One week down, and another week ready to begin. The friendly faces at The Music Ninja are here to help smooth the transition as you get back to the daily grind. As usual, Sunday Night Soul is specifically designed to wrap up your weekend the right way, so dim the lights, grab a drink and let the relaxation begin. By the way, don’t forget to click the links below to make sure you’re alerted as soon as we update the playlists on Spotify and SoundCloud!
SoundCloud || Spotify || Spotify Archive
One week down, and another week ready to begin. The friendly faces at The Music Ninja are here to help smooth the transition as you get back to the daily grind. As usual, Sunday Night Soul is specifically designed to wrap up your weekend the right way, so dim the lights, grab a drink and let the relaxation begin. By the way, don’t forget to click the links below to make sure you’re alerted as soon as we update the playlists on Spotify and SoundCloud!
SoundCloud || Spotify || Spotify Archive
Love may be in the air still from Valentine’s Day yesterday, but we’re clearing out the space for bass. This week’s playlist is slam packed tight with some incredible records; fans of electro / electro house will especially be keen on what we’ve got for you today. Some works from this week come to us from HVDES, Lizzy Jane, Birthdayy Partyy, Saint Punk and more, including two records from the Gold Digger label family. All in all there is twelve releases, plus a hefty mix to close things out from the one and only JEANIE. Over this lovely weekend you should easily be covered with the tunes you need. Click play, share with some friends and enjoy!
Following a three-year hiatus, Queens-based songwriter & producer Matt Longo, aka Thin Lear, is back with the first release since his self-titled EP. Today we’re bringing you a first look and listen to that release, titled “The Guesthouse.” If you weren’t already familiar with this up-and-coming artist, this is the perfect introduction to his sound and what you can expect from his upcoming album.
A charming ride throughout, “The Guesthouse” is a tasteful blend of organic percussion, playful guitar work, and a splash of saxophone. All of those elements come together well, serving as the perfect accompaniment to Longo’s enveloping vocals. It’s a combination that left us both wanting to throw this into our regular rotation and anxiously looking forward to the full album.
We reached out to Longo to ask him about the inspiration behind this release. Here’s what he had to say:
When I was recording the track, I wanted the production and arrangement to mirror that anxious, but exhausted feeling. You know, the sax is frenetic, but it’s also sleepy. The beat is a jaunty disco, but it’s also heavy, weighing on the song, keeping it tethered. The vocals are pleading, but resigned. The song is restless, and it’s worn out, and it can’t settle itself down. It’s an engine that won’t shut off.
With Valentine’s Day right around the corner, the friendly faces at The Music Ninja are here to help get the festivities started early with our “lonely hearts” edition of Sunday Night Soul. Whether you’re spending the holiday alone or with the love of your life, we’ve got an incredible assortment of tracks handpicked by Cupid himself to set the mood just right. Check out the playlist below and don’t forget to follow us on Spotify and SoundCloud to make sure you’re alerted as soon as we update the playlists!
SoundCloud || Spotify || Spotify Archive
It’s been a while since we last came together to get the weekend started right, but WE’RE BACK! Kicking things into gear right we brought all the best free downloads from the past week, with a few extra goodies we missed during our hiatus for a total of TWENTY tracks. Which means your weekend will be jam packed with hits from the likes of JINCO, Teknicolor, KANDY, Barely Alive, Parker, Boogie T and so many more. We even included some records that weren’t quite jiving with our site’s converted player, but we couldn’t not share them with you. We’ll be back to getting the party going every Friday, so enjoy this playlist and check back next week for more!
Channeling an-out-of-this-world sound, Seattle-based alternative electronic producer Ark Patrol returns with “Darling, You Can’t Walk Away”. Blazing trails in the world of electronic-fusion, Ark Patrol’s latest unveiling is invigorating and futuristic. The track stands as the sophomore single to his forthcoming, feature-length project due February 21.
Ark Patrol is shining more than ever as he recently reclaimed his life from a battle with cancer. A warrior in his own right, these releases are a powerful testament to hope and healing. “Darling, You Can’t Walk Away” showcases Ark Patrol’s steadfast tenacity and perseverance not only as a creator but a human being. Boasting moments of disco with future-pop Ark Patrol is better than ever with this unique sound. In conjunction with this release, Ark Patrol has announced he will stand as direct touring support on select with BAYNK. Watch this space for more from the indie pioneer.
We’ve had Big Wild on our radar for quite some time, first posting about his vibey tunes back in 2015. Since then, we’ve had the pleasure of watching the rapid adoption and adoration of his style, leading him to a dedicated fanbase and some of the largest venues in the world.
Ahead of the release of high highly-anticipated debut album Superdream, out now via Counter Records, we reached out to learn more about this evolutionary shift in his career.
TMN: Superdream, your debut album, just dropped a few days ago. How excited were you to release it?
BW: Extremely excited. It’s been a long time coming! I’m just excited for people to see the full body of work, versus the singles that we’ve put out in the past. I think it’s going to give a lot more context to what I’m trying to do and where I’m trying to go with my music.
TMN: This is really your coming out party with singing on your own tracks. How did that come to be?
TMN: Did you know that you could sing?
BW: It was honestly a total gamble. I’ve never sung before and didn’t know how it would sound. I started working with a vocal teacher and practicing. It felt like when I first started producing.
TMN: The end result is fantastic. Happy you gave it a shot. We noticed some different approaches, like in “City of Sounds” you have a Bee Gee’s disco vibe in there. Talk about the inspiration behind that one.
BW: That one was inspired by funk and disco, which I’ve always loved. I wanted to create something with that energy in it. Originally, I didn’t think it would be on the album. It felt like an outlier from the rest of the album. I came around to it.
TMN: How did you land on the two features on the album?
BW: iDA HAWK is someone I’ve worked with before and I know I work really well with. I had that song finished, except for the chorus. I kept coming to that part of the song and thinking it would sound bad ass with a strong, female hook on it. She was totally down and we knocked it out in one studio session. It was really natural.
With Rationale, I’ve been trying to work with him for a while. I sent him over some demos and he sent me back everything. I went back into production and made it a full song. It had been such a long time trying to get that together.
Both of those collaborations were super planned. It was just people who I wanted to work with.
TMN: So, we’re based in Denver — know you sold out Red Rocks. Talk to us about that experience.
I’m always super nervous to play there because i know I need to plan some special things. I need to take my show to the next level, because it’s such a great platform. It’s my favorite venue.
TMN: Have you played the gorge? We’re always battling with folks from Washington over which is better.
BW: I haven’t. I’ve heard a lot of great things about it.
TMN: They’re different. They’re both amazing. When you play there, you can chime in on the debate. Speaking of doing special things for your shows, how is the inclusion of your vocals coming along?
BW: A year ago, I was singing one song with a really cool vocal pedal, almost like a vocoder. I was getting my feet wet with doing it live. More recently, I’ve started to do more songs off the Superdream album. Going into this tour into March, I’ll be singing all my songs live and bringing back up vocalists. And, I have some other surprises too.
TMN: One more question for you — we scrolled through your Twitter timeline. It’s always positive and upbeat — thanking fans, etc.
BW: Overall, I am an optimistic person. I’m not a bubbly, happy person all the time. I’m a little more low-key. I try to view it as a constructive way. If something is off, I’m trying to figure out how I can make this situation better. It’s kind of how I approach the lyrics in the album as well. I want to offer a way to think about a “problem” as if it’s not a problem anymore. I guess that attitude is something I try to portray in my social media.
I try to respond to people as best I can. It can get really hard, especially when I’m in studio mode, but it’s amazing anyone is even acknowledging my music either way. So, when people reach out, I want to recognize that.
Tour Dates:
3/6/19 – The Observatory – Santa Ana, CA
3/7/19 – The Observatory North Park – San Diego, CA
3/8/19 – The Novo – Los Angeles, CA
3/9/19 – The Catalyst – Santa Cruz, CA
3/10/19 – Ace of Spades – Sacramento, CA
3/13/19 – Arcata Theatre – Arcata, CA
3/14/19 – McDonald Theater – Eugene, OR
3/15/19 – Roseland Theater – Portland, OR
3/16/19 – Commodore Ballroom – Vancouver, BC
3/20/19 – First Avenue – Minneapolis, MN
3/21/19 – Turner Hall Ballroom – Milwaukee, WI
3/22/19 – Concord Music Hall – Chicago, IL
3/23/19 – Majestic Theatre – Detroit, MI
3/27/19 – Royale – Boston, MA
3/28/19 – Theatre of Living Arts – Philadelphia, PA
3/29/19 – 9:30 Club – Washington, D.C.
3/30/19 – Terminal 5 – New York City, NY
There you are, February. There you are weekly Indie Dojo.
from The Music Ninja http://bit.ly/2WR8494
Music Ninja Radio is a weekly podcast recorded and broadcast live on San Francisco’s BFF.fm from 4-6PM PST every Friday.
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This week Ninja Clayton joined us briefly to preview Buku Festival and share some of his favorite artists from the lineup. With those eclectic selections mixed through out, the remainder of the show focused on a few random indie finds, new hip-hop and closed with an hour of diverse, soothing selection of electronic tunes.
Buku festival is coming up March 22nd and 23rd (find our full preview here). Also, make sure to follow Clayton’s company Cadence and Cause who are partnering with the festival for some special fan experiences benefitting a local NOLA charity.
Fabian Mazur has long been one of trap music’s go to producers and there’s a reason why. Time and time again he proves himself as a standout creative that isn’t just simply here to phone in minimal effort tracks. Instead he pushes hit after hit with his latest being “Get Low.”
“Get Low” kicks things off with quite the tribal sound, introducing the primitive dance vibe that he ushers in for booties everywhere. Dancing can often be cathartic, almost animalistic in nature and Fabian plays off that with a bass-boosted original that calls for all to shed their visages and join together for a trapped out communion. It’s a doozy and we hope you enjoy it as much as we do. If so, add the record to your digital collection today.
