Indie

N E W . M U S I C :: DEF SOUND – i.NEED.YOU.TO.KNOW.

defsound Language Arts, Music, Visuals alternative hip hop, christy roberts, da poetry lounge, def sound, dilated peoples, Experimental, Indie, j*davey, Kadhja Bonet, Kings of Neon, los angeles, mad as hell, Music, zack sekoff 0

Shot/Directed/Visual Effects/Edited by mad-as.hell (Leila Jarman + Mike Leisz)
Art Direction/Make-up by Christy Roberts Berkowitz

I don’t usually post my own music. This is something I really wanted to share, like good art, like if it wasn’t my video I would post type art. Let’s start from the beginning my name is Emmanuel Ricketts, I’m from South Central LA, went to private school in Compton and my parents raised me vegan back in 1984. I create art under the name Def Sound, which is short for Definitive Sound (I wanted to name myself after a goal). I found MY voice as a writer at Da Poetry Lounge on Fairfax in Los Angeles. I wanted to go somewhere where all people cared about was the what you were saying and plus I wanted new friends and I didn’t know how to find them so I googled “poetry lounges in Los Angeles” DPL was thee first thing that came up. That was thee first place I felt valued as an artist. I ended up making the LA slam team the first year I did poetry. Going to Nationals woke me up and I wanted to bring those new tools of writing and vulnerability into my music.Musically the first artist I would say mentored me early on was Raaka Iris Science of Dilated Peoples, I met him at the DMV on the humble. He taught me how to count bars actually. Then meeting J*Davey was pivotal for me in every way imaginable. First of all they were my favorite band in LA. Add another story to thee story they were the first people to take me on tour nationally and internationally and let me open up for them as a performer and DJ their sets.

Fast forward to now, my latest project was created over the course of three years post tour where I spent a year and a half homeless w/ my girlfriend at the time. In between Motels, legally squatting in condo’s, couchsurfing, air BNBing and nights in thee car I created a project about reaching highest potential. Most of thee brightest ideas are created from thee deepest darkness. This song “i N e e d Y o u 2 K n ow .” was recorded on my iPhone 4 as a voice note in one take and young prodigy Zack Sekoff built thee soundscape around thee vocals. Kadhja Bonet guided by thee highest forms of inspiration blessed and added thee finishing sprinkles of strings and backing vocals.

This project is called “Kings • of • Neon” it’s being released Nov. 6th 2015 . It will tell our story. It will be thee first release from my newly founded independent audio visual label

” Y E ∀ W H A T E V E R .”

Let’s stay friends and share our stories.

Thee.Cloud.

Thee.Facebook.

Thee.IG.

Stay love , stay bright

-∂eƒ

Thee.Voice.of.A.King.

defsound Conversation Pieces, Featured, Music entertainment, folk, Indie, king krule, Music, rock, UK 0

When last have you heard something you truly feel you have never heard before? Something actually new? Something so new you weren’t even sure if you liked it? But you felt it more than you liked it. It moved you past what you even thought your taste was. It challenged you to hate it but all you wanted was to hear more of it. Enter the world of the 19 year old singer songwriter and guitarist Archy Marshall aka King Krule from the UK. He kinda looks like if one of the interestingly scrawny kids from Gumo survived and moved to England and became one of thee characters from “This Is England” and just picked up a guitar and sang what he felt. Once known as Zoo Kid and Edgar The Beatmaker no matter what persona you choose to tune into he brings a new voice to todays overly autotuned soundscape. He simply brings HIS voice.

Thee first song I came face to face with was “Easy , Easy”

[youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hRzlbh4or3c&w=640&h=360]

See? Different right?

The The lyrics which stood out most and tapped my ears on the shoulder were

”

When positivity seems hard to reach
I keep my head down and my mouth shut
Cause if you going through hell
We just keep going … . .

”

It felt like a raw feeling that I really had no business judging. After that song I felt the need to find more and just about everything this kid has done. As I went deeper into his digital catalogue I found myself meandering somewhere between blues, folk, soul, ambient, and darkwave. Your ears are left without a compass but you soon arrive at a new destination.

Our next stop is the rebelliously real “Octopus” which feels like it’s straight out of David Lynch film.

[youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jtqCINuWPE8&w=640&h=360]

This song has so much space and texture it soon builds into a live dub infused drum and bass jam that you just end up gliding through effortlessly. This song feels like nothing I have heard since maybe Portishead. With a video that is just as sleek to match.

On we go to my personal favorite “Out Getting Ribs” which is a beautifully sincere love song. Each word feels like a new hue of blue painted on midnight canvas. That can really only be felt if you’ve been through rejection. But it’s beautiful, watch below.

[youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uMk7W7SRStw&w=640&h=360]

There is a certain emotion captured in the live performance of the song. Half the time you really can’t even believe this voice is coming out of his body. It’s weirdly awesome. He knows his voice and he allows it’s recklessness and embraces it’s every fluctuation.

The dark brightness present on “Rock Bottom” is a mood that seems to lure you in with it’s calm bright chords that suddenly picks up right at the chorus and never let look back!

[youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hvZJI8rerWA&w=640&h=360]

Maybe I’m a weirdo but sad music makes me happy! King Krule is an acquired taste that once your palette is ready for something new you might buffet his every song. At the ripe age of 19 he has written some very reflective music that feels beyond his years. There is a quality of fearlessness to it all and I only hope he remains untainted and untamed.

Our flaws are our fingerprints, no matter what you think of his voice you will have to listen to it again, again and again and in between one of those agains you will feel something. Although I will warn you that you might need subtitles to understand the some of the words I will remind you that most feelings don’t need words to be felt. If you are in search of something different and makes you feel distant from the norms meet the Kid that became a King!

6 Beneath The Moon is available now on iTunes

-∂eƒ

Thee . Wonderful . World . of . Tiron . & . Ayo .

defsound Conversation Pieces, Featured, Music Ayomari, hip hop, Indie, los angeles, Music, No Filter, Prelude, TiRon, Wonderful 1

Hip Hop is a very very interesting genre these days. It’s growing up and growing down, maybe even diagonally. There are new faces every 5 minutes literally, check your soundcloud. Everyone is brainstorming to be the next thing lightening chooses to strike, but few keep an umbrella. Tiron & Ayomari are two gentlemen from Los Angeles who choose to share theirs with you and show you the world around you is still wonderful.

Enter “The Wonderful Part.I” (Listen Below)

[bandcamp width=350 height=470 album=4109590291 size=large bgcol=ffffff linkcol=0687f5 notracklist=true]

The umbrella is a symbol they chose to use as kind of a Bat signal to their listeners, that their music is here to protect your ears against thee b.s. that seems to be reigning/raining the airwaves these days. That’s a huge task and idea to fit into one project don’t you think? Less is more and more or less brings you two EP’s dropping 2 months apart from each other titled “The Wonderful Prelude part I & II”. Both EP’s have four songs and serve as the perfect precursors to something even more Wonderful than we can image. There is no absence of concepts here, let’s start with a picture shall we? The lightly Slum village influenced “No Filter” swings through as a real head nodder. The song teleports you into “that moment”; you know that moment when you first meet that one, that’s so picture perfect she needs no filter or frame to hang get the picture?

No Filter

[youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Z9Z2TCHNDVU&w=640&h=360]

After a small 12 second intermission from Miguels brother BeatNich & Marz Lovejoy @ the end of “No Filter” ushers in the smooth drum and horn driven “PRTY N BLSHT” which delivers the EP’s most infectious rhyme patterns. A hook filled with familiarity that never seems to fade and just feels right.

PRTY N BLSHT

[youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=57XbespLJek&w=640&h=360]

The first Prelude closes with “The Master Part I” which more of a chant than a full song. “The Mater Part I” delivers a message that is very potent and on point.

“show love

give thanks

take time

be calm

don’t trip

fall down get up

hold on

be strong

don’t trip”

Great advice fellas.

Which brings me to the second movement of the duo’s EP “The Wonderful Prelude II” (Listen Below)

[bandcamp width=350 height=350 album=3440909735 size=large bgcol=ffffff linkcol=0687f5]

Part II Opens on a very somber yet moody song called “For the Dreamers” the vibrations alone will find yourself lost in. A very honest piece that . The early Outkast influenced “Haven’t You Heard” begins with a familiar drum break and live beasty bass line that drives you to the positive and airy vocals that leave the listener with hope. Heavy on melody but not light in content a simple yet very wise quotable gem from sir Ronnie himself:

“What they think about you
Is only what they think they know
And no you cant be worried about that (Say it again!) ”

No really, say it again !

The ending of “The Wonderful Prt.II” winds down with the bass heavy and dreamy conversational piece called “Ruca”. “Ruca” sounds like the last hit from something wrapped in white papers passed round a room while the homie Ayomari tells you a story about a past flame that still lights his fire, as he ashes the past into an empty Snapple bottle all you can say is “Damn son, I feel you, been there before.” It feels effortless.

I find that I don’t listen to “The Wonderful Prt.I” without listening to “The Wonderful Prt.II” feels like one thoughtful feel good record that bleeds into each other. They almost need each other. Both EP’s feel like twins that look alike with different color eyes from two different counties that just met at a hip hop show because they both like Tribe.”The Wonderful Prt. I & II” are both vibe heavy and honest records from a duo who sound like they are still getting to know themselves and the world around them through what they are creating. They seem very conscious of this. TiRon & Ayomari seem to have completely found their chemistry here. There’s no drug talk, gun talk, money talk, thug talk on here, just real talk for real people and that’s cool. What they bring is a simple charm and pleasant relatability in a day and age where most people have to be shocked to be entertained. The Preludes sound like the calm before the storm. Once the storm arrives TiRon & Ayomari just hope you have your umbrellas ready.

-∂eƒ