Writing about music in lieu of human interaction
In mid-February, HEARTAVI released REDSTARR01, a distilled sugar rush of a debut album. There was always a kid who would let their Tamagotchi die on purpose; that one sicko who would neglect their digital pocket pet, refusing to feed it or press the medicine button when it got ill, all for a sadistic chuckle at … Continue reading Daily Yinz – HEARTAVI – TAMAGOTCHI
Mitcham Tuell's Mome Rath project (named for the tiny, two-legged puffballs from Alice In Wonderland) infuses dance music with a jittery, unsettling energy. Mome Rath's debut release, Kitchamajig, contains vaporous melodic swells, fast-twitch drum programming, brass accents, and a few garbled vocal samples. "Sunlit," the album's second track, is both its strangest and most subdued … Continue reading Daily Yinz – Mome Rath – Sunlit
Glo Phase, a producer who moved from Pittsburgh to Los Angeles earlier this year, recently released a new record on the 100% Silk label. With each album, Glo Phase consistently manages to balance crystalline gloss and soulful warmth, and Early Moments is no different. Misty keyboard tones wash over beds of crisp, organic-sounding percussion, like … Continue reading Daily Yinz – Glo Phase – Ice Sleeper
Producer Gladstone Deluxe's new Lost! EP contains four house tracks replete with playful keyboards and plenty of boots 'n' cats. "Spinning Top" is carried along by a driving, four-on-the-floor beat that gradually accumulates layers of melody and complexity. Bright, organ-like bursts flit about like fireflies, piano keys plink, and atmospheric synth washes hang in the … Continue reading Daily Yinz – Gladstone Deluxe – Spinning Top
W00DY creates twitchy, frenetic "dance music for headbangers," blending genres as disparate as breakcore and punk into one supercharged mass. W00DY's most recent album, released via Orange Milk Records, is (fittingly) titled Headbanging In The Club, and it contains a menagerie of off-kilter rhythms, breathless samples, and wobbly bass. "Neck Spasm" has the ability to … Continue reading Daily Yinz – W00DY – Neck Spasm
Birds Unltd. specialize in rhythmic, synth-heavy psych-pop music; "Still Holding on to You" is the group's latest single. The track contains five minutes' worth of swaggering guitar, chunky bass, phased cymbals, and buzzing keyboard lines, these elements creating a forceful groove that anchors dreamy, free-floating vocals that express trepidation over a relationship. It's like Franz … Continue reading Daily Yinz – Birds Unltd. – Still Holding on to You
Slowdanger are a multimedia duo who set experimental dance pieces against homemade electronic soundscapes. Most of slowdanger's projects contain both audio and visual components, but AR, a two-track album released in late November, is pure, propulsive sound. Its first song, "yourtime," opens with grimy drum programming--subterranean warehouse rave stuff--before Anna Thompson's voice appears for a … Continue reading Daily Yinz – slowdanger – yourtime
Pittsburgh producer Glo Phase follows up January's slightly psychedelic Mezzotint with a downtempo release called Pearl Diving. Even though life has gotten a biiit more stressful since Mezzotint dropped nine long months ago, Pearl Diving is a serene record, evoking the sensation of floating in a still lagoon, glittering sunlight refracted from above through layers … Continue reading Daily Yinz – Glo Phase – Into the Quartz Era
Veteran Pittsburgh producer BusCrates teases his upcoming LP, Blasting Off (Bastard Jazz), with the ebullient lead single "How Ya Gonna Do It." The song taps into the classic funk energy that hangs in the air all around us, bringing to mind images of a time (well before I was born, mind you) that featured perms, … Continue reading Daily Yinz – BusCrates – How Ya Gonna Do It (ft. Kate Moe Dee)
Support the Mr. Roboto Project and The Alignment Chapter by purchasing "Cycling," the debut single from Ron Mist (you may also know them as Dylly K from freak-folk outfit String Machine). Get down to some sweaty, infectious grooves in the comfort of your home, and enjoy the accompanying video (shot by David McCandless and featuring … Continue reading Ron Mist – Cycling
Bored In Pittsburgh 