Giraffage | The Music Ninja

[Festival Preview] Treasure Island 2015

Posted by Dominic Powell - October 12, 2015

’Music Ninja Radio #11 – Treasure Island Preview’

Welcome back, October.

Festival season has officially wound down to a close and we Californians are bundling up for another frigid winter – which may eventually dip into the 50s (gasp!).

Music fans near and far look toward cloudy skies and feel a deep nostalgia for carefree summer days spent romping through fairgrounds from Detroit to San Diego to Washington to Chicago and even here in San Francisco. Fortunately, there is one last hurrah every year to hold us over: Treasure Island Music Festival.

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Event Preview

[Electronic] Giraffage & Viceroy – Impression of You (feat. Patrick Baker)

Posted by Ash El Gamal - July 10, 2015

Giraffage & Viceroy
Impression Of You (feat. Patrick Baker)

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Producer collaborations tend to take on one of two forms–either composers go back-and-forth transitioning between styles or they blend their techniques to create something completely novel. In the case of Giraffage and Viceroy‘s new single, released on Dim Mak Records, it’s most certainly the latter. “Impression of You” sees a collision of Giraffage’s playful, yet emotional, R&B-tinted steez and Viceroy’s jazzy, summery vibes for an enchanting tune. Giraffage’s signature synth-work and video-game inspired elements open the tune but once the track fills out Viceroy’s radiant style quickly emerges. The tune is tied together nicely by Patrick Baker, who’s name you may recognize from his recent Lane 8 collaboration. The wavey, chilled-out feeling of the song combined with Baker’s romantic crooning create an interesting combination–a sort of summer fling anthem.

P.S. If you dig Giraffage as much as we do, make sure to check out our interview with him from last year.

[Future] Tinashe – All Hands On Deck (Remixes)

Posted by Sara Natkins - April 15, 2015

You know those tracks that are just so good, you never want them to end, so you put them on replay? The ones that bring life to your ears? It’s thanks to those tracks that we started writing about music in the first place.

Now is probably a good time to put the spotlight on two stand-out artists, Giraffage and PACES. Both put their own spin on Tinashe’s heated tune, “All Hands On Deck,” creating two unique sounds, one just as highly addictive as the other.

Starting off with Giraffage’s, he takes a bit of an edgier, darker approach to his remix. The result is a combination of deep house and future that does away with the original’s hip-hop feel, and provides a brand new ambience that’s a bit more sophisticated.

PACES, on the other hand, puts a much more playful spin on the sultry original and transforms the not-so innocent track into one that radiates youthful innocence. The thick texture, comprised of glittery synths, heightened pitches, and feel-good vibes, makes it nearly impossible for this remix to lose your attention.

But whether you feel like getting down and dirty, or doing cartwheels on the beach, both of these remixes will undoubtedly fit your mood.

’Tinashe – All Hands On Deck (Giraffage remix)’

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’Tinashe – All Hands On Deck (PACES Remix)’

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[Electronic] Tinashe – All Hands On Deck (Giraffage Remix)

Posted by Ash El Gamal - April 9, 2015

Tinashe
All Hands On Deck (Giraffage remix)

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Bay Area producer, Giraffage, has already worked his magic on a number of R&B classics proving to be one of the most agile, novel electronic producers in the space. Naturally, contemporary R&B artists are taking notice with the latest being Tinashe, who enlisted him to remix her already electronic-leaning “All Hands On Deck.” Giraffage departs slightly from his generally playful approach in favor of club-ready garage vibe flexing his versatility with phenomenal results. As always, the talented up ‘n comer seamlessly toes the line between tugging at our heart strings and making us dance. Give this one a listen above and, if you haven’t already, check out our interview with Giraffage.

[Event Review] CRSSD Festival – San Diego, 3/14-15

Posted by Ivan Chung - March 26, 2015

As festival season is upon us, many festival go-ers are itching to go to Coachella, especially when talking about the perfect California weather. Goldenvoice, hosts of Coachella, and FNGRS CRSSD have teamed up to create CRSSD Festival, a solution for those who can’t make it to the more high-profile festivals but still want to get a taste of the all-around chill California vibe. With that said, CRSSD festival was the perfect portrayal of sunny San Diego and what it represents.

The first ever CRSSD fest took place in the Waterfront Park from March 14 and 15, and featured a lineup with big names like Chromeo, Odesza, Flight Facilities and Empire of the Sun. While these unique electronic acts headlined the main stage a.k.a “Ocean View Live”, what stuck out the most to us was “The Palms” stage, which was decorated to fit a more laid-back and tropical vibe. Ranging from nu-disco to tropical house, the stage features some of the frontrunners of the dance scene, including names like Bakermat, Thomas Jack, Bixel Boys, Giraffage and Kaytranada. The middle stage, which was named “City Steps”, featured some heavyhitting house acts that span from future bass to G-House, notably Amtrac, Tensnake, James Murphy and Simian Mobile Disco.

’MNEK – Wrote A Song About You (Kaytranada Edition)’

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’Giraffage – Hello’

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Being that it was a debut festival, CRSSD fest did a phenomenal job of planning and set up. With KCRW Music Director Jason Bentley hosting the festival and filling in between sets with the crowd’s favorite music, there was never a dull moment at the park. Unlike some other major festivals, the Waterfront Park was the perfect size venue for CRSSD fest. The three stages were all easily reachable from one end to another, without overshadowing each other.

Now onto the stars of the show. The best acts on Saturday were undoubtedly Kaytranada and Giraffage. With back to back sets at “The Palms” stage, the two talented artists brought the house down with their immensely high energy performances. From the future bounce mastermind to the quirky creative genius, the two spun tune after tune that got the crowd going nuts. Empire of the Sun also put out an epic performance with their signature glamorous set up with stage dancers. There was no better way to close out the night after a long day of sweating and dancing. Continue reading →

[Event Preview] CRSSD Festival – San Diego 3/14-3/15

Posted by Ivan Chung - February 19, 2015

Spring is around the corner, which means that it’s almost festival season! As one of our first stops, TMN is going to the CRSSD festival in San Diego. Taken place at the Waterfront Park on March 14 and 15, CRSSD fest features some of the frontrunners and up-and-comers in today’s electronic music. Powerhouses including Empire of the Sun, Chromeo, Odesza, Flight Facilities are headlining the festival at the “Ocean View Live” stage, while deeper acts like Kaytranada, Thomas Jack, Bakermat and Bixel Boys will try to win the crowd at “The Palms” stage.

The three-stage set up will definitely give a refreshing feel to all festival-goers. Thousands will gather at Waterfront Park and dance their pants off while overseeing the beautiful city of San Diego. With its popularity rising at such a high rate, CRSSD festival is representing sunny San Diego by stepping its game up. We are very excited to be able to witness the very first debut of the festival, as there will be many more in the future.

Make sure to check out this playlist we put together in advance to the festival. If you’re a fan of electronic dance music, and want to have a good time with laid back vibes all around, go to CRSSD festival and we promise you will not be disappointed!

’Slow Magic – Still Life’

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’Something New (Amtrac Remix)’

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’Drive Me Crazy (featuring Vic Mensa)’

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’ODESZA – White Lies (feat. Jenni Potts)’

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’Bakermat – Teach Me (Original Mix)’

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’Gabriel Rios – Gold (Thomas Jack Remix)’

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’All You’re Waiting For (Feat. Nancy Whang)’

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’Theophilus London Feat. Jesse Boykins III – Tribe (Bixel Boys Remix)’

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’FoFo’

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’Flight Facilities – Two Bodies feat. Emma Louise (Lido Remix)’

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’George Maple – Talk Talk’

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’Goldroom – Embrace’

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[TMN Exclusive Interview] Giraffage on his New EP, Musical Inspirations and The Based God

Posted by Ash El Gamal - November 20, 2014

San Francisco producer Charlie Yin, aka Giraffage, paints a radiant, colorful picture through his music. As a true student of R&B (seriously, he remixed The-Dream‘s Love/Hate album in its entirety), he has crafted an experimental electronic sound with the perfect sensibility towards the hits of the 2000s. His latest EP, No Reason, has a notable depth and cohesion that feels playful and supremely soothing, yet fully dance-floor ready. With its lush melodies and sonic plot twists, the project awakens an encompassing range of emotions and senses making for more than just an auditory experience. In a way, the music feels like a physical place with its ability to transport the listener to a whole new dimension–something we all need some times.

We were lucky enough to pick Charlie’s brain with a few questions about his new project, musical inspirations and dream collaborations among other topics. Enjoy this fun conversation and stream his phenomenal EP below. No Reason is out now via the always on-point Fool’s Gold Records and is available for purchase via iTunes. Giraffage is also in the midst of an international tour–check his upcoming dates here.

’Giraffage – Hello’

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TMN: When did you first start making music? And was there a particular album, song or artist who really inspired you at that time?

Giraffage: I started making music near the beginning of high school. At the time, I was really into pop-punk and technical math rock stuff.

TMN: One of your original monikers was Robot Science. Do you see that as an alter-ego (like Caribou v. Daphni) or was that just the original iteration of Giraffage?

Giraffage: I saw that as a learning experience more than an alter-ego, a lot of songs were just so unpolished and poorly mixed. However it did help me learn the ins and outs of releasing songs to an audience. Robot Science still has a special place in my heart.

’Giraffage – Tell Me’

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TMN: The prevalence of soul & 90s-early 2000s R&B in the current electronic music landscape across sub-genres is hard to ignore. Both more broadly and for yourself, what is it about those eras of music that you think has brought them back to the forefront?

Giraffage: I think a lot of big producers nowadays were growing up listening to that era of 2000s r&b. As a result, the influence definitely carried through. For me personally, even though I love pop music nowadays, I think pop music back then had a lot more catchy hooks and overall more clever songwriting and technicality to it. People are starting to appreciate musicianship and that kind of stuff more than ever these days.

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