[SONG OF THE DAY] Whethan (feat. Honne) - "Radar"

As if Chicago’s Whethan couldn’t be any more of one of my new favorites, he goes and collabs with my HONNE hunnies for his latest track, “Radar”, resulting in vibes that make you feel like you’re getting serenaded to at a rave in the best possible way. HONNE already has what it takes to keep your hips constantly shaking, but then you factor in Whethan’s signature wonky wobbles and heavy bass into the mix, resulting in your body suddenly being unable to sit still for 3 minutes and change. It’s a shame this came out literally at the end of the summer because this song was built for dancing on rooftops until the sun goes down.

“Radar” comes from Whethan’s forthcoming project Life Of A Wallflower Vol. 1. In the spirit of celebrating this project, Whethan has hit the road making the rounds in the US through the end of October. Dates and more info below!

“LIFE OF A WALLFLOWER” TOUR DATES

For more information: http://lifeofawallflower.whethan.com/

Sept 25 – Boston, MA @ Royale

Sept 26 – Brooklyn, NY @ Brooklyn Steel

Sept 27 – New Haven, CT @ Toad's Place

Sept 28 – Pittsburgh, PA @ Spirit Hall

Sept 29 – Columbus, OH @ Skully's

Oct 2 – Urbana, IL @ Canopy Club

Oct 3 – Detroit, MI @ Majestic Theatre

Oct 4 – Madison, WI @ The Sylvee

Oct 5 – Chicago, IL @ Concord Music Hall

Oct 6 – Chicago, IL @ Concord Music Hall

Oct 7 – Minneapolis, MN @ Skyway Theatre

Oct 9 – Denver, CO @ Ogden Theatre

Oct 12 – Seattle, WI @ Showbox SoDo

Oct 13 – Vancouver, BC @ Commodore Ballroom

Oct 14 – Portland, ME @ Wonder Ballroom

Oct 16 – San Luis Obispo, CA @ Fremont Theater

Oct 17 – Santa Cruz, CA @ Catalyst Club

Oct 18 – San Francisco, CA @ Warfield Theatre

Oct 19 – Santa Ana, CA @ The Observatory

Oct 20 – Los Angeles, CA @ The Novo

Oct 21 – San Diego, CA @ The Observatory North Park

Oct 27 – Honolulu, HI @ The Republik

[SONG OF THE DAY] NAO - "Drive & Disconnect"

After recently dropping songs like “Another Lifetime”, Mura Masa collab “Complicated”, and “Make It Out Alive” (featuring SiR), London songstress NAO has unveiled the name of her upcoming sophomore album, Saturn, along with with a new track, “Drive And Disconnect”.

Per Dork, NAO released a statement (that clearly I didn’t get lol) with an explanation behind the name of the album,

“My friends kept telling me about the term ‘Saturn Returns’. It’s this idea that Saturn takes 29 years to orbit from when you’re born and it is the planet of blessings and growth. So by the time you’re around 29, between 27 and 32, something big happens in your life. It’s like waking up and coming of age, like: ‘I’ve been going through my twenties and what have I been doing in this relationship?’ What have I been doing in this job?’ You start to rethink everything - old stuff that your parents taught you or ideas that you believed in. It’s like a complete shedding of skin and it can be painful.”

Following Saturn dropping on October 26th, NAO will be hitting the road in North America starting in January alongside Xavier Omär. Tickets are available now over on her website.

tickets available over on her website.

[SONG OF THE DAY] Hellogoodbye - "I'll Keep On Following You"

Since early August, Hellogoodbye has been quietly campaigning along for his upcoming 4th LP, S’Only Natural, which drops on October 5th. I say quietly campaigning because for how fun all of the visuals are for this album cycle, I’m genuinely surprised they’re not in my face everywhere I go.

At any rate, this week’s release, “I’ll Keep On Following You” is a super sweet slow jam about being in love with his wife. Actually according to an interview he did with LA Weekly a few days ago, basically all of his songs now are about how much he loves his wife. That’s so fuckin’ sweet I almost have diabetes just thinking about it.

If you’re hoping to catch this new material live, you’re in luck as the band will be hitting the road in the US starting on October 16th for select dates. In frontman Forrest Kline’s own words, “let us explain in person why love is always better than hate, not to fear what’s here, and that life is beautiful but also a fucking weird party that just so happens to be going off rn!”

Yep. Into that. Need that.

HELLOGOODBYE ON TOUR

Oct 16 - Boston, MA @ Sonia
Oct 17 - Philadelphia, PA @ Boot & Saddle
Oct 18 - Brooklyn, NY @ Rough Trade
Oct 21 - Chicago, IL @ Subterranean 
Oct 23 - Los Angeles, CA @ The Roxy
Oct 25 - San Fransisco, CA @ Slims 
Oct 27 - Seattle, WA @ Chop Suey 
Oct 28 - Portland, OR @ Hawthorne Theater
Oct 30 - Tustin, CA @ Marty's 
Oct 31 - San Diego, CA @ HOB Voodoo Lounge

[SONG OF THE DAY] Chris Ayer - "Stranger"

F-R-I-D-A-Y!!!

Fam, it’s time you got well acquainted with Los Angeles artist Chris Ayer. After dropping tracks like “Stay Another Night” and “Heavy” in 2017, I have been eagerly waiting to hear what 2018 would have in store for him. According to my sources (ie: from Ayer’s mouth on stage at Rockwood Music Hall stage 2 last week), “Stranger” is the first of many singles to come this fall and well through next year. While “Stay Another Night” and “Heavy” indicate that he’s ready to be more than *just* a singer-songwriter, from a lyrical standpoint you can tell from “Stranger” that Ayer is ready to deeply examine his personal experiences and be a lot more vulnerable than he’s been in the past.

As he told Atwood Magazine on Tuesday when they premiered the song, “I always try to find an honest way of telling a story, but for me this song ended up striking a nerve in a really specific way. It can be a strange time to try to make real new connections in the world, so I just wanted to reflect that, and just how weird it can be to be a person sometimes. “

how weird it can be to be a person sometimes. Yeah, this dude is clearly my people. haha.

There are so many different things you can take away from “Stranger”. With every listen it stirs up different micro frustrations about how difficult it feels to deeply connect with people now. It’s one of those songs where you learn a lot about yourself that you probably otherwise wouldn’t have without this additional point of view.

After jaunting across the pond for a few dates in the UK and The Netherlands, Ayer will be hitting the road in the US with Matt Simmons in November. You can grab tickets and more info over on his website.

[SONG OF THE DAY] Wake The Wild - "Second Nature"

Last week LA trio Wake The Wild released their latest single, “Second Nature”. Last January I was fortunate that The Algorithm™ blessed me with one of their 2016 singles, “Pulse” and I’ve been keeping a careful eye on them ever since. As their track record precedes them with “Body Language” and “Numb”, it’s no surprise to me that pumping out another smashing synth-pop hit would be….second nature for them. These guys should be your go-to if you’re in search of songs to include on mixes for both lovers or hookups alike.

Looking forward to see what else these guys have up their sleeves. Hopefully we’ll have a few more jams before the year closes out. Perhaps it’s time I take a slide into their DMs and see what they’re all about?

[SONG OF THE DAY] Roosevelt - "Shadows"

Earlier today Cologne based synth-pop artist Roosevelt unveiled the video for his latest single, “Shadows”, a song about past love. “A long-lost companion; someone that you were close to in the past, someone that still haunts you, that you can't get out of your head,” says Marius Lauber of the song’s inspiration. The song comes from his forthcoming sophomore album, Young Romance, which is out on September 28th courtesy of City Slang / Greco-Roman.

I’m not normally into music videos very much, but it’s been a long time since I watched one and thought, “oh no it me”. Basically the premise of the video is a woman is at a pool party and the entire time she’s distracted from her date because she’s staring down Marius Lauber behind a Wurlizter the entire time. While I’m not exclusively into crushing on musicians, being really creative just makes crushes cuter for some reason, right? Back me up here!

Anyway, as can be expected given how fuckin smooove Roosevelt jams are, he’s added a 2nd show at Music Hall of Williamsburg on December 3rd by popular demand. Best know I’ll be there but I don’t like dancing by myself so you better come out! If you’re not in NYC, his headlining tour kicks off on October 21st in Copenhagen before making his way to North America in December.

Roosevelt 2018 Tour Dates:

10/21 - Copenhagen, DE @ Pumpehuset

10/22 - Hamburg, DE @ Uebel & Gefährlich

10/23 - Cologne, DE @ Live Music Hall

10/24 - Berlin, DE @ Astra

10/25 - Munich, DE @ Muffathalle

10/27 - Vienna, AU @ Flex

10/28 - Zurich, SWI @ Mascotte

10/30 - Milan, IT @ Ohibo

11/02 - Aimens, FR @ La Lune Des Pirates

11/03 - Bordeaux, FR @ Iboat

11/04 - Brussels, BE @ AB Club

11/06 - Paris, FR @ Gaîté Lyrique

11/08 - London, UK @ Oval Space

11/09 - Manchester, UK @ YES

11/16 - Madrid, ES @ Sala Gotham

11/17 - Barcelona, ES @ Razzmatazz 2

11/21 - Nijmengen, NL @ Doornroosje

11/22 - Amsterdam, NL @ Melkweg

12/03 - Brooklyn, NY @ Music Hall of Williamsburg

12/04 - Brooklyn, NY @ Music Hall of Williamsburg

12/05 - Philadelphia, PA @ The Foundry

12/06 - Washington, DC @ U Hall

12/07 - Boston, MA @ Middle East

12/09 - Montreal, QC @ Belmont

12/10 - Toronto, ON @ Mod Club

12/12 - Chicago, IL @ Bottom Lounge

12/14 - Los Angeles, CA @ Teregram Ballroom

12/15 - Santa Ana, CA @ Constellation Room

12/16 - San Diego, CA @ Soda Bar

12/18 - San Francisco, CA @ August Hall

12/20 - Portland, OR @ Holocene

12/21 - Seattle, WA @ Neumos

[SONG OF THE DAY] Thomas Azier - "Hymn (feat. Schérazade)"

Ugh you guys life is so hard when you’re just one human and you love literally hundreds(maybe thousands?) of bands. It’s a daunting task to keep tabs on everyone and I’m embarrassed that I haven’t been a solid stan for musical nomad Thomas Azier as I should be.

Upon The Algorithm™ delivering “Hymn” in my Release Radar I quickly rushed to see if there was anything else I was missing out on and apparently I had missed out on a whole EP in July! 😩😩😩

Okay so let me make sure we’re all caught up here starting from the latest and going backwards, okay?

On Friday Azier dropped a 2-track single called Hymn, featuring today’s song of the day and a gorgeous slow jam called “Smoke”. “Hymn” is a straightforward punchy little synth pop number featuring some vocal stylings from the fabulous frenchie Schérazade.

So this is the part I’m trying to make sure I’ve nailed down correctly about this July release, S t r a y. At first glance it appeared to just be an EP, but upon Azier making note that the songs from Hymn would be added to S t r a y, so he might be turning this EP into a full length? There’s a post offering a very limited run of 250 vinyl pieces back when the EP dropped, so it’s a little confusing and for whatever reason no one else seems to be really celebrating these new songs. That all said, Line Of The Best Fit’s interview tells us that the songs from S t r a y were written while he was living in various European cities and found that embracing working and traveling simultaneously had a huge impact on his songwriting, he even noted, “By being on the move constantly I was able to invite the music to my head naturally and fluently.” It’s a great interview and worth reading in full for sure.

At any rate, while I get better acquainted with S t r a y, I guess the only other thing to pass along is that he’s got some exclusive Dutch shows coming up in November and tickets are on sale this Friday (21st) at 10am local time.

And with that I think we’re all caught up!

Thomas Azier On Tour

28/11 Leeuwarden: https://bit.ly/2xoxL4H
29/11 Amsterdam: https://bit.ly/2QBL0b9
30/11 Nijmegen: https://bit.ly/2NPdnnx
02/12 Groningen: https://bit.ly/2OpY2a1

[TODAY IN MUSIC] 5 Things You Should Know On Monday, September 17th, 2018

MRW I saw the news about Australia’s first female-focussed and LGBTIQ+ inclusive booking agency

Hi so I’m going to try a thing. I do my best to keep up with relevant things happening in and thought a recap of the things that stand out the most to me might be mutually beneficial. If you want to chat in the comments (or on Twitter, Facebook, or Instagram) about any of these I’m all ears! 😎

• TL;DR: Ad Rock and Mike D did NOT give Eminem permission for the Kamikaze artwork. In fact, a lot of us knew about the artwork before they did. [Exclaim!]

• Dua Lipa’s body guards from her Shanghai show were detained by police after reports of them dragging out fans waving rainbow fans and beating members of the audience. 🤬 [NME]

• If you have a never ending love/hate relationship with AutoTune, you might find this very thorough history of how it revolutionized popular music interesting. [Pitchfork]

• ICYMI: we’re still trying to get the very forward thinking legislation known as the Music Modernization Act passed in the US. Neil Diamond took to the LA Times to detail how our current outdated laws negatively effect legacy acts' ability to earn performance royalties on digital/satellite radio. [LATimes]

• AMAZING news from down under: Australian booking agent Kailei Ginman has launched Australia’s first female-focussed and LGBTIQ+ inclusive booking agency – an all-female roster, run by female agents, employing all-female freelancers and supporting community charities – aptly named Alpha. [The Music Network]