Coachella Band Preview: Two Friends

I just finished up my 2023 Mexico run, and that means my entire focus shifts to Coachella. Although I’m usually thinking about Coachella year round, it really ramps up as soon as Mexico ends because it’s usually my next big event on the horizon and per usual I can’t wait! Now that it’s March, we also only have a few more weeks left to prepare for our annual descent into the Coachella Valley. This week I’m previewing a DJ duo who have been making music since the early 2010’s.

Two Friends formed when Matthew Halper and Eli Jones decided to create music together during their senior year of high school. The first few years of making music together was through long distance collaboration though as both attended their respective colleges. They have yet to release their debut album, but have released 4 EPs and a multitude of singles and remixes. Their music is a combination of house and dance pop, but given their backgrounds, it contains elements of many other genres like alternative rock and hip-hop.

They have toured over the last few years and played major music festivals like Electric Forest and Firefly amongst several other smaller festivals. I was first introduced to them in 2018. I don’t remember how or why, but I found one of their songs on one of my early 2018 playlists while researching for this blog. This is their first time at Coachella and it’ll certainly be a career highlight for the LA-based duo. They were first inspired to start focusing on making electronic music after attending Coachella and spending some time in the Sahara tent. You won’t want to miss their Friday Sahara (likely) set for this reason. Here’s the songs you should be listening to in anticipation of it:

1. Just A Kid (ft. Kevin Writer)
2. Take It Off
3. Looking At You (ft. Sam Vesso)
4. Life’s Too Short (ft. FITZ)
5. Emily (ft. James Delaney)
6. Out of Love (ft. Cosmos & Creature)
7. Hell
8. Pacific Coast Highway (ft. MAX)
9. Last Day (ft. Josie Dunne)
10. This Will Be My Year (ft. Point North)

Coachella Band Preview: Duke Dumont

Well, here we are. Coachella begins Friday. FINALLY! We made it guys. April 21, 2019 until April 15, 2022. 1,090 days. This feels surreal, but it’s happening. I’m so so happy. There’s a few more artists I wanted to preview, but as always I need to just narrow it down and choose one. This last week of the longest Coachella wait ever, we’ve got an electronic DJ who has been putting out music since 2006, Duke Dumont.

Adam George Dyment, known professionally as Duke Dumont, first started his career in the late 2000’s by remixing pop songs. He hails from Harrow, England which is in the suburbs of London. His first single, “Need U”, came in 2013 and he’s been simultaneously releasing original music and remixes since. His single “I Got U” which was also released in 2013 was even nominated for a Grammy. Despite his lengthy career, his debut album came out in 2020. Up until that, point he only dropped EPs.

Duke Dumont is first and foremost a house artist. Some may say he dabbles in deep house or tech house but honestly, I define him as just pure house. He played his first Coachella in 2015 at the Sahara tent, and even though I might have been there, I definitely did not see him, nor did I step foot in Sahara. Obviously you know that changed by the following spring when I got into Flume, but electronic music at that time for me wasn’t a thing. I’ve definitely progressed and I’ll likely be at Sahara several times this year. I would bet that we’ll see Duke Dumont again at Sahara. He plays Sunday and I would expect another night time set. You might only have a few days left, but here’s what you wanna have on repeat, if you’re planning on seeing him:

1. Ocean Drive
2. I Got U
3. Real Life
4. Red Light Green Light
5. The Power
6. Need U
7. Won’t Look Back
8. Inhale
9. The Giver (Reprise)
10. Therapy

So that’s it for this round of Coachella previews. Hopefully we’re back again next year, but you never really know what can happen as we all learned. I’ve truly been soaking it all in as I’m currently out in Indio hard at work on Weekend 1! So far it’s been incredible to be back here. It’s always been my rule to live every Coachella like your first Coachella, but this time I urge you to live this year like your first Coachella and your last. Basically live it up as best as you can. We finally can and the vibes are gonna be more immaculate than ever. Happy Coachella! We deserve it!

Coachella Band Preview: Disclosure

January was a total blur for me being in Mexico. However it’s finally February and I’m home for just under two weeks! Can’t wait to ski for days and think of the hot afternoons and cool evenings on the polo fields. It warms my heart. I have another 2 1/2 weeks in Mexico next month into the beginning of March, but after that it’s full on Coachella prep. I’m crossing my fingers that I get to be there again this year, but after a few discussions over this past month I think I will be. However, we’re 2 1/2 months away from another spring in Indio after a 3 year hiatus and it’s time to preview more bands. This week it’s Disclosure.

In 2020, I anticipated seeing Disclosure at Coachella. I hadn’t yet previewed the band when the festival was first postponed so I figured I should dive into them early this year. Disclosure is a British electronic duo composed of siblings Howard and Guy Lawrence. The brothers first started recording music and posting it to Myspace in 2010, which earned them a record deal. After several hit singles in their first few years, they dropped their first album Settle in June 2013, which was a big year for the duo. They toured worldwide playing shows and festivals. Settle was also nominated for a Grammy for Best Dance Album.

Their second album, Caracal, came in 2015. This album also received a Grammy nomination along with a number one spot on the UK Albums Chart upon release. After a one year hiatus from 2017-2018 and a few other breaks along the way, the band released their third album Energy in August 2020. They likely booked Coachella 2020 in anticipation of this, but unfortunately the event didn’t get to happen. The album released as planned though and the group received a Grammy nomination for it.

Disclosure plays a house/deep house style of electronic music. I always feel like deep house music has such a vibey sound and Disclosure’s music is no different. Their tunes will likely take a late set time spot at the main stage or Outdoor Theatre or even a headlining spot at Sahara.

They last played Coachella in 2016 and played the main stage on Saturday night. They play Saturday this year too and will be bringing plenty of new material to the desert. I hope to be able to be at their set. I’m not a huge Disclosure fan, but I know this is one electronic set not to miss this year. Start prepping your looks and get ready for this non-stop vibe of a dance party by listening to:

1. Latch
2. You & Me (Flume remix)
3. Magnets
4. Know Your Worth
5. You’ve Got to Let Go if You Wanna Be Free
6. Talk
7. Omen
8. Ultimatum
9. Help Me Lose My Mind
10. In My Arms

Coachella Band Preview: Turnover

Greetings from Mexico! It’s funny writing that because I’m currently not in Mexico, but when this is posted I will be. Told ya I’d make sure I have a weekly band preview, which means you should be prepping daily for one of the best music festivals of the year. This week I’m previewing a band I found out about on my flight to California in 2017 when I was headed out to work my first Coachella. I’ll tell you the story, but first, Turnover.

Turnover is a band based out of Virginia Beach, Virginia. The band is comprised of brothers Austin and Casey Getz and Danny Dempsey. Formed in 2009, the band has gone through several lineup changes through the years, but the Getz brothers and Dempsey have been a part since the beginning. The band signed to indie record label Run For Cover Records in 2012.

The band released their first self-titled EP in 2011 and their first album Magnolia in 2013. They’ve toured with the likes of several well-known bands in their pop punk/alternative music scene such as New Found Glory, I Am the Avalanche, The Swellers, Major League, Citizen, and fellow Coachella 2019 performer Turnstile. Their second EP Blue Dream was released in 2014 followed by their second full length album Peripheral Vision in 2015. Their latest album Good Nature was released in 2017.

Much like other bands from their scene, Turnover’s musical style has gone through a progression over the years. As the band members grew up from their teens to their 20’s, they went from emo and pop-punk to indie rock. The difference is striking from their first EP and first album to their latest.

As I said I found out about Turnover in spring 2017 on my flight to Coachella. I definitely wouldn’t have known about them otherwise either because I don’t often listen to bands in their scene any more. My friend Chelsea and I booked the same flight to California from Baltimore. She was headed out to Coachella for the first time. I was headed out for the second time, but for my first work experience at the festival. It was also the first time I was flying alone. It didn’t turn out that way because we ended up sitting next to each other and catching up after having not seen each other in years. We discussed life. We discussed music. We discussed Coachella. We discussed music at Coachella. She introduced me to Future Islands who were playing the festival that year and then she also brought up the band Turnover. She told me they were a much chiller version of Title Fight, which is a band we both grew up knowing and listening to from her hometown and a town 15 minutes away from mine. We streamed Turnover on the flight (miraculously!) and I definitely agreed. They were really good. I downloaded one of their songs shortly after I returned from my two week stay in Southern California and another a few months later.

When the Coachella lineup was released Wednesday night, Chelsea was one of the first people I texted. Since attending Coachella in 2017, it’s become a yearly thing for her. She loves it as much as me. We discussed the lineup and our excitement about it. Then she realized that Turnover was on the bill. I didn’t see it either until she mentioned it. It increased our hype even more.

Turnover plays Saturday at Coachella. As for stage and timing, I’d guess earlier in the day to mid-afternoon at either Gobi or Mojave, but they could easily play an early day set on the Main or Outdoor Stage. It’s definitely up in the air until the schedule comes out in April. I hope I get the chance to see their set or at least some of it. If you’re looking to see some indie rock at Coachella and grew up in that same pop-punk scene that I did, I definitely recommend checking out Turnover. Their set is sure to be great and super chill. So now all you need to do is get ready to see them. I know I have some listening to do because up until earlier today, my familiarity with their music was restricted to two songs. I’ve spent the past hour listening though and here’s what I like so far:

1. Cutting My Fingers Off
2. Super Natural
3. Dizzy On the Comedown
4. Sunshine Type
5. I Would Hate You If I Could
6. Humming
7. Pure Devotion
8. New Scream
9. Butterfly Dream
10. Hello Euphoria