2014 is just 12 hours away. With or without resolutions, 2014 signifies a new calender year. A fresh page to begin life a little bit different, to make some major changes, or perhaps you're one of those people that is headstrong to stay exactly the same. A new year is what you make of it.

Champagne is flowing all over the world today. And in the words of Francis Bacon, these words I say nearly every time I have a flute in hand or am slugging from the bottle:


Tonight, the Igloo crew is presenting a New Year's Eve party: Reanimate. If you caught the previous post, I had the pleasure of interviewing Toronto DJ Mix Chopin, in addition to Buffalo-native gone West Coast, Neil Kryszak. Local favorites will fill the themed rooms of an undisclosed warehouse from 10 p.m. - 7 a.m. (Call the info-number to find out the location: 716-217-1752).

Click the following link for more information and to see the truly remarkable avatar artwork of all the DJs performing during the event, done by local artist Mickey Harmon.


This event is BYOB.

Cheers!

Odd Future Wolf Gang Kill Them All is a Los Angeles based collective of 20-somethings who have made music their hustle with a focus on friendship, many of them often with a blunt in hand. Crafted by rapper and multi-talented artist Tyler, The Creator, Odd Future is a growing organism; there is no definitive line for the crew's success and exploration. "It's been alive for like, 17 years," said OF member Hodgy Beats. "Tyler made it up when he was five, and it became official around high school." MellowHype is a duo project started by members Left Brain and Hodgy Beats. Domo Genesis joined the mix, and on Oct. 31, they released their debut album as MellowHigh.

Domo Genesis

"We made a couple songs, just me, Hodgy and Left on them. We were like, yo these are sick ... everybody else agreed," Domo said. "We had a little home studio so we started hanging out more, said you know what, we should just do a project, and started fucking with it." The self-titled album MellowHigh was supposed to be released as a mixtape, but turned album after receiving positive feedback, according to Domo.

"Well, I got trouble on my mind but no emotions on my sleeve,  

I heard that love'll get you killed, so who gone show some love for me?

Fucking never need it, push against the grain until my fingers bleeding. 

Smoking weed and tweaking trying to figure out a deeper meaning." 

He said the song is nearly two years old, the second oldest track on the album, next to "Nobody." He said this was a track to show the complexity of their writing. "It's something that we made, and we liked. We gotta put this on something and we finally had an album to drop it."

Mixing personal and business has every potential to backfire, but the crew seems to have it figured out. "These are just my friends. These really are my friends, you know what I'm saying?" Domo said. "Before we did music or anything we were all just hanging out, so it didn't really mean much more than just a normal friendship. These are the things we do. When it comes to money and distribution and stuff like that, we're gonna do it all fair and easy because these are my homies." When tensity comes in, they remember their bond. "We have stuff," he said. "But we all come together. And be like, 'yo, you guys are tripping.' We're homies and we're gonna stay that way."

The interview with Domo, Hodgy Beats and Left Brain clearly shows they take their business serious, but with trolls, jokes and sincere conversation, it's undeniable these guys know how to be good friends and live lightly. The phone was then passed to Hodgy, who proceeded to tell me I sounded like I like Sour Patch Kids. "I love Sour Patch Kids," I said. "You must be cool," he responded. After he asked me about which was my favorite color (I said green) he said "Aight, yeah the green and red are the best kind."

Hodgy Beats

One of the first members, from Trenton, N.J. and only 23 years old, I asked Hodgy if he ever saw himself getting to this level of fame. "Shit, I don't know what level of fame or anything I'm on. I try to keep it as normal as possible."

"There's like a chemistry or something in the air, and it just worked out. We all know each other," Hodgy said, and that he's excited to see what comes next for MellowHigh and the rest of the Wolf Gang. "I think me and Tyler are gonna work together a little bit more ... see what comes from that. Everybody works together, it's just hard to find time nowadays because people are busy."

As I heard him tell someone passing out food on the bus "the no tomato's is mine," I asked him what it's like being on tour. "It's awesome. There's not that many people at all. All the attention is on MellowHigh." For this tour, the select city's promoters arrange for the show openers. "Mhm, we have them niggas do it," Hodgy said. For future record tours, they plan on picking their own.

"Why do you love music?"
"I think it's because I've been around it for so long. My dad used to make music, some members in my family used to sing. So it's what I've gravitated towards," Hodgy said.

Odd Future has become much more than just music. In addition to record releases, cities have been hit with Odd Future Sweatshop pop-up stores, the crew gets weird in their show Loiter Squad on Adult Swim, has been featured at The Berrics for the entertaining Text Yoself Beefo Yo Wreck Yoself, ghost ride the whip for the Bay Area influenced "Hyphy" video, and apparently has an upcoming film release in the works, and that's just scratching the surface of their grind.


With a voice deeper than hell, Left Brain spoke to me last. He was playing Call of Duty: Ghosts as we talked about how he came into OF.

"Well, I had no friends," he said, as either Domo or Hodgy laughed in the background. "And we just became friends, since like, 2006."

Since the album dropped, he said he's not sure how the sales are but that the tour is doing pretty well. The best show, in his opinion, was the first show in Dallas, Texas. "There was a lot of people, it was a sold out show. It was turnt up, I was really surprised because the album wasn't out when we went and did that show ... and people still came out."

Left Brain

I asked him if he ever saw himself getting to their current level.
"Yeah, I did. Yeah I did. I know who I am. I know, who I am. People know who I am. We were on this level at first, then we bumped up to the next level. Now we've got our album. It's just levels. You can't really go down in the levels. You go down, you're moving backwards."

Left Brain had an unmovable certainty with his words. "We just wanted to know, to be out here in the industry a little bit. We got our own label, we our own bosses, so tryna get out in the industry, and just fucking take over. There's a lot of names that's hot right now, they're not bosses though. They're just working under people and shit. We doing our own thing, working your own business, tryna establish our own business, make our own money."

"Slow motion's better than no motion," he said.

"Why do you love music?"
"Because, it makes me move, my body. I want to move my body. I don't know anything else, I want to move my body. It's a source of energy. When music turns on, people start moving. When you turn the light on, the fucking room is bright. It's like a source of energy. And I like it."

I heard one of the guys yell in the background "I'm going in on this burrito" and Left Brain abruptly hung up after trolling that they were headed to Nevada and said "What is there to do out there in Reno, Nevada. I hope something out here is fun, we've never been out here. Pretty random."

MellowHigh will make a tour stop in Buffalo at The Waiting Room on Saturday, Dec. 7 presented by After Dark Entertainment. Odd Future was here last September and Tyler, The Creator soon followed in March. "Buffalo, N.Y.? Yeah I was there, it was so cold," Hodgy said. "As long as I'm not freezing my ass off, we're gonna have a great show."

Domo, Hodgy and Left Brain: if you thought that was cold, get ready for a December night in Buffalo.

Sleigh Bells - Rochester - Nov. 2012 - Photo by Alicia Greco

To see inside the mind of Sleigh Bells, is to see a beacon in the dark. Guitarist and lyricist Derek Miller was working as a waiter seeking a new music venture after he left hardcore group Poison the Well. While waiting on a table he was introduced to Alexis Krauss by Krauss' mother. What could be considered fate, or the perfect story of an artistic relationship stemmed from boy-meets-girl, was not considered so through the eyes of Miller.

"I don't necessarily believe in fate," he said. He was working hard at the time to find a female vocalist and as he said, "created conditions to make it more likely."

Krauss was an experienced vocalist from an early age after performing in RubyBlue, a teen pop girl band. After developing their sound, the revolutionary M.I.A. sought them out to be signed to her record label N.E.E.T. Recordings. She contacted a "Derek," who although was the wrong person with the same name coincidentally knew Sleigh Bells' Miller. Already critically acclaimed and unsigned by only releasing singles, Krauss and Miller signed to M.I.A.'s label in 2010 and released their debut album, Treats.

Sleigh Bells ascended to worldwide tours and went on to be covered by highly-esteemed publications and productions ranging from the cover of SPIN Magazine to an encounter with cultured explorer Anthony Bourdain on his show "No Reservations."

"I don't consider touring strenuous," Miller said. "I like it, it's great. It's a privilege. You get to play shows every night, just going out for blocks at a time ... it's a great experience."


Rather than being singled out by a floodlight spot, Sleigh Bells performs with staggered strobes and while Krauss wails sweet and sexy croons through the microphone, Miller is found by her side hammering riffs through the stacked speakers that are powerfully lined behind them. He steps closer to the gate blockade separating the stage platform from the group of aggressive dancers, and becomes enraptured.

"On a great night, everybody's on the same page. You approach being in the moment, and you're not thinking about anything else. Not thinking about before or after, you just sort of disappear. I don't want to romanticize it but ... when that happens, it's pretty special," Miller reminisced. "You can't pay to have that experience. You can't pay to have people show up in a room for a record you made. It has to just happen."

It is clear that almost each musician has some type of expiration date; a time when their music is irrelevant and they can't keep up, or when life plans veer away from record releases and tours with sleep-deprived international flights through changing time zones. "You don't make records forever," he said. "You can make music forever."

Although some fame tends to radiate an untouchable hue, we are all human. This is a characteristic Sleigh Bells embodies. Miller relates to those who have hit rock bottom, those who have been left helpless from the uncontrollable tribulations. These moments left him deeply inspired, especially for their 2012 album Reign of Terror.

"Life happened to me. I've just had my fair share of horrible things happen to me throughout my life," he said. "A lot of things come close to killing you and you quickly lapse into cliché ... 'what doesn't kill you makes you stronger' ... and those clichés happen for a reason."

"I have an internal dialogue that never really shuts off, and I'm really hard on myself. Truth be told, I could probably use a little more ego. It'd probably be healthy," he said and then swiftly reconsiders. "I don't think I'd have a career if it wasn't for that side of me."

Miller is the sole-lyricist for Sleigh Bells, although he said he will alter and won't write anything that Krauss would be uncomfortable singing. He said their newest album release, Bitter Rivals, is unlike past productions. "Bitter Rivals comes from a different place, a much less depressed place. It just feels different to me, it feels that it's coming from somewhere a little less tortured."

The official video of the title track was released in the beginning of September; the album dropped a month later in early October. I asked Miller to delve into the meaning of one of the tracks, "Young Legends." As expected, he said he prefers people interpret among themselves. The raw inspiration behind the tune, however, was about the people who have tremendous amount of talent, that "never get a chance to develop it, for whatever reason."

"I knew that I had all of these ideas, I knew what I could accomplish," he said. The odds seemed so against him, he said. There are so many people "who never find the 'x' factor, that other component." This is a mindset not limited to just music. Krauss sings "Young legends die, all the time, but I don't mind."

"The chorus is sort of sarcastic ... it's a lie," Miller said. He told a story about a time in his life when he felt lost, and was searching for his footing; this is an experience familiar to anyone aspiring for true greatness. His mother would ask him where his life was going. "I was like 'I'll fucking figure it out,'" he said.

He did indeed.

Since, he has been pouring his creativity into Sleigh Bells, even down to the merchandise. Veering away from the technological sprawl of today's world and appealing to the vinyl diggers, Miller developed and designed the record artistry for each Sleigh Bells album. The package is comprised by pull-outs of photos taken by Miller himself, each one complimenting to the theme and vibe of the album's sound. "I know what I like," he said. "I like to think there's some kids out there that have them pinned to their wall."

"Reign of Terror" Photo by Alicia Greco

I asked him, why does he love music?

"I couldn't possibly sum that up in a sentence. For as long as I can remember it has been the most important thing in my life. I loved music since the age of 5 or 6, it's just been the center of my life. I love it to death, I don't know why. It's like trying to explain why you like a certain flavor or certain color; you're just drawn to it."


Sleigh Bells will be performing Thursday, Nov. 14 at Town Ballroom. Tickets can be purchased here.

Ally
We're good girls...  

My school district offers harp as a stringed instrument to start on in 3rd grade, so I chose it and took lessons through my school! I got a private teacher in 4th grade.
Wakin' On A Pretty Daze by Kurt Vile for sure!!
It is! Last year we toured around the east coast near New York and this year is the total opposite... Cruising around the south all the way to Phoenix. We are supporting Filligar, an awesome band from Chicago. If you haven't checked them out, their newest album Hexagon just dropped and it sounds great.
We just released a single, "Feels Like Forever," but expect more this winter.


Elliott Smith and Sufjan Stevens were definitely my biggest influences for the album that was released in 2012. I wrote most of those songs in high school and those artists are all I listened to!
Any songs meaning anything someone else has written? Definitely not, I love listening to songs by artists I love. I don't usually listen to my own music haha except for when I'm listening to mixes, or when a song is finished. After recording...you get sick of your songs pretty fast.
Going back to school! We all have one more year left of college.
I would like to hope I've matured musically over the past 3 years of college. The band has been adding a lot of new sounds that you can only hear live until we release more. The sound of my next album will be very different than the first.
Get my back up off the wall!