I remember the first time I heard Aaron Frazer. With Durand Jones & The (rest of the) Indications at Outside Lands in 2018. Durand and his band were one of the most memorable sets of the 8 years I’ve been to OSL. Most memorable was hearing a high pitched vocalist in the band but took me a good 3 songs to figure out who it was. The drummer in the back, Aaron Frazer.
Now he is very much in front. Touring his second solo album, Into the Blue. What I hadn’t heard in his tracks online, but was very apparent that night at The Independent is that his falsetto isn’t half of what he’s got. Check out the first video on the Instagram embed below. It’s the best glimpse on camera I’ve got in hearing him in a different light, but I’m sure it’s just one small step in his much bigger plan. His catalog of singles is already stacked, imagine in 50 years.
Also, I didn’t realize how much swag he had, but with a voice like that.
We go to music festivals to see the musicians we love, but it’s also the best way to discover new music.
I remember seeing Durand Jones & The Indications for the first time at Outside Lands in 2018 and then the following SXSW twice. My partner and I have been so obsessed with the group that their song “Is It Any Wonder?” was the second song at our wedding’s first dance (“Suavecito” was the first). I went to the second annual Mill Valley Music Festival to see Durand Jones’s solo set, but even better to see something new.
I always jump the gun on these festivals and listen to all of the artists beforehand. My most highly anticipated performance was the psychedelic African rock ensemble from Oakland, Orchestra Gold, but there were a few other notable new discoveries including The Dip and Valerie Jones – all of whom you can see live video of below.
I already touched on Durand Jones and The Indications when I heard them live at Outside Lands, 2018, but let’s try it again. My literal jaw dropped when I first heard Durand Jones and The Indications, but not from Durand’s voice. The group’s drummer and falsetto backup, Aaron Frazer, had me from his first note.
Like Khruangbin, their build-up has taken a few years, but Durand Jones, Aaron Frazer, and The Indications have got a full lineup of classic hits and I don’t say that often enough. How Aaron and Durand’s voices play off each other, from the highs to the lows, is unmatched. At least for this generation.
Not to get too “number-y,” as Aaron likes to say, for how talented this group is, I do not see it reflecting on their social, music services (Spotify seems decent), or from many bloggers (according to the Hype Machine.) So I’ve taken it upon myself to reach out to these bloggers, specifically ones that love soul music, and see what’s up! I’ll keep you up-to-date. You just make sure I do what I say.
I’ve already covered Khruangbin back in 2017 at Outside Lands, but they’ve come out with two albums since. More importantly, they’ve become my favorite band of the year.
It all started when I saw them at The Fox in Oakland late last year. Every time I talk about it, I always say it was the sexiest show I’ve seen. You wouldn’t guess it by their music necessarily, but the chemistry between Laura Lee on bass and Mark Speer on guitar is mesmerizing in sound and look.
A few months later I saw Tommy Guerrero at Noise Pop 2019 and he reminded me so much of Khruangbin’s guitar melodies. As much as his catalog may be bigger than theirs, the trio from Dallas has stuck themselves in all areas of my life, which may have a lot to do with how popular they’ve gotten.
One thing I’ve learned since obsessing over their music is how much of the music-making process is collaborative between the three. Inspired by dub, Thai funk, and middle eastern grooves. And as Mark put it in an interview, they don’t need a lead singer, they’ve got a guitar to carry the melody.
Their latest album is a dub version of Con Todo El Mundo, entitled Hasta El Cielo. I haven’t included any of the tracks on this featured playlist yet. I just haven’t warmed up to it enough, but it’s well worth a full listen through. Along with everything else below.
I rarely post a single anymore. Usually I save it for a playlist, but if I dive into the artist’s music and come up with a handful then it’s worth featuring alone.
I’ve already featured Jacob Banks when I saw him at Outside Lands – which was one of the best performances of the year, as well as his show at The Independent – but his single with Louis The Child is one of his best and unexpected at that.
Not from Banks, I expect his music to get better with time, but Louis The Child. Not only have they never worked with a singer so good, but they’ve got his sound down. Better than I’ve ever seen it before.
I swear I’ve heard ‘Ditty Bop’ at a Jacob Banks show, but something that sounds so familiar from the start is a good indicator of a track’s longevity.
Odesza’s Above the Middle was my first love of theirs and even though it starts off rocky, as I originally pointed out, once the vocals kick in it’s the sound that inspired this list. Especially hearing it live at Outside Lands in 2015. Ever since hearing it first back in 2013, I’ve found a set of songs just as inspiring.
The whole thing reminds me of a dream I had at least 10 years ago. It’s probably the most vivid dream I’ve ever had. It started off with me falling from the sky, but I wasn’t frightened of falling. More fascinated by how enormous the sky and ocean were around me. I remember there was a castle in the distance. It was like I was falling to get there. It’s the most beautiful dream I can remember.
We’re finally getting our favorite musicians of 2012 out there. Remixes & heavy sampling have made up most of the other best music of 2012, but the rest of these are all originals (at least for the most part).
I also decided to change it from 2012’s best musicians to the most promising. They may be our favorite musicians of 2012, but they’re probably all new to you – except Frank, Madeon & Miike maybe.
Also remember, not every one of these may be your favorite style, but you’ll definitely find a few you’ll enjoy for a good while.
[soundcloud url="http://api.soundcloud.com/tracks/66170642" iframe="false" params="player_type=tiny&font=Arial&color=292929" height="18" /]
COLORS out of Berlin produces some of the cleanest music performances on YouTube with some of the biggest prospects in music right now. Going through the 271 videos they’ve uploaded so far, and picking 36 (13%), two themes in my selection process stuck out.
The videos didn’t help every performer sound better. In the end, it was about their vocal chops. It did, however, bring out the best in the voices that stood out. Imagine a COLORS festival in Berlin. Live is the ultimate goal for any content company and most others.
I also realized, or more so confirmed, my dislike for listening to rap from outside of the US. It’s not about what they say, it’s about how they say it. Not being exposed enough to the phonetics in other languages when it comes to music has trained my brain to prefer the American accent. Even Canadian rappers I can’t take seriously sometimes. “Aboot” makes me chuckle, let alone when it’s in a rap song.
That’s why I appreciate COLORS. I trust their selection and they expose me to rap from around the world. I know if I listen long enough, they’ll find something I love. And if not COLORS, there are plenty of other international curation houses that’ll turn something up. Although not with a simple, vibrant, one-color backdrop that COLORS displays so beautifully behind each upload.
Would love to see Durand Jones & The Indications in front of COLORS someday.
Scott Vener, better known as brokemogul, asked Twitter for the best music documentaries. He got over 150 responses and I’ve got 110 music docs listed here. Some were mockumentaries, some were films, one was Dissect, and a lot more were music doc gems worth collecting.
I thought it would be a great idea to collect them all, find where you can watch them online, and put them in some sort of order. However, it took way too damn long, so I didn’t include artwork for most, didn’t spend too much time on formatting the post either.
Below are the categories in which I sorted the music docs. I’ve also labeled whether they’re available for Free, Subscribe, or Rent. And what type of services, such as Netflix, YouTube, Amazon, or Hulu. So “command/ctrl-f” to find whatever you prefer.
Free: mostly YouTube or some shady site (watch out for pop-ups). And I think a few others require library cards. Just get one.
Subscribe: mostly Hulu, Amazon, or Netflix. I believe all offer free trials, so binge.
Rent: most of the music docs are “rentable.” Prices usually range from $2 – $8.
Researching all 110+ music docs made me realize how many more need to be put on this list, let alone made.
Blackmill continues to amaze me with a style of dubstep that few are attempting, melodic dubstep. Most dubstep producers are taking to the rave scene, throwing together aimless tracks and trying to pull off the most progressive sound. And as much as dubstep is the experimental hotspot right now, a focus is still necessary in putting it all together, though that focus may still seem a bit odd to anyone outside the dubstep scene.
Props to Blackmill for deviating from the norm, even though it may seem more “normal” than the actual dubstep scene right now.
[audio:Spirit-Of-Life.mp3|titles=Spirit of Life]