The Antlers are no strangers to the Troubadour, having headlined there in 2010 with Phantogram opening the night. This time around though, it was for a pair of sold-out shows last weekend in support of their latest album, “Familiars.” Eight years into their career, the Brooklyn ensemble have mastered their dynamic melancholy sound, from lush soundscapes […]
Silver Lake’s Distant Cousin, singular, not to be confused with Distant Cousins, plural, is a new solo project from Boston-born artist and multi-instrumentalist David Zukofski that fuses electronica and programming with live instruments and textures. His four-track, self-titled EP is about “chosen solitude and [his] desires to sometimes roam the city at night alone†and […]
The Foreign Exchange began in 2002 as just that – a long-distance collaboration between North Carolina rapper Phonte (Little Brother) and Dutch producer Nicolay, with the former asking if he could track vocals over a Nicolay beat he found on the Internet. That yielded a Little Brother B-side, and then, in the spirit of The […]
Multi-hyphenate Taylor McFerrin has concocted a multi-faceted sound for his debut LP “Early Riser,†now out via Flying Lotus’ Brainfeeder Records. Son of the legendary Bobby McFerrin, the Brooklyn-based beatboxer, composer, DJ, pianist and producer took six years to complete the album, which draws influences from beat scene electro, experimental jazz, golden age hip-hop and […]
Sydney’s Movement brought their minimalist soul/nu-R&B sound to the Echo on Tuesday night, the first stop of five on their debut U.S. tour. The Aussie three-piece band played the entirety of their recent five-track, self-titled EP, and a killer cover of Mario’s “Let Me Love You,†jamming out the intros and outros and transforming the […]
With DJ Spinna on the 1s and 2s, Brooklyn rapper Talib Kweli took the stage at the Echoplex for the first time to a roar of applause and a sea of smart phones in the air, launching into a career-spanning set with his near-breathless flow. He breezed through material including his 1998 Black Star album […]
Carson native and Black Hippy member Ab-Soul is set to release his third album “These Days…†on June 24 via Top Dawg Entertainment to follow-up 2012’s “Control System.†The first song to emerge from the project is “Stigmata.†It includes a hook from Nas’ 2002 track “The Cross,†and features Ab-Soul trading verses with Action Bronson and […]
Originally hailing from Cardiff, England, the downtempo electro-R&B band Until the Ribbon Breaks recently relocated to Los Angeles to work on their forthcoming debut album. The trio of Pete Lawrie-Winfield (lead vocals, keys, percussion, and brass), Elliot Wall (drums), and James Wolujewicz (synth) also signed to Republic Records, who touts their sound as “bursting with […]
In the past couple of years, Groundislava, née Jasper Patterson, has been carving out a niche in the Los Angeles electronic scene with the rest of his WeDidIt crew, including D33J, Jonwayne, RL Grime and Shlohmo, and putting the finishing touches on his third full-length album. It follows his eponymous 2011 debut and 2012’s sophomore […]
Los Angeles native Mikey Omega has been rapping since middle school and developing his sound over the last few years, which he describes as “alternative trap.†The fruit of that labor will soon be released as the forthcoming mixtape “Wasted Potential,†and the first single to surface is “Snow Bunnies.” Built over a steady melody, […]
