In the post-grunge, indie leanings of a city like Seattle, where the literacy rate is amongst the highest in the nation and the Public Library system has the largest percentage of library card-holders per-capita in the country, the city’s backdrop perhaps better explains the roots of urban wordsmith Sadistik.
At the age of 22, the MC released his first work -“The Balancing Act”- in which he aimed to prove to the world that the emotional output of a white hip-hop artist could again be affecting and poignant without playing into what has become the comic relief or stereotype. Regarding the album, LastFM would go on to state that “after you are done listening… you feel as though you have the world’s strongest drug in your veins.” Not bad praise for a kid straight out of the shoot.
Continue Reading Sadistik’s Rational Approach »
The last place one might expect to find a lyrically precocious, LA-reared emcee, would be the long stretch of I-80 splitting Wyoming’s dusty plain from the rugged interior of its North. But then again, antagonizing the normative cliche has always been Murs’ trademark calling card; one that he has only refined since leaving the seminal underground group, Living Legends, and striking out on his own in search of that which is not often spoken of in urban music’s inner echelon: commercial indifference in the face of artistic progression.
This is not to say that Murs is any less the zealous businessman than any other hip-hop artist leveraging the hustle. It’s just that the pursuit of the almighty dollar doesn’t predominate his ambition. In fact, it’s Murs’ atypical need for constant creative growth that has seemed to find relevance amidst his following of similarly-minded, multi-genred, ADHD fans.
Continue Reading Murs’ Modern Wordplay »
Provo, Utah is perhaps best known as the celestial capital of everything Brigham Young. And while it might be a misnomer to lump the city’s some 100,000 residents into a demographic that mainstream America often sees maligned on shows like HBO’s Big Love, a trio of filmmakers named The Occidental Saloon are exporting a new commodity rooted in the identity of their city-in-transit: Damn fine indie music.
RootSpeak recently caught up with the innovative film unit and spoke with them about their videos for The Neon Trees and Joshua James, while also picking their brains on where the evolution of the modern music video heads next.
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Brian Bowman is an enigmatic figure whose work speaks louder than the creator himself. For anyone that frequents Vimeo, it’s almost within all certainty that one of his short films has found its way into your recommendations at one point or another. As a Creative Director for the famed Digital Kitchen digital services agency, Mr. Bowman is consistently at the forefront of cutting-edge film and futurist commentary.
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In context, the late nineties third-wave ska revival wasn’t exactly a breeding ground for innovative musical exploration. Harkening back to a foregone era of Prince Buster, the crop of bands that found the muted palm-stroke of the off beat and skank so appealing were often no more than flash-in- the-pan reincarnations best suited for late-night, frat-boy keg sessions. While irony is typically easier to spot than specifically define, it’s without a sense of trepidation to say that The Rx Bandits emergence from this movement, and their subsequent evolution to become one of the most dynamic and progressive independent bands in the country, could find itself balancing the definition quite well in Webster’s.
It’s 12:00 in Long Beach, California and Steve Choi is eating lunch. Or perhaps it’s just an awful connection on his cell phone masquerading as the chewing of celery. Knowing his penchant for organically grown foods, it soon becomes apparent that the guitarist for The Rx Bandits is making the most of his noon hour while trying to answer questions at the same time.
Continue Reading Autonomy in Motion: The Rx Bandits »
J.P. Plunier’s career and subtle nuance for his craft have much akin to that of a master watchmaker. An artisan rarely seen but always respected by the discerning individual for the complexities contained within the timepiece itself, Plunier finds much in common as he is perhaps one of the most aesthetically-sound yet least visible entities in the vast expanse of the music industry today.
Having discovered and nurtured such talent as Ben Harper and Jack Johnson, even managing the former while directing music videos throughout the process, JP’s instinctive grasp for others artistic vision and potential is what has assured the fact that even should you be unfamiliar with his name, you’ve surely heard his work with others.
A literal renaissance Frenchman man of sorts, Mr. Plunier is many things: The owner of Everloving Records, an artist manager, a producer and a photographer whose entrance into the music business was, as he puts it, “a bit complicated…”
Continue Reading The Everloving Method of J.P. Plunier »
