1Track@aTime 5.3.2014
((No Love))
((No Love))
The transition from Spring to Summer changed rotation for our good friend B.Dune as he began searching for a new platform to host the Fresh Produce radio show. We all love KRUX but at some point it doesn't last forever. Or sometimes its going through its own changes that requires disc jockeys to be out of commission. Whether its because of summer break, technical issues, upgrades at the station, winter break, or post graduation. Sometimes, it's our own situations that either relocate us away from the University or in Dunes' case brings new responsibilities such as fatherhood!
I recall a few years ago as an undergrad always throwing my name in to get on the winter schedule. During the summer's I was away for internship but stayed on campus a couple of times and got the chance to continue rotation throughout the week, sometimes shifting to an earlier time slot or extending the time slot past two hours.
With the semester coming to a close I wasn't sure whether the Fresh Produce would still broadcast. I also learned that the station was making plans to upgrade the automation system throughout the summer and possibly the rest of the year.
Backtrack a couple of months before this and I was reading Issue 56 of Waxpoetics. I've been subscribed since the earliest issues but have probably had time to make it past 20% of the content, often times the magazine is still in the plastic cover that it arrives in through the mail. So I start with a random issue sometimes and work my way through the articles, referencing artists so that I can hear what I'm reading about.
On Issue 56 I got the copy with the "Loop Digga & Jazz Futurist" Madlib on one side and "Disc Jockey & Breaks Godfather" Kool Herc on the other. This is my all time favorite magazine, so I try not to skip articles. Even if its to get something I may want to read about right away. In working through the first few pages I got to the piece by Allen Thayer w/ cool photos by Chris Saunders. On an alternate issue, Little Dragon is on the cover. The story introduced to me the background of Little Dragon, their studio/homebase of Gothenburg, Sweden, and members, Erik Bodin, Hakan Wirenstrand, Fredrik Wallin, and Yukimi Nagano. Below is a quote from the article that describes a sound and singer I just had to hear...
"Lyrically, Yukimi crafts subtle, yet infectious, vocal hooks delivered with New Jack sass, offering glimpses of intimacy shrouded in synth washes, crisp drums, and bass throbs. She aims for the heartstrings, recognizing that it's not about what you sing, but that it sounds way better when you sing it with soul. "You can have a poem that's beautiful, but to sing it might sound wack, because of the syllables, stuff like that," she explains. "You can have a melody that's beautiful, but [the words] can actually not make sense at all, and people will [still] feel so touched. And then you can have something on a piece of paper and it would sound amazing, but it wouldn't mean anything in a musical context, if its not right. I think that some lyrics can be so simple and can make so much sense musically bu t be like the worst poem ever."
Scanning through a few videos it was the 'Little Man (Yours Truly)' YouTube that sold me on checking them out... starting with their debut record. Most copies were ridiculously priced, except for one I found through Barnes & Nobles online. I wasn't sure what to expect but also wasn't surprised by how good it was considering the write up... it was great to discover a band with its own character, and what felt like it's own unique sound. It would also be the first time I'd talk about a soulful band from Sweden. I thought about the obscure CD cover and what their sound said about where they're from or who they were inspired by.
Unsure if Dune was doing a show or not, I decided to shoot him a note about the Little Dragon debut. Though 1Track@aTime is usually focused on new tracks, I thought about mixing it up every so often with tracks from debut records of artist we've just learned about. Once I sent the track through, Dune mentioned he'd still be broadcasting throughout the summer (and permanently) straight from the comfort of his home through an online broadcast application called Mixlr.
We focused on ((No Love)) which I felt complimented the rotation on Fresh Produce, especially with its focus on producers from all over the globe. In addition to ((No Love)) we also fit in rotation from a YouTube instrumental identified as ((Twice)).
This marks the beginning of the Fresh Produce show on MixLR which you can visit by clicking here.
You can peep the Little Dragon rotation on the Fresh Produce Show No. 12, click here.
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