Roosevelt
Cologne-based Marius Lauber has been an all-around musician since the age of 7 — from experimenting with piano and guitar, as well as producing indie pop under his own name and German pop band Beat! Beat! Beat!. However, nowadays he seems to be looking at music from a more adaptive perspective as he’s now masked as electronic pop producer Roosevelt.
Since his first appearance with the track “Sea” earlier this year, Roosevelt has been gearing up for its official debut with electronic label Greco-Roman. To heighten the suspense, he’s been touring all this past year, and as of this past month, was opening for Totally Enormous Extinct Dinosaurs in England. Finally, the single was released Tuesday and includes the original track “Sea,” along with a dubbed version and an impressive bonus track titled “Soleil.”
This newly released work of his is amazing and clearly marks a confident beginning of a what Roosevelt has planned for the future. The two originals both reel in catchy chords consisting of twisted synths, echoed vocals and prominent drum lines that create a uniquely seamless, dreamy sound. As with Greco-Roman, they’ve chosen wisely, despite this being Roosevelt’s debut work and seem to have much confidence in him as this release is framed aside releases of well-known artists Disclosure, Totally Enormous Extinct Dinosaurs and Hot Chip’s Jon Goddard. Yet, we don’t see why Roosevelt should be intimidated — these tracks are flawless and his plan for an EP next year is definitely news that has excited his steadily growing fan-base.
Once you get off repeat for the tracks streamed above, head over to iTunes for an exclusive dub version of “Sea” along with info for purchase.
P.S. His live shows look so much fun. Really wish there was a “demand” button for musicians right now…
Sky Ferreira – Everything is Embarrassing
My favorite Sky Ferreira song out there is actually a cover of Stevie Nicks’ “Stand Back” produced by Skeet Skeet. Maybe it’s knowing her in the context of a Stevie Knicks cover, but the whole set-up of “Everything is Embarrassing” really fits perfectly for her throwback voice and the producers do well to not put much processing on top.
It’s a heartbreaker of a song, and with the drum line + slap-bass it’s got a definite 80′s pop quality. Is hipster quiet storm a genre yet?
Kasket Club
From Norway, Kasket Club brings us a consistent pleasure of summery, electronic pop. Being only two months young and with less than a half-dozen tracks in the queue, this duo nails each work with a relaxing, upbeat atmosphere that nurtures chillwave and indie pop. They dress funky bass with warm, patterned synths and hazy vocals to form a diverse rhythm for each track that’ll have you on unconscious repeat. The Olso-native producers worked separately with electronic music up until this collaboration, allowing Kasket Club to begin with uniquely acquired talent. Take a listen to a few of our favorites from them below, then head over to their SoundCloud for the rest.
Ozker – Into The Deep
Tomorrow night is BLISS at U Street Music Hall with Will Eastman, Deep Sang and Sleeper Cell’s Ozker! Ease into the weekend with Ozker’s latest mix, Into The Deep, featuring a selection of slow, sexy, deep disco selections from the likes of Roberto Rodriguez, Tornado Wallace and Nathan G.
Roberto Rodriguez – Love Withdrawl (Original Mix)
Daniel Solar & Andi De Luxe – Seventh (Original Mix)
Tornado Wallace – Rainbow Road (Lewie’s Bowser Castle Remix)
Bonar Bradberry – Loose Grip (Digital Exclusive
Toxes – Boring Bar (Serj V Remix)
Luminodisco – Ragazzini (Original Mix)
James Johnston – That Was Now (Original Mix)
Moony Me – Everybody Loves The Sunshine (Moony Edit Sessions #4)
Nathan G – Night Time Is The Right Time (Boogie Rapture Remix)
Nicholas – Got To Have (Original Mix)
Ave Astra – Take A Look At Me Now (Original Mix)
Smooth it out with Ozker at U Street Music Hall tomorrow night with Will Eastman and Deep Sang. RSVP on Facebook for a chance to win free entry to Bliss for a year.
Blisspop at SXSW
South by Southwest is a week of performances by cutting-edge underground artists, potpourris of paper-based entry wristbands, and getting to know Texas’ notoriously weird city. Even to someone like myself who’s experienced two CMJs, and having worked at a college radio station for the past four years and thinking I know music, SXSW has proven me floored as the next level of music festival. The showcase features a range of artists, from dystopian midwestern folk rockers to DC-originated moombahton DJs.
Taking place every spring in Austin, Texas, the city transforms itself into a fantasy world for a week, flooding the city with musicians, journalists, Silicon Valley entrepreneurs, and loyal followers and fans. Locals also have a strong presence at SXSW, a few Austinites I met were St. Edwards students and were generally enthusiastic about having artists from across the globe come to them. Not to say Austin is a city at all lacking musical culture. Famously, Austin is also known for PBS Show “Austin City Limits,” which, since broadcasting on national television since 1976, has opened up Austin’s entertainment draw to the rest of the nation. During South By, Austin locales are rented out for the week and taken over by artistic collectives, record companies, and American companies to further industry connections. The venues and bars of the city of Austin open their doors, promoters standing outside vouching for all passerbys to see “the next big band.” Although its a lot for anyone to absorb in a week, I’m going to guide you through a number of amazing acts who should be worthy of your attention in 2012.
