Set and Setting describes the context for psychoactive and particularly psychedelic drug experiences: one’s mindset and the setting in which the user has the experience.
Set and Setting is the psychedelic post-rock music project of Saint Petersburg, Florida natives Shane Handal, Mark Etherington, Stephen Handal, and John Kreft. They’re kicking off their first U.S. tour in March and working on their debut album, scheduled to be released at the end of summer. Despite only having shared a 15-minute track on Bandcamp, they’ve captured our attention with their canorous, ambling instrumentals. If you’re a fan of Explosions in the Sky or Mogwai, be sure to check out their music and catch them on tour.
Tonight (February 29) at 8:00 P.M. on WMNF, Set and Setting will be joining the Grand National Championships Crew to premier a new track previously recorded with Alastair. Don’t miss it!
Circuitree Records is back with the part 3 of 4 in their Universus compilation series.
Universus Vol III takes the campaign in a new direction, with more artists–13–and a greater variety of styles. The prevailing theme? You guessed it: The description-less “post-dubstep” (Remember when I sheepishly described Mount Kimbie as post-dubstep? Hint: there is no such thing as post-dubstep. Or dubstep.)
Circuitree is letting us share a highlight track from the mix – a hi-fi heater with FlyLo-esque soundscapes from Aligning Minds. +Continue Reading
Let’s be honest: music geeks like to parade the most exclusive, unknown music they can find, a process that often means friends of said geek must endure mediocre tunes. I’m probably as guilty as anyone. Truth is, even the indiest of indie music comes into our awareness through the marketing efforts of small labels, so it’s rare that we can offer something truly fresh and un-hyped. Today we offer local newcomer looking to self-publish his first EP – Spies On Bikes.
Circuitree Records (Miami) is back with another compilation, this being the second volume in their 4-part Universus Series.
Universus Vol. II serves up some Florida talent alongside international producers Ak Kids, and yes, a collaboration between Warp alumni Luke Vibert and Jimmy Edgar. The compilation comes out on September 24th, but you can get some early sample action:
Friend-of-the-blog and future mixtape contributor Panther God joins (recently featured) Wake on the 3rd edition of Proximal Records’ “Beat Stew” series. The compilation, which includes West Coast heavy-hitters Matthewdavid (Brainfeeder) and Devonwho (All City), is being offered up for free download. +Continue Reading
Introducing TFPP, immediate front-runners for 2011′s Album Name of the Year.
Their new EP, Chill Crosby II: Rave to the Grave (released on Circuitree), is a 6-track collage of vocal-centric electronic grooves and dance hall miscellany. In their R&B moments they call to mind another famous electronic duo, the Junior Boys. Other tracks roll out semi-melodic rap verses in the avant garde style of Why? and Beck.
The influences of TFPP would appear to be vast and eclectic, creating a refreshingly unique EP that still demonstrates awareness of style trends in the world of lo-fi synth music. Support Florida music and give them a spin, starting with this hip-hop flavored heater, “I Love 80 BPM”:
BRASKY:: You’ve been active in the scene for a while, before the emergence of genres often attributed with your music. How would you describe your music?
MOCHIPET:I’ve been asked this many times and it’s really hard to explain my music with words. I often find that words don’t accurately describe music. Maybe that’s why there is music. And I guess that’s why I became a musician and not a writer. I’m sorry I think they best way to understand my music is to listen to it. Here is my discography if you have the time. =) http://www.discogs.com/artist/Mochipet.
BRASKY:: What was the “weirdest” gig you’ve ever played?
MOCHIPET:I’ve definitely played many weird gigs. but I think the one that pops to mind most recently was for a wedding reception of a couple that feel in love during my performance at a camp out this summer. This is not necessarily weird at all but, this couple feel in love during my set and decided to get married because of it. So they wrote me this really sweet email and asked me to play their reception. It was really crazy. They basically told me they were getting married because of me and the circumstance that put them in a space where they realized they loved each other. That was really inspiring to me. I had no idea my music could make people fall in love and get married.
BRASKY:: How often do you modify your hardware and software arrangements for production and shows? What are your oldest and newest devices or programs?
MOCHIPET:I modify my arrangements all the time. I don’t know if you can tell from my music but I kind of have an ADD syndrome. So I’m always switching stuff up and changing things. for now I’m pretty much using Ableton Live for all my Live performances but for local shows I like to bring in more live instrumentation and other musicians. I hope to one day bring this out to the road but the cost factor has held me back. But once I get a bigger budget I’m sure it’s possible.
BRASKY:: What are some of the most memorable musical experiences for you?
MOCHIPET:Hmmmm. There are a lot but I think seeing Pink Floyd on the The Wall Tour was one of them for sure. The magnitude of the stage show was incredible and the music was right on cue.
BRASKY:: We love remixes and notice that you do a lot of them, what inspires your
ideas for them? What do you think is one of your most fun/best remixes?
MOCHIPET:Right now my favorite remixes I have done are MISSILL – Invincible and Far East Movement – Like a G6. I know the latter has been rather over played on radio but I had to get some azn representation in there! I usually do remixes for Fun. To put another spin on things. Make em pop out again. To get an idea you can listen to my Combat album if you get a chance. It’s all remixes with some scrabble thrown in for good measure as well!
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.
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