I just discovered it’s American Craft Beer Week! So to celebrate (well it’s a good excuse anyway), I’ve been drinking some New Belgium – more specifically the Ranger IPA. Apparently that makes me a beer ranger.
Anyway, what I like about this beer is how it combines the citrus / floral / fruity flavors of three different hops with the dark caramel of malts. The Ranger IPA is definitely my favorite of all the New Belgium beers, and I highly recommend it.
The music of Nightmares on Wax is a big influence for me, and “Date with Destiny” is probably my favorite N.O.W. song. It’s great summer music, and the video illustrates that perfectly.
And if you like chillout music, “Les Nuits” can’t be beat.
Classic instrumental hip hop and downtempo music.
This post is for aspiring music producers. I can’t say I’m experienced enough to give a lot of advice, but I have learned a couple things. One of them is about mastering.
A while back I got to email with Bluey of Incognito about musical genres, and of course I was ecstatic about it. Well the group has just put out a new record called Surreal (which is amazing by the way), and Bluey took time to tell me about it. Part one of that interview is online now at Leisure Lab.
I write about music all the time, so I thought it might be a nice change of pace to talk about one of my other passions: beer. While I try to take all things in moderation, I do consider myself a connoisseur of IPAs, pilsners, stouts, and other brews. My love for all things ale might stem from my proximity to the beer capital of the USA, or maybe I just have a taste for the tang of hops. Either way, I like beer so it seems appropriate to share some suggestions. Maybe you’ll discover one you like too.
Just wanted to let you know you can follow me at the sites below:
The Last Resort was on the Klassik Lounge show with DJ Ralph Rosenbaum on Klassik Radio:http://www.klassikradio.de/onair/sendeformate/klassiklounge/detailsklassiklounge/playlist-ralph-rosenbaum/
I recently wrote about musical genres and sub-genres, and then shared the story with friends on my mailing list. You can imagine how exited I was when I got a direct response from Jean-Paul Maunick (aka Bluey) of Incognito!
It’s always exciting when you get to communicate with your inspirations, and I’ve had the pleasure of getting to talk with a number of them when writing for Leisure Lab. But hearing from Bluey was even bigger than that. He and Incognito helped lay the foundation for many of my favorite styles such as Nu Jazz and Broken Beat. They were at the forefront of the Acid Jazz movement, and the group has continued to make amazing music for 25 years.
So of course his input on the subject of musical genres is pretty meaningful to me, and I thought you’d be interested in it too…
Many musicians, especially independent musicians, hate genres and their associated sub genres. We argue that we don’t want to be locked into categories; we are unclassifiable in our art. We defy categorization.
When we meet people and they ask us what kind of music we make, we tell them we can’t be labeled with any particular style. In fact, we have such disdain for these labels, we’re offended when anyone attempts to categorize our music, even if that listener or critic likes what she hears. Why is that?
Continue reading
“The Last Resort” was featured on the Future Beats Show. Check it out here.