Tag Archives: austin

Spirit Lift :: Dr. Ew (Indubes) Drops ‘Salt [Beat Tape]’

Posted on February 27, 2019 | Leave a comment

Quite often, I take deep dives into the abyss that is YouTube, and one of my favorite discoveries is the lo-fi beat scene emergence, complete with looped anime clips to seal the deal on aesthetic. That’s what makes it so great when a peer pops up in that realm, sort of like when I stumbled across Austin-based producer Indubes and a video titled Salt [Beat Tape]. The thirteen-ish minute beat tape consists of familiar piano and guitar samples, solid drum loops and programming, vocal samples, and a wonderful clip from Spirited Away that gets more and more delightful with each loop. This is the kind of music that sets a mood, and that mood is one I won’t mind revisiting. Quality work, and work that deserves sharing, commenting and liking.

-chief

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Posted in Audio-Visuals, General Information, ShuffleCast, Spotlight, Underground Me Now

Tagged austin, beat tape, chief, dr. ew, indubes, lo fi, salt [beat tape], spirited away, the doomsday device, youtube

Forever Flow :: D.O.S. Drops Bars At Hip-Hop Mecca’s Weekly Event

Posted on February 26, 2019 | Leave a comment

It’s true that D.O.S. is a man of many diverse talents, having reinvented himself from rapper/performer to a successful business owner and chef. That being said, D.O.S. never lost his love for the mic, and clips like the one above prove it. During a recent Hip Hop Mecca event at the legendary Flamingo Cantina in Austin, D.O.S. jumped on stage with DJ Massiv to perform a few selections from the Ruler Why produced Obey The Raw, and as always, the flow and performance were on point. If you’re looking for your hip-hop fix in Austin, Friday nights at Flamingo Cantina are definitely where it’s at, and mad props to D.O.S. for continuing to grow in all aspects of his creative and professional life.

-chief

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Posted in Audio-Visuals, General Information, ShuffleCast, Spotlight, Underground Me Now

Tagged austin, chief, d.o.s., dj massiv, flamingo cantina, hip hop mecca, obey the raw, ruler why, the doomsday device

Silent Wars :: Hyder Makes Moving Video For ‘Farewell’

Posted on February 13, 2019 | Leave a comment

Austin-based hip-hop artist Hyder is clearly here to raise the bar of what both an artist and an artistic statement can be. The former poet turned MC is obviously comfortable taking on topics with weight, as he exhibits in Farewell by effortlessly espousing on the trials and tribulations we face from within and without as we attempt to navigate an often stressful and trying world. The raw honesty captured in both the song and the video are moving, and the high quality of the video heightens the entire experience. Definitely check this one out, like and comment on it, and share it around.

-chief

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Posted in Audio-Visuals, General Information, ShuffleCast, Spotlight, Underground Me Now

Tagged austin, chief, farewell, hip hop, hyder, rhymin rhythm tv, the doomsday device

Reality Raps :: Nick Cruz & Ruler Why Connect For ‘Tales Of A Paper Hanger’

Posted on February 7, 2019 | Leave a comment

These cats sound like they’ve been making music together forever. You already know what you’re getting production-wise whenever Ruler Why steps up to bat, and he’s consistently been able to connect with quality lyricists over the years. Nick Cruz, in his debut solo EP, sounds like he’s been doing it for decades on top of this production, and the combination is utterly hypnotic. This is the kind of hip-hop that made me both love it and want to be a member of the creative continuum, as life experiences and viewpoints are given rapid fire in the lyrics, beats and samples used. Well worth the money they’re asking, so go ahead and cop this one, and encourage others to do the same. On the real.

-chief

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Posted in General Information, ShuffleCast, Spotlight, The Good, The Bad, The Ugly, Underground Me Now

Tagged austin, chief, hip hop, nick cruz, ruler why, tales of a paper hanger, the doomsday device, tx

Bonus Beats :: Lantic Releases Singles In Preparation Of ‘Anti-Gravity Elevator’

Posted on February 5, 2019 | Leave a comment

Being involved in the central Texas music scene is a blessing for fans of unknown or up-and-coming bands. Between band members, label owners, sound guys, bar owners and promoters, you’d be hard pressed to go a week without hearing about a handful of local gems. In my quest for website content, I sometimes get so many recommendations that I overlook some, and Lantic is a prime example of this. The guys at Apogee presents… posted about Lantic in regards to their upcoming album, Anti-Gravity Elevator, and I promptly saved the link and forgot about it. Upon digging back through my saves, however, I gave the new tracks a spin, and now I’m waiting urgently for the full-length release, as Lantic hits all the same buttons for me that bands like Tame Impala or artists like Jim James hit. If you’ve not heard of these guys yet, now’s a good time to get hip. They were good enough to warrant a double post today!

-chief

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Posted in General Information, ShuffleCast, Spotlight, Underground Me Now

Tagged anti-gravity elevator, apogee presents, austin, chief, even though, lantic, the doomsday device, wobble gobble

Traffic Jams :: Click-Clack Drops New Single For ‘Speeding’

Posted on February 4, 2019 | Leave a comment

From the moment I first heard Bulletwound, I knew Click-Clack had style for days. Over the years, he’s managed to prove me right by consistently reshaping and evolving his sound, especially when it comes to collaborating with other producers. That’s why it shouldn’t be any surprise that Speeding hits so hard… producer ICYTWAT serves up a killer of an instrumental, and Click-Clack drops a couple of different styles intermingled together to drive us through the track. While it would’ve been cool to get a longer song, I’m happy with this banger being a the quick fix that it is. Definitely share it around, give it a like and a comment, and stay connected to what your local creatives are doing.

-chief

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Posted in General Information, ShuffleCast, Spotlight, Underground Me Now

Tagged austin, chief, click-clack, hip hop, ICYTWAT, speeding, the doomsday device

Champions’ Circle :: Born Soul And Protextor Go ‘American Gladiators’ On ‘Rappers Playing Games (RPG)’

Posted on February 1, 2019 | Leave a comment

Baby Lion really has something golden going on with Rappers Playing Games (RPG). In just a handful of episodes, Protextor has managed to continually have thought-provoking conversations with a vast array of individuals coming from many different schools of thought. Born Soul was the latest to drop by, and he broke down a bit about his musical legacy, the hip-hop that inspires him, and the path he took that has shaped him into the craftsman he is today. Subscribe to Baby Lion if you haven’t already, because it feels like the fun is just getting started.

-chief

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Posted in Audio-Visuals, General Information, Spotlight

Tagged (rpg), american gladiators, austin, baby lion, born soul, chief, hip hop, protextor, rappers playing games, the doomsday device, youtube

Curating Cool :: Ian Orth Creates Awesome Playlist For Margin Walker Staff Mix Series

Posted on January 28, 2019 | Leave a comment

I’ve had the pleasure of knowing Ian Orth (of Margin Walker, Learning Secrets and Orthy) since we were both little kids. I remember us always talking about how we’d both grow up to be musicians and artists, living our dreams and controlling our destinies as me leave our mark on the cultures that influenced us so deeply. Now, what feels like a generation later, Ian and myself are both members of Austin‘s ever-thriving music scene, and in his case, he is definitely influencing the culture in very tangible ways. Case in point, his work with Margin Walker has not only allowed him to book numerous bands in town, but it has afforded him the opportunity to showcase songs he loves via the Margin Walker Staff Mix Series on Spotify. The link is connected to the image above, so click that baby pic and dive in to some wonderful sounds!

-chief

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Posted in General Information, ShuffleCast, Spotlight, Underground Me Now

Tagged austin, chief, ian orth, learning secrets, margin walker, orthy, spotify, staff mix series, the doomsday device

Linking Up :: Lo Phi (7LayerOscillator) And Rez Team Up For ‘Two Piece Minivan’

Posted on January 23, 2019 | Leave a comment

If it’s not already common knowledge that anything dropping with a connection to Exploded Drawing / (in)Sect Records needs to be checked out immediately, then it should be. Case in point : over the weekend, Lo Phi (recording under alter-ego 7LayerOscillator) teamed up with fellow Houston native Rez for two piece minivan, a brief but invigorating sonic landscape of powerful drums, tape hiss, chopped vocal samples and general mastery of the oddly and uniquely comforting. On their own, each producer can more than hold it down, but this combination is one of those rare occurrences where the collaborative effort yielded a sound cohesive enough for me to not be able to tell who was responsible for individual aspects of the composition. In my opinion, that makes this a truly special collaboration, and one worth immediately listening to, sharing around with fellow music lovers, and one worth that minimal (and more than likely joke) price tag on the track.

-chief

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Posted in General Information, ShuffleCast, Spotlight, Underground Me Now

Tagged 7layeroscillator, austin, chief, exploded drawing, houston, iNSECT RECORDS, lo phi, rez, the doomsday device, two piece minivan

Deeply Connected :: The Vapor Caves Take A Look Back At ‘I Miss You’

Posted on January 22, 2019 | Leave a comment

The Vapor Caves (as BoomBaptist and Yadira Brown of Keeper are collectively known) have been on the rise the last few years, and 2019 promises to hold great things in store for them. In preparation for the new year, BoomBaptist decided to take a trip down memory lane and reminisce on the winter of 2015, when he sent Yadira Brown a collection of hip-hop beats as a Christmas present. Out of the 15 sent, Yadira chose three, and the first official collaboration between the artists that would later form The Vapor Caves was I Miss You, a very 1990s-esque hip-hop track where Yadira sings and rhymes about attraction and the process of letting your guard down to accept those feelings. As a present to all of us, the group decided to release the track for free, so definitely download it and share it around, as the next moves that The Vapor Caves have in store are big ones.