Category: Blog

Categories
Concert Preview

Hopscotch Kick Off (Part 2)

As September inches closer by the day, the city of Raleigh starts to prepare itself for that one magical weekend of the month known as Hopscotch Music Festival. This weekend, happening Sept. 7-10, takes over downtown Raleigh as music fans from just about everywhere descend upon the city’s many venues, some even makeshift just for the festival. We here at WKNC look forward to the festival every single year and would like to share with you some of our most anticipated acts for this year in our special Hopscotch kickoff! 

iLoveMakonnen

When the good people at Hopscotch casually incorporated ILOVEMAKONNEN into this year’s lineup, I think I literally screamed. I fell in love with Makonnen a few years back after I got my wisdom teeth taken out during winter break – I spent the entire week investigating his discography and making my friends listen to his extremely underrated song “In The Bity” while they drove me to the mall to buy Christmas presents. Pain killers (prescribed!!)  were definitely involved but it was my wisdom teeth so whatever. 

Makonnen gained major popularity in 2014 with his song “Tuesday” featuring Drake and his song “I Don’t Sell Molly No More,” both on debut self-titled album. He remained in the spotlight the following year with a feature on the summer track “I Like Tuh” with Carnage. These are just some of Makonnen’s popular hits, and while they are sick songs, they have nothing on his wildly unique and extensive mixtape discography. From Drink More Water (1-6) to 3 Suns, he blends genre lines between rap, pop, r&b, and more. What I love most about Makonnen’s deep cuts are the bold instrument experimentation – his material goes from tracks with heavy bass beats to songs with only vocals and (really loud) melodic keyboard. Even though the production quality is noticeably average, it is in a way that makes his music accessible and charming. 

If you haven’t gotten into ILOVEMAKONNEN outside of his super popular radio singles, I clearly recommend starting with the mixtapes and working your way through. I not only suggest listening to the songs mentioned earlier, but also give “Piano Class,” “Swerve,” and basically all of Drink More Water 2 a listen. In the first listen, these songs sound pretty weird – but trust me, it’ll be all you want to listen to. 

iLoveMakonnen will take the City Plaza stage Saturday night at 6:30 opening for fellow Atlanta MC Big Boi.  

 – Emily Ehling, General Manager Emeritus

Japanese Breakfast

Japanese Breakfast delivers me to a time of not stressing about classes, rather a sentimental montage of summer nights spent with good pals. I’m most excited to see Japanese Breakfast this Hopscotching season because of the liminal feelings she produces through her newest album, Soft Sounds from Another Planet. This album is exactly what I’d want to hear if music was coming from outside of this world. Pop meets melancholy in this synth driven album that is sweet to the ears. Currently my favorite tune off her new album is “Road Head” which pairs well with the creepy crawly visuals shown in the music video. Michelle Zauner, aka Japanese Breakfast, spoke how the song was about someone not believing in her music career and goals, and her attempt at a last ditch effort to keep things alive in a doomed relationship. Not many songs can make you smile at the same time you question your own sadness like this one can. Keep listening to WKNC 88.1 for more Hopscotch coverage and insight.

Japanese Breakfast will be performing at Neptunes Saturday night at 12:30 a.m. 

– Katelyn Auger, Promotions Director

Rapsody

Ooowee! Rapsody is back in Raleigh, for Hopscotch. It’s been a minute since this Wolfpack alumna has been back to Raleigh. We last saw Rap at Packapalooza in 2015, sharing the stage with Nappy Roots, but since then she’s been making waves with major artists and producers. During her time at NC State, Marlanna Evans of Snow Hill, NC began her musical career as a part of Kooley High and was also a founding member of H2O, (The Hip-Hop Organization) at NC State in 2004. Since then she’s broken out into her own career as a successful artist with 3 studio albums and several mixtapes, all featuring both established and up-and-coming artists, as well as being signed to Jay-Z’s renown label Roc Nation in 2016. From her numerous accolades, it quickly becomes apparent that Rap isn’t stagnant. Her flow, lyrics, and use of her voice are all weapons in the arsenal she brings not only to her own music, but to other talented artists such as Ab-Soul on Do What Thou Wilt, former Hopscotch attendee Anderson .Paak’s Malibu, and Kendrick Lamar’s To Pimp a Butterfly which gained her a Grammy nomination. This year Rap is back and ready to take over – oooWee!

A few of Rapsody’s highlights include:  “OooWee” ft. Anderson Paak., “The Man”, “Hard to Choose”. Make sure you catch Rapsody at 6:30 p.m. opening for Run the Jewels at Red Hat Ampitheatre.  

– Ethan-Cole Evans, DJ E.Cole.I

Big Thief

Hey this is DJ Short Strides. One of the bands I am most excited to see at Hopscotch this year is the band Big Thief. If you are a fan of indie rock you will love this band. Big Thief has had quick success in that they came out with their stunning first album Masterpiece in 2016 and gained enough popularity to tour the US, the UK, and Australia. They recently put out a new album in June titled Capacity and its one of my favorite albums of 2017. I typically listen to all of their albums full through on repeat; however, my top five favorite songs (because I couldn’t narrow it down to just three) are “Velvet Ring”, “Shark Smile”, “Parallels”, “Mythological Beauty”, and “Animals”. Big Thief will be playing at 7 p.m. on Thursday, Sept. 7 at the City Plaza and you can guarantee I will be there.

– Annelise Thorn, Operations Manager

Preoccupations

Preoccupations is a Canadian indie rock band hailing from Calgary, Alberta with other genre associations such as post-punk, art rock, and noise rock. Their style mashes together a lo-fi aesthetic, technical guitar melodies, post-rock elements, and a lackadaisical singing style to create an interesting listening experience. 

They are one-half of the now-defunct indie band Women. Ex-Women members Matt Flegel and Mike Wallace joined with Scott Munro and David Christiansen in 2012 to form the originally, controversially named Viet Cong. Under this previous moniker, they self-released a debut Cassette EP (2013, reissued in 2014 on Mexican Summer) and released a self-titled album (2015) on the labels Jagjaguwar and Flemish Eye. They released their sophomore, self-titled full-length later in 2016 as Preoccupations. 

I picked one favorite song from each of their three releases. 
Favorite Tracks: “Unconscious Melody”, “Silhouettes”, and “Stimulation”.

 – Zach Mega, The Captain 

Thanks for reading and keep on listening to WKNC for more Hopscotch 2017 coverage! 

Categories
Weekly Charts

WKNC 88.1 FM Radio 200/Indie Rock Charts 8/15/17

1 SEE THROUGH DRESSES – Horse of the Other World – Tiny Engines
2 RATBOYS – GN – Topshelf
3 STRANGE RELATIONS – Editorial You – Tiny Engines
4 KATIE VON SCHLEICHER – Shitty Hits – Ba Da Bing
5 DOWNTOWN BOYS – Cost of Living – Sub Pop
6 WAXAHATCHEE – Out in the Storm – Merge
7 MARIKA HACKMAN – I’m Not Your Man – Sub Pop
8 PALM – Shadow Expert [EP] – Carpark
9 LILY AND HORN HORSE – Next To Me – Ramp Local
10 INSTITUTE – Subordination – Sacred Bones
11 PIXX – The Age of Anxiety – 4AD
12 (SANDY) ALEX G – Rocket – Domino
13 CHAIN AND THE GANG – Best of Crime Rock – In the Red
14 GUERILLA TOSS – GT Ultra – DFA
15 DASHER – Sodium – Jagjaguwar
16 BIG THIEF – Capacity – Saddle Creek
17 GIRLPOOL – Powerplant – Anti-
18 REDUCTION PLAN – Somewhere – Maladjusted
19 JAPANESE BREAKFAST – Soft Sounds From Another Planet – Dead Oceans
20 I.L.Y’S, THE – Bodyguard – Castle Face
21 SEXTILE – Albeit Living – Felte
22 KEVIN MORBY – City Music – Dead Oceans
23 HONEY JOY – Honey Joy – Infinity Cat
24 PALEHOUND – A Place I’ll Always Go – Polyvinyl
25 GIRL RAY – Earl Grey – Moshi Moshi
26 NAOMI PUNK – Yellow – Captured Tracks
27 US AND US ONLY – Full Flower – Topshelf
28 DISTRICTS, THE – Popular Manipulations – Fat Possum
29 AVEY TARE – Eucalyptus – Domino
30 EXHIBITION – Last Dance [EP] – Cult

ADDS:

1 EMA – Exile In The Outer Ring – City Slang
2 TRAILER TRASH TRACYS – Althaea – Double Six
3 FRANKIE ROSE – Cage Tropical – Slumberland
4 KELLEY STOLTZ – Que Aura – Castle Face
5 THE YAWPERS – Boy In A Well – Bloodshot
6 SARAH JAFFE – Bad Baby – Kirtland

Categories
Concert Preview

Hopscotch Kick Off (Part 1)

As September inches closer by the day, the city of Raleigh starts to prepare itself for that one magical weekend of the month known as Hopscotch Music Festival. This weekend, happening Sept. 7-10, takes over downtown Raleigh as music fans from just about everywhere descend upon the city’s many venues, some even makeshift just for the festival. We here at WKNC look forward to the festival every single year and would like to share with you some of our most anticipated acts for this year in our special Hopscotch kickoff! 

Run the Jewels 

Over the past four years, Hip-Hop has been turned on it’s head by the genre’s super-duo Run the Jewels. Comprised of emcee Killer Mike and producer/emcee El-P, the pair have created an undeniable sound for themselves that originates in their self-titled debut, and has been reinvented twice over on their 2nd and 3rd LP’s. But even more exciting than their studio albums, is the sheer legendary live performance that Run the Jewels has put on for fans all over the country. It only makes sense that Hopscotch would want in on this action, and out of all the amazing acts on the festival’s line-up this year, I am most excited to see RTJ hit the stage.

My favorite tracks from each album include “Banana Clip feat. Big Boi” (Run the Jewels), “Love Again” (Run the Jewels 2), and “Legend Has It” (Run the Jewels 3).

Killer Mike has always been a staple lyricist in Hip-Hop, representing a unique spin on the Atlanta-sound. But after having El-P produce his 2011 album R.A.P. Music, and featuring on El-P’s album Cancer 4 Cure, the two realized the chemistry was perfect, and they toured together to promote these projects. This of course led to 2013’s first release under their new moniker, Run the Jewels. Ever since, they have put on unbelievable live performances, arguably thriving the most successfully at festivals (which is good news for Hopscotch goers).

As Underground Music Director, I have of course promoted every Run the Jewels project, and they continue to be in regular rotation at WKNC, because they encompass the ultimate “Hip-Hop” sound, yet they also reshape it. This year’s performance will be a special treat for me, as I have yet to see them live. The exciting part about seeing a duo is the way they transfer energy back and forth throughout their performance, and I can only assume they have mastered their craft over the last 4 years of touring together. To me, the show just might be, as Run the Jewels would put it, a “Christmas F**king Miracle!”

Run the Jewels will be performing Friday night at 8pm at Red Hat. 

 -John Wilson, Underground Music Director

Cherry Glazerr

Los Angeles’s Cherry Glazzerr is upbeat indie rock with garage rock, punk, and synth pop influences. The band features songwriter Clementine Creevy on guitar and vocals, Tabor Allen on drums, Sasami Ashworth on synth and formed in 2012 when Creevy was just fifteen years old. Their music is an honest display of self expression and offers a modern spirit of the rriot girl movement with frontwoman Clementine’s songwriting themes of feminism and empowerment which can especially be heard in their second album Apocalipstick which came out earlier this year.

Tracks like “Nurse Ratched” feature upbeat garage rock influenced guitar laced in synth, powerful drums, and  strong smooth vocals with socially charged lyrics “She’s a wild one in a land that’s supposed to be free”.

Other tracks have a more self reflective feel such as “Told You I’d Be With the Guys” a reflection of youthful friendships. As well as a more punk influenced sound as Clementine croons with the ferocity of Kathleen Hanna (Bikini Kill) “ I told you, I told you I’d be with the guys, but I know better now than to be with the guys”. Apocalipstick was recorded with the talent of Joe Chicarelli (White Stripes, The Shins, The Strokes) and Carlos de la Garza (Bleached, M83, Tegan and Sara) and released on Secretly Canadian! records.

They are a band not to miss at Hopscotch and will be closing out the Pour House at 12am with a energetic, head-banding, feel good, empowering set.

For fans of: Speedy Ortiz, Diet Cig, Screaming Females  

-Mariam Marand, Local Music Director

Pie Face Girls

Raleigh based trio Pie Face Girls is comprised of Dani Hoffpauir on lead vocals and guitar, Tiffany Huff on bass and Klay Misenheimer on drums. Kicking off the high-energy lineup at Pour House on Saturday, they are sure to cause a stir. Their music is politically motivated with goals aligned against the patriarchy, the “alt-right” and any of their sympathizers. Join these warriors as they tear Trump a new one whilst infecting onlookers with the urge to aggressively move their bodies in solidarity. Their sound is very pop-punk and energizing, some of my favorite songs are “Get On The Floor”, “Dude Yr Girlfriend Sux” and their Peaches cover of “Fuck the Pain Away” (found of their Bandcamp). The Pour House is THE venue to attend Saturday of Hopscotch, with Pie Face Girls getting things started at 9PM and Cherry Glazerr ending the night at midnight.

-Farah Hamouda, DJ sPaRr0vV

serpentwithfeet

I have already seen serpentwithfeet open for Perfume Genius at Cat’s Cradle, but his performance was transformative for me; Josiah Wise, the artist behind the enigmatic music project, weaves together R&B and gospel, creating songs that sound like prayers. Wise is able to piece together the experience of queer love and heartbreak in both a theatrical and intimate way for his listeners. I’m excited to see what he brings to the stage for Hopscotch, since his stage presence demands to be felt, and I couldn’t get enough of his voice. One of the songs I’m most excited to hear (again) is “four ethers” ,an orchestral masterpiece filled with runs of Wise’s voice. During his actual performances, he tend to improvise a lot of his runs, making every show a unique experience.

serpentwithfeet will be performing Saturday night at Nash Hall, 12 p.m. 

-Cas Saroza, Program Director 

Madame Gandhi

You probably heard about the woman who free-bled at the London Marathon, right? She’s also a really neat musician and activist named Madame Gandhi, and she’s playing Hopscotch! Although it was tough to choose with the lineup this year, I’m probably most excited to see Madame Gandhi because I’ve been following her for a couple of years now, and she’s inspired me the whole time. She went on a world tour drumming for M.I.A. while simultaneously attending Harvard Business School through 2015, and she released her first EP, Voices, in late 2016. Additionally, she works with Thinx, a company which makes period underwear, and AfriPads, which produces reusable menstrual pads for people who do not have such products readily accessible. If you’re interested in activism, electronic music, hip-hop, and/or lyrics that *really make you think*, give Voices a listen! The EP is more relaxed than most music that I listen to, but I really enjoy the arrangements throughout it. I’m eager to see what her music is like live and to hear what she has to say. She plays on Friday, September 8, at 11:30pm at Nash Hall. Top tracks include “The Future is Female” and “Yellow Sea,” but they’re definitely all worth checking out!

-Ciera Cipriani, The Fuzz

The Make-Up

When Hopscotch 2017’s lineup came out, there are obviously going to be bands that everyone more or less knows. Then there are those bands that one must discover before the festival. For me, that band was The Make-Up. For many, this band might be one of those bands everyone knows, if you’re of a certain age. The Make-Up released their first album Destination: Love- Live! at Cold Rice the year I was born on the infamous punk/hardcore label Dischord Records. Funny enough, this album isn’t exactly what one might think of when they hear the words punk/hardcore. This album was released on Dischord given the band’s interesting history. Frontman Ian Svenonius and multiple other members of the Make-Up made up 80’s notorious DC hardcore band The Nation of Ulysses. Politically, both bands share a very similar message. Sonically, they are in two different playing fields. The Make-Up will be a band to witness this September at Hopscotch as politics are their bread and butter, right next to making a unique blend of funky, gospel tinged post-punk. They wear their communist, leftist leanings well on their sleeves and are sure to have a few things to say about the current political landscape plaguing America right now. Rest assured, they will still sound amazing with their special live show that calls for audience participation and takes many cues from gospel performances. Be sure to familiarize yourself with this band as they take the City Plaza stage Friday night right before local legends Future Islands.

 -Jamie Halla, General Manager

Make sure you check back in with us on Friday for Part 2 and throughout the next couple of weeks for more coverage! 

Categories
Non-Music News

Oak City Move 17: Suzanne Miller

Local author Suzanne Miller joins Sarah to talk about the process of writing her new book Queen, and reads a selection. Sarah also goes over upcoming events around the triangle.

Listen to Episode 17 Here.

Categories
Local Music Music News and Interviews

Off the Record: Smoke From All the Friction

SMOKE FROM ALL THE FRICTION stop by the studios to talk about how they formed, how they write and record, and where they’ll be playing.

Listen here.

Categories
Weekly Charts

WKNC 88.1 FM Radio 200/Indie Rock Charts 8/8/17

1 RATBOYS – GN

– Topshelf
2 WAXAHATCHEE

–

Out in the Storm

–

Merge
3 KATIE VON SCHLEICHER

–

Shitty Hits

–

Ba Da Bing
4 SEE THROUGH DRESSES

–

Horse of the Other World

–

Tiny Engines
5 STRANGE RELATIONS

–

Editorial You

–

Tiny Engines
6 PALEHOUND

–

A Place I’ll Always Go

–

Polyvinyl
7 PALM

–

Shadow Expert [EP]

–

Carpark
8 GUERILLA TOSS

–

GT Ultra

–

DFA
9 FRUIT AND FLOWERS

–

Drug Tax [EP]

– Little Dickman
10 DION LUNADON

–

Dion Lunadon

–

Agitated
11 PEARL EARL

–

Pearl Earl

– Dreamy Life
12 BIG THIEF

–

Capacity

–

Saddle Creek
13 REDUCTION PLAN

–

Somewhere

–

Maladjusted
14 HAZEL ENGLISH

–

Just Give In/Never Going Home

–

Polyvinyl
15 RIDE

–

Weather Diaries

–

Wichita
16 ALDOUS HARDING

–

Party

–

4AD
17 JEN CLOHER

–

Jen Cloher

–

Milk!/Marathon Artists
18 DASHER

–

Sodium

– Jagjaguwar
19 B BOYS

–

Dada

–

Captured Tracks
20 SEXTILE

–

Albeit Living

–

Felte
21 INSTITUTE

–

Subordination

–

Sacred Bones
22 HONEY JOY

–

Honey Joy

–

Infinity Cat
23 KEVIN MORBY

–

City Music

–

Dead Oceans
24 THIS IS THE KIT

–

Moonshine Freeze

–

Rough Trade
25 AVEY TARE

–

Eucalyptus

–

Domino
26 JAPANESE BREAKFAST

–

Soft Sounds From Another  Planet

–

Dead Oceans
27 YOWLER

–

The Offer

–

Double Double Whammy
28 AMBER ARCADE

–

Cannonball [EP]

–

Heavenly/PIAS
29 WARIK

–

In My Lens [EP]

–

Self-Released
30 CHAIN AND THE GANG – Best of Crime Rock

–

In the Red

ADDS:

1 BRIANA MARELA

–

Call It Love

–

Jagjaguwar
2 LILY AND HORN HORSE

–

Next To Me

–

 Ramp Local
3 THE DISTRICTS

–

Popular Manipulations

–

Fat Possum
4 GIRL RAY

–

Earl Grey

– Moshi Moshi
5 DOWNTOWN BOYS

–

Cost Of Living

–

Sub Pop
6 SOCCER MOMMY

–

Collection

–

Fat Possum
7 VALLEY QUEEN

–

Destroyer [EP]

–

Self-Released
8 HAMMYDOWN

–

Pizzaface

–

Self-released
9 AVEY TARE

–

 Eucalyptus

–

Domino

Categories
Local Music Music News and Interviews

Triangle’s own THESE WEAK LIPS in the studio for an interview and set! Great tracks! Fun banter! It’s all here!

Listen here.

Categories
Music News and Interviews

WKNC giveaways this week

Listen to 88.1 WKNC this week and you might win tix to see Live Nation presents Umphrey’s McGee with Aqueous – Friday, Aug. 11 at Red Hat Ampitheater.

Categories
Non-Music News

Oak City Move 16: Purr Cup Cat Cafe

Sarah and Arthur of the Purr Cup mobile cat cafe stop by the studios to chat about their fundraiser to lease a permanent location. They also discuss their work with the Meow House Cat Rescue, to help find shelter cats loving homes.

Listen to Episode 16 here.

Categories
Non-Music News

Gen Ed 6: PM Hesham Qandil

Notable Alumni is a series of short profiles on interesting, powerful, or otherwise unusual NC State graduates. The first installation focuses on irrigation engineer Hashem Qandil, who went on to become Prime Minister of Morsi’s Egypt.