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Music News and Interviews

Carolina Grown Podcast: thefacesblur

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Adam Graetz is better known as thefacesblur, up until recently that was the moniker adopted primarily for Greatz’s visual projections. These visuals have been spotted all over the Triangle throughout the past few years, a handful of Hopscotch sets have been graced with them, sets from Zack Mexico and T0W3RS as well. But towards the end of 2013 Graetz fully made the leap from visual to audio, crafting dizzying dance tunes under the same name.

Whether you’re soaking in his bass-heavy, melodic bangers through thefacesblur or as his supporting role in Body Games, it’s hard not to become entranced by these productions. Atmospheric keys float and skitter atop rattling low-ends, making for expansive tracks that get your head bobbing and mind whirring. Adam and I discussed the transition from visual to audio, balancing between Body Games and thefacesblur, and the future of both of his endeavors.

Listen to the full conversation along with new tracks below.

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Music News and Interviews

Carolina Grown Podcast: Crowdsource

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Phil Torres is a man you can expect to hear a lot more of in the North Carolina music scene. For the past few years he’s been blazing musical trails as Baobab alongside his partner Whitney Trettiien, but recently he broke out of the “folktronic” territory and has begun to craft heady dance tracks under the moniker Crowdsource. On this electronically themed show, I spoke at length with Phil about the origin of his electronic obsession, how he crafts these infectious beats and some of his sampling sources.

Alongside the songwriting aspects of his music, the conversation frequently delved into more logistical territories of electronic composition. For starters, many have harped on the lack of showmanship involved with live electronic sets, a qualm that’s quite frankly ill-founded. Phil discusses his live set-up along with some of his major inspirations for delving into the EDM side of the electronic spectrum.

Check out our full conversation, along with three brand new Crowdsource tracks from his forthcoming album Bit Rot Blues.

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Music News and Interviews

Carolina Grown Podcast: Diali Cissokho & Kaira Ba

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Few artists are as capable of crafting music as emotive and engaging as Diali Cissokho & Kaira Ba. Though Cissokho is primarily singing in a wide array of languages that the average layman won’t be able to comprehend, the passion still oozes from this incredibly charismatic performer. The music of Diali Cissokho & Kaira Ba is unlike any I’ve heard before, be that from North Carolina or West Africa. Cissokho has been working on mastering the kora since he was 5 years old, and after a few decades the instrument seems to be an extension of himself. Leading up to the release of the band’s second full-length album, The Great Peace, I was joined in the studio by Diali and the rest of the band.

Throughout our conversation the eclectic group of performers shed some light upon the origin of the band, how they met, what the name means, and so much more. The group feels less like a band of musicians and more like a family, they’re tightly knit and seem to share the same deep rooted passion for music. Throughout the hour we discussed overcoming cultural boundaries, inspiration for music, and some of Diali’s rich history in his home country of Senegal.

The band also shared three tracks from The Great Peace  that you can stream below along with our full conversation.

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Music News and Interviews

Giveaways for the week of 3/24 – 3/30

Keep it tuned to WKNC all week long for your chance to win tickets to any of these great shows below! Just be the correct caller when the DJ asks for it, and you and a friend could be hitting up some of the coolest local acts around!

Wednesday, March 26 – Okkervil River with Hundred Visions @ Cat’s Cradle

Friday, March 28 – Twelve Thousand Armies with The Human Eyes and See Gulls @ Kings Barcade

Friday, March 28 – I Was Totally Destroying It with Blanko Basnet @ Cat’s Cradle Back Room

Saturday, March 29 – Waxahatchee with Radiator Hospital @ Pinhook

Sunday, March 30 – Colin Stetson with Justin Walter @ Kings Barcade

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Music News and Interviews

Moogfest Giveaway!

WKNC is excited to announce that we have partnered with Moogfest to give away a pair of tickets to this incredible festival. Moogfest has been an elite gathering of electronic musicians since 2004 and, in 2014, Moogfest is expanding its vision by becoming a 5-Day event dedicated to the synthesis of technology, art, and music. This year’s festival includes both an experimental line up of daytime conference programming and landmark nightly performances including artists such as Kraftwerk, Flying Lotus, M.I.A., Giorgio Moroder, and many more! Moogfest takes place April 23-27th in downtown Asheville, NC.

Stay tuned to WKNC all week long for your chance to enter into a drawing for this pair of passes. We will be announcing the winner one week from today, March 26th!

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Music News and Interviews

Vampire Weekend and Ray LaMontagne giveaways

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WKNC has not one but two “win-them-before-you-can-buy-them” giveaways going on this week thanks to our friends at Live Nation.

Vampire Weekend will play Raleigh’s Red Hat Amphitheater on June 12. Tickets will go on sale Friday, March 14 at 10 a.m. 

Ray LaMontagne with special guests The Belle Brigade will be at Red Hat Amphitheater in Raleigh on July 26. Tickets will go on sale Friday, March 14 at noon.

If you aren’t one of our lucky winners, pick up your tickets at LiveNation.com, via the Live Nation mobile app, the Belk Box Office at Walnut Creek Amphitheatre and Duke Energy Center box office, all Ticketmaster outlets or charge by phone at 800-745-3000.

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Music News and Interviews

Interview with Greg Abate

WKNC interviewed multi-saxophonist Greg Abate to discuss his career and most recent project with saxophonist Phil Woods, The Greg Abate Quintet featuring Phil Woods. Greg shared valuable information about his upbringing in music in the northeastern United States, his experiences performing internationally with feature bands including the Ray Charles Orchestra, and his time teaching students in Rhode Island. The main feature of the interview was Greg’s insight into his collaboration with Phil Woods. He even gives listeners a preview of his upcoming project which will also feature Phil Woods. 

Listen to the live interview here!

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Music News and Interviews

Giveaways for the Week of 3/3 – 3/9

Keep it tuned to WKNC all week long for your chance to win tickets to any of these great shows below! Just be the correct caller when the DJ asks for it, and you and a friend could be hitting up some of the coolest local acts around.

Monday, March 3 – Stephen Malkmus & The Jicks with Purling Hiss @ Cat’s Cradle
Tuesday, March 4 – mewithoutYou with Touche Amore @ Cat’s Cradle
Tuesday, March 4 – Yellow Ostrich with Pattern Is Movement @ Kings Barcade
Wednesday, March 5 – Shovels & Rope with Hurray For The Riff Raff @ Cat’s Cradle
Wednesday, March 5 – Future Islands with Wye Oak @ Haw River Ballroom
Thursday, March 6 – TEEN with New Madrid and Blanko Basnet @ Kings Barcade
Friday, March 7 – Oberhofer with Small Black @ Local 506
Friday, March 7 – No Eyes with Jenny Besetzt and Naked Naps @ Kings Barcade
Friday, March 7 – Ex Hex with heather McEntire @ Pinhook
Friday, March 7 – Tanya Morgan with Tab One and Scienze @ Cat’s Back Room
Saturday, March 8 – Grandchildren with Motor Skills and Jazz Tapes @ Kings Barcade
Sunday, March 9 – Great Good Fine Ok with Iggy Cosky @ Kings Barcade
Sunday, March 9 – Ringo Deathstarr with Purple @ Pinhook
Sunday, March 9 – The Pains of Being Pure At Heart with Eternal Summers @ Cat’s Cradle
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Music News and Interviews

Giveaways for the Week of 2/24 – 3/2

Keep it tuned to WKNC all week long for your chance to win tickets to any of these great shows below! Just be the correct caller when the DJ asks for it, and you and a friend could be hitting up some of the coolest local acts around.

Tuesday, February 25 – Robert Ellis with T. Hardy Morris @ Cat’s Cradle Back Room

Wednesday, February 26 – Caroline Smith with Lowland Hum @ Cat’s Cradle Back Room

Thursday, February 27 – Ice Balloons with Magician’s Hand Practice @ Kings

Thursday, February 27 – Cheap Time with Last Years Men @ Pinhook

Friday, February 28 – Lost in the Trees with All Tiny Creatures @ Cat’s Cradle

Friday, February 28 – Octopus Jones Album Release with Heads on Sticks @ Kings

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Music News and Interviews

Hiss Golden Messenger in the WKNC Lounge

One of the less thought of consequences of the 2010 London riots may have been the loss of numbers of crates filled with what was to be the debut album of Hiss Golden Messenger – “Bad Debt.” The fires ended up destroying the entire first pressing of the record. The intimate collection of songs, recorded at a kitchen table on an analog tape deck, has now been re-released and has been making headlines ever since the street date.

The band had a proper release for the LP last Friday at Cat’s Cradle in Carrboro.

Check out the first installment of Hiss Golden Messenger’s set in the Lounge here.