“Oh do our neighbors up north know how to to party. Grimm, a Toronto native and maestro of the DnB scene has paired up with fellow DJ/producer Rainer to create a new project. Their first offering is the is chilled house flip of PartyNextDoor’s “Persian Rugs”. With some more remixes and EP on the way, we will patiently for the next track from the duo. Reviewed by Brian Litwin
Rainer + Grimm 
: (Soundcloud)
Rating: 8.7
We interviewed Kyogi a handful of months ago and he has been pretty quiet up until recently. Putting a nice spin on London based Arkon Fly, the now 16 y/o wiz does this funky track justice. The single originally got a bit of love from BBC Radio 1 and Zane Lowe and now this remix should help its trajectory. Looking forward to more from both. Reviewed by Brian Litwin
Kyogi 
(Facebook)
Rating 8.3857
After three different visits by The Crookes to SXSW over the past few years, LA fans finally got to lay their eyes and ears on this engaging Sheffield, UK band. While still young, this is a band about to release it’s fourth album, “Soapbox”. They’ve been looking forward to this LA performance debut for a long time and it’s safe to say that virtually everyone at The Echo was more than pleased with the show. This extremely likable ‘lot’ have winning melodies and play airtight with energetic crispness.
The sound couldn’t have been any better that night of March 23rd. The Crookes nailed current single “Play Dumb”, which was a “Rave’s Fave” on this site. Show opener “Don’t Put Your Faith In Me” is a mid-tempo, wise choice for a second single. It could be that with The Crookes’ melodies, lyrics, and George Waite’s beautiful voice, their breakthrough single just might turn out to be a slower charmer. With strong songs from each of their albums, there are no dull moments at a Crookes show. For their encore, the band slipped into the crowd for a mic-less acoustic version of “The Cooler King” from 2013’s “Hold Fast” album. Word is they only do this when they’ve had a great time, and what a dope way to end a show. That bonding provided great vibes, with pictures and videos being shot from every direction. The great Brit bands need to tour… tour, and the tour some more in America. Such is the case with The Crookes, who hope to be back on our shores soon. Plan to see them when you can. Reviewed By Bruce Rave
The Crookes 
(Facebook)
Hear Bruce’s “Go Deep With Bruce Rave” weekly new music show on Indie1031/Los Angeles and WSUM-FM/Madison. Details and archived shows can be found on his blog and be sure follow Bruce on Twitter too!
Munich-based LCAW re-styles “Darling Are You Gonna Leave Me” from London Grammar into 7 minutes 12 seconds of fresh and clear Balearic-infused night-time nu-disco.
LCAW 
(Soundcloud)
Rating 8.3
“Meet Me There” is the new single from ex-Portico Quartet artist Nick Mulvey. We loved the Brazilian/W. Hemisphere-influenced Cucurucu (Nick is actually an ethnomusicology graduate); While “Meet Me There” is rhythmically more straightforward – it shares the commonality of worldly soulful qualities in its melodies and sound. First Mind, which “Meet Me There” as well as “Cucurucu” are both excerpted from, is out May 12th.
Nick Mulvey (Facebook)
Rating 8.4
Longtime favorite of B3 TOKiMONSTA completes a slinky vibes-down new mix of Tinashe’s radio breakout “2 On”.
TOKiMONSTA 
(Official) (Blog) (Soundcloud)
Rating: 8.3
I recently had a chance to hang with The Orwells after soundcheck at the Troubadour in LA, before they played live on Saturday, March 22. You can see their highly-buzzed about Letterman appearance below, and the band is blowing up at an even faster rate because of it. We discussed this, as well as some of their songs, touring with Arctic Monkeys and Fidlar, getting banned from the High Noon Saloon in Madison, and what people can expect from their “Disgraceland” album that will drop in June. Have a listen below. Also, worth noting our chat about the Lettterman gig didn’t come through real well, so I begin by summarizing what happened and what they’ve had to say about it. – By Bruce Rave
The Orwells 
(Facebook)
Hear Bruce’s “Go Deep With Bruce Rave” weekly new music show on Indie1031/Los Angeles and WSUM-FM/Madison. Details and archived shows can be found on his blog and be sure follow Bruce on Twitter too!
It took a minute, but we have recovered. After battling through the post-SXSW plague (aka an annual gnarly cold), curing our hangovers with some proper hydration via resqwater, and yes…actually getting some sleep, we’re back with our annual report from SX. And so it is; straight from the front lines of ATX, here’s a Top 10 report of SXSW Music 2014 highlights from our troops on the ground.
Mike
Jungle
Wolf Alice
Rare Monk
SOHN
KINS
Zella Day
MISUN
SIVU
GEMS
Moses Sumney
Troy
SXSW 2014. I traversed the Doritos #BoldStage, made memories at SXSubway, got social media-relevant at the Tumblr House and sought precious refuge from the apocalyptic World War Z-esque 6th St. throngs; that and I saw some pretty cool bands and artists. From Moses Sumney’s Central Presbyterian stunning vocal sermon to Sango’s star-level beat-making to Soundgarden’s sludgy rooftop stab at Superunkown; the musical component of SX is still at least maintaining a high level. Here’s few of my favorites from the festival.
Moses Sumney
Arthur Beatrice
Sango
Jungle
Angel Olsen
Soundgarden
Sam Smith
Misun
Banks
Kaytranada
Brian Litwin
SXSW 2014 was a big one, making headlines all over the world for puke, corporations and tragedies. For me, SXSW was similar to “Starred” playlist on Spotify; mostly all different genres, all with buzz and a sense of uniqueness. It was a pleasure working with Team B3SCI on their incredible shows and an honor to spend that time with friends in such an incredible city. Here are my 10 highlights of SXSW 2014:
The Preatures
Bipolar Sunshine
Wave Racer
Eagulls
100s
Young and Sick
Cashmere Cat
Kelela
SKATERS
Beat Culture
*Just to sneak one last one in there – the Ray Ban X Boiler Room set was unreal…”
Bruce Rave
Another successful SXSW (South By Sponsorship Week) is behind us. One trend is that there seemed to be fewer rapidly-growing, up and coming buzz bands in that middle level between the big names and the many newbies. Congrats to our Mike and Troy for dropping the first Jungle EP on their B3SCI label, and for Jungle being one of the week’s most talked about bands. I mostly skipped great bands bands I’ve seen, and there weren’t many surprises this year besides the incredibly enthusiastic Gary Numan.
The Strypes
Temples
Gary Numan
Jungle
Moses Sumney
The Crookes
Chloe Howl
Misun
Kid Karate
The Griswolds
“Smokestacks”, new from UK singer LAYLA, succeeds on its perfectly paced dynamics and huge headspace-filling sounds; that and it’s terrific melodically and vocally and in just about every other quality that you can judge a tune. Listen.
LAYLA Glass Animals (Facebook)
Rating 8.6
“Jupiter Grayscale” is the brand new collaboration between fave R&B singer Gallant and fave instrumentalist Maths Time Joy. Wow. The low-touch vibe-heavy production/instrumental from MTJ is a near perfect match for Gallant’s subtle and melodic airy croon and the two have as evidenced on “Jupiter Greyscale” have both pushed each other creatively to a new level as this is the best track yet from Gallant. (and the credit yet in the production field for Maths Time Joy). “Jupiter Greyscale” is a standout moment for both artists. P.S. Don’t miss our show with Gallant this Sunday (3/30) at the Bootleg in L.A.; details here.
Gallant 
(Soundcloud)
Rating 8.3
Ah yes, Glass Animals. The Harvest-signed (Banks, Arthur Beatrice, Young & Sick, etc) alt R&B crew have been cruising through in recent months with a very impressive list of singles (including the aquarium soul of “Gooey” and the contemporary devotional that is “Black Mambo”). The come hither tones of the Tei-Shi-assisted “Holiest” is the latest very good iteration of the GA sound. complete w/ warm sparkling electronics and a visceral drum track that is circadian in its humanness. “Gooey” is the new EP from Glass Animals and its out April 8.
Glass Animals (Facebook)
Rating 8.6
