New Contest Post: Whose Art Is It Anyway? Gene Hackman Edition

So last time we played this game, I had the answer or could at least look it up.  This time I am genuinely looking to my readers to help me solve the mystery of the Gene Hackman bomb.  Behold:

I don't know why someone would make  a sticker bomb of Hackman, and furthermore I don't care (although if we find the artist, I'll listen).  It's awesome, and I must know the genius behind this genius.

If you know who this is, you'll get points if I can corroborate your story, so when you answer in the comments section, pluease include a website or links to other Hackman sightings.  Please help me find my futire BFF or husband!

I Just Can't Get You out of My Head: Otto Von Schirach's Tipo Tropical

I've been meaning to do a big feature on this guy for a while, and I still will and you will be astounded.  In the meantime, however, magnificent weirdo Otto von Schirach has just dropped a sick new release, and I can't stop singing the first single, the title track "Tipo Tropical."

Otto has been warning us since about 2010 that one day he would just go full-on Miami Bass on our asses, but previous ventures such as the epic Supermeng have given glimpses but not full-fire Booty Bass, save for the title track.  Supermeng did a lot of combo work: there was a subtle reggaeton beat in "When Dinosaurs Ruled the Earth," "Gravitron" had a sort of backwards, flipped-inside-out breaks backing track (commonly used in amen structures in Florida breaks), and the opening track, "Salpica," was exceedingly Bootytastic, exceedingly Cuban, and exceedingly loved by Chongas the world over (real and ironic).  Take a look here:



Weird enough for you?  That's nothing.  Supermeng also reintroduced Otto as a downloaded being from the Bermuda Triangle, here to teach us about "Mind Power," show us the gifts and dangers of "Quasar," and knock us over with the Triangle Forcefield of his own "Portal Prayer" for humanity.  All these tracks are nowhere near Booty Bass, but are weird, experimental, and, without being to blatantly breakcore about it, gave his old fans what they wanted.

Speaking of old fans, critics of Supermeng may also be critical of Tipo Tropical as it's an even farther cry thematically from the first 10+ years of his work.  Otto is credited with bringing the most evil and gross breakcore and dubstep (before it was dubstep) to those communities, and this is coming from GERMANS.  I would say to those naysayers, however, that it seems like a natural progression.  As a young, weird, intense producer, Otto explored his angrier namesake and German roots through creepy shit like "The End of the World" and "Teabagging the Dead" (one of my favourites).

Supermeng and the accompanying singles he collaborated with Pepe Billette were transtional, bridging the gap between the hardcore corpse-fucking and meat-fisting breakcore and his Miami Cuban side, and giving way for the full-on colourful flourish that is Tipo Tropical.  It seems counterintuitive that maturation would be defined as going from one's German side to one's Cuban Miami party side, but in this case, it kind of is.

Whether you agree with themes, triangles, or vampires, one thing is for sure.  Otto von Schirach still has pretty much the cleanest production values and most on-point style in the underground world.  I really can't even come up with another artist whose levels and the tightness of transitions are as accurate and well-planned in any genre or scene.  Whether you're listening to a track like "Mind Power," which is perceived experimental noise, or something more structured like "Salpica" ("structured" is a relative term in Otto's world), it's always clean, lean, and absolutely no beat or crazy sample out of place, yet it's all thoroughly emotive and fun.  With Otto it's not just the cache of weird, but truly some of the best-written, best-produced, and most interesting music you'll ever hear, and the videos get crazier and crazier.  So, for all these reasons, I'll be singing, quoting, and posting Tipo Tropical ad nauseum all summer.

You've got a streaming clip of the title track above, but if you're ready for purchase (I know I am), the whole album is available for download on his label page, MonkeyTown records.  Also be sure to check the tour dates and pick up a kickass Triangle Forcefield Necklace on OttovonSchirach.com

4/15 Reveal: Whose Art is it Anyway? Meet Matt Forderer!

Photo by LKL Studios

Ok so I'm late, so sue me, but none of you bothered to guess and get points toward hipsterprize 2014, so whatevs @ you too.  Either way, aren't you glad you tuned in?  Matt Forderer showed his amazing zooscapes (my own words) at a group show back in February, and this piece is now my desktop background.  It's that great.

Matt's ability to great mythical, spliced together, science project-like creatures which are photorealistic but then live in a surrealist backdrop is just such a great nose-thumbing to adherence to genres is just brilliant (and has caused this run-on sentence because now I'm gushing).

He's also got wacky collages which you can check out on his portfolio and keep up with news on www.matforderer.com, and I've provided a slideshow below that should speak for itself.  Love him or lose cool points!

New Interactive Feature! I Just Can't Get You Out of My Head: Sombear

This will be the first installment of this category, so I get to suggest the first one because it's my blog.  What I'll be doing going forward is allowing y'all to submit a New(ish) Artist or favorite that you'd like a writeup on this blog.  You can even submit yourself (but not in a kinky way)!  Just email us at laylamk1@gmail.com or submit your idea on our Facebook Page or Twitter, and we'll choose a winner each week, posting a piece about that artist the following Wednesday.  So come up with some ideas - I can't be this brilliant all the time.

New Artist Sombear - Ooh, Look at the Sparkly Dubstep!

As a Drum and Bass Oldschooler and jaded Junglist of the very strictest order, I generally regard Dubstep and Trap music as my two slow-witted, completely amoral, and utterly disappointing children (Trap may also have a mild case of retardation).  This new generation, pretending EDM is a thing, stealing helicopter samples and heavy bass for their own sellout purposes, and slapping Lana Del Rey vocals on it like that’s at all ok really makes my blood boil.  Whenever I hear a shitty dubstep track I always find myself thinking “where did we fail you, my poor lost children?”  After all, ultimately a kid that turned out shitty is at least partially the parents’ fault.

Quite often lately, however, I’ve found myself stumbling across shining beacons of hope amongst the literal ocean of crap dubstep, and I see a glimmer of hope.  Kid Unicorn, 501, even the odd Flux Pavilion track will make me smile, and possibly even stick around for at least a third of a dubstep or trap set which is inevitably and awkwardly jammed somewhere into the timeline of one of my Dnb parties.  I don’t know if I’m just getting used to it, or there is some actual talent out there, but really if the music is good, who cares?  As long as they don’t say “EDM” at or around me, I can learn to coexist.

Enter Sombear, given name Bradley Hale, from Minneapolis.  He certainly looks like a Dubstepper, with his well-coifed hair and hopeful millennial smile.  His beats are largely dubstep and dubstep-adjacent, but he also has a healthy dose of ambient Europop along the lines of M83, but a little more concrete and American.  His SoundCloud Page actually has quite a diverse collection of beats and sounds, and you can check and find your favorite here: https://soundcloud.com/sombear.  He has a little something for everyone, including pretty remixes of some pretty dirty rap songs.  Interesting stuff.

Despite my 3-paragraph tirade, I’m sticking with the most heavily dubstep track on Sombear’s page, “Incredibly Still.”  This is where his dubstep stands out from the crowd.  Clean, not-too-slow beats with really pretty sampling (again, think M83 or Passion Pit), and, something heretofore unmentioned in this article, some really beautiful vocals.  We have a video on this one, so check the hair and the pretty here: 

With the addition of these vocals which are not only almost pitch-perfect but lyrically mature and thoughtful, Somebear emerges in my mind as not just a dubstepper, but a multi-talented real musician who can compose, produce, and perform at a level we’re just not used to in indie-pop land anymore. 

The video for “Incredibly Still” also connotes this artistic sensitivity, showing a beleaguered-looking Sombear in a room contemplating his navel and the wide world, juxtaposed against television images of various television image feeds, and then what I think is film of himself as a kid.  If it’s not him, they found a pretty good lookalike with the same deep, pensive, searching eyes.  Either way it makes for some powerful imagery to go along with a very pretty and meaningful song.

“Incredibly Still” is the 2^nd single off of Sombear’s most recent album, Love You in the Dark, which came out last July via Trans-Records.   There’s also a title single which is just as pretty but not quite as heavy on the dubstep.  It’s also on his Soundcloud , or if you prefer audio and visual, Youtube’s got you covered: .  Both the videos were directed by Sombear himself, proving my point that he’s more than just a young EDM punk, but a true renaissance man/Mohawk owner. 

Love You in the Dark is available on itunes, or to stream on Albumstreams, but he’s put out tons of singles since then so I say putter around his Soundcloud and find your favorites, or check him out on the BitCandy player, player!

Whose Art Is it Anyway? The Contest is Back!

Ok, so if you're new to DWS (which you probably are), you won't know that one of our sections is me posting random photos of even more random street art to see if you can guess who the hell the artist is.  This is part me sincerely wondering, and part me wanting to see who of you pays attention to all the awesome art we can find right on our streets.  The bonus for you is if you guess 3 in a row correctly, I will have some awesome hipster indie weirdo prize, absolutely unfathomable in its coolness.  We're rebooting this so if you guesses on any previous posts, you're back to zero.  Sowwy.

So this week, this isn't technically street art, but it's damn cool.  I found this artist at a random show in a back of a beer bar, and fell in love with the random mythical beasts and Folgers cans.  How can you not love it!

Look at the majesty!

So, if you can name this clearly insane but talented painter, you will have one point toward winning the prize.  I will reveal the real name by next week if no one guesses.  Happy Googling!