Image

B3Sci Mixtapes

Mixtape: Danger Village – No Guest List Required

20160116_kuu

Mixtape art: Brock Lefferts

Today I am so excited to be sharing with you the inaugural edition of our monthly No Guest List Required feature. People are constantly asking me what I am listening to that should be on their radar. To answer that question, Danger Village is now curating a monthly playlist of hot new artists that we are placing our bets on.

As a launching pad, we have created a mix of artists that you have already heard from us like Miya Folick, BISHOP and Barrie Rose, and have added a few new artists like The Wild Wild, BECA, KYYN, and Shape King that we think you should have your attention.

In the past, my seasonal mixes included the first songs from many artists who went on to become successful artists: Chvrches, Lorde, Banks, SOHN, Benjamin Clementine, Neon Indian, Jungle, Jagwar Ma, and many more. Our No Guest List Required feature seeks to draw attention to more new artists that we think you should be watching out for.

Thank you for listening and checking out more from each artist! Please share the songs and playlist.

unnamed (3)

1. Goldroom“Till Sunrise”
Tastefully rising and falling with its sun-drenched instrumental, “Embrace” is an exquisite piece of pop music. The vocals from Mammals twist and turn at will, carrying the song’s sticky melodies and undeniable chorus.

2. The Wild Wild“When We Were Young”
With vibrant synths and vocals darting in and out, “When We Were Young” is exciting, danceable pop, as relatable as the subject it covers: the sun-splashed days of youth and summer.

3. Hawai“In My Head”
Anchored by earnest vocals and easy-flowing rhymes, “In My Head” manages to be cinematic and casual at the same time, a harmonious duality that is usually hard to capture.

4. BISHOP“River”
With punishing horns, a massive chorus, irresistible handclaps and stomps,
“River” is a musical tour de force that firmly establishes BISHOP as a breakout artist of 2016.

5. Miya Folick“Oceans”
A reflection on fighting off the fear and panic associated with potential and desire, “Oceans” is a dimly lit daydream that builds to a biting rock ballad, trembling with emotion over a ghostly, echoing guitar.

6. BECA“Enabler”
Propelled by a relentless backbeat, “Enabler” is insatiable, driving forward with timely flourishes of 80s influenced production and BECA’s ethereal vocals.

7. KYYN“Walk On Water”
Backed by sparse production, KYYN’s sultry vocals welcomes the listener into her dark and brooding world. Her voice ranges from soaring to an intimate whisper to a stirring and haunting effect.

8. Shape King“We Are Together”
From its whimsical opening keyboard line to the gloriously chaotic ending, “We Are Together” is brimming with good vibes and a charming ode to love without ever being syrupy or saccharine.

9. Greg Hvnsen“What Would You Have Me Do”
Taking electronic music’s charming elements, “What Would You Have Me Do” is masterfully crafted with its earnest hooks, breezy demeanor and an exuberant instrumental break.

10. Barrie Rose“Laffy Taffy”
Built upon a foundation of an infectious hook, throbbing synths and a touch of harp, “Laffy Taffy” is a poignant track that affirms Barrie’s unwavering commitment to her artistic aspirations.

11. Scot Sier“The Painter”
Stripped and baring all, “”The Painter” is a wistful love song comprised of twinkling piano notes, tender vocals and lightly strummed guitar chords.

unnamed (15)
MØ, Goldroom and Beth at the Danger Village SXSW showcase 2014

With each playlist, we’ll be including a song and three question interview from one of our legacy Danger Village artists. This month, we have been honored to have Goldroom answer a few questions that I have been wanting to talk to him about for a while. I started working with Goldroom in 2012 to release his song “Fifteen.” Together, we developed his career and Danger Village was proud to land him press placements on Pitchfork, FADER, USA Today, MTV, The Guardian, Last Call With Carson Daly, The LA Weekly, NYLON and many more notable outlets. I also was able to introduce him to MØ and Alpine, and Goldroom crafted two of his most memorable remixes of those artists.

I have noticed a lot of hit songs now using piano synth lines that sound like what we were promoting from your music three years ago. What do you think of the current trends of Tropical House hitting mainstream music and do you think that EDM has hit its peak?

I think it very much depends on how you define a “peak”. We all know things move in cycles, and I’m sure there is a generation of kids getting older that think that standing around watching a DJ is the lamest thing you could ever do. The idea that EDM festivals will continue to be the gathering locations for the entire youth of America is pretty silly. We’ve probably seen the peak of that world. But that said, we’ve crossed a threshold with electronic music within popular culture to the point that I think you can say across all music fans that people aren’t scared or turned off by electronic sounds anymore. If you had synths in your music 10 years ago, you could just write off reaching a significant group of people. Thanks to EDM’s rise over the past 5 years, I don’t think that barrier exists anymore, which is great for me and anyone else making music with synthesizers.

As for Tropical House, I think the term and most of the music is incredibly corny. Like a lot of flash-in-the-pan music genres, its built on a vibe and a feeling and not so much at all in songwriting and writing important and timeless music. To be honest I don’t relate to most of it so I’m glad that my name has stayed pretty outside of that conversation. It’s definitely a bit of a bummer to have marimbas and congas used to blatantly to appropriate a vibe and a vibe alone.

You started off as a solo artist and now are playing big festivals with a full band. How does the process work in translating your music to a live setting, and does this affect your songwriting process?

I try as hard as possible to not let the live show influence the songwriting at all. Having been lucky enough to play in festival settings, I think it’s really easy to start to imagine playing
festival songs. You see it a lot in dance music, where producers will start make obviously club or festival friendly music once they’ve started to play a lot of shows, even though the music that got them their popularity in the first place came from their hearts, in their studios.

In writing my record, which I’m wrapping up now, I was really careful to separate the writing process from the fact that I’ll be playing it live. I want to write music that people will be playing for years on their record players. The way I see it, my job as songwriter/producer and my job as live band director are two completely separate jobs. I have to deal with how to play these songs only after they’re completely done.

I’ve always been in bands, and so the Goldroom live show really reflects that. We play as a six piece band, with tons of live percussion, real synths, guitars and bass. We’re bringing a live experience that’s pretty outside of the normal electronic space, and I think it starts and ends with the personalities on stage. I play with some incredibly talented people, and its the sum of our parts that makes the live show great.

At the Grammy’s we saw that all of Taylor Swift’s producers were men, and it’s unusual to see women like Grimes who are in charge of all of their production. How would you encourage young women to get into production and what do you think can be done to even the playing field for men and women for the future?

There are lots of unfortunate barriers that keep women from going down that road. They’re usually encouraged to be the face but not the brains, which is a huge bummer. I’m sure that has been true forever. The difference was, for someone like Joan Baez, there was a fairly obvious path. She just needed to pick up a guitar and learn how to play it. That feels like a tangible goal. Learning how to produce complicated music on a computer is an almost Herculean task if you’re looking at it from square one. So I think its pretty easy to discourage girls who are just getting started.

My advice would be the same advice I’d give you a guy asking me the same question. Start working! Start trying things! Most of the music you’ll make will suck, but very slowly you’ll get better and better. There’s no substitute for the work in this case, because it is hard to make electronic music.

reviewed by
02-23-16

B3SCI Mixtapes: Neverwhere

ballet

B3SCI’s Veronica Alexander is back with another vibe-y set of hazegaze and warm lo-fi sounds on her latest mixtape.

1. Vacationer – Trip (Teen Daze Remix)
2. Summer Heart – I Wanna Go
3. Tycho – Montana
4. Wild Nothing – Vultures Like Lovers
5. Goldroom – Fifteen (ft. Chela)
6. Asobi Seksu – Thursday
7. Still Corners – Wish
8. Blackbird Blackbird – Left to Hunt
9. The Pains Of Being Pure At Heart – Stay Alive
10. DIIV – (Druun)
11. Acrylics – Sparrow
12. Chad Valley – Shell Suite

reviewed by
12-09-14

Mixtape: B3SCI Halloween V: Love Is Undead

charlie-brown-halloween

Mixtape by Veronica Alexander

GET READY TO GET SPOOKED! Halloween never looked ghastlier with these ghoulish love songs, brought to you by Fever Ray, Broken Social Scene, Portishead, Dead Man’s Bones and more!

1. Portishead – Strangers
2. Fever Ray – If I Had A Heart
3. Chromatics – The Killing Spree
4. The XX – Blood Red Moon
5. TV On The Radio – Wolf Like Me
6. Múm – The Ghosts You Draw On My Back
7. The Kills – Last Day of Magic
8. Sufjan Stevens – They Are Night Zombies!! They Are Neighbors!! They Have Come Back From The Dead!! Ahhhh!
9. Dead Man’s Bones – My Body’s A Zombie For You
10. Radiohead – We Suck Young Blood (Your Time Is Up)
11. Karen Elson – The Ghost Who Walks
12. Daughter – The Woods
13. Widowspeak – Harsh Realm
14. Bon Iver – Blood Bank
15. Broken Social Scene – Sweetest Kill

reviewed by
10-27-14

B3SCI Mixtapes: Disappear Here

disappear

Mixtape by Veronica Alexander

DISAPPEAR HERE: Get lost in dreamy static sounds, with tracks from the Microphones, My Bloody Valentine, Land of Talk, Grave Babies and more.

reviewed by
10-16-14

WRAP: The Great Escape 2014 in Brighton, UK

the_great_escape_2014

The Great Escape continues to be an awesome event for new music enthusiasts wanting to get a leg-up on international bands poised to make moves. With the 2014 edition including 400+ bands playing over three days in 30+ venues, there’s no lack of good music to check out. The festival is growing quickly with 100 more bands compared to last year. While The Great Escape (a.k.a. TGE) does share the SXSW danger of becoming too big for its own good, this event (for now) still has far more intimacy than the aforementioned Austin festival. Like always, more bands also means more schedule conflicts, and also like SXSW, even top tier Delegate and Press credentials won’t penetrate lines (or in some cases no lines) at venues. For example, Future Islands sounded great… from outside, and the TGE showcase for Wild Beasts would have been great to review had we also remembered to buy a ticket for it (thought that’s what passes were for)? And so for festivals like this, it seems the best plan of attack is to focus on artists that, to date, either haven’t or rarely play live. Both Bruce and Mike from team B3SCI were on the grounds for TGE and here’s their report:

Some 2014 faves for Bruce included Courtney Barnett, who is not only blowing up in the US but in England as well. She plays a mean guitar as it turns out. The melodic electronic artist East India Youth has been an NME darling this year, and as TGE proved, is doing quite well in England. His one-man show has a clean sound and he’s quite animated on stage. The Isle of Wight brothers, Champs, serenaded us in a church at TGE with their sweet harmonies and were also major highlights. Two UK bands, growing in local buzz, who delivered nicely onstage were Childhood and Jaws. The Australian band Calling All Cars is a metal/electronic hybrid with great songs, and they blew the walls down. Interestingly, they will soon be relocating to Manchester. Fellow Australians Sheppard just had a #1 pop single in their homeland and have a commanding stage presence to back it up. The UK’s Echotape have forsaken their art-pysch direction for a more straight forward rock direction that shows strong potential. Amber Run was a fave (see below). Finally, Portland’s Rare Monk must get a shout out. I joined Mike from B3Sci for their 1:30am set on Saturday night. This Portland band is making major forward strides. Their mid-tempo bluesy rock is played with precise power and competence.

Some 2014 faves for Mike came from both the expected and unexpected. Amber Run won audiences with pitch perfect harmonies and pop songs primed for college campuses throughout the world. The young 3-piece of/from Blaenavon lived up to their radar worthy hype with a stellar rock show to boot – big promise here. Hozier was good, while “Take Me To Church” stole the show; the band dynamic felt a bit on the safe side. After being tipped from a friend, Brussels band BRNS were a favorite surprise of TGE, with an energetic and expressive live show that was, at times, reminiscent of heavy pop pioneers WU LYF and indie rock mainstays Local Natives. Rare Monk’s alluring melange of atmospheric indie rock proved a powerful UK debut. Annie Eve drenched listeners with her knack for clever song and a live band including an accordion no less. Peace performed a pleasant ‘surprise’ set at the NME showcase, which was definitely a highlight, and Khushi was another favorite with his live band set up, showcasing what really counts… his songs.

Have a listen to some of our favorite picks from the TGE Festival below:

The Great Escape england (Official)

reviewed by
06-02-14

Mixtape: Taste of Weewuu – May 2014

sanders

Longtime reader/friend of the blog Weewuu debuts his new monthly mixtape wrap series featuring tracks from Jhene Aiko, Shura, Ghost Loft & SteLouse.

reviewed by
05-09-14

B3SCI Presents: SXSW Day Party @ Red Eyed Fly. Austin, TX. on Wednesday 3/12/14

B3SCI Red Eyed Fly March 12 SXSW for WEBSITE

Team B3 is very pleased to announce the 2014 edition of our B3SCI PRESENTS: SXSW Day Party in Austin, TX. Join us as we kick off SXSW Music on Wednesday, March 12th at Red Eyed Fly (located at Red River & 7th St) with a full day of live sets from the best/coolest/need to know emerging talent right now, great food & drinks (of course), and excellent art from NYC-based rising music/media star Young & Sick.

We’re inviting you to THE Wednesday SXSW day party! Entry for the event will be granted to SXSW badge holders as well as guest list via RSVP (below). Be sure to arrive early because we can’t guarantee entry once we’re at capacity.

Can’t make it to Austin? We’ve got you; tune into our live HD Audio Streaming powered by Spacebar and IROCKE for select live sets from the show.

RSVP NOW CLOSED (limited space will be available at the door). Details and more info on the event below and check it out on Facebook here.

Wednesday March 12, 2014

Red Eyed Fly
715 Red River St
Austin‎ TX‎ 78701

Doors @ 11:45 am
Ages 18+

Food Cart at Venue

INDOOR STAGE

12:05 – 12:35 Beat Culture
12:55 – 1:20 Moses Sumney
1:40 – 2:10 Zella Day
2:30 – 3:00 Avid Dancer
3:15 – 3:45 Sivu
4:05 – 4:35 Tove Lo
4:55 – 5:25 GEMS

OUTDOOR STAGE

12:00 – 12:30 High Highs
12:50 – 1:20 Rare Monk
1:40 – 2:10 MISUN
2:30 – 3:00 Wolf Alice
3:20 – 3:50 Arthur Beatrice
4:10 – 4:40 Jungle
5:00 – 5:30 Tokyo Police Club

See you in Austin!

B3SCI PRESENTS @ SXSW 2014 Mixtape

reviewed by
03-03-14

Giraffage: The Dream – Love Hate (Album Remix) [Mixtape]

Giraffage Remixes The-Dream

B3SCI may be crushing on Giraffage, but Giraffage is focusing all his crush on The Dream. More specifically The Dream’s 2007 album Love Hate. He had already remixed The Dreams’ “Shawty is Da Shit” to well received fan fare, so the next step (naturally) was to remix the entire album. The influence that The Dream has had on Giraffage is apparent in the way he approaches his own songwriting. A standout remix on this homage project is the album’s then second single “Falsetto”. The Giraffage touch is perfect for this track, a slow burner turned club chiller all while keeping that filthy guitar solo. Well done, sir. Reviewed By Brian Litwin

Giraffage (Facebook)

Rating 8.5

brown8

reviewed by
02-05-14

B3SCI Best of 2013: Top 50 Albums

2013top50albums

2013 it’s been breezy. We’ve given the 13th year of the new millennium it’s proper send-off with what else but… lists! This year we’ve dropped our 50 Top Songs, Team B3’s Staff Picks, the 50 Most Popular bands & artists this year on B3SCI as read by YOU, and now we’re tying it all off with our Top 50 Albums. So get psyched, get ready to count backwards and check out what albums we loved most from 2013.

50mileycyrusbangerz

49omarsouleymanwenuwenu

48theinternetfeelgood

47goldfieldsblacksun

46everythingeverythingarc

45phosphorescentmuchacho

44skyferreiranighttimemytime

43rudimentalhome

42stluciawhenthenight

41londongrammarifyouwait

40atomsforpeaceamok

39oneohtrivpointneverrplusseven

38queensofthestoneagelikeclockwork

37theneighbourhoodiloveyou

36jamesblakeovergrown

35msmrsecondhandrapture

34boardsofcanadatomorrowsharvest

33charlesbradleyvictimoflove

32jakebuggshangrila

31vampireweekendmodernvampireofthecity

30iceageyourenothing

29asapfergtraplord

28palmaviolets180

27juliaholterloudcitysong

26darksidepsychic

25runthejewelsrunthejewels

24arcadefirereflektor

23volcanochoirrepave

22rhyewoman

21foalsholyfire

20kingkrule6feetbeneaththemoon

19timheckervirgins

18pushatmynameismyname

17lordepureheroine

16dannybrownold

15tomodelllongwaydown

14mybloodyvalentinembv

13justintimberlakethe2020experience

12chrvchesthebonesofwhatyoubelieve

11drakenothingwasthesame

10the1975the1975

09arcticmonkeysam

08daftpunkrandomaccessmemories

07beyoncebeyonce

06davidbowiethenextday

05savagessilenceyourself

04thenationaltroublewillfindme

03haimdaysaregone

02disclosuresettle

01kanyewestyeezus

reviewed by
12-19-13

B3SCI Best of 2013: Readers’ Top 50 Most Popular Artists

2013artists

By now you’re likely acquainted w/ whom Team B3 dug in 2013. We flip now to the reverse side of the telescreen and take a look at who YOU ALL we’re into in 2013 with a countdown of the most popular artists and bands read on the site this year. Thank you, thank you, thank you for reading! See you in 2014.

50somekindawonderful

49pale

48temples

47blaenavon

46cloudboat

45yeahyeahyeahs

44dwntwn

43stalley

42rickross

41sango

40quadron

39theneighbourhood

38jamesblake

37twiceasnice

36rudimental

35deapvally

34sanebeats

33samsmith

32papa

31jungle

30jmsn

29chloehowl

28fyfe

27patrickbaker

26thepreatures

25johnnewman

24wale

23palmaviolets

22snakehips

21bondax

20philbeaudreau

19beadyeye

18joeybadass

17daftpunk

16naughtyboy

15disclosure

14lionlimb

13goldfields

12cagetheelephant

11mo

10foals

09ftse

08ghostloft

07josefsalvat

06justintimberlake

05baauer

04giraffage

03jaipaul

02misun

01the1975

reviewed by
12-18-13

B3SCI Best of 2013: Top 50 Songs

2013top50songs

Mick Jagger once said, “I know it’s only rock n’ roll, but I like it.” And while, 1974 Mick is probably too coked out right now to salute this year’s best 50 tracks, Keith Richards just dropped a heater of lick and suddenly Mr. Jagger’s all punching the air shouting, “Yes I Do, Yes I Do.” It’s B3SCI’s favorite 50 tracks of 2013.

50wallanature

49jaymesyoungwondering

48mosessumneydwellinthedark

47misunbattlefields

46benkhandrivepart1

45fracturestwisted

44frankturnerfoursimplewords

43arcticmonkeysdoiwannaknow

42chvrchesgun

41schoolboyqcollardgreens

40jamesvincentmcmorrowcavalier

39mazzystarcalifornia

38haertsallthedays

37phantogramfallinlove

36raleighritchiestayinside

35mountkimbieyoutookyourtime

34pushatnumbersontheboard

33phoenixtryingtobecool

32msmrfantasy

31littledaylightoverdose

30fyfesolace

29saysayloujulian

28arianagrandetheway

27johnnewmanlovemeagain

26mileycyruswreckingball

25chloehowlnostrings

24lorderoyals

23arthurbeatricegrandunion

22yeahyeahyeahssacrilege

21londongrammarwastingmyyoungyears

20mowasteoftime

19theorwellsothervoices

18snakehipsonandon

17rudimentalwaitingallnight

16mapeidontwait

15josefsalvatthislife

14justintimberlakesuitandtie

13kanyewestbloodontheleaves

12haimfalling

11disclosurewhitenoise

10mausimove

09drakeholdonweregoinghome

08samsmithmoneyonmymind

07jungleluckyigotwhatiwant

06bankswarmwater

05phosphorescentsongforzula

04rihannastay

03jamesblakeretrograde

02lanadelreyyoungandbeautiful

01daftpunkgetlucky

reviewed by
12-16-13

In The Mix: 24/7 vol. II

shark

For you scientists on the hunt for some music, here’s a collection of tracks that we’ve spinning amongst ourselves at B3HQ as of late. Get into the mix with B3SCI 24/7 vol. II below.

Los Angeles Police Dept – Enough is Enough

D.D Dumbo – I Woke Up Covered in Sand

COIN – Cecilia (Simon & Garfunkle cover)

Marika Hackman – Wolf

ALEOS – Tranquil

I’lls – To: All The Blurred (Rat & Co Remix)

Bombay Bicycle Club – Carry Me

Benjamin Clementine – I Won’t Complain

ODESZA – If There’s Time (Kodak to Graph Remix)

Backstreet Boys – I Want It That Way (uschu Remix)

Thunder/Dreamer – Murderous Love

Saint Motel – Ace In The Hole

Ulla Nova – Kid From London

ELIM BOLT – Dingy

Shy Boys – Keeps Me On My Toes

Joanna Gruesome – Tugboat (Galaxie 500 cover)

Trails and Ways – Lost (Frank Ocean Cover)

Bo Saris – Little Bit More

The Rebel Light – Jukebox Dream

Flume – The Greatest View (feat. Isabella Manfredi)

Taylor Swift – I Knew You Were Trouble (APSPDR+ Remix)

Stijl – Seoul Searching

Hayden James – No Time (Hanami Remix)

Daithi – Case Closed (Feat. Senita)

Sea Change – Bursting

Lizbet Sempa – On These Hills

Temples – Mesmerise

Young Yeller – War

River Tiber – What Are You Afraid Of

WULF – Lairs

Quinzhee – The Voluntary Butler Scheme

Simian Ghost – A Million Shining Colours

Keel Her – Don’t Look At Me

Vancouver Sleep Clinic – Collapse

The High Wire – The Thames & The Tide

Lil Debbie & Riff Raff – Squirt (Nacey Remix)

Wave Racer – Stoopid (DE$iGNATED Remix)

Diplo – Revolution (Drek Martinez Remix)

FELIX CARTAL – New Scene (TOKiMONSTA Remix)

Ella Eyre – Going On

Vladimir – Come Over

Dios Mio – Proto

reviewed by
11-29-13