Author Archives: Matthew Bloss

[Denver Event Preview/Ticket Giveaway] TMN Presents: Great Good Fine OK @ Larimer Lounge – 1/25

Posted by Matthew Bloss - January 17, 2017

Brooklyn based electronic-pop auteurs Jon Sandler & Luke Moellman -better known as Great Good Fine OK -first landed themselves amongst the heaps of fine music here at TMN all the way back in 2013, and have found themselves supplying our listeners time and time again with a lush brand of heartfelt, synth-driven ditties in the years since. Outside of these Ninja confines, the duo have found themselves racking up countless moments of acclaim; from music video premieres on MTV, features in Billboard, and appearances at some of the world’s most notable festivals, GGFO have established themselves as a forceful live act blessed with the ability to fill eager rooms wherever their sound careens through a loaded set of live monitors.

Great Good Fine OK find themselves marching into 2017 armed with a new EP, III , (stream “Take It Or Leave It” & “Always” from III below) which lead vocalist/songwriter Jon Sandler noted as housing “…some of the best songs we’ve ever written…”, a hefty upcoming North American tour, and a more polished, mature aesthetic. On the heels of all that hype, we’re feeling like some rather eager beavers to be presenting their Denver stop on January 25th at the Larimer Lounge, and we wanted to get our readers equally as excited by giving away a couple pairs of tickets. 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 Great Good Fine OK song, and boom, that’s it! (We even provided a few 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 can be purchased 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 Larimer Lounge door.

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

Great Good Fine OK – ‘Take It Or Leave It’

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Great Good Fine OK – ‘Always’

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Great Good Fine OK – ‘Already Love’

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Great Good Fine OK – ‘Something To Believe In Ft. St. Lucia’

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Great Good Fine OK – ‘You’re The One For Me’

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[Video] Joe Goddard – Lose Your Love

Posted by Matthew Bloss - December 1, 2016

Easily one of the most influential architects thriving around the edges of dance & electronic music today, Joe Goddard seems to carry a certain gravitas whenever his name is attached to anything. Known by most casuals as one of the chief patrons behind almighty indie-tronica troupe Hot Chip, and co-founder of Greco-Roman Records (the same label which helmed debut releases from the likes of Disclosure, Roosevelt & TEED), Goddard has also quietly carved out quite the tastemaking assemblage of admirers over the course of 20 years worth of high profile remix work as a solo artist. Goddard’s latest single to come from the aforementioned Greco-Roman camp, “Lose Your Love”, received its visual counterpart today, and quite honestly, it’s one of the more polished and funnier music videos we’ve seen over the year.

On its own, “Lose Yourself” is a soulfully lovely, throwback house ditty propped up by robotic synths, but through the execution of director Fred Rowson, it takes on even more personality. In line with Goddard & Hot Chip’s playful nature, Rowson crafts a quite honestly hilarious homage to modern-day, cultish ‘healing’. Pacing things off in what looks to be a rec-center based yoga class before delving into offbeat 80’s VHS tapes, a street recruitment of followers, and climaxing with a Shakers type religious group convulsion on the floor, Goddard’s created a cheeky accompaniment to a catchy tune, and done it well. Really, I don’t even know what I just watched but I laughed and loved pretty much every second of it. Have a play for yourself below.

[TMN Exclusive Interview] Goldroom Delves Into West of the West & Musical Metamorphosis

Posted by Matthew Bloss - November 22, 2016

Unless this is the first time you’ve trekked through the hallowed grounds of TMN, you’ve no doubt ran into at least a song or two from L.A. based producer Josh Legg and his solo remix project turned nationally touring live act Goldroom. He, and the rest of Goldroom’s live iteration just recently wrapped an expansive, 30 date live co-headlining tour with fellow TMN regulars Autograf, and before quite a memorable show in Boulder, CO, we had a chance to catch up with Josh on the heels of Goldroom’s debut long-player West of the West, and ended up having one of the more in-depth conversations regarding music we’ve had in some time. Enjoy our interview with Goldroom below.

The Music Ninja (TMN): Alright… Matthew Bloss of The Music Ninja here with Josh Legg, the mastermind behind the Goldroom acclaim. First off, thanks so much for taking the time before your show to sit down with us. Firstly, you just recently released your first full length LP under the Goldroom name, West of the West, which we’ve had the chance to listen to a couple times and I really, really enjoyed it. After talking to friends around the music industry who know you, and from following your social media accounts, this was something that has been years in the making. Can you speak a little more to that? How long has West of the West, been coming together, and how does it feel now that it’s finally out?

Josh Legg (JL): Yeah, I mean there was a moment in time, probably in 2013, right after we started to tour with the live band for the first time, that it was just really clear that at some point if things went the right way that at some point I was going to need to put a record out. And I’ve always lived my life, sort of through albums of other people’s. So, I started thinking about it right then… I was thinking about the first Goldroom record as early as January of 2013, so I’ve kind of been writing for it for three years now. But, I don’t know, it’s weird… You were saying earlier, that you guys have been paying attention for along time. But, if I walk into a radio station or something like that, I’m going to talk about it (West of the West) like it’s my first statement, but in a lot of ways it feels like my sophomore record because the Embrace EP took me all around the world twice, and I got to play Coachella this year, and I released that independently… and that EP did all of this. It’s a seven song EP, and for a lot of purposes it worked as my debut full-length record, so this is actually closer to my sophomore record from sort of a traditional perspective. But, I wasn’t thinking about that EP in the same way that I was thinking about West of the West. I wasn’t thinking like, “Hey, would I be proud of this if I died?” But, I have been thinking about that with this record. I wanted this record to be so good that, when I die, I’m going to be like “I have this at least. At least I did this, and I’m proud of it.” hahaha. And, I don’t know, as things went a long, I started to feel more and more strongly about certain things about the way producers in my world were making records. And I was getting more and more discouraged with the fact that it was just this endless cycle of people throwing acapellas to each other, and getting random features and finsing out that the artists, that you think that you love didn’t even write the song that you loved. And, I want a glimpse into people’s hearts I guess. And so, the only thing that I promised with this record is that for better or for worse, it would really be me.

’Goldroom – Silhouette’

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Read the rest of our interview with Josh Legg after the jump!

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[Future Bass/Trap] STEL LEO – Opal [TMN Premiere]

Posted by Matthew Bloss - November 9, 2016

STEL★LEO
Opal [The Music Ninja Premiere]

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There’s nothing we love more than kicking off the day armed with a freshly banging premiere for our Ninja faithful. Stel Leo is a genre-skirting, Bermudian artist who has had releases with Team Supreme, Top Cats, TheMOB and Friends with Robots; and also played live alongside STWO and more tastemaking artists. Today the electronic style bender touches down on TMN with brand new single “Opal”, and our fire is glowingly stoked to share it with our lovely readers.

A crisply layed two-step drum beat patterns “Opal” before giving way into a luscious waterfall of thumping low-end, popping snare placement, and a swath of clicky percussive elements which all culminate in a sticky-sweet melody. Although it wields a highly synthetic sonority, “Opal” simultaneously feels very soulfully tactile and personal, while still brandishing a call-to-arms to get to the dancefloor. While we’re sure most of our U.S. Ninjas will be more concerned with the important item on today’s docket -the Presdiential Election or something like that, we heard- but for a little distraction, stream our premiere of Stel Leo’s “Opal” above.

[House] Betoko – Crazy Jack [TMN Premiere]

Posted by Matthew Bloss - October 28, 2016

Betoko
Crazy Jack (Original Mix)

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Fridays and house music were meant for each other from the jump. Which is why any time we can round up a darkly excellent slice of after-hours club music, we get a little bit giddy. London based, Mexcian born producer Betoko has long been an artist with whom this writer has been enamored. That admiration was forged by many a late night, hearing countless Betoko tunes rinsed by some of the world’s most forward thinking house & techno DJ’s. Betoko’s amassed an enormous base of proper house-heads behind polished releases on the likes of Get Physical, Bunny Tiger, Off, Nurvous & Katermukke, and his latest original record aims to move another wave of listeners.

“Crazy Jack”, our track under study today, sees Betoko return to Hedonism Music as part of the excellent Amsterdam Essentials Vol. 1 compilation. An outstandingly groovy club burner fueled by concrete snares, murky bass swells and arpeggiated progressions, “Crazy Jack” is a testament to Betoko’s arcing range of emotive productions, and a tune we’re massively excited to be premiering in the process. Stream “Crazy Jack” above.

[Denver Event Preview/Ticket Giveaway] TMN Presents: Hayden James – Larimer Lounge – 10/29

Posted by Matthew Bloss - October 26, 2016

TMN Presents:
Hayden James - Larimer Lounge - Denver, CO - 10/29

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In a little under three years, Australian wunderkind producer Hayden James has ushered in an entire new wave of listeners into the electronic music arena. When we first heard Hayden James‘ debut single “Permission to Love” on tastemaking imprint Future Classic three years ago, we had a feeling the up ‘n comer was onto something special. After a string of incredibly well received releases including an excellent self-titled EP, and two of the more viral singles we’ve seen in years in “Something About You” & “Just A Lover”, Hayden James is poised to tackle yet another lengthy live tour, and we couldn’t be more excited to help bring his house-leaning, groove-driven sound to Denver this Saturday at the Larimer Lounge.

No stranger to the halls of TMN, including an excellent campaign as our ‘Resident Artist of the Month’ back in September of 2015, Hayden James’ live show is even more consuming than his polished productions, which is why we want to give our readers a chance to come join in on the fun. We will be giving away not one but TWO PAIRS of tickets to this one, simply by clicking on the header of this post, and commenting with your favorite Hayden James tune and BAM!… you’re entered. And for those Ninjas who’d rather not try their luck and just want to have their tickets in hand, you can purchase yours here.

There are a few rules, of course:
– The event is 18+. So, be of age, and be sure to tell all of your friends to enter in order 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 Larimer Lounge door.

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

’Hayden James – Just A Lover’

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’Hayden James – Something About You’

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’Snakadaktal – Fall Underneath (Hayden James remix)’

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’Hayden James – Embrace’

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[Video] Black Marble – Woods

Posted by Matthew Bloss - October 20, 2016

Perhaps the singular album in the last five years with the most profound impact on this writer’s favored aural aesthetics came in the form of Black Marble‘s 2013 dark-wave meets lo-fi pop opus, A Different Arrangement. Chris Stewart’s subtle manipulation of simple pop structuring, goth-punk undertones, reverb-entombed incantations and a foundation of stripped down, new-wave drum kits struck an internal chord so deep, that it all at once ushered in a frame shift in taste moving forward, and a simultaneous return back to my youth punk, consumer days. And so (and forgive me for the long-winded intro), after a bit of a dormant writing state and with the recent release of the second Black Marble long-player, It’s Immaterial out now on Ghostly, I’ve been roused to return to covering music that truly moves my personal soul.

One of the first three singles to be released from It’s Immaterial, “Woods” (along with the stellar “Iron Lung” & “Frisk”) has just brandished its visual accompaniment from director Theo Sixou, who also directed Black Marble’s 2013 video for “A Great Design”; and it quite wonderfully enhances its haunting infrastructure. It’s darkly verdant backdrop and visual themes tie in fluently with “Woods”‘ longing nature, twisting up its viewer in the process. Black Marble is currently a few dates into a mini-tour supporting It’s Immaterial, and we would highly advise our wise readers to check them out in the flesh if they’re coming to a city near you. Until then, enjoy the official music video for “Woods” below.