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In the Mix

Presents: Zak Waters w/ Cayucas, Monte Mar and La Mer @ Central S.A.P.C in Santa Monica, Ca. 12/11/12

Head to Santa Monica this coming Tuesday (12/11) for live music from some of the best independent pop/rock talent southern California has to offer! That’s right, once again B3SCI is teaming up with Central S.A.P.C to present the month’s artist in residency. This December it’s throwback master of futuristic soul and recent Madeon collaborator, Zak Waters, who will be joined this week by recent Secretly Canadian signing’s, Cayucas, and local scene favorites Monte Mar and La Mer. Check out some videos and jams from the bands below to get you in the mood. We’ll see y’all there!

Entry for Tuesday night’s residency show is FREE (21+). Get additional details on the show here.

The Central S.A.P.C. california (Gig Info)

Madeon – The City (Zak Waters Acoustic Version)

reviewed by
12-09-12

Premiere: Robots Don’t Sleep – Self Titled [EP]

Berlin producer Robot Koch has teamed up with oft-collaborating vocalist John LaMonica for his fourth release, and first with Robots Don’t Sleep. His new self-titled EP is a fresh galactic mix of composition and instrumentation for the European beat maker. Robots Don’t Sleep translates seemlessly as a band project, taking a songwriting and melodic focus similar to Koch’s previous work with LaMonica on The Other Side. B3SCI’s got the US Premiere of the new EP. Get into it below.

Robots Don’t Sleep (Official) (Soundcloud)

Rating 8.2

brown8

reviewed by
12-05-12

Review: Rah Rah @ The Bootleg Bar in Los Angeles on Wednesday 11/28/12

It’s no surprise that Canada has treated this 6-piece from Regina, Saskatchewan so well. Having been crowned “Best New Canadian Band” and “Best New Alternative Band” by iTunes Canada in 2009, Rah Rah recently released their new album The Poet’s Dead in the US and it’s an album I’ve spent some time with. For several band members, their last week’s visit to LA for a small handful of shows was their first trip ever to California. As with other folk-flavored rock bands that veer between a harder and softer dynamic, I’d hoped this live show would rock (rather than put me to sleep). I’m glad to say this band not only rocked it, but exceeded lofty expectations. Rah Rah can play. Literally, band members often switched up on instruments, between tunes or even sometimes mid-song. They perfectly nailed their tempos and crescendos bringing select highlights to a supreme level of intensity.

Rah Rah’s set opened with their infectious song, “Art & A Wife”. This track reminds of New Pornographers around the time of their Twin Cinema album. Throughout the song, and even the set, Rah Rah feature male-female vocal exchanges. In general, four band members in Rah Rah provided lead vocals with Marshall Burns handling most of them. Marshall’s voice sounds a bit like Neil Young — more so live than on the recordings. His vocal on “Dead Men” was a highlight that night, as was “Prairie Girl” sung by Erin Passmore. And some locally Regina-flavored humor was found in the set’s finale, “Duet For Emmylou And The Grievous Angel”.

Rah Rah obviously enjoy playing, and they have a down to earth, winning way in their stage manner. Still building their loyal L.A. following the comfortable crowd was responsive and offered them a very warm encore. By Bruce Rave

*Check out Bruce’s Moheak Radio “Go Deep” show on Sunday nights 7-9 pm Pacific, 10-12 am Eastern, 3-5 am GMT. Listen to past shows at Bruce’s blog and follow Bruce on Twitter.

Rah Rah (Facebook)

reviewed by
12-03-12

Rave’s Fave: The Record Company – Tallahassee Lassie (Freddie Cannon)

The Record Company has been one of LA’s fastest rising bands with their blend of blues and Americana. They kill live, and just concluded a successful November residency at The Satellite. It’s their tradition to end with a rocking cover, and last Monday’s show concluded with “Tallahassee Lassie”, which was a 60’s hit for Freddie “Boom Boom” Cannon. The crowd was all over this one, singing along with the chorus. The band recorded an EP of cover songs including this one, so check out their Facebook page for more info. By Bruce Rave

The Record Company – Tallahassee Lassie (Freddy Cannon)

The Record Company (Official)

*Check out Bruce’s Moheak Radio “Go Deep” show on Sunday nights 7-9 pm Pacific, 10-12 am Eastern, 3-5 am GMT. Listen to past shows at Bruce’s blog and follow Bruce on Twitter.

reviewed by
12-02-12

B3DECJAMMIES

Our cuz Ryan is back with his heatin/coolin best-of-the-month mix B3DECJAMMIES. Expect coolbombs from Chad Valley, Blue Hawaii, and Mikky Ekko as well as crunchy heaters from Black Moth Super Rainbow and Clinic. Listen HERE on Spotify.

TRACKLIST:

01. Chad Valley – Evening Surrender (Feat. El Perro Del Mar)
02. The Weeknd – Valerie
03. Flight Facilities – Clair De Lune (Feat. Christine Hoberg)
04. Mikky Ekko – Pull Me Down
05. Autre Ne Veut – Counting
06. Egyptian Hip Hop – SYH
07. Blue Hawaii – In Two
08. Blue Hawaii – In Two II
09. Main Attrakionz – Cloud Body (Feat. Grown Folk)
10. Crystal Castles – Pale Flesh
11. Tops – Double Vision
12. Chad Valley – Fall 4 U (Feat. Glasser)
13. Dirty Projectors – About to Die
14. Sweet Valley – Bros Beyond
15. Nutso – Blowing Up (Feat. Shabaam Sahdeeq & Royal Flush)
16. Major Lazer – Jah No Partial (Feat. Flux Pavilion)
17. Black Moth Super Rainbow – Gangs in the Garden
18. Arca – Brokeup
19. Doldrums – She is the Wave (Feat. Guy Dallas)
20. Clinic – King Kong

reviewed by
12-02-12

Rave’s Fave: Madness – Never Knew Your Name

A new Madness album is always good news, and yet again the dudes have dropped a good one on us. “Death of a Rude Boy” is the cool single from OUI OUI SI SI JA JA DA DA and album goes quite a bit deeper than that. My favorite is “Never Knew Your Name” because it has a softer touch, with smooth melodies and some nice strings. By Bruce Rave

Madness – Never Knew Your Name

Madness (Official)

*Check out Bruce’s Moheak Radio “Go Deep” show on Sunday nights 7-9 pm Pacific, 10-12 am Eastern, 3-5 am GMT. Listen to past shows at Bruce’s blog and follow Bruce on Twitter.

reviewed by
11-26-12

B3SCI Presents: Gavin Turek, Jhameel, Kenan Bell, Hustle Roses + more @ Central S.A.P.C in Santa Monica 11/27/12

We have an exciting announcement for those of you in the SoCal/Los Angeles area this coming week! On Tuesday (11/27) B3SCI is teaming up with Central S.A.P.C to present November’s artist in residency and rising star Gavin Turek, who will be joined by a stellar bill of talent including Jhameel, Kenan Bell, Hustle Roses and a very special secret guest TBA (stay tuned for this one!).

To say the least the gig is a can’t miss, and to make things even better… it’s absolutely FREE! So come hang out with us and enjoy some great music plus oceanside breezes in Santa Monica this Tuesday night. Additional details on the show are here at Central S.A.P.C. and also check out some fresh videos and tunes below to get you in the mood. See you all there!

The Central S.A.P.C. california (Gig Info) (This Show on Facebook)

TOKiMONSTA – Little Pleasures (Feat. Gavin Turek)

reviewed by
11-24-12

Premiere: Stevie Neale – Dangerous (Sega Bodega Remix)

New age electro RnB songstress Stevie Neale gets the remix treatment from Sega Bodega on her new and debut single, “Dangerous”. The Scottish boardsman succeeds in tranforming the infectious dance-floor glam of “Dangerous” into an ambient fog of dawn-like reminisce. Consider this the morning after with it’s downtempo chill and pseudo-trap of scattered vocal manipulation. B3SCI’s got the premiere for you below. Check it out!

Stevie Neale (Facebook)
Sega Bodega scotland (Facebook)

Rating 8.1

brown8

reviewed by
11-19-12

Rave’s Fave: Gary Clark Jr. – Ain’t Messin ‘Round

Gary Clark has become one of the most buzzed about live artists on the road, and he just sold out three killer shows at The Troubadour here in LA. I like him best when he is uptempo, and he ain’t messin’ ’round with this new track that opens his Blak and Blu CD. It’s the kind of generational party song that’s perfect for this coming holiday weekend. By Bruce Rave

Gary Clark Jr. – Ain’t Messin ‘Round

Gary Clark Jr. (Official)

*Check out Bruce’s Moheak Radio “Go Deep” show on Sunday nights 7-9 pm Pacific, 10-12 am Eastern, 3-5 am GMT. Listen to past shows at Bruce’s blog and follow Bruce on Twitter.

reviewed by
11-18-12

Interview w/ Gold Fields

Lots happening for Aussie collective Gold Fields as of late, in between hitting the road with the likes of Diamond Rings and St. Lucia. Some of the b3sci crew recently had the chance to catch up with singer Mark Fuller to ask a few questions about the band’s forthcoming music video and album, the legendary INXS and more! Check out our convo with the band below.

B3SCI: There’s a certain electro ethos surrounding Gold Fields’ sound. How would you sum it up?

GOLD FIELDS: Yeah there is. There are a few different things that I guess are consistent throughout the music we’ve written so far. Electronics is one of them and I guess it stands out because we play live as a full band. The electronic ethos has been there since we started writing music together and I guess it’s there because we all love lots of different electronic music. We didn’t really think a lot about it, to get the sounds we wanted, we just had to use synths and programming to get them so we did. We’re still learning a lot about all of that stuff.

B3SCI: Gold Fields’ remix work particularly has some synonymity with it’s originals? What is it about Gold Fields that makes anything you touch undeniably a Gold Fields project?

GOLD FIELDS: Vin and Ry do most of the work with the remixes. Over the past year they’ve been getting pretty handy with software and that definitely helped when we decided to record our album ourselves. All of the remixes we’ve done so far have been dance remixes but that’s not necessarily a rule and it wasn’t really on purpose… it’s just where we’ve felt we could take the song I guess. We’ve been busy finishing the album lately and the album is probably a lot less ‘dance-ish’ than the remixes we’ve done. So maybe any remixes from here on might be a bit different, who knows!

B3SCI: What sort of backgrounds cultivate the melting pot that is Gold Fields?

GOLD FIELDS: We all grew up in Ballarat in country Victoria and I don’t think our upbringings differed all that much, aside from Vin who was born in the Philippines and came to Australia when he was a kid. But all of us have a lot in common, mainly being that we all just obviously loved music and either learned or dabbled with instruments as kids and had our parents and families supporting what we were doing. We all grew up listening to pop before finding all sorts of alternative music when we started highschool… everything from Dr. Dre to Counting Crows.

B3SCI: Your single, “Dark Again” commands a dance floor. How have audiences taken to the track?

GOLD FIELDS: We’ve been playing it live for a fair while now, almost a year. Long before we recorded it and the response has always been good. But just recently we’ve noticed a big difference in the crowd when we play it, because some of them have heard the song on record, so they know the words and they know the parts, it’s still really new but it’s getting really fun to play.

B3SCI: Gold Fields have been all over the map gigging these past couple of months. What has been the most surreal part of your journey?

GOLD FIELDS: Yeah we’ve played almost 40 shows in the past 40 days I think. And we’ve driven 10 thousand miles in that time too. So the past month has just been driving around America and playing every day. And the next month is going to be like that too. We heard our music for the first time on American radio the other day, that was pretty cool. There have definitely been lots of highlights but it’s very blurry at the moment. Besides the shows, filming the video for “Dark Again” was a highlight too.

B3SCI: Cool a video! Any glimpses you can offer?

GOLD FIELDS: Yep we just filmed the video for “Dark Again” recently in LA. It was an amazing day and we’re really excited. As I said, it was a big highlight of the trip so far.. we’re really looking forward to seeing some of the stuff edited. It should be out in about 3 weeks I think.

B3SCI: How has this consistent flow of live performances affected the writing process and general cohesion of Gold Fields as a band?

GOLD FIELDS: Yeah we’re definitely getting pretty comfortable playing as a band. We already were but playing every day definitely drums it into you. We haven’t really had a minute to talk about writing as a band lately but I know all of this stuff is going to be heard somehow. I’m still penning stuff down heaps and I can’t wait to start writing again as a band.

B3SCI: What can fans expect to hear on your forthcoming full length and is there a nome decided for it yet?

GOLD FIELDS: Yeah it’s called Black Sun and it’s going to be out in Feb 26, 2013. I think “Dark Again” is a good introduction to it and follows on well out of the EP into the album. We are really happy with it and that’s all that we ever wanted so if other people enjoy it too, that will be a bonus. In general, recording of the album was such a massive journey that culminated in us scrapping it in it’s entirety and re-recording the whole thing ourselves in my parents garage. Having just absolute freedom to do whatever the five of us wanted to hear and not have to consider anything else really worked.

B3SCI: Is there a track on the forthcoming full length that you feel particularly proud of as a band?

GOLD FIELDS: Yeah a song called “Happy Boy” is my favorite song on the record. I think the other guys feel the same. I’m most proud of that one and another song called “Closest I Could Get” because I write the lyrics in the songs, and I guess there’s certain attachments to things emotionally, but funnily and weirdly those two songs weren’t written from my own perspective. “You’re Still Gone” isn’t from my perspective either… so maybe I prefer being a character in a song rather than being myself in a song.

B3SCI: Has the culture of Australia impacted the roots of Gold Fields’ music?

GOLD FIELDS: Yeah it definitely has. Our hometown, Ballarat has a really strong music community based around the one venue in town, the Karova Lounge… we sort of grew up there. We were sneaking in there when we were 16 and watching bands, to us it was the coolest place on earth and it probably still is. The owner, Willow, has helped us out a lot and so did the previous owner, Paddy. I guess more recently the electronic music coming out of Australia like Cut Copy, The Presets, Regurgitator, Pnau, Empire of the Sun, Flume… that sort of stuff has influenced out music definitely.

B3SCI: How does Gold Fields define what makes for a timeless record?

GOLD FIELDS: Something that doesn’t sound like an era and I guess it’s just about the songs… if the songs are truly good, then in 30 years time, the songs are still going to be truly good. When we recorded our album, we just disregarded anything other than what we thought sounded good.

B3SCI: Also, because we need to know, what was feeling was in Australia when INXS unveiled their search for a new frontman in the form of a Reality TV show?

GOLD FIELDS: Haha… There was a lot of people rolling their eyes and probably a few… or at least one person turning in his grave. RIP Michael Hutchence. INXS just actually announced they’re calling it a day. They were one of the greatest. Going back to the timeless record thing. “Kick” is one of those.

Questions by Brian and Mike

Gold fields – Dark Again

Gold Fields australia (Facebook) (Purchase)

reviewed by
11-17-12

Interview w/ Triptides

In anticipation to their forthcoming Sun Pavilion full length release on November 19th, we recently had the chance to catch up with Glenn from midwest based indie garage rock trio Triptides for a quick Q&A. Check out our conversation below:

B3SCI: How did Triptides and the trio of Glenn, Josh and Josh come to be?

TRIPTIDES: Josh Menashe and I met at Indiana University. We happened to sit next to each other in a rather large history class called “Rock and Roll in the 70’s and 80’s.” The first thing I ever said to him was “do you know who the singer for Nirvana is?” It turned out that he lived in the dorm next to mine so we started playing guitar together before class until eventually we were jamming all the time. Josh Morrow joined last spring a few months after seeing us perform at a living room show. He had played drums in Josh Menashe’s other band Ivory Wave for a few shows so they already had a musical connection through that.

B3SCI: It seems much of Triptides early material was recorded in a bedroom and/or basement in Bloomington, Indiana. How did you guys initially channel your sunniness sounds of summer in this type of environment?

TRIPTIDES: We kept the sunshine in our heads. Most of the time we would just forget about our surroundings and become completely absorbed in our headphones. At that point it doesn’t matter where you are.

B3SCI: Speaking of environments, how has Bloomington, Indiana embraced Triptides?

TRIPTIDES: Bloomington has been really supportive. People always get crazy when we play a really loud house show. There’s a lot of music going on here and it’s become almost perfectly intertwined with the party scene, which is cool because usually there’s a handful of big parties going on each weekend and a lot of different types of people will end up at the same parties, and then end up enjoying the same music.

B3SCI: Guitar melody and hooks are pretty front and center on your new Sun Pavilion LP. At what point does guitar come into the Triptides songwriting process? Is there a particular writing process in general with your songs?

TRIPTIDES: A lot of the hooks are just riffs we’ve come up with randomly and then think “this could be part of a song.” Sometimes the song is based entirely around a riff (“English Rain”) and the other parts are figured out after. Sometimes the riffs are created after we’ve figured out the entire song and are looking for ways to ornament it (“Bright Sky”). With those songs, the hooks are notes that we hear in our heads while listening to them and we want everyone else to hear them also.

B3SCI: A lesson from the school of Triptides. Who are some of the most underrated surf bands (or any other type bands) that we need to check out ASAP?

TRIPTIDES: The Tornadoes, The Tornados (UK), The Belairs and The Pyramids are all pretty great surf groups. Other great bands I’m listening to right now are July, Lazy Smoke, Broadcast, Rainbow Ffoly and the Leopards.

B3SCI: On a similar note, next time you head to a record store, what are you heading for first?

TRIPTIDES: The new Melody’s Echo Chamber album.

B3SCI: Your recent Halloween-friendly single, “Graveyard” has a bopping snappy emphasis that we can’t resist. Is there an affect or vibe that you were aiming for on this tune with such a spooky title?

TRIPTIDES: The title actually came after the song was written and recorded. The vibe was supposed to be somewhere between a continued longing for someone even after accepting that love is dead.

B3SCI: How has Triptides evolved as a band on Sun Pavilion from your previous full length Psychic Summer LP and other releases?

TRIPTIDES: We’ve moved away from a strictly summer sound and are currently experimenting with the astral properties of the other seasons.

B3SCI: Sun Pavilion seems to have a nod to timeless British guitar pop. How, if at all, has British pop music of past and present influenced Triptides?

TRIPTIDES: The Beatles are one of our favorite bands. They’ve taught us a lot about songwriting and melody. Piper at the Gates of Dawn has definitely been an influence. The Troggs, Hendrix and Cream have definitely influenced the heavier aspects of our sound.

B3SCI: The band seems to have a passion for analog recording. How important would you say the recording process is to the Triptides sound?

TRIPTIDES: It’s been very important so far. We started with a 4 track Portastudio but for Sun Pavilion we used an 8 track Portastudio. The recording process is key to our writing process; we frequently don’t know how the bass/piano/2nd guitar is going to sound until we’ve recorded other parts of the song. A lot of time I’ll demo out every part of a song on the 8 track just to show it to the band – it’s our equivalent of sheet music.

B3SCI: Is there a track on Sun Pavilion that you feel particularly proud of as a band?

TRIPTIDES: We probably worked on the track “Morning Dew” the longest. It went through a bunch of different versions and started out sounding a lot different. It took a lot of demos before it ended up sounding how it does on the record.

B3SCI: When can fans expect to catch Triptides on tour?

TRIPTIDES: Possibly this winter, definitely this summer.

B3SCI: When Triptides isn’t playing music, what passions bide your time?

TRIPTIDES: Space travel, super smash brothers and records.

B3SCI: We’re hooking you guys up with a free ride on the B3SCI time machine, where are you guys heading?

TRIPTIDES: Pink Floyd’s “Games For May” concert, May 12, 1967

Triptides indiana (Bandcamp)

reviewed by
11-14-12

Premiere: Bogan Via – Manny (Glass Theory Remix)

Producer and songwriter Glass Theory drops in some four-on-the-floor, while interweaving the steadfast hooks of “Manny” on this new remix for indie folk-pop duo on the rise, Bogan Via. Glass Theory is the alias of L.A. based multi-instrumental and Swedish-pop enthusiast Jack Duff. Here Duff teleports “Manny” back to the future with his unique 80s nu disco spin on a record that is sure to fit nicely on your next playlist opening between the likes of Big Black Delta, Diamond Rings, Gold Fields and any other New Order friendly appreciation pop.

Glass Theory (Facebook)
Bogan Via arizona (Facebook)

Rating 8.1

brown8

reviewed by
11-12-12