I grew up listening to Prince mostly because of my pops. Living in a suburb south of St. Paul for all of my childhood, I didn’t appreciate the Minneapolis music scene until I got out of it and left for college out West.
There I started to appreciate hip-hop and R&B on a much more personal level. Getting in much deeper with Prince, Atmosphere and other Minnesota acts towards the end of college, including Solid Gold, GAYNGS and Mel Gibson & the Pants. Finally, in the Bay Area I found Polica, Tickle Torture, thestand4rd, and most recently, Morly. Well, kinda.
I stayed in Minneapolis for a few years after college and covered my first show, Theophilus London at The Loft, in early 2012. There I heard one of the openers and fell in love (with her voice). It belonged to Katy Morley, now known as Morly. I remember tracking Astronautalis and her down to see if they had any music released. She didn’t, but I remember her telling me something was in the works.
Four years later and I run into her music while researching a post on Minneapolis (this one). Her voice is even more touching and her piano playing stands out more.
It’s good to have such talent sprouting from the Twin Cities. A lot of which have Prince all over them. Here’s a dozen or so and their songs.
I’m not gonna make this a bigger deal than it is, we’re not here for the imagery, but Spook Black did a piss poor job on his visuals (mostly video). His voice, however, has something I’ve only heard from a few others in the last decade – the first I can remember from our very own The Weeknd back in 2010. Though The Weeknd went the elusive route in the beginning, something Spooky should have considered.
We did save him for our one-thousandth post, so hopefully that’ll show our appreciation for his potential.
[soundcloud url="https://api.soundcloud.com/tracks/137277440" iframe="false" params="player_type=tiny&font=Arial&color=292929" height="18" /]
Minnesota’s ‘Bloom’ has finally convinced me to post my melodic dubstep mixtape and actually gave me the idea for a more appropriate name, melodic bass, although it’s all just words by now. So look out for that in the next coming weeks, but until then check out why Bloom has inspired me so much. Like I already hinted at, it’s got one catchy melody supported by a beautiful bass line.
[soundcloud url="http://api.soundcloud.com/tracks/85968998" iframe="false" params="player_type=tiny&font=Arial&color=292929" height="18" /]
I can’t understand half of what she’s saying, but whatever it is she says it well. Polica came onto my radar once I got to know the Midwest super group, GAYNGS, which they’re a part of. Justin Vernon is also involved with the supagroup and features on this newest Polica track, ‘Tiff.’
Vernon might actually be the only thing I didn’t like on ‘Tiff.’ His intro half way through the song doesn’t sound right and just wasn’t blended well, though his eerier presence afterwards fit in right. Other than that the song seems to be hit worthy, especially on the Hype Machine.
Just two days into the song, over 40 bloggers have already mentioned Tiff. The song actually, intentionally or unintentionally, brings up that they’re a “pawn in the hype machine” and I’m wondering how many bloggers admitted the same on their post.
[soundcloud url="http://api.soundcloud.com/tracks/87129206" iframe="false" params="player_type=tiny&font=Arial&color=292929" height="18" /]
Does this not sound like an intro to some 70’s, 80’s or 90’s flick Maybe like a teen movie or a Miami Vice type show. Or maybe something out of Grand Theft Auto or Scarface… Whatever it is, Gigamesh always brings nu-disco interests and always backed up with some fine ass vocals. God, if this doesn’t get your heart pumpin plenty… you shouldn’t be listening to us.
[soundcloud url="http://api.soundcloud.com/tracks/60994951" iframe="false" params="player_type=tiny&font=Arial&color=292929" height="18"]
Cannot believe how outta hip-hop I’ve been for the last year. This blog all started out exclusively with hip-hop and look at us now (for better or worse). But of course I couldn’t deny my Minnesota brethren, at least when I enjoy their “stuff.”
P.O.S & Lazerbeak of Doomtree pair it up with ‘Fuck Your Stuff’ for P.O.S’ new album, We Don’t Even Live Here. The track is of similar vein to their usual MN hooliganary. And as much as I may not appreciate the lyricism compared to many others, P.O.S’ style & finesse over Lazerbeak’s better than ever beat is something we can all appreciate.
Make sure to check out DOOMTREE if you’re into this style of hip-hop and hit up We Don’t Even Live Here
Polica is a group from my area back in the day, the Twin Cities. But of course I forgot about all that and more importantly who they’re tied with when I moved to the Bay Area around the beginning of 2012. See, I kind of have a man-crush on their producer, Ryan Olson, because of his involvement in not just one, but two of my favorite Minnesota-based bands, Mel Gibson & the Pants and GAYNGS. Seeing that this is a remix though, I guess this won’t justify my love for Olson, but Alluxe does reinterpret him right.
Alluxe’s remix of “Lay Your Cards Out” takes on Channy Leaneagh’s original vocals, whom is also apart of GAYNGS, and speeds up the pace for a more danceable tune. What Alluxe especially does best is build on Leaneagh’s vocals and flushes ’em out just right for one sedating drop (done far better than the original). Leaneagh’s vocals, however, are a bit hard to interpret, as always, but I’m one for making up my own lyrics while listening anyways.
[soundcloud url="http://api.soundcloud.com/tracks/56308632" iframe="false" params="player_type=tiny&font=Arial&color=292929" height="18"]
DJ 21azy throws us four new mashups in his Sleeping Through Sunday EP, which features a few of hip-hop’s (somewhat) recent top acts. The mashups are something different, bringing these MC’s into a few new styles, but only half really catch my ear. But make sure to check out the whole EP and see for yourself.
[audio:Cudder-One-Down.mp3|titles=A Cudder One Down (DJ 21azy Mashup)]
Gigamesh’s remix of “Tongue Tied” is that forever loving disco that Gigamesh does best. I can’t believe how long this took for me to post, let’s just say I didn’t realize how popular the ‘mesh was, but it’s still just as Minnesota fresh.
[soundcloud url="http://api.soundcloud.com/tracks/35233183" params="player_type=tiny&font=Arial&color=292929" height="18"]
When listening to new mashup artists, I always need to make sure they matched up the beats correctly. It’s nice to listen to the more veteran mashers, like Basic Physics, because I can just sit back and relax… I’ll I have to do is figure out if I like their choices.
In his latest EP, Winter Warmup, BP puts together three dance-floor worthy tracks. None of them compare to his “Jagger” mashup, it’s one of my favorite of the year, but I think if I just give ’em more time they’ll be equally heart BEAT pumpin. Starting to especially like the “Strength in Numbers” mash.
[soundcloud url="http://api.soundcloud.com/tracks/29462796" params="player_type=tiny&font=Arial&color=292929" height="18"]