Twice As Nice shine up some “Gold” from LA based trio Sir Sly with this latest remix. The Australian duo make for a nicely matched pairing as they fuse a slow burning electro pulse into the song’s intransitive melancholy melody. Sample an exclusive premiere of the remix below and catch Sir Sly on tour throughout the US this May.
Sir Sly 
(Facebook)
Twice As Nice
(Facebook)
Rating 8.3
We can’t express enough how refreshing it is to hear new band sound like this. Outside the stale lines of most guitar bands from the last 5 years, “Armed” nods to a different class of influence from the obscure side of the Clash to psychedelic British rock. In honor of SKATERS recent 7” release for “I Wanna Dance (But I Don’t Know How),” the band are giving away a digital download of “Armed”. Also, the NYC rockers will head to the UK next week for a month-long headlining tour. They are a don’t miss live show.
SKATERS – Armed [FREE DOWNLOAD]SKATERS 
(Facebook)
Rating 8.3
Yeah, you’re just a sucker for love too. When I moved to SF last year, I don’t think I was prepared (how could I have been?) for just the sheer amount of radio play Pac, Dre & Snoop (& Too Short, it’s like Too Short is a current artist still putting out relevant records) get out here. Which is cool because, of course, I’d rather hear “Do For Love” or “So Many Tears” 1000x more than garbage like “No Worries” or “Pour It Up”. Right so the track; “Sucker For Love” is Italian producer Whitesquare’s nu-house restyling of the classic 2Pac song and it is phenomenal.
Whitesquare 
(Facebook)
Rating: 8.3
Annie’s back. The Norwegian poptress’s great new track “Tube Stops and Lonely Hearts” is a her first release since 2009’s modern classic Don’t Stop LP. “Tube Stops” earns its hit record $$$ a bit differently than some of Annie’s most recognizable singles like “Heartbeat” and “Greatest Hit”, the melodies are denser & the rhythms a bit more circuitous. The track’s hooks (which are still great) are bit more difficult to get to than the more immediate hyper-magnetic quality of her previous singles.
Annie 
(Facebook)
Rating 8.3
“Say Anything” by newcomer songwriter Anderson East is a really stunning. Spare, soulful, evocative but most specifically beautiful this acoustic version of “Say Anything” belongs in league with the best dusty ballads of Bruce or Ryan Adams. Get introduced to this very special track from a very special new artist below.
Anderson East 
()
Rating 8.7
Fran and the boys are keeping the legend that’s Travis alive with “Another Guy”. The song is an excerpt from their forthcoming and 7th studio album, Where You Stand. The title track from the album will be it’s first single and we can expect our first listen this coming Tuesday, April 30th. Mark it. And in the meantime check out this new video for “Another Guy” shot on a VHS in all of it’s scandalous hilarity staring famed Berlin director Wolfgang Becker.
Travis – Another GuyTravis
(Official)
Rating: 8.5
We’ve been waiting for this one to come up for air for some time now. No & So Cal forces unite for “Move Me,” part of Kitsune’s forthcoming America 2 compilation. It’s pretty incredible how well Giraffage’s sample manipulation works with vocal stylings from Jamie Leffler of DWNTWN and Jhameel. It all finds the pocket. Hoping there’s more collaborative projects from these guys in the works because this is one for the books.
Jhameel X Dwntwn X Giraffage – Move Me hat tip to Indie ShuffleJhameel (Facebook)
Giraffage (Facebook)
DWNTWN (Facebook)
Rating 8.7
Photo by Jena Cumbo
We recently had the chance to catch up with one of NY’s finest electronic pop groups AVAN LAVA about their forthcoming debut album, a first national tour, connections to Jeff Buckley, Shakespeare and more! You can read our chat below. Also, you can catch AVAN LAVA perform live this coming Thursday, May 2 at the Echoplex in Los Angeles along with Little Boots and Feathers as part of the first annual BritWeek. Get more info and tix here.
B3SCI: To us, your music instantly evokes one particular thought – dance party. What element of message do you think excites AVAN LAVA most outside of that feel good and high energy vibe?
AVAN LAVA: Minimal sexiness. Excitement comes with confusion, and we’re very confused.
B3SCI: How does it feel to be on your first national tour as AVAN LAVA? Any surprises that fans can expect for this special occasion?
AVAN LAVA: It feels AMAZING!! We’ve played many parts of the world (South-Korea, Bali, Singapore), but have yet to tour the US. We’re excited to eat as much fast food as possible.
B3SCI: Given the band members various backgrounds and commitments in other projects, when your Vapors EP was release in 2009, had you ever thought/known that AVAN LAVA would continue to exist beyond that release?
AVAN LAVA: AVAN LAVA has always felt special, even from the first time me (TC) and Chev tracked our first vocals in the basement of a haunted church. It’s so fun to see it growing..
B3SCI: Was there anything vital or cleansing about Vapors which lead you to your current Flex Fantasy EP release? How will they culminate to your forthcoming debut album?
AVAN LAVA: We definitely got all of our angst and anxieties out in Vapors, and were ready to get more joyful for the second release… The last track in Vapors, “The Easy Way” was so well received in our live show that we felt we needed to head in a more exciting, pop direction.
B3SCI: Is there a particular track on the Flex Fantasy EP that you feel especially proud of as a band?
AVAN LAVA: “Feels Good”. It’s the track that everyone loves. We never thought it would be a single, but it really took on a life of its own.
B3SCI: There seems to be an element if irony oozing from your track “It’s Never Over”. It’s seductive vibe draws you in musically while it’s vocal only seems to call for distance. Do you think there can human elements of tug-of-war in music like there can be in a relationship?
AVAN LAVA: Totally. That’s why every love affair seems to have its own soundtrack.
B3SCI: The sound that comprises AVAN LAVA is an impressive melting pop. What are some contemporary or newest elements of sound that have been captivating and helping evolve the band’s music as of late?
AVAN LAVA: Big room house, trap music, analogue everything.
B3SCI: Lead vocalist TC was first spotted for the band during a reading for a Shakespeare x Jeff Buckley project. Have you ever felt there was an element of fate tying together these artists prolific works and that of AVAN LAVA?
AVAN LAVA: We TRY to hold ourselves to the presumably elevated standards of any great artist. We strive to make songs that sound as good on the thousandth listen as it did on the first. That’s when you know..
*AVAN LAVA’s core is the trio of TC (singer), Le Chev (producer, synths) and Ian Pai (producer, drums) and live they’re making the party complete with Andrew Schneider (percussion), Drew Citron (sing/dance) and Jo Lampert (sing/dance).
Music surrounds us, all day every day, and with the amount of music being released, it’s easy to miss great tracks. We’ve put together a selection of songs that have been in the audiosphere for a few years now, but seemingly haven’t garnered the attention that they deserved. So whether or not you’ve already heard these songs or overlooked them, they are well worth the listen. By Desiree Autobee
*Tracks and year(s) released are as follows.
Best Youth – Honey Trap (2011)
Caroline Smith & The Goodnight Sleeps – Calliope (2011)
Future Trends – How Can I Be (2010)
Donora – Boom Boom (2011)
Ra Ra Rasputin – Forward (2011)
Clive Tanaka Y Su Orquestra – Neu Chicago (2011)
NewVillager – Cocoon House (2011)
1,2,3 – Work (2011)
Jonathan Johansson – Redan Glomda (2011)
Motopony – God Damn Girl (2010)
Burning Hotels – Beard (2011)
Discovery – Swing Tree (2009)
Summer Camp – I Want You (2011)
Brite Futures – Too Young To Kill (2011)
Summer Heart – Please Stay (2011)
The Death Set – Can You Seen Straight (2011)
Wild Beasts – All The King’s Men (2009)
Nathaniel Rateliff – Shroud (2010)
Teenage Bad Girl – X Girl (2011)
ANR – It’s Around You (2011)
B3SCI stopped by Elias Studios in Santa Monica for an exclusive live session with electronic trigger maestro Robert DeLong. His set consisted of several songs from his debut full-length Just Movement, available now via Glassnote Records, including this stellar version of “Happy”. Following the performance was an interview with KCRW DJ and Elias Arts music supervisor Jason Kramer, which you can catch a snippet of at the beginning of the video.
Robert DeLong (Facebook)
We’re loving the visuals on this new music video from The 1975 for the anthemic single “The City”. Check it out below and read our interview with the band about the track here.
Rating 8.7
The Red Bull Music Academy is taking over NYC from April 28 to May 30th for their 15th edition on the music scene in the city. From the undergrounds of hip hop, indie rock and icons of contemporary electronic (Fyling Lotus, Brian Eno, Four Tet, to name a few) and beyond, RBMA cover all the bases. The Academy is presenting a series of buzzworthy events including Drone Activity In Progress at the Knockdown Center in Queens Thursday, May 2nd. Mark this festival on your calendars and grab some Red Bull for what’s sure to be a month’s worth of long nights, and non-stop amazing shows in The Big Apple.
Red Bull Music Academy Event in NYC (Info)
