From its opening salvo — the crushing sub-bass-and-glitch monster “Diamonds” — Skyrider’s The Tower explores some deep, dark corners in the halls of electronic beatcraft. Seamlessly melding hip-hop, dubstep, industrial, glitch and various bass-heavy subgenres, the instrumental mixtape pairs a steadily throbbing low end with intricately layered samples and brighter…
Glucose (aka Ben Gleason) makes hallucination-inspired music, so it’s seems only fitting that for a living he owns and operates an isolation tank — yeah, just like Altered States, only without William Hurt or the primal-DNA time portals. It’s a job that leaves him plenty of time to work on…
With Artopia’s dense schedule, it’s important to get limber. You can’t rush into things. Pulling a muscle or getting a cramp early could mean missing all too many things. Much like a herd of wildebeests in migration, there is no forgiveness for being slow because time — like a lion…
Twin Peaks kicks off the new year with a five-track EP that weaves pop, prog, no-wave and grunge into a tapestry that tells a tale of the group’s creativity and technical proficiency. On “Noir Echoes,” which clocks in at a hearty seven and a half minutes, the hard-rocking refrain plunges…
Country music used to have its own distinct identity, one that was tied to rich traditions of lonesome country roads, hard work, low pay and drinking. These days it’s a black hole of insipidity. Following the Grammys, the Lumineers and Mumford & Sons are now reportedly making inroads on country…
Each member of electronic-music collective/label Dirty//Clean contributes a tune to its newest sampler comp, Visions, showcasing the individuality of each as well as the sonic tendencies that bind the crew together. A celebration of bass-music iconoclasm ensues. Amor, Est.’s “Amnesia Wreck” is intense, morphing from total cacophony into a listener-friendly…
Qknox’s self-titled beat tape is an extravaganza of skills: finessing keys, chopping samples and programming tight rhythms. The producer effortlessly blends jazz and hip-hop, fusing them with more experimental, post-Dilla wonky futurism to create something that’s equal parts chill and bouncy. While his passion for crate-digging is evident on cuts…
Real Cosby’s new four-track EP, MmmmLuvv, is a dynamic, mind-blowing masterpiece of retro-futuristic experimental house in the vein of acts like Daphni (aka Caribou) and Four Tet. The elastic bass lines, disembodied vocal samples and organic sense of sentiment make it eminently listenable. This local producer (aka Paul Banker) immediately…
It’s been a few years since Kam Mohager (aka the Chain Gang of 1974) has called Denver home, but if cellphone area codes are any sign of geographical allegiance, then he still keeps a little bit of Colorado close to his heart. He returns to the Mile High City to…
A collaborative project from beatsmiths Snubluck and amor, est, tumtums is self-described as “a psilocybin soliloquy of wonder born in the depths of our dreams.” While certainly poetic, the line is also apt. All of the tracks on this seven-song EP have a starry-eyed quality to them; it’s the perfect…
Although he left Denver as a mere mortal eight years ago, Mitch Pond has returned as Man Mantis, a human-insect-hybrid alter ego that produces glitchy, futuristic, hip-hop-centric beats. If the end of the Mayan calendar does in fact bring about the end of the world, it will be a bummer…
Although he left Denver as a mere mortal eight years ago, Mitch Pond returned with a human-insect-hybrid alter ego that produces futuristic, hip-hop-influenced instrumental music and beats: Man Mantis. Since returning last fall, he’s stayed busy with projects like “Hear the Noise,” a crowd-sourced tune composed from sounds submitted online…
Demonstrating considerable growth since releasing his previous pair of EPs, Benny Loco covers a surprising stylistic and emotional range on Rise. The title cut is like a cross between the soundtrack to a John Carpenter movie and Dead Ringer-era RJD2, with Loco mixing thick analog synth lines and crisp percussion…
Mega Gem’s debut album credits more than twenty performers, who contributed a variety of sounds, from saxophone and cellphone to hand bells and “wiggling noises,” all of which are featured alongside a rock band and a small orchestra. The results are as eclectic as you’d expect from such a sizable…
There is no one in hip hop — or any genre for that matter — who has had career ups and downs like MC/Producer extraordinaire Danny! (aka Danny Swain). He was on a Grammy Award shortlist in 2006 for Charm, critically praised for 2008’s And I Love H.E.R., he was…
The debut album from Reed Fuchs (déCollage) is a ten-track collection of psychedelic, surrealist pop that oscillates between the melting fluidity of the Flaming Lips and the irreverent DIY experiments of early Beck meshed with some Animal Collective-esque, experimental neo-folk-pop-musical-collective rhythmic structures. Although it’s cut into songs, the album plays…
When Diplo’s Mad Decent spin-off label Jeffree’s dropped the Bro Safari single “Da Worm” last year, it brightened the spotlight already shining on Nicholas Weiller. Bro Safari might be a relatively new project, but Weiller, who currently performs under that name, earned his stripes as a DJ and producer with…
NAS & LAURYN HILL @ FILLMORE AUDITORIUM | 11/17/12 Bright white spotlights behind the band are pointed back out at the crowd illuminating a field of hands raised in the air, the video screen is covered with footage of glittering, metallic confetti, and Nas is ripping through a triumphant version…
Nas and Lauryn Hill on tour together has to be the hip-hop equivalent of the sentiment expressed by the first person to ever combine chocolate and peanut butter: How did this not already exist? Each a legend in his/her own right — Nas’s Illmatic and Ms. Hill’s The Miseducation of…
For an artist whose career has been built espousing the virtues of DIY self-reliance, it’s been a long time since Sole (born Tim Holland) has done a record all by himself with no producers or label people listening over his shoulder. And while Sole confides that this was nerve-racking at…
One of hip-hop’s most distinctive (read: shrill) voices, Danny Brown ascended to the upper echelon of indie hip-hop following the success of his 2011 album, XXX. With a strong dose of humor and a stronger dose of psychedelics, the record got love from critics and fans alike for its absolute…
YASIIN BEY @ CERVANTES’ MASTERPIECE BALLROOM | 10/5/12 When Yasiin Bey stepped on stage at about half past midnight, the crowd was hungrily awaiting his arrival, freshly energized from an impressive set by Binary Star and ready now for the main event. Dressed in fitted white slacks, white collared shirt,…
