Your new favorite cassette is over at Wigflip right now, fresh beats from the label founder himself. Will Pesta is Inflatable Mattress, who is also known to produce psycho-ambient swirls under the Happy Family moniker. I covered the first side of this tape, Pumped Up, back at the beginning of this year.
Side B sports Blue Mattress - a deeper cosmic adventure through beats. "Silent Heads" is an early groove on the side, a stand-out lifter that rolls like clouds over a skyscraper.
This is Wigflip's newest offering, available to order now on tape from their site or digitally over on Boomkat. Also, you definitely don't want to miss out on this wonked-out romper room short for the Jazzy J mix of "Funkhouser."
Friends Records begins its takeover of the Windup Space tonight with Sri Aurobindo, Witch Hat, Birds of Avalon, and Happy Family. RSVP here, and to tomorrow's show here.
Sri Aurobindo's follow-up to their debut long player Cave Painting is near, and will be coming in the form of a double A-side 7" limited to 300 copies. The first taste was premiered yesterday on YVYNYL, an unmastered version of the track "No Coincidence".
"No Coincidence" is a raucous beast, but an offering that also shows off another side of these psychedelic warriors from Baltimore. From the depths of their garage comes this sonically-dense pop-laced scorcher, right in time for summer. A mastered version will appear on one side of this 7", while the other will house "Eyes" - another new track.
Both songs were produced at Chris Freelands's Beat Babies studio just outside of Baltimore. All artwork was designed by Will Pesta, who also did the flyer for tonight's show at the Windup with Sri Aurobindo, Witch Hat, Happy Family, and Birds of Avalon.
RSVP to tonight's show here, and pre-order the limited 7" from Friends Records here.
A few weekend's ago the Hexagon hosted an evening of sample-based solo projects, capped off with the full-on electro psych sounds of Raindeer. Matthew Papich's Co La set was particularly captivating, projecting images of champagne while he had a waitress pass out free glasses of bubbly. His Friends Recs release, Dial Tone Earth, is out soon.
Valerie attended the affair and captured shots of Raindeer and Co La.
Just announced: Zu Shapes will make his live debut at the Hexagon on Saturday (4/23) where he'll be opening for Raindeer, Co La, and Happy Family. The show starts at 9 PM.
Friends Records is debuting a handful of brand new cassettes over the coming weeks, one of which is the debut from Zu Shapes who I introduced you to a few weeks back. Zu Shapes is Beau Cole of Lands and Peoples and Raindeer, and his debut is called Merigold. More new sounds have now surfaced, take a gander at "Speak in Sheets" below.
"Speak In Sheets" has been stuck in my head for the past month, but I sure as fuck don't mind. These sounds emanate the surf-pop of the 60s, but do so from the perspective of modern day bedroom pop with a jaded twist. "Speak In Sheets" is Zu Shapes' oceanfront sing-a-long, a glowing anthem that the late Dennis Wilson would likely be proud of.
You can pre-order Zu Shapes' Merigold cassette from Friends Records right here.
Saturday night I attended a show at the Penthouse put together by Mike of Run DMT which was a lot of fun, and boasted a strong bill from start to finish. Opening was Happy Family, the solo project of Will Pesta who is also responsible for the equally amazing Wigflip Records and Inflatable Mattress. The latter is Will's beat-oriented moniker, a project of which is he's just about to relinquish another batch of jaded bangers through.
The upcoming mix is called Pumped Up, and is healthy portion of heavily-dosed beats worthy of cosmic minds that dig into a deep exploration of pop music. You see, Will started working at Sound Garden a few months ago. Thus, dude is bringing back a steadier new helping of wax to his laboratory. The new album almost exclusively samples from his newly acquired vinyl snatched up from the Fells Point record shop.
I've heard many stories about what working at a record store can do your music intake and consumption habits, and I suppose Pumped Up is an aural portrait of what Will Pesta has been experiencing since starting his new job. These super chunky beats of all varieties are laced with wonky psychedelia and a green fog that tends to be ecstatically dense with sonics. What does this say about Pesta's current pallet? The world may never truly know, but these new pieces are pretty fucking radical nonetheless.
Look for Inflatable Mattress' Pumped Up to drop for free on Wigflip Records soon.
Highlighting just a few ongoings this weekend, starting tonight at Club Phoenix where Cullen Stalin's Ice Age takes over. This week he's got Katrina Ford (Celebration) guest DJing, along with Door as well. Expect sounds of the dark, bizarre, rare, proto-industrial, positive punk, minimal synth wave variety. Free before 11 PM and just $2 after.
The flyer above was just passed along to me from Mike of Run DMT acclaim who promises "a psyched out other world party/show/psychedelic experience." He's throwing a pretty radical show at the Penthouse Saturday night that features Providence's Cool World along with a surprise set from Winks and also sets from Happy Family and Costume Box (a project from DJ Dog Dick). This probably starts around 10 PM.
I've mentioned the infectiously ambient works of Dead Drums here before, the solo project of Caleb from Lands & Peoples. He's got an EP in the works to be released via Bathetic Records, and was kind enough to pass along a new taste last night. Above is "A Thousand", a gentle grower that starts with a low hum which hardly prepares you for the beauty to come. A light cloud of bliss captures the first half, until guitars transform your feelings of content into pure happiness in the end. Listening to this jam in full is a must.
Happy Family has been a favorite of mine since he sent over his original EP, and for the past couple years we've gotten taste after taste of a full length that's been in the works. I've had the opportunity to take a listen to several incarnations of the forthcoming album, and "Laura's Diet" (above) is certainly a high point of the journey. You can snag this track as part of Wigflip's End of Summer comp that dropped a few weeks ago.
The Soft House hosted a killer lineup last Friday night, and one of our photographers Valerie was there to shoot the whole evening. I unfortunately missed out on this one, but I heard through the grapevine that it was a more than stellar affair. Get a glimpse of some more shots below, and the full photo set after the jump.
I am extremely excited to premiere a brand new compilation from our friends over at Wigflip Records. Caleb Moore (Lands & Peoples / Dead Drums) passed along this doosey of a release last night, the first compilation to come out of the new Baltimore label.
The comp is called SUN SUN SUN, and features new and exclusive things from a whole mess of Baltimore goodness. It is available as a free download, which Bmore Musically Informed is proud to premiere at the link below:
Wigflip's compilation sports some pretty heady ambient jams from the likes of Dead Drums, Semya, Winks, Zu Shapes, Brendan Sullivan, Amy Reid, Run DMT, Dustin Wong, Happy Family, Rod Hamilton, Dygn, and Amanda Schmidt. It's a bright and dreamy summer adventure, one that's best served with an open mind and deep spirit. Caleb, who curated the tracks and put together the art, had this to say about the release...
"Some of these people are my close friends, and some of them are acquaintances that I simply respected the shit out of. Over the course of this project those two lines were blurred, my relationships with the participants grew, and our musical tastes shifted ever so slightly. This has been in the works for about six months. For me, this compilation is a perfect representation of everything I love about the Baltimore music/art community."
Get the full track list after the jump, and look out for a physical release to come. Dead Drums - "Voicemail" Semya - "Stardust Magic" Winks - "Bongy Rubble" Zu Shapes - "Fakin' It" Brendan Sullivan - "Plans To Make" Amy Reid - "Nooks" Run DMT - "Abulanceone" Dustin Wong - "Soft Metal" Happy Family - "Cat Videos" Rod Hamilton - "Snowden" Dygn - "Snowed In" Amanda Schmidt - "Theme For Daytime Television"
Tonight you've got two adventures to choose from, one of which will weave you in and out of the silky marmalade forest full of ambient pop bliss, while the other will enter you into the stank-filled jungle of experimental angst and pure adrenaline. This might sound like a harsh curve, and well, that's because it is.
One of my favorite Baltimore spots, The Soft House, is hosting a super nice one tonight with Happy Family, Do While, Avocado Happy Hour, and Holy Ghost Party. Will of Happy Family just released one of the best splits I've heard in a while, one that features Run DMT on the A-side and himself on the B-side. The beautiful track streaming above is from that tape, and you can snag the whole thing from Wigflip now. Also, Avocado Happy Hour will be performing Spiegel en Spiegel by Arvo Part, and ice cream treats are promised by Amanda from AHH.
If you choose the jungle adventure, you'll be heading to the Golden West where you'll find the Twin Stumps album release party for Seedbed. Their new LP on Fan Death is incredibly awesome, and these dudes are even better live. They'll be supported by Leather and Janitor, and this one will run you five American dollars.
I've been stoked for a lot of the releases to come out of the Wigflip ranks this year, but there was one brewing all along that the mere thought of had me foaming at the mouth. Will aka Happy Family emailed me Banana Split last week, a split release with Happy Family and Run DMT. I have not listened to much else since.
We got the first taste of this release a few weeks back, when Run DMT's "Spruce Bringstein" seemed to appear magically on the interwebs from up and out of the clouds.
"Spruce Bringstein" is a clear departure for Run DMT, an incredibly catchy 60s vibe pop song that is a long ways away from the experimental sound collages painted on Bong Voyage and Get Ripped or Die Tryin'. While I was (and still am) a sucker for the his first two releases, this jam is easily one of the best single tracks I've heard all year. In what could be one of the more intriguing on-stage collaborations I've heard about, Lands and Peoples joined Run DMT on stage to play this live down at Total Bummer. L&P claims they butchered it, but they can do no wrong in my mind.
While the A side is full of four new tracks from Run DMT, the B side sports three new gems from Happy Family. "Youtube" made it's way to the internet a few weeks ago, but is now the official single of the release. Check it out in all it's glory.
I raved about Happy Family's debut EP last year, and its clear Will has one-upped his game and has is ambitions set high. "Youtube" is one of the prettier tracks I've heard this year, with sounds that warm your insides and calm your brain cells . There's a spacey and ghostly feel to all this beauty, like the feeling one gets when they go bowling with space-spirits somewhere on Mars for dollar beer night. If that didn't make any sense to you, please listen to "Youtube" once more. Yes.
Banana split is closed out with Happy Family's "Laura's Diet" and "Going To", two tracks that flow seamlessly into one another with a very pure and upbeat grace. Wigflip will be offering the split in either compact disc or cassette tape form, both of which you can pre-order right now. RUN DMT + HAPPY FAMILY BANANA SPLIT
RUN DMT 1. spruce bringsteen 2. murder she wrote 3. heavy vibin' 4. cash for gold
HAPPY FAMILY 6. youtube 7. laura's diet 8. going to
Wigflip Records just got going this year, yet this is already the eighth digital release under their belt. Wigflip's first physical release, Do While's self titled CD, is now up for pre-order, but the label's already got a few other jaunts in swing.
There's talks of a Run DMT/Happy Family split 12 inch in the works, and the infectiously fantastic track above is said to be one of the new Run DMT diddies you'll find on there. But for now, the fellow's just dropped Lexx'sMangoblunt.
Above is "Throw Ma Thing Down", a Mangblunt track that cuts some Missy into the mix.
For those who dug the Inflatable Mattress release, (other moniker for Happy Family's Will Pesta) Real Talk, Mangoblunt is another tape of tainted beats and hazy club jammers. This EP also might mark the first time a Ying Yang Twins verse has been used in fair taste since... always. This 20 minute EP offers a smattering of synth-driven beats with found sounds and warped vintage layers abound. It's certainly a fun listen and would prove delightful for any 1 AM porch session dance party. Lexx tosses traditional hip hop of the crunked out variety and damages it with art from a wide palette, leaving behind some heavy beats.
Not without some funk, dance, and soul - this one pays homage with glitches and mashes that get you all jittery inside. Certainly worth a listen, Mangoblunt is a free download over on Wigflip. Also free for your downloading pleasure, Lexx's Slime Time.
Diva Cup is one of the newer entities to surface from the Wigflip-related circle of jaded electronics here in Baltimore. A few weeks ago Sam, aka Diva Cup, sent me over a thirteen track full length called X Minus One.
The majority of this album is spent off in space, where you are blasted off to in opening track "Bmore". Up there, time is spent in array of instances and influences that are chopped together into blissful chunks of audio. Influences are varied, but friends of Sam's like Run DMT and Happy Family are blatantly evident. Instances throughout X Minus One seem more far and wide, with samples ranging from Muhammad Ali to Kermit the Frog.
Streaming above is "Magikarpet", a vibey and up-paced track towards the end of the release that's drenched in electronic exuberance. Below, download the full album for free.
Download Link:Diva Cup - X Minus One The album is thirty lively minutes of sample-based beats and songs, that is "meant to be shared with all the living creatures of the enchanted forest". All forest dwellers will be able to scoop up the album this summer via Wigflip Records.
Sam also occasionally contributes to Happy Family, Will Pesta's amazing project that should see it's first proper full length released this year. Influences play a major role in this Diva Cup release. The tenth track is dubbed "Happy Family", sampling "Running in the Fields" which was the second track on Happy Family's 2009 Sound Farm EP. Run DMT's "Ramona" is also the base of "Ramona Ali", where Muhammad Ali's words are sprinkled over top the new incarnation.
This is an album that represents a culture that is consistently connected to media - where Youtube videos run rampant with avant beats and melodic journeys. It is the uplifting and positive side to these factors that are what's addressed throughout X Minus One, leaving the downside back on earth.
The newest release from Wigflip Records recently blessed my inbox. This one comes compliments of Will Pesta aka Happy Family, but is released under the moniker Inflatable Mattress. Real Talk is a beat tape that has been brewing over the past several months.
Will has been working on the Happy Family full length the past several years, but wanted an outlet for some less song-oriented sounds. I've been digging on these wacked-out hip hop beats, and got some insight from Will yesterday while he was sitting in on an abstract painting lecture. Real Talk sports 26 tracks, ranging from five seconds to two and a half minutes in length. Noting yesterday that he had been listening to a lot of abstract and experimental hip hop, it's clear these beats aren't going to lay the track for the next Kanye West single. But man, would I love to see someone take a stab at throwing some verses over these sounds. Check out "Have a Nice Trip See You Next Fall":
Just like Happy Family and other like-minded Wigflip releases, Real Talk boasts samples taken from just about everywhere. Some samples in these come from tracks by friends, including ones from Run DMT and Free Kisses. Other sounds derive from youtube videos, Tina Turner chanting on Larry King Live, and his parents records.
The result is some, at times, pretty dirty beats that are filtered through electronic haze and spliced together with intergalactic noise. Will attempted to put at least one of these together each day, eventually polishing them all into a record. They all flow together in a warped out kind of way, and are an ideal accompaniment for car rides and cosmic freestyle throw-downs.
You can grab this free release over at Wiglip Records right now.
Enter Wigflip Records, Baltimore's newest label. Will of Happy Family is largely responsible, deciding that he much rather start a music label than paint for his thesis at MICA.
Wigflip will house a heavy load of new and enchanting artists, ranging from the likes of Happy Family, Run DMT, Semya, Do While, Lands and Peoples, and plenty more. These releases look to be mostly of the digital variety, and also mostly free.
Download Run DMT + Happy Family's new AMANDA HUGGANKISS, and get more details on this release and a handful of others below. Will from Wigflip is particularly excited about two albums coming out in early spring, largely because he's watched them grow and is now seeing it all come together quite nicely. Semya will release a full length called Georythyms, and Do While will have a self titled release, both of which are available in March via Wigflip.
You can download Run DMT and Happy Family's collaborative AMANDA HUGGANKISS above for free in all its faded spacey glory. This release takes guitar drones and varying samples and squeezes them all through one of those Play-Doh spaghetti things, only to mush it all back together at some sort of intergalactic laundromat.
Wigflip Records will also host the next two full lengths from both Happy Family and Run DMT. I know I've been jonesing for a Happy Family LP since the Sound Farm EP, and its good to hear this is in the works. We've still got the audio up from his stellar Soft Fest 2009 set too.
Be sure to stop by the label's site, as they've already got up some other classy free sounds. You can currently grab two EPs from The Treehouse, Bong Voyage by Run DMT, and a mix made for the bathroom at Soft Fest. Look for more info/thoughts on Wigflip's releases to come right here.
This is Bmore Musically Informed's top 20 albums list of 2009 released by artists who call Baltimore home. Rankings were determined by vinyl wear and tear, iTunes play count, and placing a value on love. Intense moral and emotional qualms were reached when ranking number one through five.
Look for more locally-oriented lists regarding music here soon, and feel free to send in your own input. I tried to limit this list to mostly LPs, but there are a few worthy EPs thrown into the mix. 2009 was another fantastic year here in Baltimore, and here are the releases to prove it:
5. Weekends - WeekendsLP and Suburban Dome EP This was Weekends' debut LP, and I found it permeating my ears quite often this year. These guys played a hell of a lot of shows, and came hard each and every time. Both of these contain "riffs of pure joy", and have left me feeling this good every listen. I am excited to be playing a major part in their upcoming LP, a vinyl/digital release via Friends Records in early 2010. 4. Arbouretum - Song of the Pearl Arbouretum have been a staple here as of late, and this is the most cohesive release of their career. The production on Song of the Pearl is impeccable, allowing every note Dave's vocals hits to flawlessly boom just as it does seeing them live. This is psychedelic doom folk at its best.
3. Wye Oak - The Knot Andy and Jenn are likely going to be make a lot of amazing music for a long time to come. The Knot ensured my faith in this, as at times it does an almost perfect job of capturing Wye Oak's live performance, putting it into tangible form. This album possesses some of the most aurally beautiful moments Baltimore has produced this year.
2. Dan Deacon - Bromst Without even bringing up what he means to Baltimore, just look at the facts. Dan Deacon built off of the hyperactive electronics of Spiderman of the Rings, and turned it into a mind-bending and blissful composition performed by a large ensemble of talented local musicians. One of my fondest memories of 2009 was Dan and the ensemble closing out Whartscape's outside stage, mainly due to my obsession with Bromst.
1. Double Dagger - More There was no album that I found myself coming back to over and over again this year more than More. This is by far Double Dagger's most dynamic LP to date, and embodies a band that represents Baltimore to the fullest. This is a meaningful album by a meaningful band, period.
One of Baltimore's newer projects, Happy Family was just another extremely talented artist slotted to play Soft Fest last weekend. He played a set that promised a lot more good things to come, as the entire performance was new material.
Compliments of David Carter, the audio is available to download in MP3 and FLAC form after the click. Along with the rest of our photo coverage of Soft Fest, Valerie is responsible for all of the fantastic shots. Happy Family's set was one of the more upbeat moments of Sunday night's lineup. His take on sample-based pop music makes you feel all warm and fuzzy on the inside, much like the genre's best, Panda Bear. Hear and see for yourself below.
Another weekend in Baltimore, and yet another heap of shows to choose from. One event certainly stands out, spanning both Saturday and Sunday. Soft Fest features some of the areas finer mellifluous tunes.
Both days get going at 6 PM and run until midnight, with over ten acts each night all worth checking out. Organizers promise other activities of a more humbled variety, including chess tournaments, silent films, and Tom Selleck. Yup.
I've highlighted a bunch of these artists before, as a lot have contributed some of the more beautiful tracks from within 695. Dustin Wong's magnificent Seasons has found its way to my turntable often, an LP drenched in unique textures and layers.
Avocado Happy Hour are currently working on their next album, with much to look forward to. They kindly sent me over a couple live tracks from an acoustic set they did at Sonic Circuits. Below is "Sitting Down", performed with a vibraphone, marimba, glockenspiel, and Amanda singing through a megaphone.
Happy Family had an EP titled Sound Farm that had me pretty excited s few months back, with one of the catchier floaty bedroom pop jams I've heard. Check out "Cups" below.
And Lands and Peoples have shown much promise, as their hand-sewn sleeved EP is lush with dreamy folk pop sure to have you thinking of some of the better acts possessing similar sounds. Check out EP standout "Bad Habits".
There are others playing that I've pointed out before, and many of which I hope to recommend in the future. Stop by and stay awhile on Saturday or Sunday, or both. I've been asked to provide you with this email address, in case you need to know the location of said gathering. With a flyer like the one below, and Tom Selleck promised to be in attendance, showing up is a no brainer.
Hazy free-flowing pop music via sampling has been quite plentiful over these last few years. However with this genre comes the good, the bad (a lot of it), and every now and then... the fantastic.
The other day, my inbox thankfully introduced me to a project in my own backyard. Happy Family seems to have contrived some of the best whatever-fidelity bedroom pop jams I've heard in awhile.
He just relinquished his debut, a four song EP titled Sound Farm. Lucky for all of us, he's made it available in its entirety as a free download. These four tracks boast promise of more great things to come, and are most certainly seasonally relevant. Summertime generally brings sunshine and smiles, and the compact carnival-esque nature of EP opener "Cups" embodies just that. This track is free-spirited and bubbling, with layers upon layers of sounds. Capped off with warped Brian Wilson style melodies that are damn near impossible to hate on, this one's a must hear.
"Running in the Fields" is more like a day laying on the beach than a fairground ride. Layered synthetic waves slowly creep in and out, with bursts of sonics rich in texture. The last two tracks bring more of an experimental feel, as "Mindless Pleasures" starts off with a champer pop feel that erupts into a more lively romp.
You have absolutely no reason not to go download this, or at least stream "Cups" on his muxtape. Check back for more deets on Happy Family, including some videos.
