Category: Blog

Categories
DJ Highlights

DJ Psyched’s First Set Review

 

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

Categories
Music Education

The Booms and Baps of Music Production

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

Categories
New Album Review

IDDTFM EP Review

Allan Kingdom is a Canadian-born rapper and record producer most known for his forays into hiphop music, membership in Thestand4rd music group, and his feature on Kanye West’s hit, “All Day.” His last album, LINES, came out in 2017; and his newest project, the EP IDDTFM was released less than a week ago. With only four tracks, it’s one of his shorter works, but it packs a strong punch. The acronym IDDTFM stands for I Don’t Do This For Money, reflective of Allan Kingdom’s continued commitment to explore different sounds and follow his personal musical passions. 

The EP opens with the song “BLESSED,” initially released ahead of the EP as a single with a music video. The song is simple lyrically with a melody and vocals similar to his classic sound. The song reflects a little about Kingdom’s recent trip to Africa, which he reportedly took to strengthen his spirituality and reconnect himself with his musical passions. The song reminds me of the message of “Blessings” by Chance the Rapper – being grateful for what you have. The next song on the EP is “YERRRRR” which is really unique sonically and is more upbeat than the previous track. Kingdom’s vocal talents really come through on this track, in which he plays around with different pitches and flows. With references to pop culture, materialism, and family, this track is possibly the most impactful of the EP and is definitely the most catchy, personally. “GLOSSY – Gloss Gang” has a sound much more comparable to most top-100s hip-hop. The vocals on this song sound slightly autotuned but still esoteric, like an indie Travis Scott. The EP finishes with “BART” in which Kingdom opens by singing out I don’t do this for money…. This song is classic Peanut Butter Prince, reminiscent of past hits like “Wavey” and “Achilles”. One thing special about this track is the focus on Kingdom’s rap verses, paired with harmony-like vocals layered in between them. 

Overall, the EP is definitely one in a million. I have really appreciated Kingdom’s work since being introduced to him through his verse on Kanye’s “All Day,” and have loved his collaborations with some artists I like within Thestand4rd. I recommend these projects, as well as his album Northern Lights (2016). The new EP is worth mentioning as a great new addition to his discography. Let me know what you think! 

– Miranda 

Categories
Band/Artist Profile

Artist of the Week: Megan Thee Stallion

Megan Thee Stallion is on the rise as one of the hottest rappers right now with her hit singles, styles, and fierce attitude. The first time I heard of Megan Thee Stallion was a few years ago when she participated in the Houston Cypher freestyle. In my opinion, she stole the show with her freestyle. It had attitude, flow, and rhymes that no one could match! Her lyrics are provocative and I think the genre is missing this type of style from female rappers.

Megan Thee Stallion was born as Megan Jovon Ruth Pete on February 15, 1995 in Bexar County, Texas and raised in the South Park neighborhood in Houston. Her mother, Holly Thomas, rapped under the name “Holly-Wood” and brought Megan to the studio instead of putting her daughter in daycare. So at a young age, Megan was introduced to the music industry and to the rap genre.

Megan began writing her own raps at the age of 16. Her mother thought her lyrics were too suggestive for her age and suggested she pursue her rap career when she turns 21. She. Graduated from Pearland High School in 2013. Also, in 2013, a clip of Megan went viral when she participated in a rap battle (cypher) against male opponents when she was a student at Prairie View A&M University. The video ended up going viral and helped enlarge her social media presence. She curated more fans by posting her freestyles on her Instagram while in college. She adopted the name “Megan Thee Stallion” because she was referred to as a stallion during her adolescence due to her height (5’10”) and looks. After taking time off school, she resumed her studies at Texas Southern University in health administration and hopes to establish assisted-living facilities in her hometown of Houston. She is a third year student as of 2019.

Megan released her EP Tina Snow in June 2018 before signing g to 300 Entertainment in November of 2018, making her the first female rapper on the label. She is known for her confidence, sensuality, and vulgar lyrics. She presents her sexuality throughout her lyrics, videos, and live performances. In an interview, Megan stated that her songs are not just about being sexy, but being confident in her sexuality.

Megan has various alter egos that she has referred to. One of those alter egos is Tina Snow (also the name of her debut EP). It was influenced by Pimp c’s alias, Tony Snow, and has similar confidence and sexually dominant delivery. Hot Girl Meg is another alter ego that Megan embodies which is her college, party girl side. Megan is also accredited to last year’s “Hot Girl Summer” due to some of her tweets and the song of the same name that she released in 2019.

Even though she has been very successful within her rap career, she has had some struggles in her personal life. Her mother died in March 2019 from a longstanding battle with a cancerous brain tumor. Her grandmother died in the same month. I look up to Megan because of her grind. Even with personal hardships, she is pushing through and working hard. I find it very impressive and motivational to see Megan in college, making banging hits, and persevering through hard times. Megan is a role model not only for women, but for everyone.

Discography:

·      Make It Hot (2017)

·      Tina Snow (2018)

·      Fever (mixtape) (2019)

·      Suga (2019)

Favorite Songs:

·      Savage

·      Tina Montana

·      Captain Hook

Stay Metal,

THE SAW

Categories
New Album Review

ALBUM REVIEW: Down Under EP – Moglii & Novaa

ALBUM: Down Under – EP

BEST TRACKS: Mother, Same, Her and High

FCC:

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 

Categories
Miscellaneous

Get Psyched Podcast Episode Highlight: DIY Series ft. Pat Danger

 

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

Categories
New Album Review

ALBUM REVIEW: STRFKR – Future Past Life

BEST TRACKS: Second Hand, Pink Noise, Cold Comfort

FCC clean

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

Categories
Weekly Charts

Chainsaw Charts 05/19

Artist Record Label
1 LEFT BEHIND “Waiting for the End” [Single] Pure Noise
2 THE ACACIA STRAIN “Chinnamasta” [Single] Rise
3F LESHGOD APOCALYPSE Veleno Nuclear Blast
4 ASKING ALEXANDRIA Like A House On Fire Sumerian
5 BODYSNATCHER This Heavy Void Stay Sick
6 UPON A BURNING BODY Southern Hostility Seek & Strike
7 AFTER THE BURIAL Evergreen Sumerian
8 SUICIDE SILENCE Become The Hunter Nuclear Blast
9 AS I LAY DYING Shaped By Fire Nuclear Blast
10 KUBLAI KHAN Absolute Rise

Categories
Weekly Charts

Afterhours Charts 05/19

Artist Record Label
1 GNORK Marble [EP] Church
2 KEDR LIVANSKIY Your Need 2MR
3 JESSY LANZA"Lick In Heaven" [Single] Hyperdub
4 JAMES MASSIAH Natural Born Killers (Ride for Me) [EP] Levels
5 SASSY 009KILL SASSY 009 Luft
6 YEULE Serotonin II Bayonet
7 CARIBOU Suddenly Merge
8 BLUE HAWAII Open Reduction Internal Fixation Arbutus
9 CHRISTINE AND THE QUEENS La Vita Nuova [EP] Because/Capitol
10 COWGIRL CLUE Icebreaker Vada Vada

Categories
Weekly Charts

Daytime Charts 05/19

Artist Record Label
1 ROOKIE Rookie Bloodshot
2 MY UGLY CLEMENTINE Vitamin CInk
3 EMILY ROCKARTS Little Flower Self-Released
4 GIRL SKIN Shade Is On The Other Side Jullian
5 SIMEN LYNGROTH Morning Light Self-Released
6 WHY BONNIE Voice Box [EP] Fat Possum
7 ONCE AND FUTURE BAND Deleted Scenes Castle Face
8 TONNE Bridey Murphy [EP] Self-Released
9 FRITZ HUTCHINSON Wide Wild Acres Center Cut
10 GOLDEN SEALS, THE Something Isn’t Happening Self-Released
11 PEACH PIT You And Your Friends Columbia
12 PENELOPE ISLES Until The Tide Creeps In Bella Union/PIAS
13 ROSEY DUST keep for life Self-Released
14 BASEMENT REVOLVER Wax And Digital [EP] Sonic Unyon
15 CHASTITY BELT Chastity Belt Hardly Art
16 DARKSOFT Brain Self-Released
17 GREEN BUZZARD Amidst The Clutter And Mess I Oh You
18 DEAD SOFT Big Blue Arts & Crafts
19 FYOHNA Radio Sampler [EP] Self-Released
20 VARSITY The Basement Takes Run For Cover
21 HOVVDY Heavy Lifter Double Double Whammy
22 CRITICALS, THE Mimosa Hygiene [EP] Self-Released
23 FRANKIE COSMOS Close It Quietly Sub Pop
24 CRUMB Jinx Self-Released
25 KOKO NEETZ I.T.T.I.P. Admirable Traits
26 CHRISTELLE BOFALE Swim Team [EP] Father/Daughter
27 SOCCER MOMMY Color Theory Loma Vista/Concord
28 WALRUS Cool To Who Outside
29 CHAI"No More Cake" [Single] Sony International
30 FUTURE CRIB FriendsSelf-Released

TOP ADDS

1 ROSE CITY BAND Summerlong Thrill Jockey
2 TAMBINO Tambino [EP] Self-Released
3 HEY CHELS Everything Goes Self-Released
4 EDITH FROST Nothing Comes Around Drag City
5 LASER BACKGROUND Evergreen Legend Self-Released
6ATOMIC BRONCONightflowersSelf-Released
7 KID FROOPY Silver Silver Deadbeats
8 VARSITY"Reason to run" [Single] Self-Released
9 DIET CIG Do You Wonder About Me? Frenchkiss
10 BUILT TO SPILL Built To Spill Plays The Songs Of Daniel Johnston [Advance Tracks] Ernest Jenning