Coachella Band Preview: Lost Kings

Greetings from Mexico! I’m back down south of the border working for the next two weeks, but don’t worry this is just the Coachella pre-game. We’re one week closer to the most wonderful time of year and this week I’m previewing the electronic duo Lost Kings.

Lost Kings are comprised of Robert Abisi and Nick Shanholtz. The duo, both LA transplants originally from Boston (Abisi) and Baltimore (Shanholtz), formed in 2014. Their name comes from feeling lost after moving to Los Angeles and how they had goals they wanted to accomplish. They gained popularity through their remixes of music from artists such as Imagine Dragons, Halsey, Vance Joy, Echosmith and Disclosure to name a few. Their remix of Disclosure’s “Latch” featuring Sam Smith gained them the most attention when it replaced the original on Sirius XM’s BPM, a Dance/Electronic channel. Once they dropped their first EP The Bad in late 2015, it also gained popularity pretty quickly. A few months later in March 2016, they dropped their second EP The Good. They were signed to Disrupter/RCA Records in the fall of 2016. They credit their success to streaming sites like SoundCloud and Spotify as well as the music aggregator Hype Machine.

Their style of music fits under the progressive house style of electronic music. The duo has stated that they don’t want to be classified inside a specific box when it comes to music style. This is why you might be able to group them into other styles of house music such as melodic or bass house. Their collaborations make their tracks seem like they’re part of that electronic/pop crossover spectrum though.

Lost Kings play Friday at Coachella. I’d expect them to be at Sahara. There aren’t a ton of bigger name electronic artists playing Friday so who knows when their set time will be. I personally am hoping for a late time or I won’t be able to catch their set. I have this feeling like they’ll end up in a late afternoon-early evening slot. You have plenty of time to listen to their music prior to Day 1 of Coachella so here’s the list of what you should check out:

1. You (ft. Katelyn Tarver)
2. Phone Down (ft. Emily Warren)
3. First Love (ft. Sabrina Carpenter)
4. LA & The Parties (ft. Sevyn Streeter)
5. Quit You (ft. Tinashe)
6. Something Good
7. When We Were Young (ft. Norma Jean Martine)
8. Marathon (ft. Cosmos and Creatures)
9. Bad (ft. Jessame)
10. Ain’t The Same (ft. CXLOE)

Coachella Band Preview: RÜFÜS DU SOL

It’s been about 3 weeks since the lineup dropped for Coachella 2019. Since then, I’ve been doing a lot of listening to bands on this year’s lineup even with working in Mexico for the last week. It definitely gets me more hype. I hope you’ve been doing the same for the same reasons. This week I’m previewing a band that is at the top of my list for bands I’m most excited for/want to see this year.

RÜFÜS DU SOL was formed in Sydney, Australia in 2010. The indie electronic group is comprised of Jon George, Tyrone Lindqvist, and James Hunt. The group was formerly known as just RÜFÜS but changed their name to RÜFÜS DU SOL because of trademark issues in the United States in 2014. The group continued to be known as RÜFÜS in their home country of Australia until recently (May 2018).

They released their debut EP RÜFÜS EP in 2011. It received some attention from music blog aggregator Hype Machine as two tracks from the EP made charts on the website. Their second EP RÜFÜS Blue was released in April 2012. Their debut album Atlas was released the following year. It debuted at number 1 on the Australian Albums Chart and created 4 singles for the band in the process. The band spent their first few years touring and playing festivals in Australia, but the end of 2013 gave the group a chance to play a few shows in Europe as well. In early 2014 the group brought their talents to the U.S. playing a small tour in the spring.

In June 2015, they released the debut single “You Were Right” from their upcoming sophomore album Bloom. It reached number 22 on the ARIA Singles Chart and went double platinum. The group played Camp Bisco in 2015 which was their first U.S. festival performance. Bloom was released in January 2016. It was RÜFÜS DU SOL’s second number one charted album and has since gone platinum in Australia. They embarked on a world tour in 2016 in support of their album that lasted until early 2017. Stops on the tour included Coachella, Firefly, Electric Forest, Panorama, Lollapalooza, and Outside Lands amongst other festivals. The group continued to tour and play festivals throughout 2017 which included another stop at Coachella, but this time the group wasn’t listed on the bill. They closed out Coachella 2017 at an unannounced set at the DoLab during Weekend 2.

RÜFÜS DU SOL released their third and most recent album Solace in October 2018. The single “No Place” preceded the album release in May 2018. This album peaked at number 2 in Australia. The group is currently on tour in support of the new album.

RÜFÜS DU SOL’s style of music is a combination of electronic music and alternative music. They’re truly on the indie electronic spectrum because they are a band (not DJs) that plays electronic music. They incorporate live instrumentation at their sets and in their recordings. That being said their electronic sound does have a house music type of feel.

I found out about RÜFÜS DU SOL about a year and a half ago from a friend who introduced me to the song “You Were Right”. Aside from that song I didn’t really get into them until last summer after seeing part of their Weekend 2 set at Electric Forest. I decided to cut my night short that night because their set began at 11:45 p.m., ended at 1 a.m., I was tired, and I had to get up early for work the next morning. I stayed until around 12:15-12:20, but what I saw was incredible. Coachella 2019 gives me another chance to make up for what I missed at Electric Forest last summer. It’ll even be better for me this year too because I’m more into their music than I was at Electric Forest last summer. I’ll appreciate their Coachella set more, if I get to see it.

This year is RÜFÜS DU SOL plays Friday. It is their third Coachella appearance, but only the second announced one. They’re also much higher billed this time around than they were in 2016. In 2016 they played on the Gobi Stage. I’m expecting a late Main Stage or Outdoor Stage performance. There’s also a possibility that they headline the Sahara Tent Friday night because Diplo and DJ Snake are also big stage performers. Whatever the case may be, I’m sure it’ll be an epic set with a large crowd regardless of stage and timing. Honestly there’s no place I’d rather be than at the RÜFÜS DU SOL set Friday at Coachella so here’s a solid mix of what songs you need to know to enjoy all the band has to offer:

1. You Were Right
2. No Place
3. Like An Animal
4. Treat You Better
5. Underwater
6. Sunbeam
7. Innerbloom
8. Say a Prayer for Me
9. Take Me
10. Desert Night

Got More Boom Than A Dynamite Store

I know it’s been awhile again, but summer means festivals and festivals mean I get really busy. That’s a good thing though! Unfortunately, because of that, my blog is suffering this year. But, no worries because I’m back with a new post and a new band to tell you about!

Magic City Hippies from Miami, FL is the band that started when Robby Hunter was forced to stop his career as a street performer and take his talents to some place where he could play a real show. That place became a local dive bar. He recruited Pat Howard and John Coughlin to join him. The trio performed under the moniker Robby Hunter Band.

The band self-produced their first LP Magic City Hippies in 2013 and then adopted the title as their new band name. Magic City Hippies released their first EP Hippie Castle in July 2015. Their single “Fanfare” reached #1 on charts on both Spotify and Hype Machine. The group released two more singles, “HUSH” and “Heart Wants”, in 2016, and began touring as the opening act for Hippo Campus in 2017. They also played Bonnaroo last year, which was their first festival appearance. In 2018, they’ve continued touring and playing festivals with stops at Okeechobee in March and Electric Forest in June.

Their sound is primarily indie pop but there’s definitely some electronic/funk/reggae mixed in. It’s different, yet super chill. There’s even a hip hop vibe to their sound at times just from the way Hunter speaks on a few of their tracks. It’s pretty hard to classify. Super chill is probably the best description I can give you. I’m not going to say they sound like alt-j because they don’t, but their sound originality is comparable to that.

I found out about Magic City Hippies about 2 months ago when my friend Jen sent me the song “Heart Wants”. I was into them initially, but after finding out they were playing Electric Forest I decided to take a greater interest and listen to more of their tunes (since I was working at Electric Forest and would be able to see some music). I took a liking to “Limestone” and fell harder for “Heart Wants”. It’s safe to say I’d definitely buy one of their records. The great news is that they have yet to release a debut album! I’ll be looking forward to that.

In the mean time, you should check them out while they’re fresh. I always like learning about bands or artists when they’re relatively new. It’s cool to see them work their way up in the music world and build a fan base. So definitely check out Magic City Hippies as soon as you can, because they could be about to blow up!

Coachella Band Preview: Sir Sly

I don’t know about you, but winter is really getting to me. I’m sick of the snow, the ice, and the freezing cold. April needs to get here stat. Thankfully we’ve reached the 2 month Coachella countdown this week. That means it’s time to crank up the jams on another band playing the festival this year, Sir Sly.

Los Angeles based indie pop band Sir Sly formed in 2012. At one point no one knew anything about them when they reached number one on Hype Machine, a website music database that ranks the latest and greatest tunes from music blogs. They came out of nowhere with their debut single, “Ghost.” Shortly after, they revealed themselves. The group is comprised of Landon Jacobs, Jason Suwito, and Hayden Coplen. Their first album, You Haunt Me, was released in September 2014. A few songs from the album were featured in video games and ads, giving their music some exposure.

After the release and touring from their debut ceased, life happened for guitarist and vocalist, Landon Jacobs. He went through a divorce and his mother passed away from brain cancer. It inspired Sir Sly’s second album, Don’t You Worry, Honey, which was released on June 30, 2017. The music on the album doesn’t sound devastating though. The album is about being able to experience joy through pain. The lyrics focus on some serious stuff while the fun-sounding music makes it bearable. One of the most successful songs from the album, “High”, was featured on the soundtrack to Netflix’s 13 Reasons Why.

Sir Sly is described as an indie pop/rock band, but their music also has influence from other genres like electronic and psychedelic music. They kind of sound like Tame Impala meets Local Natives meets The Neighbourhood. Their music isn’t extremely upbeat, but very vibe-y and super chill.

I first heard of Sir Sly over the summer. My friend got into them and told me about the group because she liked their name. She thought it was a pun on the word “seriously”. The group actually came up with the name because it sounded cool and they didn’t want to take themselves too seriously. Kind of ironic eh? I listened to whatever song she sent me at the time and thought they sounded pretty good. I then realized that they were on the 13 Reasons Why soundtrack, which I had watched in June. I definitely liked the song “High.” Since then I feel like I’ve seen this band pop up more and more. They were booked for a summer concert around where I live that never ended up happening and their music constantly appears on Spotify playlists. Since my introduction to them, I’ve been slowly getting into their music because of this. Every once in a while I’ll get into a new Sir Sly song, but not several songs at once. It’s a slow process. Sometimes listening to music happens that way, but before you know it you realize you know almost all of a band or artist’s songs.

Sir Sly plays on Saturday at Coachella. They’re not billed very highly so I’d expect them to play in the early to late afternoon hours. They’re definitely a group to check out if you’re at the festival then and don’t have any one else you need to see. I would most certainly check them out if I was going and available, even though at this point I know about 3 or 4 of their songs. It’s bands like Sir Sly that will be the ones that impress you the most at Coachella though. You go in only knowing a song or two and come out wanting to listen to more. Here’s a couple songs just to give you a taste of this band:

1. High
2. Astronaut
3. &Run
4. Ghost
5. Gold