The Freio Music Podcast
Episode 011 - The Motet - Dave Watts
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FMP 010 – Aphasia
The Freio Music Podcast
Episode 010 - Aphasia
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FMP 009 – Willbeaux
The Freio Music Podcast
Episode 009 - Willbeaux
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Beats Antique – Live Album
Beats Antique’s new live album: “Creature Carnival Live – Denver CO and Asheville NC”
Its official! Beats Antique is releasing a live album September 22nd 2015
Beats Antique is finally releasing a live album that will surely please fans and create new ones! As everyone who has seen Beats Antique knows, they throw down high energy musical gypsy gems. Now they are sharing their performances with you, on September 22nd, so you can enjoy their life’s work from your couch, bus, or on the go. My highest regards are rarely given but these musical geniuses, who have also cracked the code to creating an amazing performance, deserve it. Beats Antique’s “Creature Carnival Live – Denver CO and Asheville NC” is a collaborative album. Creature Carnival Live brings together musicians, instruments and energies with the spontaneity of live recording, separating this album from all of their other works. Take a listen to a three track preview below. For those of you who find this article after Sep 22nd, you will be able to listen to the entire album below. Enjoy!
The album drops September 22nd, 2015. Take a listen to three sneak peak tracks they have released for free streaming courtesy of BandCamp.
Musical Credits:
Album Release Date: 22 September 2015
David Satori – Electric Saz, Banjo, Guitar, Viola, Drums, Trumpet and Electronics
Sidecar Tommy – Drums, Electronic Drums, Toy Piano
Zoe Jakes – Drums
Sylvain Carton – Baritone Sax and Clarinet
Special Guests
Lafa Taylor – Vox
Empire Strikes Brass on Horns for tracks 10 – 13
*Recorded at 1st Bank Center – Denver Colorado and Asheville Civic Center North Carolina (fall 2014)
Recorded, Mixed & Mastered by Brian Bash of Sonidos Studios
You can buy the album here
Are you Jones’n for some free Beats Antique music? We got you!
Front Country – Concert & Album Review
It was the night of May 5th at Swallow Hill Music Hall in Denver, Colorado. The rain turned to sleet and the sleet turned to heavy snow. The arrival of the Californian Bluegrass band was greeted by nasty weather and a packed house filled with music lovers of all ages. The night began with Rail Splitters from Boulder, Colorado warming up the theater with their quick pick’n and melodic music. By the time Front Country took the stage the audience was ready for steady rhythmic bluesy bluegrass. Front Country is one of those bands who cannot be easily fit into a box or genre. They expand upon all of their individual strengths to blend, mold, and shape the sound until it’s profound.
Front Country’s songs are inspired by a range of topics including but not limited to the snowy state itself, Colorado, and an old time song about a gold mine prostitute. When Melody picks up the Kashishi she woos the crowd with her shakin’ while both Adam and Jacob trade instruments between songs to bring a new sound.
Front country’s album, Sake of the Sound, was created by a sextet (six members). Three of the six band members on the Album have jobs outside of the music industry. The momentum the band is riding keeps gaining speed, propelling that ‘Gospel Train’ around the country. With diverse musical backgrounds, they feed off each other musically to break through traditional boundaries. They have earned University degrees studying, jazz guitar, vocals, classical guitar, and jazz bass. They have worked hard to get to where they are today and it is clearly paying off.
Sake of the Sound
Album Credits: Released 16 September 2014. Mandolin by Adam Roszkiewicz, Guitar and Vocals by Jacob Groopman, Guitar and Vocals by Melody Walker, Banjo and Vocals by Jordan Klein, Violin by Leif Karlstrom, Stand-up Bass by Zach Sharpe. Produced by Kai Welch. Engineered by Scott Bergstrom. Engineered by Scott Bergstrom at 25th Street Recording – Oakland, CA. Mixed by Erick Jaskowiak at J Studio – Nashville, TN. Mastered by Eric Conn at Independent Mastering – Nashville, TN. All songs arranged by Front Country. Photography by Robert Perry. Album Art by Danielle Diessner
They dedicated 10 consecutive (16+ hour) days to the recording of their debut album, Sake of the Sound. While many bands struggle to find a collective sound due to their individualistic desires, Front Country is a band of stars, shining together. Their collaborative spirit is revealed as they dynamically alter their music for maximum impact.
If you enjoy acoustical harmonies with some fast pick’n solos, this band is not one to miss. If you missed the show, the good news is that Front Country will be back in Colorado and touring the country once again in a few weeks. With stops at festivals, such as Campout for the Cause and Meadow Grass, this band is only getting started. They won a place on the main stage at Telluride Bluegrass Festival, and they are on their way to a city near you.
To check the latest Front Country tour info: click here
To listen to the FreioMusic interview with Front Country: click here
Front Country – Interview
In this exclusive artist interview, FreioMusic sat down with three members of the up and coming Bay Area band, Front Country. Front Country’s Adam Roszkiewicz, Jacob Groopman, and Melody Walker generously shared their time and stories prior to their first ever performance in Denver, Colorado at Swallow Hill Music Hall.
To Listen, Click on the Track Below:
Front Country – Exclusive FreioMusic Interview 5/9/2015
Click to read more about the band
Click to listen to Front Country’s new album, Sake of the Sound
Sonic Bloom Lineup Release
“SONIC BLOOM is Colorado’s best electronic music festival”
In case you have missed the last 9 years, this festival has had time to brew and its mix of flavorous sounds seem to be just right this year. Drum roll… The lineup for the 10th annual Sonic Bloom festival….. headliners STS9 (2 sets), Shpongle (Simon Posford DJ set), Emancipator, The Trancident, Talib Kweli, Random Rab, Phutureprimitive and many more.
On stage will be a legendary collaboration session called the SONIC BLOOM SuperJam featuring Dave Watts, Garrett Sayers, Joey Porter, Jans Ingber, Ryan Jalbert, Gabriel Mervine, Matt Pitts, Jason Hann (& more TBA). Additional acts include: Caspa, Manic Focus, Rob Garza (Thievery Corporation), ill-esha, Yamn, Nominus, LYNX, The Malah, saQi and Adham Shaikh, to name a few. The 10th annual festival SONIC BLOOM will be held during the Summer Solstice the weekend of June 18-21, 2015, at a gorgeous new location: Hummingbird Ranch in Rye, Colorado.
Dates for The Road to SONIC BLOOM have been announced. This is the second year of The Road to SONIC BLOOM tour, which will send a roving lineup of present, past and future SONIC BLOOM, Sonic Blossom and The Unified Field performers across the country to spread the BLOOM vibe. A combination of wildly varied lineup of DJs, producers, live electronic acts, with painters, dancers and performance artists will criss-cross the country this spring as we approach the summer festival. See a full list of dates and cities below.
SONIC BLOOM has also announced The Unified Field, the official SONIC BLOOM pre-party, a 2-night dual-venue indoor mini-fest that will happen in Denver, CO, on April 24 & 25 at Cervantes’ Masterpiece Ballroom & The Other Side. This year’s artists include Thriftworks, Dirtwire ft. David Satori from Beats Antique, Andreilien, That 1 Guy, Fort Knox Five and more. Limited advance early-bloomer pre-sales for The Unified Field are now on sale for only $30 (while they last).
4-Day General Passes include entry into the festival on Thursday, free on-site camping and free drinking water all weekend. VIP 4-Day Passes, parking passes, limited car camping passes and RV passes are also now on sale.
For more information on SONIC BLOOM, please visit the official website: www.sonicbloomfestival.com.
Some music to get you ready for the best four days of your life!
Road to SONIC BLOOM Dates:
3.20 – Chicago, IL – Copernicus Center
4.11 – Seattle, WA – Columbia City Theater
4.15 – Santa Cruz, CA – Motiv Nightclub
4.25 – Denver, CO – Cervantes Ballroom
5.2 – Wappinger Falls, NY – Chapel of Sacred Mirrors
5.7 – Newark, NJ – Seed Gallery
5.8 – Boston, MA – The Middle East
5.9 – New York, NY – Slake
5.20 – Asheville, NC – Asheville Music Hall
Top 5 Moments of Unexpected Sonic Perfection at Sonic Bloom ’14
Sonic Bloom 2014-American Safari Ranch
My favorite part about music festivals is discovering new artists to incorporate into my daily repertoire of jams. While I was beyond stoked for some of my highly anticipated favorites like Opiuo, the reigning king of future funk, Kalya Scintilla’s sweaty tribal inspired bass, or Tipper’s careful dissection and rearrangement of the contents of my brain with the scratching mastery of a surgeon, these were all very predictable (and immensely enjoyed) highlights of my weekend. My most authentic musical experiences of Sonic Bloom came from the unexpected sets and unfamiliar artists that I have not had the chance to fully explore and appreciate. Whether the artists were newer cats on the scene or seasoned veterans to which I simply hadn’t yet been exposed, I came back from Bloom with an inspired and expanded understanding of some of the dopest jams to ever rattle my eardrums.
1. Mr. Bill
Okay, Mr. Bill is certainly no newcomer on the scene. Prior to Bloom I was familiar with Mr. Bill’s status as a veteran of the rich Australian glitch movement. My expectations were absolutely blown out of the water after, what was easily, my favorite set of the weekend. Late Sunday night in the middle of the dusty and heavy vibin’ coDome audience, I found myself wondering how something so unconventionally melodic can get a crowd moving so hard. Mr. Bill’s heavy bass lines, break beat switches and a cornucopia of strange tunes and tones meld together into an unpredictably perfect stew of glitch perfection.
Mr. Bill will be holding down the Souls Rising EDM stage at Arise Music Festival August 8-10th this year in Loveland, CO for what will surely be another set not to miss.
2. The Librarian
I took a leap of faith on Friday night as we left Tipper’s downtempo set in search of something to get my booty shaking a bit more. We encountered what I quickly realized to be one of the baddest bitches of bass, Andrea Graham, throwing down a super sexy low-end set that had me floating on a cloud of sweet, sweet ghetto booty bass. The Librarian’s nuanced, sexy bass stood out from the overtly raw and in your face bass that tends to dominate the scene. Her riddim inspired jams and seriously hard drops that got the crowd moving for one of the greatest booty bass grooves of the weekend.
The Librarian is also a founding organizer of Bass Coast and will be playing this August 1-4th in Merritt, British Columbia.
3. Sixis
If you know me, you know that I am a serious sucker for smooth psychedelic dubby sounds that seem more likely to be alien transmissions than creations from the human kind. When I cruised over to Sixis’s midday Friday set, I didn’t know much about his music and was just looking for a solid warm-up for the stacked schedule with the future glitch goodness of kLL sMTH, Fort Knox Five and then onto the highly anticipated psychedelic trance-inspired Aussie master Whitebear. But when I got to the dusty coDome, I was totally blown away by Sixis’s melodic, spacious and layered sounds. In an increasingly saturated psy-bass scene, Sixis stood out with his consciously more minimal, understated approach to interplanetary auditory travel. Sixis created intricate, imaginative soundscapes that resonated in my ears for the rest of the weekend.
Up next, Sixis will be playing at Stilldream Festival in Belden, California July 31st- August 4th.
4. Defunk
If you don’t know of Defunk yet, you better educate yourself! Canada native Defunk dropped one of the funkiest sets of the weekend for a serious dance party in the coDome late Saturday afternoon. Addicting hooks, glitchy breaks, and inspired retro influences drive his music in a future forward way. Collaborations with soulful female vocalists and looping guitarist Sam Klass gives Defunk’s glitchy tunes a sense of soulful authenticity.
Catch Defunk at the Valhalla Sound Circus this Thursday, July 3rd in Quebec.
5. The Malah
Live electronic artists The Malah brought their A-game to wrap up the first evening of Bloom in a most epic fashion. Intricate, precise guitar licks and organic high-energy rhythms create a driven sound that got the coDome moving and grooving along properly. I thought their jam-inspired approach was a refreshing addition to Bloom’s bass heavy lineup, and by the infectious buzz from the crowd on Thursday night I’m certain they all agreed.
The Malah doesn’t have any immediate shows coming up but the Denver-local band is surely not one to miss when they come through your town.
SnowBallin’ 2014
Interested in hearing about what is becoming one of the freshest and most unique festivals in the music industry taking place in the spring snow out in beautiful Colorado?
SnowBall, taking place April 4th-6th in Denver, CO, is definitely a music festival that is truly something different. The festival is being held at an exciting new venue this year, Sports Authority Field in Mile High Stadium. The new venue will provide a wide open space for attendees to interact, explore, dance, and of course, get weird. The SnowBall Stage, which is the main stage, will be outdoors and may provide the opportunity for attendees to put their dance moves on display on a snow covered dance floor. So if you plan on attending, please be safe and be prepared for the cold. The SnowBall Stage will also have a Big Air area beside it where extreme athletes will be performing tricks to tantalize your eyes while your ears are being entertained by bumping beats. Some of the most well known artists will grace the SnowBall stage with their presence. On Friday, be sure to catch the melodies of Jimkata, the funky beats of The Floozies, and then let Knife Party shake you with some heavy bass to close out the first night. On Saturday, the highlights include local 3-piece electronic hydro-funk sensations SunSquabi, funky fresh four piece livetronic group STRFKR, and the one and only Derek Vincent Smith, better known as Pretty Lights, playing his soulful tunes right where his original roots began. Then on Sunday, Chali2Na from Jurassic 5 brings some fresh hip-hop to the stage along with House of Vibe, Busta Rhymes brings an original rap set that you could only get from Busta himself, all before Griz closes out the festival with a funk filled set of jazzy electronic beats that will have you grooving with all of the energy that’s left in the tank.
The other three stages are all in heated tents around the stadium and will each provide their own distinct atmospheres once you are inside. The Groove Tent will feature a variety of music throughout the weekend with the highlights being the grimy electronic beats of Mimosa, the all original tunes of Wave Racer, some funky fresh trap from Lunice, a high energy electro house combined with drumstep set from Kill The Noise, and PLM Party, the not to miss set of the weekend featuring Pretty Lights, Michal Menert, Paul Basic, Supervision, Eliot Lipp, and many more artists from the Pretty Lights Music record label. I personally cannot wait to see what all of these amazing producers co-create up on stage together; the possibilities are endless.
The Ballroom Stage will feature artists who make their craft through either their skills on an instrument or through the sounds of their voice. This stage will provide very different sounds than the others so be sure to make it over there if you are into artists who have their own specific individual sound. Eminence Ensemble will trance you into their one of a kind flow as they rift it on their instruments. Afroman will bring you back in time with his old school style and with jams like “Palmdale”, “When I Got High”, and other 90’s classics. Or be entertained with original electronic acts like Flash/Lights, Trippy Turtle, Twin Shadow, Chrome Sparks, or Rufus Du Sol. No matter who you catch at the Ballroom Stage, you will be sure to be entertained.
The Heat Hut will be where you want to go if you are looking to get down and dirty to some electro house and deep house. This tent will be bumping the beats that will keep your feet moving all weekend long. The highlighting artists whom are playing at the Heat Hut are: Bixel Boys, Option4 and JustinJay on Friday; Graff, J.Phlip, and MK on Saturday; and then Need & Necessity, Maxxi Soundsytem, and Andhim to close out the stage on Sunday. So be sure to groove in the Heat Hut if you’re wanting some non-stop electro house beats.
SnowBall will also feature live ice sculptures by trained artists, free water refill stations, a Vendor Village filled with tons of goodies from artisans, a Merchandise Booth to pick up SnowBall gear, food options from local restaurants to food trucks, drink options from sodas and juices to beers and cocktails, and also late night after parties to keep you going and entertained throughout the weekend. Check out the full lineup breakdown and daily schedules. Get your SnowBall tickets now because prices will go up! Advance 3-day GA and VIP tickets are still available for SnowBall here ; advance single day SnowBall tickets here.
Tantalize your ears with a taste of the music to come this year at SnowBall…
FreioMusic SnowBall 2014 Soundcloud Mix
Article and soundcloud mix created by:
David ‘Dino’ Durkin
We Like Monsters
We Like Monsters: Denver, Colorado.
I was lucky to have the opportunity to see We Like Monsters live at Moe’s BBQ in Denver during the Underground Music Showcase, a festival. These fellas are an indie band with a real unique sound & feel. The lead singer, Tim, is a standout band orchestrator with a a drum stick sticking out of his back pocket as he sings. Previously, Tim was in a band called GreenField where he sang, said Adam, the former bassist in greenfield. When he is not singing, he either plays the keyboard or triggers samples and sounds with his midi pad, as the rest of the band takes center stage. The other band members pick up the slack with their superb musicality and feel. The bassist, has a rocker’s stance, and beanie to match it. The lead keyboardist has a double stack, or two keyboards on top of each other, each with their own customized synth sounds to enable versatile timbres for melodies. If you like the music, don’t miss an opportunity to see We Like Monsters in a personable venue (before they become well known)! Have a listen and be sure to listen to the music video: “Le Tigre” (see below)
More Info:
https://soundcloud.com/welikemonsters
For All Booking Inquiries: Please email shauna@welikemonsters.com