Author Archives: Matthew Bloss

[Deep-House] Bobby Nourmand – S I S T E R

Posted by Matthew Bloss - May 17, 2016

BOBBY NOURMAND
S I S T E R

2016 is shaping up into a banner year for LA based house producer Bobby Nourmand. After taking the underground by storm with his last single “S M O K I N J O E” on The Magician’s Potion Records which recieved support from the likes of Oliver Heldens, Afrojack & Martin Garrix, back in February, Nourmand returns with a crafty slice of deep, dark club aesthetics “S I S T E R”. Using a perfectly synced vocal from one of our generation’s most notable frontmen, Billy Idol, Nourmand weaves swollen bass with sticky synth progressions and brittle guitars, which has resulted in yet another tasteful club tune destined to make its global run.

After his latest run of shows which included packed out houses at Exchange LA, The Delano Beach Club & FDR during Miami Music Week, and at Webster Hall for The Magician’s official EDC afterparty; the rest of the world has begun to take notice of Nourmand’s immensely polished production as well. Keep your eyes peeled for Bobby Nourmand’s next slate of tour dates, and listen to “Sister” above.

[TMN Exclusive Interview] TMN Talks ‘Life of Pause’, Time Traveling & More with Wild Nothing’s Jack Tatum

Posted by Matthew Bloss - April 29, 2016

Wild Nothing
TMN Exclusive Interview + A Woman's WIsdom (Official SIngle)

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Few people are able to conjure up such a visceral response through their artistic medium as multi-instrumentalist, songwriter and chief architect behind one of the most lauded music projects over the last decade as has the L.A. via Blacksburg, VA (and a few cities in between) Wild Nothing frontman Jack Tatum. Clearly a pensive and grounded artiste, Tatum’s abundant knowledge of music pours throug Wild Nothing’s pop-structured, but genre-eschewing catalog. Tatum and Wild Nothing’s sound has always toyed between abstract and direct, which has resulted in some of the most velvety, lush indie-pop tunes we’ve ever exposed our cochlear cavities to.

Last week, jut ahead of the start of Wild Nothing’s current international tour, we had the chance to catch up with Jack and see what’s been going on since the release of Life of Pause and ahead of yet another hefty jaunt across the world. Check out our show preview for Wild Nothing’s upcoming Red Bull Sound Select Showcase in Denver this Saturday with Inner Oceans & Flaural at the Bluebird Theater, and be sure to read our entire transcript below.

The Music Ninja (TMN): First off, let’s just take a second to thank you for taking the time to let us pick your brain and answer a couple of questions.

JT: Absolutely.

TMN: I’ve been a very vocal Wild Nothing consumer since your excellent 2010 debut, Gemini, and this past February you added another worthy addition to the Wild Nothing long-player catalog with Life of Pause which was the follow-up to perhaps my favorite album in the last 5 years, Nocturne. So, another thanks is in order for consistently creating some of the most tasteful sounds we’ve consumed in the past decade. So let’s get into it.

Jack Tatum (JT): Wow, yeah, thank you, for those very kind words.

TMN: Obviously an artist can undergo quite a sea-change as far as personal tastes and aesthetic go in a 7-year period; and with every passing release it seems like another piece of your psyche gets revealed both aurally and stylistically. We know you’ve probably answered this more than a few times on this latest round of press obligations, but were there any significant events going on in your life that sparked this burst of creativity and some of the material on Life of Pause, or was the writing and recording process pretty similar compared to your other EP’s & LP’s?

JT: Ummm… I don’t know. Not necessarily. I don’t know, for the sake of not making myself sound too boring…

TMN: Hahaha not at all.

JT: I’ve never really been someone that wrote kind of in response to any one sort of scenario or event in my life. I guess you could kind of say with the first record (Gemini) it definitely was very much a response to the relationship I was in at the time. And it’s, you know, a very mood based record… A very sort… of I don’t know how exactly I would describe it. But, as I’ve continued to write, I’ve found that I don’t necessarily need a spark to start writing. I think especially as I’ve gotten older I have been equally writing from experience as I am just to write and out of interest, or just purely composition, or trying to achieve a certain kind of sound, or something like that. But, yeah, I put out Nocturne in 2012 and then had the Empty Estate EP in 2013. And that EP in a way was kind of a response to Nocturne, just because we had been touring on Nocturne for so long…

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[TMN Premiere] PACES – Work Me Out (Moonbase Commander Remix)

Posted by Matthew Bloss - April 28, 2016

Paces
Work Me Out [ft. Rye Rye] (Moonbase Commander Remix)

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Sydney based, genre-skirting producer Moonbase Commander seemingly bubbled up out of the ether with a clearly defined and polished sound on his collab with Cakes Da Killa for their 2015 single “Serve it Up”, which received quite the reputable slate of critical support when it first made the rounds. In the time since, the Australian artist’s been continuously honing that sound, with the recent release of the Southpaw EP on October Records, which only seemed to elevate the collective appetites of his listeners. So, when the Commander’s latest tune floated our way in the form of a remix for fellow TMN regulars PACES and their Rye Rye featuring single “Work Me Out”, we were like giddy cheerleaders before a pep rally.

On his latest record, Moonbase Commander trots out a hypnotically knocking kick-drum, fueled by alchemistic pads, before delving into a heap of two-step drum patterning which holds up Rye Rye’s flitty cypher as if it were resting on a bed of anthracite storm clouds. MBC’s bass-first soundscape toys with stadium-trap sized bass swells, gigantic drums and loopy synths; all pulled off with the confident swagger of an underground beatsmith and grace of an established veteran. Quite appetizing stuff really. Moonbase Commander’s remix comes as part of etcetc music‘s official remix package which is out this Friday (preorder on iTunes here). Just try not to get your lean on too hard and throw out your back to this one, and enjoy Moonbase Commander’s “Work Me Out” remix before anyone else above.

[Denver Giveaway/Event Preview] The Music Ninja Presents: Day Wave @ Lost Lake – 5/3

Posted by Matthew Bloss - April 20, 2016

Few acts burst out of the gates with such a far-reaching resonance like what we’ve been witness to with Oakland based troupe Day Wave, and for good reason. Cohesive and developed ensembles like Day Wave come along but once in a while in today’s highly saturated musical climate, so it’s with great excitement that we announce our next ‘The Music Ninja Presents’ concert in Denver, CO, headlined by one of the most exciting bands in any corner of the music industry. Most recently, the Jackson Philips led four-piece released their second EP Hard to Read, and after their earliest singles including “Total Zombie” and “Nothing At All”and of course the Mark Hoppus championed “Drag”, its only solidified their place near the top of countless critics’ ‘Breakout Acts of 2016’ list. On Tuesday, May 3rd at our favorite intimate venue, the Lost Lake Lounge, Day Wave bring their hazy brand of pop structured indie-rock to the Mile High City for the first time, and we’re beyond delighted to help ring them in properly with what will no doubt be a completely packed house. It seems like just yesterday we caught and interviewed Philips & Kevin Friedman’s (who is also an integral part of Day Wave’s touring band), first project Carousel, perform to about 20 people at the Walnut in Denver; so May 3rd also marks something of a sentimental show and reunion of sorts for a few of our TMN mainstays, but let’s save the nostalgia for a few weeks down the line…

Of course, it wouldn’t be a ‘TMN Presents’ night without letting our savvy readers in on the fun, so we’ll be giving away TWO pairs of tickets to this one. Entering our contest is as always, beyond easy. Just “like” The Music Ninja on FB, click on this post header if you’re still on the TMN front page, then comment below with your favorite Day Wave song, and boom, that’s it! (We even provided five below if you need!) And of course, we want as many people as possible to come dance with us, so for our friends looking to secure their spot, advance tickets are only $12.50 and can be purchased using the ticket link here.

There are a few rules, of course:
– The event is 16+ Be sure to tell all of your friends to increase chance of winning!
– You are responsible for your own transportation.
– You must bring a valid form of ID to pick up your tickets at the Lost Lake door.

Check out our preview mini-playlist, start commenting below and best of luck ninjas!

’Day Wave – Stuck’

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’Day Wave – Gone’

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’Day Wave – Drag’

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’Day Wave – Come Home Now’

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’Day Wave – We Try But We Don’t Fit In’

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[House/Indie-Dance] zacheser – Skippy

Posted by Matthew Bloss - April 11, 2016

zacheser
Skippy

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Finding those rare, unsigned tunes brimming with quality and precision has been a vital part of the music industry’s publication side since music publicity even became a viable industry. Thus, it makes this writer all warm and fuzzy when we come across a carefully crafted slice of house music seemingly out of the blue. The tune in question this morning is “Skippy”, an effervescent piece of soulful, instrumental house, and the debut record from D.C. based DJ and producer zacheser. Having been on our radar since his #FatBeats mix series became a regular staple of this writer’s dance diet, “Skippy” marks zacheser’s departure into more production-driven territory, and it’s looking like it will be a great thing for underground dance fans. “Skippy” rides on a feelgood bed of pulsating synths, underpinned by a brooding bass swell and glossy pad work to create a tune equally consumable while driving down the highway or stepping out some footwork in the clubs. Enough from us though, it’s Monday. Let’s just kick back and let zacheser’s “Skippy” do its work.

[TMN Exclusive Interview] Brooklyn’s The Golden Pony Sit Down With TMN To Riff On Favorite Drinks, Records and More

Posted by Matthew Bloss - April 7, 2016

The Golden Pony
TMN Exclusive Interview + Don't Make Me Wait (Original Mix)

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If you’ve been following our dance related posts over the years, we’re certain that you’ve come across house & disco benders, The Golden Pony, more than a few times. One of the most consistent production teams in dance music, TGP’s rise in the past year has been nothing short of meteoric, and after we’ve gotten the chance to get to know them over the past three years, it was high time we got to sit down with our favorite couple of Afro-Thunders and shoot the proverbial… well you know. Read our entire transcript below, and be sure to check out The Golden Pony’s latest original “Don’t Make Me Wait” out now on Enormous Tunes sub-label Enormous Chills on the player above.

The Music Ninja (TMN): First off, thanks so much Tim & Tom for taking the time out of your busy schedules to answer a few questions for The Music Ninja! We’ve been following you guys for YEARS since one of your first remixes, the Daft Punk “Doin’ It Right’ remix to be exact, first careened through our monitors. In the roughly three years since, The Golden Pony has evolved its sound constantly with every passing release including a handful of addictive originals. I know it’s a bit cliché, but could you guys give us theabbreviated story of how you went from a couple of lone-wolf afro-wielders to the formidable and nationally touring duo that you are today? Did you both have a background in music and have solo projects before TGP? Was there a serendipitous event that led to you guys deciding to go forward as a team?

TGP (Tom): Honestly by banging our head against every wall and wrong direction possible until something clicked! I have a background in classical music and was playing piano and writing (somewhat) intellectually interesting but unlistenable electronic music when I started going out to see acts like Gigamesh and Goldroom, and just got totally sucked into the culture and sound of the dance music world.

(TMN): How about we get into the actual music side of things. Clearly, The Golden Pony has come light years in terms of sonic nuance and building heavy grooves. What have been some of your tunes or remixes that you could mark as a step in the direction of you guys becoming one of the most sought after acts in the U.S. underground scene?Do you both ever go back and listen to some of your older stuff and maybe laugh or say, “what the hell were we doing there?”

TGP (Tom): I think that our remix for the Chainsmokers was a real turning point for us. It was the first time that I felt our sound really crystalized both in terms of being dancefloor-ready and musically interesting. That said, there’s absolutely some moments in our older tracks that I have no idea where we were coming from!

What are the three TGP tunes that you would play to someone who had never before heard you guys to try and capture your essence the best?

TGP (Tom): Snoop Dogg – “Drop It Like It’s Hot” (The Golden Pony Remix), “Die Inside Your Dance” Feat. Savior Adore and Simon & Garfunkel – “Sound Of Silence” (The Golden Pony Remix)

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[Denver Event Preview] RBSS Presents: Wild Nothing w/ Inner Oceans + Flaural – Bluebird Theatre – 4/30

Posted by Matthew Bloss - April 6, 2016

Good googly-moogly (yeah I said it), have our friends at Red Bull Sound Select been spoiling us in Denver this year. Already in 2016 we’ve been privy to incredible shows from the likes of The Internet, Cloud Nothings & Sango (all for somewhere between free and $3.00 mind you), and on April 30th at one of Denver’s most revered venues, The Bluebird Theatre, they’ve teamed up with beloved Denver music festival The UMS to bring one of our hands-down favorite acts in any corner of music; Jack Tatum’s bedroom recording project turned nationally acclaimed four-piece: Wild Nothing. Flirting with distinctions like ‘dream-pop’, ‘chill-wave’, and in the group’s earlier years ‘post-punk’; Wild Nothing have steadily released an incredibly deep and entrancing string of EP’s & LP’s since their excellent debut Gemini, all the way back in 2010. Most recently, Tatum & Co. released their third full-length, Life of Pause, which is already in the running for this writer’s short ‘Best of 2016’ list, and this marks the first time Denver gets to hear the newest slate of Wild Nothing tunes in their intended live format. Needless to say, we’re getting pretty geared up for an incredible headlining performance, but the fun doesn’t start there.

Holding things down as our Denver representatives are a couple of acts this writer has become quite enamored with throughout our constant trips into the Mile High City’s music underbelly; Inner Oceans and Flaural. If you’ve been a regular at our ‘TMN Presents’ events at Lost Lake or Larimer Lounge, hopefully you’ve gotten an amazing taste of Inner Oceans —who were actually our last party’s headliners— and their slick brand of minimally sensible psych-pop and shoegaze; which will provide a serendipitous segue into the night’s main event. Another assemblage of excellent Denver talent, and self-described ‘New-Wave Psych Pop’ -ers Flaural opens things up, and after devouring the quartet’s entire Soundcloud over the past few weeks at the adamant suggestion of the most trusted and cherished secondary music opinion in my life, it’s 100% safe to say that RBSS have once again solidified their far-reaching reputation as the tastemaker’s tastemakers and put together another night of top-to-bottom quality.

As with every Red Bull Sound Select showcase, an RSVP (here) will get you on the list for $3.00, but be sure to get there early to guarantee entry and immerse yourself in the fair city of Denver’s always evolving and rapidly burgeoning indie scene. Check out cuts from Wild Nothing, Inner Oceans and Flaural on our mini-playlist below, and we’ll see you on the floor.

’Wild Nothing – Reichpop’

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’Wild Nothing – To Know You’

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’Wild Nothing – Nocturne’

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’Wild Nothing – Paradise’

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’Wild Nothing – A Dancing Shell’

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’Inner Oceans – These Dreams’

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