https://play.spotify.com/user/haaris_ahmed/playlist/2Q6QQ6UsXh91SRTOg3yT9G
Not On Spotify:
Martin Brandlmayr "Vive Les Fantômes" (excerpt)
David J (feat. Rose McGowan) "The Auteur (Redux / The Starlet's Cut)"
House and Land "Blacksmith" thrill jockey
Long weekend delayed my typical Monday update so apologies all around. 2019 trends(when it comes to new music)is full of "surprises". Typically artists that can afford larger budgets in their promo cycles tend to hype their new release months in advance and people like me get the whole record weeks (or sometimes months) early. This was not the case for the latest Flying Lotus release. Yes he did release 3 to 4 tracks out to radio but kept the 27 tracks of Flamagra to himself until release date. Don't worry as I still dove deep and kicked off this past weeks New Noize with "All Spies" & I will full circle back to this. Another artist that did this was Tyler the Creator. Not only was IGOR promotion cycle before release dramatically short, he did basically nothing within radio to get any type of airplay. Instead he released short form video vignettes via youtube/instagram only a few weeks prior ti IGOR dropping. Tyler stated he himself is irritated when an artist he likes hypes a new release and it doesn't drop until next year. IM LOOKING AT YOU TOOL. Needless to say IGOR is #1 currently on the Billboard 200 chart and it Tyler's 1st time in pole position, congrats. I don't think that shorter promo cycles are the way to go as its already been proven that longer promotion cycles normally get you more exposure, money and radio/stream plays but 2019 is challenging this idea. I am however using 2 very prominent artists/producers with a ravenous fan base as my examples.
Getting back more the fun stuff (enough industry talk) HAVE YOU PICKED UP FLAMAGRA?!?!?!?! Loving that flylo named his album after a spell you cast in Final Fantasy (I called this way back when he released the name of this new record which is reinforced by track #24 entitled FF4 but as of now this is still speculation) this record is just that, a cannonball into a world of fantasy. So many special guests on this 27 track filled behemoth you best have all your diamond armor equipped. You would be doing yourself a disservice if you did not pick up the special edition pop up vinyl. I haven't seen packaging this good and since Sub Pop's work on Father John Misty's "I Love You, Honeybear" Deluxe Vinyl Diorama back in 2014. Warp records you did a great job executing Flying Lotus' vision when it came to the limited edition packaging of Flamagra.
A label finally got back to me and I was able to play a track off of Otoboke Beaver new album. Otoboke Beaver just got off a European tour. Japanese "rock" scene is killing it right now. Chai is still one of my favorite bands to emerge in the past 5 years and Otoboke Beaver are in the same vein but definitely not the same style. Otoboke Beaver is way more aggressive, raw and hard. There is space for both and my current dream is if both these bands play together in the USA, can someone make that happen please?
Also IDK who House and Land was until last week and now I know. I have their new record "Across The Field" which comes out on 6/14 and have listened to it close to 5x at least. The record is a breath of fresh air in "folk" genre(which I use very loosely). Again IDK what you would categorize this music as, I call it "good". You should take a listen and formulate your own conclusion.
Another surprise highlight was the new Faye Webster album "Atlanta Millionaires Club" I had no idea what I was getting into when I threw this on but I'm glad I did. Its got style, its smooth and it stings (in a good way) when you start actually listening.
Lastly I want to get into a show that I have been watching for a long time and does not get the proper respect it deserves in the USA. I'm talking about Attack On Titan. AoT is currently in its 3rd season and what a season it is. This show is the only show that is better than Game of Thrones, which as of last week is the greatest TV series ever on Television. Better than the Office (yeah i said it) better than Cheers, better than the Sopranos, better than Voltron. The reason AoT gets no love stateside is because it's an Anime and thats just plain sad. Last weeks AoT episode was the most watched anime episode in the history of Anime. I thought GoT deaths were heavy but nothing could prepare me for what happened on this last episode of Attack On Titan, I'm talk Red Wedding level of shock. So for all that are still a bit salty about how Game of Thrones ended check out Attack on Titan. WARNING this is an "anime" and endings tend to be rough and this series has not ended yet, but I'm ALL IN.
See you next Sunday.
