Author Archives: Dominic Powell

[Future] SevnthWonder & Deverano – Can I / Maria I’m Drunk

Posted by Dominic Powell - November 24, 2015

While music aficionados are spending these late-November days at Friendsgivings and being as unproductive as possible in preparation for the holidays, one ninja-favorite has been hard at work, dropping multiple collaborative tracks in the past few days.

Mateus Almeida, known for his production skills under the name SevnthWonder, has been steadily dropping tunes throughout 2015, but this may be his biggest month to date. The first, titled “Can I”, was released mid-month in tandem with Deverano and an up-and-coming producer who goes by the name of Unknown.

’SevnthWonder & unknown – Can I (ft. Deverano)’

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In what can loosely be described as Future R&B, “Can I” is the first of two tracks released by Sevnth featuring the rangey talents of Staten Island rapper Deverano. Although only four minutes long, the track displays a key element sometimes lost in the genre: patience. “Can I” doesn’t give an impression of being in a hurry to get to a particular crescendo or hook; this quality is particularly noticeable in part because the same cannot be said for much of electronic music produced as of late.

While the subject matter itself has been covered at length (look no further than Lido & Santell’s Passion Project EP last month for evidence), the stylization of SevnthWonder is still a novelty without seeming gimmicky in the least.

’SevnthWonder – Maria I’m Drunk (Ft. Deverano) (Travis Scott Cover)’

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The next release, titled “Maria, I’m Drunk”, and released via Tune Collective is a progressive take on a recent hip-hop hit by fellow Houstonian Travi$ Scott.

With Deverano once again on the vocals, SevnthWonder takes the seven minute anthem and flips it on its head. In scrubbing all evidence of the sometimes over-the-top crooning by Young Thug, Sevnth manages to cut the fat in his version, retaining elements from the early parts of the original song.

By focusing exclusively on the introductory portion – his cover forgoes the bridge and breakdown sections of Justin Bieber as well – SevnthWonder sneaks a fiercely deep bassline under the choruses, creating an end product that is both melodic and extremely satisfying.

Even more recent than these two tracks, SevnthWonder dropped a third track this month, “Capsun”, which we premiered earlier this month here. “Can I” is available at ClickDJ, while “Maria, I’m Drunk” can also be downloaded for free at Hive,

Future

[Downtempo] Finding Hope – Wonder

Posted by Dominic Powell - November 18, 2015

Finding Hope
Wonder

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With the clocks swinging forward earlier this month and daylight gone by the end of the work day, ever-present summery house music has begun to lose some of its topical appeal. As setting changes, so too does inspiration.

Enter the sound of winter: downtempo. With roots in ambient, drum and bass genres, downtempo is a more calming style of music. Conceptually, it is comparable to productions by Diversa and Explosions in the Sky.

The latest great downtempo track to grace our Soundcloud feeds, “Wonder”, comes from San Antonio artist Ashton Davila. Formerly of the name Audile, Davila now goes by the pseudonym Finding Hope. Similar to classics of the genre like “Can Do It”, “Mon Amour”, and “Nimrod”, Wonder builds slowly into a powerful melody at the :55 mark. The deep, pleasant reverie continues through a beat breakdown a minute later and does not end until the close of the song.

When I was writing Wonder, it started out as a soundscape and progressed from there… My main focus was fusing the organic elements with the electronic/dreamy side of things. – Davila

Fans of Finding Hope – including us at The Music Ninja – will be keeping tabs on his future productions via his Bandcamp and Soundcloud pages. Listeners can also download “Wonder” at toneden.

Drum&Bass

[Album Review + Event Review] Neon Indian: Identity, the Chillwave Fallacy and Vega Intl. Night School

Posted by Dominic Powell - October 26, 2015

Neon Indian at Social Hall, SF 9/22

Looking around the crowd at the newly minted Social Hall SF, it was apparent that the diehard group of fans had little idea what they were hearing. Attending a show by a favored artist is an unforgettable experience; the anxiety and foreboding feeling that they may bomb the performance, the hope against all hope that the one favorite song played on repeat 300 times that one summer is on their set list, the lofty and unrealistic expectations of them noticing your pinpoint gaze from the stage.

All of those unstable feelings – coupled with the awkward notion of repeatedly bumping shoulders with complete strangers – are made more bearable by the overarching fact that the mass of people is musically in sync. Artists take huge risks when touring a new album pre-release; when a fan base comes together to experience their latest works before hearing a single song, the performance can either fall flat or amaze. Alan Palomo’s performance, thankfully, accomplished the latter. Despite vague familiarity with the new material, the cluster rocked and swayed to the arrangements that have made Neon Indian into a renowned electronic producer.

Between his own eccentric swinging hips and a charmingly flat-footed signature shuffle (falling somewhere between Motown and Disco), Palomo also managed to keep an often-times lost crowd energized and in the moment. Continue reading →

[Festival Preview] Treasure Island 2015

Posted by Dominic Powell - October 12, 2015

’Music Ninja Radio #11 – Treasure Island Preview’

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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

[Chill] Charles Murdoch – Frogs Feat. Ta-Ku & Wafia

Posted by Dominic Powell - September 25, 2015

Charles Murdoch
Frogs Feat. Ta-ku, Wafia & Hak

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The recent run of dynamic musicians coming from Australia these past few years shows no signs of slowing up.

It appears as if our kangaroo-boxing neighbors to the south have commandeered the progressive electronic music world; artists are able to piggyback off of like minded producers, while forming collectives that insulate them in positive and constructive environments to create polished works at a breakneck pace.

Riding the wave of success that gained traction on the back of Flume, Chet Faker, and countless others, Charles Murdoch – a long time Future Classic member – went back to the studio, working on a soon-to-be-release LP, Point.

Earlier this week, the stars aligned and fans were graced with the first release from Point; a collaboration involving familiar artists expanding their repertoires into unfamiliar roles. While Murdoch’s widely popular remixes may be what he is best known for, his latest original work certainly sets the bar much higher.

“Frogs” opens with a 30 second monologue by none other than Ta-Ku – reminiscent of a spoken word session at a poetry club – fading into a soft downtempo warbling that persists throughout the remainder of the track. As the beat picks up, he demonstrates a sultry smooth vocal skill set on “Frogs” that fans have only heard snippets of via his eccentric Instagram account.

While listeners are still processing the limitless talents of Ta-Ku, Wafia comes into the fold, seductively harmonizing her lines intermittently throughout the song. The masterful duet takes Murdoch’s dark, brooding instrumental and injects it with feelings of solitude. Following a Wafia solo at the 3:00 mark in which she serenades listeners with a single emotive line, “Frogs” ends all too soon.

Charles Murdoch fans can keep up with his works and the upcoming release of Point on his Soundcloud page.

Future

[Chill / Soul] Khai – Do You Go Up

Posted by Dominic Powell - September 5, 2015

KHAI
Do You Go Up

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In the modern music landscape, savvy artists have been able to identify the need for – and changing preferences towards – certain sounds. Niche artists who rose to fame from seemingly out of nowhere are commonplace; just look at the career arcs of artists like Skrillex revolutionizing dubstep or Thomas Jack in the tropical house realm. For burgeoning musicians, coming to understand one’s own “style” is a creative process of trial and error. As styles fade out of favor, others will rise in popularity. Music fans often don’t realize the void that exists until its filled by the next great sound.

Filling that void in the Future R&B world is a new Missouri-based producer by the name of Khai. With two tracks and less than 1,500 followers to his name, Khai is poised for a monumental rise in late 2015, anchored by his latest release “Do You Go Up”.

This new release, the first single on an upcoming EP, is a bubbly, minimalistic tune that relies heavily on the talented vocals of its creator. What sets Khai’s early masterpiece apart however, is how the instrumentals and production quality equal the impressive vocal aspects. “Do You Go Up” is the epitome of mood music; with a catchy hook and a simple beat structure, it is a tune the listener will want to play on repeat in the company of friends, or alone while lost in thought.

If “Do You Go Up” is any indication of what listeners can expect from Khai in the near future, If You has the potential to be the most impressive debut EP of 2015. Listeners can keep up to date on Khai’s new works on his soundcloud page, while his EP will be released via Octal Sound on October 16^th.

Soul

[TMN Interview] How to be Hard Headed: GANZ on his Vision and Path to Success

Posted by Dominic Powell - August 11, 2015

The ever shifting musical landscape of today lends itself to short memories and drastic overstatements. Albums are placed in the upper echelons shortly after their debuts, and claims of dominance fly constantly, portraying musicians as the literal godfathers of their respective genres. Part of the blame is shouldered by writers; an over reactive bunch who tend to go a bit overboard in backing their favorite artists. “Godfather” might be a bit of an embellishment, but in the case of Dutch producer Jordy Saamena, it would not be entirely hyperbolic to claim that he spawned an entirely new production style two years ago – one that has sparked a new wave of artists emulating his early success.

Saamena, who has situated himself as a internationally known producer under his stage name GANZ (pronounced gans), took the attention of the electronic music world through the release of his unique remixes – coined as “flips” – dating back to February of last year. While at 1015 Folsom in San Francisco on the first of an 8-stop North American tour, Jordy and manager Dennis Saamena (his older brother) were gracious enough to take some time after his performance and give The Music Ninja a run down on what the past two years have been like, the release of his label, and what he sees for the future of GANZ.

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