Today I bring you Pinup Saints, an electro-pop outfit from Montreal. Austinites might notice a bit of a White White Lights sound in there. The music is catchy, mostly upbeat, and incredibly sexy. For the full experience, check out the track “Helluva”. Distorted vocals mix with synth and drum machine beats to create three and a half minutes of head-nodding hook-filled goodness. The rest of the EP is equally fun and features a lot of interplay between the vocals of Wynn and Rara. Oh, and there’s a Cindi Lauper cover in there.
Check out our short interview with Wynn and Rara, preview the brand spanking new EP Helluva using the little widget thing at the bottom of the post. The whole EP is free for download, you just have to sign up for the mailing list thing.
Members/Instruments:
Wynn Holmes and Rara (Lead Vocals)
PL (Guitar)
Marc A (Drums)
Year Formed: 2005
1. Past: What is your musical background? What has led you to this point?
Rara was a hip hop beat-making soul singer. Wynn studies jazz and classical music growing up and then became a professional dancer and choreographer. We worked together on a project in Montreal a few years back and connected. Pinup Saints became our home.
2. Present: Where are you at now in your career? What are you currently working on?
We just finished our new EP Helluva. We’re working on our sound as a band; we are planning a promo tour and planning to reach as far at the UK.
3. Future: What’s coming up for you? Where do you see yourself in 5 years?
We will have more gigs with our live band and a new show. We’re working to create our own video and multimedia content. It is important for us to DIY.
4. Where can people find more of your music?
You can find our music for free on PINUPSAINTS.COM. We’re also on Reverbnation and iTunes.
5. Anything you’d like to plug?
Check out our new single and EP. Go to our website and come out to our shows!
As usual, I am a little late to the party on this one. It’s ok, though. Just like the last time I was late, I come bearing a gift.
Electronic duo Pretty Lights, who will be at the upcoming Nocturnal Festival at Apache Pass, released their latest EP at the end of July. The 6 song EP, entitled Spilling Over Every Side carries on two Pretty Lights traditions.
First, it is high-quality instrumental hip-hop/electro akin to RJD2 on LSD just like their previous releases. Listen to the opening track ”High School Art Class” (psst, check the embedded YouTube thingy at the bottom of the post) to hear what I mean. About two and a half minutes in, the song goes from DJ Shadow to Glitch Mob.
Second, it is available totally free of charge. Yep, just click the spiffy little banner down there and all the songs can be yours for free. Donations are appreciated, of course.
I’m stoked to see Pretty Lights this summer at Nocturnal Festival (here’s hoping my press passes come through!). Oh, and you totally need to go to Nocturnal Fest. Disco Biscuits, ATB, Girl Talk, Krafty Kuts and Pretty Lights just to name a few.
It is no secret that ska music has taken a back seat again in recent years. Well, let me be clear, ska music is all but gone in mainstream music right now. It didn’t take a back seat, it got all the way out of the car and took off in the other direction. Even previously ska-heavy acts like Aquabats and Goldfinger have dropped the style on recent releases.
Of course, none of that concerns the guys in Rude City Riot, a “Power Ska” six-piece from Canada. Formed in 2008, well after the end of the latest ska revival, Rude City Riot has taken it upon themselves to spread the ska sound. And you know what? It’s pretty damn catchy. I dare you to listen to “Imposter Man” and not sing along to the chorus. It’s got that reggae style that NOFX used so well on “Johnny Appleseed“.
Check out our interview with RCR frontman Dusty Lionhart and give that ol’ ska sound another shot. Use the little ReverbNation widget thing at the bottom of the post to listen to a few tracks and stay tuned if you like what you hear: Rude City Riot is working on their first full-length album right now.
Members/Instruments:
Dustin Lionhart III – Vocals
Scott Atkins – Guitar
Jeremy Spokane – Bass
Jonny McCormack – Saxophone
Kevin Tang – Trombone
Flavio Cirillo – Drums
Year Formed: 2008
1. Past: What is your musical background? What has led you to this point?
Musical background is one of the aspects that makes RCR unique. With seven of us there are so many different influences that define who we are as a band. Some of us come from a Jazz background, others from Punk and Metal. Despite all of these different genres taking part, Ska is the common bond we all share.
Our love of Ska music has lead us to this point. It is a music chalk full of history and roots. Although there have been ups and downs, it always sticks around in some shape or form. We notice how the “Ska” sound and beat influence so many other genres in popular music today without getting it’s due respect.
2. Present: Where are you at now in your career? What are you currently working on?
We are in a really great place with our career. It has been just over two years now as a band. We have had the time to figure out our identity as a unit. We now know what works and what doesn’t. We can truly say that we have our own sound. All the genres and backgrounds mentioned above have all complimented the Ska sound with us. What happens when you mix them all together? “Power Ska” that is what we are.
Currently, we are working on our first full length album. We had very good and positive feedback on our debut EP and more recently with our double “A” sided single releases. The encouraging words from critics and fans has given us the drive to raise the bar even higher for our first full length effort.
3. Future: Where do you see yourself in 5 years?
In 5 years I see Rude City Riot still on a mission to introduce the rest of the world to Ska Music. Most have heard it before but they don’t realize that is in fact called Ska. Many do not even know that Ska came before Reggae. We want to educate and recruit people one at a time until dancefloors are burning up everywhere! The world needs more Power-Ska!
4. Where can people find more of your music?
You can find our music on our website: www.rudecityriot.com. If you decide to sign up as a member of the “Riot Squad” you can download as much of our material you like for free. RCR is also found at iTunes, CDBaby, Rhapsody and many more digital outlets. An amazing amount of stuff comes up if you Google “Rude City Riot”.
5. Anything you’d like to plug?
We encourage our friends and fans to come see us live in concert. Ska Bands are notorious for the highly visual and fun to watch stage presence and Rude City Riot is certainly no exception. As a band, every member wants to deliver a memorable and exciting show and RCR leaves it all on stage when we play no matter when or where. Our fans deserve no less and it is what we would expect if we went to see our favorite bands live. No surrender!
Six acts for the price of one! Come check out some great electronic music at Elysium this Friday while getting drunk off Deep Eddy Sweet Tea vodka. TwoGroove is proud to be a sponsor of this show, especially since it features Gobi, MoTel Aviv, and Czech One!
Like most people, I frickin’ hate Mondays. And today is no different. It’s hot, I have a lot of work to do, and I’m not feeling particularly motivated. Luckily, I have a secret weapon: annoying the living hell out of my co-workers. It puts me in a good mood. Oh yeah, and I have a super-poppy, upbeat hour of music masterfully lovingly stitched together.
Just check the tracklist if you think I’m kidding. I stuffed Lady Gaga, Katy Perry, Michael Jackson, Queen, Vanilla Ice, and Eiffel 65 into this mix in an effort to go over the top with the pop…not that Vanilla Ice is really pop music anymore… Regardless, it’s a fun hour of music. Even if the mention of “pop music” gets your skinny jeans in a twist, give it a shot.
Poppy though they may be, these are some really good tracks. Alex Metric and Designer Drugs seem to only release fantastic remixes, so I double-dipped and included them both twice. Check out how the Bloc Party track fits perfectly with Empire of the Sun’s “Walking on a Dream” (starts at about the 10.45 mark). Little things like that make me happy and, in turn, make Mondays just a little bit easier. Oh, and the REM remix from Tony Pryde is pretty freaking epic. That one gets going around the 44 minute mark. There is even a “hidden” track (not all that hidden considering you can see the entire waveform in the music player).
If you’re in need of a pick-me-up, go ahead and listen to my July mix, that’s what it’s there for. Click the little down arrow on the SoundCloud player to download a copy. And drop me a comment or two about what you like or if there are any tracks you want to request in an upcoming mix.
Tracklist
Eiffel 65 – Move Your Body (DJs From Mars remix)
Milke – Love Get Out Of My Way (Designer Drugs remix)
Bloc Party – One More Chance (Alex Metric remix)
Empire of the Sun – Walking on a Dream (Dirty Little Secrets remix)
Katy Perry – California Girls (MSTRKRFT remix)
La Roux – Bulletproof (DJ Jem remix)
Depeche Mode – John The Revelator (UNKLE remix)
Scanners – We Never Close our Eyes (Designer Drugs remix)
Jefferson Airplane – Somebody to Love (Enjoy DJs remix)
Michael Jackson\David Guetta – Bad Memories (DJ Sean Extended Mashup)
Lady Gaga – Alejandro (Ruskos Papuseria remix)
N.E.R.D. – Hot n’ Fun (Boys Noize remix)
R.E.M. – Losing my Religion (Tony Pryde remix)
Grum – Heartbeats (Worship remix)
Kids at the Bar – Your Body on Me (Trash Yourself remix)
Vanilla Ice – Ice Ice Baby (The Disco Villans remix)
Queen – We Will Rock You (Love Thy Brother remix)
Gorillaz – Stylo (Alex Metric remix)
OMG SUPER HIDDEN TRACK: The National – Afraid of Everyone (We Plants are Happy Plants remix)
4. Where can people find more of your music?
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