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While listening to Pictureplane swoon over electro-ballads, it’s easy to imagine some sort of astral soundscape complete with twinkling stars, flashing dayglow and lots and lots of glitter. One glance at Travis Egedy, however, left this listener a bit confused since nothing about his fingerless gloves or meshy Bulls attire indicated stellar glow. Nonetheless, Pictureplane’s newest offering “Post Physical” carries Egedy’s whisper soft vocals atop swirling synths and a celestial backdrop. Check out the track below and grab it here.

Post Physical by PICTUREPLANE

While frolicking in the electric forest over the weekend, I noticed a dreaded hippie strung up (in more ways than just 1) between two trees, floating above a crowd of flower-haired listeners who were bobbing their heads to an enormous backwood bass. After shimmying my way up to the stage front and fighting off hugs n drugs, I had to give my eyes a cleansing rub away to be sure I wasn’t just hallucinating the sight I stumbled upon. On stage sat a man, his face covered a quarter in fuzzy chops, tapping on what looked like an instrument crafted from metal piping one would find under their bathroom sink. Turns out That 1 Guy (aka Mike Silverman) conceptualized and crafted his 7 foot-tall, bizarre instrument from scratch using metal gears, electric buttons, bass strings and, of course, whirling piping. Read More…

Growing up in the suburbs of Chicago usually involved teenaged dreams of escaping the cookie cutter lifestyle for something bigger and essentially better. Some people succeed in dodging their parents’ footsteps and making their own luck as a musician or artist, while others remain stuck in high school drama and pleased with familiarity. Daphne Willis grew up in my hometown and has been grinding the music industry since I was lonely fresh meat at Fremd High School. Willis certainly falls into the former category of Fremd alum since her career as female musician has amplified since graduation. Read More…

A few weeks ago Veoba brought you the electro-pop gem “Lazer Tag With Imaginary Friends” to be taken from Kyle Andrews’ forthcoming record, ROBOT Learn Love. Since the release of his single, Andrews found some (real) friends and transformed them into video game characters to appropriately capture the track’s lyrical component in his latest video premiere. The plot reminds us of some classical game favorites though none of the characters earn extra lives and most (excluding Andrews himself) meet an unfortunate fate. Check out the video and stay tuned for ROBOT Learn Love to drop on August 16th.

Following their debut album Cold in the Guestway, Chicago’s very own Gypsyblood have managed to raise ears and build fans since they’ve become part of the Sargent House roster. The group sounds similar to garage punk bands, however, they distance themselves from the genre by adding noise pop influences and elements of surf rock. Check out the latest video for “Take Your Picture” below.
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As the summer season begins to dwindle we should all be prepared for the inevitable. Though autumn isn’t as oppressive as winter, Tes Elations‘ new video reminds us of the gorgeous, yet brief juncture we’re bound to experience. Hailing from Los Angeles, the 5 piece outfit fashions chamber-like sonics with a post-punk, folky atmosphere. Female vocals carry “Autumn” through the band’s scenic imagery, but the double cellist and minimalist approach used by the quintet is unmistakably relaxing as well. Check out the new video after the jump Read More…

Gold Panda has been playing non stop on my iTunes lately mainly because I find his mix of MPC sampled beats to be particularly pleasing and cohesive to a typical Chicago summer. So this new track “MPB” has been perfectly timed. So check it and head on over to his website for a free download.

MPB by Gold Panda

UK power house Joy Orbison (Joy O) known for melding UK funky, UK Garage, dubstep, and house drops Sicko Cell, which some critics in the scene are already hailing as track of the year. Take a listen. Drake and Ne-Yo fans may appreciate this track. Or not…

Famed French indie music blog, La Blogotheque, known for capturing raw and organically crafted short videos of artists performing their music in a intimate public setting, featured Bon Iver back in 2008 with three short videos for “The Wolves (Act I & II),” “Skinny Love” and “Flume.” Now with his latest release, Bon Iver, being a chart topping success these videos are all the more relevant for new Bon Iver fans trying to dig into the Bon Iver persona. So sit back relax and take in the beauty that is Bon Iver La Blogotheque style.

Bon Iver – Wolves (act I & II) – Une Soiree de Poche from La Blogotheque on Vimeo.

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Both my roommate and I are avid bike riders mainly due to our lack of tolerance for slow busses and fragrant city dwellers that often utilize the services of the CTA, plus it’s cheaper and it makes me feel like I’m doing my part by being more green! So when moving into our apartment last summer we faced the conflict of having to many worldly possessions and not enough space for our “urban cruisers” we thought, “Damn it sure would be nice if we had a way of mounting these to the wall.” We searched all over the internet and even debated building a couple racks our selves, but alas decided to just deal with a cluttered apartment for the next year. Read More…