Local artist, Drake Murphy, from Addor, North Carolina stopped by the studio to speak with us about his latest album and single, upcoming projects, and his performance at NC State’s Packapalooza DH Hill stage.
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Artist Profile: le1f
Born Khalif Diouf, NYC born-and-bred rapper and producer le1f hit the ground running with the release of his first mixtape Dark York in 2012. His standout single, the 5kinandbone5-produced “Wut,” is packed full of quick quips and lively, bopping horns. With his background in dance and choreography, the music video for the single lives up to the hype as le1f revels around scantily clad male models sporting Pikachu masks. The rapper got into a small, but notable Twitter dispute the following year with artist Macklemore, whose hit single “Thrift Shop” bears a similar resemblance to “Wut.”
2013 proved to be a busy year for the producer, as he released his sophomore mixtape Fly Zone in January, signed to Terrible Records in February, dropped an EP in March, and followed up with another release, Tree House, in September. In April of the same year, he performed on the Late Show with David Letterman, becoming the first openly gay rapper to play a major late night show.
All in all, le1f is an eccentric yet grounded artist that’s certainly worth a listen. Check out the music video for “Wut,” bump “Spa Day” off the Hey EP, and ease your way into his style.
Catch him at the fest on Friday night at Kings Barcade.
The strum of a guitar has been a standard in the colorful spectrum of musical genres throughout centuries. How you strum the strings can determine the mood and tone of the song. This skill is where Tashi Dorji shines. His guitar, spread over cold silence, makes you feel something. Whether or not it is a comfortable feeling is up to you.
Born under the slopes of the Himalayas, Dorji lived in the remote country of Bhutan. This isolated upbringing ended in 2000, when Dorji left his home country to attend a liberal arts college right here in North Carolina. In the city of Asheville, he made his new home and started to release compositions under various labels, mostly on cassette tapes. Dorji’s voice radiates throughout his music. Many of his works are the results of improvisation. His compositions drag the listener into a labyrinth of warbling tones, where each sound seems to jump out and replace the eerie silence that would otherwise occupy the atmosphere. The textures remain sustained in the reverberation as the vibration of the strings dwindle and ascend. The experience is one equally disorienting and reflective, in which Dorji’s musicianship brings haunting beauty and mindfulness to the listener.
Be sure to catch Tashi Dorji playing Hopscotch Music Fest at the Kennedy Theatre on Friday September 11 starting at 10:30. He’ll also be playing with Elisa Ambrogio at the WKNC/WYXC/WXDU Hopscotch Day Party at Kings in Raleigh. Only 23 more days until downtown Raleigh becomes the playground for music lovers of all types! Be sure to stalk the WKNC blog for more Hopscotch coverage!
WKNC Radio 200
1. TAME IMPALA – Currents – Interscope
2. TEARJERKER – Stay Wild – Self-Released
3. WHITE REAPER – White Reaper Does It Again – Polyvinyl
4. LA LUZ – Weirdo Shrine – Hardly Art
5. MAC DEMARCO – Another One – Captured Tracks
6. WORRIERS – Imaginary Life – Don Giovanni
7. DAMAGED BUG – Cold Hot Plumbs – Castle Face
8. SORORITY NOISE – Joy, Departed – Topshelf
9. WESTKUST – Last Forever – Run For Cover
10. STRANGE WILDS – Subjective Concepts – SUB POP
11. TITUS ANDRONICUS – The Most Lamentable Tragedy – Merge
12. DUCKTAILS – St. Catherine – Domino
13. GIRLPOOL – Before The World Was Big – Wichita
14. J. FERNANDEZ – Many Levels Of Laughter – Joyful Noise
15. ULTIMATE PAINTING – Green Lanes -Trouble In Mind
16. VINYL WILLIAMS – Into – Company
17. STOLEN JARS – Kept – Self-Released
18. UNKNOWN MORTAL ORCHESTRA – Multi-Love – Jagjaguwar
19. MATILDE DAVOLI – I’m Calling You From My Dreams – Loyal To Your Dreams
20. FAILURE – The Heart Is A Monster – InGrooves
21. RATATAT – Magnifique – XL
22. DESAPARECIDOS – Payola – Epitaph
23. MEWITHOUTYOU – Pale Horses – Run For Cover
24. KID WAVE – Wonderlust – Heavenly
25. CREEPING PINK – Mirror Woods – Castle Face
26. SEAPONY – A Vision – Self-Released
27. JACK AND ELIZA – Gentle Warnings – Yebo
28. GWENNO – Y Dydd Olaf – Heavenly
29. SOAK – Before We Forgot How To Dream – Rough Trade
30. GRAVE BABIES – Holographic Violence – Hardly Art
WKNC TOP 5 ADDS
1. DIET CIG – Sleep Talk/Dinner Date [7-inch] – Father/Daughter
2. POTTY MOUTH – Potty Mouth EP – Planet Whatever
3. TEEN DAZE – Morning World – Paper Bag
4. COLD BEAT – Into The Air – Crime On The Moon
5. MUSEUM MOUTH/NAKED NAPS – Museum Mouth/Naked Naps Split – Too Far Gone Records
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Concert On The Lawn
WKNC has put on events called Friday’s On The Lawn; however, as part of Wolfpack Welcome Week, WKNC put on “Concert On The Lawn” Monday, August 17th. To kick off the year-long series, Echo Courts and Ghostt Bllonde serenaded listeners and passersby, attracting a huge crowd.
Echo Courts started off this academic year’s first Concert On The Lawn.
Echo Courts starting to draw in a crowd.
Ghostt Bllonde rockin’, singing, and dancing!
And finally, the great crowd that came out to support WKNC and hear some awesome tunes.
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Hopscotch 2015 Artist Map
Each year, Hopscotch Music Festival brings in an incredible lineup of artists from all over the state, country, and world to play the three-day music festival in Raleigh. But have you ever wondered exactly where all of the bands are from?
WKNC’s dJ/dx used Mapbox to create a map of this year’s Hopscotch artists based on the hometowns listed on their Hopscotch Artist Bios. The marker’s aren’t quite exact, but they are placed near each city/town. You can click on each marker for the corresponding artist/band’s name, and clicking their picture will take you to their Hopscotch Artist Bio page.
8/18: The Low Counts @ Local 506
8/19: Adia Victoria @ The Pinhook
8/20: Lionlimb @ Local 506
8/21: Just Jess @ The Pinhook
8/22: The Color Exchange @ Cat’s Cradle Backroom
8/23: Lowland Hum @ Local 506
Tune into WKNC 88.1 FM this week and when the DJ asks for it, call the request lines at 919-515-0881 or 919-515-2400 for your chance to win tickets to these shows! Good luck!
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Going with the Flow
Last year, one of the most important lessons that I learned about Hopscotch is how important it is to just go with the flow. When I started on Thursday, I thought I had everything planned out; all the bands I wanted to see were highlighted on my artist lineup print out. As the night went on, I started to talk to more and more people who were excited to see artists I had totally overlooked. When I broke away from my “ideal” schedule, I found that my Hopscotch experience was much more interesting, exciting, and diverse—not that there’s anything wrong with trying to plan, just be sure to keep an open mind!
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Youth League Interview
Local Band Local Beer: Youth League
Last week, Phian interviewed Youth League before they played at Tir Na nOg Irish Pub for Local Band Local Beer. During the interview, Youth League songs “Football”, “Japanese Draculas”, “Let’s Elope!”, and “For John” were played. If you like what you hear, you can check out more of Youth League at their Bandcamp.
Though Atlanta trap music has been around a while, only in recent years has it cracked into mainstream American music. Turn on any commercial hip hop radio station to hear the lean-driven drawl of Future or the combination of mumbling, rapping, and singing that Young Thug puts out. Though it sometimes seems like it has become a genre driven by radio hits and record labels, some still aim to put out fresh music while not adhering to the same basic formula of modern Atlanta rap stars. Among them is Father and group, Awful Records.
While most Atlanta trap stars use strip clubs like Magic City to expose their music to fans, Father has taken a different approach. He and his friends have built a small, rabid following of fans on the Internet. His business approach isn’t the only thing that sets Father apart. Using minimal yet 808-heavy beats that he often produces and engineers himself, Father sits perfectly at the intersection of Internet rap hipster and trap star. He values having fun and making unique music with his friends over cultivating an image of toughness. Though his voice can be a little off-putting at first, heavy beats and catchy hooks will eventually have you belting out every lyric at full volume. Above all, Father doesn’t take himself or his music too seriously and asks that his fans don’t as well.
For an introduction to Father, check out his mini-hit “Look at Wrist” that features fellow Atlanta fringe stars Key! And ILoveMakonnen. Other good songs include “Nokia”, “Back in the ‘A’”, and “Young Hot Ebony”.
You can see Father perform at Hopscotch Music Fest here in Raleigh Friday at 11:00 at Lincoln Theatre. Keep on an eye on the WKNC blog for more exclusive content leading up to the festival.