Musings on music.

[soulfoodgrooves]

August Vibez! 

It’s the golden hour of summer. August has a distinctly different vibe than the beginning of summer, but it’s not yet fall. A time of reflection, yet hope that there are still so many good times to be had. It’s that magical time we still have left to soak up every last bit of summer before it’s gone. This playlist captures that upbeat, bouncy, optimistic, glass half full vibe. 

It’s short and sweet. Enjoy! <3 

[soulfoodgrooves]

groovin’ #alldayerrday

[soulfoodgrooves]

#SongOfTheDay is hitting the spot right now. I love the slow build of this particular song. To me, Oh Wonder’s music is reminiscent of James Blake and the xx - mellow with beautiful vocals. I love the jazz influences and the dynamic nature of their songs... building up and then waning. Definitely worth a listen! 

[soulfoodgrooves]

Damn... I just gotta give Tycho some love! I’m back from North Coast Music Festival in Chicago and I have to say, that was my favorite performance of the festival (but not by much! more to come). Tycho is an ambient music artist originally from San Francisco. However, I didn’t know this when I was at the concert, so I had no idea what to expect as I was standing, waiting for the show to start. 

One guy walked out onto the stage and started to set up his little music stand - you know, the one all electronic or EDM artists have - and then started playing. In the initial moments after the music started, I started to get a pang of worry that it might be another disappointing electronic show where one guy does everything and it doesn’t sound quite as good live as it does recorded. However, moments later and much to my pleasant surprise, band members walked out, slowly took their spots on stage behind him and started playing to the tune of the song. Upon further research, he’s actually been performing live with band members since 2010... and to me, that adds so much legitimacy to the music. 

Okay, I was SOLD. From that moment on, the entire show was a blissful experience of melodic, ambient wonderfulness that showered over the crowd and left me with an awesomely stupid grin on my face. You know that feeling when something that you’re experiencing overwhelms you and you just can’t help but smile? Yep... that one. I had that. Having live musicians weaving in with the electronic melodies was super satisfying and added a rich, dynamic layer to the sound.

After putting some thought into it, I think I’ve realized why this performance was so impactful for me. It all really comes down to the idea of music acting as a portal to being fully present in the moment, enjoying something in it’s raw, unedited glory, and allowing yourself to get lost in a song. Those moments where without even thinking about it or trying, your body naturally sways to the tune of the music. Tycho created that atmosphere both with a great live performance, but also by creating music that really strikes me at my core. It doesn’t happen very often, but when it does... I want to keep that feeling going as long as I can.  

More NCMF recap to come! 

[soulfoodgrooves]

SONG OF THE DAY: The Moth and The Flame - Young and Unafraid. SO GOOD. I first heard TMTF on KROQ locals only and immediately drawn to their sound. They’re a rock band whose music leans toward being heavy and dark. Listening to their music sometimes reminds me of the way I felt when listening to Chevelle’s old stuff (going way back, I know). 

Well, after a year of following their music, I was finally able to see them perform recently at Make Music Pasadena, a free outdoor music festival in... you guessed it, Pasadena. TMTF lead singer Brandon Robbins truly has an amazing voice... and a great stage presence. A lot of times at outdoor venues, I feel that the music gets lost in the atmosphere and sounds thin or flat because of the lack of acoustics... however, his voice and their music felt so full of body and “umph” that it filled the entire space and made a huge impact on me.

Beside having an awesome live presence, I also truly enjoy the message of this new song - Young and Unafraid - and if you haven’t seen the music video, go watch! They feature a 60+ year old skateboarder working through the trials and tribulations of practicing skateboarding... bringing to life the idea that your body can be old, but your mind and ambitions don’t have to be. All around a great song and message. They were my favorite band of the day and I can’t wait to see them again! 

[soulfoodgrooves]

SONG OF THE DAY: Other Lives played KCRW’s Sound in Focus event a few weeks back and luckily I attended and was introduced to this band for the first time. First things first, if you live in Southern California and love music, you should really follow KCRW’s events if you don’t already. They have multiple free concert series during the summer featuring some pretty notable bands. The Sound in Focus event I attended featured Other Lives followed by Cold War Kids, who were not really my cup of tea. Their one redeeming song was one of their older ones: Hang Me Up to Dry. But I guess I gotta give them props for being from my hometown. 

Anyway - Other Lives is awesome and you should check them out! They were great live and were a perfect fit for the picnic style, concert-in-the-park event that we were at. The singer’s voice has an ethereal quality to it and the music compliments it well. One article put their musical style perfectly, IMO... “an exploration of shadowier atmospherics and bolder, experimental rock.” SHADOWIER ATMOSPHERICS. Gimme the dark stuff! Love it. All around just a great addition to the playlist.  

HAPPY FRIDAY! 

[soulfoodgrooves]

SONG OF THE DAY: I had the pleasure of seeing The Seshen perform live this past Monday in Hollywood. I was instantly hooked. While they can sound a bit ambient at times, I still left feeling refreshingly satisfied and upbeat. I think their music would be a great accompaniment on a nice hike or playing in the background while hanging out with friends. And it’s great work playlist material! Another plus... they sound just as good live as they do recorded, which is always the true test for me!

“Their music fuses hip-hop, soul, pop and electronica, producing an original sound that is not bound to any particular genre.”

Enjoy!

[soulfoodgrooves]

The bands I’m looking forward to seeing at North Coast Music Festival. There’re some sucky overlaps timing-wise, so I’ll need to be strategic! 

[soulfoodgrooves]

One of the most recent concerts I’ve attended was for a band that I really loved in high school. They broke up about 10 years ago and I thought I would never get the chance to see them... until they reunited this past year. I knew it would be a nostalgic experience for myself, but little did I know that the whole crowd was feeling the same thing I was. The pang of nostalgia, excitement, and of times far gone. I was wondering if they’d play their music from 10 years ago, or if they were debuting something new. I was ecstatic the moment they started playing their old stuff. Almost immediately, the crowd united in song alongside the lead singer in the fairly intimate venue. There are few times I’ve felt as emotionally satisfied as when sharing in a moment with others, bonding around a shared experience or memory of music. While we all may have been experiencing different things, thoughts, etc. it didn’t matter because we all loved the experience together, in-the-moment. A concert hall full of people singing at the top of their lungs is quite the sight to see. There are times that I would say the memory of the music is better than what it would be like to actually see a band... this particular case was not one of them.