KG's I Was Just Thinking...

[keving217]

SZA in Ctrl, but for how long?

Music video for SZA’s Broken Clocks off her most recent album Ctrl 

There’s something uniquely enticing about Solána Imani Rowe, the young lady singer who was raised in Maplewood, New Jersey, just a couple clicks southwest from the Big Apple. Solána, better known to soul lovers as SZA, is a household name now. We’re almost 18 months removed from the release of her critically acclaimed album Ctrl, and quite frankly, it’s difficult to string together an R&B playlist without pulling from her body of work. It comes as no surprise that she is in such high demand, her musical art catapulting her to a stardom that even she couldn’t have dreamt of. Whatever I think is enticing and fascinating about SZA, I can feel validated when I can see, and when I can feel, that I’m not the only one drawn to her gifts.  It’s not only the vocals. It’s the ability to articulate her thoughts into words. It’s the thing that amateur writers strive for but ultimately fall short in, transcribing the human experience into letter. I thought her work in Ctrl was indicative of that idea, comprehensive and wholesome in its storytelling. And how do we do know SZA is that good? Even if she wasn’t selling out arenas around the world or moving units, people would still naturally gravitate towards her. 

So back to that enticement. It’s a particular thrill, really. And I bet you’re wondering how can I be so full of praise when the title of my own piece suggests the space she currently occupies is finite and liminal? I guess what pulls me in even further is the substance behind her work. Ctrl deals a lot with SZA’s own struggles with anxiety and self doubt, and the artist is raw in her storytelling, letting us reach our own conclusions. As Liam Freeman observes, “Rowe’s candour is perhaps what has chimed most deeply with her audience – her songs lay bare her own vulnerabilities, desires and emotions as she traces the experiences that have forged her identity. From talking about not shaving her legs in “Drew Barrymore” to admitting feelings of inadequacy in “Supermodel”, Ctrl plays out like a diary, with no subject off the table.” Yes, we all can agree her work is nothing short of wonderful and deeply settled in the uncertainty of the twenties. The themes of female empowerment, the forging and asserting of independence, the imbalance between work life and a love life, and the exhausting search for fulfillment are all present. Probably the most controversial (but my favorite) tune on the record, The Weekend, is SZA telling us her delight in sharing a lover with two other women, although she finds refuge in the fact that she feels no sense of attachment to this person and its more for sexual gratification, so therefore she isn’t the one being use. It may be unsettling in its logic initially, but it is honest, and more importantly, SZA protects herself in her justification (and I’m open to the pushback on that one.)

SZA performing The Weekend live in front of an intimate audience. 

I still haven’t talked about that enticement. Okay, so here it goes. For listeners of soul and r&b, the aesthetic of one’s own suffering is as uncomfortable as it is inviting. Spread the pain, share the wisdom. In her earlier self-released albums, SZA experimented with structure and content, but it wasn’t until the specificity in Ctrl where we saw a sort of wholeness to her art. But even then, there was still hesitation. There was still something of a self-inadequacy that held her back. 

“My anxiety had been telling me the whole time that it sucked,” said the singer, 27, soft-spoken and unreserved in a fluorescent-lit office. In an oversized woolly sweater, with one foot in a chunky Balenciaga sneaker slung reflexively over the top of a wooden desk, she could still enumerate the record’s flaws. Its sonic palette was too shallow, she said; its concepts and word choices were too redundant; its hooks could have been stronger. At one point while recording it, she threatened on Twitter to quit music altogether. When her label intervened and scheduled the album for release, she said, she “just wanted to hurry up and fail.” 

There is something about the chaos in our lives the when we narrate it, it’s almost therapeutic. We feed off her storytelling, not for its honesty, but for what it reveals about our private selves. SZA has found success from sharing the things most people wouldn’t open up about. And I can’t help but wonder the toll that it takes, and above quote tells us about her erratic behavior outside of the music space. It’s the overthinking that can overwhelm and paralyze. Now under the spotlight, it’s not unreasonable to think there will be difficulties ahead. As human beings, we learn to see the patterns in behavior and thoughts in others and reasonably predict what’s going to happen next. Lauryn Hill produced her self titled album to much success and then stepped away. The microscope that is the music business will probe like no other, and I wonder how long before SZA takes a deep breath and takes a step back. Isolation and suffering makes for great material, but it is something that takes what seems like forever to process. 

[keving217]

Rotten to the Metal Core: Ryan Santos and Born A New

Born A New’s tour dates for remainder of the year

https://itunes.apple.com/us/album/peace-is-dead-ep/1221255567 

(via https://open.spotify.com/album/78V23sYRY6DmaVUPdYMu7a?si=DpIED_CAT32Etnu6prQHiQ) 

Born A New’s EP, Peace Is Dead, available now on all streaming platforms

Sometimes, I’ll find myself in spaces and places that, under normal circumstances, I would never set foot in. It’s that feeling of being outside of the comfort zone, the anxiety that comes with being among a crowd of people that, other than fingers and toes, there’s no commonalities that bind us. That’s how I feel about the heavy metal folks. Specifically, metal core. Metal core music is that really obnoxious and grinding screaming (yes, it’s more screaming than singing and you’ll never convince me otherwise) that is its own subculture. It has a strong underground scene (it should also stay there), and growing up, those underground shows were my first taste in mosh pits. For those of you reading this who never had one of those mosh pit experiences, I’ll tell you the only things you missed were blindsided elbows and black eyes. I grew up making fun of this hardcore scene, but it’s obvious I paid some attention to it. A lot of my friends growing up were really into the metal core music, and sometimes for the sake of socializing I went out to some of these shows. As I’m sure you can already tell, my opinion never improved. Out of the three or four friends that were part of the extreme metal space, one of them, my buddy Ryan Santos actually stuck with it. After high school, he tried his hand at the real job thing and community college, but his head was always in a different space. And that’s not to say he didn’t give it things a try… sometimes the soul demands the attention to be elsewhere, you know? About 18 months ago, Ryan ran a show at a local bar in our hometown of Long Branch. New Jersey. It was actually the end of his latest tour run at the time, and sure enough he reached out to myself and mutual friend to come out and support, maybe grab a few drinks afterwards. And because I love the scene and the music so much, I went.

“I tried to take Premonitions serious but I feel like musically we weren’t all there and everyone just lost motivation. Born A New kind of had the same thing going on but we all knew there just something different about and one day we said fuck it and just left for our first tour that we booked ourselves and everything else came along with it in time. Now we have a team including management and booking to help build us up. We’ve networked and have enough backing to make me believe that we really could make something out of this.” Premonitions was the name of the band back in high school. For most of in the group, it was only a hobby, something that was born out a love for the music scene but not enough for it to sustain. Ryan’s desire for success led to some floating around, eventually leading to Born A New. They currently have an EP out, Peace is Dead, available on all streaming platforms now. Now only is Ryan the vocalist, he contributes a large part to the songwriting. “The topics get brought up on a big whiteboard and we pick what we wanna talk about from there. My guitarist does a lot of the lyrics, too, and then I’ll come in after and restructure some shit, add some of my own bits to it.”  

Last picture of Ryan’s band Premonitions before they signed off

Ryan’s new mistress, Born A New

I asked him about what shows were like now. And although Ryan is pursuing success, there is something about a sense of community that still appeals to him and draws him in even further. “There’s different kinds of shows to our genre. Sometimes you can ho see big bands and not know anyone else there but then you can go can go to a local venue with mid-tier bands that still draw people, and those are probably better because you’ll see your friends and people that have a better understanding of what goes on at shows and how to handle the environment.” Word of advice: be ready to duck at all times.

So I’m at this local bar, Brighton, and it’s specifically known for this kind of music. I walk in there, and I don’t know why I thought I might be surprised… it’s exactly what I thought it would be. A lot of skinny long haired white dudes moshing and twirling around, spinning their arms around like a windmill. A lot of headbanging and folks with tattoos that covered their entire bodies. I was nervous to the point that I thought even if I could get a drink, I was sure someone would just knock it over and ruin my night. Ryan is about to perform, and I persuade our mutual friend to go as far back from the mosh pit crowd as possible.

Ryan and I had a few phone exchanges over the last week. Born A newis touring in southern California right now. He wouldn’t say where specifically, but mentions the strains of the start up gig life were “real”, like living in the band van and never sleeping in the same city two nights in a row. Despite being in the band for almost three years now, the challenges of getting the band name out are still there. However, Ryan sees the fun in the process. “Being on the road is rewarding because I literally have been around the entire country and back multiple times throughout the year… and Canada (that remark made us both laugh)! Within the two years and a half we’ve been touring, we’ve built a fan base and a name for ourselves. The only difficult part is being home for like two months and then heading back out and missing out on birthdays or family events but it comes with the territory of trying to make this work.” There is a perception that life on the road for artists is glamorous and full of non strop thrill, but it’s hard for artists trying to break through. It’s a sacrifice, too, for artists who value their home life and the people that are a part of it. Ryan is the oldest by quite some distance; he has two younger brothers in the 4th and 5th grades.

Ryan touring in SoCal

I think the life he leads is susceptible to rampant of drug usage, but Ryan keeps it calm and collected. “I’ve heard of bands that are heavily involved into drugs but it’s not really as much as problem as most people think it is. If I’m being honest, all we do is drink and smoke weed. I don’t think I’d make it to the next city the next day if I was all over the hard stuff.” A man with some morals in the game, who knew?

We wrap up our phone conversation, and Ryan makes the point of the pleasure he gets in seeing kids attend shows, because he remembers being one of them. Ryan was often picked on for his own personal tastes, and there’s a sense that’s how all subcultures find their way… from lingering self-insecurities and doubts of one’s own role in the world. So I hang up the phone, and I’m back at the bar again. The memory of it, at least. Ryan’s act is coming to a close. The local crowd is clapping and cheering, the whole nine. Sure enough, Ryan gets on the mic, thanking the crowd for coming out. He then sticks his finger out over the stage and yells, “Shout out my boys Kevin and Jimmy for coming out tonight, they’ve been with me since the beginning.” I got a bit of a cheap pop, but once some of the crowd saw who I was, the natural outsider who was rocking Air Jordans and skinny joggers, the feeling of disdain swept the air. The feeling was mutual, believe me. I headed for the exit door.

Music video for Born A New’s 107 from their EP Peace Is Dead 

Did I mention available now?

Thank you to my buddy Ryan Santos for making the time for a brief interview while on tour. All best, my friend.  

[keving217]

Bodies and the Beat: New York’s Disco Scene

The disco scene wallowed in its hedonism stretching from the early 1960s into the mid 1970s. We know disco as a music genre, but we also know of the disco; the dance floors and the clubs with the spinning mirror ball suspended high above were omnipresent in the American urban nightlife. Disco, as Adam Mattera of The Guardian writes, “was a four-on-the-four bassline, euphoric strings, fierce cowbells and a soaring vocal straight out of the church and on to the dance floor. More importantly it created a place – or rather it soundtracked a space – outside the mainstream. A place where black, Hispanic, gay and any combination thereof could come together and dance, love and just be without fear.”  Disco goers spared no expense, showing out in the most extravagant of attires, very attuned to the trendy and the highest of fashion wear.  Women wore backless halter tops or flowing dresses. The men wore bright silky nylon shirts that were fitted to the body, usually open chested. The lower part of the pants were in bell bottom style… easier for the body to flow and dance. 

John Travolta strutting the damn thing in Saturday Night Fever, also a disco record by the Bee Gees

Where the scene actually originated from is up for debate. Some say the Americans stole it from the French, with a booming Parisian club scene known for its sophistication and elegance. However, as Lisa Robinson boldly proclaims in her Vanity Fair article, “... most agree that none of this really mattered until the early 1970s, when gay underground dance clubs in New York—the Loft, Tenth Floor, 12 West, Infinity, Flamingo, and, later, the Paradise Garage, Le Jardin, and the Saint—spawned a disco culture that brought with it open drug use, on-site sex, and ecstatic, nonstop, all-night dancing.” 

David Mancuso at The Loft

Famous disc jockey David Mancuso popularized the underground disco scene by throwing these extravagant parties on lower Broadway. The only caveat, however, was that the party was invite only and only open one night a week. Mancuso required high tempo music that was soulful and rhythmic. The Loft attracted much of the local New York gay community, many of whom were  oppressed at the time and felt harassed at other gay clubs and bars. Because no alcohol, drinks or food was being sold, there was nothing illegal about it and the police could not intervene.  The New Yorker’s Vince Aletti described it as "like going to party, completely mixed, racially and sexually, where there wasn't any sense of someone being more important than anyone else."

Some video bits of the Loft 

Disco’s high rhythm energy and the mirror’s ball strobe lights flashing and beaming over the dance floor led to an insistent pulsation and throbbing of the body. It was the pursuit of one’s own sensuality, the fulfillment of pleasures akin to a body’s need to appease an appetite. 

Drugs were not only consumed, they were encouraged. Anything that could enhance the dancing to the loud bass-heavy music was considered common accessory. In the 70s nightlife, the drugs of choice consisted of ‘blow’, better known as cocaine. Quaalude was also another popular discotheque drug, impairing motor coordination and body sensations. Because of their popularity, they dubbed the nickname “disco biscuits”. Inevitably, the mingling of drugs with alcohol became prominent in the night club. And that, of course, led to feverish promiscuity and public sex, absolutely unrestrained. The disco floor was known as the central area for seduction, and the actual sex taking place in the depths of the discotheque.

The original version of Donna Summer’s Love to Love You Baby is sixteen minutes plus full of excess moaning and groaning, a reflection of the American sexual revolution of the 1970s. Many songs of the disco genre are known to have female vocalists with powerful and soulful vocals, highlighting the female plight and its desires. It was one of many in a feel good and feel groove soundtrack that. 

The disco era inspired many later music scenes, including the nascent stages of hip hop and house/rave culture, drawing similarities in the frequent drug usage and the female vocalist (for the latter). The disco scene was messy, yet sensual and gratifying for those that were a part of it. It calmed fears of judgment and allowed for dancers to express themselves. However, there was one fear that always did linger around the clubs at night... 

“You were always afraid to check your coat; you were afraid that the coat-check girl would steal it, and you couldn’t afford to lose a winter coat. There would always be at least one person screaming at the coat-check girl: “Yes, it was a black leather jacket!” At the Loft, people would fold their coats and put them on the floor so they could kind of keep an eye on them. Then other people would sit on them, have sex on them.… I was always very concerned about the coat situation. Even thinking about it now, I become anxious.”

- Frank Lebowitz 

[keving217]

Piano Chords and Jupiter 8s: Production in Calvin Harris’ Slide

Calvin Harris How I made Slide (video above)

- check out Calvin Harris breaking down one of his major records

I remember waking up after a bad hangover a week after my 22nd birthday. Maybe I was still celebrating, who knows. I had spent the night at a friend’s apartment, blanket-wrapped on the living room couch. I opened my aching eyes, dry-mouthed and ear rung, unsure of time or space. No one else was awake, or maybe I was the only one in the apartment. I reached down to the wooden floor, sifting around for my iPhone. Mr. Reliable. I pressed the home button. It was 8AM on a Friday morning, or for us folk who always have a finger on the pulse of music... it was New Music Friday. One of the notifications on my phone read (and I paraphrase), “Check out the newest single by Calvin Harris.” The primetime DJ and producer will always be one of my favorites. He is probably best known for his work in dance music that eventually transcended into pop hits on the radio. It was music made for the club, tailored for the shufflers and the ravers. 

And then something remarkable happened. What played through my ears wasn’t what I was expecting. A shift, not only in sound and production, but in creative vision. A departure from the world of EDM and an entry into a new aesthetic. It was soul. It was funky. It was hip-hop and rap, but it wasn’t. It was swishing palm trees in the summer (please keep in mind this is smack dab in the middle of February). It was laidback, feet up pool side with the sun beaming on flesh.   

But that sound. Rather, sounds. More than one. What was it? This wasn’t building beats and then the inevitable drop that characterized Calvin’s earlier work. Thanks to the tremendous folk at the Point Blank Music School (I literally could not have done this without you), I was able to get some understanding of the production on this wonderful tune. I examine the intro of the song and the players behind the sounds. 

Nothing about my body felt good that morning... and then I pressed play on Slide, by the great Calvin Harris featuring Frank Ocean and the Migos. And then, boom... magic.  

Piano chords. It’s the A major 7, G minor 7 , B over C sharp, F sharp minor 9 , G sharp minor 7, A major 9. A lot of music theory to soak in, but those are the relevant piano chords in the introduction to the Slide record. The chords belong to a particular scale, with a scale belonging to a particular key (Slide is based on the C# key). Solo piano bits are uncommon in dance music, so off the bat the record is different from Calvin’s previous work. The sound of this particular key lets the sound hang. it’s intimate and also lonely. Just like I was during that  first listen. 

The bass line. The sound of the bass guitar is recreated by the Ableton software, used prominently by DJs and producers. Ski Oakenfull (in the video hyperlinked on Point Blank Music School) says, “it’s just playing the root notes of those chords,” referring to the bass scale. It adds a layer of “umph” to to the piano chords (and hopefully, that makes some sense). 

Jupiter 8. An electronic musical instrument that develops audio signals that become sounds. The instrument simulates more formal instruments such as the piano. It’s generally used with a keyboard. Calvin Harris uses the Jupiter 8 to oscillate what Oakenfull dubs as a square wave, recording it into the intro. 

Beat comes in. Oakenfull makes note that Calvin may used a LinnDrum, a digital electronic drum machine that mimics percussion sounds. With the help of a metronome (a tool used to produce a steady beat), this percussive sound, along with a clap sound that echoes (Ableton feature), a rhythm begins to flow. It is set on a repeat, also called a loop.  

Back to the bass. The hi hat is accentuated. Still sticking to the root notes of the chords. Calvin employs the use of another electric piano keyboard, the Fender Rhodes. This is where he develops the melody, still along the C# key. Oakenfull calls this the “Synth Melody Section”. This is the real groovy part of the song, a bit of slapping the bass. A nice pop and bounce. 

The hook. The defining sound of the song. Characterized by two oscillators that give the song a coarsening effect. This sound changes by what Oakenfull says is a portamento, or the pitch SLIDING from one note to the next. See what I did there? You’ll hear this bit on the offbeat. 

The intro to the song is repeated throughout. It’s catchy and effective. One of my favorite records of the last two years, with a heavy emphasis on what I call studio instruments, a more modern creation. The perfect cure to a hangover, I’d say.  Listen to the track below and tell me what you think!

[keving217]

Mad Decent in Brooklyn

I had forgotten what it felt like, the underground rave scene. The last time I was at one of these things I was nineteen years old, give or take. And it’s not like I’m that much older… I’m 23 years young, but time has changed my music taste. Maybe change isn’t the right word, rather it is more developed, more attune to different sounds and genres. Diplo’s Mad Decent Block Party was back in town, more specifically back in the bustle that is New York. Brooklyn. Growing up, these things were also excuses that made for excursions… I’m fascinated by the controlled chaos that is New York. The underground scene is very much like that… without constraint, impulsive, and self-indulgent within its own space. I would argue that the electronic music community is much more youthful, and I would imagine other ‘underground’ genres are similar in that respect.

So I went alone. It’s the only way to really digest and observe the space for what it is. Ok, I’m lying a bit. I made plans with some folks, and sometimes those last-minute flakes are just unavoidable. And invariably, you’ll lose whoever you came with in those crowds… then again, that’s when some of the most fun happens, or at least that was my experience when I was younger. But I trekked on with enthusiasm, taking the NJ transit from my beach town in Central NJ to the concrete jungle.

The obvious headliner of MDBP is Diplo, the founder of the ‘Mad Decent’ label. Best known for his work as a DJ and producer (think of hits like MIA’s Paper Planes and Major Lazer’s Lean On), the man travels the globe, hitting the decks with the best of all genres and creating hybrid sounds. Sometimes you might hear an R&B vocal over a house beat, or a flipped version of big hip-hop records, trap and moombahton… there is no sound Diplo hasn’t worked onto his sets. And while he is the obvious allure is his presence, there is another appeal to the Block Party… the label’s artists, up and coming talent from all parts of the globe, as well as other acts that work in association who are less well known to the mainstream, but not the hardcore base. Sure enough, those acts play to the younger crowd… the sounds are much more boisterous and loud.

After I get off the subway, I find myself in the bushwhick area of Brooklyn. You’ll find wonderful murals adorning the neighborhood walls, a real creative space. After a 15 minute trek around town, I find myself at the Brooklyn Mirage, an outdoor rooftop venue that is hosting this year’s block party.

Diablo kicks things off. The producer hails from the Netherlands, and he brings those famous (or infamous, depending on your tastes) Eurodance flavor to our side of the coast. Diablo plays progressive house records with some drum and bass. It’s those songs with the real fast brakebeats... kind of sounds like endless dishes falling from the cabinets. 

Acts like Troyboi, the South East Londoner is the first act I come to listen and observe. He is best known for producing trap and electro-pop music. The crowd knows who he is, and again, this is a very crowd… the event accommodated people 18+. He plays to the youthfulness, blasting heavy dubstep and trap beats. The crowd is jumping up and down mercilessly… it is one of those mosh pit scenes that I just can’t handle anymore. These days I get nervous just from an elbow touch. There is one moment that stands above the rest, and that’s when Troyboi reworks Aaliyah’s One in a Million over an electro-house beat. I love when the djs and the producers of today draw on those 90s and early 2000s R&B records and refix them onto the dancefloor, or in this case the floor space. There wasn’t so much groovin’ along to that record, and I wonder if they even recognize it. I sing along, and that’s probably the only time I did that night.

Australian producer Chris Emerson of the What So Not EDM project hops on the decks, but by that point it was already 12:20am, and at these things no one ever really knows when the headliner is due on stage. That didn’t stop me from asking. I had gotten word from a bartender outside who charged me $6.34(!) for a water bottle that best case scenario start time might be 1:45am. Here’s the thing… even a few years removed, once you’ve seen one show, you’ve seen them all. It is an absurd hour for a headliner, and Diplo, I love you, but I just can’t wait.

That’s the tough thing about growing up in a beach town 90 minutes outside the city… you had to make sure that you could catch the last train from penn station, otherwise you were resigned to a night in the Amtrak waiting space. And that’s only if you had bought a transit ticket ahead of time.

Here’s what I’ll say. The best thing about the Block Party isn’t the headliner. It’s more about the pool of talent, a showcase of the current creative minds that occupy the modern dance music scene. It’s not always aesthetically pleasing to the ears, but there’s a viability in giving a platform to not only the talent, but the ravers themselves. Although I might not have seen him, Diplo’s best quality is that... giving others a platform, that’s true and authentic to the community of ravers. I’m a few years older now, and though I might not follow it as much as I used, I will always appreciate the love for the rave. 

[keving217]

The College Years: A Playlist

I’m graduating this semester, so I thought it would be fun to make a playlist of the sounds of my time as an undergrad. I came to Rutgers in the fall of 2013… there were some stops and breaks between then and now, and it’s been my experience in this space that life moves a 100 mph. Memory often gets blurry and distorted, but I’ve found music to be useful in recollecting some bits of my own life.  In that sense, I ‘ve found music can sometimes be polaroids, capturing moments in time… you can remember exactly where you were, what you were doing, or how you felt. It’s a slow burn, and in a space that moved so fast, music helped me slow down and process it all. It’s not cohesive in terms of genre… I tried to be eclectic as possible, as my own taste of music is very much so. I drew on different sounds, and I kept in mind songs that crossed over into the mainstream so hopefully, you the reader, recognize a few.

Wake Me Up – Avicii ft. Aloe Blacc

This song was part of the EDM revival of the early 2010s. Dance music was mainstream again…  European acts and DJs were collaborating with some of pop’s biggest stars and making giant sounding records. The Swedish producer/DJ flips the original Aloe Blacc record, drawing in irish folk sounds combined with house beats. In the video below, you’ll see the crowd not exactly moving to the song. This was also my experience... I really didn’t take to it at first, after a few listens the whole world fell in love. It’s a song of self-discovery, and at my young ripe age of 18, it became an anthem. Rest in power, Avicii, and thank you.

Hold On, We’re Going Home – Drake ft. Majid Jordan

There was a time Drake was on constant rotation. Emotional and sensitive Drake was good for everyone… women liked the tenderness, and boys embraced the introspection. I remember this at the basement parties… slimy and gross, but there we were, singing along. Not a rap song and no time for commitment as Drake says, but in a new city, there’s always that one person we have our eyes on. Just in case, you know.

Uptown Funk – Mark Ronson ft Bruno Mars

A really special tune. It’s an R&B song, but it’s upbeat and draws on 80’s funk and soul. It’s retro, damn it felt so refreshing. I loved the sexual innuendoes in it, and that line “Michelle Pfeiffer, that white gold”… hell of a hook. Who said R&B had to be moody all the time? This is one of those songs I couldn’t escape even if I tried, but I didn’t mind. Perhaps because it draws on an older sound I remember more experienced (!) folk taking to it more. One of my best friends sang his heart out at a get together once to this. He had some pretty good moves to show for it, too.

Lean On – Major Lazer & DJ Snake ft MØ

All we need is somebody to lean on. Banger, son. It’s a reggae-house tune that made its way into the mainstream. I used to have an apartment on George Street, and at the time I thought I was the coolest thing going, a young Gatsby throwing weekend balls. What I really wanted was some company, and this song captured that feeling so well.

Controlla – Drake

Drake again, I know. I try to distance myself form him now, but I can’t deny his tunes were part of my journey. I was poolside in the summer of 2016 in Los Angeles. This tune helped dancehall and afrobeats enter the American mainstream again, and I loved that so much. It was sensual… all I did was groove and move that summer. I’ll leave it at that, shouts Summer ’16.

Pick Up the Phone – Travis Scott & Young Thug ft Quavo

Listen to the intro. The “steel drum” beat has that boyish swag. I just turned 21 and was new to the club scene. Really fun and obnoxious.

Foldin Clothes – J. Cole

A relationship didn’t work out for me and I tried to win the girl back . J. Cole gave me some ideas that were subtle and simple. Maybe one day.

Around the World- Kings of Leon

I don’t listen to much rock and alternative music like I used to, so when Kings of Leon dropped their album in September of 2016, I actually set time to give it a listen. I had been gone from Rutgers for a year, so the idea of “being around the world”, or elsewhere, really resonated with me. There is life outside of the university space, believe me.

Slide – Calvin Harris ft Frank Ocean & Migos

Calvin Harris departs from the house records that defined his career and released his Funk Wav Bounces project, the focus being a mix of funk (duh), R&B, hip-hop, and soul. I had fallen out of love with those big dance records, so as far as I was concerned, Calvin was sharing gospel. Probably my favorite record on this playlist (no, definitely. Ask my friends.) People come and go in your life, and it was a lesson that I was coming to terms with. It’s evaluating relationships of all kind, and as you get older you realize not everyone sticks around for the long run.

What Lovers Do – Maroon 5 ft SZA

Growing up, I was a massive Maroon 5 fan. I was singing about love before I even knew what the emotion really was. Those guys always put a pop hit out every now and again that I enjoy, and this one sticks out because of the wonderful guest feature that is SZA. As I listened to more R&B in my early twenties, I found SZA and I thought her ability of storytelling was second to none. This record is more pop and doesn’t do her justice, but check out SZA’s own body of work when you the chance. Just wonderful, really introspective and insightful. This was one of those songs that just gave me a pep to my step when I worked my retail job over the weekend.

X – J Balvin & Nicky Jam

A Spanish record for the club. Sensual and lustful. Checking out so and so at the club and being seduced by the ambience of it all. “No poetry to it”, as Nicky Jam says. Some songs are really good for being in the moment, and this one does the trick every time.

As I wrap up my time at Rutgers, it’s nice to look back and think of the journey. It’s hard to remember everything, but this is a good alternative. It’s not always sunshine and rainbows, but I think that’s a beautiful thing. It’s normal to feel the range of emotions at some point… it’s human nature (shouts M.J) It’s nice to trace one’s own taste in music change over time as well. Invariably, people become open to new sounds, or appreciate the wordsmiths at hand in the heavier songs. I commuted most of time at Rutgers, so on the car rides home I listened to as much music as I could. I felt it all. And there are so many songs I left out… next time. Hope you enjoyed, x.

KG. 

[keving217]

Something Wicked This Way Comes: Travis Scott’s ASTROWORLD and the Horrors of the Collaborative Carnival

For Houston native hip hop artist-rapper-songwriter-producer Travis Scott, the concept of collaboration extends far more than just the basic exchange of ideas. If his newest album ASTROWORLD is any indication, Travis Scott represents the very epitome of the modern music culture; eclectic tastes drawn and influenced by sounds that are both retro and fresh, genre-hopping to the point that the listener is bound to ask is this even a hip-hop album?, and perhaps most evident is the overreach in the collaborative process. While Travis Scott entertains and amuses with his trippy production and boisterous sounds, the most captivating moments in his latest body of work are when he steps aside and lets his fellow collaborators take over. Travis Scott’s propensity to think and act outside the box should be commended, but one can’t help feel but wonder whether Travis took a backseat on most of the rides at AstroWorld.

“They tore down Astroworld to build more apartment space. That’s what it’s going to sound like, like taking an amusement park away from kids. And we want it back," Travis tells British GQ in a long form interview. The title Astroworld is in reference to the now defunct Six Flags theme park of Scott’s native Houston. It’s that madness of youth that is omnipresent, that compelling impulse to visit all the different rides at the theme park that marks Travis’ work. More literally, the experimental production all over Astroworld is everywhere. Travis finds help from a who’s who list of extraordinary vocalists; Pharrell, The Weeknd, Frank Ocean, Drake among others. CAROUSEL is less aggressive than other songs on the project. Travis takes aim at other rappers for ripping him off, “They bitin’, they bitin’, the cadence,” while Frank Ocean’s efficient lyricism slides through in his two verses over accentuated bells. SICKO MODE, probably the most trendy track off the album thanks to the presence of Drake, feels like three tracks in one when it switches up beats two different times through the song, leaving us wondering if we pressed the skip button on accident. One half of Rae Sremmurd Swae Lee contributes his immacalute voice on the bridge of the track, paying homage to local Houston rapper Big Tuck, murdered in 2006. WAKE UP references both the relationships of Travis and guest feature The Weeknd over an edited acoustic guitar, speaking to the power of seduction that exists in their women but also in the life they lead. Travis is outrapped and outflowed by fellow features NAV and GUNNA on YOSEMITE, although this is when he is most effective… when he is introspective and his voice isn’t so damn autotuned. STOP TRYING TO BE GOD is another song on the excessive materialism that is no stranger in the world of hip hop. Stevie Wonder lends his gift of the harmonica in the background, mellowing the darkness of it all.

Ultimately there Is no denying that Travis Scott is the ringmaster that leads the ASTROWORLD project. His fingerprints are all over the project, but in giving us so much, he inadvertently strips away his own sense of distinction and presence. In creating an album that draws on other musical influences that skews into multiple directions. It almost sounds more of a playlist in its presentation, something akin to Drake’s More Lifeproject just 18 months ago. Strip away the production and it’ll be hard to tell who the star of the show. Travis Scott is at his imperious best when he rifts on his own and summons more instrospection, but too much collaboration can hinder our engagement to his own narrative. And with so much of the same narrative of his own self-indulgement on the road with drugs and material wealth, one doesn’t have time to see if Travis is even in the back seat.

[keving217]

Silk City’s Electricity Now in Your World, Thanks in No Small Part to Dua Lipa

“Silk City Now in Your World” echoes in a golden-voice drop (thanks to renowned hip-hop DJ and record producer DJ Premier) in Silk City’s first ‘essential mix’. Silk City, of course, is the latest music collaboration between DJs and super producers Mark Ronson and Wesley Pentz, better known to dance music fans as Diplo. Their project draws on influences from a span of genres, including but not limited to 80’s disco, house, funk, R&B, classic hip-hop, all reworked and reimagined in a way that gives life to the dancefloor. The duo had released three singles over the summer, all enjoyable in their own right but none that stuck to the proverbial wall, or captured our attention for more than a few plays poolside. That is until Dua Lipa entered the world of Silk City, lending her husky vocals in their newest song, ‘Electricity’.

Dare I say that ‘Electricity’ is a bop (do the kids still use that word?), the kind of song that makes you sway your hips and snap your fingers. It is a piano house track tailored made for the dancefloor, with a poppy chorus that has gospel like qualities. It is an anthem that arrives just at the very end of the summer; a timely reminder that summer sometimes can hang on in the arms of a lover, moreso when grooving together step by step on the dancefloor. Dua Lipa’s sultry vocals can draw lovers of R&B and soul… ‘Electricity’ is a dance pop tune that accommodates all music fans, thanks in no small part to Dua Lipa’s complete star power, which quite frankly shows no signs of burning out. Not only did the Silk City duo drop the song, they accompanied it with a music video that both steams and sizzles. Dua Lipa shows off as the sexy diva hosting a loft party somewhere in the skyline of New York, all eyes on her as she swings around the floor to the sofa to the kitchen in a way that we can’t seem to stop chasing her.

Just shy of 16 months from releasing her hit ‘New Rules’, Lipa keeps reminding us of what makes house music so great when paired with production that accentuates the star. Lipa’s collaboration with Calvin Harris ‘One Kiss’ comes to mind, and ‘Electricity’ keeps the 90s house dream current flowing back into the mainstream consciousness.

‘Electricity’ will come to be known as the signature baby of the Silk City duo. However, with Ronson working on his own solo record with the aim of a release before the year’s end, and the Mad Decent boss running around the world DJing and working on an Afrobeats album with the reggae-dancehall group Major Lazer, what happens if ‘Electicitiy’ bursts into something more than just another single released into the atmosphere? “I’m never gonna say, ‘This is my side project. You should hear my real album, it’s real weighty.’ I kind of treat every release like it could be the one on my epitaph, so I don’t really think like that,” says Ronson in an interview with the UK’s Standard. Silk City is now in our world, but for how long no one really knows. For now, enjoy the feeling of electricity.