As the old saying goes, what do you get the man who has everything? Or more specifically, what sort of gift could you possibly buy a cat like Steven Chung (a.k.a. DJ Tranzit) in honor of his 32nd birthday this weekend, given that he already owns a pimp ride, a…
Right now, some kid is listening to Enter the Night, the 2012 release from Drop the Lime (NYC-based producer/DJ/pop artist Luca Venezia), and it’s blowing their dubstep-addled mind. They’re pressing play on his cover of Bruce Springsteen’s stark 1982 classic “State Trooper” and thinking, “Oh, my God, this is brilliant…
Taalib Johnson, better known as Musiq Soulchild, or sometimes just Musiq, released his debut album, Aijuswanaseing, in 2000, at the apex of the neo-soul movement. The term, coined by then-Motown president Kedar Massenburg, described a particular streak of black American music. As with any name given to a diverse and…
Football fans can be a rather crazy lot. Setting aside the fact they spend around four months out of every year obsessing over a single team and practically living and dying on their every move, pigskin addicts are more than willing to watch games in the freezing cold, while wearing…
Well folks, this is it. Election day is here and that means one thing: regardless of how you vote today, campaign season is over. Uncoincidentally, local hip-hoppers Random a.k.a Mega Ran, Mouse Powell, Mr. Miranda and DJ DN3, wrapped up their campaign tour a few weeks ago and as a…
Led Zeppelin was, is, and always will be a driving force in the evolution of heavy metal. Their heavy, guitar-driven blues rock opened the world to an intriguing new sound, influencing generations of bands. Now, more than 40 years after they first came together, they are still one of the…
The terms “black metal” and “benefit show” may not seem like they go hand-in-hand, but you’d be amazed at the amount of love coursing through veins of local act Blessedbethyname. This industrial black metal band is one of the best known metal bands to come out of the Valley of…
Other Lives don’t write songs so much as soundtracks. That’s not to disparage frontman Jesse Tabish’s breathy, languid croon. It’s more to note the epic sweep and orchestral mien of their widescreen compositions. Their soundfield suggests a dry river bed extending to the horizon line, ringed by mountains with twilight…
The rising EDM boom in America is one vulnerable to trends: even has-been nü-metal troglodytes Korn have added bass drops to their ham-fisted, distorted chords. UK DJ Nick Warren, a specialist in house and progressive techno, has been spinning and mixing for over 20 years, and though his career has…
It’s not hard to get lost in the world of Vermont-based songwriters Matt “MV” Valentine and Erika “EE” Elder. The duo’s blanket of releases — dozens of tapes, CD-Rs, downloads, live tour documents, and long players for labels like Thurston Moore’s Ecstatic Peace!, Time-Lag Records, and Three Lobed Recordings —…
Oh, Alanis, you sure have mellowed out. Seventeen years ago, you released Jagged Little Pill, one of the most commercially successful albums of the ’90s. Those vindictive songs about heartbreak (“You Oughta Know”) were balanced by the Taoist outlooks (“Hand in My Pocket”) and not-so-ironic situations (“Ironic”). It was an…
In the hands of most DJs, a pair of turntables is the place to put colored Serato Control records. When wielded by the expert hands of Richard Quitevis, known in the music world as DJ Qbert, a pair of Technics 1200s will reach transcendence, becoming a true musical instrument or…
Happy Halloween, everyone! On behalf of everyone at Up on the Sun, I hope you find a cool concert or party to go to tonight, and thoroughly encourage you to party a little too hard. Halloween is a blast–as a kid, neighbors handed out free candy because you dressed up…
Last week, a couple of so-called indie bands released music videos that featured quirky blonde actresses. Michelle Williams traveled to Niagara Falls Wild Nothing’s “Paradise” and The Girl Next Door Elisha Cuthbert imagines herself in a movie in The Gaslight Anthem’s video for “Here Comes My Man.” Both of these…
One of the brilliant things about collaborative music groups is that there’s always work to be done. Accounting for half of the super group Writer’s Guild, Mr. Miranda and Random a.k.a Mega Ran hit the road earlier this month to tour with fellow local emcee Mouse Powell, allowing group member…
This past Saturday, Korn crashed through town, performing at the Arizona State Fair. I watched in glee. This is a band that truly contributed to opening the door to metal for me. Before that discovery, I was a sixth grader rocking out to Westside Connection, much to my Backstreet Boy-loving…
Since 2010 New Hampshire-bred metal band Vattnet Viskar has adroitly melded all sorts of metal: sludge, atmospheric, black, and the mixture has impressed crowds in dark, dingy venues all over the country. Two EPs deep and their debut full-length album in the works through Century Media Records, Vattnet Viskar come…
There are two Halloweens: One is for the kids, so they can get dressed up in costumes and score candy. The other? It’s known as “the one night a year when girls can dress like a total slut and no other girls can say anything about it.” Yes that is…
Its something of a necessity for every DJ/producer working the global EDM circuit to have a specialty or a signature sound if they hope to ever make it. For L.A. club king Morgan Page, his particular spin (pun intended) on dance music involves posh house soundscapes accentuated by dreamy vocals…
If you’ve attended a major music festival, club night, or dance party within the past 12 months, it’s almost certain that you’ve heard “Spaceman” being blasting over the sound system. The otherworldly six-minute track, crafted by Dutch-house wunderkind Hardwell (pictured) earlier this year, has pretty much become the new “Levels,”…
Seattle band Earth’s progression from instrumental drone-metal negativists to tempered electric Americana drone artists has been as natural and languid as the band’s riffs. Led by guitarist Dylan Carlson — the only constant member in the band’s nearly 20-year run — the group formed in the early ’90s, inspiring legions…
If you’re hedging your bets on who will be the next big thing in hip-hop, you should probably wager on A$AP Rocky. The Harlem-born member of A$AP Mob struck a nerve with his 2011 mixtape, LiveLoveA$AP, which adroitly combined disparate elements like East Coast boom bap, ambient synths, and crushing…
