Gluttony Is The New Black

Hi, I'm Andriana, but my friends call me Dre. Just a fan, with an ear for what's good. Coming up in tha game just in time to get old and die. Sometimes I write for other sites. My email is: [email protected] Any music posted here is for sampling purposes only. If you dig it, buy the album and spread the love. If you would like me to take down anything you see here....please Exit Through The Giftshop cuz that shit ain't gonna happen.

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Andy Stott Faith In Strangers

Perhaps one is not the loneliest number after all...

My love for Andy Stott runs deep. Minimal techo meets Night Bus vibes on his new cut "Faith in Strangers." 

Andy Stott's forthcoming album is out November 17th/18th on Manchester-based imprint, Modern Love.

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Recipe: I made this last night and had to share...

I'm obsessed with the amazing seafood shop, that's actually called "The Seafood Shop" just down the street from my house in the Hamptons. I literally go there every day for their cooked shrimp and homemade cocktail sauce. They also have a killer selection of shellfish, whole fish for purchase, premade salads and side dishes, oh and several varieties just-caught-that-morning LOCAL bass. You really can't beat that. 

So as I'm buying my daily hoard of shrimp, I noticed the giant filets of beautiful, local Striped Bass. I decided to get some to cook for dinner last night, and it came out so delicious every person on the planet deserves to know about it. The recipe I came up with was super simple, and consisted of just a bunch of flavors I love thrown together. I was so happy it didn't suck, (and was quite the opposite), I had to share. Enjoy!

Striped Bass with Tomato Bruschetta and Swiss Chard

Serves 2

Ingredients:

2 - 1/2 lb portions of stripped bass 

1 large clove garlic, minced

1/2 pint yellow cherry tomatoes, quartered

1/2 pint red grape tomatoes, quartered

1 handful fresh basil, cut into thin strips 

2 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil

salt and pepper to taste

vegetable or canola oil, plus more for grilling

1/2 bunch rainbow swiss chard, cleaned, bottom part of stalks removed

Directions:

In a medium bowl mix together the garlic, yellow and red tomatoes, basil, olive and salt and pepper to taste. Cover with plastic wrap and set aside until serving to let flavors develop. 

Turn on gas grill and heat to medium. 

Rub both sides of fish and swiss chard with vegetable or canola oil, and season both sides with salt and pepper.

Once grill is hot, grill sea bass on each side for 3-5 minutes depending on thickness. Remove from grill and place on a serving plate.

During the last minute of grilling the sea bass add the swiss chard to the grill, flip each leaf after 30 seconds. Remove swiss chard and place on serving plate.

To serve:

On each plate arrange a pile of swiss chard on one side of the plate. Place a piece of fish skin side down in the center of the plate. Spoon tomato basil mixture over fish and serve. 

NOM NOM NOM.

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20 Questions with Little Simz

From Odd Future and Instagram to preconceived notions and higher states of being, I played a game of 20 Questions with rising London rapper Little Simz.

Landing major roles in the UK’s hit TV shows Spirit Warriors and Youngers, opening for Schoolboy Q on the European leg of his Oxymoron tour, and most recently, self-releasing her fantastic E.D.G.E. EP, Little Simz has solidified herself as a force to be reckoned with. After hearing any of her complex lyrics and triple-time flows, there’s no doubt the talented 20-year-old is wise beyond her years. But does that thought process also hold true for life’s every day questions? Mass Appeal sought to find out. We recently sat down with the UK’s princess of hip-hop to play a game of 20 Questions.

1. So you’ve been writing, dancing and acting since the age of 9, what made you want to start rapping?

For me it was just exploring different elements of performing arts. I was never too… let’s say, talented in the singing area. Haha. At the time anyway, so it was just another form of expression for me to write raps and rap poetry.

2. You’ve mentioned you play guitar, what’s the first song you learned to play on the guitar?

I think it may have been Nelly, “Just a Dream.” Only because it was like four chords and it was the easiest thing to learn.

3. Did you have any musical inspirations when you were writing EDGE?

At the time I was listening to a lot of Tracy Chapman actually. In terms of song writing, and just looking at how she kind of puts together songs and writes them, and the fact that everything has a meaning. I wanted to be a lot more conceptual in terms of what I’m talking about as opposed to just talking about ‘I’m the best thing coming out of UK and no one can test me,’ ya know? So just trying to challenge myself in that aspect.

4. If you could vacation anywhere in the world, where would you go? 

Bahamas or Hawaii.

5. What has been the proudest moment of your life so far? 

My mom telling me she seen me on tely.

6. Who is your favorite character on the Simpsons?

Bart. Yes. 100%. I just like that fact that he is so rebellious and just has a cheeky attitude. In real life I don’t really like kids like that, but in a cartoon it’s quite funny, so definitely Bart.

7. What are your hardest bars to date? 

My hardest to rap physically and to perform live would probably ‘Bars Simzon’ because obviously the speed, and how many fucking metaphors and syllables are in one word, and to get it on time, it’s pretty difficult. Plus to time it up on stage, with the crowd.

8. Do you have a verse that you think is your best to date?

Ah, my best is yet to come.

9. Who is your idol?

My mom.

10. What can people expect to find on your Instagram?

 I suppose what I’m doing in life. I’ve come across so many Instagram pages that are either just a bunch of selfies, which I think ‘Yo, vanity has got the best of you’ and then I come across Instagram pages that are just pictures—like I would never see what the person looks like, it’s just pictures of literally whatever they see. It could be a picture of an ocean, a tree, and I like them type of pages.

My Instagram will be a picture of me with someone in the studio or just whatever I’m doing at the time, just to keep people updated, letting them know what I’m doing. I can’t lie, I take the occasional selfie, but you wouldn’t scroll down my profile and every single picture is of me.

11. Do you have a favorite Instagram to follow?

There is an Instagram called Travel Pancakes. Yeah, it’s a weird name right? But her photos are so sick, I enjoy looking at her photos. And as well, my friend Tilla, his Instagram is tight. He’s 16 but he just has, his vision as far as what he captures is just tight.

12. What was it about Odd Future that initially drew you to them?

I think I just like things that are different, and a bit left. And I like the fact that they do everything they’re own way, and they’re sort of, I get the impression they don’t answer to anyone, and they don’t like answering to anyone. And I’m very much like that. I hate being told what to do, and I’m just that person ya know. And I get that, and I’ve not met all of them, but just being a fan of them in general, they just have that attitude that they make the music they want to make, they put out what they want to put out, and everything’s just done how they want to do it, and I totally respect that.

13. What’s the last great show you went to?

Probably the “Would You Like A Tour?” show. The Drake tour. Yeah that was tight. That was so sick.

14. What goes through your mind just before you hit the stage to perform?

 I knew I should have went to the toilet.

15. Do you have a good luck charm?

I actually don’t. Actually, cos I’m Muslim, so sometimes when I go on stage I have praying beads in my pocket. And yeah I’ll just have it on me when I’m traveling, when I’m on a plane I’ll just have them with me in my pocket.

16. If earth could only have one condiment for the rest of time, what would you pick to keep around?

Ketchup. I eat everything with ketchup.

17. What movie or show remake would you want to star in?

New Girl. Too funny.

18. Do you have a go-to party song?

Future “My Momma”

19. If you had to pick a food or a dish to describe your sound, what would you pick and why?

Risotto. It’s like rice and like creamy. The reason why is because when, basically my manager ordered it and I looked at it and I was like, ‘Uuhhh na, why would you order that?’ Cos it just looked really… it looked a bit like baby food, like just the way it was all mushed together, and I don’t know I just didn’t like the look of it… until I tasted it. I was like ‘Yo, why did I not order that?’ And me, I don’t like trying new things, especially when it comes to food, I just kind of stick to what I know. So I guess that would be a way to describe my music. People like, they hear a female rapper, and they already have their preconceived ideas and their judgments, but that’s until they actually press play. Same way, until I actually tried the food, you like it.

20. What’s the one thing everyone should know about Little Simz?

That I’m a Pisces and I believe a lot in star signs, and that I’m coming to take over everything.

Little Simz plays NYC next month. Details coming soon.

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Jeff Koons: A Retrospective Cheat Sheet

I got a preview of Jeff Koons Retrospective at the Whitney Museum in NYC last week before it's opening and decided to create a cheat sheet to help the world out. Enjoy.

“It’s taught me how to feel, it’s taught me how to enjoy ideas… And really, it’s taught me how to be a better human being.” – Jeff Koons opening remarks

There is the art world and there is the real world, then there is Jeff Koons. Somewhere between the age-old debates of “what is art?” lie sculptures of balloon dogs in punchy, iridescent hues, lithographs of celebrated sports heroes, and vivid 3-D objects of every medium blurring the lines between fantasy and what we think we know to be true. This weekend the Whitney Museum of American Art will celebrate Koons 35 year career with the artist’s first Retrospective.

Jeff Koons is the most successful, and often most controversial American contemporary artist in history.  A student of fine art at the Maryland Institute College of Art in Baltimore and the School of the Art Institute of Chicago, Koons is known for his larger than life sculptures, and use of readymade objects to create original works.

Amidst Oscar Wilde quotes and shout outs to H&M from various curators and contributors, Alice Pratt Brown Director Adam Weinberg closed out remarks on the retrospective on Tuesday by saying, “If Jeff Koons didn’t exist, we would have had to invent him.” Giving Koons the ultimate platform– essentially the entire museum, the exhibition will display well known pieces like Michael Jackson with his monkey Bubbles  alongside pieces that have been tucked away in Koons’ private collection for decades.

The exhibition ranges in scale from the traditional form, paying homage to Koons’ works in small galleries beginning 1987, and grows to the monumental scale (and success) of his exhibitions in the present day. The museum’s lobby, second, third and fourth floors, along with the outdoor sculpture court have been transformed into a Koons-themed Fantasia of epic proportions.

We’ve created a handy cheat sheet for Jeff Koons and his new exhibit:

The Retrospective unfolds in chronological order and is divided into thirteen collections: Inflatables and Pre-New, The New, Equilibrium, Luxury and Degredation, Statuary, Banality, Made In Heaven, Easyfun, Easyfun-Ethereal, Celebration, Popeye, Hulkelvis and Antiquity.

The Retrospective explores the themes of controversy, freedom, trust, humanity, and of course pop culture.

Koons’ new work, which can be seen in the outdoor sculpture court, Popeye,was finished just weeks before the Retrospective’s opening.

In a 2013 interview, Pharell Williams asked Koons which character from his work he identified with most. He answered “Popeye,” saying “He represents my father, and my father’s generation. And also, Popeye transforms. He eats his spinach and he transforms. And art’s the spinach. And you know, art can transform your life.”

One of Koons most famous works, One Ball Total Equilibrium is part of Koons’ first solo show held in 1985 on the Lower East Side. The Equilibrium series also includes framed mint-copy Nike posters of 1980’s star athletes obtained directly from the company’s Oregon headquarters. (Second Floor)

The New explores the popular concept of everyday objects as art. Taken from Koons’ 1980 series, household appliances are set in a pristine, “shiny and new” light fill an entire room of the Retrospective.

After his divorce from Italian pornstar and parliamentarian Illona Staller, Koons claimed he destroyed many of the works from his famed Made In Heaven series. Seeking to emancipate the shame of sex,Koons’ created billboard size paintings of himself and Illona in illicit sexual poses as a kind of fantasy-meets-modern day version of Adam & Eve. Luckily for the Whitney (and us) a few of the most provoking billboards are on display on the Third Floor.

Yes there is a sandwich.

And Michael Jackson.

And inflatable sea creatures in trash cans.

Koons’ Celebration installments comprises some of the most technologically demanding objects ever produced in the history of postwar art.

This Retrospective unveils Koons’ gigantic Play-Doh sculpture, a piece that has been in the works for more than 25 years.  (Fourth Floor)

 In 2013 Koons’ Balloon Dog (Orange) was sold to an anonymous telephone bidder for $58.4 million, becoming “the most expensive work by a living artist sold at auction.” A yellow version of Balloon Dog is on display on the fourth floor.

Jeff Koons is the first artist to collaborate with apparel retailer H&M. To celebrate the opening of the brand’s newest flagship store on Fifth Avenue on July 17th, H&M will debut a limited edition Jeff Koons Balloon Dog (Yellow) handbag.

Coinciding with the exhibit at the Whitney is Koons’ Split-Rocker. The thirty-seven foot high sculpture constructed of soil, stainless steel an internal irrigation system and over 50,000 flowering plants will reside over Rockefeller Plaza beginning today through September 12th, 2014.

Jeff Koons: A Retrospective is on display at the Whitney Museum from June 27th – October 19th 2014. 

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My Monday has been consumed with the dark and alluring sounds of Matthew Barnes aka Forest Swords brand new Fact Mix. Get on it.

Tracklist: Forest Swords – Gathering Ex-Easter Island Head – Mallet Guitars Two David Borden – Enfield In Winter Fatima Al Quadri – Szechuan Phil France – The Swimmer Wild Beasts – Pregnant Pause Vatican Shadow – Encryption Nets Hercules and Love Affair ft John Grant – I Try To Talk To You August Alsina – I Luv This Shit ft Trinidad James Jeremih – Raindrops Travi$ Scott – Upper Echelon ft T.I & 2Chainz Ben Frost – Secant Adrian Sherwood – Starship Bahia Frida – I See Red Peaking Lights – LO HI Love Joys – Stranger Susan Cadogan – Nice and Easy Janet Jackson – Love Will Never Do (Without You) Jade – Don’t Walk Away copeland – Advice To Young Girls Neneh Cherry – Blank Project Dutch E Germ – Rani Actress – Time Muslimgauze – Every Grain of Palestinian Sand Sd Laika – Meshes Boothroyd – NYC Raime – The Last Foundry Unknown – Thor’s Stone No Love (Forest Swords ft MC Ride) Richard Skelton – River Song Steindór Andersen – Stephansson: Rammislagur

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Introducing: Clipping

Read my recent interview with LA's weirdest hip-hop trio, clipping.​

clipping. is one of those bands that it feels wrong to describe as “a band” but at the same time it feels just as strange to call them a “rap group.” They’re a noise project as much as they’re a hip-hop trio, making some of the wildest beats in the game. Accomplished sound engineers with the utmost regard for popular music, yet with an unwillingness to make music any other way than exactly the way they want to.

Regardless of how you choose to categorise them, what they’re making is authentic. Authentic in the sense that the music that results stems from a genuine love of experimentation, the creative process and the often agonizing details that go along with it. The mad scientists of modern music, blasting away at 12-bar progressions with a blowtorch then using the most detailed of craftsmanship to wield golden era inspired beats that crackle and pop in all the right places. The perfect balance of calculated exploration, while still allowing for those beautiful mistakes to seep through, clipping’s June 10th release is one of the most charmingly subversive albums of the year.

As the band unveils a live stream of their forthcoming Sub Pop debut, Best Fit took some time to sit down with the guys and find out what makes them tick. From their painstakingly methodical musique-concrète techniques, to making weird music that’s still accessible, working with Three 6 Mafia, and the evolution of their live show, the Los Angeles trio introduces us to their disturbingly unique take on music, it’s clipping (bitch).

When you guys first came out in 2012, I would imagine a lot of people compared you to Death Grips. How did you feel about that?

Bill: People continue to compare us to Death Grips.

Daveed: I think we sort of understand why that happens, although we don’t think we sound anything like Death Grips.

Bill: And you know they’re doing great, they have a lot of fans, if it makes us more visible to mention them, that’s fine. I would love to take all of their fans.

John: I remember when—before we thought this was going to be a band or a project, before Daveed was involved. Bill and I started doing this as a remix project. We’d take like existing acapellas and make beatless beats to them. And we had done like two or three of them maybe, and we were like, ‘Ah this is pretty cool,’ and then that Death Grips song “Guillotine” came out. Basically Death Grips happened, and remember you said it to me, you were like “Well… crap.” [Laughs] And then every other Death Grips song came out, and we’re like “Oh, they’re not actually making rap music at all, it’s a totally different thing.”

The reason why I asked is because I hear a lot of Outkast and Three 6 Mafia vibes on the new album, and get more Shabazz Palaces on the older album. I’m curious where you’re influences come from.

Bill: I think, maybe they’re not as obvious, they seem pretty obvious to us, in each song. They get transformed so much through the actual making of the songs. Most tracks start out with mainly influences, and us saying, ‘We’re going do our take on a thing like this.’ Also that’s part of why, I think the guest rappers we got on this new album are who they are.

We were like, who are the people we’ve been listening to for our whole lives, that we really admire, that we think somehow had something to do with shaping what we want to do? So it was like, Gangsta Boo, you mentioned the Three 6 Mafia vibes, and it’s like yeah, we love Three 6 Mafia, and Gangsta Boo is one of our favorites, he’s our hero from way back.

So we wanted to wear our influences on our sleeve, like with King T and Guce, Daveed and I are from the Bay Area, where Guce is like a super star and nobody knows him outside of the Bay Area unfortunately, which is a shame cos he kills.

John: Like first choices. So obviously, 90s gangsta rap, and just sort of the history of musique-concrète and experimental music is a lot of the techniques that we use when we make the beats.

Daveed: I think also as far as rap influences, sort of borrowing techniques from a lot of newer artists that aren’t necessarily in the common vocabulary yet.

In other interviews, you guys have said that you’re just making rap music. You’re in Los Angeles, and right now LA is killing it with DJ Mustard, YG and TDE. Where do you see yourselves fitting into the LA scene?

Bill: We worked with Cocc Pistol Cree and she is like Mustard’s go-to lady rapper, and we listen to all that stuff, we follow it like crazy, and I would say that stuff has a huge influence on us, but it gets so transformed through our hands that you might not hear it.

Daveed: Particularly, while we were working on this last album, two albums, we were listening to so much Schoolboy [Q], a lot of that stuff comes through to me when I listen to it.

I think certainly being in the Los Angeles climate, and being exposed to all of those artists all the time, of course is influencing. Rap is a very regional art form, and because we’re in LA, the sounds in LosAngeles are influencing the music we make, but I think we’re also very consciously reaching into other areas and pulling from there too.

John: Yeah, the whole fitting into a scene thing I think is tough. There’s a lot of sort of that regional chauvinism in rap music where it’s like people really ride for their cities and have huge fan bases at home — and I think because there aren’t a lot of people that sound like us, and we’re not really the most likeable type of music in the world, we have a lot of fans, but it’s like, ‘Oh yeah, three dudes in Dublin. And this one guy in Poland really likes us.’ Our fanbase is really scattered.

And we don’t have a crew of other rappers like us, you can’t be like ‘Oh yeah we’re a movement, we’re a scene.’ We don’t have like a whole bunch of other rappers that sound like us that we’re like trying to bring up. I mean we would love for that to happen, I want a crew, but we just don’t have that yet.

So I want to talk a little bit about the new album. Midcity versus clipping., they’re so different. What’s changed from one album to the next?

John: Well Midcity wasn’t really an album, it was just kind of every song we had made through a period, and when we had enough, we kind of capped it off and said, ‘That’s an album.’ And if you took those songs and sort of arranged them in the chronological order, the way we made them, I think you really hear us learning to make music… this way, over the course of that. Half of those are sort of finding this journey and then there’s kind of half that I feel are more coherent. We got to sort of the end of making songs and realized we were on our way to something.

Bill: What feels different to me is like, there’s a drastic difference between us working as ‘This is our primary thing.’ Which is what the new album is, versus, ‘Oh we’re squeezing this in in our free time and it’s fun, and only we like it,’ cos we didn’t think anyone was gonna like it. And even when we played it for our friends at the time, before it was out, we would get like sort of blank stares like, ‘Cool, yeah… you dig rappers from the past. That’s awesome. Um, alright, way to go guys.’

John: Definitely a lot more care was taken on the new record. I mean it would happen on Midcity too, where we would get to the end of a song and we would go, ‘Well that’s a song,’ and like, ‘Aww if only we had done this one really time consuming thing right.’ But here, I can think of a particular sound on this record that we recorded maybe four or five times, that each attempt to record this particular idea that we had involved like a two hour trip to the desert and like really trying to get this one thing right.

Daveed: The vocals on clipping are like agonised over, cos I think I spent so much time in the studio, just like, ‘Do it again, do it again.’

John: We recorded all of Midcity in my home studio, and recorded all of clipping. there too, but we would go redo the vocals at a different studio with a different engineer. Cos we sort of learned that we needed to do that first pass of vocals, cos it was the first time that Bill and I would hear the vocals, then we could all kind of talk about them and then that would give us a chance to rethink them a little bit if we wanted to, give you [Daveed] more a chance to get more familiar with how to do them…

On both Midcity and clipping., the intro. What are those are about?

[Laughs]

Daveed: It’s kind of proof of concept, you know?

Bill: Here are the things that we do, really fast, all at once. It’s an overture.

Daveed: Yeah, it’s the overture. It’s just like, really sort of canonic. An impressive sort of virtuosic verse, that kind of black, sort of broad—sweeping visuals that covers the territory that the album is gonna cover and then also some kind of really specific, aggressive noise idea.

John: And also, rap albums have intros. And skits. And we’re trying to maintain the tradition…

Bill: There’s no skits on this new one, we couldn’t think of anything funny. But we love that stuff. It’s just another attempt to indicate that this is rap music, we’re fans, we’re not trying to dismantle rap, we don’t sound like this cos we hate it and we’re trying to destroy it. We’re just playing along, we’re doing what we can, in a genre we love.

John: And doing it this way. I mean making beats the way that we do is—I think, is way more sort of honest to our backgrounds, and our interests, then if we were just trying to make a bunch of 808s and rave sounds.

That should be your next skit.

What? 808s and rave sounds?

Exactly.

[Laughs]

There’s this raw energy to your live show - sometimes it elicits an energy in other people as well. How did it develop to become what it is now?

Daveed: It’s been a process. When we first started it was like, you know, do a lot to sort of, get rid of the first person aspect of the lyrics, so let’s make the show the same thing. And sort of remove this connection that an audience gets with a human being on stage, but that’s just no fun. At the end of the day, if you go to a rap show, you want to participate, you want to interact. And call and response is a part of the tradition. Being engaged with the audience is part of the tradition.

So for me, it’s been a real process of figuring out where that balance lies, and trying to make it something that is still exciting, but is not necessarily, ‘Here’s this guy Daveed on stage, and we all know a whole lot about each other after we’ve finished this show,’ right. We can save that for after the show when we walk out and talk to everybody, but like during the show it’s really about energy management. It’s about, ‘This song is a hype song, how do I get the audience to feel the way the song feels to us?’ This song is a more introspective song, what are the things that we can do to make that feeling wash over the crowd?’

John: Our shows were very kind of stoic and there was a wall, and we were presenting recordings and presenting ideas, but we weren’t engaging.

Bill: We were flashing really bright lights that were in between us, at the audience, so they couldn’t even see us.

John: These really sort of gnarly Home Depot work lights. It was cool. But I mean we’re not making music that’s designed to be alienating. I mean the reason we make these sounds isn’t because they’re alienating and weird, the reason we’re making these sounds is because we like these sounds. We engage with these sounds. I mean this is what I want party music to sound like. When I go to a show and want to be engaged and want to party, this is what I want to hear.

If you had to pick a food or a dish to describe your sound, what would you pick and why?

[Laughs]

John: Is Fernet Branca a food? Our tour rider requires that they get us Fernet Branca. Only one place has done it.

Clipping’s self titled album is released today on Sub Pop. They play ATP’s Jabberwocky Festival on Friday 15th August - tickets available here.

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Denzel Curry Ice Age Feat. Mike Dece (Prod. By Keenanza & Yung Icey)

The first single off Denzel Curry's forthcoming EP is too cold. The Carol City up-and-comer is one of the smartest, coolest, and most talented artists I've had the pleasure of working with. He's such a gifted MC, with such a vision. His creativity spills into his flows, beats, and every bit of his being.

His new track, 'Ice Age,' is a perfect example. Next level lyrics, true to Miami tropical-cloud rap beats, and a killer hook. I can't get enough of this one. You're such a star Zel. Get it homie. 

'Ice Age' is off Curry's Three Two Zel EP out later this year?

Art Work by Makada Duncanson & Denzel Curry.

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PREMIERE: Psymun Eating Disorder (Ackryte Remix)

They say Minnesota is all rhymes… as it turns out, that may be only half true. As of late, MN has been kicking up dust (or snow rather) with a handful of new singers and rappers like Allan Kingdom, Chester Watson, and of course Spooky Black. And behind those great sets of pipes are some seriously fresh beats. Many of which come courtesy of Minneapolis producer Psymun.

The 21-year-old beatmaker recently released his Pink Label EP, which features the best of the Twin Cities’ new class of musical suspects dropping verses over his signature jazzy syrup-cloud sound.

Today, Mass Appeal is proud to present the first remix stemming from Pink Label. Fellow Minneapolis producer Ackryte has blessed us with a spacey rework of the single “Eating Disorder.” On the rework, the HW&W producer throws a layer of silky goodness over the fuzzy two-minute number consisting of rickety clicks and jazzy exhales. He then turns up the bass and flares up the synths, while adding plenty of subtle flips and switches to keep you paying attention.

If you’re digging these funky beats as much as we are, be sure to be on the lookout for Ackryte’s forthcoming 8-song EP, Fly Opus, and plenty more remixes off Psymun’s Pink Label EP.

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Best New Music: Moiré No Gravity

Werkdiscs is always a win in my book. The Ninjatune imprint headed by avant-garde music gawd Actress, signs one new act a year at most, and then takes several more years to allow that artist to develop and showcase their craft. Their latest signee, Moiré is on the top of the creative-brilliance-in-the-making foodchain. His work is unconventional beauty at it's finest. Don't sleep.

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Jim-E Stack Reassuring

Obsessed with the new Jim-E Stack track 'Reassuring.' His signature droopy synths are like deep jabs into whatever feelings you're pretending you don't have. You can't help but feel something.

I asked him to play a party I threw last year when I first moved to New York. He said yes, and then cancelled the day of. Maybe he was busy working on this album. 

Tell Me I Belong is out on Innovative Leisure July 29th.

Tracklisting: 1. Somewheres 2. Run 3. Below 4. Reassuring 5. Everything to Say 6. Is It me 7. Out of Mind 8. Ease Up 9. Without 10. Wake

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Saba Burnout (Featuring Eryn Allen Kane)

I've been traveling so I'm behind on new music, but I like this... a lot. 

While reading the words "Chicago hip hop" and hearing the opening chords of rapper and producer Saba's "Burnout," you can't help but anticipate a Chance The Rapper sounding cut. But what greets your ears instead is something refreshingly different, with singer Eryn Allen Kane stealing the show at the 1:18 mark.

Though not completely proving myself correct, considering Saba hails from the same production camp as Chance, the similar piano chords and preaching harmonies are too catchy to not keep listening. Saba drops double-time rhymes with punchy sing-alongs, then emerging Chicago songstress heads into her first and then second savvy verse. Suddenly this nostalgia for anthem-worthy independent women lyrics a'la Destiny's Child's "No,No,No" begin to do summersaults in my head. This is girl is the real deal (shout out to Tree for tip off on her way back when).

With a wide range of influences, infectious lyrics and an update on what made 90s R&B great, "Burnout" is a home run for me. Looking forward to hearing Saba's ComfortZone mixtape which drops July 15th.

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ALL I NEED IS ONE: FATIMA

More than a decade old, and Nas’ “One Mic” is still one of the most poignant songs in hip hop history. The opening line struck a chord with his audience, becoming a landmark phrase within the culture at large.

For artists looking to break out today, the thirst is more than real. The idea of being able to shake up the status quo through their sound sits at the forefront of the ever-evolving landscape. This idea that one person can make an impact, that all they need is “one mic, one beat, one stage…” still resonates.

Mass Appeal asked our favorite musical acts “What’s one item they can’t live without?” For some, it’s something they always take with them on stage, for others, it’s just something they got as a kid and can’t let go. Join us, as we shine the spotlight on these artists’ stories and photos behind the item they can’t live without.

Fatima London’s sunniest afternoon, in song form Plastic People, Shoreditch, London Photos By Robin Mayes

Why we love her:

Sunny days spent basking in the hours that came before, that’s how Swedish-born, now London-based singer Fatima wants you to feel when you listen to her sultry drawls. Like a warm embrace enveloping you whole, there’s a word for a sound so pure: Timeless. Filling her musical horn of plenty with a lifetime of genre-spanning influences, late nights in underground clubs, and grin-inducing memories of her childhood in Sweden, Fatima explores the depths of history with her words.

“I moved to London seven and a half years ago, so during those years I’ve experienced a lot of different styles here in the city. I used to go out to club nights like Deviation, for example, run by a DJ over here called Benji B. And a club called Plastic People, which used to have all kinds of club nights. They used to play Broken Beat, Dubstep, and all kinds of things before it was popular— when it was just raw, really fresh and inspiring. I used to go to a lot of these nights and get all these new influences, and it really opened my mind to a lot of new sounds.”

On her debut LP, Yellow Memories, the Eglo Records artist blends soul, synths, and raw talent, to create a sunny glow over unexpected beats. Fusing new with the old, the result is something extremely special— something that holds you tight and promises to never let go no matter how often the tides change.

“It’s like my whole life. It’s like everything that I listened to, from when I was a child to now. It’s like all my past experiences listening to stuff. All the soul music, to stuff I listened to growing up like Lauryn Hill, SWV, Aaliyah, Erykah Badu to more present stuff. A lot of R&B music and I listen to a whole lot of hip hop. So it can be anything from Wu-Tang to Madlib, Tribe Called Quest, all the stuff from the ‘Golden Era.’ The list is so long.”

Drawing on the vast sounds of her surroundings— instead of trying to imitate what she was hearing in the clubs and on the radio— Fatima absorbed those influences into a world of her own.

“I’m just a fiend for different sounds and new artists. I’m always checking out new things, I just love music so much. There’s too much music to check out. Plus most of my friends, they are DJs, so they always put me on to a lot of new, and old stuff. I know some people do that, they just listen to their own stuff, and maybe it’s a good thing. But I’m just addicted to checking out new stuff all the time. You just want to stay inspired you know?”

“All I need is… my cassette tape player. Well basically, there’s a few different things I can’t live without. But to be honest, when I was thinking about this one… it’s like, I’ve had this cassette player since I was really young. I don’t even remember how old I was when I got it. It’s basically got like crazy effects, and bomb sounds [Laughs]. You can basically talk into the microphone and record on it, or just listen to cassettes and play around with effects. I always used to do loads of recording on cassettes when I was a kid. So for me, it’s kinda like a little nostalgic in that sense. It symbolizes analog sounds, and I just really miss that, in general.

It just takes me back to the time when you used to sit and make mixtapes and the sound was sometimes a little bit crackly, sometimes the cassette got a little messed up so you have to pull the whole thing out with a pen [Laughs]. So it just takes me back to that time, and I don’t want to let it go, because I love it so much.”

“Gave Me My Names” Resident Advisor Live Session

“I’m not against digital, analog— I just always gravitate to that more. I just feel like in general, it feels warmer and it’s got a little bit more soul to it. It’s got like a little more charm and feels a bit more alive in a way. It’s just not as cold and perfectly clean.

I still love today’s technology and the speed of it and what you can do with it. I think it’s amazing. You know, I think I try to find a balance between the two, but I think analog is always going to be close to my heart.

Fatima’s Yellow Memories LP is out this week via Eglo Records.

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Rook Milo Truancy Volume 96 Mix

I actually remember Ryan Hemsworth tweeting about Rook Milo a while back, but I never followed up. Good thing Truants did. Fans of Ryan, Suicideyear and their, what I like to call 'trap lullabies' (sidenote: this was before trap turned terrible and refers mostly to drum patterns and that distinct hi-hat samples), will rejoice in the Canadian producer's dramatic take on this emerging trend.

Rook Milo's dramatic ethos of stylistic slowed and throwed reworks amongst a scattering of unreleased gems (see: Ryan Hemsworth – Hurt Me (with Katie Gately) and Rook Milo – Sleepers) explored on this mix is well worth a listen from start to finish. 

Tracklist:

Luxsi Young Intro Rook Milo – Truants Intro Jeremih – Fuck U All The Time (Acapella) Rook Milo – rejected beat for Tinashe Unreleased Arca – 2 Blunted (Slow + Chopped) Mathbonus – my brain is melting out of my ears and into tomorrow custom milo synth bells mixed for good measure Brenmar – Medusa (Falcons Remix) (Slowed) Unreleased Rook Milo – Outland Josh Diamond – OG BOBBY JOHNSON REMIX Nas – Made You Look (Sangnoir Remix) Unreleased Ryan Hemsworth – Hurt Me (with Katie Gately) Unreleased Schoolboy Q – Studio (Promnite Edition) t.a.T.u – Not Gonna Get Us (Purple Remix) Ice Underlord – DON’T WASTE MY TIME Rook Milo – Sleepers Unreleased Waka Flocka Flame – Word to the Wise King Louie – Val Venis (Acapella) Rook Milo – Methadone Unreleased Lil Durk – Dis Ain’t What U Want Big Sean – 1st Quarter Nell – Bust Ya Head Open (Feat. T-Rone, Big Bo & Denzel Curry) Koopsta Knicca – Whatcha Gonna Do Ty Dolla $ign – Still Sippin (Feat. Kirko Bangz) Little Pain – Tommy Strawn PartyNextDoor – Wild Bitches Travi$ Scott – Don’t Play (Feat. Big Sean) Luxsi Young Outro Darko Boy – Bloodsport

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clipping. Work Work (feat. Cocc Pistol Cree) 

Going to see Subpop's latest hip hop inspired signees .clipping tonight as part of RBMA New York Fest. They just dropped this super dope video for the track "Work Work," to get the New York all excited for tonight. I've had it on repeat all week. Introducing interview with the band coming soon, so stay tuned. ;)

If you're in NYC, details for tonight are below. Should be fun.

Red Bull Music Academy Festival New York Presents Hardcore Activity In Progress with Tim Hecker, Napalm Death, Gunplay, The Thing, Wolf Eyes, Regis, Bastard Noise, Lubomyr Melnyk, Skullflower, Joe McPhee/Chris Corsano, Okkyung Lee, Clipping, Yoshiko Ohara, Reg Bloor, Gnaw Knockdown Center 18+ $10  #RBMANYC

Buy tix HERE.

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Introducing: Young & Sick

Read my recent interview with my talented pal, Young & Sick. He's on tour all summer, so be sure to catch him!

There’s something really special about making the music you want to make, exactly the way you want to make it. In 2014, it’s not just about defining your sound, it’s about defining your image and “brand,” and all the while working to maintain a sense of artistic freedom (and dignity). Some artists are better at it than others, and for the true masters, the idea of compromise never even crosses their mind.

For singer, producer and visual artist Nick Van Hofwegen aka Young & Sick, his story begins with a big of luck and a lot of talent. But isn’t that how these stories are supposed to start out? Worldly travels and chance encounters afforded him the ability to develop and nurture a sound he can truly call all his own. From glossy pop ballads to soulful, hazy love songs drifting out from underneath a stack of vintage records, Young & Sick’s sound is one that strikes a chord in music fans of every variety.

Earlier this year, Van Hofwegen released his debut self-titled LP on Harvest Records. A beautifully produced menagerie of love songs covering every emotion that goes along with it. Worn and grazed in all the right places after trips to SXSW and Coachella, Young & Sick now readies his Continuum EP, as well as several European dates.

Join us as we uncover the mystery and peel back the layers behind multi-faceted artist Young & Sick.

There are several parts to Nick the artist. The singer, the songwriter, the illustrator, and beyond – can you talk a bit about each?

Well it all kind of started when I was about 17 in the Netherlands. I was going to design school and I didn’t really quite fit into any sort of school system. Doing works for - the end goal of the design school was that you do commercial work and nothing interesting, so I kind of rebelled against it a little bit and always tried to do my own style, and make my own style. I was always drawing, and writing. I did have one design teacher that I really liked, and he always told me, that I was at the wrong school.

How did you end up at that school?

It was the closest thing to what I wanted to do, but still not very close. I wanted to know how to use computers, and I took that away from it. So that teacher, he came up with the idea of everyone picking his or her favorite song and making single art for it. I chose the Californian band, Velvet Teen, and made some art, and put it in a 7” sleeve. I used yellow vinyl, I used the same yellow in the art, and kind of did this branding, and my teacher thought it was great and that I should send it to them. Just as a like, “I enjoy your music, I did this for a school project,” thing, and they loved it. They wanted to put it into production. So I ended up working a bunch with them and doing some tour posters, and shirts and stuff like that. It was obviously very exciting for someone who had never done any work for any bands or anything. The second act that I worked with, and because Velvet Teen’s manager was also working with this guy, was Mark Foster. He was still a solo artist, and Foster the People didn’t exist yet. He didn’t have any money to pay, but I said that’s fine because I really liked his music, and I did a bunch of art for him, and he said “At some point, if I make it, or get a deal, I’m going to keep you on to do my art and I’ll finally be able to pay you.” Before that happened he got something with my third client, Andy Dick, the comedian/actor. He was doing some kind of music comedy thing, so I did the album cover for him, and that was paid, so Mark wasn’t paying me, but he got me work. My fourth client was Mikky Ekko. He wasn’t signed yet, and nobody knew him. I did a bunch of work for him and then once he got signed, he came through and asked if I could still do art for him, now that he could pay. Foster the People did the same thing once they got signed. So basically that’s how it all started.

So how did that turn into you singing, writing music and producing?

Well I always did that as well. I started playing in bands when I was 14 or 15 years old, not really knowing anything other than three chords on the guitar. Basically my best friend, he had an older brother who was in a band, and they would rehearse in the afternoon on Saturday, and because we didn’t have any gear, we would sneak into the room when we knew they would go into the park and smoke doobies, and we would use their equipment. I was not the singer, I was just the guitarist, and I kind of kept it that way for a long time. I finally realised it was fun to sing and be the main guy in the band. It took a couple years to really establish some sort of sound. I realised singing falsettos was a lot more fun.

So you like being the frontman the most.

Yeah, the thing is, it still doesn’t feel like I—I still don’t like being in the spotlight per say, but do enjoy creating and doing things on my own. We have the band now, and we do all this stuff together, it still feels good to be in total control. And still write stuff on my own and bring it together, but I wouldn’t call it being the “frontman.”

So let’s talk about your band. Tell me about them, and how all that plays together, especially if you’re not the frontman so much.

Basically, I finished the album in New York in the winter - I worked on it in a small art gallery, Idiosyncrasy Gallery it was called, in the basement. And then I mixed it in Florida at Aaron (my manager’s house). Right after the masters came back, we had about a month and a half to two months before the first shows were booked at Johnny Brenda’s in Philly, then the New York show at Baby’s All Right. We started looking around like crazy trying to find the right people, and found out that it’s harder than it might seem. So a friend gave us this contact, Luke Woods, who is kind of this all-around musician magician and amazing musical director. He came in and took over the whole project, and together we found the two other members, Kayleigh Goldsworthy and Steven Bryant.

Luke kind of directed the whole thing with me, and we figured out a way to make the project sound and be really live, and us not be slaves to the track. Because you see, a lot of bands right now that are studio projects like my own, when it comes to the live set, they just play a track, and maybe have a drummer. Their sound is so awesome, but then you see them play live and it just seems like it was the last thing they thought about. And it’s so important, the current state of our music industry, the way we take in music, festivals are more important than they ever were. So we got these four people together and just rehearsed like crazy.

You just played Coachella. How was that?

It was crazy. We had quite an early set, which was scary because you don’t know how ready people will be, or how many people will actually turn out, but the turnout was actually amazing. There were mostly people that made a plan to go see the early show, and they knew the lyrics and they knew the songs, and it was incredible. After the first weekend, we did two dates with Foster The People in Arizona at mid-sized venues. Right after that we played the roof of the Cosmopolitan Hotel in Las Vegas. That was absurd. I think there were about 3000-4000 people ready to see music on a roof and get belligerent.

Tell me about “Pineapple Saturdays.”

I’ve been drawing a pineapple on my Instagram for the last few months now. And it’s gotten to the point where people know about it, and at Coachella we gave out 40 pineapples each weekend. And that was amazing. It’s kind of a random thing that makes me happy. ​

The Continuum EP is out in the UK now, and the band’s self-titled LP is out now in the US. Young & Sick play The Great Escape this weekend, and London’s Birthdays on May 12.

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My favorite flowers and shots from Keukenhof Tulip Fest

May 2014, Lisse, Holland

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ALL I NEED IS ONE: TREE

Tree Hip Hop’s Savior of Soul Reggie’s Record Breakers, South State Street, Chicago Photos By Winston Blake

Why we love him:

He makes melodies out of raspy chuckles and just audible-enough lyrics. Whiskey-soaked verses are sopped up with gospel-fused soul samples twice removed. We’re all family here. Carefully weaving a rich history into his music, Tree tells a tale that’s much grander than one would expect. The story of American soul, and it’s evolution to present day. A story every music fan should be familiar.

Perched in the dank stairwell of the historic South State Street record store and music venue, surrounded by exposed brick, masking taped posters, and stacks and stacks of old vinyl, Tree tells us the one thing he can’t live without, his soul records.

“Growing up, my father didn’t care for music being played on the radio, and even lesser about this new boom bam bop called hip hop. So he’d ride around with tapes playing Sly and the Family Stone, The Temptations, James Brown and stuff like that, just soul music.”

Creating a style all his own— one that incorporates billowy, head-bob worthy beats with and southern hi-hats and snippets from music’s rich historical roots— it’s safe to say, Tree is one of the most inventive producers in the game.

“When I started making beats, I didn’t really care for what was being made popular, especially sample-based music. I’d hear it and knew it could be done better and differently. I worked really hard to perfect my craft and create a new sound combining soul samples and southern trap with a bluesy tale/heartfelt account to create #soultrap.”

All I Need is  One:

All I need is a soul record. That perfect soul sample. I gained notoriety with music writers and bloggers when I introduced my signature sound #soultrap, so for me, soul music is everything.

Aretha Franklin’s “Ain’t No Way” is the one. This joint is one of the songs you could hear around the house in my younger years while my mother was cooking or cleaning. I remember vividly this song being sung by my mom and aunts as they hung out in the living room at my grandma’s house after a family dinner, or what have you. After a few glasses of wine and beer, the family room turned into a Soul Train line where we’d all “step” (a form of dance invented in Chicago, mostly used by the older folks who loved dusties and soulful music) and sing oldies using brushes or what ever was handy as prop microphones, really just having a good time as a family.

The first of Tree’s upcoming Soultrap EP series, #TREESWAG a collaborative EP with Chris Crack, is out today.