Knowledge Above All Nonsense is both the mantra and moniker of Columbia MD rapper K.A.A.N. His flow is so staccato and dense, you’ll be listening dozens of times to catch all the knowledge whizzing through your ears. K.A.A.N.’s technical ability is unmistakable and music videos like today’s feature “Phoenix” will cement his status as THE rising star in DMV hip-hop. “Phoenix” comes from K.A.A.N.’s latest release Eclectic Audio, a 5 song mixtape EP that needs no guests or flashy producer credits, just thoughtful production from ORBT that easily stands up to K.A.A.N.’s rhymes.
Hometown Sounds
Showing The World How DC Rocks
Amber Mimz – Never Be
Soul singer Amber Mimz has a honeyed, laid-back delivery that allows her songs to sprawl out for maximum effect. Her latest release THREE ep dropped three new mellow jazzy tunes into the world, and she celebrates tonight with an opening slot for Tiffany Gouché at an early show at U Street Music Hall that also serves as a launch party for literary sanctuary Chloe Society. Get in the mood with this music video for “Never Be”.
Podcast for April 5th, 2016
Tony shows off his new favorite app, while Paul bitches about how a certain U Street music venue is doing business.
Tracklisting:
Babeo Baggins – Stay With Me (Lykke Li cover) [Love Songs For Tough Guys]
Javier Starks – Baby [Indigo Child: “D”-EITY (All Ears)]
Fellow Creatures – Breathe Easy [Fellow Creatures]
Brushes – Whatever, Again [whatever, again]
Teen Suicide – Living Proof [It’s the Big Joyous Celebration, Let’s Stir the Honeypot]
Go Cozy – Our Best Reflections [Glaziao]
Or listen in SoundCloud:
Subscribe to the Hometown Sounds podcast in the iTunes Store or your favorite podcast app! (and tell a friend too!)
Pree – Different Shores
Balancing a hefty dose of psychedelia with their indie folk sound, Pree premiered a new music video yesterday for “Different Shores” from last year’s full length album Rima. Since singer May Tabol is the only woman in Pree, you may be curious who the other character wearing an identical wig is in this video. That’s Paige Brubeck from St. Louis band Sleepy Kitty, and by sheer cosmic coincidence both female-fronted bands are playing a show together tonight at one of the last shows at DCDIT hotspot Above The Bayou, along with the excellent producer Louis Weeks. Simply a no brainer.
Color Palette – Bullets
A few dedicated, well-run house venues in DC survive the test of time and put on a long string of amazing shows. More often, of course, police shut down the party early, landlords get wind of the goings-on and snappy-named venues fade into memory. Which will Casa Bellissima near in Shaw turn out to be? Wouldn’t it be cool to go to their first show ever? Well you can, as synth rockers Color Palette inaugurate the space this Friday with Drive TFC and New York’s Frances Cone. Color Palette’s debut full length album comes out this May, but you can sample their powerful, big room sound now with this live video for “Bullets”. Be cool, bring your own beverages, donate money for the touring band, and don’t scare the house cats.
Lance Neptune – Janus
Despite hailing from the lesser-known DC suburb of Glenarden MD, electronic dance music producer Lance Neptune is blessed with buzz from top outlets like Beatport, Vice and XLR8R, who named Neptune one of 2015’s best new artists. After crafting a well-received remix of UK artist Lone, Lone’s label Magicwire woke up from a 3 year slumber and released Neptune’s EP Animal Eclipse, six tracks of truly cosmic dance music in a similar vein to Protect-U. “Janus”, a moon of Saturn and the EP’s first single, gets a music video from Rafael Bonillav channeling Neptune’s insatiable love of space into a claymation exploration of alien life on uncharted planets.
Mellow Diamond – No Treaty
Cellist Janel Leppin, always at the forefront of experimental mind-blowing music in DC, has been struggling to release her debut solo record as Mellow Diamond for years. Despite being recorded, mixed and mastered, no label she met with was willing to put it out the way Leppin intended, so she has gone the route of many in the DIY scene and started her own label, Wedderburn Records. Last year we featured Mellow Diamond’s first ambient, dreamy video “Namesake”, and earlier this week she dropped the second video, “No Treaty”. It’s a surprising turn to moody pop music with lyrics, strummed electric guitar and a steady 4/4 beat with handclaps, while the video keeps things trippy as video artist Michael Hindert manipulates travel footage shot by Leppin. Mellow Diamond’s album finally emerges later this week after a celebratory show Thursday night at Songbyrd featuring a finely curated lineup of fellow female-fronted experimental pop bands, Roz and the Rice Cakes and Pree.
Podcast for March 22nd, 2016
Tony reminisces about a high school road trip to a show that ended disastrously, and Paul learns that scratching records is much harder than it looks.
Tracklisting:
Hotel Garuda – Smoke Signals
Calm and Crisis – Traffic [In A Real Good Place]
Drop Lockers – S.O.P. (Remix) [single]
Plurals – Nothing Really Matters (Come Watch TV) [Plurals]
The Greatest Hoax – Opus No. 30 [enso]
DÉVÅZ – 125 Mg Zoloft [125 Mg Zoloft]
Or listen in SoundCloud:
Subscribe to the Hometown Sounds podcast in the iTunes Store or your favorite podcast app! (and tell a friend too!)
Wall of Trophies – Never/Always
The second music video from Wall of Trophies‘ debut album Heliograph is an absolute stunner. From the first moment of “Never/Always”, the peaceful street footage of Amsterdam shot by the band back in October 2014 is undercut with the song’s skittish, ominous notes from producer Will Copps. Colors quickly begin to distort and by the time Brittany Jean’s vocals come in, the hallucinations take over the scene, rendering everything beautiful and suspect and metaphysical. Wall of Trophies has crafted the best kind of psychedelic, meditative drug trip with this music video. More please.
The Relics – Substance
Reggae fans in DC lost a lot of energy with last year’s closing of Patty Boom Boom on U Street. Silver Spring band The Relics keep the good vibes alive after singer Menlik Zergabachew’s shot at stardom on NBC’s The Voice in 2014 brought them wider attention. Though they haven’t yet released a proper album or played a hometown show in a couple of years, they do have a debut music video for the single “Substance” with some beautiful images from director Daniel Agre.
Hometown Sounds 