Time to put on those faux fur Uggs and head to the nearest Starbucks for a pumpkin spice latte because it’s finally fall! Just kidding. Please don’t do either of those things. Instead, embark on an autumnal auditory adventure with this playlist of my fall favorites!
September by Earth, Wind, & Fire: The 21st night of September marks the final day of summer in the Northern hemisphere, so this song is the perfect way to ring in the fall. I promise this is the last time I’ll be Septemberposting. Until next year.
Autumn Leaves by the Bill Evans Trio: During his time in the Miles Davis Quartet, Bill Evans played an integral role in the recording of Kind of Blue, which is considered to be one of the most influential jazz albums of all time. Immediately after he recorded Portrait in Jazz with his own trio. Their rendition of the standard “Autumn Leaves” really captures the aura of the season with only the textures created by a piano, drums and upright bass.
Where We Used To Live by the Esbjörn Svensson Trio: Following Bill Evans and company is the Esbjörn Svensson Trio with another jazz composition. Whereas “Autumn Leaves” portrays the warm, energetic side of fall, “Where We Used To Live” evokes feelings of melancholy and longing.
Fall in Love by Slum Village: For this classic, J Dilla sampled Gap Manigone’s “Diana in the Autumn Wind”. The result was an intimate instrumental perfect for the Slum Village.
Dead Leaves and the Dirty Ground by The White Stripes: With this track, The White Stripes offer us a slightly more aggressive approach to the autumnal sound. It would be the perfect song for angrily raking leaves in your yard.
Thriller by Michael Jackson: Of course, fall isn’t just pretty leaves and flannels. It’s also the spookiest time of the year, and there’s not a single song more synonymous with Halloween than Michael Jackson’s “Thriller”.
That’s the playlist! What are some of your favorite fall songs?
This is my third semester working for WKNC, and it’s been AMAZING. The best part of my week is ploppin’ down in the studio, playing my music, and getting on air. It’s honestly such a great feeling to share my favorite music with Raleigh. To anyone who’s considering being a DJ at WKNC: DO IT. You for sure won’t regret it, and there are tons of opportunities for paid positions too!
At the beginning, I had major imposter syndrome every time I came to do my shift. I was so scared that I was going to mess up somehow (which I did do many times in various ways). Here are some things I wish I could tell myself when I first started:
1. RELAX. Take a deep breath before you start speaking on air. It’s okay to be nervous at first, but the more you calm down, the less you’ll stutter.
2. That being said, it’s OKAY TO MESS UP. I mean, don’t say something that’ll get us fined, but if you fumble over your words or accidentally say the wrong song title, I assure you the world will not collapse and burn.
3. When you first start, write your script down. We learned this in DJ training, but a young, naïve DJ butter thought she could just go in headfirst and ended up failing miserably. Eventually, you’ll be comfortable enough to improv, but it’s always good to keep using a script if you want to!
4. Don’t be intimidated by all the technology. You’ll learn it with time, and don’t be afraid to ask for help if you’re unsure, either from whoever’s in the office or by getting in touch with your trainer!
5. Plan ahead and know your playlist well, especially if you know your songs have a lot of curse words in them. Editing them out will take longer than you think it does.
6. The more you put into it, the better it’ll be. When you’re excited about the music you play, people can tell! One of the best feelings is having someone call in and tell you they like your set.
7. Have a friend or two listen in to your set. They can tell you if you’re too quiet or if anything sounded awkward so you can know how to improve next time. It also helps to know that someone kind is listening!
8. Draw something on the whiteboard, leave a song in the song sharing jar, and introduce the next DJ!
I hope this helps, DJs! Special shoutout to one of my favorite DJs, Midsize Joe, for helping brainstorm this advice, you rock.
Sampling is the recontextualization of a preexisting work in a new composition. While this practice is utilized across genres, it has become a cornerstone of the hip-hop tradition. Since its inception, producers have been sampling soul records, funk records, world music and even cartoons to create head-bobbing beats. Drawing from numerous styles and time periods, here is a sample platter of some of the spiciest samples in hip-hop music!
Late Nights & Heartbreak by Hannah Williams & the Affirmations: Courtesy of producer No I.D., this song was sampled in the titular track of Jay-Z’s 4:44. It’s the perfect backdrop for Jay-Z’s intimate confession of infidelity in his relationship with Beyoncé.
Try a Little Tenderness by Otis Redding: This soul ballad is wonderfully composed – it slowly builds in tempo, volume and urgency, and ends with Otis showing off his chops in a fiery finish. His vocal riffs were chopped up by Kanye West to create “Otis”, which features one of my favorite beats of all time.
Bam Bam by Sister Nancy: Hailed as a Jamaican dancehall classic, this song is perhaps the most frequently sampled song in all of popular music. It has been recontextualized more than a hundred times by the likes of Kanye West, Jay-Z, and Lauryn Hill. Read the full story here!
Why Can’t We Live Together by Timmy Thomas: If you were around in 2015 and 2016, you’ll remember how inescapable Drake’s “Hotline Bling” was. The song was everywhere, and for good reason – it’s an earworm. The bossa nova-style groove comes from Timmy Thomas’ 1972 track Why Can’t Live Together.
One Step Ahead by Aretha Franklin: Ayatollah chopped up this soul classic to create the beat for “Ms. Fat Booty” by Mos Def.
Whores in this House by DJ Frank Ski: Based on the title alone, I’m sure you can guess which song this was sampled in. That’s right – the iconic vocal line appears in Cardi B and Megan Thee Stallion’s “WAP”, aka Ben Shapiro’s favorite song.
Pots ‘N’ Pans by Anthony King and John Matthews: An obscure early electronic song sampled by Don Cannon in Pusha T’s “Numbers on the Boards”. The result is one of the most head-bobbing hip-hop tracks in recent memory.
What Will Santa Claus Say? (When He Finds Everybody Swingin’) by Louis Prima: This Christmas tune was sampled in Kanye and Kid Cudi’s 2018 project Kids See Ghosts. “4th Dimension” is now a contender for my favorite holiday song.
I hope this sample platter has given you an eclectic taste of hip-hop source material. What are some of your favorite samples?
Artist Record Label 1 TAPEWORMS Funtastic [Advance Tracks] Howlin’ Banana 2 HOLY MOTORS Horse [Advance Tracks] Wharf Cat 3 BARTEES STRANGE Live Forever [Advance Tracks] Memory 4 BULLY SUGAREGG Sub Pop 5 OSEES Protean Threat Castle Face 6 GIRL FRIDAY Androgynous Mary Hardly Art 7 RUN THE JEWELS RTJ4 Jewel Runners/RBC/BMG 8 TY BRI “Too Bad” [Single] Def Jam 9 KENT JAMZ In Search Of RCA 10 REMADumebi: The Remixes [EP] Mavin 11 CUPCAKKE “Discounts” [Single] Self-Released 12 MARMAR OSO Love Don’t Cost A Thing Free The Lost/EMPIRE 13 DEANTE HITCHCOCK BETTER RCA 14 AMINE Limbo Universal Republic 15 KASH DOLL Stacked Republic 16 JAYDA G Both Of Us/Are You Down [EP] Ninja Tune 17 DIVINE INTERFACE Seeking Arrangements 2MR 18 MACHINEDRUM “Kane Train” feat. Freddie Gibbs b/w “Ur2yung” [Single] Ninja Tune 19 CAMERON BUTLER Extraterrestial UFO Baby 20 LOMELDA Hannah Double Double Whammy 21 MIJA Desert Trash Never B Alone/Create 22 CHIKA “U Should” [Single] CHIKA/Warner 23 FEMDOT “94 Camry Music” [Single] Self-Released 24 ANGELA MUNOZ Introspection Linear Labs 25 SMINO “Baguetti” [Single] Interscope 26 LOX CHATTERBOX How To Live Forever Illuminati Killers 27 TUAMIE But You Don’t Hear Me Though Mutant Academy 28 RACOMA This Front Room Self-Released 29 TOBI LOU Live On Ice Empire 30 JAMES TILLMAN Vm2 [EP] Musella Creative
TOP ADDS
1 IDLES Ultra Mono Partisan 2 TUNE-YARDS “nowhere, man.” [Single] 4AD/Beggars Group 3 MILDLIFE Automatic Heavenly 4 MINT FIELD Sentimiento Mundial Felte 5 PILLOW QUEENS In Waiting Self-Released 6 VACATIONS Forever In Bloom No Fun 7 METZ Atlas Vending [Advance Tracks] Sub Pop 8 A CERTAIN RATIOACR Loco Mute 9 SIMILAR KIND “Nobody Loves You” [Single] Factory Underground 10 TILES “fomo” [Single] Part Time
The Acacia Strain (TAS) is an American metalcore band originally from Chicopee, Massachusetts, that formed in 2001. They are currently signed to Rise Records and have 10 full-length albums. The band first started with high school friends Vincent Bennett, Christopher Daniele, and Ben Abert. They were in a band called Septic Orgasm and they wanted to take their band to the next level and make the music more technical. Their friend, Daniel “DL” Laskiewics was to play both bass and guitar, but he received a shoulder injury playing football, so the band got their friend Daniel Daponde from Blood Has Been Shed to play guitar for them. Daponde brought a heavier and technical sound to the band, so when DL returned, they asked Daponde to stay, thus creating a three-guitar lineup.
TAS has been categorized as metalcore, but I think they are predominately deathcore due to their heavy tuned guitars, their technicality, and the vocals that are used. The band has been noted to include influences from sludge metal, doom metal, death metal, and some punk rock style aesthetic. By having three guitar players, it gave a signature blend of hardcore punk, death metal, and doom metal to develop a bone crushing sound. The band sees their sound as “hardcore-influenced metal” which I can hear when listening to their music. They have some absolute skull crushing riffs and vocals, but when mixing in some 2 step riffs and other hardcore contributions, it makes for a very unique style of music. Also, when seeing TAS live, the majority of the crowd are hardcore kids. They love them some TAS!!!
When looking at the lyrics of TAS songs, they are written by their lead vocalist, Vincent Bennett, and they are generally centered around misanthropy, nihilism, misogynistic and sexually deviant imagery. He usually uses metaphors to help get his points across while keeping the songs’ overall meaning open for interpretation.
Since the release of Tash Sultana’s first debut album, Flow State, that was released in 2018, it has been on heavy rotation for me. This is by far one of my favorite albums because it is some soothing, relaxing, and enchanting music. When listening to this album, I get very tropical, hippie girl vibes (I know… The Saw actually likes the hippie aesthetic. Who knew?). I remember when I first heard this album. I was at my friend’s apartment and he was telling me about this new album that was released, and he started playing Flow State. I instantly fell in love with Sultana’s voice, lyrical content, and the way in which they structure their songs. When listening to the songs in the order that they are on the album, it has a great transition from starting off mellow (like the song Big Smoke), and then kicking things up a notch (like the song Murder To The Mind), and then bringing things back down to a more mellow vibe (like Free Mind). Sultana did this on purpose because it gives the listener the impression of what a live show would be like. Brilliant!!! The cool thing about Tash Sultana is that they play all of the instruments themselves on the record and live!
Sultana released Flow State on August 31, 2018 on their own label, Lonely Land Records. They spent parts of 2017 and 2018 writing and recording the album, and was working with Matt Corby and Anderson Paak. At the ARIA Music Awards of 2018, Flow State won the ARIA Award for Best Blues and Roots Album. At the J Awards of 2018, the album was nominated for Australian Album of the Year.
So, why did Sultana name their album Flow State? In an interview with Indierocks, Sultana said that the term, flow state, is a term to refer to when you access a part of your mind known as your being, and when you find something you are passionate about. I think the title Flow State fits perfectly for Sultana’s line in music. When watching them play live, they completely loose themselves in the music. They embody the music and make it a part of them. It is absolutely beautiful.
Favorite Songs:
Big Smoke, Murder To The Mind, Seven, Pink Moon, and Blackbird.
Rating:
10/10!!!!
What are some of your favorite songs off of Flow State?
Best Tracks: Living My Life Over, Pick Up The Phone, 7PM, Already Come
FCC Clean
Cecile Believe dropped the 9 song-long EP, “Made in Heaven,” this May as her debut EP under the name “Cecile Believe.” Caila Thompson-Hannant– AKA Cecile Believe– previously released music under the name Mozart’s Sister, where she released 2 full length albums “Field of Love” and “Being” both with a strong dance-pop sound. “Made in Heaven” is SO different from Mozart’s Sister’s previous work.
“Made in Heaven” has a much deeper, more morose and sophisticated production and sound. There are clear dream pop and PC music influences, but also something kind of slow and haunted. Her vocals and sound remind me a bit of Hannah Diamond and Caroline Polachek. Both her and Caroline share the wide range of vocals and both love to showcase their talent in their songs. Cecile Believe definitely does that here. The song “Made in Heaven” reminds me a lot of Caroline’s “Ocean of Tears” with their vocals and similar driving synth and beat.
The EP ranges from all different genres and sounds. “Living My Life Over,” “Pick up the Phone,” and “7PM” ~all my favorites :-)~ have a strong dance pop beat along with Cecile’s ethereal vocals. On the other hand, the EP features BEAUTIFUL instrumentals like “Yellowjacket” and “7PM (Accretion Disk Edit)” that sound almost like ASMR and remind me a bit of SOPHIE’s bubble popping sounds. The last song on the EP, “Already Come” is completely acoustic, really showcasing her vocals along with her beautiful and simple lyrics.
Overall, I’m really excited to see what’s coming next for Cecile Believe. Her newest remix to TOPS’ “Colder and Closer” is one of my favorites right now and also something I’d recommend. I hope there’s more to come soon and that maybe we’ll see a Caroline Polachek x Cecile Believe collab somewhere in the future ~fingers crossed~ !!!
I cannot stop listening to this EP. It only has five songs, but each one of them is full of merit.
Will Van Horn’s 2018 album is the perfect little collection of instrumental psychedelia. As his one and only release, “Pedal Steel Guitar” is fittingly named. Van Horn’s instrument of choice that dominates the sound of the EP is, in fact, the pedal steel guitar. I don’t know if you’ve ever seen one of these crazy things, but it is a horizontal type of steel instrument that looks almost like a keyboard from the side. However, on top, it resembles the neck of an electric guitar. It was originally invented in Hawaii in the 1800s but is now used primarily in country music. However, Van Horn takes the instrument to a whole new level by pairing it with the drums and fretless bass to create an ambiance of mystery and groove.
If you’re familiar with Khruangbin, Van Horn is actually featured throughout their discography, sneaked into several songs on each album. He emulates a similar but more bluesy sound with his solo work. I really enjoy the slow, moody touch he adds as well that contrasts his more funk-based work with Khruangbin.
My favorite song, which also happens to be the highlighted song of the album, is “Lost My Mind.” It was the song that also introduced me to the album. His guitar work is just genius on it, and I highly recommend taking a listen if you’re a nerd for that kind of sound (like me). It’s been almost two years since Van Horn released “Pedal Steel Guitar,” and I can only hope that there’s more on the way, considering it is his only solo discography.
Songs:
1. Lost My Mind 2. Alberto Balsalm 3. Pleasure Is All Mine 4. Plug Me In 5. Yekermo Sew
