#andrewfrey

[andrewfrey]

Web Design for The Little Rebellion at SUNY New Paltz.

Graphics and layout by Andrew Frey and Kristen Warfield

[undergroundcurrentmagazine]

Review: Youth Lagoon—Savage Hills Ballroom

Andrew Frey, Sept. 25, 2015

Photo from Youth Lagoon’s Website

Youth Lagoon’s debut release, The Year of Hibernation, emanated a feeling of listening to posthumous recordings that were only intended for the songwriter’s ears.  Whatever the intentions, Trevor Powers’ synth-pop bedroom recordings emerged from beneath the reverb-shrouded quilt obscuring the Idaho-based songwriter’s talent.  While displaying strength in sharing his vulnerabilities, the frail-sounding Powers’ profound and introspective musings about his transition from youth to adulthood successfully cascaded the artist into the attention of the indie scene.

Youth Lagoon’s sophomore release Wondrous Bughouse, allowed Powers a more extroverted platform he didn’t seem prepared for.  The craggy psychedelic pop record of circus-like whimsy shared some similarities with his debut’s self-reflective nature, but was blunderous in its oversized and experimental ambitions, and the naivete of Powers’ speculative lyricism.  

Youth Lagoon’s latest, Savage Hills Ballroom, finds a middle ground between the two.  An album of longing—for answers, for wisdom, and for life and death all at once, Powers’ latest release from Fat Possum Records exudes an awareness of newfound maturity,  as well as the musical refinement of the transient synth and chamber pop-sound reminiscent of its predecessors.  

Savage Hills Ballroom was recorded shortly after Powers learned during the last leg of his U.K. tour for Wondrous Bughouse that a close friend had drowned in his hometown’s river. While the album does not revolve heavily around his close friend’s passing, the incident had inspired a redefinement of Youth Lagoon’s sound and focus.  “There was a lot more purpose in what I was trying to say,” Powers told SPIN in a July interview. “Everything was more intentional, a little more driven by the subconscious.”  The result: a more deliberate production quality of layered rhythms, melodic precision, an accompanying horn section, and a departure from the heavily-relied-on reverb cloaking Powers’ voice.

Savage Hills Ballroom by Youth Lagoon

Yes, for the first time we can hear Powers with distinct clarity. His trembling, boy-ish voice flutters to the opening of “The Knower,” the album’s lead single.  In a song of pure societal skepticism, Powers accuses the masses of wanting “to think that they’re good at heart, when they’re full of hate,” with the exception of himself, whose verbal imagery has him emerging from “underneath the canopy, lost in a spell.”

The accusatory statements seem to be a trend throughout the remainder of the album, appearing in "Rotten Human" and "Again" with Powers singing in the latter, "Through aisles of cans you walk/ 'Cause you'd rather spend than grow a crop" to the minimalist rhythms of a drum machine, and the experimental wailings of synthesizers and a saxophone.  Despite the bold move in emphasizing his vocals, scrutiny lies in the lackluster and mundane statements the songwriter is attempting to make.

Less ordinary tracks include the album’s lead “Officer Telephone,” a song of mourning for his deceased friend.  The opening synthesizer, reverb-heavy guitar tone, and infectious melody recalls the simplicity of The Year of Hibernation, all while infusing the explosive experimental stylings of Wondrous Bughouse.  “Doll’s Estate” and “X-Ray,” two somber piano ballads serve as an interlude and epilogue to the album, breaking it into a two-part story.  “Free Me,” by far the catchiest of the 10 tracks, is a true pop song and a polished testament to Powers’ songwriting ability.  “What started as a spark / burned down the household,” sings Powers, a perfect summary of the album’s inspiration and Youth Lagoon’s new direction.

Andrew Frey is the chief editor and a reporter at Underground Current. Follow him on Twitter.

[undergroundcurrentmagazine]

Summer Music Festivals 2015

Andrew Frey, April 3, 2015

This map was created by Andrew Frey using Mapbox.

We know spring has just arrived, but the summer music festival circuit is just around the corner. Here's an interactive map of upcoming festivals across the nation.

Use it to discover locations, price ranges, dates, and if the festival is campsite accessible!

Did we miss a festival? Let us know in the comments!

Andrew Frey is the co-founder and chief editor at Underground Current. Follow him on Twitter.

[undergroundcurrentmagazine]

UDecide: Robot Death Kites

Andrew Frey, March 13, 2015

Photo courtesy of Robot Death Kites Bandcamp.

Brooklyn-based dragpunx, Robot Death Kites have a reputation for rowdy shows that generally end with their frontman stripped down to his underwear, screaming in the center of a sweat-drenched crowd of makeup-smeared, mustache-penciled faces.

If that's what you're into, check out their music below and be sure to vote on what you think!

Yuppie Nightmare by Robot Death Kites

(function () { var opst = document.createElement('script'); var os_host = document.location.protocol == "https:" ? "https:" : "http:"; opst.type = 'text/javascript'; opst.async = true; opst.src = os_host + '//' + 'www.opinionstage.com/polls/2258196/embed.js'; (document.getElementsByTagName('head')[0] || document.getElementsByTagName('body')[0]).appendChild(opst); }());

[undergroundcurrentmagazine]

Reactions to Global Release Day

Andrew Frey, March 13, 2015

Photo from Getty Images.

On Monday, we reported the announcement from the International Federation of the Phonographic Industry (IFPI) to set a standard global release date for the music industry.  Despite the accordance of various artists and music retailers, there was some backlash from executives and heads of independent labels and organizations.

Most felt the decision would marginalize independent artists and labels from the mainstream spotlight, so we decided to reach out to a few of them, as well as the IFPI for their opinions on the matter.  

Here’s what they had to say:

On Global Release Day:

“The main driver of moving to a Global Release Day is to meet the needs of the consumer. Narrowing the release window removes a potential cause of consumer frustration due to lack of access to legal channels under the present system of different national release days.  But there is an advantage in addressing piracy too. When a switch to a global release day narrows the window from several days to 16 hours,  it reduces the incentive for consumers to turn to piracy to get access to new releases.   There was some research done on the potential economic  impact of this:   the US research analysts Simon-Kucher estimated there could be an overall market uplift of 3 percent in global industry revenues (physical and digital) as a direct result of narrowing the release window.”

—Adrian Strain, CEO of the International Federation of the Phonographic Industry

“Pretty much all retail business from fashion, to movies, to games have a streetdate of Monday or Tuesday globally. This has to do with product flow and giving great customer service. A Friday streetdate tanks all of that. It feels like a decision was made to move the street date based on a desire to expand online business, with services like streaming and YouTube. I say this because the majority of retailers in the U.S. and U.K. were opposed to it, as are many important folks at the labels and distribution. Besides that, the Friday streetdate is modeled after Australia who have seen a decline in sales since moving to a Friday streetdate. Why would should the largest music markets in the world move to a failed model?”

—Michael Kurtz, co-founder of Record Store Day, and President of the Department of Record Stores

“We like the global release day concept, but, as per our website post, we would prefer Monday or Tuesday [releases], so we can be in store with book, DVD, [and] game releases and hopefully that traffic will generate impulse music purchases as they walk by.”

—Rich Bengloff, President of the American Association of Independent Music

On the Marginalization of Independent Artists:

“It’s important to note that there has been virtually total support across the music community for the global release day and that the only real debate that has ensued in the lengthy consultation we had was over which day it should be.  We don’t think the global release day will decrease competition and market diversity.  All record companies, majors and indies, already compete with each other, and take that into account when setting dates for their releases. Global release day will not change this.  On the other hand all record companies stand to benefit from the advantages of a global release day.  It’s a case of a rising tide lifting all boats.”

—Adrian Strain, CEO of the International Federation of the Phonographic Industry

“Why would artists want their distributors to disadvantage their partners? Everybody else from shoe companies, to DVD’s -- you name it -- anyone with a physical retail outlet stocks their stores mid-week. Then you can sell and gage your sales, and plan to restock on the weekend.  You can’t restock on a weekend.  New and developing artists will be marginalized so this is very damaging to independent labels and artists.”

—Michael Kurtz, co-founder of Record Store Day, and President of the Department of Record Stores

“Given weekend traffic will our in-store appearances get bumped? The stores will carry plenty of Justin Bieber, but if an indie title sells out on a Friday there can be no re-reorders filled for the weekend. A Monday or Tuesday [release] provides two peaks.”

—Rich Bengloff, President of the American Association of Independent Music

On Competing with the Film Industry:

“This move was designed thinking about music  consumers first and foremost but that it will also be beneficial for artists, labels and retailers for the reasons we’ve outlined.   We’re moving the release day to a time of the week when consumers already engage with music and when they say they would like new music released.  Having said that, movies are released in many markets on Fridays and it seems quite possible that other entertainment sectors will decide in future to adopt a Friday release day for the same consumer-led reasons driven by the music industry.”

—Adrian Strain, CEO of the International Federation of the Phonographic Industry

“It is a profoundly bad idea. The film industry outguns the music industry with strategic marketing campaigns via social media, television, radio, and print. Now artists will have to compete with that. The biggest commercial artists will probably do okay, but everyone who isn’t in the collecting of millions of micro-pennies from video views will suffer. Of course, this is assuming that the whole point of the Friday streetdate isn’t to eliminate retail competition and to only work with one big retailer like iTunes. No one has explained the logic of this move so everyone is just guessing.”

—Michael Kurtz, co-founder of Record Store Day, and President of the Department of Record Stores

Andrew Frey is the co-founder and chief editor at Underground Current. Follow him on Twitter.

[andrewfrey]

Mohonk Mountain, New Paltz, NY Taken April 2014 with Nikon D3100 Photo by Andrew Frey

[andrewfrey]

Poughkeepsie/New Paltz, NY A night drive home from the Poughkeepsie Galleria. I was just playing around with the passing headlights and streetlights through the headrest of the passenger seat. Made the car ride a bit more interesting. Taken February 2014 with iPhone 5 All photos by Andrew Frey

[andrewfrey]

PhotoEssay: Riding with New Paltz Rescue Located at 74-78 North Putt Corners Road is the New Paltz Rescue Squad, New Paltz’ local Emergency Medical Service (EMS) provider. New Paltz Rescue Squad offers 24 hour emergency care and transportation for sick and injured persons. Established in 1973, NPRS started service with one vanstyle ambulance. Currently, the Rescue Squad operates three ALS (Advanced Life Support) ambulances, one BLS (Basic Life Support) auto extrication rescue vehicle, one ALS emergency service vehicle, and one BLS emergency service vehicle.

Their primary geographic operating area includes the Village and Town of New Paltz, the State University of New York at New Paltz, and a 10-mile section of the New York State Thruway. They also provide care to Mohonk Mountain House and eldercare facilities, Woodland Pond and Mountain View Nursing Home.

NPRS began as an all-volunteer organization, remaining so until September 1996. Today, the New Paltz Rescue Squad maintains a 95% volunteer membership making it possible to employ paramedics, EMTs and a business administrator. Throughout the first week of May 2014, New Paltz Rescue Squad opened their doors, allowing me to ride-along on three separate 8-hour shifts, and photo document staff, crew, and consenting patients.

Taken May 2014 with Nikon D3100 All photos by Andrew Frey