THIS IS NOT A DRILL; I REPEAT THIS IS NOT A DRILL!!! CANNIBAL CORPSE RELEASED A NEW SINGLE AND ANNOUNCED THEIR NEW ALBUM!!!
Okay, now that I got that out of my system, let’s talk about this new Cannibal Corpse single, “Inhumane Harvest.” This song was released on February 2nd and this was honestly the best way to start the month. This song embodies everything that I love about Cannibal Corpse; crunchy riffs, deep growls, and technical drumming paired along with it.
Bassist Alex Weber says that Cannibal Corpse’s new album, “Violence Unimagined” was approached in the same writing style similar to their previous records. The band tries to make each song they write, the heaviest, most memorable songs that they can come up with. He also says that the band wants each song to have its own character. In other words, the band wants the listeners to be able to listen to the song, easily recognizing what song it is. This rings true because out of all the Cannibal Corpse songs that I know, I can name the song just by the opening riff. I think this talent is credited to Cannibal Corpse and how they create their songs, but also because I am a metal freak.
Cannibal Corpse’s new album, “Violence Unimagined” is set to release on April 16th via Metal Blade Records. Do you see how brutal their album cover is for this album (see above)? That just means the album is going to be even more brutal and I cannot wait to hear what this album sounds like.
Amaarae is an artist who fully expresses herself through her music. Amaarae is an artist who is never afraid to meld different genres and try new things. Not only is she a singer with a talented voice, she writes her own music and often produces it. She is vocal about many issues and uses her platform to further causes she believes in. Her music often focuses on equal representation and freedom of expression. She often uses social media to advocate for important causes such as gender issues and police brutality. She is also expressive using her clothing: she has been featured in Vogue Magazine online and received an award from the Glitz Style Awards in Ghana.
Amaarae’s newest single release, “Leave Me Alone – A Colors Show” (stylized in all caps), is an older single by Amaarae performed on the COLORS studio platform. COLORS is a social media platform that focuses on minimalism, showcasing artists all over the world for their talents without distraction. This version of Amaarae’s single is stripped, allowing complete attention on her vocal talents; she also raises awareness of ending SARS and police brutality in Nigeria at the end of the song. You can watch the COLORS show video here. And, if you’re interested in hearing my review of Amaarae’s most recent album, The Angel You Don’t Know, check it out on the WKNC blog here.
Did someone say they wanted some fresh-pressed juice? I recently had the pleasure of interviewing Nashville-based rock group, Fresh Squeeze, whose mission is to give rock a “breath of fresh air.” Made up of Leo Faillace (bass), Max Marotta (drums), and Victor Arruda (guitar), the trio and I sat down to talk about musical inspirations, upcoming albums, and record collections!
How did Fresh Squeeze get started?
Victor: It started out in college when we all went to App State. I was in music doing the recording program. Max came in and started doing the marketing program, and then Leo was always hanging around the studio. It’s funny because everybody would be like “Dude, there’s this guy that looks just like you.”
Leo: We were both like, “Who the f*** is this guy?” And then, sure enough, I finally met him. And we’re both Brazilian too.
Victor: So, we met in college and became friends. We started jamming and playing a couple shows here and there. Eventually it just evolved into the band when we started writing music.
Leo: Technically, they had another group. I was just friends with them for a couple of years because they had a group called The Daze.
Max: I’ve known Victor for a while. We were friends with Leo when we were with The Daze because our bands would play shows together. I remember I didn’t like him at first and I thought, “This guy’s an a**hole.” But one time we played a show together at Deep South when it was still open and it was really cool. Then Leo started coming around the house when we first moved to Boone and we just became really good friends, watched anime together, and, you know, played lots of music. It wasn’t until The Daze fell apart and Leo stuck around until we said, “F*** it. Let’s just make a band.” We officially started at the beginning of 2020 and it’s really grown in just a year. We were actually called “Tres Leches” at first and we would play little frat parties. We kept saying to ourselves, “This is hitting hard. Like we could definitely do something.”
How did you guys get into music? Where does that passion come from?
Max: I was in the car coming home from hockey practice in seventh or eighth grade and I heard Cream’s “White Room” and it was like a lightning bolt hit me. And I was like “Yeah, this is what I want to do.” I wasn’t really very specific on what I wanted to do, but I had a guitar at home so I just started playing and taking lessons at this place called the Clayton Music Academy. That’s where I met Victor. From there we just started playing a lot and we would jam, but there was never a drummer, so I said, “I’ll play drums.” Ten years later, we’ve toured and had lots of practice and here we are.
Victor: My story is a little weird. I started young playing piano. I was in band playing clarinet. I was just like, “What is music? What do I like? I don’t even know. 50 Cent? Heck yeah.” It wasn’t until I was in middle school I got into Green Day and I was like, “Wow, there’s this instrument called the guitar and it makes you look really cool.” Much better than clarinet, you know? I got a guitar for my birthday and I started listening to Red Hot Chili Peppers. And then I was just like “Wow, this is real guitar now.” And then, you know, from there it spiraled into Led Zeppelin, and I started going back to all the good s*** and just obsessing over guitar. I’m constantly learning Van Halen, Slash, Led Zeppelin, all that stuff. Then I was like, “I hate everything but guitar now and that’s all I want do with my life.”
Leo: For me, it was playing violin in fourth grade. It was purely out of the fact that my parents told me I had to learn an instrument, and I didn’t like it that much. I would try to learn these folk songs, but I couldn’t get sheet music because I didn’t have money because, I was like, in fourth grade. One day my dad got my mom The Beatles “Love” CD and I took it into my room and just started listening to it constantly. I would just be singing and my sister would be there too. We would try to figure out the harmony. We didn’t even know what harmonies were. We were just like, “I’m just gonna sing this high part and you’re gonna sing the low part.” Then that developed into me saying, “I just need to get a guitar now.” So, I got a classical guitar and I learned all the Beatles songs on that.
Who do you find yourselves listening to the most? What kind of artists inspire you?
All: Jimi Hendrix!
Max: Jimi Hendrix. Huge one. You know, Zeppelin, the major guys from like the late ‘60s early ‘70s. But lately I’ve been really into the hip-hop broken beat stuff like Knowledge, J Dilla, lots of Thundercat too. Really just a lot of the modern, jazz-funk stuff.
Victor: We listen to a lot of Hendrix and we collect a lot of vinyl. Our music tastes are scattered from Miles Davis jazz to Mahavishnu. We just search for new sounds, new albums that we like. We’re not really molded to one style. You know? It’s all over the place and we love everything. Even Mozart.
Favorites from your vinyl collection?
Victor (left) showing his favorite record, “Land of the Midnight Sun” by Al Di Meola.Max (right) displaying “Reggae Dub,” his favorite vinyl. Leo (left) showing one of his favorites, Fol Chen’s “Part I: John Shade, Your Fortune’s Made.”
What’s your music-making process like?
Max: It’s very equal. Usually, one of us will have an idea and then we all do our thing with it. It’s always different because sometimes we might be jamming all together and play something that’s sick. Other times, Leo and Victor will have an idea together and I’ll come in and tweak some of the arrangements and stuff.
Victor: We like to put songs together right there on the spot. Even if it’s like Leo’s idea or Max’s idea, we want it to be all of us coming together and making something cool. We can all make music on our own, but it’s like, it’s whatever you know. But this really put everyone’s brains together and we come out with something really creative.
Leo: The thing that’s special about how we write is that we never decide we’re gonna write something. It just happens, it’s never planned. It’s spontaneous. It’s comes out of whatever’s in our head at the time. We’re not thinking about it, we’re just doing it.
Victor: Now, sometimes we’ll be straight up jammin’. Those are the best ones when we just start playing and then we’ll hear an idea. One of us will grab an iPhone and turn on voice memos to record it. Voice memos saves our a*****. It really lets us go back and be like, “Oh that sounds cool, let’s go with that.”
Max: There’s a lot of methods, but it’s usually jamming, you know, improvising together. We’ll formulate an idea and grow it like a plant. It’s very harmonious process. It’s really fun. I mean, we just wrote one yesterday and it’s the most complex song we ever written. We’re lucky that it’s really easy. This has been the easiest group to write with that I’ve ever been a part of. We just click.
Victor: As long as we’re having fun, having a good time, that’s all that matters.
Leo: We’ll get into some little arguments, but they’re pretty much irrelevant. It’s always the little things and they never last more than five minutes.
Max: We have a system. Since there’s three, if it’s two against one, we’ll just use the winning idea, which actually works really nicely. Because four people, you got two and two. There’s too much division. There’s something magical about just the trio.
Where would you like to see the band go in the future?
Victor: We definitely want to tour the U.S. and I feel like that’s our nearest goal to achieve short-term. We’re releasing music and putting out our album. We’re doing a couple live bids too and we just did one with a studio here, which is really cool. But short-term goal is just to try to tour the U.S. as soon as possible.
Max: But ultimately, we’re going to be one of the best rock bands in the world. That’s no bull****. We’ve dedicated our lives to it for a long time and that’s definitely what we’re trying to do. Every band wants to be that. We want to revitalize the rock genre because I feel like it’s very kind of like neutral black-and-white, very dark.
Victor: It’s become this weird thing nowadays, especially here in Nashville. Like what the f*** happened to rock n’ roll? Rock has been boxed nowadays, and we just want to break that box.
Leo: You listen to music from the ‘60s and ‘70s and it’s so much more creative. It goes different places. We want to break that box, but not be a nostalgia act.
Max: We’re not trying to be what was, like Greta Van Fleet, or like a lot of other bands who are trying to be “vintage.” We love that stuff, but we’re trying to really reinvent it. We want give rock a breath of fresh air. We love every type of music. All these great rock bands that we love, they loved every type of music, so they tried to incorporate it. That’s kind of what we try to do. Music is so vast nowadays, there’s so many sub-genres, so we really try and pull from everything and just make it one thing. But ultimately, it’ll always be rock and how that’s we feel the spirit and essence of it.
Any new music on the way?
Victor: Yeah, we got some juicy stuff coming.
Max: The album comes out February 14. We did a live session at this place called Castle Recording Studios in Nashville and we filmed seven choice songs from the album. We’re working on just putting out really nice content videos. We set up microphones here in our living room and we do these weekly jam things where we’ll improvise and we post it on our social media.
Leo: We have basically most of the next album written and planned out. We’re just finalizing those and we’re going to record them probably in the next couple months.
Max: And then hopefully a tour in late May. We’re planning like maybe a week or two long tour and around Athens, Nashville, North Carolina, kind of just in the South East.
Victor: Our main thing is really just getting this album out there. We’re in the middle of mixing up this Castle [Recording Studio] live session so that’ll kind of coincide with the album release. We’re thriving over here. We’re also able to, you know, not spend a bunch of money on these things just because we have connections in these recording studios.
Leo: They believe in the music too. They want people to see it so they’re just trying to give us what they can.
Victor: And everybody needs help now, you know, even Castle Recording Studio. We’re helping them by giving them our services and our money while they’re helping us. So, there’s just this symbiotic growth of beauty and jam goodness.
Max: Jammy goodness always.
It’s hard to capture how awesome this trio’s spirits are with words, so that’s why you should check out the full interview coming shortly to our WKNC podcast, “Off the Record,” which can be found here! Tune in to hear us talk more about spirit animals, our shared Brazilian heritage, and terrible band names.
If you want to check out Fresh Squeeze for yourself, you can follow them on Instagram and listen to them on Spotify, Apple Music, and Youtube. As they said, their new album, “Not From Concentrate,” comes out on February 14, so make sure to give it a listen!
“Not From Concentrate” Album Cover (Artist: Leo Faillace)
Student Media is seeking candidates for three at-large student positions on its Board of Directors for the 2021-2022 academic year.
The Student Media Board of Directors, which also includes appointed students, professional and academic representatives, and the top student leader of each Student Media outlet, meets monthly during the academic year to help shape the vision and direction of the Student Media, including hiring top editors/managers and overseeing the budget.
Interested students must file an intent to run form with Student Government and follow all rules set forth by Student Government to be included on the spring ballot. The one-year term runs from May 1 to April 30. Books are open Feb. 12-21 with the election scheduled for March 15-16.
Positions are open to all students not currently involved with Student Media who meet eligibility requirements set forth for student leaders in University Regulation 11.55.6. Those requirements include being a full-time NC State student, having a 2.5 cumulative GPA at the time of election and having no active disciplinary sanctions.
The Student Media Board of Directors meets on the second Tuesday of the month at 7 p.m. and will meet virtually until further notice.
NC State Student Media includes Agromeck yearbook, a business and marketing office, Nubian Message biweekly Black newspaper, Roundabout quarterly magazine, Technician weekly newspaper, Windhover literary and visual arts magazine, and radio station WKNC 88.1 FM HD-1/HD-2.
Instagram can be a truly soul-sucking place, but there is one reason why I’m still on it: the artists. There are so many incredible illustrators, designers, and painters that constantly give me inspiration. Here’s a list of some of my absolute favorites to hopefully inspire you too!
1. @kid_kura
Source: @kid_kura on Instagram.
Kid Kura does these amazing psychedelic illustrations that I can never get enough of. Most of their work is digital, but they also do a lot of zines too! The artwork shown above was from their campaign for Vice’s astrology signs instagram higlight.
2. @flesh_png
Source: @flesh.png on Instagram.
@Flesh.png is an anonymous artist that I’ve been following for a while. Though their work is mostly done on Procreate, I love the texture and collage-like quality they add. It’s been awesome to see them grow as an artist over the past few years!
3. @a.creature
Source: @a.creature on Instagram.
Ines J., the artist behind @a.creature, has created an entire cult following with her woozy and surreal illustrations. Her style is so unique, yet her skills are obviously very diverse. She is probably one of my biggest artistic inspirations. The way that she manages to breathe life into even the simplest doodles is amazing.
4. @mariamedem
Source: @mariamedem on Instagram
You can’t help but feel relaxed when viewing María Medem’s work. Using muted yet vibrant colors and images of nature, her illustrations seem to speak directly to your soul. Based in Spain, María specializes in “silent comics” and has published several books.
5. @birdofclaydesigns
Source: @birdofclaydesigns on Instagram.
Who knew that Sculpey could be so breathtaking? Luna Fae, the sculptor who runs @birdofclaydesigns, uses oven-bake clay to make incredibly intricate jewelry, knick-knacks, and other oddities. Her attention to detail is astounding, especially when it comes to all those little mushrooms!
6. @alisonzai
Source: @alisonzai on Instagram.
You could spend hours going through Alison Zai’s drawings and never get bored. Her hand-drawn comics are humorous and honest, perfectly depicting the pitfalls of human nature and relationships. Though they look simple, her style and way with words is incredibly endearing.
7. @pantspants
Source: @pantspants on Instagram.
I would be a fool if I didn’t mention Josh Mecouch, more commonly referred to as just “pants.” His simple cartoons are both creepy and hilarious. He somehow manages to create these charming little drawings with simple, messy lines and one main character, a silly balding fella with a mustache and glasses.
Toxicity, the second studio album from the Nu-Metal band System of a Down, was released on September 4, 2001 by American Recordings and Columbia Records. Retaining the aggressive, heavy sound and feel of their debut, System of a Down (1998), their sophomore record blended smooth melodies with various instruments (sitar, banjo, keyboards, piano, and etc) in varying styles of music (folk, progressive rock, jazz, Armenian and Greek influences, and etc). This blend accentuated the vocal abilities of the band while the crushing riffs, on the other hand, expressed pure power and aggression.
Over 30 songs were recorded at Cello Studios in Hollywood, CA for Toxicity. The band narrowed that number down to 14 for this record. Many of the others were re-recorded later for the band’s next record, Steal This Album! (2002). The band covers a lot of ground in the lyrical content of this record, too. For example, “Chop Suey” is about drug addiction; “Prison Song” explores the policy of Mass Incarceration, mandatory minimum sentences, and the lack of rehabilitation. And many of the songs are metaphors for the politics of the modern economy (this theme would go on to dominate later albums).
System of a Down are Armenian-American musicians: Serj Tankian – vocals, keyboards, stringed instruments including guitar on “Aerials” ; Daron Malakian – guitars, sitar, and vocals ; Shavo Odadjian – bass ; John Dolmayan – drums.
Toxicity sold 220,000 copies in its first week, and peaked at #1 on Billboard 200 and the Canadian Albums Chart. It was certified triple-platinum by the RIAA in November of 2002, and has sold over 2.7 million copies in the US to date. All the singles released for Toxicity reached the Billboard 100, and “Aerials” hit #1 on both the Mainstream Rock Tracks chart and Modern Rock chart. The record received perfect ratings from AllMusic, Kerrang!, and Blabbermouth.net; praised for its groundbreaking sound and innovation.
Rating: 10/10!! This is an incredible record, both vocally and musically!
The new Madlib album is something entirely new. Sound Ancestors has more than creative depth; it breaks the boundaries of what a traditional album is. Madlib is a DJ, producer, and occasional rapper most known for his production for albums with MF DOOM, J Dilla, and Freddie Gibbs. Madlib also worked with Kanye West, producing West’s 2016 single “No More Parties in L.A..” His former solo albums have typically been released as the instrumental version of his collaboration projects, but this album the creative project of Madlib. No rapper collaborations or narratives are present, though Madlib received help arranging and editing the album into its final product bu producer Four Tet.
The album maintains a dynamic between elements of simple production and nostalgic samples. The track “Two for 2 – For Dilla” is a tribute song created for Madlib’s former collaboration partner, J Dilla who passed away in 2006. Throughout the different tracks, this one is the most serious. It also gives an homage to J Dilla through its similar style, bringing nostalgia to any fan of his work. The rest of the album has similar nature but is a bit more playful. It calls attention to the best parts of the songs it samples and breathes new life into them through fantastic drum beats, bass, and a mix of piano and guitar. My current favorite and greatest recommendation to listeners is “Road Of The Lonely Ones” – which I featured on this week’s Friday Favorites as one of the best new songs. I definitely recommend listening to this album while relaxing, doing homework, or any creative activities. This instrumental-laden album is sure to capture your attention and get your brainwaves and creativity flowing.
A lot of people think of Pond as Tame Impala’s cousin, which is an easy assumption to make considering Jay Watson is a core member of both touring bands. However, Pond has a lot more to offer than what meets the eye.
Based in Perth, Australia, Pond is a psychedelic garage-rock band made up of Jamie Terry, Shiny Joe Ryan, Jay Watson, Nick Allbrook, and James Ireland. Pond actually began as a collaborative project that existed in order for Allbrook and Watson to make music with as many guest artists as they pleased. Though they’ve traded members with Tame Impala several times, they’ve managed to release eight albums since 2008.
You’ve probably heard Pond’s “Paint Me Silver,” but the rest of their discography, especially their early work, is a treasure trove of grooviness. Their first album, “Psychedelic Mango,” is psychedelic indeed. It echoes the strangeness of 60s underground psychedelia bands like Ultimate Spinach and 13th Floor Elevators. Pond’s 2012 release, “Beard, Wives, Denim,” adds a bit more grunge, especially with songs like “Moth Wings” and “Sorry I Was Under the Sky.” Things for Pond only got better from there. Their popularity skyrocketed as Tame Impala’s success grew. Their fourth studio album, “Man It Feels Like Space Again,” added a playful, poppier element to the psychedelia they already mastered. “The Weather” followed the same trend, but also produced their hit song “Paint Me Silver.”
Personally, I’m a much bigger fan of Pond’s early work. Either way, I appreciate the growth they’ve experienced as a band. They’ve made huge strides after coming from being viewed as Tame Impala’s spin-off to having their own unique identity.
Discography:
Psychedelic Mango – 2009
Corridors of Blissterday – 2009
Frond – 2019
Beard, Wives, Denim – 2012
Hobo Rocket – 2013
Man It Feels Like Space Again – 2015
The Weather – 2017
Tasmania – 2019
Best Songs:
Moth Wings – Beard, Wives, Denim
Medicine Hat – Man It Feels Like Space Again
Don’t Look At the Sun or You’ll Go Blind (Live) – Psychedelic Mango
So, I have two differing dominant personalities – The Saw and Erika. When I was little the two were less pronounced or identifiable, but upon reflection of my thoughts and actions of the time, they were formulating and strengthening. I loved “girl” things, but also things that weren’t usually associated as “girly.”
Later, in grade school, unless I was around a select group of friends, what became known as The Saw had to be quieted and hidden from view. In college this all changed. WKNC offered me the opportunity to fully identify and develop The Saw, while clearly recognizing the vast difference it is from Erika. This is me! These are who I am!
Usually band members have alter-egos when they’re on stage, kind of like actors in a movie or play. I often describe The Saw as an alter-ego, a persona cultivated for the radio airwaves, or the show I’m at in an official capacity; but the personality is more real, more concrete than that. There are two parts to me that make me whole – Erika AND The Saw.
Erika likes hippy esthetics, incense, and plants. The Saw likes skulls, the color black, and corpse paint. Erika watches The Jersey Shore and The Bachelor franchises. The Saw likes Sons of Anarchy and any horror movie. Erika, all kinds of music and genres; The Saw, the heaviest Metal on the planet. I could go on and on! The two live fully side-by-side. When you listen to The Saw’s Butcher Shop you’ll even hear Erika from time to time.
But for all their differences they are united in their fierce love of friends and family, honesty, integrity, and character. This is me! This is who I am! Embrace you; those personalities, traits, and quirks that make you who you are. Self-reflect. Self-examine. Work on those things that make you a better version of you. And love you. You know that I love me!
