Cougar Microbes

This year we sent some of our finest writers to witness SXSW first hand and mingle. This could have been a tale of new friendships, drunken friendships, confiscated platinum passes, lost emails and missed deadlines. Oh, and there was also a lot of music…

Rustie | Latitude 30 (Showcasing Scotland)

The morning was characterised by us trying to squeeze in some interviews. We ended up accidentally walking past the British Music Embassy just as Scottish DJ Rustie was doing his thing.

With a delighted crowd indoors all bopping their heads in unison. It was even more impressive to see a group of kids, clearly no way old enough to be inside legally, crowding around one of the venues windows and joining in the head nodding craze.

A particular highlight was his remix offering of Kendrick Lamar‘s “Backseat Freestyle” earning the loudest cheer.

WHY? | Russian House (Wuwufest 2013)

My thirst for another WHY? show was only heightened after the previous nights hit-and-miss attempt.

While Yoni Wolf and co jokingly complained about the minuscule stage at Russian House I was secretly pleased with being able to get up close with a minimum of fuss. What’s sure is that with their new touring lineup WHY? are able to recreate some of the more subtle moments on their latest “Mumps, etc” opus.

Sarai Givaty | Creekside At Hilton Garden Inn

Our next stop was at Creekside at The Hilton Garden Inn where model/actress Sarai Givaty was showcasing her newest material.

In her native Israel she is usually backed by a full band but she arrived in Austin with just her guitarist in tow in what proved to be a spark of genius. The duo’s sparse instrumentation and shared percussion duties lended a degree of fragility to her tracks, pierced only by the crowd’s applause, bringing her delicate vocals to the forefront.

Simja Dujov – Takoba (ROI Unplugged)

Over at the Takoba venue we caught Argentinian maverick Simja Dujov deliver his infectious blend of gypsy, cumbia and latin music.

Having been dubbed “the South American Manu Chao” would be an honour for many musicians but in Dujov‘s case I felt it is slightly restrictive as his music takes on so many carried elements. The one constant throughout are the upbeat chord progressions and instantly memorable melodies sung in Spanish, English and even Yiddish.

Besides his Dali-esque moustache, which won him an award at SXSW, Simja Dujov knows how to put on a good party and connect with his audiences which is why he’s constantly on the road playing wherever and whenever. Don’t be surprised if you catch him near you, wherever you are, next.

Sensual Harassment | Rusty’s (Deli Un/Off party)

Having featured Sensual Harassment on these pages in the past and with their latest EP ‘Escape From Alpha Draconis’ proving very popular at Cougar HQ i was eager to catch the band live.

We descended on Rusty‘s not quite knowing what to expect from the Brooklynites but far from disappointed. While the deceitfully catchy melodies lulled me into a false sense of security the hard-hitting rhythm section guaranteed that there wasn’t a dull moment.

The trio successfully blend elements of disco pop and 80′s new wave aesthetics into their own unique thing forcing even the biggest cynic to just dance.

I’ve been constantly humming Telstar‘s “Karate Luv” since it was first played to me at a particularly intoxicating desert jam session back in April.

The trio recently unveiled their DIY video for the track and which immediately brought to mind the humor and creativity of the Beastie Boys‘ “Sabotage” video; not a bad thing at all.

Telstar will be playing some sporadic shows this summer so be sure to check out their site.

TRACKS:

I had the wondrous opportunity to see echo-synth-noise-darkwave duo Tearist (pronounced tear like rip apart) perform at Los Angeles‘s Lyric Theater a few nights ago. As a total Tearist virgin, I was only marginally prepared for what would ultimately become an invitedly deep aural penetration. The magnetically charged female vocalist, Yasmine Kittles, took the stage with a confidence that screamed ‘please buckle up‘. However, my mind still abuzz from the incredible energy brought into the room by previous band Coming, I failed to strap in and ended up being ejected through the front windshield as we slammed into a wall of sound.

The duo channeled music & arts deepest cuts as Kittles‘ vocals fully opened up. With her diaphragm in full effect she belted a knockout blend of reverberant aural pleasure that perfectly expanded into every dark centimeter of the room. Kittles‘ counterpart, William Menchaca, stretching a flawless synth-beat canvas for her to paint the vocals across. If I was a synesthete I’m pretty sure the complete sound would’ve looked like an artistic collaboration between Dali, Pollock, and Van Gogh. Incredibly thick paint smeared, melted, and splattered, yet somehow perfectly composed.

Kittles‘ also featured a signature brand of DIY percussion that took the show to a uniquely connected level. Simply a pipe and steel cylinder that she commands, yet seems to play itself as she whacks it, drops it, and throws it. A few drops down into the audience with her found object contraption and I felt like I was a part of the operation. I hit instant recall of the toddler joy the first time I hit a cookpot with a spoon on the kitchen floor.

Bonus points for the on-stage floor fan, sending Kittles‘ hair and red dress into a rippling wave that only further complimented the audio-visual music-art experience. I look forward to the next time I get to see this duo perform. I’ll know I’m not going to a concert, but to a full scale performance art piece. It would’ve been just as well suited for a gallery exhibition at the MOMA, as the dark cold Lyric Theater. I’ll choose to remain unbuckled in the future as well, slamming into the wall of sound at full speed was perfectly fulfilling.

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Post by Karl / @Justfinethanks

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TRACKS:

As the release date for the new Daft Punk record approaches, preceded by the horrible excellent “Get Lucky” single, ‘ I feel the need to celebrate and promote my compatriot French artists.

Here are two remixes of SOHN‘s “The Wheel” and Wild Belle‘s “It’s Too Late” by parisian duo Employee Of The Year. Edouard and Romain have been making music together for a year and describe their sound as ‘slow French‘. That description works for their sound as their slowed down beat, groovy bass-lines and melodic voices are effective and highly enjoyable.

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Post by Olivia

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TRACKS:

As reported by our friends over at Fried My Little Brain (as well as pretty much everyone else with an internet connection) Daft Punk dropped a couple of teasers on us both on SNL as well as during their Coachella set.

the robotic French duo are revealing just enough to keep us all on edge without actually showing their cards yet. Still, interest in ‘Random Access Memories‘ continues to reach new heights as guest spots by the likes of Pharrell, Julian Casablancas, Nile Rodgers, Panda Bear and Giorgio Moroder (!!!) have been revealed.

‘Random Access Memories‘ is out in May… we want it now!

TRACKS:

Back in January Tycho played a pair of back-to-back shows at The Troubadour in West Hollywood.

And just so you don’t make the same mistake I did, let me clarify — though both are from San Francisco and both start with “Ty“, Tycho and Ty Segall put on two very different shows.

Yes, admittedly, I thought I was going to see a garage punk band, but ended up with possibly the furthest thing from that: Tycho‘s subdued mix of ambient tunes.

What can I say? There’s a lot of music out there that I’m ever-exploring and my wires got crossed.

No harm, no foul though.

While it was far less aggressive than the punk rock attitude I was expecting, Tycho made up for it in their extremely polished performance and chilled out vibes.

Scott Hansen, a.k.a. Tycho, is also well-known for his graphic design work. His blog, ISO50, was featured on Paste‘s Best Design Blogs of the 2012 list. For Tycho that means developing dreamy visuals of rolling surf and sand dunes, and projecting them on stage. A perfect pairing with the spacious, instrumental music: the two become natural companions, so that one informs the other.

The unexpected star of the night was Rory O’Connor, the drummer, who’s super dynamic and tight rhythms elevated the entire outfit. And it turns out Tycho isn’t the only group benefiting from his mad skills either – he also plays drums in Com Truise.

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Post by @nikki_redhead/ Nicole

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TRACKS:

Whether it is solo or as part of his Odd Future it seems Tyler, The Creator is unable to sit still for a minute. In the buildup to the recently released ‘Wolf‘ album Tyler dropped a video for “IFHY“, continuing his streak of ludicrously brilliant vids.

Having just proclaimed (rightfully) to be “dope as fuck” on last year’s “The OF Tape Vol.2” it’s exciting to see what the talented LA madman will pull out of his magic hat next.

TRACKS:

It’s been a whole while since we heard some hip hop that delivers positive vibes while remaining fiercely independent; Lucille seem to have managed just that.

Starting off as a solo project for Argentinean guitarist Izzy the band slowly grew into a veritable family; the 8-piece collective literally showing strength in numbers.

The high all round level of musicianship (particularly a horn section that sparkles stardust on everything it touches) allows for the tracks ideas to take off in multiple exciting directions. With a revolving door of talented guest female vocalists setting the tone Baltimore native MC Rebel Sun spits his confident stream of consciousness rhymes.

Picking up from where The Roots, Jurassic 5 and Dangermouse left off and adding The Gorillaz flair for surprises and dynamic changes means that no two Lucille tracks sound exactly alike.

Following the release of their “Smokin’ Soul” EP last year the band are gearing up for the release of their first full length album due next month.

Could it be that to find the heirs to The Roots throne we were supposed to look to Tel Aviv of all places? Lucille would have you believe so.

TRACKS: