It’s a good time to live in the Tampa Bay area, but it hasn’t always been that way. Spending the better part of my adolescence here, I felt discouraged when I heard others regularly romanticize their eventual migration to more alluring cities. But, eventually, I came to feel the same. Slummy Ybor marauding, sink-or-swimming in college town, dress-coded martini tours around Hyde Park… where was the soul of Tampa Bay? Where were the artisans and down-to-earth young folks? Did we have any?
Yes, that was a segue into Diamond Man. Earlier this month, they hooked us up (on request) with a physical copy of the new album, Travels (with bonus collage artwork). I blew the dust off my old boom box and gave it a spin.
While their sound is not easily summarized by genre labels–not even cool, hyper-niched ones–what’s easy to hear in their music is something pure and honest. The trio of young art students–Ryne Heslin, Josh Fowler, and Justin Myers–blend together keyboard electronics, psyched-out guitars, and heavily obscured utterances to build accumulative, organic jams. Faint vocal elements and distant synths evoke imagery of tropical landscapes and secret undersea worlds. At the heart of these new landscapes is a very natural and human presence, daring listeners to slough off their surroundings and embark on foreign travels to familiar-feeling places.
“Wafers” is a good starting point, a jam that feels especially afro-spirited with a worldly collage of sonic brushstrokes, tempered with drums that beat with tribal steadiness. Download Wafers below, and also sample two additional tracks from the debut LP.
Introducing Dark Sea of Awareness, a.k.a., the musical project of Orlando artist Steven Head. Brasky first became aware of Steven’s music last month when he opened up for Diamond Man’s CD release show in Tampa, offering a modest solo performance that roused us from a beerbar daydream (and as we would learn later, roused the attention others).
We caught up with Steven after the show to learn a little more about DSoA (<–Pro tip: acronymn establishes a sense of familiarity and importance). His music is composed and performed primarily on his synth, though occasionally he lets the robots loop while he plucks out some heavily ‘verbed accents on the guitar. The music style bears the accumulative and reflective nature of ambient work, slowly engaging listeners with the incremental introduction of new synth layers and, somewhat surprisingly, heavy bass kicks that firmly mark the listening pace. Steve cites Eastern thought, particularly Buddhism, and design philosophy as conscious influences over his creative process. The name “Dark Sea of Awareness” is a phrase borrowed from anthropologist–and shamanism historian/philosopher–Carlos Castaneda.
Having finished a degree in Urban Planning, we’re eager to see where Steven and Dark Sea of Awareness goes. Please join us in exploring the first chapter of the project with a sampling of tracks from his a first EP, Digital Magic.
Floridian Derek E. Miller and Alexis Krauss, a.k.a. Sleigh Bells may have just formed world’s first… hardcore girl pop band? Their story begins in late 2008 when Derek E. Miller–former guitar player for post-hardcore notables Poison the Well (FL!)–waited on Alexis and her mother (guess life is less hardcore after PtW). Derek was looking for a female vocalist for a new music project, and, as the story goes, Alexis’ mother volunteered her in what surely was an excruciatingly embarrassing moment. In her teen days, Alexis sang in a girl pop group of indeterminate quality… we doubt Derek was too picky, in that regard. Before long, Derek and Alexis were making music, and not too long after that, word of their live shows and first few singles were gaining viral momentum around the web. By the end of 2009, Sleigh Bells buzz was leaking to mainstream media outlets. With only a couple tracks recorded, Sleigh Bells managed to land at #57 in Pitchfork’s top 100 list of 2009 with “Crown on the Ground”
With all this hype before even releasing an EP, let alone an album, could Sleigh Bells meet expectations in 2010? With the release of Treats last month, we think that they have. In fact, Treats is currently boasting a remarkable 87 average review on Metacritic.com, very unusual for an album this edgy. The reviews seem a little inflated, perhaps for the hype, but we won’t deny the quixotic appeal.
The Beauvilles are a Florida-based group that have been heating up stages across the country with their blues-rock-jam songcraft for nearly a decade. In fact, if you live in the Sunshine State, and haven’t somehow stumbled across the Beauvilles, you apparently have been quite content with hiding in the safety of your own home. Brasky caught up with Shawn Beauville, the once-and-for-all frontman of the group, and he offered some insights into the music biz, the religion of music, and why Florida holds a special appeal for their kickass brand of rock and roll.
It’s a good time to live in the Tampa Bay area, but it hasn’t always been that way. Spending the better part of my adolescence here, I felt discouraged when I heard others regularly romanticize their eventual migration to more alluring cities. But, eventually, I came to feel the same. Slummy Ybor marauding, sink-or-swimming in college town, dress-coded martini tours around Hyde Park… where was the soul of Tampa Bay? Where were the artisans and down-to-earth young folks? Did we have any?
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