Author Archive for Alan KhalfinPage 11 of 16

Tra.kz Artist Spotlight: Giant Panda Guerilla Dub Squad ("Season's Change")

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on February 11, 2009
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Alan Khalfin
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Giant Panda Guerilla Dub Squad calls their music North American International Body Music, and Evolving Music couldn’t agree more! They bring a relentless reggae sound that is laced with experimental dub that will keep your head boppin’ and your bones rockin’. Here is a delicious track by them called “Season’s Change“.

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Giant Panda Guerilla Dub Squad was formed in 2004, by brothers Matthew and Christopher O’Brian, and mutual friends James Searl and Dylan Savage. The Rochester, New York-based group’s current lineup solidified with the addition of Rachel Orke, and Aaron Lipp. GPGDS plays an eclectic blend of roots reggae, dub, and afrobeat. The sextet’s impeccable musicianship and explosive live show have received widespread acclaim. Giant Panda will be releasing a new album in 2009, but be sure to check out their debut release Slow down.

Tra.kz Artist Spotlight: Sabotage Soundsystem ("Love 2 the DJ")

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on February 11, 2009
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Alan Khalfin
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sabotage-soundsystemValentines Day, 2009… it’s winey time. Grab your girl, a green bottle, and prepare to groove as Volcom Entertainment’s newest act, Sabotage Soundsystem unleashes its debut release, The Boto Machine Gun: a sex-soaked slow-motion spring to summer soundtrack of an island-infused life daftly designed to blow your mind.

Don’t want to wait until valentines day? You can get a taste by listening to their new track “Love 2 the DJ” here. It’s the perfect pairing for that green tea you’re enjoying.

Sabotage Soundsystem is a two-man machine made up of Big Island surfers and musicians Remy “Dub” DeRochemont and Kaleo Wassman (of Pepper). “What I love about Dub is that he encourages frequent surf breaks during recording sessions,” says Wassman. “If something wasn’t clicking or didn’t feel right we would just bail and go surf. Clear the mind, then come back and hit it again fresh,” adds DeRochemont.

The new venture for the duo culminates in music that has a decidedly laid-back rural island feel, while at the same time it is clear the two come into their own with influences and experiences that come from worldly travels, international exposure, and a long life on the road. As the title, The Boto Machine Gun implies, the new album is all at once dirty, sexy, and lethal. A guerrilla style recording, this weapon was built in people’s houses and garages on both sides of the sea, from Hawaii to SoCal. Be on the lookout for Sabotage Soundystem in 2009!

Tra.kz Artist Spotlight: Rebelution ("Feelin' Alright Dub")

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on February 11, 2009
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Alan Khalfin
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rebelution_04_flatWelcome to the Rebelution experience! Rebelution has a roots-rock-reggae sound that would make Mr. Marley smile and the streets of Kingston dance. Feelin’ Alright Dub is a previously unreleased, fully dubbed out version of the track Feelin’ Alright from their album, Courage to Grow. Check it out here.

This Santa Barbara-based reggae quartet is on a mission to spread positivity, unity and awareness to any and all who will listen, and, lately, it seems as if the number of interested parties may never stop growing. Originally formed in 2004, the group consists of vocalist/guitarist Eric Rachmany, keyboardist Rory Carey, drummer Wesley Finley, and bassist Marley D. Williams. It was their mutual attendance of music classes at college in Santa Barbara that initially brought them together, and it was in this environment that the seeds of their successful future were planted.

“Courage To Grow” is an excellent album complete with crafty melodies, socially conscious lyrics and savvy musicianship. Whereas other SoCal reggae-infused groups such as Sublime and the Long Beach Dub All-Stars tend to be rock- or punk-based, Rebelution sticks much more strongly to a vintage “roots” reggae sound. The band is currently on their 2009 Winter Tour, so check them out when they hit your town! Rebelution is looking forward to a promising 2009 and the release of their second full length album.

Tra.kz Artist Spotlight: Mat McHugh and the Blackbird ("Under the Landslide")

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on February 11, 2009
by
Alan Khalfin
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The element of surprise has been a cornerstone of great music forever: think Bob Dylan’s electric revolution, or every second album by Neil Young, or the Clash’s outrageous triple-disc sprawl, Sandinista! All and none of them were on Mat McHugh’s mind when he took time out from his day job as founder-singer-songwriter of the Beautiful Girls to record this playful, profound and provocative solo debut, SEPERATISTA!

If you’ve never heard of Mat McHugh and the Blackbird, listen up: he will rock your world. Here’s a dreamy, pop-psych track called “Under the Landslide” off his new album, SEPERATISTA!, a free-floating animal of rare sensitivity and grace, recorded with a band largely seconded from the Sydney jazz scene. Off-kilter drums, deep bass, horns, piano, organ, melodica and cello flesh out Mat’s voice, acoustic guitar and occasional ukulele on an album rich in precious sonic details.

Each story traces its way back to Mat’s time spent in India and the Black Bird, which features in the Beautiful Girls song quiver, is back and central to the albums imagery, as Mat explains: “When I lived in India I stayed in an Ashram on the Ganges River where every morning before dawn a big black crow would land on my window sill and wake me. I was kind of spaced out at the time because of all the Malaria medication and I kept having these dreams that the bird was trying to tell me something.”

Be look out for big things in 2009 from Mat McHugh, Controlled Substance Sound Labs standout new artist.

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Tra.kz Artist Spotlight: Slightly Stoopid ("Closer to the Sun")

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on February 11, 2009
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Alan Khalfin
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slightlystoopid-band-2005 It’s safe to say that Slightly Stoopid does for music fans what Sublime did for fans in the 90s. They are the current leaders of a genre they helped define: brah brah. Today. they are releasing a previously unheard version of “Closer to the Sun” on Twitter,  from their Slightly Not Stoned Enough To Eat Breakfast Yet album. You can listen to it here.

The Slightly Stoopid story can be traced to before their Controlled Substance Sound Labs days in Ocean Beach, California, when childhood chums Miles and Kyle formed the group in 1995, mixing reggae and punk sounds into one smooth stylistic cocktail. Soon after, late/great Sublime frontman Brad Nowell caught wind of the group, and signed them to his Skunk Records label – while the band members were still in high school.

Illustrating the perfect underground success story (and a testament to the new music model), Slightly Stoopid, and their label Stoopid Records, has become a case study in how to ‘make it’ without the aid of radio or MTV circa the early 21 st century. Slightly Stoopid is all the proof you’ll need to show that once and for all, with hard work, new technology and file-sharing, die-hard fans, and the right tunes, anything is possible. The group – which features Miles Doughty (Guitar, Bass, Vocals), Kyle McDonald (Guitar, Bass, Vocals), Ryan ‘RyMo’ Moran (Drums), C-Money (Trumpet, Keyboard), DeLa (Saxophone), and Oguer ‘OG’ Ocon (Congas, Percussion, Harp, Vocals) – has built a large n’ loyal fan base, who are lovingly known as either Stoopidheads or Ese Locos.

In 2008, the band released their first-ever ‘odds and ends’ collection, Slightly Not Stoned Enough to Eat Breakfast Yet Stoopid – the group’s newest release for their growing label, Stoopid Records. Seemingly always on the move, there appears to be no slowing down in sight for Slightly Stoopid, and according to band, that’s precisely what fuels the group’s creativity. “For us, the most important thing in the future, we just want to stay busy and always playing music – whether creating, touring, or just sitting on your couch and jamming. I think we’ll always be recording. And just have fun – without the fun part, it ain’t worth it.”

Check out the video to their new single “2am” here.