WKNC 88.1 FM - North Carolina State University Student Radio
You can connect with Through the Tallwoods via their bandcamp (http://throughthetallwoods.bandcamp.com) & on social media (Instagram: @throughthetallwoodsnc). Their facebook link is https://www.facebook.com/throughthetallwoods/
Check out their EP Growth, now on all streaming services.
You can find WKNC on all social media via @wknc881 & online at Wknc.org.
Laura’s also the host of The Local Beat on WKNC. Find them on Instagram.
Get Psyched intro music was created by PME, used by permission. Find PME on Spotify.
Learning a new language can be hard and frustrating sometimes, but it can also be incredibly rewarding. I’ve found a hack to get the best of both worlds, not frustrating and rewarding: listening to music in the language. Music is a universal language and this method of learning is both enjoyable and effective. I’m learning spanish right now and I recently started listening to the language more for practice. At first I stuck to the music I knew and grew up on, but then I decided to checkout Indie music in spanish, since I love indie and spanish, and I absolutely love it. Música De Indie will serve the same purpose as 2k Indie, just with Spanish music. I’ll be giving you some of the new spanish indie of the week starting with:
Secuestro Al Corazón by Katzu Oso : Roughly translating to ‘A Kidnapping to the heart’. This track uses crime to describe what love feels like. The singer is conflicted as to whether their love is a mistake or not, but doesn’t want to admit it, they feel as if the love they feel is out of their control and they’re being held in this love unwillingly. The synths provide a very smooth and groovy vibe, and the mix of electronic noises, and other unique sounds used in the instrumentation, really make the music stand out in this one.
Epitafio by Caloncho : Epitafio translates to Epitaph, something similar to a eulogy. This song is about a man who wishes not to hurt those he loves when he passes. He wants them to know that he will move on to better things and leave the world happy. This song also instrumentally sounds as cute as its lyrics are. The soft vocals are accompanied by beautifully simplistic music full of acoustic guitar, some soft steady drums, and a slow but sweet electric guitar solo.
Todo tiene un precio by Niños Mutantes : This song has been incredibly helpful for practicing pronunciation. Being able to pull up the lyrics and sing along is really nice because I absolutely love this track and it’s repetitive enough not to be too difficult. The title translates to ‘Everything has a price’ and just as its title implies it’s a warning that everything comes with a price, and it’s not always money. The catchy and repetitive nature has made this my absolute favorite recently, and one I’d definitely recommend to anyone wanting to practice some singing in Spanish.
Vamos a emocionarnos con la música
DJ Psyched
2k Indie didn’t have a name when it started on September 1, 2018, but it did have the same mission: showcasing great new indie music and artists. At the time, my music library was much smaller then it is now and I was way less familiar with the genre. Anyhow, when I was still in the DJ training course I decided that I wanted to make my first playlist the best playlist I could come up with, so I started making this playlist two months before it aired. Since it was put together so particularly I wanted to look back at the playlist and see how much the show has changed and go down memory lane a bit.
‘On Your Mind’ by Jaguar Club was the first song I ever played on air, I absolutely loved, well still do love, this track. The song has played on 2k Indie a few times since, such an amazing track having so little exposure just really makes me want to get it out there. The band hasn’t posted anything new since, at least not that I can find, but they sure dropped a banger two years ago.
Looking back at this playlist I find a lot of other tracks that have made more than one appearance on the show, a lot of these tracks ended up taking spots on my personal playlists as well. The thing that shocks me most looking back is that I didn’t play Cecil Frena during my first shift, their album was the first I ever reviewed for WKNC and to this day it is one of my absolute favorites.
I’m happy that there was a decent amount of variety in this playlist, something I try to be conscious of (especially since I started as Daytime Music Director). ‘What’s so Great, Britain?’ and ‘End of an Era’ are definitely the ‘heaviest’ songs on the playlist. I’ve said it many times, but since ‘indie’ is such a broad and undefinable concept I sometimes test the genre’s limits and see what unique music I can get to fit in. I find a lot of different styles can fit nicely into an indie playlist without standing out too much, punk/grunge is definitely one of them.
It’s also pretty neat seeing so many artists that I play on my segment now/ put in rotation for WKNC, especially considering I didn’t really know many artists back then. Cape Weather’s tantalizing track ‘Never Say’ made the list, and they were also recently put into rotation for the full length record they just released. Modern Diet has also been releasing a lot of new music lately and was the ‘perfect ending’ I had in this playlist. I was really obsessed with starting and finishing this set with two of my favorites, and this habit has definitely stuck since, start strong and finish even stronger. Overall I’ll give this playlist a 7 of 10, and not for the music itself, but because I sent two months making it and a good few of them weren’t as ‘new’ as I aim for on the show. Though I give myself props for that cheesy meme above that I used as the playlist cover.
Until next time, Let’s stay Psyched about Music
– DJ Psyched
The Booms and Baps of Music Production – DAWs
With a very wacky semester we experienced, I began my journey in music production. I have learned many things in the last few months from the likes of YouTube and personal experience and I want to share tips with those wanting to pursue music production.
The first thing a producer will need is a Digital Audio Workstation or DAW which acts as the base for all music production. A DAW is the software for a producer to actually make and organize music into full fledged tracks or for live performances. As it is hard to learn an entirely new software, it is important to choose the right DAW for your preference of music.
If you’re a college student like I am, then pursuing music production has to be a reasonable venture. There are free DAWs such as GarageBand for Apple users which is a quality way to get started. For Windows users, Audacity is a great option, however it is lacking in many of the features that other DAWs have.
On to paid options, I will mention that many paid DAWs have free trials and offer college students discounts for licenses. When it comes to beat making and creating full tracks, FL Studio or Ableton Live are considered the best. FL Studio is typically preferred by Hip Hop artists since it is particularly designed for creating beats from scratch. FL Studio also has a very sleek design and has powerful instruments/effects to help get you started. If you are into electronic production like me, then Ableton is the way to go. Ableton’s interface is in my opinion the easiest to learn and makes it easy to create music. For NC State students in the music program, NC State offers a Songwriting with DAWs class (MUS 270) which uses Ableton to explore music production, so if you are interested in taking the class I would recommend choosing Ableton. You cannot go wrong either way with the DAW you choose since many of us have access to YouTube and can learn as we go. However, I personally prefer Ableton Live myself.
There are other DAWs out there as well for producers working with video content. Logic (Mac) and Cubase (Windows) are great options for composing music for films or video content because you can actually upload videos into the DAW and have an easy-to-use music notation system.
There are many choices we all make, but I hope this information can help you make the right choice when it comes to producing music, since music makes the world turn! I plan to share more tips about the world of music production as I learn them, so we are all in this together! Keep creating!
– Triskelion
This episode features three Juxton Roy songs. They are, in order, “Flatlining,” “Hallelujah,” and “Hang My Head.” This re-recorded version of “Hallelujah” is a more expansive version & was released as a single. To hear the original track of “Hallelujah,” as well as any of Juxton Roy’s other releases, you can find them on all streaming services.
Juxton Roy is on instagram as @juxtonroy as well as on Facebook. Their bandcamp is juxtonroy.bandcamp.com/
You can connect with WKNC on all social media via @wknc881 and can find the Local Beat on all podcasting platforms.
ALBUM: Down Under – EP
BEST TRACKS: Mother, Same, Her and High
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Moglii and Novaa’s EP, Down Under, has a chill, downtempo style that still carries energy throughout its six tracks. Most of that energy comes from the fact that it was Moglii and Novaa’s debut in the music industry. Down Under was released in 2016 and has a total track time of around 22 minutes, which makes it great to listen in a casual sitting. As young producers, Moglii and Novaa wanted to focus on creating dimension in their tracks with the use of organic electronic sounds. Many of the tracks such as Same use an acoustic guitar and nature sounds to create this organic feeling. I was listening to Same and the intro to the track has a washboard-esque sound that was both bubbly and grainy and really capsulated the overall sound of the track and I think the nature of the EP.
Other elements in Down Under include saxophones (Her), “wooden” sounding snares, synths that give the track its electronic roots and amazing vocal edits on Novaa, Antonia Rug’s, vocals. She blends her own lyrics with vocal chops to layer the vocal sound and add extra depth to each track. I particularly love Her because of the chorus-y saxophone solo in the middle to make you feel chill while the percussion adds energy. It’s like the yin and yang of a song which I think is pretty neat. Even though the songs make me feel relaxed, the lyrics are somber and talk about the loss of self, identity and possibly a loved one. Songs like Mother, Her, and Golden Lights have sad lyrics about loss. I recommend this EP for fans of artists such as Phantogram, Whethan and pluko. Headphones recommended for full transporting effect.
-Tegan
Pat Danger is an Independent Musician from New Jersey who’s been making music for almost two years now. On describing his sound he says ‘I don’t want to box myself in but it’s definitely hip hop… lofi to houseparty, or anything in between’. A lot of his music can be found on his soundcloud, but he’s also recently been posting his newer tracks on Spotify. He is now on a personal mission of releasing a new track every Friday (a link to his first two tracks can be found below).
When I asked Pat about how he got into creating music he said he’s always been a big fan of music and was known to freestyle at parties around friends. It was just for fun and he never really saw it as anything else, until he decided he wanted to try making an EP. He went out to best buy and got a starter mic, some software and found some beats online to start recording over. This was around the time he moved out of Jersey and had a bit of free time, but when we recorded together he was back in the city and full time in school and work; all his free time still went to music.
We then talked about how he balances all of his commitments with his music making, and he told me that the way he sees it, it’s all about not allowing yourself to make excuses. ‘Anyone can do it, I’m not superman or anything’. He switched all of his classes online so he could be in control of his schedule, and said that making excuses is in the past. ‘There’s a lot of time in the day, the less time you spend on the phone or wasting away… you do have a tone of time even if you are doing a bunch of things.’
After he started creating, he also started using reddit as a place to share his tracks with others and also find people to collaborate with. This is how he ended up meeting his first producer. He says he does not have any goals of being rich or famous, but just wants to put his words out there.
When we talked about ‘making it’ he said he feels like since he was able to put music out there he’s made it, but something cooler can always happen, and each new milestone feels even better then the last; and he’s always happy to see where things go.
What matters to him most is to just be genuine and get himself out there naturally. He’s not into networking or looking for clout, he just does what works for him. We talked about putting work out there and how scary it can be sometimes, especially being nervous for judgement. He says he wants to make sure he’s never too stubborn, and has been focusing on receiving criticism and feedback well ‘I try to take the mature mindset (with feedback)’.
His charismatic nature and love for freestyling led him to meet his most recent producer at a party. He said it felt kind of like fate since he was looking for some beats and his producer was looking for someone who can rap. The first track they put out together was ‘Tennessee’ and, on his most recent mission to release new tracks every Friday, Pat has put out ‘Dead by The Morning’ feat. downside and ‘Gritty Freestyle’ on Spotify.
On his recent releases he says ‘I’m trying to make something that I think is good’.
Pat’s Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/artist/2IV87opycYxofohk94ebaz?si=W_QK0PIQQBW0bdfdRs54Uw
Link to podcast episode: https://getpsyched.transistor.fm/episodes/diy-series-ft-pat-danger
– DJ Psyched
BEST TRACKS: Second Hand, Pink Noise, Cold Comfort
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This neo-psychedelia synth-pop band is back on the scene with another smooth, colorful, and transcendental album. STRFKR has always been known for releasing whimsical albums, and I think this one might be their most magical album to date. The band was formed as the solo project of vocalist Joshua Hodges in 2007 in Portland, Oregon, and since then has grown into a full four-piece unit most famous for their insanely energetic, unruly live performances.
This album is characterized by its minimal arrangement and psychedelic funk sound. Future Past Life, is the most futuristic-sounding of any of the STRFKR albums, featuring ample echos, warbles, twinkles, and kazoo-like laser sound effects. I most notably see these elements on the 10th track, ‘Cold Comfort’, and the 3rd track, ‘Deep Dream’. The vocals are very processed, making them smooth, and blend seamlessly with the music as if they were just another synth in the instrumental. Normally, I like vocals to have a level of grit to them, but for this album, I think the soft vocals add to the intended daze-like ambience of the music.
This album feels like a sweet, comforting dream. In addition to the psychedelic themes in the music, the trippy album art helps create an image of an imaginative child’s bedroom.
The focus is largely on the instrumental in this album. The lyrics could be more developed, but if one considers that this album was meant to be easy listening, the vague, slightly generic lyrics do not detract too much from the album’s good qualities.
I recommend this album if you love bands like Electric Light Orchestra, MGMT, and BØRNS.
-Safia
Some songs off of Tennis Elbow’s unreleased album “Dropping a Han Dynasty Urn” appear on this podcast. They are, in order, “Dinosaur & Intro,” “Urydice,” “Overton Window Swing,” and “Re: Overall.” The full album will be released on all streaming services on June 18th. You can connect with WKNC on social media via @WKNC881 on all platforms & Tennis Elbow on Instagram through @TennisElbowFanclub.