcoming co-headlining tour of his with Cage The Elephant.

At any rate, “Saw Lightning” is warming up all the cells in my body that tingle for Midnite Vultures, Odelay, and Guero. THE SLIDE GUITAR AND HARMONICA ARE BACK!!! Makes yer girl wanna go out and get a black cowboy hat much like the one he wore in the “Devils Haircut” video, but maybe bling it out a fuckload.

The track was produced and written by Beck and Pharrell, a collaboration that apparently was 20 years in the making. Pharrell is also credited on the track for drums, keyboards, and…..mumbles.

Mumbles. This is probably my favorite credit of all time.

As can be expected, I will now be spazzing every time dad breathes on Instagram or anywhere else hints of HYPERSPACE may surface.

Beck & Cage The Elephant The Night Running Tour 2019 Dates:

07/11/19 - Ridgefield, WA - Sunlight Supply Amphitheater *^
07/13/19 - George, WA - The Gorge Amphitheatre *^
07/16/19 - Mountain View, CA - Shoreline Amphitheater *^
07/17/19 - Irvine, CA - Five Point Amphitheater *^
07/19/19 - Las Vegas, NV - Park Theater *^
07/20/19 - Chula Vista, CA - North Island Credit Union Amphitheatre *^
07/21/19 - Phoenix, AZ - Ak-Chin Pavilion *^
07/23/19 - Denver, CO - Fiddler's Green Amphitheater *^
07/26/19 - Austin, TX - Austin 360 Amphitheater *+
07/27/19 - Dallas, TX - The Dos Equis Pavilion *+
07/28/19 - Houston, TX - Cynthia Woods Mitchell Pavilion *+
07/30/19 - St. Louis, MO - Hollywood Casino Amphitheatre *+
07/31/19 - Chicago, IL - Huntington Bank Pavilion at Northerly Island *+
08/02/19 - Cincinnati, OH Riverbend Music Center *+
08/03/19 - Detroit, MI - DTE Energy Music Theater *+
08/04/19 - Indianapolis, IN - Ruoff Home Mortgage Music Center *+
08/11/19 - Toronto, ON - Budweiser Stage *&
08/12/19 - Saratoga Springs, NY - Saratoga Performing Arts Center *&
08/13/19 - Darien Center, NY - Darien Lake Amphitheater *&
08/15/19 - Mansfield, MA - Xfinity Center *&
08/16/19 - Gilford, NH - Bank of New Hampshire Pavilion *&
08/17/19 - New York City, NY - Forest Hills Stadium *
08/20/19 - Holmdel, NJ - PNC Bank Arts Center *&
08/21/19 - Camden, NJ - BB&T Pavilion *&
08/22/19 - Columbia, MD - Merriweather Post Pavilion *&
08/24/19 - Raleigh, NC - Coastal Credit Union Music Park *&
08/25/19 - Charlotte, NC - PNC Music Pavilion *&
08/27/19 - Birmingham, AL - Oak Mountain Amphitheatre *&
08/29/19 - Tampa, FL - MIDFLORIDA Credit Union Amphitheatre *&
08/30/19 - West Palm Beach, FL - Coral Sky Amphitheatre *&

* - w/ Spoon
^ - w/ Starcrawler
+ - w/ Wild Belle
& - Sunflower Bean

[SONG OF THE DAY] Wrabel - "love to love u"

photo credit: Yazz Alali

Holy wow wow wow wow wow y’all bae-bel made a BOP!

The evolution of Wrabel since stumbling into his Sideways EP in 2014 has been one of my absolute favorite things to witness to date. These days though it feels like the more he’s taken ownership of who he is as both a human person and an artist that he’s able to fully realize and harness his musical superpowers. As he told the folks at Idolator in a recent interview, “I’m just taking really deep breaths, and doing whatever I want.” As it turns out, since last we checked in on the lil cutie crooner he parted ways with Epic, started his own label, Big Gay Records (!!! yes bb!! 😍), and just released his first track on his own, a bop that absolutely won’t stop, “love to love u”.

Favorite quote from the interview where he talks about the song:

“[…]I think I started opening my mind to the thought that, ‘Ok, maybe you don’t have to sit at the piano and write a sad song.’”

Bruh 😂😂😂

Growth looks so good on my dude. I’m so happy he’s happy.