WMXM’s Song of the Week
WMXM is going to start giving weekly links to tracks that we think are particularly cool.
First off is Dr. Dog’s The Way the Lazy Do. Click here to experience this track, or don’t–free will is a beautiful thing.
WMXM is going to start giving weekly links to tracks that we think are particularly cool.
First off is Dr. Dog’s The Way the Lazy Do. Click here to experience this track, or don’t–free will is a beautiful thing.
After Delorean’s rushing success with their 2009 Ayrton Senna EP and a handful of stunning remixes of artists you might have heard about – Franz Ferdinand, the xx, and Cold Cave – The Spanish quartet drops Subiza via True Panther Sounds just in time for all the summer fun down at the local beach. Delorean combines the best of today’s in-fashion musical panache and ends up with a polished, original sound all their own.
Subiza offers all the indie dance-pop you can shake a pair of wayfarers at. Comparatively to Ayrton Senna, not much has changed in the sonic formula. Club-oriented beats layered with native percussion drive the dance pulse through each track – while lead singer/bassist Ekhi Lopetegi sweetly lavishes out simple and sunny lyrics. Couple Lopetegi’s singing with the vocal sample bits and the reverb-drenched synthesizers that litter each song and Delorean creates this lush and shimmering texture found nowhere else in music today.
The first single off the album is “Stay Close,” and boy do theses Spaniards know how to make a summer hit. Huge reverb, melodic vocal samples, glimmering synthesizer lines stacked upon straight keyboard, heavy bass, and washed out filter build-ups that bring the club and the beach together – everything needed to drive those hipsters wild. Interestingly enough, a revving alarm sample found throughout “Stay Close” is eerily similar to a noise located in the latter half of “Brothersport” by Animal Collective. Sharing is caring I suppose.
Another stand out track, “Infinite Desert,” screams indie gold as the song opens with filters, transitions to pitch-shifted vocal samples tied together with a four-to-the-floor bass drum, flamenco handclaps, and Grizzly-Bear-good harmonies. It is almost as if Delorean went to the four corners of the independent music scene and took the best parts from each destination – tribal percussion with dance beats, unique samples, lo-fi harmonies, and synthesizer progressions that would make Cut Copy proud.
Subiza as a whole is lacking in sonic diversity – each song recycles the same Delorean recipe and mix process – and lucky for us this is not a bad thing. Subiza offers a handful of catchy, lo-fi, electro-pop goodness sure to make your summer dance party never end. This album is a little over forty-two minutes of solid, well-produced compositions that point to a long and bright future for Delorean. So grab your beach towel, sun block, and head down to the beach where you and this album belong.
-C.W. Keck
Hey-o!
Is your show dull? In need of some spiffing up? Or do you just like to do new and exciting things?
Mix it up!
Shake things up a bit… don’t be afraid to get creative! I just had a friend in CALIFORNIA introduce a set of songs she picked via internet.
Cool, right?
-Briana
So the time is about to begin where the booze is replaced by the books. As such, the question becomes, what do you listen to while you study?
I must admit I fluctuate from wonderfully smooth instrumental (bibio) to fun RPM (adventure) to classical (Pandora). It depends on the pace that i need to study and what i am doing.
What do you listen to? Does it depend on what you are doing?
Hi i’m tyler. On the show today I played a lot of music that reminded me of last summer. It’s mostly indie folk/country, and bluegrass music. For some reason the banjos and mandolins just bring me to the outdoors. The new She & Him album has a really refreshing springtime feel. So what are you guys listening to as you bask outside and soak up the sweet vitamin D rays? What do you think is gonna be bumping your car stereo as you drive around town this summer? What kind of music do you associate with summer? I know summer is the time for festivals, personally I will be going to at least one this summer. (SoundSet, a one day indie hip hop festival in Minnesota, and maybe another nearby folk festival) Anybody else going to any festivals this summer? Anybody going to Bonaroo? (drive me to tennesse pleez?) Lollapalooza? COMMENT BELOW GORGEOUS BEINGS!!!!
Does anyone else remember mixtapes? When you’d record on a little cassette different songs you found on the radio, or if you were REALLY advanced, from a CD?
They’re making a comeback. In a really, really cool way.
A lot of my set tonight comes from friends of mine (I mentioned some of them in my last post, they’re from all over the world) because when we get bored, we do massive music exchanges. Except instead of just burning a CD or making a mixtape we throw it into a zip file and upload it. It’s how I found both La Roux and The Hush Sound, which are now two of my favorite bands.
It also introduced me to some world music, I strongly recommend “Andas” by Loke Nyburg. It may be in Swedish, but it’s beautiful all the same.
-Briana
Prepare yourself: We, as a station, are about to participate in a bit of self-indulgence.
We have accomplished a lot this year: expansion of our signal, rejuvenation of the blog, and as always, playing the best indie music there is to offer, but the most exciting thing is what is to come. We recently received our executive board applications and shortly emails will be sent out telling everyone their positions, and as GM, i could not be more excited with our future. It takes great people to do big things and thats exactly what we are going to continue to have. We had the most applications in our history and that shows the vitality of the station. I cannot wait to see what more we can accomplish in the approximate academic year.
Hears to another wonderful year!
reid
Tune in on Monday nights from 10-11pm to here hip hop you’ve never heard. With a little trip hop mixed in there too.
hi folks, im tyler. Last night i had the pleasure of seeing a band called Beach House perform at the Metro in Chicago. Beach House plays dreamy, indie pop music, and if you haven’t heard their latest full-length Teen Dream then you’re probably residing permanently in a barn in Nebraska. But regardless, the show was awesome and different from any concert I’ve ever been to. First off, the band came out on the stage and emanated a sense of calm, which jived perfectly with their music. Both lead singer, Victoria Legrand, and guitarist, Alex Scally, remarked at how they could feel the relaxing air of spring on stage. After finishing the last song Victoria even told the audience to, “go make babies.” In comparison to other concerts there was much less movement. Not many people were dancing, normally this would annoy me but the show didn’t suffer. Beach House music is much more cerebral; the tremendous reverb caused the music to pulse through my skull, as opposed to my whole body. For a band that is known to play mellow songs, the drums were surprisingly heavy. At this point the “dream” metaphor is horribly cliche but i’m going to use it anyway: Drums became a heartbeat with the vocals, guitar and keyboard sitting delicately on top, spinning intricate melodies. Oh, and just to top it off the stage was decorated with giant diamond-shaped, spinning, piñata things. But ya, it was awesome, and quite a few other DJs from WMXM were there so i’m sure you’ll hear about it more! Comment if y’alls wanna know anything else!!
P.S. If you like Beach House check out a band called Gospel Gossip, they are kinda similar but very unique. We’ve got two of their cd’s here in the station, burn away!!!
last semester was my first as a radio dj, and my radio show was Monday mornings, 8 to 10. i had no problem with the timme, until i covered a friend’s slot onn a thursday evening, same time as my show in the pm. it was a whole new experience! people calling in, commenting on facebook, I felt . . . well, listened to! and this was different from my early monday morning experience.
well this semester, I aimed for a later time when more people were up and potentially listening. and i got it, fridays from 230pm-4. and what fun!
then i started feeling this sort of pressure . . . putting together my playlists wasn’t the same anymore, because well i had to take into account the fact that PEOPLE WOULD BE LISTENING, for real. and my musical tastes have been referred to as . . . interesting . . . silly . . . at times annoying, because, well
i love bluuuueeegrasss.
and i think it is in fact silly, always musically interesting, and at times i suppose for some people it can be annoying. but it really is my cup of tea. can you dig it?
so just the other day i realized, i wasn’t being honest with myself. my playlists hadn’t been what i really wanted them to be. and i realized as much as i had been trying to please my listeners, i had to please myself too, i had to make my playlists feel good to me if they were to really feel good to my listeners.
who doesn’t love the banjo anyway?
just a word of clarification - bluegrass is NOT country. my collection is mostly instrumental, and just putting the word out that you’ll be hearing more banjo mandolin fiddle guitar goodness on the waves than youve ever heard before, right here on WMXM friday afternoons 230-4.
listen to find out what it’s all about.
love love, erika