WAR DESK / SEND ORDER
OBJECTIVE: RESPONSE → LISTEN → MOVEMENT.
RULE: the research panel is intelligence, not body copy. Use the named pitch family unless the individual research gives you a better human opening.
HILLHURST / RADIO + DISCOVERY: the anecdote is the hook. Do not explain its moral. Let them infer it.
DISTRIBUTION / MOVEMENT: for people with access to labels, licensing, rooms, catalogs, placement, or other chokepoints. The problem is movement, not upload.
PARTICULAR THING: artists, producers, visual people: specific recipient rationale → specific song → object.
NO APOLOGY. NO “IF YOU HAVE TIME.” NO INSTITUTIONAL BIOGRAPHY. NO FAKE FAMILIARITY.FLOW: SEARCH → READ INTELLIGENCE → CHECK PITCH FAMILY → COPY SUBJECT → COPY BODY → SEND. Every card retains the track rationale and contact route. Recipient-facing copy is intentionally spare.
ALBUM INTELLIGENCE — 16-TRACK TARGETING MAP
Derived from the recording/production guide; release titles/order normalized to the finished LP. This is the routing logic behind the recommended track on each contact card.
Another Clock Song
Piano and bass in the middle ground, rainy jazz-café air, elegant reverb, Doors/Floyd shadows, clocks and mirrored rooms.
CONCEPT — apophenia, clocks reversing, mirrored rooms, the veil of Maya / Atman / Brahman, revelation and ‘the light’
REFERENCE LOGIC — Doors / Pink Floyd atmosphere; piano and bass as co-equal middle-ground narrators
ROUTE TO — psychedelic, psych, art rock, piano, jazz, mysticism, occult, spiritual, doors, pink floyd
Celestial Sighs
Sparkling piano, an oversized pop/R&B melody, active drums and heavy chorus guitars; uplift with something badly wrong underneath.
CONCEPT — information feeds, desire, alien distance, getting off the apps and back into embodied life; a nervous-system hijack disguised as uplift
REFERENCE LOGIC — System of a Down at the wrong speed; melodramatic R&B/pop; ‘Un-Break My Heart’ was jokingly invoked
ROUTE TO — art pop, weird pop, r&b, pop, system of a down, alternative metal, melodic, female, uplifting, technology
Southerly
Funereal piano, martial drums, island-bounce guitar and a violent weather-system ending.
CONCEPT — wind, hell, supernatural descent, as-above/so-below logic, breakup fragments and romantic murder-on-a-houseboat unease
REFERENCE LOGIC — Yann Tiersen & Shannon Wright; Tori Amos ‘Spark’; David Pajo; Smashing Pumpkins; Deftones ‘Battle Axe’
ROUTE TO — tori amos, deftones, david pajo, smashing pumpkins, haunted, gothic, supernatural, piano, post-hardcore, art rock
Space/Time
Foreground acoustic guitar, moving bass, wide lead guitar and an aching island-psych ballad shape.
CONCEPT — distance, longing, fate, fortune, space versus time and candy-heart intimacy that arrives after the damage
REFERENCE LOGIC — Brian Jonestown Massacre ‘Anemone’; Scott Walker ‘The Old Man’s Back Again’
ROUTE TO — brian jonestown massacre, scott walker, psych, psychedelic, ballad, romance, love, acoustic, bass, cinematic
Muffler
QOTSA urgency, Kyuss drag, revving guitars and drums that keep climbing.
CONCEPT — muffler shops, porno stores, dive bars, lingerie, boredom, exploitation, velocity, money and bad decisions
REFERENCE LOGIC — QOTSA ‘Millionaire’; Kyuss; Judas Priest ‘Painkiller’; a flash of ‘Sweet Child o’ Mine’
ROUTE TO — qotsa, queens of the stone age, kyuss, stoner, desert rock, hard rock, metal, wrestling, stripper, nightlife
T.T.M.S.
Low hypnotic piano, dub/reggae undertow, airy space, boomy bass and a slow climb into melancholic victory.
CONCEPT — emptiness, self-address, lonely streets, comic damnation and the strange relief of everything finally being ‘all clear’
REFERENCE LOGIC — Ryuichi Sakamoto ‘Merry Christmas Mr. Lawrence’; Low ‘Down’; Coldplay ‘The Scientist’
ROUTE TO — slowcore, ambient, dub, reggae, low, ryuichi sakamoto, coldplay, minimal, melancholy, 3am
HORS
Brasil ’66 bounce, P-Funk looseness, soul grit, Bowie-stutter detail and a bass-first LA groove.
CONCEPT — glitter turning to grime, palm trees/lifelines, luxury and violence, favors, double taps, survival and LA appetite
REFERENCE LOGIC — Sergio Mendes & Brasil ’66; Bobby ‘Blue’ Bland ‘Ain’t No Love in the Heart of the City’; Parliament/Funkadelic
ROUTE TO — funk, p-funk, parliament, soul, brazil, brasil 66, sergio mendes, bobby blue bland, hip-hop, crime
Pink Diamonds
Slow, narcotic repetition: Three 6 Mafia syrup under a blunt, bright hook.
CONCEPT — diamond life, ordinary love, status appetite, contempt and sudden violence
REFERENCE LOGIC — Three 6 Mafia ‘Sippin’ on Some Syrup’
ROUTE TO — three 6 mafia, hip-hop, rap, trap, southern rap, luxury, diamonds, club, slow, narcotic
Neo Noir
Piano and round bass, whispered doubles, spatialized vocal phrases and synth possibility; Faith No More / Mr. Bungle / Melanie De Biasio in the production constellation.
CONCEPT — Dior, Piero Piccioni, Cipriani, psychoactive teachers, silver orchards, color-coded luxury and an overheated cosmopolitan night
REFERENCE LOGIC — Faith No More / Mr. Bungle / Melanie De Biasio; Radiohead ‘Everything in Its Right Place’ as synth-production thought
ROUTE TO — noir, neo noir, film, cinema, sync, trip hop, melanie de biasio, faith no more, mr bungle, radiohead
Selling It
A short anti-product song about being tired of selling the story; it gets in, makes the point and leaves.
CONCEPT — being tired of selling the story, offensive product, Lennon on clearance, Hathaway jealousy, death on Mars and wanting off-world
REFERENCE LOGIC — the production guide gives no explicit reference track; the lyric itself is the organizing device
ROUTE TO — satire, industry, music industry, spotify, streaming, capitalism, advertising, media, criticism, punk
Slow Motion
A long post-hardcore/art-rock slow burn: clean-to-scream dynamics, questioning bass, delay architecture and a Morphine undertow.
CONCEPT — difficulty moving, improvising a life, perceptual drag, drowning shallowly and the ambiguity of ‘liked it / lied’
REFERENCE LOGIC — At the Drive-In / Glassjaw feel; Morphine ‘Hanging on a Curtain’
ROUTE TO — glassjaw, at the drive-in, post-hardcore, emo, hardcore, morphine, alternative, screaming, dynamic, guitar
Impro
A loose jazz-funk / neo-soul vamp built on pocket, repetition and conversational tension.
CONCEPT — mutual knowing, social surveillance and the loop of ‘you know that I know that you know’
REFERENCE LOGIC — Nikka Costa ‘Like a Feather’
ROUTE TO — funk, neo soul, soul, jazz, vamp, groove, nikka costa, dj, bass, hip-hop
Setagaya
Danceable elegiac guitar music: swirling piano, intricate drums, Swervedriver/Chameleons guitars, huge choruses and 5AM light.
CONCEPT — the ghost of a party’s end, champagne/MDMA haze, afters, occult fragments, beauty/disaster and the decision whether to keep going
REFERENCE LOGIC — Swervedriver ‘Rave Down’; The Chameleons ‘Perfume Garden’
ROUTE TO — swervedriver, chameleons, shoegaze, post-punk, rave, dance, guitar, 5am, party, nightlife
Lemon Zest
Dark synth-rock relationship collapse built on a Depeche Mode skeleton: stripped-down body-versus-mind tension.
CONCEPT — mind-reading failure, drinking, sinking, body without rest, wages garnished, fellowship broken and abandonment at the altar
REFERENCE LOGIC — Depeche Mode ‘Stripped’
ROUTE TO — depeche mode, darkwave, synthpop, goth, industrial, relationship, breakup, body, mind, altar
Tentacoli
Heavy art-rock held tight until it breaks open: intelligible sung text against mass, then the larger violent release.
CONCEPT — being above law/clouds, stacked bands, touring as shroud, slackened lines, irreversible loss and the command to be taken down
REFERENCE LOGIC — no explicit reference track in the production guide; the key direction is dynamic rupture and intelligible text inside weight
ROUTE TO — heavy, metal, hardcore, noise, post-hardcore, dynamic, screaming, touring, loss, industrial
Throwaway Lines
World-weary piano/strings art-rock: intimate social exhaustion, dub-echo detail and a Mer de Noms-scale ending.
CONCEPT — time loss, social exhaustion, pay-to-play, cameras and critics, everyone bought and sold, stale stories, spells, loneliness and finally ‘STOP’
REFERENCE LOGIC — A Perfect Circle ‘Mer de Noms’ atmosphere at the climax; dub tape echo as production detail
ROUTE TO — lyrics, literary, writing, criticism, media, pay to play, music industry, a perfect circle, piano, strings
#1
Carmela Michaeli
Music Director / Social Media & Web Director, KXLU
Los Angeles, CA
RADIO / DJPHYSICAL: SENDI — IMMEDIATERESEARCHED
VERIFIED RESEARCH HOOK WEB-VERIFIED PITCH: HILLHURST / RADIO
The recent New York Times piece on KXLU’s role as a discovery station and the attention it gives music outside the commercial-radio pipeline.
WHY THIS TRACK — Piano and round bass, whispered doubles, spatialized vocal phrases, synth possibility; Faith No More / Mr. Bungle / Melanie De Biasio in the production constellation.
SUBJECTField report: The Radio
#2
Michael Stock
Host / promoter, Part Time Punks; professor, SCI-Arc
Los Angeles, CA
LIVE / BOOKINGPHYSICAL: SENDI — IMMEDIATERESEARCHED
VERIFIED RESEARCH HOOK WEB-VERIFIED PITCH: DISTRIBUTION / MOVEMENT
Part Time Punks is still programming the exact collision this record lives near: post-punk, shoegaze, grunge, industrial, experimental music and the stranger edges of college rock.
WHY THIS TRACK — Danceable elegiac guitar music: swirling piano, intricate drums, Swervedriver/Chameleons guitars, huge choruses and 5AM light.
SUBJECTWe’ve got distribution problems
#3
Alejandro Cohen
Director of Music Content / Music Director, KCRW
Los Angeles, CA
RADIO / DJPHYSICAL: SENDI — IMMEDIATERESEARCHED
VERIFIED RESEARCH HOOK WEB-VERIFIED PITCH: HILLHURST / RADIO
Your recent KCRW selections have moved comfortably from the Flying Lizards and Mexican Institute of Sound to Boards of Canada and GiGi FM; that kind of cross-format sequencing is why I’m sending this rather than trying to reduce the record to one genre.
WHY THIS TRACK — Piano and round bass, whispered doubles, spatialized vocal phrases, synth possibility; Faith No More / Mr. Bungle / Melanie De Biasio in the production constellation.
SUBJECTThe Radio
#4
Andrew Maxwell
General Manager / Director, 2220 Arts + Archives
Los Angeles, CA
CURATOR / OTHERPHYSICAL: SENDI — IMMEDIATERESEARCHED
VERIFIED RESEARCH HOOK WEB-VERIFIED PITCH: HILLHURST / DISCOVERY
2220 programs non-commercial, adventurous work across music, film and language-centered arts, including hybrid and uncategorizable forms.
WHY THIS TRACK — Low hypnotic piano, dub/reggae undertow, airy space, boomy bass and a long gradual ascent.
SUBJECTField report: The Radio
#5
Lance Barresi
Owner, Permanent Records / Permanent Records Roadhouse
Los Angeles, CA
LIVE / BOOKINGPHYSICAL: SENDI — IMMEDIATERESEARCHED
VERIFIED RESEARCH HOOK WEB-VERIFIED PITCH: DISTRIBUTION / MOVEMENT
Permanent’s history of hand-picking loud, psychedelic, muddy and weird records — plus your own time in Endless Bummer and Heavy Times — makes the heavier side of this record a natural first move.
WHY THIS TRACK — QOTSA urgency, Kyuss drag, revving guitars, rising drums and a little Painkiller-era metal in the bloodstream.
SUBJECTWe’ve got distribution problems
#6
Brett Koehn
KXLU General Manager; co-host/producer, A Fistful of Vinyl
Los Angeles, CA
RADIO / DJPHYSICAL: SENDI — IMMEDIATERESEARCHED
VERIFIED RESEARCH HOOK WEB-VERIFIED PITCH: HILLHURST / RADIO
A Fistful of Vinyl has built its platform around under-appreciated DIY artists and unusually human performances and interviews — from Defeater and Laura Jane Grace to milo and William Tyler.
WHY THIS TRACK — QOTSA urgency, Kyuss drag, revving guitars, rising drums and a little Painkiller-era metal in the bloodstream.
SUBJECTThe Radio
#7
Chris Sanley
Music Director, KEXP
— / verify
RADIO / DJPHYSICAL: NOI — IMMEDIATERESEARCHED
VERIFIED RESEARCH HOOK WEB-VERIFIED PITCH: HILLHURST / RADIO
Your recent KEXP recommendations ranging from Ratboys and Robyn to Hemi Hemingway, Shn Shn and WORKS; the point seems to be discovery rather than protecting a format.
WHY THIS TRACK — Piano and round bass, whispered doubles, spatialized vocal phrases, synth possibility; Faith No More / Mr. Bungle / Melanie De Biasio in the production constellation.
SUBJECTField report: The Radio
#8
Alex Ruder
Associate Music Director / DJ, KEXP
Los Angeles, CA
RADIO / DJPHYSICAL: SENDI — IMMEDIATERESEARCHED
VERIFIED RESEARCH HOOK WEB-VERIFIED PITCH: HILLHURST / RADIO
Pacific Notions is explicitly built around neo-classical, ambient, downtempo, new age, post-rock and other atmospheric music; you’ve also used the show to connect heavy distortion, jazz and field recordings to that ambient frame.
WHY THIS TRACK — Low hypnotic piano, dub/reggae undertow, airy space, boomy bass and a long gradual ascent.
SUBJECTHillhurst / The Radio
#9
Lauren Segura
Executive Director, dublab
— / verify
RADIO / DJPHYSICAL: NOI — IMMEDIATERESEARCHED
VERIFIED RESEARCH HOOK WEB-VERIFIED PITCH: HILLHURST / RADIO
Dublab’s programming has always made room for music, special projects and cultural work that doesn’t need to resolve into a conventional radio format.
WHY THIS TRACK — Bass-first cosmic funk: Brasil ’66 bounce, P-Funk looseness, blue-eyed soul grit and Bowie-stutter tricks.
SUBJECTThe Radio
#10
J.Rocc
DJ, KCRW; Beat Junkies
Los Angeles, CA
RADIO / DJPHYSICAL: SENDI — IMMEDIATERESEARCHED
VERIFIED RESEARCH HOOK WEB-VERIFIED PITCH: HILLHURST / RADIO
Your KCRW show is explicitly built around what’s next, overlooked and timeless; a recent set moved through Arthur Russell, Cleo Sol and Stevie Wonder without treating those worlds as incompatible.
WHY THIS TRACK — Bass-first cosmic funk: Brasil ’66 bounce, P-Funk looseness, blue-eyed soul grit and Bowie-stutter tricks.
SUBJECTField report: The Radio
#11
Olive Kimoto
DJ, KCRW and NTS; musician
Los Angeles, CA
RADIO / DJPHYSICAL: SENDI — IMMEDIATERESEARCHED
VERIFIED RESEARCH HOOK WEB-VERIFIED PITCH: HILLHURST / RADIO
Liquid Mirror has been moving between shoegaze, dream pop, trip-hop, ambient and experimental electronics, and your work with Locust makes the trip-hop connection unusually literal here.
WHY THIS TRACK — Piano and round bass, whispered doubles, spatialized vocal phrases, synth possibility; Faith No More / Mr. Bungle / Melanie De Biasio in the production constellation.
SUBJECTHillhurst / The Radio
#12
Blake Robin (LUXXURY)
Artist / producer / DJ, KCRW
Los Angeles, CA
RADIO / DJPHYSICAL: SENDI — IMMEDIATERESEARCHED
VERIFIED RESEARCH HOOK WEB-VERIFIED PITCH: HILLHURST / RADIO
Your KCRW sets deliberately erase the line between post-punk, dub, disco, darkwave, stoner rock and dance music; that structural collision is much closer to this album than any single genre tag.
WHY THIS TRACK — Dark synth/rock intimacy: stripped-down body-versus-mind tension on a Depeche Mode ‘Stripped’ skeleton.
SUBJECTThe Radio
#13
John Tejada
DJ / composer / professor, KCRW / CalArts
Los Angeles, CA
FILM / SYNCPHYSICAL: SENDI — IMMEDIATERESEARCHED
VERIFIED RESEARCH HOOK WEB-VERIFIED PITCH: DISTRIBUTION / MOVEMENT
Your current KCRW show is built around connecting deep electronic cuts and future sounds across eras, with flow and discovery carrying more weight than genre boundaries.
WHY THIS TRACK — Low hypnotic piano, dub/reggae undertow, airy space, boomy bass and a long gradual ascent.
SUBJECTDistribution is movement
#14
Novena Carmel
Host, Morning Becomes Eclectic / KCRW
Los Angeles, CA
RADIO / DJPHYSICAL: SENDI — IMMEDIATERESEARCHED
VERIFIED RESEARCH HOOK WEB-VERIFIED PITCH: HILLHURST / RADIO
Morning Becomes Eclectic is still genuinely open-format — recent shows have put Jill Scott, Prince, Cate Le Bon, Bob Marley and David Lynch-related material into the same broadcast world.
WHY THIS TRACK — Bass-first cosmic funk: Brasil ’66 bounce, P-Funk looseness, blue-eyed soul grit and Bowie-stutter tricks.
SUBJECTHillhurst / The Radio
#15
Peanut Butter Wolf (Chris Manak)
Founder, Stones Throw; DJ, KCRW
Los Angeles, CA
RADIO / DJPHYSICAL: SENDI — IMMEDIATERESEARCHED
VERIFIED RESEARCH HOOK WEB-VERIFIED PITCH: HILLHURST / RADIO
Your current KCRW show literally describes its mandate as digging through 50,000 records and unreleased music to favor the underdog; recent sets have moved from Arthur Russell and Os Mutantes to new Stones Throw material.
WHY THIS TRACK — Bass-first cosmic funk: Brasil ’66 bounce, P-Funk looseness, blue-eyed soul grit and Bowie-stutter tricks.
SUBJECTThe Radio
#16
Patrick Clarke
Deputy Editor, The Quietus
— / verify
PRESS / CRITICPHYSICAL: NOI — IMMEDIATERESEARCHED
VERIFIED RESEARCH HOOK WEB-VERIFIED PITCH: HILLHURST / DISCOVERY
Your current work at The Quietus crosses folk, noise, experimental music and artists who refuse clean genre distinctions; your YHWH Nailgun feature explicitly framed transcendence and physical impact as compatible aims.
WHY THIS TRACK — Long-breath post-hardcore/art-rock: clean-to-scream dynamics, questioning bass, delay architecture, intense midrange guitars and a Morphine undertow.
SUBJECTField report: The Radio
#17
Luke Turner
Co-editor, The Quietus
— / verify
PRESS / CRITICPHYSICAL: NOI — IMMEDIATERESEARCHED
VERIFIED RESEARCH HOOK WEB-VERIFIED PITCH: HILLHURST / DISCOVERY
The Quietus has always been strongest when music and writing are allowed to bleed into everything else; Out of the Woods makes that connection between listening, landscape and prose especially explicit.
WHY THIS TRACK — World-weary piano/strings art-rock: intimate opening, dub echo in the drums and a wide Mer de Noms-scale guitar climax.
SUBJECTHillhurst / The Radio
#18
John Doran
Editor (Features), The Quietus
— / verify
PRESS / CRITICPHYSICAL: NOI — IMMEDIATERESEARCHED
VERIFIED RESEARCH HOOK WEB-VERIFIED PITCH: HILLHURST / DISCOVERY
You’ve described records like Hex Enduction Hour, Pornography, Reign in Blood and Why Do They Call Me Mr Happy? as music that pushes you into a darker writing headspace.
WHY THIS TRACK — Piano and round bass, whispered doubles, spatialized vocal phrases, synth possibility; Faith No More / Mr. Bungle / Melanie De Biasio in the production constellation.
SUBJECTThe Radio
#19
Bobby Barry
Reviews Editor, The Quietus
— / verify
PRESS / CRITICPHYSICAL: NOI — IMMEDIATERESEARCHED
VERIFIED RESEARCH HOOK WEB-VERIFIED PITCH: HILLHURST / DISCOVERY
Your recent Quietus work ranges from Terry Riley and contemporary composition to art writing; that breadth is why I’m treating the record as more than a rock submission.
WHY THIS TRACK — Piano and round bass, whispered doubles, spatialized vocal phrases, synth possibility; Faith No More / Mr. Bungle / Melanie De Biasio in the production constellation.
SUBJECTField report: The Radio
#20
Joseph Stannard
Writer / review-submissions contact, The Wire
— / verify
PRESS / CRITICPHYSICAL: NOI — IMMEDIATERESEARCHED
VERIFIED RESEARCH HOOK WEB-VERIFIED PITCH: HILLHURST / DISCOVERY
The Wire’s value is precisely that it treats sound, composition and experimental music as things worth sustained attention rather than content units.
WHY THIS TRACK — Piano and round bass, whispered doubles, spatialized vocal phrases, synth possibility; Faith No More / Mr. Bungle / Melanie De Biasio in the production constellation.
SUBJECTHillhurst / The Radio
#21
Mikael Wood
Pop Music Critic, Los Angeles Times
Los Angeles, CA
PRESS / CRITICPHYSICAL: SENDI — IMMEDIATERESEARCHED
VERIFIED RESEARCH HOOK WEB-VERIFIED PITCH: HILLHURST / DISCOVERY
Your LA Times beat is broad enough to move from major pop to stranger rock records without pretending the categories are sealed off from one another.
WHY THIS TRACK — Sparkling piano, an enormous pop/R&B melody, active drums and heavy chorus guitars at deliberately wrong scale.
SUBJECTThe Radio
#22
Molly Majorack
Talent Buyer, Teragram Ballroom
Los Angeles, CA
LIVE / BOOKINGPHYSICAL: SENDI — IMMEDIATERESEARCHED
VERIFIED RESEARCH HOOK WEB-VERIFIED PITCH: DISTRIBUTION / MOVEMENT
You came to the Teragram after buying for the Observatory, Constellation Room, House of Blues Anaheim and other Southern California rooms, with the explicit brief of helping artists move through a real LA growth path.
WHY THIS TRACK — Funereal piano, martial drums, island-bounce guitar, airy vocals and a violent weather-system ending.
SUBJECTDistribution is movement
#23
Jedd Caballero (Noise Etc.)
DIY promoter / DJ / filmmaker
Los Angeles, CA
FILM / SYNCPHYSICAL: SENDI — IMMEDIATERESEARCHED
VERIFIED RESEARCH HOOK WEB-VERIFIED PITCH: DISTRIBUTION / MOVEMENT
Noise Etc has been building stacked LA bills around emerging local and touring acts, while Heads Etc brings musicians and DJs together for loose live mixes and conversation rather than polished industry presentation.
WHY THIS TRACK — Volatile heavy art-rock: intelligible sung text held against mass, then a larger violent release.
SUBJECTWe’ve got distribution problems
#24
Jamie Strong
Co-founder, Innovative Leisure
Los Angeles, CA
LABEL / INDUSTRYPHYSICAL: SENDI — IMMEDIATERESEARCHED
VERIFIED RESEARCH HOOK WEB-VERIFIED PITCH: DISTRIBUTION / MOVEMENT
Innovative Leisure was built around the idea that soul, funk, jazz, hip-hop, garage rock, house, disco, punk and psychedelic music can coexist on one label if the records are good enough; that is unusually close to the logic of this album.
WHY THIS TRACK — Piano and round bass, whispered doubles, spatialized vocal phrases, synth possibility; Faith No More / Mr. Bungle / Melanie De Biasio in the production constellation.
SUBJECTDistribution vs. Warehousing
#25
Lily Baehr
Program Director, KXLU
Los Angeles, CA
RADIO / DJPHYSICAL: SENDI — IMMEDIATERESEARCHED
VERIFIED RESEARCH HOOK WEB-VERIFIED PITCH: HILLHURST / RADIO
As KXLU’s Program Director, you’re working inside a station whose value is still discovery through human programming rather than format discipline; this record is specifically built to reward that kind of listening.
WHY THIS TRACK — Sparkling piano, an enormous pop/R&B melody, active drums and heavy chorus guitars at deliberately wrong scale.
SUBJECTField report: The Radio
#26
Lisa Klein Moberly
Managing Partner, Loudspeaker Music Group
Los Angeles, CA
FILM / SYNCPHYSICAL: SENDI — IMMEDIATERESEARCHED
VERIFIED RESEARCH HOOK WEB-VERIFIED PITCH: DISTRIBUTION / MOVEMENT
Your background spans music supervision, licensing, publishing, label management, artist management and live booking; Loudspeaker’s current work also treats conceptualization, clearance and soundtrack strategy as one connected job.
WHY THIS TRACK — Piano and round bass, whispered doubles, spatialized vocal phrases, synth possibility; Faith No More / Mr. Bungle / Melanie De Biasio in the production constellation.
SUBJECTWe’ve got distribution problems
#27
Jeff Weiss
Founder / writer, Passion of the Weiss
Los Angeles, CA
PRESS / CRITICPHYSICAL: SENDI — IMMEDIATERESEARCHED
VERIFIED RESEARCH HOOK WEB-VERIFIED PITCH: HILLHURST / DISCOVERY
Your writing on Kamasi Washington and the LA jazz/rap continuum has consistently treated psychedelic language, local geography and Black musical history as parts of the same critical frame.
WHY THIS TRACK — Very short, dry anti-product art-rock; the lyric is the organizing device and the song gets out before the pitch can become respectable.
SUBJECTThe Radio
#28
Justin Gage
Founder / editor, Aquarium Drunkard
Los Angeles, CA
PRESS / CRITICPHYSICAL: SENDI — IMMEDIATERESEARCHED
VERIFIED RESEARCH HOOK WEB-VERIFIED PITCH: HILLHURST / DISCOVERY
Aquarium Drunkard’s whole project is based on deep engagement across scenes rather than a house genre — you’ve described the site as ranging from folk and blues to ECM, Eno and Aphex Twin, while keeping an identifiable editorial lens.
WHY THIS TRACK — Piano and round bass, whispered doubles, spatialized vocal phrases, synth possibility; Faith No More / Mr. Bungle / Melanie De Biasio in the production constellation.
SUBJECTField report: The Radio
#29
Jason P. Woodbury
Writer / broadcaster
Los Angeles-associated
PRESS / CRITICPHYSICAL: SENDI — IMMEDIATERESEARCHED
VERIFIED RESEARCH HOOK WEB-VERIFIED PITCH: HILLHURST / DISCOVERY
Transmissions is built for exactly the kind of long-form listening conversation that lets one record connect to folk, psych, jazz, ambient and other histories without collapsing them into RIYL shorthand.
WHY THIS TRACK — Piano and bass in the foreground; rainy jazz-café air, Doors/Floyd shadows, elegant reverb, slow scale.
SUBJECTHillhurst / The Radio
#30
Andy Votel
Designer / label founder / DJ
UK
RADIO / DJPHYSICAL: NOI — IMMEDIATERESEARCHED
VERIFIED RESEARCH HOOK WEB-VERIFIED PITCH: HILLHURST / RADIO
Finders Keepers has spent years treating obscure records, design, library music and regional psych as connected cultural artifacts rather than disposable curiosities.
WHY THIS TRACK — Piano and round bass, whispered doubles, spatialized vocal phrases, synth possibility; Faith No More / Mr. Bungle / Melanie De Biasio in the production constellation.
SUBJECTThe Radio
#31
Henry Rollins
Host, KCRW / Musician
Los Angeles, CA
RADIO / DJPHYSICAL: SENDI — IMMEDIATERESEARCHED
VERIFIED RESEARCH HOOK WEB-VERIFIED PITCH: HILLHURST / RADIO
Your KCRW broadcasts remain aggressively omnivorous — recent shows have put Scott Walker, The Fall, Joy Division, Public Enemy, Gun Club and far more obscure material in the same two-hour frame.
WHY THIS TRACK — Sparkling piano, an enormous pop/R&B melody, active drums and heavy chorus guitars at deliberately wrong scale.
SUBJECTField report: The Radio
#32
Ro "Wyldeflower" Contreras
KCRW DJ / creative producer
Pasadena / Los Angeles, CA
RADIO / DJPHYSICAL: SENDI — IMMEDIATERESEARCHED
VERIFIED RESEARCH HOOK WEB-VERIFIED PITCH: HILLHURST / RADIO
Your KCRW programming is explicitly a globe-trotting mix of soul, funk, hip-hop, jazz and freeform material rather than a fixed-format show.
WHY THIS TRACK — Bass-first cosmic funk: Brasil ’66 bounce, P-Funk looseness, blue-eyed soul grit and Bowie-stutter tricks.
SUBJECTHillhurst / The Radio
#33
Alec Hodgman
Founder / host, A Fistful of Vinyl
Los Angeles, CA
CURATOR / OTHERPHYSICAL: SENDI — IMMEDIATERESEARCHED
VERIFIED RESEARCH HOOK WEB-VERIFIED PITCH: HILLHURST / DISCOVERY
A Fistful of Vinyl has documented Defeater, Laura Jane Grace, AJJ, milo, William Tyler and a long run of punk, folk and leftfield artists with the emphasis on actual performance and conversation.
WHY THIS TRACK — Long-breath post-hardcore/art-rock: clean-to-scream dynamics, questioning bass, delay architecture, intense midrange guitars and a Morphine undertow.
SUBJECTThe Radio
#34
Peter Molaro
Promotions Director, KXLU
Los Angeles, CA
RADIO / DJPHYSICAL: SENDI — IMMEDIATERESEARCHED
VERIFIED RESEARCH HOOK WEB-VERIFIED PITCH: HILLHURST / RADIO
Your current KXLU role combines promotions, DJ work and audio production, which makes the record useful to approach as both something to program and something that can circulate physically through the station’s local network.
WHY THIS TRACK — Piano and round bass, whispered doubles, spatialized vocal phrases, synth possibility; Faith No More / Mr. Bungle / Melanie De Biasio in the production constellation.
SUBJECTField report: The Radio
#35
J. Edward Keyes
Editorial Director, Bandcamp
US / independent music ecosystem
PRESS / CRITICPHYSICAL: NOI — IMMEDIATERESEARCHED
VERIFIED RESEARCH HOOK WEB-VERIFIED PITCH: HILLHURST / DISCOVERY
In your recent interview about Bandcamp Daily, you described the editorial mission as spotlighting artists and scenes around the world in a way that directly helps listeners discover and support the musicians.
WHY THIS TRACK — Very short, dry anti-product art-rock; the lyric is the organizing device and the song gets out before the pitch can become respectable.
SUBJECTHillhurst / The Radio
#36
Ian Cohen
Critic / writer
— / verify
PRESS / CRITICPHYSICAL: NOI — IMMEDIATERESEARCHED
VERIFIED RESEARCH HOOK WEB-VERIFIED PITCH: HILLHURST / DISCOVERY
Your criticism has consistently taken emo, post-hardcore and alternative rock seriously as forms with real formal and emotional ambition rather than genre embarrassment; your writing on The World Is a Beautiful Place is a good example.
WHY THIS TRACK — Long-breath post-hardcore/art-rock: clean-to-scream dynamics, questioning bass, delay architecture, intense midrange guitars and a Morphine undertow.
SUBJECTThe Radio
#37
Marcus J. Moore
Critic / author
— / verify
PRESS / CRITICPHYSICAL: NOI — IMMEDIATERESEARCHED
VERIFIED RESEARCH HOOK WEB-VERIFIED PITCH: HILLHURST / DISCOVERY
Your work on Kendrick Lamar has always treated the record as text as well as sound — especially the way lyrics, contradiction, history and arrangement carry meaning together.
WHY THIS TRACK — Very short, dry anti-product art-rock; the lyric is the organizing device and the song gets out before the pitch can become respectable.
SUBJECTField report: The Radio
#38
Geoff Barrow
Musician / Invada founder
— / verify
LABEL / INDUSTRYPHYSICAL: NOI — IMMEDIATERESEARCHED
VERIFIED RESEARCH HOOK WEB-VERIFIED PITCH: DISTRIBUTION / MOVEMENT
You’ve talked about Can as a catalyst for changing how you worked, Madlib as the opposite of technique-over-soul, and Carpenter’s Assault on Precinct 13 as proof that a couple of synths and a drum machine can create enormous emotion.
WHY THIS TRACK — Piano and round bass, whispered doubles, spatialized vocal phrases, synth possibility; Faith No More / Mr. Bungle / Melanie De Biasio in the production constellation.
SUBJECTWe’ve got distribution problems
#39
Mary Anne Hobbs
DJ & Broadcaster, BBC Radio 6 Music
— / verify
RADIO / DJPHYSICAL: NOI — IMMEDIATERESEARCHED
VERIFIED RESEARCH HOOK WEB-VERIFIED PITCH: HILLHURST / RADIO
Your recent Baker’s Dozen discussion of Bowie’s ‘Subterraneans’ — wanting the lyrics to stay mysterious rather than be decoded for you — is unusually close to how I think about the text on this record.
WHY THIS TRACK — Sparkling piano, an enormous pop/R&B melody, active drums and heavy chorus guitars at deliberately wrong scale.
SUBJECTThe Radio
#40
Jennifer Lucy Allan
Music Journalist & Broadcaster, The Wire / BBC
— / verify
PRESS / CRITICPHYSICAL: NOI — IMMEDIATERESEARCHED
VERIFIED RESEARCH HOOK WEB-VERIFIED PITCH: HILLHURST / DISCOVERY
Your work moves naturally between The Wire, Arc Light Editions, Arthur Russell, field sound, drone and the written life of listening; that makes the record’s textual and environmental side particularly relevant.
WHY THIS TRACK — Piano and bass in the foreground; rainy jazz-café air, Doors/Floyd shadows, elegant reverb, slow scale.
SUBJECTField report: The Radio
#41
Simon Reynolds
Music Journalist & Author
— / verify
PRESS / CRITICPHYSICAL: NOI — IMMEDIATERESEARCHED
VERIFIED RESEARCH HOOK WEB-VERIFIED PITCH: HILLHURST / DISCOVERY
Your writing has spent decades tracking the productive friction between post-punk, shoegaze, rave, psychedelia and pop futurism — and arguing against music that merely cosplays its own archive.
WHY THIS TRACK — Danceable elegiac guitar music: swirling piano, intricate drums, Swervedriver/Chameleons guitars, huge choruses and 5AM light.
SUBJECTHillhurst / The Radio
#42
MatthewDavid
Founder / artist, Leaving Records
Los Angeles, CA
PRODUCER / ENGINEERPHYSICAL: SENDI — IMMEDIATERESEARCHED
VERIFIED RESEARCH HOOK WEB-VERIFIED PITCH: PARTICULAR THING
Leaving’s ‘All Genre’ philosophy — all genres rather than no genre — is probably the cleanest existing description of why I’m sending you this record.
WHY THIS TRACK — Bass-first cosmic funk: Brasil ’66 bounce, P-Funk looseness, blue-eyed soul grit and Bowie-stutter tricks.
SUBJECTScaled Alps — “HORS”
#43
Chris Muckley
Music Host, KCRW
Los Angeles, CA
RADIO / DJPHYSICAL: SENDI — IMMEDIATERESEARCHED
VERIFIED RESEARCH HOOK WEB-VERIFIED PITCH: HILLHURST / RADIO
Your path from a decade as 91X music director to KCRW puts you in a rare position: deep alternative-radio history combined with the freedom to program outside a fixed commercial format.
WHY THIS TRACK — Sparkling piano, an enormous pop/R&B melody, active drums and heavy chorus guitars at deliberately wrong scale.
SUBJECTField report: The Radio
#44
Nate Nelson
Co-founder, Innovative Leisure
Los Angeles, CA
FILM / SYNCPHYSICAL: SENDI — IMMEDIATERESEARCHED
VERIFIED RESEARCH HOOK WEB-VERIFIED PITCH: DISTRIBUTION / MOVEMENT
Innovative Leisure’s catalog is deliberately broad — BADBADNOTGOOD, Nosaj Thing, Allah-Las, Freddie Gibbs, Rhye, Classixx and more — and your own background there has included digital, sync, publishing and label development.
WHY THIS TRACK — Piano and round bass, whispered doubles, spatialized vocal phrases, synth possibility; Faith No More / Mr. Bungle / Melanie De Biasio in the production constellation.
SUBJECTWe’ve got distribution problems
#45
Hanni El Khatib
Musician / producer / Innovative Leisure partner
Los Angeles, CA
DESIGN / VISUALPHYSICAL: SENDI — IMMEDIATERESEARCHED
VERIFIED RESEARCH HOOK WEB-VERIFIED PITCH: PARTICULAR THING
You’ve described songwriting as a form of curation and said you’re often more influenced by visual objects and physical culture than by records; your work at Innovative Leisure also treats art direction as part of the musical identity.
WHY THIS TRACK — Bass-first cosmic funk: Brasil ’66 bounce, P-Funk looseness, blue-eyed soul grit and Bowie-stutter tricks.
SUBJECTScaled Alps — “HORS”
#46
Gary Calamar
Music supervisor / DJ
Los Angeles, CA
FILM / SYNCPHYSICAL: SENDI — IMMEDIATERESEARCHED
VERIFIED RESEARCH HOOK WEB-VERIFIED PITCH: DISTRIBUTION / MOVEMENT
You’ve singled out the Six Feet Under finale with Sia and the Watson Twins’ stripped-down Cure cover in True Blood as examples where a song’s emotional identity and a scene’s character world become inseparable.
WHY THIS TRACK — Piano and round bass, whispered doubles, spatialized vocal phrases, synth possibility; Faith No More / Mr. Bungle / Melanie De Biasio in the production constellation.
SUBJECTDistribution is movement
#47
Brian Reitzell
Music supervisor / composer
Los Angeles, CA
FILM / SYNCPHYSICAL: NOI — IMMEDIATERESEARCHED
VERIFIED RESEARCH HOOK WEB-VERIFIED PITCH: DISTRIBUTION / MOVEMENT
Your work on Hannibal treats score, atmosphere and sound design as one continuum, while Marie Antoinette used source music as part of the film’s character architecture rather than simple period decoration.
WHY THIS TRACK — Piano and round bass, whispered doubles, spatialized vocal phrases, synth possibility; Faith No More / Mr. Bungle / Melanie De Biasio in the production constellation.
SUBJECTWe’ve got distribution problems
#48
Thomas Golubić
Music supervisor, SuperMusicVision
Los Angeles, CA
FILM / SYNCPHYSICAL: NOI — IMMEDIATERESEARCHED
VERIFIED RESEARCH HOOK WEB-VERIFIED PITCH: DISTRIBUTION / MOVEMENT
You’ve described the best supervision as a surprising answer that still feels inevitable because it advances character or story — the Breaking Bad use of TV on the Radio is a perfect example.
WHY THIS TRACK — Piano and round bass, whispered doubles, spatialized vocal phrases, synth possibility; Faith No More / Mr. Bungle / Melanie De Biasio in the production constellation.
SUBJECTDistribution vs. Warehousing
#49
Maggie Phillips
Music supervisor, Deep Cut
Los Angeles / US industry
FILM / SYNCPHYSICAL: NOI — IMMEDIATERESEARCHED
VERIFIED RESEARCH HOOK WEB-VERIFIED PITCH: DISTRIBUTION / MOVEMENT
Your work across Moonlight and Fargo comes from an art background and a long relationship to live music; the strongest fit here is the side of the record that already feels like it has a scene attached to it.
WHY THIS TRACK — Piano and round bass, whispered doubles, spatialized vocal phrases, synth possibility; Faith No More / Mr. Bungle / Melanie De Biasio in the production constellation.
SUBJECTDistribution is movement
#50
Kier Lehman
Music supervisor
Los Angeles / US industry
FILM / SYNCPHYSICAL: NOI — IMMEDIATERESEARCHED
VERIFIED RESEARCH HOOK WEB-VERIFIED PITCH: DISTRIBUTION / MOVEMENT
You’ve described Insecure’s musical identity as West Coast, modern, emotionally deep, female-forward and especially open to independent LA artists; you also talked about using NxWorries to open a season because it felt both local and genuinely new.
WHY THIS TRACK — Slow, narcotic, rap-derived menace: blunt hook repetition and Three 6 Mafia syrup under the floorboards.
SUBJECTWe’ve got distribution problems
#51
Mary Ramos
Music supervisor
Los Angeles / US industry
FILM / SYNCPHYSICAL: NOII — HIGH VALUERESEARCHED
VERIFIED RESEARCH HOOK WEB-VERIFIED PITCH: DISTRIBUTION / MOVEMENT
Your discussion of building playlists around characters on Mrs. America, including using songs for subtext rather than simply period-setting. That is close to how this record thinks about arrangement and scene.
WHY THIS TRACK — Piano and round bass, whispered doubles, spatialized vocal phrases, synth possibility; Faith No More / Mr. Bungle / Melanie De Biasio in the production constellation.
SUBJECTDistribution vs. Warehousing
#52
Sue Jacobs
Music supervisor
Los Angeles / US industry
FILM / SYNCPHYSICAL: NOII — HIGH VALUERESEARCHED
VERIFIED RESEARCH HOOK WEB-VERIFIED PITCH: DISTRIBUTION / MOVEMENT
You’ve described music supervision as building the architecture around a director’s vision, and talked about remembering songs by how they feel and how they marry to an image. “Space/Time” is the cut here that most naturally behaves that way.
WHY THIS TRACK — Piano and bass in the foreground; rainy jazz-café air, Doors/Floyd shadows, elegant reverb, slow scale.
SUBJECTDistribution is movement
#53
Tyler Nolan
Booking manager, Zebulon
Los Angeles, CA
LIVE / BOOKINGPHYSICAL: SENDII — HIGH VALUERESEARCHED
VERIFIED RESEARCH HOOK WEB-VERIFIED PITCH: DISTRIBUTION / MOVEMENT
Zebulon’s history has always favored noisy jazz, experimental music and artists who make more sense in a room than in a genre box. “Impro” is the cleanest way into that side of this record.
WHY THIS TRACK — Bass-first cosmic funk: Brasil ’66 bounce, P-Funk looseness, blue-eyed soul grit and Bowie-stutter tricks.
SUBJECTWe’ve got distribution problems
#54
Pauline Lay
Programmer, Pehrspace; resident programmer, 2220
Los Angeles, CA
LIVE / BOOKINGPHYSICAL: SENDII — HIGH VALUERESEARCHED
VERIFIED RESEARCH HOOK WEB-VERIFIED PITCH: DISTRIBUTION / MOVEMENT
Your dublab conversation about Pehrspace and the long DIY continuum behind it — backyard shows, improvised music, experimental ensembles and spaces kept alive by people rather than institutions. “Impro” is the record’s most direct point of contact with that world.
WHY THIS TRACK — Bass-first cosmic funk: Brasil ’66 bounce, P-Funk looseness, blue-eyed soul grit and Bowie-stutter tricks.
SUBJECTDistribution vs. Warehousing
#55
Joseph Mosconi
Poet / programmer, Poetic Research Bureau; resident programmer, 2220
Los Angeles, CA
LABEL / INDUSTRYPHYSICAL: SENDII — HIGH VALUERESEARCHED
VERIFIED RESEARCH HOOK WEB-VERIFIED PITCH: DISTRIBUTION / MOVEMENT
Poetic Research Bureau’s interest in language inquiry, ephemeral works, appropriation, pastiche and literary objects makes the text itself relevant here. “Throwaway Lines” is the track I’d start with.
WHY THIS TRACK — World-weary piano/strings art-rock: intimate opening, dub echo in the drums and a wide Mer de Noms-scale guitar climax.
SUBJECTDistribution is movement
#56
Harmony Holiday
Artist / writer / curator, Mythscience; resident programmer, 2220
Los Angeles, CA
PRESS / CRITICPHYSICAL: SENDII — HIGH VALUERESEARCHED
VERIFIED RESEARCH HOOK WEB-VERIFIED PITCH: HILLHURST / DISCOVERY
Your writing about language becoming score, choreography and a place where music can flood the page makes “Throwaway Lines” the obvious entrance. The words are structural on that side of the record, not decoration.
WHY THIS TRACK — World-weary piano/strings art-rock: intimate opening, dub echo in the drums and a wide Mer de Noms-scale guitar climax.
SUBJECTHillhurst / The Radio
#57
Jonathan Hepfer
Artistic director, Monday Evening Concerts
Los Angeles, CA
ARTIST / PEERPHYSICAL: SENDII — HIGH VALUERESEARCHED
VERIFIED RESEARCH HOOK WEB-VERIFIED PITCH: PARTICULAR THING
Your programming and writing around reduction, tactile sound and severe historical/contemporary juxtapositions made “Impro” the right first cut. It is the least interested in behaving like a conventional rock track.
WHY THIS TRACK — Loose funk vamp with jazz/neo-soul reflexes: conversational, repetitive and built to live in the pocket.
SUBJECTScaled Alps — “Impro”
#58
Kyle Ng
Cofounder / creative director, Brain Dead
Los Angeles, CA
DESIGN / VISUALPHYSICAL: NOII — HIGH VALUERESEARCHED
VERIFIED RESEARCH HOOK WEB-VERIFIED PITCH: PARTICULAR THING
Brain Dead Studios treating cinema, live music, design and physical culture as one programming ecosystem is very close to the logic around Let the Alpine Play. “Neo Noir” is the musical entry point; the Owner’s Manual and physical package are the other half.
WHY THIS TRACK — Piano and round bass, whispered doubles, spatialized vocal phrases, synth possibility; Faith No More / Mr. Bungle / Melanie De Biasio in the production constellation.
SUBJECT“Neo Noir” — Scaled Alps
#59
Peter Kolovos
Principal, Black Editions; resident programmer, 2220
Los Angeles, CA
LABEL / INDUSTRYPHYSICAL: SENDII — HIGH VALUERESEARCHED
VERIFIED RESEARCH HOOK WEB-VERIFIED PITCH: DISTRIBUTION / MOVEMENT
Black Editions’ work restoring P.S.F. material and treating difficult underground music as something worthy of definitive physical editions makes the object side of this release especially relevant. “Tentacoli” is the most extreme musical entrance.
WHY THIS TRACK — Volatile heavy art-rock: intelligible sung text held against mass, then a larger violent release.
SUBJECTWe’ve got distribution problems
#60
August Brown
Staff Writer, Los Angeles Times
Los Angeles, CA
PRESS / CRITICPHYSICAL: SENDII — HIGH VALUERESEARCHED
VERIFIED RESEARCH HOOK WEB-VERIFIED PITCH: HILLHURST / DISCOVERY
Your recent writing on Das Bunker and Los Angeles nightlife treats underground rooms and scenes as culture rather than backdrop. “Lemon Zest” is the record’s darker LA-night entry point.
WHY THIS TRACK — Funereal piano, martial drums, island-bounce guitar, airy vocals and a violent weather-system ending.
SUBJECTThe Radio
#61
Jordan Cronk
Founder / programmer, Acropolis Cinema; resident programmer, 2220
Los Angeles, CA
PRESS / CRITICPHYSICAL: SENDII — HIGH VALUERESEARCHED
VERIFIED RESEARCH HOOK WEB-VERIFIED PITCH: HILLHURST / DISCOVERY
Acropolis Cinema’s emphasis on experimental, international and undistributed film is why I’m leading with “Neo Noir.” It is the track on the album that most immediately suggests a film without requiring one.
WHY THIS TRACK — Piano and round bass, whispered doubles, spatialized vocal phrases, synth possibility; Faith No More / Mr. Bungle / Melanie De Biasio in the production constellation.
SUBJECTField report: The Radio
#62
Evelyn McDonnell
Professor / writer / music critic
Los Angeles, CA
PRESS / CRITICPHYSICAL: SENDII — HIGH VALUERESEARCHED
VERIFIED RESEARCH HOOK WEB-VERIFIED PITCH: HILLHURST / DISCOVERY
Your work on feminist punk and the history of women writing and making rock treats lyrics, criticism and scene politics as part of the same object. “Throwaway Lines” is the strongest text-first entrance to this record.
WHY THIS TRACK — World-weary piano/strings art-rock: intimate opening, dub echo in the drums and a wide Mer de Noms-scale guitar climax.
SUBJECTHillhurst / The Radio
#63
Kim Gordon
Musician / artist
Los Angeles, CA
DESIGN / VISUALPHYSICAL: SENDII — HIGH VALUERESEARCHED
VERIFIED RESEARCH HOOK WEB-VERIFIED PITCH: PARTICULAR THING
Your recent solo work has leaned hard into beats, space and the friction between rock authorship and contemporary listening culture. “T.T.M.S.” is the skeletal, rhythm-forward side of this record.
WHY THIS TRACK — Low hypnotic piano, dub/reggae undertow, airy space, boomy bass and a long gradual ascent.
SUBJECTScaled Alps — “T.T.M.S.”
#64
Photay (Evan Shornstein)
Composer / drummer / DJ / producer
Los Angeles, CA
FILM / SYNCPHYSICAL: SENDII — HIGH VALUERESEARCHED
VERIFIED RESEARCH HOOK WEB-VERIFIED PITCH: DISTRIBUTION / MOVEMENT
Your work starts from drumming and turntablism but keeps folding in ambient music, West African polyrhythm and electronic composition. “HORS” is the bass-heavy, live-band cut here that best meets that rhythmic vocabulary.
WHY THIS TRACK — Low hypnotic piano, dub/reggae undertow, airy space, boomy bass and a long gradual ascent.
SUBJECTDistribution is movement
#65
Mike Patton
Musician / label cofounder
California / international
LABEL / INDUSTRYPHYSICAL: NOII — HIGH VALUERESEARCHED
VERIFIED RESEARCH HOOK WEB-VERIFIED PITCH: DISTRIBUTION / MOVEMENT
Ipecac’s stated philosophy is still to stay eclectic, avoid a single genre, let artists retain ownership and put out records that challenge themselves and other people. “Tentacoli” is the most unapologetically difficult cut on this one.
WHY THIS TRACK — Piano and round bass, whispered doubles, spatialized vocal phrases, synth possibility; Faith No More / Mr. Bungle / Melanie De Biasio in the production constellation.
SUBJECTWe’ve got distribution problems
#66
Chino Moreno
Vocalist, Deftones
California / international
ARTIST / PEERPHYSICAL: NOII — HIGH VALUERESEARCHED
VERIFIED RESEARCH HOOK WEB-VERIFIED PITCH: PARTICULAR THING
You’ve talked about the way Deftones absorbed 1980s British pop, breakbeats and trip-hop without treating those influences as separate from heavy music. “Setagaya” is the atmospheric-guitar / heavy side of this record that most directly lives in that overlap.
WHY THIS TRACK — Long-breath post-hardcore/art-rock: clean-to-scream dynamics, questioning bass, delay architecture, intense midrange guitars and a Morphine undertow.
SUBJECTScaled Alps — “Slow Motion”
#67
Ken Andrews
Musician / producer, Failure
Los Angeles-associated
PRODUCER / ENGINEERPHYSICAL: SENDII — HIGH VALUERESEARCHED
VERIFIED RESEARCH HOOK WEB-VERIFIED PITCH: PARTICULAR THING
Failure’s work has always made huge guitar architecture feel precise rather than merely loud, and your production history is inseparable from that sense of space. “Setagaya” is the closest point of contact on this record.
WHY THIS TRACK — Long-breath post-hardcore/art-rock: clean-to-scream dynamics, questioning bass, delay architecture, intense midrange guitars and a Morphine undertow.
SUBJECT“Slow Motion” — Scaled Alps
#68
Adrian Younge
Producer / composer
Los Angeles, CA
FILM / SYNCPHYSICAL: SENDII — HIGH VALUERESEARCHED
VERIFIED RESEARCH HOOK WEB-VERIFIED PITCH: DISTRIBUTION / MOVEMENT
Your insistence on live instrumentation, analog recording and a hip-hop ear applied to older soul and jazz language makes “HORS” the right entry point — bass-forward, live, rhythmic and not retro-clean.
WHY THIS TRACK — Piano and round bass, whispered doubles, spatialized vocal phrases, synth possibility; Faith No More / Mr. Bungle / Melanie De Biasio in the production constellation.
SUBJECTWe’ve got distribution problems
#69
Ali Shaheed Muhammad
Producer / musician
US
PRODUCER / ENGINEERPHYSICAL: NOII — HIGH VALUERESEARCHED
VERIFIED RESEARCH HOOK WEB-VERIFIED PITCH: PARTICULAR THING
Jazz Is Dead has made a practice of putting hip-hop listening habits into direct conversation with jazz history rather than sampling that history at arm’s length. “Impro” is the album’s clearest route into that conversation.
WHY THIS TRACK — Loose funk vamp with jazz/neo-soul reflexes: conversational, repetitive and built to live in the pocket.
SUBJECTScaled Alps — “Impro”
#70
Donna Borges
Founder, ALTANGELES; bassist, Skiptrace
Los Angeles, CA
ARTIST / PEERPHYSICAL: POSSIBLEII — HIGH VALUERESEARCHED
VERIFIED RESEARCH HOOK WEB-VERIFIED PITCH: PARTICULAR THING
ALTANGELES and your work with Skiptrace place you inside the current LA DIY network rather than outside it looking in. “Muffler” is the shortest, bluntest live-band introduction to Scaled Alps.
WHY THIS TRACK — Funereal piano, martial drums, island-bounce guitar, airy vocals and a violent weather-system ending.
SUBJECT“Southerly” — Scaled Alps
#71
Trevor Jackson
Designer / artist / DJ
London, UK
RADIO / DJPHYSICAL: NOII — HIGH VALUERESEARCHED
VERIFIED RESEARCH HOOK WEB-VERIFIED PITCH: HILLHURST / RADIO
Your work has always treated record design, post-punk, funk, club music and visual identity as a single practice rather than separate disciplines. “HORS” is the record’s groove-first entrance, and the physical package is part of the pitch.
WHY THIS TRACK — Bass-first cosmic funk: Brasil ’66 bounce, P-Funk looseness, blue-eyed soul grit and Bowie-stutter tricks.
SUBJECTHillhurst / The Radio
#72
DJ Toast / Teia Ciornei
Host, NEW GLOOM; writer/photographer
Los Angeles, CA
PRESS / CRITICPHYSICAL: POSSIBLEII — HIGH VALUERESEARCHED
VERIFIED RESEARCH HOOK WEB-VERIFIED PITCH: HILLHURST / DISCOVERY
NEW GLOOM is explicitly a late-night mix of post-punk, goth, darkwave, synthpop, EBM, industrial, film scores and physical-media history. “Lemon Zest” is almost comically well aimed at that hour.
WHY THIS TRACK — Dark synth/rock intimacy: stripped-down body-versus-mind tension on a Depeche Mode ‘Stripped’ skeleton.
SUBJECTThe Radio
#73
Gilles Peterson
DJ / label founder
London, UK
RADIO / DJPHYSICAL: NOII — HIGH VALUERESEARCHED
VERIFIED RESEARCH HOOK WEB-VERIFIED PITCH: HILLHURST / RADIO
Your radio and label work has spent decades putting jazz, soul, hip-hop and global records into the same listening continuum. “Impro” is the album’s least genre-defensive entry point.
WHY THIS TRACK — Loose funk vamp with jazz/neo-soul reflexes: conversational, repetitive and built to live in the pocket.
SUBJECTField report: The Radio
#74
Amanda Petrusich
Staff Writer / critic, The New Yorker
— / verify
PRESS / CRITICPHYSICAL: NOII — HIGH VALUERESEARCHED
VERIFIED RESEARCH HOOK WEB-VERIFIED PITCH: HILLHURST / DISCOVERY
Your criticism keeps returning to songwriting, voice, performance and what words do when they become music — from Leonard Cohen outward. “Throwaway Lines” is the track I’d send before anything else.
WHY THIS TRACK — World-weary piano/strings art-rock: intimate opening, dub echo in the drums and a wide Mer de Noms-scale guitar climax.
SUBJECTHillhurst / The Radio
#75
Bettina Richards
Founder, Thrill Jockey
— / verify
CURATOR / OTHERPHYSICAL: NOII — HIGH VALUERESEARCHED
VERIFIED RESEARCH HOOK WEB-VERIFIED PITCH: HILLHURST / DISCOVERY
You’ve said the label’s job is to help artists articulate their own vision, and Thrill Jockey’s physical editions often extend the musicians’ intended message rather than simply decorate the record. That is exactly why I’m including the full object here.
WHY THIS TRACK — Piano and round bass, whispered doubles, spatialized vocal phrases, synth possibility; Faith No More / Mr. Bungle / Melanie De Biasio in the production constellation.
SUBJECTThe Radio
#76
Caleb Braaten
Founder, Sacred Bones
— / verify
CURATOR / OTHERPHYSICAL: NOII — HIGH VALUERESEARCHED
VERIFIED RESEARCH HOOK WEB-VERIFIED PITCH: HILLHURST / DISCOVERY
You’ve said Sacred Bones was never meant to be a genre label — an aesthetic, not a style — with Blue Note, Crass, Impulse and Factory feeding the visual language. “Lemon Zest” plus the physical package is the cleanest way into this.
WHY THIS TRACK — Piano and round bass, whispered doubles, spatialized vocal phrases, synth possibility; Faith No More / Mr. Bungle / Melanie De Biasio in the production constellation.
SUBJECTField report: The Radio
#77
Chris Lombardi
Cofounder, Matador
— / verify
CURATOR / OTHERPHYSICAL: NOII — HIGH VALUERESEARCHED
VERIFIED RESEARCH HOOK WEB-VERIFIED PITCH: HILLHURST / DISCOVERY
Matador’s history is full of bands whose identity depended on sounding like themselves before sounding market-legible. “Setagaya” is the atmospheric, guitar-heavy side of this record I’d put first.
WHY THIS TRACK — Danceable elegiac guitar music: swirling piano, intricate drums, Swervedriver/Chameleons guitars, huge choruses and 5AM light.
SUBJECTHillhurst / The Radio
#78
Kelefa Sanneh
Staff Writer / critic, The New Yorker
— / verify
PRESS / CRITICPHYSICAL: NOII — HIGH VALUERESEARCHED
VERIFIED RESEARCH HOOK WEB-VERIFIED PITCH: HILLHURST / DISCOVERY
Your writing on genre treats categories as communities and identities rather than fixed sonic laws, and you’ve argued for hearing rap as rhythm and sound as much as an argument. “HORS” is the record’s most useful collision point.
WHY THIS TRACK — Very short, dry anti-product art-rock; the lyric is the organizing device and the song gets out before the pitch can become respectable.
SUBJECTThe Radio
#79
Randall Poster
Music supervisor
New York / US
FILM / SYNCPHYSICAL: NOII — HIGH VALUERESEARCHED
VERIFIED RESEARCH HOOK WEB-VERIFIED PITCH: DISTRIBUTION / MOVEMENT
You’ve said music in film has to become part of the fabric rather than call attention to itself through borrowed associations. “Space/Time” is the piece here that already feels structurally available to an image.
WHY THIS TRACK — Piano and round bass, whispered doubles, spatialized vocal phrases, synth possibility; Faith No More / Mr. Bungle / Melanie De Biasio in the production constellation.
SUBJECTDistribution is movement
#80
Spencer Hickman
Founder / curator, Death Waltz
— / verify
CURATOR / OTHERPHYSICAL: NOII — HIGH VALUERESEARCHED
VERIFIED RESEARCH HOOK WEB-VERIFIED PITCH: HILLHURST / DISCOVERY
Death Waltz made horror scores worth owning as records by treating mastering, artwork and packaging with the same care as the film itself. “Neo Noir” is the obvious sonic entry, but the physical package is equally relevant.
WHY THIS TRACK — Piano and round bass, whispered doubles, spatialized vocal phrases, synth possibility; Faith No More / Mr. Bungle / Melanie De Biasio in the production constellation.
SUBJECTHillhurst / The Radio
#81
Tom Breihan
Senior Editor, Stereogum
— / verify
PRESS / CRITICPHYSICAL: NOII — HIGH VALUERESEARCHED
VERIFIED RESEARCH HOOK WEB-VERIFIED PITCH: HILLHURST / DISCOVERY
The Number Ones project is built around taking pop hooks seriously enough to ask what makes a song ambush you and change the day, regardless of prestige. “Pink Diamonds” is the most compact pop-facing entry point on this album.
WHY THIS TRACK — Slow, narcotic, rap-derived menace: blunt hook repetition and Three 6 Mafia syrup under the floorboards.
SUBJECTThe Radio
#82
Daniel Miller
Founder, Mute
London, UK
LABEL / INDUSTRYPHYSICAL: NOII — HIGH VALUERESEARCHED
VERIFIED RESEARCH HOOK WEB-VERIFIED PITCH: DISTRIBUTION / MOVEMENT
Mute has spent decades proving that electronic music, post-punk, noise and pop do not need separate institutional homes, and you’ve repeatedly emphasized originality over genre allegiance. “T.T.M.S.” is the most useful first cut.
WHY THIS TRACK — Dark synth/rock intimacy: stripped-down body-versus-mind tension on a Depeche Mode ‘Stripped’ skeleton.
SUBJECTDistribution is movement
#83
PJ Harvey
Musician / writer
UK / international
PRESS / CRITICPHYSICAL: NOII — HIGH VALUERESEARCHED
VERIFIED RESEARCH HOOK WEB-VERIFIED PITCH: HILLHURST / DISCOVERY
The way you’ve moved between albums and poetry — especially Orlam — makes the text itself impossible to treat as secondary. “Throwaway Lines” is the lyric-first entrance to Let the Alpine Play.
WHY THIS TRACK — World-weary piano/strings art-rock: intimate opening, dub echo in the drums and a wide Mer de Noms-scale guitar climax.
SUBJECTHillhurst / The Radio
#84
Matt Talbott
Musician, Hum
Illinois / US
ARTIST / PEERPHYSICAL: NOII — HIGH VALUERESEARCHED
VERIFIED RESEARCH HOOK WEB-VERIFIED PITCH: PARTICULAR THING
Hum’s combination of huge guitar mass, patient tempo and cosmic / naturalist lyric imagery makes “Setagaya” the right first track here: heavy atmosphere rather than riff display.
WHY THIS TRACK — Long-breath post-hardcore/art-rock: clean-to-scream dynamics, questioning bass, delay architecture, intense midrange guitars and a Morphine undertow.
SUBJECTScaled Alps — “Slow Motion”
#85
Melanie De Biasio
Musician
Belgium
ARTIST / PEERPHYSICAL: NOII — HIGH VALUERESEARCHED
VERIFIED RESEARCH HOOK WEB-VERIFIED PITCH: PARTICULAR THING
Your music has always made jazz phrasing, silence, low light and electronic atmosphere feel like one language rather than crossover. “Neo Noir” is the closest point on this album.
WHY THIS TRACK — Piano and round bass, whispered doubles, spatialized vocal phrases, synth possibility; Faith No More / Mr. Bungle / Melanie De Biasio in the production constellation.
SUBJECT“Neo Noir” — Scaled Alps
#86
Daryl Palumbo
Vocalist, Glassjaw
— / verify
ARTIST / PEERPHYSICAL: NOII — HIGH VALUERESEARCHED
VERIFIED RESEARCH HOOK WEB-VERIFIED PITCH: PARTICULAR THING
You’ve talked about Glassjaw as the volatile side and Head Automatica as the night-out side, while carrying a real hip-hop listening history underneath both. “Tentacoli” is the cut here where heaviness and rhythmic instability are most exposed.
WHY THIS TRACK — Bass-first cosmic funk: Brasil ’66 bounce, P-Funk looseness, blue-eyed soul grit and Bowie-stutter tricks.
SUBJECTLet the Alpine Play
#87
Alan Sparhawk
Musician, Low / solo
Minnesota / US
ARTIST / PEERPHYSICAL: NOII — HIGH VALUERESEARCHED
VERIFIED RESEARCH HOOK WEB-VERIFIED PITCH: PARTICULAR THING
Your recent solo work has leaned into drum machines, pitch-shifted voice and improvisation while keeping the emotional economy that made Low so specific. “Slow Motion” is the record’s most patient, suspended entry point.
WHY THIS TRACK — Low hypnotic piano, dub/reggae undertow, airy space, boomy bass and a long gradual ascent.
SUBJECTScaled Alps — “T.T.M.S.”
#88
Billy Howerdel
Musician / producer, A Perfect Circle
— / verify
PRODUCER / ENGINEERPHYSICAL: NOII — HIGH VALUERESEARCHED
VERIFIED RESEARCH HOOK WEB-VERIFIED PITCH: PARTICULAR THING
You’ve been explicit about the Depeche Mode / Cure / Echo & the Bunnymen side of your musical DNA and about letting composition lead the gear. “Lemon Zest” is the dark piano / industrial-adjacent cut that makes most sense here.
WHY THIS TRACK — Funereal piano, martial drums, island-bounce guitar, airy vocals and a violent weather-system ending.
SUBJECT“Southerly” — Scaled Alps
#89
Jeff Parker
Guitarist / composer
— / verify
FILM / SYNCPHYSICAL: NOII — HIGH VALUERESEARCHED
VERIFIED RESEARCH HOOK WEB-VERIFIED PITCH: DISTRIBUTION / MOVEMENT
You’ve described your musical world as wide open — standards, free improvisation, hip-hop, instrumental rock — and your LA work has helped erase the walls between jazz, electronic music and groove. “Impro” is the obvious first move.
WHY THIS TRACK — Loose funk vamp with jazz/neo-soul reflexes: conversational, repetitive and built to live in the pocket.
SUBJECTWe’ve got distribution problems
#90
Will Yip
Producer
Philadelphia, PA
PRODUCER / ENGINEERPHYSICAL: NOII — HIGH VALUERESEARCHED
VERIFIED RESEARCH HOOK WEB-VERIFIED PITCH: PARTICULAR THING
Studio 4 and Memory Music have been built around helping bands evolve without losing the thing that made them credible in the first place. “Setagaya” is the guitar-heavy cut here where production scale and band identity have to coexist.
WHY THIS TRACK — Long-breath post-hardcore/art-rock: clean-to-scream dynamics, questioning bass, delay architecture, intense midrange guitars and a Morphine undertow.
SUBJECTScaled Alps — “Slow Motion”
#91
ARTIST / PEERPHYSICAL: NOII — HIGH VALUERESEARCHED
VERIFIED RESEARCH HOOK WEB-VERIFIED PITCH: PARTICULAR THING
Your work with Slint and Papa M has always made meticulous construction feel almost accidental, and you’ve talked about songs engineered to sound improvised. “Slow Motion” is the quietest structural fit on this record.
WHY THIS TRACK — Funereal piano, martial drums, island-bounce guitar, airy vocals and a violent weather-system ending.
SUBJECT“Southerly” — Scaled Alps
#92
Mike Doughty
Musician / writer
US
PRESS / CRITICPHYSICAL: NOII — HIGH VALUERESEARCHED
VERIFIED RESEARCH HOOK WEB-VERIFIED PITCH: HILLHURST / DISCOVERY
Your description of Soul Coughing as coming out of the Knitting Factory, jazz thinking, poetry and sampling rather than ordinary rock is directly relevant here. “HORS” is the bass-and-cadence side of this record I’d play first.
WHY THIS TRACK — Piano and round bass, whispered doubles, spatialized vocal phrases, synth possibility; Faith No More / Mr. Bungle / Melanie De Biasio in the production constellation.
SUBJECTHillhurst / The Radio
#93
Barry Adamson
Musician / composer
UK
FILM / SYNCPHYSICAL: NOII — HIGH VALUERESEARCHED
VERIFIED RESEARCH HOOK WEB-VERIFIED PITCH: DISTRIBUTION / MOVEMENT
Your solo work has always treated noir, post-punk, score language and the lyric as parts of the same cinematic machine. “Neo Noir” is sufficiently on-the-nose that there is no reason to pretend otherwise.
WHY THIS TRACK — Piano and round bass, whispered doubles, spatialized vocal phrases, synth possibility; Faith No More / Mr. Bungle / Melanie De Biasio in the production constellation.
SUBJECTDistribution vs. Warehousing
#94
Tricky
Musician / producer
UK / international
PRODUCER / ENGINEERPHYSICAL: NOII — HIGH VALUERESEARCHED
VERIFIED RESEARCH HOOK WEB-VERIFIED PITCH: PARTICULAR THING
You’ve spent your career refusing the trip-hop box and describing yourself instead as a musical mongrel — hip-hop, dub, post-punk, soul, rock and whatever else the song needs. “Neo Noir” is the closest collision point here.
WHY THIS TRACK — Piano and round bass, whispered doubles, spatialized vocal phrases, synth possibility; Faith No More / Mr. Bungle / Melanie De Biasio in the production constellation.
SUBJECT“Neo Noir” — Scaled Alps
#95
Josh Homme
Musician / producer, QOTSA
Southern California
PRODUCER / ENGINEERPHYSICAL: NOII — HIGH VALUERESEARCHED
VERIFIED RESEARCH HOOK WEB-VERIFIED PITCH: PARTICULAR THING
The Queens records are at their best when groove and weight coexist without turning into metal orthodoxy. “Muffler” is the short, blunt, swaggering cut here that lives nearest that principle.
WHY THIS TRACK — QOTSA urgency, Kyuss drag, revving guitars, rising drums and a little Painkiller-era metal in the bloodstream.
SUBJECTLet the Alpine Play
#96
Kurt Ballou
Producer / musician, Converge
Massachusetts / US
PRODUCER / ENGINEERPHYSICAL: NOII — HIGH VALUERESEARCHED
VERIFIED RESEARCH HOOK WEB-VERIFIED PITCH: PARTICULAR THING
Your GodCity work and Converge records consistently favor human impact over interchangeable heavy-production polish. “Tentacoli” is the one to send: piano, screaming, abrupt dynamics, and enough ugliness left intact.
WHY THIS TRACK — Volatile heavy art-rock: intelligible sung text held against mass, then a larger violent release.
SUBJECTScaled Alps — “Tentacoli”
#97
Jacob Bannon
Vocalist / designer / label founder
Massachusetts / US
LABEL / INDUSTRYPHYSICAL: NOII — HIGH VALUERESEARCHED
VERIFIED RESEARCH HOOK WEB-VERIFIED PITCH: DISTRIBUTION / MOVEMENT
You’ve talked about making the visual story of a record cohere with the audio and lyrics, and about craft and intention carrying across music, design and label work. That makes both “Tentacoli” and the Owner’s Manual relevant here.
WHY THIS TRACK — Volatile heavy art-rock: intelligible sung text held against mass, then a larger violent release.
SUBJECTDistribution is movement
#98
Pat M
Host, Alien Air Music / Many Voices → One World, KXLU
Los Angeles, CA
RADIO / DJPHYSICAL: POSSIBLEII — HIGH VALUERESEARCHED
VERIFIED RESEARCH HOOK WEB-VERIFIED PITCH: HILLHURST / RADIO
Alien Air has spent decades putting unknown electronic artists beside established names and treating melodic electronic music as something to research rather than background. “T.T.M.S.” is the best first cut.
WHY THIS TRACK — Sparkling piano, an enormous pop/R&B melody, active drums and heavy chorus guitars at deliberately wrong scale.
SUBJECTHillhurst / The Radio
#99
Yves Tumor
Musician
international / US-associated
ARTIST / PEERPHYSICAL: NOII — HIGH VALUERESEARCHED
VERIFIED RESEARCH HOOK WEB-VERIFIED PITCH: PARTICULAR THING
Your work keeps moving between soulful R&B, dissonant noise, ambience, aggression and pop form without asking permission from any one category. “Neo Noir” is the most useful overlap on this album.
WHY THIS TRACK — Piano and round bass, whispered doubles, spatialized vocal phrases, synth possibility; Faith No More / Mr. Bungle / Melanie De Biasio in the production constellation.
SUBJECTScaled Alps — “Neo Noir”
#100
Carlos Niño
Producer / percussionist / curator
Los Angeles, CA
RADIO / DJPHYSICAL: SENDII — HIGH VALUERESEARCHED
VERIFIED RESEARCH HOOK WEB-VERIFIED PITCH: HILLHURST / RADIO
Your LA practice treats ambient music, jazz, hip-hop, percussion and communal improvisation as one ongoing social composition. “Impro” is the track here that needs the least translation.
WHY THIS TRACK — Loose funk vamp with jazz/neo-soul reflexes: conversational, repetitive and built to live in the pocket.
SUBJECTField report: The Radio
#101
Lilly McCarty
KXLU DJ / independent music manager / writer
Los Angeles, CA
PRESS / CRITICPHYSICAL: SENDII — HIGH VALUERESEARCHED
VERIFIED RESEARCH HOOK WEB-VERIFIED PITCH: HILLHURST / DISCOVERY
Your KXLU work and your interview with Bandcamp’s editorial director both point toward independent music as something that needs human context, not just placement. “Pink Diamonds” is the most immediate entry point, but the full package is the actual object.
WHY THIS TRACK — Piano and round bass, whispered doubles, spatialized vocal phrases, synth possibility; Faith No More / Mr. Bungle / Melanie De Biasio in the production constellation.
SUBJECTHillhurst / The Radio
#102
Dillon Olmedo
Artist / curator, Shuggie Presents
Los Angeles, CA
ARTIST / PEERPHYSICAL: POSSIBLEII — HIGH VALUERESEARCHED
VERIFIED RESEARCH HOOK WEB-VERIFIED PITCH: PARTICULAR THING
Shuggie Presents is part of the same current LA DIY circuitry documented by Noise Etc — younger local acts, informal rooms, and bills built through actual relationships. “Muffler” is the cleanest live-band introduction.
WHY THIS TRACK — Piano and round bass, whispered doubles, spatialized vocal phrases, synth possibility; Faith No More / Mr. Bungle / Melanie De Biasio in the production constellation.
SUBJECTScaled Alps — “Neo Noir”
#103
Ari Bone (Honda Dealz)
Multi-instrumentalist / sound engineer
Los Angeles, CA
PRODUCER / ENGINEERPHYSICAL: SENDII — HIGH VALUERESEARCHED
VERIFIED RESEARCH HOOK WEB-VERIFIED PITCH: PARTICULAR THING
Your work as a multi-instrumentalist and sound engineer across Valley Porno People, Lozenge and Horse Rider makes “Impro” the useful first cut: live players, unstable arrangement, and no attempt to sand off the seams.
WHY THIS TRACK — Volatile heavy art-rock: intelligible sung text held against mass, then a larger violent release.
SUBJECT“Tentacoli” — Scaled Alps
#104
Jesselisa Moretti
Co-founder / visual artist, Leaving Records
Los Angeles, CA
LABEL / INDUSTRYPHYSICAL: SENDII — HIGH VALUERESEARCHED
VERIFIED RESEARCH HOOK WEB-VERIFIED PITCH: DISTRIBUTION / MOVEMENT
Leaving Records has always made freak folk, beat music, free jazz, ambient sound and visual art coexist as one catalog rather than separate markets. “Impro” is the most natural musical entrance; the physical system is equally relevant.
WHY THIS TRACK — Piano and round bass, whispered doubles, spatialized vocal phrases, synth possibility; Faith No More / Mr. Bungle / Melanie De Biasio in the production constellation.
SUBJECTWe’ve got distribution problems
#105
Aaron Turner
Musician / label founder
— / verify
LABEL / INDUSTRYPHYSICAL: NOII — HIGH VALUERESEARCHED
VERIFIED RESEARCH HOOK WEB-VERIFIED PITCH: DISTRIBUTION / MOVEMENT
You’ve talked about making artwork that represents the music without illustrating it literally, and about SUMAC moving between free-form physicality and tightly woven composition. “Tentacoli” is the obvious cut, and the package matters too.
WHY THIS TRACK — Volatile heavy art-rock: intelligible sung text held against mass, then a larger violent release.
SUBJECTDistribution vs. Warehousing
#106
Brandon Stosuy
Writer / curator
— / verify
PRESS / CRITICPHYSICAL: NOII — HIGH VALUERESEARCHED
VERIFIED RESEARCH HOOK WEB-VERIFIED PITCH: HILLHURST / DISCOVERY
The Creative Independent is built around process, long-term practice and the thinking underneath the finished artifact rather than album-cycle PR. “Throwaway Lines” plus the Owner’s Manual is the right way into this project.
WHY THIS TRACK — World-weary piano/strings art-rock: intimate opening, dub echo in the drums and a wide Mer de Noms-scale guitar climax.
SUBJECTField report: The Radio
#107
Chris DeVille
Managing Editor, Stereogum
— / verify
PRESS / CRITICPHYSICAL: NOII — HIGH VALUERESEARCHED
VERIFIED RESEARCH HOOK WEB-VERIFIED PITCH: HILLHURST / DISCOVERY
Your recent work on indie history treats shoegaze, emo, aggro, glitch-pop and alternative rock as overlapping historical languages rather than sealed genres. “Setagaya” is the most useful guitar-side entrance.
WHY THIS TRACK — Danceable elegiac guitar music: swirling piano, intricate drums, Swervedriver/Chameleons guitars, huge choruses and 5AM light.
SUBJECTHillhurst / The Radio
#108
Geeta Dayal
Critic / author
— / verify
PRESS / CRITICPHYSICAL: NOII — HIGH VALUERESEARCHED
VERIFIED RESEARCH HOOK WEB-VERIFIED PITCH: HILLHURST / DISCOVERY
Your work on Brian Eno, systems, Oblique Strategies and sound as a form of visual / technological thinking makes “T.T.M.S.” the best first track — less song-as-product than a small operating system.
WHY THIS TRACK — Low hypnotic piano, dub/reggae undertow, airy space, boomy bass and a long gradual ascent.
SUBJECTThe Radio
#109
Gerard Cosloy
Cofounder, Matador
— / verify
CURATOR / OTHERPHYSICAL: NOII — HIGH VALUERESEARCHED
VERIFIED RESEARCH HOOK WEB-VERIFIED PITCH: HILLHURST / DISCOVERY
Matador’s best records have historically arrived with a strong identity before a tidy market category. “Setagaya” is the guitar-heavy cut here that most clearly makes that case.
WHY THIS TRACK — Danceable elegiac guitar music: swirling piano, intricate drums, Swervedriver/Chameleons guitars, huge choruses and 5AM light.
SUBJECTField report: The Radio
#110
Jenn Pelly
Critic / author
— / verify
PRESS / CRITICPHYSICAL: NOII — HIGH VALUERESEARCHED
VERIFIED RESEARCH HOOK WEB-VERIFIED PITCH: HILLHURST / DISCOVERY
Your writing on The Raincoats and your description of Fiona Apple as one of the first artists you felt reflected in makes the language-and-personality side of this record especially relevant. “Throwaway Lines” is the one to start with.
WHY THIS TRACK — World-weary piano/strings art-rock: intimate opening, dub echo in the drums and a wide Mer de Noms-scale guitar climax.
SUBJECTHillhurst / The Radio
#111
Jessica Hopper
Critic / author
— / verify
PRESS / CRITICPHYSICAL: NOII — HIGH VALUERESEARCHED
VERIFIED RESEARCH HOOK WEB-VERIFIED PITCH: HILLHURST / DISCOVERY
Your criticism explicitly refuses to separate a record’s aesthetics from the culture and politics it comes out of, and your work has always taken lyrics and the lives around them seriously. “Throwaway Lines” is the text-first entrance.
WHY THIS TRACK — Very short, dry anti-product art-rock; the lyric is the organizing device and the song gets out before the pitch can become respectable.
SUBJECTThe Radio
#112
Liz Pelly
Writer / author
— / verify
PRESS / CRITICPHYSICAL: NOII — HIGH VALUERESEARCHED
VERIFIED RESEARCH HOOK WEB-VERIFIED PITCH: HILLHURST / DISCOVERY
Mood Machine is fundamentally an argument against music being flattened into frictionless background utility and algorithmic mood product. “Selling It” is only a couple of minutes long, but it is the most pointed entry point for you.
WHY THIS TRACK — Very short, dry anti-product art-rock; the lyric is the organizing device and the song gets out before the pitch can become respectable.
SUBJECTField report: The Radio
#113
Omar Rodríguez-López
Musician / producer
— / verify
PRODUCER / ENGINEERPHYSICAL: NOII — HIGH VALUERESEARCHED
VERIFIED RESEARCH HOOK WEB-VERIFIED PITCH: PARTICULAR THING
Your work has always treated punk, Latin music, prog, film and absurdity as compatible raw material rather than a branding problem. “Tentacoli” is the most volatile piece on this record and the one I’d send first.
WHY THIS TRACK — Long-breath post-hardcore/art-rock: clean-to-scream dynamics, questioning bass, delay architecture, intense midrange guitars and a Morphine undertow.
SUBJECTLet the Alpine Play
#114
Scott Lapatine
Founder / Editor-in-Chief, Stereogum
— / verify
PRESS / CRITICPHYSICAL: NOII — HIGH VALUERESEARCHED
VERIFIED RESEARCH HOOK WEB-VERIFIED PITCH: HILLHURST / DISCOVERY
You recently described Stereogum’s purpose as human music discovery with context and personality — closer to a friend who goes to shows and sends you something good than an algorithm. “Setagaya” is the cut I’d hand that friend.
WHY THIS TRACK — Very short, dry anti-product art-rock; the lyric is the organizing device and the song gets out before the pitch can become respectable.
SUBJECTThe Radio
#115
Alain Johannes
Musician / producer
Los Angeles, CA
PRODUCER / ENGINEERPHYSICAL: SENDII — HIGH VALUERESEARCHED
VERIFIED RESEARCH HOOK WEB-VERIFIED PITCH: PARTICULAR THING
You’ve said the producer, musician and composer roles are fluid and all exist in service of the song, and that you prefer the energy closest to creation over perfection. “Muffler” is the short, live-wire cut here that best rewards that ear.
WHY THIS TRACK — Long-breath post-hardcore/art-rock: clean-to-scream dynamics, questioning bass, delay architecture, intense midrange guitars and a Morphine undertow.
SUBJECT“Slow Motion” — Scaled Alps
#116
Anne Litt
KCRW DJ
Los Angeles, CA
RADIO / DJPHYSICAL: SENDII — HIGH VALUERESEARCHED
VERIFIED RESEARCH HOOK WEB-VERIFIED PITCH: HILLHURST / RADIO
You’ve said KCRW can play anything if it is put in the right context, and that part of the job is to challenge listeners rather than simply mirror their taste. “Southerly” is the most straightforward first context for this record.
WHY THIS TRACK — Piano and round bass, whispered doubles, spatialized vocal phrases, synth possibility; Faith No More / Mr. Bungle / Melanie De Biasio in the production constellation.
SUBJECTHillhurst / The Radio
#117
Jordan Anderson
Talent Buyer, The Bellwether / Teragram Presents
Los Angeles, CA
LIVE / BOOKINGPHYSICAL: SENDII — HIGH VALUERESEARCHED
VERIFIED RESEARCH HOOK WEB-VERIFIED PITCH: DISTRIBUTION / MOVEMENT
Your move from the Troubadour to the Bellwether puts you across a 1,500-cap room plus Teragram Presents’ wider LA pathway. “Muffler” is the shortest proof of the live-band proposition.
WHY THIS TRACK — Piano and round bass, whispered doubles, spatialized vocal phrases, synth possibility; Faith No More / Mr. Bungle / Melanie De Biasio in the production constellation.
SUBJECTDistribution vs. Warehousing
#118
David Murphy
Talent Buyer, Moroccan Lounge / Teragram Presents
Los Angeles, CA
LIVE / BOOKINGPHYSICAL: SENDII — HIGH VALUERESEARCHED
VERIFIED RESEARCH HOOK WEB-VERIFIED PITCH: DISTRIBUTION / MOVEMENT
Teragram Presents is explicitly coordinating the Moroccan Lounge, Teragram and Bellwether as a pathway for acts to grow through LA rooms. “Muffler” is the fastest live introduction to Scaled Alps.
WHY THIS TRACK — Danceable elegiac guitar music: swirling piano, intricate drums, Swervedriver/Chameleons guitars, huge choruses and 5AM light.
SUBJECTDistribution is movement
#119
Greg Edwards
Musician / producer
Los Angeles-associated
PRODUCER / ENGINEERPHYSICAL: SENDII — HIGH VALUERESEARCHED
VERIFIED RESEARCH HOOK WEB-VERIFIED PITCH: PARTICULAR THING
You’ve described the common thread across Failure and Autolux as a search for something unique enough to justify itself, with Joy Division and Can sitting openly in the DNA. “Setagaya” is the closest contact point here.
WHY THIS TRACK — Long-breath post-hardcore/art-rock: clean-to-scream dynamics, questioning bass, delay architecture, intense midrange guitars and a Morphine undertow.
SUBJECTLet the Alpine Play
#120
Dâm-Funk
Musician / producer / DJ
Los Angeles, CA
RADIO / DJPHYSICAL: SENDII — HIGH VALUERESEARCHED
VERIFIED RESEARCH HOOK WEB-VERIFIED PITCH: HILLHURST / RADIO
You’ve always insisted on ‘modern funk’ rather than revivalism, and your listening runs from Slave and Prince to Rush, new wave and Prefab Sprout’s lyric craft. “HORS” is the bass-first cut here that gets closest without doing costume funk.
WHY THIS TRACK — Bass-first cosmic funk: Brasil ’66 bounce, P-Funk looseness, blue-eyed soul grit and Bowie-stutter tricks.
SUBJECTThe Radio
#121
Guillaume Blestel
Co-owner, Zebulon
Los Angeles, CA
LIVE / BOOKINGPHYSICAL: SENDII — HIGH VALUERESEARCHED
VERIFIED RESEARCH HOOK WEB-VERIFIED PITCH: DISTRIBUTION / MOVEMENT
Zebulon’s original identity was built around noisy jazz, international artists and an intentionally counterintuitive room — no rigid genre logic, no corporate-booking template. “Impro” is the record’s cleanest fit with that history.
WHY THIS TRACK — Piano and round bass, whispered doubles, spatialized vocal phrases, synth possibility; Faith No More / Mr. Bungle / Melanie De Biasio in the production constellation.
SUBJECTDistribution is movement
#122
Jimetta Rose
Singer / bandleader / community organizer
Los Angeles, CA
CURATOR / OTHERPHYSICAL: POSSIBLEII — HIGH VALUERESEARCHED
VERIFIED RESEARCH HOOK WEB-VERIFIED PITCH: HILLHURST / DISCOVERY
Voices of Creation grows directly out of your LA history in church choirs, jazz, hip-hop and the Sketchbook scene, with collaboration functioning as the actual method rather than a feature credit. “Impro” is the best first cut for that ear.
WHY THIS TRACK — Loose funk vamp with jazz/neo-soul reflexes: conversational, repetitive and built to live in the pocket.
SUBJECTHillhurst / The Radio
#123
Cedric Bixler-Zavala
Vocalist
— / verify
ARTIST / PEERPHYSICAL: NOII — HIGH VALUERESEARCHED
VERIFIED RESEARCH HOOK WEB-VERIFIED PITCH: PARTICULAR THING
The Mars Volta’s language has always asked listeners to live with gaps, scrambled imagery and narrative clues while the music turns punk, Latin rhythm and prog into one unstable body. “Tentacoli” is the track here that most enjoys that instability.
WHY THIS TRACK — Volatile heavy art-rock: intelligible sung text held against mass, then a larger violent release.
SUBJECTScaled Alps — “Tentacoli”
#124
Chelsea Wolfe
Musician
— / verify
ARTIST / PEERPHYSICAL: NOII — HIGH VALUERESEARCHED
VERIFIED RESEARCH HOOK WEB-VERIFIED PITCH: PARTICULAR THING
You’ve described your own work as a balance of heavy and light, folk and metal, with cinematic atmosphere and electronic / trip-hop elements allowed to coexist. “Lemon Zest” is the dark-romantic cut here that sits squarely in that tension.
WHY THIS TRACK — Dark synth/rock intimacy: stripped-down body-versus-mind tension on a Depeche Mode ‘Stripped’ skeleton.
SUBJECT“Lemon Zest” — Scaled Alps
#125
J.G. Thirlwell
Musician / composer
— / verify
FILM / SYNCPHYSICAL: NOII — HIGH VALUERESEARCHED
VERIFIED RESEARCH HOOK WEB-VERIFIED PITCH: DISTRIBUTION / MOVEMENT
You’ve said you combine genres by smashing or caressing them into something only half-familiar, but that the song or composition — not the genre exercise — remains the starting point. “Tentacoli” is the most extreme test case on this record.
WHY THIS TRACK — Piano and round bass, whispered doubles, spatialized vocal phrases, synth possibility; Faith No More / Mr. Bungle / Melanie De Biasio in the production constellation.
SUBJECTWe’ve got distribution problems
#126
Jim Jarmusch
Director / musician
New York, NY
FILM / SYNCPHYSICAL: NOIII — SELECTIVERESEARCHED
VERIFIED RESEARCH HOOK WEB-VERIFIED PITCH: DISTRIBUTION / MOVEMENT
You’ve described music as integrated into your writing process — making mixtapes while writing films, using Wu-Tang instrumentals for Ghost Dog, and treating non-formulaic scores as part of the film’s conception. “Another Clock Song” is the cut here that most immediately suggests its own world.
WHY THIS TRACK — Piano and round bass, whispered doubles, spatialized vocal phrases, synth possibility; Faith No More / Mr. Bungle / Melanie De Biasio in the production constellation.
SUBJECTDistribution vs. Warehousing
#127
Julia Ducournau
Director
— / verify
FILM / SYNCPHYSICAL: NOIII — SELECTIVERESEARCHED
VERIFIED RESEARCH HOOK WEB-VERIFIED PITCH: DISTRIBUTION / MOVEMENT
Titane uses music, bodily extremity and abrupt shifts in tone as part of the same physical language rather than as separate departments. “Tentacoli” is the most bodily and unstable track on this record, so it seemed the least arbitrary thing to send.
WHY THIS TRACK — Piano and round bass, whispered doubles, spatialized vocal phrases, synth possibility; Faith No More / Mr. Bungle / Melanie De Biasio in the production constellation.
SUBJECTDistribution is movement
#128
Laura Snapes
Music journalist
— / verify
PRESS / CRITICPHYSICAL: NOIII — SELECTIVERESEARCHED
VERIFIED RESEARCH HOOK WEB-VERIFIED PITCH: HILLHURST / DISCOVERY
Your criticism is unusually attentive to language, persona and the emotional mechanics of records rather than merely scene placement. “Throwaway Lines” is the text-first entrance to this album, so I’m sending that rather than the obvious guitar cut.
WHY THIS TRACK — World-weary piano/strings art-rock: intimate opening, dub echo in the drums and a wide Mer de Noms-scale guitar climax.
SUBJECTHillhurst / The Radio
#129
Nikka Costa
Musician
— / verify
ARTIST / PEERPHYSICAL: NOIII — SELECTIVERESEARCHED
VERIFIED RESEARCH HOOK WEB-VERIFIED PITCH: PARTICULAR THING
Your work has always treated funk, soul and rock as one live physical language — with Stevie Wonder and Prince sitting naturally inside that continuum. “HORS” is the bass-first, rhythm-first cut on this record.
WHY THIS TRACK — Loose funk vamp with jazz/neo-soul reflexes: conversational, repetitive and built to live in the pocket.
SUBJECTScaled Alps — “Impro”
#130
Serj Tankian
Musician / composer
— / verify
FILM / SYNCPHYSICAL: NOIII — SELECTIVERESEARCHED
VERIFIED RESEARCH HOOK WEB-VERIFIED PITCH: DISTRIBUTION / MOVEMENT
You’ve explicitly argued that sticking to one formula is the kiss of death, and your own work moves from aggressive rock into orchestral writing, jazz, film music, painting and poetry. “Celestial Sighs” is the melodic entrance to a record built on the same refusal to stay in one lane.
WHY THIS TRACK — Sparkling piano, an enormous pop/R&B melody, active drums and heavy chorus guitars at deliberately wrong scale.
SUBJECTDistribution is movement
#131
Thurston Moore
Musician / publisher
— / verify
LABEL / INDUSTRYPHYSICAL: NOIII — SELECTIVERESEARCHED
VERIFIED RESEARCH HOOK WEB-VERIFIED PITCH: DISTRIBUTION / MOVEMENT
Your work has always made noise, poetry, publishing, visual art and underground record culture feel like parts of one practice rather than side projects. “Tentacoli” is the extreme musical entry; the Owner’s Manual is the other reason I’m sending the full package.
WHY THIS TRACK — Volatile heavy art-rock: intelligible sung text held against mass, then a larger violent release.
SUBJECTWe’ve got distribution problems
#132
Chris Douridas
KCRW DJ / music curator
Los Angeles, CA
RADIO / DJPHYSICAL: SENDIII — SELECTIVERESEARCHED
VERIFIED RESEARCH HOOK WEB-VERIFIED PITCH: HILLHURST / RADIO
Your KCRW history has always been built around discovering records that can move between film, electronic music, rock and left-field pop without being reduced to a format. “Neo Noir” is the most cinematic first move here.
WHY THIS TRACK — Piano and round bass, whispered doubles, spatialized vocal phrases, synth possibility; Faith No More / Mr. Bungle / Melanie De Biasio in the production constellation.
SUBJECTThe Radio
#133
Jonathan Leahy
President, Guild of Music Supervisors
Los Angeles / US industry
FILM / SYNCPHYSICAL: NOIII — SELECTIVERESEARCHED
VERIFIED RESEARCH HOOK WEB-VERIFIED PITCH: DISTRIBUTION / MOVEMENT
Given your work across supervision and the Guild, I’m leading with the track that has the clearest scene identity rather than the one that best summarizes the album. “Neo Noir” is piano-led, dark, compact and immediately placeable.
WHY THIS TRACK — Piano and round bass, whispered doubles, spatialized vocal phrases, synth possibility; Faith No More / Mr. Bungle / Melanie De Biasio in the production constellation.
SUBJECTDistribution is movement
#134
Jake Duzsik
Vocalist / musician, HEALTH
Los Angeles, CA
ARTIST / PEERPHYSICAL: SENDIII — SELECTIVERESEARCHED
VERIFIED RESEARCH HOOK WEB-VERIFIED PITCH: PARTICULAR THING
HEALTH has spent years finding ways for industrial electronics, pop architecture and genuinely heavy music to coexist without one neutralizing the others. “Tentacoli” is the least polite version of that problem on this record.
WHY THIS TRACK — Volatile heavy art-rock: intelligible sung text held against mass, then a larger violent release.
SUBJECTLet the Alpine Play
#135
Kiefer
Pianist / producer
Los Angeles-associated
PRODUCER / ENGINEERPHYSICAL: SENDIII — SELECTIVERESEARCHED
VERIFIED RESEARCH HOOK WEB-VERIFIED PITCH: PARTICULAR THING
Your work sits naturally between jazz piano, beat-making, hip-hop and harmony that can borrow from rock without becoming fusion-by-checklist. “Impro” is the most open, player-driven entrance to this record.
WHY THIS TRACK — Loose funk vamp with jazz/neo-soul reflexes: conversational, repetitive and built to live in the pocket.
SUBJECTScaled Alps — “Impro”
#136
LeRoy Downs
KCRW DJ / jazz curator
Los Angeles, CA
RADIO / DJPHYSICAL: SENDIII — SELECTIVERESEARCHED
VERIFIED RESEARCH HOOK WEB-VERIFIED PITCH: HILLHURST / RADIO
Your KCRW show is explicitly about the multitudes contained within jazz, including experimental music, hip-hop and R&B rather than a narrow repertory definition. “Impro” is the track here that most naturally belongs in that frame.
WHY THIS TRACK — Loose funk vamp with jazz/neo-soul reflexes: conversational, repetitive and built to live in the pocket.
SUBJECTField report: The Radio
#137
Lydia Ammossow
Radio Station Director, KXLU
Los Angeles, CA
RADIO / DJPHYSICAL: SENDIII — SELECTIVERESEARCHED
VERIFIED RESEARCH HOOK WEB-VERIFIED PITCH: HILLHURST / RADIO
KXLU’s value is still the possibility of hearing a record because a human at the station decided it mattered, not because it fit a commercial format. I’m sending the album as a whole, with “Another Clock Song” as the front door.
WHY THIS TRACK — Piano and bass in the foreground; rainy jazz-café air, Doors/Floyd shadows, elegant reverb, slow scale.
SUBJECTHillhurst / The Radio
#138
Sasami Ashworth
Musician / producer
Los Angeles-associated
PRODUCER / ENGINEERPHYSICAL: SENDIII — SELECTIVERESEARCHED
VERIFIED RESEARCH HOOK WEB-VERIFIED PITCH: PARTICULAR THING
Your records and production work move freely between orchestration, pop, noise and metal-scale weight without treating any of those as a costume. “Tentacoli” is the most extreme expression of that collision here.
WHY THIS TRACK — Volatile heavy art-rock: intelligible sung text held against mass, then a larger violent release.
SUBJECTScaled Alps — “Tentacoli”
#139
John Famiglietti
Musician / producer, HEALTH
Los Angeles, CA
DESIGN / VISUALPHYSICAL: SENDIII — SELECTIVERESEARCHED
VERIFIED RESEARCH HOOK WEB-VERIFIED PITCH: PARTICULAR THING
HEALTH’s best work treats texture, low-end, electronics and pop legibility as a single production problem. “Neo Noir” is the track here where that balance is clearest without simply imitating industrial music.
WHY THIS TRACK — Slow, narcotic, rap-derived menace: blunt hook repetition and Three 6 Mafia syrup under the floorboards.
SUBJECT“Pink Diamonds” — Scaled Alps
#140
Tyler "Boogie" Boudreaux
KCRW DJ
Los Angeles, CA
RADIO / DJPHYSICAL: SENDIII — SELECTIVERESEARCHED
VERIFIED RESEARCH HOOK WEB-VERIFIED PITCH: HILLHURST / RADIO
Your KCRW programming makes room for rhythm-first records that can move through funk, soul, hip-hop and left-field rock without announcing the category change. “HORS” is the bass-heavy entry point here.
WHY THIS TRACK — Bass-first cosmic funk: Brasil ’66 bounce, P-Funk looseness, blue-eyed soul grit and Bowie-stutter tricks.
SUBJECTHillhurst / The Radio
#141
Izzy Glaudini
Musician, Automatic
Los Angeles, CA
ARTIST / PEERPHYSICAL: SENDIII — SELECTIVERESEARCHED
VERIFIED RESEARCH HOOK WEB-VERIFIED PITCH: PARTICULAR THING
You’ve talked about growing up on everything from the B-52’s and Selena to Joy Division and the Velvet Underground, and about being drawn to Jung, silent film, existentialism and the weird. “Setagaya” is the atmospheric guitar cut that seemed least likely to need explanation.
WHY THIS TRACK — Piano and round bass, whispered doubles, spatialized vocal phrases, synth possibility; Faith No More / Mr. Bungle / Melanie De Biasio in the production constellation.
SUBJECTScaled Alps — “Neo Noir”
#142
Joce Soubiran
Co-founder / co-owner, Zebulon
Los Angeles, CA
LIVE / BOOKINGPHYSICAL: SENDIII — SELECTIVERESEARCHED
VERIFIED RESEARCH HOOK WEB-VERIFIED PITCH: DISTRIBUTION / MOVEMENT
Zebulon’s whole history is an argument for rooms where jazz, experimental music, rock and things that do not classify cleanly can share a stage. “T.T.M.S.” is the skeletal, nocturnal cut I’d start with.
WHY THIS TRACK — Piano and round bass, whispered doubles, spatialized vocal phrases, synth possibility; Faith No More / Mr. Bungle / Melanie De Biasio in the production constellation.
SUBJECTDistribution is movement
#143
Mia Doi Todd
Musician / songwriter
Los Angeles, CA
PRESS / CRITICPHYSICAL: SENDIII — SELECTIVERESEARCHED
VERIFIED RESEARCH HOOK WEB-VERIFIED PITCH: HILLHURST / DISCOVERY
Your songwriting has long made intimacy, Los Angeles, folk language and experimental arrangement coexist without forcing them into separate projects. “Throwaway Lines” is the lyric-first ending of this record.
WHY THIS TRACK — World-weary piano/strings art-rock: intimate opening, dub echo in the drums and a wide Mer de Noms-scale guitar climax.
SUBJECTHillhurst / The Radio
#144
Tana Yonas
KCRW DJ / curator
Los Angeles, CA
RADIO / DJPHYSICAL: SENDIII — SELECTIVERESEARCHED
VERIFIED RESEARCH HOOK WEB-VERIFIED PITCH: HILLHURST / RADIO
Your KCRW work is open enough to let electronic, soul, global and experimental records sit beside one another according to feel rather than taxonomy. “Neo Noir” is the darkest compact entrance to this one.
WHY THIS TRACK — Bass-first cosmic funk: Brasil ’66 bounce, P-Funk looseness, blue-eyed soul grit and Bowie-stutter tricks.
SUBJECTThe Radio
#145
Bruce Pavitt
Cofounder, Sub Pop
— / verify
CURATOR / OTHERPHYSICAL: NOIII — SELECTIVERESEARCHED
VERIFIED RESEARCH HOOK WEB-VERIFIED PITCH: HILLHURST / DISCOVERY
Sub Pop began as an argument that regional, independent and unfashionable music deserved its own infrastructure; your Subterranean Pop work was explicitly punk, new wave and experimental before the label existed. “Southerly” is the most immediate guitar-side entrance here.
WHY THIS TRACK — Funereal piano, martial drums, island-bounce guitar, airy vocals and a violent weather-system ending.
SUBJECTField report: The Radio
#146
Christian Eede
News Editor, The Quietus
— / verify
PRESS / CRITICPHYSICAL: NOIII — SELECTIVERESEARCHED
VERIFIED RESEARCH HOOK WEB-VERIFIED PITCH: HILLHURST / DISCOVERY
The Quietus is most useful when it lets records connect outward into film, books, politics and experimental culture instead of treating them as release-cycle units. “Neo Noir” is the first track I’d send into that editorial world.
WHY THIS TRACK — Piano and round bass, whispered doubles, spatialized vocal phrases, synth possibility; Faith No More / Mr. Bungle / Melanie De Biasio in the production constellation.
SUBJECTHillhurst / The Radio
#147
Joerg Koch
Founder / editor, 032c
— / verify
PRESS / CRITICPHYSICAL: NOIII — SELECTIVERESEARCHED
VERIFIED RESEARCH HOOK WEB-VERIFIED PITCH: HILLHURST / DISCOVERY
032c has always treated music, fashion, art and publishing as overlapping cultural production rather than separate verticals. “Neo Noir” is the musical entrance; the physical package is why I’m sending the complete object.
WHY THIS TRACK — Piano and round bass, whispered doubles, spatialized vocal phrases, synth possibility; Faith No More / Mr. Bungle / Melanie De Biasio in the production constellation.
SUBJECTThe Radio
#148
Jonathan Poneman
Cofounder, Sub Pop
— / verify
CURATOR / OTHERPHYSICAL: NOIII — SELECTIVERESEARCHED
VERIFIED RESEARCH HOOK WEB-VERIFIED PITCH: HILLHURST / DISCOVERY
Your early Sub Pop work helped prove that strange regional guitar music could be built into durable independent culture without sanding off its identity. “Southerly” is the clearest guitar-side introduction to this record.
WHY THIS TRACK — Danceable elegiac guitar music: swirling piano, intricate drums, Swervedriver/Chameleons guitars, huge choruses and 5AM light.
SUBJECTField report: The Radio
#149
Simon Raymonde
Founder, Bella Union
— / verify
CURATOR / OTHERPHYSICAL: NOIII — SELECTIVERESEARCHED
VERIFIED RESEARCH HOOK WEB-VERIFIED PITCH: HILLHURST / DISCOVERY
Bella Union’s catalog has always made room for emotionally specific records that are difficult to summarize cleanly, and you’ve written about valuing the intimacy of a small label and close artist relationships. “Another Clock Song” is the album-scale introduction.
WHY THIS TRACK — Piano and bass in the foreground; rainy jazz-café air, Doors/Floyd shadows, elegant reverb, slow scale.
SUBJECTHillhurst / The Radio
#150
Carla Azar
Drummer / musician
Los Angeles-associated
ARTIST / PEERPHYSICAL: SENDIII — SELECTIVERESEARCHED
VERIFIED RESEARCH HOOK WEB-VERIFIED PITCH: PARTICULAR THING
You’ve described your drumming as advanced minimalism with bursts of chaos, and talked about hip-hop and electronic programming — including Aphex Twin — changing the way you hear fills and rhythm. “HORS” is the rhythm-first cut I’d send.
WHY THIS TRACK — Bass-first cosmic funk: Brasil ’66 bounce, P-Funk looseness, blue-eyed soul grit and Bowie-stutter tricks.
SUBJECTScaled Alps — “HORS”
#151
Jef Soubiran
Co-founder / co-owner, Zebulon
Los Angeles, CA
LIVE / BOOKINGPHYSICAL: SENDIII — SELECTIVERESEARCHED
VERIFIED RESEARCH HOOK WEB-VERIFIED PITCH: DISTRIBUTION / MOVEMENT
Zebulon’s strength has always been the room itself: a place where experimental music, jazz, rock and difficult-to-categorize work can function socially rather than as a niche playlist. “T.T.M.S.” is the nocturnal first move.
WHY THIS TRACK — Piano and round bass, whispered doubles, spatialized vocal phrases, synth possibility; Faith No More / Mr. Bungle / Melanie De Biasio in the production constellation.
SUBJECTDistribution is movement
#152
Lola Dompé
Musician, Automatic
Los Angeles, CA
ARTIST / PEERPHYSICAL: SENDIII — SELECTIVERESEARCHED
VERIFIED RESEARCH HOOK WEB-VERIFIED PITCH: PARTICULAR THING
Automatic’s work keeps post-punk structure, synth language and contemporary LA unease in motion rather than freezing them into revivalism. “Setagaya” is the guitar-heavy cut here that most naturally meets that tension.
WHY THIS TRACK — Danceable elegiac guitar music: swirling piano, intricate drums, Swervedriver/Chameleons guitars, huge choruses and 5AM light.
SUBJECTLet the Alpine Play
#153
Raul Campos
KCRW DJ
Los Angeles, CA
RADIO / DJPHYSICAL: SENDIII — SELECTIVERESEARCHED
VERIFIED RESEARCH HOOK WEB-VERIFIED PITCH: HILLHURST / RADIO
Your KCRW work has long been built around connecting Latin music, funk, soul, electronic records and Los Angeles club culture. “HORS” is the bass-and-rhythm entrance to this album.
WHY THIS TRACK — Bass-first cosmic funk: Brasil ’66 bounce, P-Funk looseness, blue-eyed soul grit and Bowie-stutter tricks.
SUBJECTThe Radio
#154
Sam Gendel
Musician / composer
Los Angeles-associated
FILM / SYNCPHYSICAL: SENDIII — SELECTIVERESEARCHED
VERIFIED RESEARCH HOOK WEB-VERIFIED PITCH: DISTRIBUTION / MOVEMENT
Your work makes improvisation, jazz language, electronics and deliberately altered instrumental sound feel less like genre crossing than one continuous vocabulary. “Impro” is therefore the least contrived introduction.
WHY THIS TRACK — Piano and round bass, whispered doubles, spatialized vocal phrases, synth possibility; Faith No More / Mr. Bungle / Melanie De Biasio in the production constellation.
SUBJECTDistribution is movement
#155
Anthony Fantano
Founder & Host, The Needle Drop
— / verify
CURATOR / OTHERPHYSICAL: NOIII — SELECTIVERESEARCHED
VERIFIED RESEARCH HOOK WEB-VERIFIED PITCH: HILLHURST / DISCOVERY
Because your audience expects records to survive direct comparison across metal, experimental music, indie rock and pop, I’m not trying to pre-negotiate the category. “Tentacoli” is the hardest single stress test; the whole record is below.
WHY THIS TRACK — Piano and bass in the foreground; rainy jazz-café air, Doors/Floyd shadows, elegant reverb, slow scale.
SUBJECTHillhurst / The Radio
#156
Gabe DeLoach
Founder, Sargent House
— / verify
LABEL / INDUSTRYPHYSICAL: NOIII — SELECTIVERESEARCHED
VERIFIED RESEARCH HOOK WEB-VERIFIED PITCH: DISTRIBUTION / MOVEMENT
Sargent House has historically made room for technically serious, heavy and experimental artists without requiring them to share one sound. “Setagaya” is the atmospheric-heavy entrance to this record.
WHY THIS TRACK — Sparkling piano, an enormous pop/R&B melody, active drums and heavy chorus guitars at deliberately wrong scale.
SUBJECTDistribution vs. Warehousing
#157
John Mulvey
Editor-in-Chief, Mojo Magazine
— / verify
PRESS / CRITICPHYSICAL: NOIII — SELECTIVERESEARCHED
VERIFIED RESEARCH HOOK WEB-VERIFIED PITCH: HILLHURST / DISCOVERY
MOJO’s best writing treats records as parts of long musical histories without requiring new music to behave like reenactment. “Another Clock Song” is the broadest introduction to this one.
WHY THIS TRACK — World-weary piano/strings art-rock: intimate opening, dub echo in the drums and a wide Mer de Noms-scale guitar climax.
SUBJECTField report: The Radio
#158
Mark Richardson
Editor/Critic, Pitchfork / Independent
— / verify
PRESS / CRITICPHYSICAL: NOIII — SELECTIVERESEARCHED
VERIFIED RESEARCH HOOK WEB-VERIFIED PITCH: HILLHURST / DISCOVERY
Your criticism has always been strongest on records where production, sequencing and atmosphere matter at album scale rather than as isolated singles. “Another Clock Song” is the front door; I’d really be sending the LP.
WHY THIS TRACK — Piano and bass in the foreground; rainy jazz-café air, Doors/Floyd shadows, elegant reverb, slow scale.
SUBJECTHillhurst / The Radio
#159
Francesca Harding
KCRW DJ
Los Angeles, CA
RADIO / DJPHYSICAL: SENDIII — SELECTIVERESEARCHED
VERIFIED RESEARCH HOOK WEB-VERIFIED PITCH: HILLHURST / RADIO
Your KCRW programming moves easily between melodic songcraft, electronic texture and groove, so I’m leading with “Celestial Sighs,” the most immediately melodic cut rather than the darkest one.
WHY THIS TRACK — Bass-first cosmic funk: Brasil ’66 bounce, P-Funk looseness, blue-eyed soul grit and Bowie-stutter tricks.
SUBJECTThe Radio
#160
Halle Saxon Gainsbourg
Musician, Automatic
Los Angeles, CA
ARTIST / PEERPHYSICAL: SENDIII — SELECTIVERESEARCHED
VERIFIED RESEARCH HOOK WEB-VERIFIED PITCH: PARTICULAR THING
Automatic’s current work keeps Joy Division / Kraftwerk-adjacent vocabulary alive by changing the formula rather than merely reproducing the surface. “Setagaya” is the record’s most useful atmospheric-guitar counterpart.
WHY THIS TRACK — Danceable elegiac guitar music: swirling piano, intricate drums, Swervedriver/Chameleons guitars, huge choruses and 5AM light.
SUBJECT“Setagaya” — Scaled Alps
#161
PJ Bloom
Music supervisor / executive
Los Angeles / US industry
FILM / SYNCPHYSICAL: NOIII — SELECTIVERESEARCHED
VERIFIED RESEARCH HOOK WEB-VERIFIED PITCH: DISTRIBUTION / MOVEMENT
Your supervision work has ranged across film, television, games and trailers, where a track has to establish character quickly rather than merely resemble a reference. “Neo Noir” is the cleanest scene-first entry point.
WHY THIS TRACK — Piano and round bass, whispered doubles, spatialized vocal phrases, synth possibility; Faith No More / Mr. Bungle / Melanie De Biasio in the production constellation.
SUBJECTWe’ve got distribution problems
#162
Sam Wilkes
Bassist / composer
Los Angeles-associated
FILM / SYNCPHYSICAL: POSSIBLEIII — SELECTIVERESEARCHED
VERIFIED RESEARCH HOOK WEB-VERIFIED PITCH: DISTRIBUTION / MOVEMENT
Your bass playing and collaborative work with Sam Gendel live in the zone where jazz musicianship, groove and studio manipulation stop being separate categories. “HORS” is the bass-first entry; “Impro” is the looser second move.
WHY THIS TRACK — Bass-first cosmic funk: Brasil ’66 bounce, P-Funk looseness, blue-eyed soul grit and Bowie-stutter tricks.
SUBJECTDistribution vs. Warehousing
#163
Adam Hyman
Founder / programmer, LA Filmforum; 2220 resident programmer
Los Angeles, CA
CURATOR / OTHERPHYSICAL: SENDIII — SELECTIVERESEARCHED
VERIFIED RESEARCH HOOK WEB-VERIFIED PITCH: HILLHURST / DISCOVERY
LA Filmforum and your programming work treat experimental cinema as an ongoing culture rather than a museum category. “Neo Noir” is the track here that most immediately produces images, while the Owner’s Manual carries the project further into object / text territory.
WHY THIS TRACK — Piano and round bass, whispered doubles, spatialized vocal phrases, synth possibility; Faith No More / Mr. Bungle / Melanie De Biasio in the production constellation.
SUBJECTField report: The Radio
#164
Bennett Kogon
Host, The Bennett Show / radio producer
Los Angeles, CA
RADIO / DJPHYSICAL: SENDIII — SELECTIVERESEARCHED
VERIFIED RESEARCH HOOK WEB-VERIFIED PITCH: HILLHURST / RADIO
Your radio work is built around making unfamiliar music legible through personality and context rather than sanding it into a format. “Celestial Sighs” is the easiest first contact with the record.
WHY THIS TRACK — Sparkling piano, an enormous pop/R&B melody, active drums and heavy chorus guitars at deliberately wrong scale.
SUBJECTHillhurst / The Radio
#165
Julia Holter
Composer / songwriter
Los Angeles, CA
FILM / SYNCPHYSICAL: POSSIBLEIII — SELECTIVERESEARCHED
VERIFIED RESEARCH HOOK WEB-VERIFIED PITCH: DISTRIBUTION / MOVEMENT
You’ve described using processes like Cagean mesostics to get inside language, and your work has repeatedly treated existing text, storytelling and composition as porous categories. “Throwaway Lines” is the lyric-first entrance here.
WHY THIS TRACK — Acoustic guitar forward, wide lead guitar, moving bass and an aching island-psych ballad shape.
SUBJECTDistribution vs. Warehousing
#166
Paz Lenchantin
Musician / bassist / violinist
Los Angeles-associated
ARTIST / PEERPHYSICAL: SENDIII — SELECTIVERESEARCHED
VERIFIED RESEARCH HOOK WEB-VERIFIED PITCH: PARTICULAR THING
Your work across bass, violin and guitar-heavy bands has always put melodic counterline inside music with real physical weight. “Southerly” is the most direct band-arrangement introduction here.
WHY THIS TRACK — Funereal piano, martial drums, island-bounce guitar, airy vocals and a violent weather-system ending.
SUBJECT“Southerly” — Scaled Alps
#167
Nels Cline
Guitarist / composer
Los Angeles-associated
FILM / SYNCPHYSICAL: POSSIBLEIII — SELECTIVERESEARCHED
VERIFIED RESEARCH HOOK WEB-VERIFIED PITCH: DISTRIBUTION / MOVEMENT
Your guitar work has spent decades treating improvisation, noise, song form and jazz vocabulary as mutually useful rather than mutually exclusive. “Impro” is the least mediated way into this album for that reason.
WHY THIS TRACK — Loose funk vamp with jazz/neo-soul reflexes: conversational, repetitive and built to live in the pocket.
SUBJECTWe’ve got distribution problems
#168
Carly Vance
A&R, Matador Records
— / verify
LABEL / INDUSTRYPHYSICAL: NOIII — SELECTIVERESEARCHED
VERIFIED RESEARCH HOOK WEB-VERIFIED PITCH: DISTRIBUTION / MOVEMENT
Matador’s catalog has repeatedly made space for guitar records with strong internal identities before a clean marketing category presents itself. “Setagaya” is the track I’d use to test whether this belongs in that conversation.
WHY THIS TRACK — Danceable elegiac guitar music: swirling piano, intricate drums, Swervedriver/Chameleons guitars, huge choruses and 5AM light.
SUBJECTDistribution vs. Warehousing
#169
Gorilla vs. Bear (Chris Cantalini)
— / verify
RADIO / DJPHYSICAL: NOIII — SELECTIVERESEARCHED
VERIFIED RESEARCH HOOK WEB-VERIFIED PITCH: HILLHURST / RADIO
Gorilla vs. Bear has always been good at hearing the pop center inside records that arrive through haze, electronics, psych or left-field production. “Celestial Sighs” is the melodic entrance to this one.
WHY THIS TRACK — Sparkling piano, an enormous pop/R&B melody, active drums and heavy chorus guitars at deliberately wrong scale.
SUBJECTField report: The Radio
#170
Miles Johnson
A&R / Creative Director, Sacred Bones Records
— / verify
LABEL / INDUSTRYPHYSICAL: NOIII — SELECTIVERESEARCHED
VERIFIED RESEARCH HOOK WEB-VERIFIED PITCH: DISTRIBUTION / MOVEMENT
Sacred Bones’ identity has never depended on one genre so much as a coherent appetite for dark, physical, carefully presented records. “Lemon Zest” plus the Owner’s Manual is the cleanest first presentation here.
WHY THIS TRACK — Sparkling piano, an enormous pop/R&B melody, active drums and heavy chorus guitars at deliberately wrong scale.
SUBJECTWe’ve got distribution problems
#171
Panos Cosmatos
Director
— / verify
FILM / SYNCPHYSICAL: NOIII — SELECTIVERESEARCHED
VERIFIED RESEARCH HOOK WEB-VERIFIED PITCH: DISTRIBUTION / MOVEMENT
Mandy and Beyond the Black Rainbow both use sound, color and physical excess to make atmosphere feel architectural rather than ornamental. “Tentacoli” is the track here that most aggressively builds its own room.
WHY THIS TRACK — Piano and round bass, whispered doubles, spatialized vocal phrases, synth possibility; Faith No More / Mr. Bungle / Melanie De Biasio in the production constellation.
SUBJECTDistribution vs. Warehousing
#172
Printed Matter, Inc.
— / verify
DESIGN / VISUALPHYSICAL: NOIII — SELECTIVERESEARCHED
VERIFIED RESEARCH HOOK WEB-VERIFIED PITCH: PARTICULAR THING
Printed Matter’s entire premise makes the physical publication itself a serious artistic form rather than merchandise attached to another medium. The Owner’s Manual is the reason I’m sending this; “Throwaway Lines” is the text-first musical entrance.
WHY THIS TRACK — World-weary piano/strings art-rock: intimate opening, dub echo in the drums and a wide Mer de Noms-scale guitar climax.
SUBJECT“Throwaway Lines” — Scaled Alps
#173
Rough Trade Shops Editorial (London/NYC)
— / verify
DESIGN / VISUALPHYSICAL: NOIII — SELECTIVERESEARCHED
VERIFIED RESEARCH HOOK WEB-VERIFIED PITCH: PARTICULAR THING
Rough Trade’s editorial and shop culture still gives whole records, physical editions and staff discovery a role that streaming storefronts largely erased. “Another Clock Song” is the front door to the LP; the physical package is part of the proposition.
WHY THIS TRACK — Piano and round bass, whispered doubles, spatialized vocal phrases, synth possibility; Faith No More / Mr. Bungle / Melanie De Biasio in the production constellation.
SUBJECTLet the Alpine Play
#174
Treble Zine (Jeff Terich)
— / verify
RADIO / DJPHYSICAL: NOIII — SELECTIVERESEARCHED
VERIFIED RESEARCH HOOK WEB-VERIFIED PITCH: HILLHURST / RADIO
Treble has consistently treated metal, post-punk, indie, jazz and experimental music as neighboring critical territory rather than separate readerships. “Setagaya” is the guitar-heavy first move.
WHY THIS TRACK — Danceable elegiac guitar music: swirling piano, intricate drums, Swervedriver/Chameleons guitars, huge choruses and 5AM light.
SUBJECTThe Radio
#175
WFMU Music Director
Jersey City
— / verify
RADIO / DJPHYSICAL: NOIII — SELECTIVERESEARCHED
VERIFIED RESEARCH HOOK WEB-VERIFIED PITCH: HILLHURST / RADIO
WFMU remains one of the clearest surviving arguments for genuinely freeform radio: records can be interesting before they are format-legible. I’m sending the album as a whole, with “Another Clock Song” as the entry point.
WHY THIS TRACK — Piano and bass in the foreground; rainy jazz-café air, Doors/Floyd shadows, elegant reverb, slow scale.
SUBJECTField report: The Radio
#176
XLR8R Editorial
— / verify
RADIO / DJPHYSICAL: NOIII — SELECTIVERESEARCHED
VERIFIED RESEARCH HOOK WEB-VERIFIED PITCH: HILLHURST / RADIO
XLR8R began in electronic music but has long treated experimental electronics, independent music, technology and visual culture as one field. “T.T.M.S.” is the cleanest electronic / rhythm-forward entrance to this record.
WHY THIS TRACK — Sparkling piano, an enormous pop/R&B melody, active drums and heavy chorus guitars at deliberately wrong scale.
SUBJECTHillhurst / The Radio
#177
Corina Copp
Rotations programmer, 2220
Los Angeles, CA
CURATOR / OTHERPHYSICAL: SENDIII — SELECTIVERESEARCHED
VERIFIED RESEARCH HOOK WEB-VERIFIED PITCH: HILLHURST / DISCOVERY
Rotations is explicitly concerned with experimental nonfiction, artist and political cinema, while Language Garden brings poetry and performance into the same curatorial practice. “Throwaway Lines” is the text-first entrance; the physical package is equally relevant.
WHY THIS TRACK — World-weary piano/strings art-rock: intimate opening, dub echo in the drums and a wide Mer de Noms-scale guitar climax.
SUBJECTThe Radio
#178
Elizabeth Cline
Wild Up programmer, 2220
Los Angeles, CA
CURATOR / OTHERPHYSICAL: SENDIII — SELECTIVERESEARCHED
VERIFIED RESEARCH HOOK WEB-VERIFIED PITCH: HILLHURST / DISCOVERY
Wild Up’s programming is built around contemporary music as a living, collaborative practice rather than a sealed classical repertory. “Impro” is the least genre-fixed, most player-driven entry point here.
WHY THIS TRACK — Loose funk vamp with jazz/neo-soul reflexes: conversational, repetitive and built to live in the pocket.
SUBJECTField report: The Radio
#179
Jason Adams
Late Breakfast programmer, 2220
Los Angeles, CA
CURATOR / OTHERPHYSICAL: SENDIII — SELECTIVERESEARCHED
VERIFIED RESEARCH HOOK WEB-VERIFIED PITCH: HILLHURST / DISCOVERY
Late Breakfast’s place inside 2220’s programming makes a loose, exploratory piece more useful than a conventional single. “Impro” is the track I’d put first.
WHY THIS TRACK — Loose funk vamp with jazz/neo-soul reflexes: conversational, repetitive and built to live in the pocket.
SUBJECTHillhurst / The Radio
#180
Mark Toscano
Film archivist / programmer, Lightstruck; 2220 resident programmer
Los Angeles, CA
CURATOR / OTHERPHYSICAL: SENDIII — SELECTIVERESEARCHED
VERIFIED RESEARCH HOOK WEB-VERIFIED PITCH: HILLHURST / DISCOVERY
Your preservation and programming work around experimental film treats material form, projection and historical context as part of the artwork rather than neutral delivery. “Neo Noir” is the most immediately image-producing cut, and the physical package matters here too.
WHY THIS TRACK — Piano and round bass, whispered doubles, spatialized vocal phrases, synth possibility; Faith No More / Mr. Bungle / Melanie De Biasio in the production constellation.
SUBJECTThe Radio
#181
Micah Gottlieb
Mezzanine Film programmer, 2220
Los Angeles, CA
CURATOR / OTHERPHYSICAL: SENDIII — SELECTIVERESEARCHED
VERIFIED RESEARCH HOOK WEB-VERIFIED PITCH: HILLHURST / DISCOVERY
Mezzanine’s programming at 2220 places film in conversation with a broader experimental arts ecology rather than treating cinema as a standalone category. “Neo Noir” is the obvious sonic entry point.
WHY THIS TRACK — Piano and round bass, whispered doubles, spatialized vocal phrases, synth possibility; Faith No More / Mr. Bungle / Melanie De Biasio in the production constellation.
SUBJECTField report: The Radio
#182
Zena Grey
Lightstruck programmer, 2220
Los Angeles, CA
CURATOR / OTHERPHYSICAL: SENDIII — SELECTIVERESEARCHED
VERIFIED RESEARCH HOOK WEB-VERIFIED PITCH: HILLHURST / DISCOVERY
Lightstruck’s commitment to artist-made and experimental film makes the cinematic side of this record more relevant than a conventional genre pitch. “Neo Noir” is where I’d start.
WHY THIS TRACK — Piano and round bass, whispered doubles, spatialized vocal phrases, synth possibility; Faith No More / Mr. Bungle / Melanie De Biasio in the production constellation.
SUBJECTHillhurst / The Radio
#183
Chad Gillard
Los Angeles lead / co-founder, Future Classic
Los Angeles, CA
LABEL / INDUSTRYPHYSICAL: SENDIII — SELECTIVERESEARCHED
VERIFIED RESEARCH HOOK WEB-VERIFIED PITCH: DISTRIBUTION / MOVEMENT
Future Classic has repeatedly worked with artists whose records cross electronic production and songwriting without making that hybridity the marketing gimmick. “Celestial Sighs” is the most immediate melodic entrance here.
WHY THIS TRACK — Sparkling piano, an enormous pop/R&B melody, active drums and heavy chorus guitars at deliberately wrong scale.
SUBJECTDistribution vs. Warehousing
#184
Meg Duffy (Hand Habits)
Musician / guitarist / songwriter
Los Angeles-associated
PRESS / CRITICPHYSICAL: SENDIII — SELECTIVERESEARCHED
VERIFIED RESEARCH HOOK WEB-VERIFIED PITCH: HILLHURST / DISCOVERY
You’ve talked about guitar as emotional or melodic content rather than the main event, and about simplicity opening a route into more truthful songwriting. “Throwaway Lines” is the lyric-first entrance; “Setagaya” is the guitar-side second move.
WHY THIS TRACK — Danceable elegiac guitar music: swirling piano, intricate drums, Swervedriver/Chameleons guitars, huge choruses and 5AM light.
SUBJECTField report: The Radio
#185
Mystic Pete
KXLU host
Los Angeles, CA
RADIO / DJPHYSICAL: SENDIII — SELECTIVERESEARCHED
VERIFIED RESEARCH HOOK WEB-VERIFIED PITCH: HILLHURST / RADIO
KXLU remains one of the few places where idiosyncratic specialty programming can matter more than format consistency. “Lemon Zest” is the darker late-night entrance to the record.
WHY THIS TRACK — Piano and round bass, whispered doubles, spatialized vocal phrases, synth possibility; Faith No More / Mr. Bungle / Melanie De Biasio in the production constellation.
SUBJECTHillhurst / The Radio
#186
Peter Walker
Co-founder / owner, Dangerbird Records
Los Angeles, CA
LABEL / INDUSTRYPHYSICAL: SENDIII — SELECTIVERESEARCHED
VERIFIED RESEARCH HOOK WEB-VERIFIED PITCH: DISTRIBUTION / MOVEMENT
Dangerbird was built in Los Angeles around artist development and independent records rather than a single genre identity. “Southerly” is the cleanest guitar-side introduction to Scaled Alps.
WHY THIS TRACK — Danceable elegiac guitar music: swirling piano, intricate drums, Swervedriver/Chameleons guitars, huge choruses and 5AM light.
SUBJECTDistribution vs. Warehousing
#187
Abby Jones
Editor, Stereogum
— / verify
PRESS / CRITICPHYSICAL: NOIII — SELECTIVERESEARCHED
VERIFIED RESEARCH HOOK WEB-VERIFIED PITCH: HILLHURST / DISCOVERY
Your recent Stereogum work moves easily from emerging guitar bands to Moses Sumney, Tyondai Braxton and John Carpenter rather than policing a narrow indie lane. “Setagaya” is the guitar-heavy first move; the full album gets stranger from there.
WHY THIS TRACK — Danceable elegiac guitar music: swirling piano, intricate drums, Swervedriver/Chameleons guitars, huge choruses and 5AM light.
SUBJECTField report: The Radio
#188
Adrian Shaughnessy
Writer / publisher
— / verify
PRESS / CRITICPHYSICAL: NOIII — SELECTIVERESEARCHED
VERIFIED RESEARCH HOOK WEB-VERIFIED PITCH: HILLHURST / DISCOVERY
Your books on contemporary music graphics explicitly treat the record sleeve as a testing ground for visual expression that can amplify the music rather than ephemeral packaging. The Owner’s Manual is therefore part of the pitch, not an accessory.
WHY THIS TRACK — World-weary piano/strings art-rock: intimate opening, dub echo in the drums and a wide Mer de Noms-scale guitar climax.
SUBJECTHillhurst / The Radio
#189
Albert Mudrian
Editor-in-Chief, Decibel
— / verify
PRESS / CRITICPHYSICAL: NOIII — SELECTIVERESEARCHED
VERIFIED RESEARCH HOOK WEB-VERIFIED PITCH: HILLHURST / DISCOVERY
Decibel has spent two decades taking extreme music seriously at album scale, and your own work around death metal history treats underground infrastructure as part of the story. “Tentacoli” is the obvious stress test.
WHY THIS TRACK — Volatile heavy art-rock: intelligible sung text held against mass, then a larger violent release.
SUBJECTThe Radio
#190
Ben Frost
Composer / producer
— / verify
FILM / SYNCPHYSICAL: NOIII — SELECTIVERESEARCHED
VERIFIED RESEARCH HOOK WEB-VERIFIED PITCH: DISTRIBUTION / MOVEMENT
Your score work treats environment itself as an instrument — including re-recording music through the physical spaces of ships for 1899 until industrial noise bled into the composition. “Tentacoli” is the track here where sound behaves most physically.
WHY THIS TRACK — Piano and round bass, whispered doubles, spatialized vocal phrases, synth possibility; Faith No More / Mr. Bungle / Melanie De Biasio in the production constellation.
SUBJECTDistribution is movement
#191
Cate Le Bon
Musician / producer
— / verify
PRODUCER / ENGINEERPHYSICAL: NOIII — SELECTIVERESEARCHED
VERIFIED RESEARCH HOOK WEB-VERIFIED PITCH: PARTICULAR THING
Your records and production work are unusually good at making arrangement choices feel both mannered and alive — dry guitars, odd harmonic turns, negative space, pop melody. “Celestial Sighs” is the melodic entrance I’d send first.
WHY THIS TRACK — Piano and round bass, whispered doubles, spatialized vocal phrases, synth possibility; Faith No More / Mr. Bungle / Melanie De Biasio in the production constellation.
SUBJECTLet the Alpine Play
#192
Charlie Bones
DJ / founder
— / verify
RADIO / DJPHYSICAL: NOIII — SELECTIVERESEARCHED
VERIFIED RESEARCH HOOK WEB-VERIFIED PITCH: HILLHURST / RADIO
Your radio work is built around the pleasure of records colliding across soul, house, boogie, jazz and oddball dance music rather than maintaining a genre wall. “HORS” is the bass-first entrance.
WHY THIS TRACK — Loose funk vamp with jazz/neo-soul reflexes: conversational, repetitive and built to live in the pocket.
SUBJECTThe Radio
#193
Daniel Avery
DJ / producer
— / verify
RADIO / DJPHYSICAL: NOIII — SELECTIVERESEARCHED
VERIFIED RESEARCH HOOK WEB-VERIFIED PITCH: HILLHURST / RADIO
Your work has repeatedly moved between club music and ambient / shoegaze-scale atmosphere without treating one as an interlude from the other. “T.T.M.S.” is the nocturnal electronic entrance to this record.
WHY THIS TRACK — Low hypnotic piano, dub/reggae undertow, airy space, boomy bass and a long gradual ascent.
SUBJECTField report: The Radio
#194
Danielle Chelosky
Editor, Stereogum
— / verify
PRESS / CRITICPHYSICAL: NOIII — SELECTIVERESEARCHED
VERIFIED RESEARCH HOOK WEB-VERIFIED PITCH: HILLHURST / DISCOVERY
Your Stereogum writing is especially alert to the absurdity, personality and emotional charge around rock music rather than treating new releases as neutral product. “Muffler” is the bluntest first contact with this one.
WHY THIS TRACK — Very short, dry anti-product art-rock; the lyric is the organizing device and the song gets out before the pitch can become respectable.
SUBJECTHillhurst / The Radio
#195
Erol Alkan
DJ / label founder
— / verify
RADIO / DJPHYSICAL: NOIII — SELECTIVERESEARCHED
VERIFIED RESEARCH HOOK WEB-VERIFIED PITCH: HILLHURST / RADIO
Phantasy has always allowed psychedelic rock, electronic music, post-punk and club records to share an aesthetic world without forcing them into one sound. “T.T.M.S.” is the cleanest entry point here.
WHY THIS TRACK — Danceable elegiac guitar music: swirling piano, intricate drums, Swervedriver/Chameleons guitars, huge choruses and 5AM light.
SUBJECTThe Radio
#196
Eva Prinz
Publisher / curator
— / verify
LABEL / INDUSTRYPHYSICAL: NOIII — SELECTIVERESEARCHED
VERIFIED RESEARCH HOOK WEB-VERIFIED PITCH: DISTRIBUTION / MOVEMENT
Your publishing and curatorial work treats books, music, art and physical editions as one cultural practice. “Throwaway Lines” plus the Owner’s Manual is the useful way into this release.
WHY THIS TRACK — World-weary piano/strings art-rock: intimate opening, dub echo in the drums and a wide Mer de Noms-scale guitar climax.
SUBJECTDistribution is movement
#197
Floating Points / Sam Shepherd
Musician / DJ
— / verify
RADIO / DJPHYSICAL: NOIII — SELECTIVERESEARCHED
VERIFIED RESEARCH HOOK WEB-VERIFIED PITCH: HILLHURST / RADIO
Your work makes jazz musicianship, electronic systems and club-scale rhythm feel like one continuous compositional language. “Impro” is the player-driven entrance; “T.T.M.S.” is the electronic second move.
WHY THIS TRACK — Piano and round bass, whispered doubles, spatialized vocal phrases, synth possibility; Faith No More / Mr. Bungle / Melanie De Biasio in the production constellation.
SUBJECTHillhurst / The Radio
#198
Guy Picciotto
Musician / producer
— / verify
PRODUCER / ENGINEERPHYSICAL: NOIII — SELECTIVERESEARCHED
VERIFIED RESEARCH HOOK WEB-VERIFIED PITCH: PARTICULAR THING
Fugazi’s economy — rhythm, negative space, abrasion and songs that do not need ornamental production — makes “Muffler” the useful first cut here. It is short enough that there is nowhere for the arrangement to hide.
WHY THIS TRACK — Long-breath post-hardcore/art-rock: clean-to-scream dynamics, questioning bass, delay architecture, intense midrange guitars and a Morphine undertow.
SUBJECTScaled Alps — “Slow Motion”
#199
Ian Christe
Writer / publisher
— / verify
PRESS / CRITICPHYSICAL: NOIII — SELECTIVERESEARCHED
VERIFIED RESEARCH HOOK WEB-VERIFIED PITCH: HILLHURST / DISCOVERY
Your writing and Bazillion Points publishing treat heavy music as a culture with its own literature, histories and artifacts rather than merely a sound. “Tentacoli” is the musical entrance; the Owner’s Manual is why I’m sending the package.
WHY THIS TRACK — Volatile heavy art-rock: intelligible sung text held against mass, then a larger violent release.
SUBJECTField report: The Radio
#200
Ian MacKaye
Musician / Dischord cofounder
— / verify
ARTIST / PEERPHYSICAL: NOIII — SELECTIVERESEARCHED
VERIFIED RESEARCH HOOK WEB-VERIFIED PITCH: PARTICULAR THING
Dischord’s entire history is an argument for controlling the work, keeping infrastructure intelligible and letting music develop outside conventional industry logic. “Muffler” is the shortest musical introduction; the independent package is the larger point.
WHY THIS TRACK — Very short, dry anti-product art-rock; the lyric is the organizing device and the song gets out before the pitch can become respectable.
SUBJECTLet the Alpine Play
#201
Jarvis Cocker
Musician / broadcaster
— / verify
RADIO / DJPHYSICAL: NOIII — SELECTIVERESEARCHED
VERIFIED RESEARCH HOOK WEB-VERIFIED PITCH: HILLHURST / RADIO
Your work has always made observation, language, class, romance and pop structure inseparable, and your broadcasting treats records as things with histories and personalities rather than content units. “Throwaway Lines” is the obvious text-first entrance.
WHY THIS TRACK — Piano and round bass, whispered doubles, spatialized vocal phrases, synth possibility; Faith No More / Mr. Bungle / Melanie De Biasio in the production constellation.
SUBJECTThe Radio
#202
Lawrence English
Artist / label founder, Room40
— / verify
LABEL / INDUSTRYPHYSICAL: NOIII — SELECTIVERESEARCHED
VERIFIED RESEARCH HOOK WEB-VERIFIED PITCH: DISTRIBUTION / MOVEMENT
Room40 treats sound art, field recording, electronics, composition and physical listening as neighboring practices rather than separate markets. “Impro” is the least genre-defensive entrance to this record.
WHY THIS TRACK — Low hypnotic piano, dub/reggae undertow, airy space, boomy bass and a long gradual ascent.
SUBJECTDistribution is movement
#203
Makaya McCraven
Drummer / producer
— / verify
PRODUCER / ENGINEERPHYSICAL: NOIII — SELECTIVERESEARCHED
VERIFIED RESEARCH HOOK WEB-VERIFIED PITCH: PARTICULAR THING
Your ‘organic beat music’ method — live improvisation reorganized with a producer’s ear — makes “Impro” the natural first track. It is the point where players and editing logic are most visibly in conversation.
WHY THIS TRACK — Loose funk vamp with jazz/neo-soul reflexes: conversational, repetitive and built to live in the pocket.
SUBJECTLet the Alpine Play
#204
Margaret Farrell
Editor, Stereogum
— / verify
PRESS / CRITICPHYSICAL: NOIII — SELECTIVERESEARCHED
VERIFIED RESEARCH HOOK WEB-VERIFIED PITCH: HILLHURST / DISCOVERY
Your Stereogum editing sits inside a publication that can treat pop immediacy and stranger independent records as part of the same daily conversation. “Celestial Sighs” is the melodic front door.
WHY THIS TRACK — Sparkling piano, an enormous pop/R&B melody, active drums and heavy chorus guitars at deliberately wrong scale.
SUBJECTThe Radio
#205
Michael Gira
Musician / label founder
— / verify
LABEL / INDUSTRYPHYSICAL: NOIII — SELECTIVERESEARCHED
VERIFIED RESEARCH HOOK WEB-VERIFIED PITCH: DISTRIBUTION / MOVEMENT
Swans have spent decades treating repetition, physical volume, text and long-form structure as compositional materials rather than genre markers. “Tentacoli” is the most physically severe entry point on this album.
WHY THIS TRACK — Volatile heavy art-rock: intelligible sung text held against mass, then a larger violent release.
SUBJECTDistribution is movement
#206
Mike Sniper
Founder, Captured Tracks
— / verify
CURATOR / OTHERPHYSICAL: NOIII — SELECTIVERESEARCHED
VERIFIED RESEARCH HOOK WEB-VERIFIED PITCH: HILLHURST / DISCOVERY
Captured Tracks was built around independent guitar music but has always had a strong archival / reissue intelligence alongside new artists. “Southerly” is the guitar-side entrance to this record.
WHY THIS TRACK — Danceable elegiac guitar music: swirling piano, intricate drums, Swervedriver/Chameleons guitars, huge choruses and 5AM light.
SUBJECTHillhurst / The Radio
#207
Nabihah Iqbal
Musician / broadcaster
— / verify
RADIO / DJPHYSICAL: NOIII — SELECTIVERESEARCHED
VERIFIED RESEARCH HOOK WEB-VERIFIED PITCH: HILLHURST / RADIO
Your work moves between guitar music, electronic production, South Asian musical memory and broadcasting without reducing any of them to ‘fusion.’ “Neo Noir” is the dark, compact entrance I’d send first.
WHY THIS TRACK — Danceable elegiac guitar music: swirling piano, intricate drums, Swervedriver/Chameleons guitars, huge choruses and 5AM light.
SUBJECTThe Radio
#208
Nate Chinen
Critic / broadcaster
— / verify
PRESS / CRITICPHYSICAL: NOIII — SELECTIVERESEARCHED
VERIFIED RESEARCH HOOK WEB-VERIFIED PITCH: HILLHURST / DISCOVERY
Your criticism and broadcasting have consistently argued for jazz as a living contemporary language in contact with hip-hop, electronic music and broader culture. “Impro” is the obvious first track.
WHY THIS TRACK — Loose funk vamp with jazz/neo-soul reflexes: conversational, repetitive and built to live in the pocket.
SUBJECTField report: The Radio
#209
Peanut Butter Wolf
Founder / DJ, Stones Throw
— / verify
RADIO / DJPHYSICAL: NOIII — SELECTIVERESEARCHED
VERIFIED RESEARCH HOOK WEB-VERIFIED PITCH: HILLHURST / RADIO
Stones Throw’s catalog has always rewarded strong internal worlds — hip-hop, funk, psych, soul, electronic music — over genre consistency. “HORS” is the bass-heavy entrance to this one.
WHY THIS TRACK — Bass-first cosmic funk: Brasil ’66 bounce, P-Funk looseness, blue-eyed soul grit and Bowie-stutter tricks.
SUBJECTHillhurst / The Radio
#210
Questlove
Musician / curator
— / verify
ARTIST / PEERPHYSICAL: NOIII — SELECTIVERESEARCHED
VERIFIED RESEARCH HOOK WEB-VERIFIED PITCH: PARTICULAR THING
Your work as a drummer, DJ, writer and archivist treats musical history as something to be actively recombined rather than simply revered. “Impro” is the player-driven entrance; the full record supplies the wider collision.
WHY THIS TRACK — Loose funk vamp with jazz/neo-soul reflexes: conversational, repetitive and built to live in the pocket.
SUBJECTScaled Alps — “Impro”
#211
Sergio Vega
Musician / producer
— / verify
PRODUCER / ENGINEERPHYSICAL: NOIII — SELECTIVERESEARCHED
VERIFIED RESEARCH HOOK WEB-VERIFIED PITCH: PARTICULAR THING
Your work across Quicksand and Deftones sits exactly where bass has to carry both rhythmic force and atmospheric weight. “Setagaya” is the heavy / spacious guitar-side track I’d send first.
WHY THIS TRACK — Long-breath post-hardcore/art-rock: clean-to-scream dynamics, questioning bass, delay architecture, intense midrange guitars and a Morphine undertow.
SUBJECT“Slow Motion” — Scaled Alps
#212
Stephen Brodsky
Musician / producer
— / verify
PRODUCER / ENGINEERPHYSICAL: NOIII — SELECTIVERESEARCHED
VERIFIED RESEARCH HOOK WEB-VERIFIED PITCH: PARTICULAR THING
Cave In’s catalog has always made heavy music, space-rock atmosphere and melodic songwriting coexist without requiring a clean border between them. “Tentacoli” is the extreme entrance; “Setagaya” is the atmospheric second move.
WHY THIS TRACK — Long-breath post-hardcore/art-rock: clean-to-scream dynamics, questioning bass, delay architecture, intense midrange guitars and a Morphine undertow.
SUBJECTLet the Alpine Play
#213
Tyler Wilcox
Writer / curator
— / verify
PRESS / CRITICPHYSICAL: NOIII — SELECTIVERESEARCHED
VERIFIED RESEARCH HOOK WEB-VERIFIED PITCH: HILLHURST / DISCOVERY
Your Aquarium Drunkard work is strongest when archival curiosity and present-tense listening collapse into one another. “Slow Motion” is the hazier, less declarative entrance to this record.
WHY THIS TRACK — Piano and round bass, whispered doubles, spatialized vocal phrases, synth possibility; Faith No More / Mr. Bungle / Melanie De Biasio in the production constellation.
SUBJECTThe Radio
#214
Walter Schreifels
Musician / producer
— / verify
PRODUCER / ENGINEERPHYSICAL: NOIII — SELECTIVERESEARCHED
VERIFIED RESEARCH HOOK WEB-VERIFIED PITCH: PARTICULAR THING
Your work from Gorilla Biscuits and Quicksand through production has always understood that hardcore force and melodic structure are not opposites. “Muffler” is the shortest proof of that principle here.
WHY THIS TRACK — Long-breath post-hardcore/art-rock: clean-to-scream dynamics, questioning bass, delay architecture, intense midrange guitars and a Morphine undertow.
SUBJECT“Slow Motion” — Scaled Alps
#215
Weyes Blood (Natalie Mering)
Musician / songwriter
Los Angeles-associated
FILM / SYNCPHYSICAL: SENDIII — SELECTIVERESEARCHED
VERIFIED RESEARCH HOOK WEB-VERIFIED PITCH: DISTRIBUTION / MOVEMENT
Your records treat melody, orchestration, historical pop language and apocalyptic unease as compatible rather than ironic. “Celestial Sighs” is the brightest first entrance; the darker architecture becomes clearer across the LP.
WHY THIS TRACK — Piano and bass in the foreground; rainy jazz-café air, Doors/Floyd shadows, elegant reverb, slow scale.
SUBJECTWe’ve got distribution problems
#216
Sion Sono
Film Director, Tokyo Tribe, Why Don't You Play in Hell?
— / verify
FILM / SYNCPHYSICAL: NOIII — SELECTIVERESEARCHED
VERIFIED RESEARCH HOOK WEB-VERIFIED PITCH: DISTRIBUTION / MOVEMENT
Your films repeatedly turn music, violence, performance and absurdity into the same unstable spectacle — Tokyo Tribe and Why Don’t You Play in Hell? make the connection especially hard to miss. “Tentacoli” is the track I’d send.
WHY THIS TRACK — Piano and round bass, whispered doubles, spatialized vocal phrases, synth possibility; Faith No More / Mr. Bungle / Melanie De Biasio in the production constellation.
SUBJECTDistribution vs. Warehousing
#217
Gideon Coe
Broadcaster, BBC Radio 6 Music
— / verify
RADIO / DJPHYSICAL: NOIII — SELECTIVERESEARCHED
VERIFIED RESEARCH HOOK WEB-VERIFIED PITCH: HILLHURST / RADIO
Your BBC 6 Music work has long been one of the dependable homes for independent records, sessions and deeper catalog listening rather than format-chasing. “Another Clock Song” is the album-scale introduction.
WHY THIS TRACK — Piano and bass in the foreground; rainy jazz-café air, Doors/Floyd shadows, elegant reverb, slow scale.
SUBJECTField report: The Radio
#218
Jason Bentley
Host & Producer, Metropolis / KCRW
— / verify
RADIO / DJPHYSICAL: NOIII — SELECTIVERESEARCHED
VERIFIED RESEARCH HOOK WEB-VERIFIED PITCH: HILLHURST / RADIO
Metropolis has always treated electronic music as a broad culture — club records, experimental production, synth music and global currents — rather than a narrow dance format. “T.T.M.S.” is the direct entrance.
WHY THIS TRACK — Sparkling piano, an enormous pop/R&B melody, active drums and heavy chorus guitars at deliberately wrong scale.
SUBJECTHillhurst / The Radio
#219
Larry Fitzmaurice
Editor, Last Donut of the Night / Music Journalist
— / verify
PRESS / CRITICPHYSICAL: NOIII — SELECTIVERESEARCHED
VERIFIED RESEARCH HOOK WEB-VERIFIED PITCH: HILLHURST / DISCOVERY
Your criticism tends to reward records with an actual point of view, including ugly or funny or unfashionable ones, rather than mistaking tasteful consensus for quality. “Muffler” is the bluntest introduction to this record.
WHY THIS TRACK — Piano and bass in the foreground; rainy jazz-café air, Doors/Floyd shadows, elegant reverb, slow scale.
SUBJECTThe Radio
#220
Robin Urdang
Music Supervisor, Uncut Gems, The Whale
— / verify
FILM / SYNCPHYSICAL: NOIII — SELECTIVERESEARCHED
VERIFIED RESEARCH HOOK WEB-VERIFIED PITCH: DISTRIBUTION / MOVEMENT
Your supervision work across film and television makes scene function more useful than a broad RIYL list. “Neo Noir” is piano-led, dark and compact enough to establish a world quickly.
WHY THIS TRACK — Piano and round bass, whispered doubles, spatialized vocal phrases, synth possibility; Faith No More / Mr. Bungle / Melanie De Biasio in the production constellation.
SUBJECTDistribution is movement
#221
Steven Severin
Founder, RE: Records / Musician
— / verify
LABEL / INDUSTRYPHYSICAL: NOIII — SELECTIVERESEARCHED
VERIFIED RESEARCH HOOK WEB-VERIFIED PITCH: DISTRIBUTION / MOVEMENT
Your work with Siouxsie and the Banshees and later soundtrack / electronic projects makes dark pop, post-punk texture and cinematic atmosphere an obvious point of contact. “Lemon Zest” is the first cut I’d send.
WHY THIS TRACK — Dark synth/rock intimacy: stripped-down body-versus-mind tension on a Depeche Mode ‘Stripped’ skeleton.
SUBJECTWe’ve got distribution problems
#222
Tom Ravenscroft
Broadcaster, BBC Radio 6 Music
— / verify
RADIO / DJPHYSICAL: NOIII — SELECTIVERESEARCHED
VERIFIED RESEARCH HOOK WEB-VERIFIED PITCH: HILLHURST / RADIO
Your BBC 6 Music programming is built around new and left-field music rather than a fixed genre identity. “T.T.M.S.” is the nocturnal electronic entrance; the album then opens outward considerably.
WHY THIS TRACK — Sparkling piano, an enormous pop/R&B melody, active drums and heavy chorus guitars at deliberately wrong scale.
SUBJECTThe Radio
#223
Ken Shipley
Co-founder, Numero Group
Los Angeles-associated label operation
LABEL / INDUSTRYPHYSICAL: NOIII — SELECTIVERESEARCHED
VERIFIED RESEARCH HOOK WEB-VERIFIED PITCH: DISTRIBUTION / MOVEMENT
Numero’s work is built on the idea that overlooked music becomes more legible when the research, sequencing, design and physical edition are treated as part of the record. That makes the Owner’s Manual unusually relevant here.
WHY THIS TRACK — Piano and round bass, whispered doubles, spatialized vocal phrases, synth possibility; Faith No More / Mr. Bungle / Melanie De Biasio in the production constellation.
SUBJECTDistribution is movement
#224
Alex Garland
Director, Ex Machina, Annihilation
— / verify
FILM / SYNCPHYSICAL: NOIII — SELECTIVERESEARCHED
VERIFIED RESEARCH HOOK WEB-VERIFIED PITCH: DISTRIBUTION / MOVEMENT
Ex Machina and Annihilation both use music and sound design to destabilize the boundary between environment, psychology and score. “Neo Noir” is the most immediately cinematic entrance to this record.
WHY THIS TRACK — Piano and round bass, whispered doubles, spatialized vocal phrases, synth possibility; Faith No More / Mr. Bungle / Melanie De Biasio in the production constellation.
SUBJECTWe’ve got distribution problems
#225
ARTIST / PEERPHYSICAL: NOIII — SELECTIVERESEARCHED
VERIFIED RESEARCH HOOK WEB-VERIFIED PITCH: PARTICULAR THING
Your catalog has always treated genre as raw material — folk, hip-hop, funk, noise, psychedelia, pop — while keeping the song’s personality intact. “HORS” is the bass-heavy, stranger first move; the full record makes the larger argument.
WHY THIS TRACK — Bass-first cosmic funk: Brasil ’66 bounce, P-Funk looseness, blue-eyed soul grit and Bowie-stutter tricks.
SUBJECTScaled Alps — “HORS”
#226
Blixa Bargeld
Musician
— / verify
ARTIST / PEERPHYSICAL: NOIV — LONG SHOT / FALLBACKAFFINITY-MAPPED
TARGET-SPECIFIC AFFINITY DATABASE-MAPPED PITCH: PARTICULAR THING
Musician-to-musician, the point of contact is physical weight, abrasion and abrupt dynamics without genre orthodoxy. “Tentacoli” is the first thing I’d play rather than giving you a paragraph of references.
ANGLE: physical weight, abrasion and abrupt dynamics without genre orthodoxy
WHY THIS TRACK — Volatile heavy art-rock: intelligible sung text held against mass, then a larger violent release.
SUBJECT“Tentacoli” — Scaled Alps
#227
Bo Lueders
Musician / HardLore cohost
— / verify
ARTIST / PEERPHYSICAL: NOIV — LONG SHOT / FALLBACKAFFINITY-MAPPED
TARGET-SPECIFIC AFFINITY DATABASE-MAPPED PITCH: PARTICULAR THING
Musician-to-musician, the point of contact is physical weight, abrasion and abrupt dynamics without genre orthodoxy. “Tentacoli” is the first thing I’d play rather than giving you a paragraph of references.
ANGLE: physical weight, abrasion and abrupt dynamics without genre orthodoxy
WHY THIS TRACK — Volatile heavy art-rock: intelligible sung text held against mass, then a larger violent release.
SUBJECTLet the Alpine Play
#228
Brant Bjork
Musician
— / verify
ARTIST / PEERPHYSICAL: NOIV — LONG SHOT / FALLBACKAFFINITY-MAPPED
TARGET-SPECIFIC AFFINITY DATABASE-MAPPED PITCH: PARTICULAR THING
Musician-to-musician, the point of contact is atmospheric guitar architecture, weight and melodic counterline. “Setagaya” is the first thing I’d play rather than giving you a paragraph of references.
ANGLE: atmospheric guitar architecture, weight and melodic counterline
WHY THIS TRACK — QOTSA urgency, Kyuss drag, revving guitars, rising drums and a little Painkiller-era metal in the bloodstream.
SUBJECTScaled Alps — “Muffler”
#229
Buzz Osborne
Musician
— / verify
ARTIST / PEERPHYSICAL: NOIV — LONG SHOT / FALLBACKAFFINITY-MAPPED
TARGET-SPECIFIC AFFINITY DATABASE-MAPPED PITCH: PARTICULAR THING
Musician-to-musician, the point of contact is physical weight, abrasion and abrupt dynamics without genre orthodoxy. “Tentacoli” is the first thing I’d play rather than giving you a paragraph of references.
ANGLE: physical weight, abrasion and abrupt dynamics without genre orthodoxy
WHY THIS TRACK — Volatile heavy art-rock: intelligible sung text held against mass, then a larger violent release.
SUBJECT“Tentacoli” — Scaled Alps
#230
Clint Mansell
Composer
— / verify
FILM / SYNCPHYSICAL: NOIV — LONG SHOT / FALLBACKAFFINITY-MAPPED
TARGET-SPECIFIC AFFINITY DATABASE-MAPPED PITCH: DISTRIBUTION / MOVEMENT
I’m approaching this through language, criticism and the record as a written / physical object, rather than a broad ‘cinematic’ claim. “Throwaway Lines” is the track that establishes that world fastest.
ANGLE: language, criticism and the record as a written / physical object · TEXT/LYRIC RECEPTIVE
WHY THIS TRACK — Piano and round bass, whispered doubles, spatialized vocal phrases, synth possibility; Faith No More / Mr. Bungle / Melanie De Biasio in the production constellation.
SUBJECTWe’ve got distribution problems
#231
Colin Stetson
Musician / composer
— / verify
FILM / SYNCPHYSICAL: NOIV — LONG SHOT / FALLBACKAFFINITY-MAPPED
TARGET-SPECIFIC AFFINITY DATABASE-MAPPED PITCH: DISTRIBUTION / MOVEMENT
I’m approaching this through language, criticism and the record as a written / physical object, rather than a broad ‘cinematic’ claim. “Throwaway Lines” is the track that establishes that world fastest.
ANGLE: language, criticism and the record as a written / physical object · TEXT/LYRIC RECEPTIVE
WHY THIS TRACK — Piano and round bass, whispered doubles, spatialized vocal phrases, synth possibility; Faith No More / Mr. Bungle / Melanie De Biasio in the production constellation.
SUBJECTDistribution vs. Warehousing
#232
Colin Young
Vocalist / HardLore cohost
— / verify
ARTIST / PEERPHYSICAL: NOIV — LONG SHOT / FALLBACKAFFINITY-MAPPED
TARGET-SPECIFIC AFFINITY DATABASE-MAPPED PITCH: PARTICULAR THING
Musician-to-musician, the point of contact is physical weight, abrasion and abrupt dynamics without genre orthodoxy. “Tentacoli” is the first thing I’d play rather than giving you a paragraph of references.
ANGLE: physical weight, abrasion and abrupt dynamics without genre orthodoxy
WHY THIS TRACK — Volatile heavy art-rock: intelligible sung text held against mass, then a larger violent release.
SUBJECT“Tentacoli” — Scaled Alps
#233
Damon Albarn
Musician, Gorillaz / Blur
— / verify
ARTIST / PEERPHYSICAL: NOIV — LONG SHOT / FALLBACKAFFINITY-MAPPED
TARGET-SPECIFIC AFFINITY DATABASE-MAPPED PITCH: PARTICULAR THING
Musician-to-musician, the point of contact is electronic rhythm, negative space and nocturnal texture. “T.T.M.S.” is the first thing I’d play rather than giving you a paragraph of references.
ANGLE: electronic rhythm, negative space and nocturnal texture
WHY THIS TRACK — Slow, narcotic, rap-derived menace: blunt hook repetition and Three 6 Mafia syrup under the floorboards.
SUBJECTLet the Alpine Play
#234
Darius Van Arman
Label executive, Jagjaguwar / Secretly
— / verify
LABEL / INDUSTRYPHYSICAL: NOIV — LONG SHOT / FALLBACKAFFINITY-MAPPED
TARGET-SPECIFIC AFFINITY DATABASE-MAPPED PITCH: DISTRIBUTION / MOVEMENT
The useful point of contact is cinematic atmosphere, scene identity and music that produces an image quickly. “Neo Noir” is the musical entry, while the finished physical edition and Owner’s Manual show how the project behaves as a complete release.
ANGLE: cinematic atmosphere, scene identity and music that produces an image quickly
WHY THIS TRACK — Piano and round bass, whispered doubles, spatialized vocal phrases, synth possibility; Faith No More / Mr. Bungle / Melanie De Biasio in the production constellation.
SUBJECTDistribution vs. Warehousing
#235
Daron Malakian
Musician
— / verify
ARTIST / PEERPHYSICAL: NOIV — LONG SHOT / FALLBACKAFFINITY-MAPPED
TARGET-SPECIFIC AFFINITY DATABASE-MAPPED PITCH: PARTICULAR THING
Musician-to-musician, the point of contact is atmospheric guitar architecture, weight and melodic counterline. “Setagaya” is the first thing I’d play rather than giving you a paragraph of references.
ANGLE: atmospheric guitar architecture, weight and melodic counterline
WHY THIS TRACK — Sparkling piano, an enormous pop/R&B melody, active drums and heavy chorus guitars at deliberately wrong scale.
SUBJECT“Celestial Sighs” — Scaled Alps
#236
David Sylvian
Musician / artist
— / verify
ARTIST / PEERPHYSICAL: NOIV — LONG SHOT / FALLBACKAFFINITY-MAPPED
TARGET-SPECIFIC AFFINITY DATABASE-MAPPED PITCH: PARTICULAR THING
Musician-to-musician, the point of contact is electronic rhythm, negative space and nocturnal texture. “T.T.M.S.” is the first thing I’d play rather than giving you a paragraph of references.
ANGLE: electronic rhythm, negative space and nocturnal texture
WHY THIS TRACK — Low hypnotic piano, dub/reggae undertow, airy space, boomy bass and a long gradual ascent.
SUBJECTLet the Alpine Play
#237
Dax Riggs
Musician
— / verify
ARTIST / PEERPHYSICAL: NOIV — LONG SHOT / FALLBACKAFFINITY-MAPPED
TARGET-SPECIFIC AFFINITY DATABASE-MAPPED PITCH: PARTICULAR THING
Musician-to-musician, the point of contact is atmospheric guitar architecture, weight and melodic counterline. “Setagaya” is the first thing I’d play rather than giving you a paragraph of references.
ANGLE: atmospheric guitar architecture, weight and melodic counterline
WHY THIS TRACK — Long-breath post-hardcore/art-rock: clean-to-scream dynamics, questioning bass, delay architecture, intense midrange guitars and a Morphine undertow.
SUBJECTScaled Alps — “Slow Motion”
#238
FKA twigs
Musician / artist
— / verify
ARTIST / PEERPHYSICAL: NOIV — LONG SHOT / FALLBACKAFFINITY-MAPPED
TARGET-SPECIFIC AFFINITY DATABASE-MAPPED PITCH: PARTICULAR THING
Musician-to-musician, the point of contact is electronic rhythm, negative space and nocturnal texture. “T.T.M.S.” is the first thing I’d play rather than giving you a paragraph of references.
ANGLE: electronic rhythm, negative space and nocturnal texture
WHY THIS TRACK — Dark synth/rock intimacy: stripped-down body-versus-mind tension on a Depeche Mode ‘Stripped’ skeleton.
SUBJECT“Lemon Zest” — Scaled Alps
#239
ARTIST / PEERPHYSICAL: NOIV — LONG SHOT / FALLBACKAFFINITY-MAPPED
TARGET-SPECIFIC AFFINITY DATABASE-MAPPED PITCH: PARTICULAR THING
Musician-to-musician, the point of contact is player interaction, improvisation and arrangement that remains visibly unstable. “Impro” is the first thing I’d play rather than giving you a paragraph of references.
ANGLE: player interaction, improvisation and arrangement that remains visibly unstable
WHY THIS TRACK — Loose funk vamp with jazz/neo-soul reflexes: conversational, repetitive and built to live in the pocket.
SUBJECTLet the Alpine Play
#240
Gaspar Noé
Film Director, Climax, Enter the Void
— / verify
FILM / SYNCPHYSICAL: NOIV — LONG SHOT / FALLBACKAFFINITY-MAPPED
TARGET-SPECIFIC AFFINITY DATABASE-MAPPED PITCH: DISTRIBUTION / MOVEMENT
I’m approaching this through language, criticism and the record as a written / physical object, rather than a broad ‘cinematic’ claim. “Throwaway Lines” is the track that establishes that world fastest.
ANGLE: language, criticism and the record as a written / physical object · TEXT/LYRIC RECEPTIVE
WHY THIS TRACK — Piano and bass in the foreground; rainy jazz-café air, Doors/Floyd shadows, elegant reverb, slow scale.
SUBJECTDistribution vs. Warehousing
#241
Guillermo del Toro
Director
— / verify
FILM / SYNCPHYSICAL: NOIV — LONG SHOT / FALLBACKAFFINITY-MAPPED
TARGET-SPECIFIC AFFINITY DATABASE-MAPPED PITCH: DISTRIBUTION / MOVEMENT
I’m approaching this through language, criticism and the record as a written / physical object, rather than a broad ‘cinematic’ claim. “Throwaway Lines” is the track that establishes that world fastest.
ANGLE: language, criticism and the record as a written / physical object · TEXT/LYRIC RECEPTIVE
WHY THIS TRACK — Piano and bass in the foreground; rainy jazz-café air, Doors/Floyd shadows, elegant reverb, slow scale.
SUBJECTDistribution is movement
#242
Harmony Korine
Director / artist, EDGLRD
— / verify
ARTIST / PEERPHYSICAL: NOIV — LONG SHOT / FALLBACKAFFINITY-MAPPED
TARGET-SPECIFIC AFFINITY DATABASE-MAPPED PITCH: PARTICULAR THING
Musician-to-musician, the point of contact is language, criticism and the record as a written / physical object. “Throwaway Lines” is the first thing I’d play rather than giving you a paragraph of references.
ANGLE: language, criticism and the record as a written / physical object · TEXT/LYRIC RECEPTIVE
WHY THIS TRACK — World-weary piano/strings art-rock: intimate opening, dub echo in the drums and a wide Mer de Noms-scale guitar climax.
SUBJECTLet the Alpine Play
#243
Jeff Jank
Art director / label figure, Stones Throw
— / verify
LABEL / INDUSTRYPHYSICAL: NOIV — LONG SHOT / FALLBACKAFFINITY-MAPPED
TARGET-SPECIFIC AFFINITY DATABASE-MAPPED PITCH: DISTRIBUTION / MOVEMENT
The useful point of contact is language, criticism and the record as a written / physical object. “Throwaway Lines” is the musical entry, while the finished physical edition and Owner’s Manual show how the project behaves as a complete release.
ANGLE: language, criticism and the record as a written / physical object · TEXT/LYRIC RECEPTIVE
WHY THIS TRACK — Slow, narcotic, rap-derived menace: blunt hook repetition and Three 6 Mafia syrup under the floorboards.
SUBJECTDistribution vs. Warehousing
#244
John Frusciante
Musician
— / verify
ARTIST / PEERPHYSICAL: NOIV — LONG SHOT / FALLBACKAFFINITY-MAPPED
TARGET-SPECIFIC AFFINITY DATABASE-MAPPED PITCH: PARTICULAR THING
Musician-to-musician, the point of contact is atmospheric guitar architecture, weight and melodic counterline. “Setagaya” is the first thing I’d play rather than giving you a paragraph of references.
ANGLE: atmospheric guitar architecture, weight and melodic counterline
WHY THIS TRACK — Piano and round bass, whispered doubles, spatialized vocal phrases, synth possibility; Faith No More / Mr. Bungle / Melanie De Biasio in the production constellation.
SUBJECT“Neo Noir” — Scaled Alps
#245
Kristin Hayter
Musician / composer
— / verify
FILM / SYNCPHYSICAL: NOIV — LONG SHOT / FALLBACKAFFINITY-MAPPED
TARGET-SPECIFIC AFFINITY DATABASE-MAPPED PITCH: DISTRIBUTION / MOVEMENT
I’m approaching this through language, criticism and the record as a written / physical object, rather than a broad ‘cinematic’ claim. “Throwaway Lines” is the track that establishes that world fastest.
ANGLE: language, criticism and the record as a written / physical object · TEXT/LYRIC RECEPTIVE
WHY THIS TRACK — World-weary piano/strings art-rock: intimate opening, dub echo in the drums and a wide Mer de Noms-scale guitar climax.
SUBJECTWe’ve got distribution problems
#246
Lee Ranaldo
Musician / visual artist
— / verify
DESIGN / VISUALPHYSICAL: NOIV — LONG SHOT / FALLBACKAFFINITY-MAPPED
TARGET-SPECIFIC AFFINITY DATABASE-MAPPED PITCH: PARTICULAR THING
I’m sending this because of atmospheric guitar architecture, weight and melodic counterline. The release was built as a complete visual / physical system rather than artwork applied after mastering; “Setagaya” is the musical entrance.
ANGLE: atmospheric guitar architecture, weight and melodic counterline
WHY THIS TRACK — Danceable elegiac guitar music: swirling piano, intricate drums, Swervedriver/Chameleons guitars, huge choruses and 5AM light.
SUBJECTScaled Alps — “Setagaya”
#247
Maynard James Keenan
Vocalist
— / verify
ARTIST / PEERPHYSICAL: NOIV — LONG SHOT / FALLBACKAFFINITY-MAPPED
TARGET-SPECIFIC AFFINITY DATABASE-MAPPED PITCH: PARTICULAR THING
Musician-to-musician, the point of contact is physical weight, abrasion and abrupt dynamics without genre orthodoxy. “Tentacoli” is the first thing I’d play rather than giving you a paragraph of references.
ANGLE: physical weight, abrasion and abrupt dynamics without genre orthodoxy
WHY THIS TRACK — Funereal piano, martial drums, island-bounce guitar, airy vocals and a violent weather-system ending.
SUBJECT“Southerly” — Scaled Alps
#248
Nicolas Winding Refn
Director
— / verify
FILM / SYNCPHYSICAL: NOIV — LONG SHOT / FALLBACKAFFINITY-MAPPED
TARGET-SPECIFIC AFFINITY DATABASE-MAPPED PITCH: DISTRIBUTION / MOVEMENT
I’m approaching this through language, criticism and the record as a written / physical object, rather than a broad ‘cinematic’ claim. “Throwaway Lines” is the track that establishes that world fastest.
ANGLE: language, criticism and the record as a written / physical object · TEXT/LYRIC RECEPTIVE
WHY THIS TRACK — Piano and round bass, whispered doubles, spatialized vocal phrases, synth possibility; Faith No More / Mr. Bungle / Melanie De Biasio in the production constellation.
SUBJECTWe’ve got distribution problems
#249
Perfume Genius / Mike Hadreas
Musician
— / verify
ARTIST / PEERPHYSICAL: NOIV — LONG SHOT / FALLBACKAFFINITY-MAPPED
TARGET-SPECIFIC AFFINITY DATABASE-MAPPED PITCH: PARTICULAR THING
Musician-to-musician, the point of contact is atmospheric guitar architecture, weight and melodic counterline. “Setagaya” is the first thing I’d play rather than giving you a paragraph of references.
ANGLE: atmospheric guitar architecture, weight and melodic counterline
WHY THIS TRACK — Long-breath post-hardcore/art-rock: clean-to-scream dynamics, questioning bass, delay architecture, intense midrange guitars and a Morphine undertow.
SUBJECTScaled Alps — “Slow Motion”
#250
Shabaka Hutchings
Musician / composer
— / verify
FILM / SYNCPHYSICAL: NOIV — LONG SHOT / FALLBACKAFFINITY-MAPPED
TARGET-SPECIFIC AFFINITY DATABASE-MAPPED PITCH: DISTRIBUTION / MOVEMENT
I’m approaching this through language, criticism and the record as a written / physical object, rather than a broad ‘cinematic’ claim. “Throwaway Lines” is the track that establishes that world fastest.
ANGLE: language, criticism and the record as a written / physical object · TEXT/LYRIC RECEPTIVE
WHY THIS TRACK — Piano and round bass, whispered doubles, spatialized vocal phrases, synth possibility; Faith No More / Mr. Bungle / Melanie De Biasio in the production constellation.
SUBJECTDistribution is movement
#251
Tony Brook
Designer / publisher, Unit Editions
— / verify
LABEL / INDUSTRYPHYSICAL: NOIV — LONG SHOT / FALLBACKAFFINITY-MAPPED
TARGET-SPECIFIC AFFINITY DATABASE-MAPPED PITCH: DISTRIBUTION / MOVEMENT
The useful point of contact is language, criticism and the record as a written / physical object. “Throwaway Lines” is the musical entry, while the finished physical edition and Owner’s Manual show how the project behaves as a complete release.
ANGLE: language, criticism and the record as a written / physical object · TEXT/LYRIC RECEPTIVE
WHY THIS TRACK — World-weary piano/strings art-rock: intimate opening, dub echo in the drums and a wide Mer de Noms-scale guitar climax.
SUBJECTWe’ve got distribution problems
#252
Warren Ellis
Musician / composer
— / verify
FILM / SYNCPHYSICAL: NOIV — LONG SHOT / FALLBACKAFFINITY-MAPPED
TARGET-SPECIFIC AFFINITY DATABASE-MAPPED PITCH: DISTRIBUTION / MOVEMENT
I’m approaching this through language, criticism and the record as a written / physical object, rather than a broad ‘cinematic’ claim. “Throwaway Lines” is the track that establishes that world fastest.
ANGLE: language, criticism and the record as a written / physical object · TEXT/LYRIC RECEPTIVE
WHY THIS TRACK — Piano and round bass, whispered doubles, spatialized vocal phrases, synth possibility; Faith No More / Mr. Bungle / Melanie De Biasio in the production constellation.
SUBJECTDistribution vs. Warehousing
#253
Aero Alpine / Vintage Motorsport Curators
— / verify
DESIGN / VISUALPHYSICAL: NOIV — LONG SHOT / FALLBACKAFFINITY-MAPPED
TARGET-SPECIFIC AFFINITY DATABASE-MAPPED PITCH: PARTICULAR THING
I’m sending this because of language, criticism and the record as a written / physical object. The release was built as a complete visual / physical system rather than artwork applied after mastering; “Throwaway Lines” is the musical entrance.
ANGLE: language, criticism and the record as a written / physical object · TEXT/LYRIC RECEPTIVE
WHY THIS TRACK — World-weary piano/strings art-rock: intimate opening, dub echo in the drums and a wide Mer de Noms-scale guitar climax.
SUBJECT“Throwaway Lines” — Scaled Alps
#254
Brain Dead Studios (Kyle Ng)
— / verify
DESIGN / VISUALPHYSICAL: NOIV — LONG SHOT / FALLBACKAFFINITY-MAPPED
TARGET-SPECIFIC AFFINITY DATABASE-MAPPED PITCH: PARTICULAR THING
I’m sending this because of language, criticism and the record as a written / physical object. The release was built as a complete visual / physical system rather than artwork applied after mastering; “Throwaway Lines” is the musical entrance.
ANGLE: language, criticism and the record as a written / physical object · TEXT/LYRIC RECEPTIVE
WHY THIS TRACK — World-weary piano/strings art-rock: intimate opening, dub echo in the drums and a wide Mer de Noms-scale guitar climax.
SUBJECTLet the Alpine Play
#255
Dashwood Books (New York)
— / verify
DESIGN / VISUALPHYSICAL: NOIV — LONG SHOT / FALLBACKAFFINITY-MAPPED
TARGET-SPECIFIC AFFINITY DATABASE-MAPPED PITCH: PARTICULAR THING
I’m sending this because of language, criticism and the record as a written / physical object. The release was built as a complete visual / physical system rather than artwork applied after mastering; “Throwaway Lines” is the musical entrance.
ANGLE: language, criticism and the record as a written / physical object · TEXT/LYRIC RECEPTIVE
WHY THIS TRACK — World-weary piano/strings art-rock: intimate opening, dub echo in the drums and a wide Mer de Noms-scale guitar climax.
SUBJECTScaled Alps — “Throwaway Lines”
#256
Death Waltz Recording Co. (Spencer Hickman)
— / verify
DESIGN / VISUALPHYSICAL: NOIV — LONG SHOT / FALLBACKAFFINITY-MAPPED
TARGET-SPECIFIC AFFINITY DATABASE-MAPPED PITCH: PARTICULAR THING
I’m sending this because of language, criticism and the record as a written / physical object. The release was built as a complete visual / physical system rather than artwork applied after mastering; “Throwaway Lines” is the musical entrance.
ANGLE: language, criticism and the record as a written / physical object · TEXT/LYRIC RECEPTIVE
WHY THIS TRACK — World-weary piano/strings art-rock: intimate opening, dub echo in the drums and a wide Mer de Noms-scale guitar climax.
SUBJECT“Throwaway Lines” — Scaled Alps
#257
Drag City Records
Editorial & A&R
— / verify
PRESS / CRITICPHYSICAL: NOIV — LONG SHOT / FALLBACKAFFINITY-MAPPED
TARGET-SPECIFIC AFFINITY DATABASE-MAPPED PITCH: HILLHURST / DISCOVERY
The reason I’m sending this specifically is language, criticism and the record as a written / physical object. “Throwaway Lines” is the cleanest first test of that side of the record; the album opens considerably wider from there.
ANGLE: language, criticism and the record as a written / physical object · TEXT/LYRIC RECEPTIVE
WHY THIS TRACK — World-weary piano/strings art-rock: intimate opening, dub echo in the drums and a wide Mer de Noms-scale guitar climax.
SUBJECTHillhurst / The Radio
#258
Grayson Haver Currin
Contributor, Bandcamp Daily / Pitchfork
— / verify
PRESS / CRITICPHYSICAL: NOIV — LONG SHOT / FALLBACKAFFINITY-MAPPED
TARGET-SPECIFIC AFFINITY DATABASE-MAPPED PITCH: HILLHURST / DISCOVERY
The reason I’m sending this specifically is language, criticism and the record as a written / physical object. “Throwaway Lines” is the cleanest first test of that side of the record; the album opens considerably wider from there.
ANGLE: language, criticism and the record as a written / physical object · TEXT/LYRIC RECEPTIVE
WHY THIS TRACK — World-weary piano/strings art-rock: intimate opening, dub echo in the drums and a wide Mer de Noms-scale guitar climax.
SUBJECTThe Radio
#259
Heavy Time Books (Australia)
— / verify
DESIGN / VISUALPHYSICAL: NOIV — LONG SHOT / FALLBACKAFFINITY-MAPPED
TARGET-SPECIFIC AFFINITY DATABASE-MAPPED PITCH: PARTICULAR THING
I’m sending this because of language, criticism and the record as a written / physical object. The release was built as a complete visual / physical system rather than artwork applied after mastering; “Throwaway Lines” is the musical entrance.
ANGLE: language, criticism and the record as a written / physical object · TEXT/LYRIC RECEPTIVE
WHY THIS TRACK — World-weary piano/strings art-rock: intimate opening, dub echo in the drums and a wide Mer de Noms-scale guitar climax.
SUBJECT“Throwaway Lines” — Scaled Alps
#260
Idea Books (London)
— / verify
DESIGN / VISUALPHYSICAL: NOIV — LONG SHOT / FALLBACKAFFINITY-MAPPED
TARGET-SPECIFIC AFFINITY DATABASE-MAPPED PITCH: PARTICULAR THING
I’m sending this because of language, criticism and the record as a written / physical object. The release was built as a complete visual / physical system rather than artwork applied after mastering; “Throwaway Lines” is the musical entrance.
ANGLE: language, criticism and the record as a written / physical object · TEXT/LYRIC RECEPTIVE
WHY THIS TRACK — World-weary piano/strings art-rock: intimate opening, dub echo in the drums and a wide Mer de Noms-scale guitar climax.
SUBJECTLet the Alpine Play
#261
Iggy Pop
Host, Iggy Confidential on BBC 6 Music
— / verify
RADIO / DJPHYSICAL: NOIV — LONG SHOT / FALLBACKAFFINITY-MAPPED
TARGET-SPECIFIC AFFINITY DATABASE-MAPPED PITCH: HILLHURST / RADIO
Your programming context makes cinematic atmosphere, scene identity and music that produces an image quickly the useful point of contact here. I’m leading with “Neo Noir” rather than trying to summarize sixteen tracks in genre language.
ANGLE: cinematic atmosphere, scene identity and music that produces an image quickly
WHY THIS TRACK — Sparkling piano, an enormous pop/R&B melody, active drums and heavy chorus guitars at deliberately wrong scale.
SUBJECTThe Radio
#262
Radio Alhara
Palestine/Global
— / verify
RADIO / DJPHYSICAL: NOIV — LONG SHOT / FALLBACKAFFINITY-MAPPED
TARGET-SPECIFIC AFFINITY DATABASE-MAPPED PITCH: HILLHURST / RADIO
Your programming context makes cinematic atmosphere, scene identity and music that produces an image quickly the useful point of contact here. I’m leading with “Neo Noir” rather than trying to summarize sixteen tracks in genre language.
ANGLE: cinematic atmosphere, scene identity and music that produces an image quickly
WHY THIS TRACK — Piano and bass in the foreground; rainy jazz-café air, Doors/Floyd shadows, elegant reverb, slow scale.
SUBJECTField report: The Radio
#263
Robert Eggers
Film Director, The Lighthouse, The Northman
— / verify
FILM / SYNCPHYSICAL: NOIV — LONG SHOT / FALLBACKAFFINITY-MAPPED
TARGET-SPECIFIC AFFINITY DATABASE-MAPPED PITCH: DISTRIBUTION / MOVEMENT
I’m approaching this through language, criticism and the record as a written / physical object, rather than a broad ‘cinematic’ claim. “Throwaway Lines” is the track that establishes that world fastest.
ANGLE: language, criticism and the record as a written / physical object · TEXT/LYRIC RECEPTIVE
WHY THIS TRACK — Piano and bass in the foreground; rainy jazz-café air, Doors/Floyd shadows, elegant reverb, slow scale.
SUBJECTWe’ve got distribution problems
#264
Self-Titled Magazine (Andrew Parks)
— / verify
RADIO / DJPHYSICAL: NOIV — LONG SHOT / FALLBACKAFFINITY-MAPPED
TARGET-SPECIFIC AFFINITY DATABASE-MAPPED PITCH: HILLHURST / RADIO
Your programming context makes cinematic atmosphere, scene identity and music that produces an image quickly the useful point of contact here. I’m leading with “Neo Noir” rather than trying to summarize sixteen tracks in genre language.
ANGLE: cinematic atmosphere, scene identity and music that produces an image quickly
WHY THIS TRACK — Piano and bass in the foreground; rainy jazz-café air, Doors/Floyd shadows, elegant reverb, slow scale.
SUBJECTThe Radio
#265
The Line of Best Fit Editorial
— / verify
RADIO / DJPHYSICAL: NOIV — LONG SHOT / FALLBACKAFFINITY-MAPPED
TARGET-SPECIFIC AFFINITY DATABASE-MAPPED PITCH: HILLHURST / RADIO
Your programming context makes language, criticism and the record as a written / physical object the useful point of contact here. I’m leading with “Throwaway Lines” rather than trying to summarize sixteen tracks in genre language.
ANGLE: language, criticism and the record as a written / physical object · TEXT/LYRIC RECEPTIVE
WHY THIS TRACK — Sparkling piano, an enormous pop/R&B melody, active drums and heavy chorus guitars at deliberately wrong scale.
SUBJECTField report: The Radio
#266
Thrill Jockey Records
Founder, Bettina Richards
— / verify
LABEL / INDUSTRYPHYSICAL: NOIV — LONG SHOT / FALLBACKAFFINITY-MAPPED
TARGET-SPECIFIC AFFINITY DATABASE-MAPPED PITCH: DISTRIBUTION / MOVEMENT
The useful point of contact is language, criticism and the record as a written / physical object. “Throwaway Lines” is the musical entry, while the finished physical edition and Owner’s Manual show how the project behaves as a complete release.
ANGLE: language, criticism and the record as a written / physical object · TEXT/LYRIC RECEPTIVE
WHY THIS TRACK — World-weary piano/strings art-rock: intimate opening, dub echo in the drums and a wide Mer de Noms-scale guitar climax.
SUBJECTWe’ve got distribution problems
#267
Under the Radar Magazine
— / verify
RADIO / DJPHYSICAL: NOIV — LONG SHOT / FALLBACKAFFINITY-MAPPED
TARGET-SPECIFIC AFFINITY DATABASE-MAPPED PITCH: HILLHURST / RADIO
Your programming context makes cinematic atmosphere, scene identity and music that produces an image quickly the useful point of contact here. I’m leading with “Neo Noir” rather than trying to summarize sixteen tracks in genre language.
ANGLE: cinematic atmosphere, scene identity and music that produces an image quickly
WHY THIS TRACK — Piano and bass in the foreground; rainy jazz-café air, Doors/Floyd shadows, elegant reverb, slow scale.
SUBJECTThe Radio
#268
Undercover (Jun Takahashi)
— / verify
DESIGN / VISUALPHYSICAL: NOIV — LONG SHOT / FALLBACKAFFINITY-MAPPED
TARGET-SPECIFIC AFFINITY DATABASE-MAPPED PITCH: PARTICULAR THING
I’m sending this because of language, criticism and the record as a written / physical object. The release was built as a complete visual / physical system rather than artwork applied after mastering; “Throwaway Lines” is the musical entrance.
ANGLE: language, criticism and the record as a written / physical object · TEXT/LYRIC RECEPTIVE
WHY THIS TRACK — World-weary piano/strings art-rock: intimate opening, dub echo in the drums and a wide Mer de Noms-scale guitar climax.
SUBJECT“Throwaway Lines” — Scaled Alps
#269
Vessel (Electronic/Sound Designer)
— / verify
DESIGN / VISUALPHYSICAL: NOIV — LONG SHOT / FALLBACKAFFINITY-MAPPED
TARGET-SPECIFIC AFFINITY DATABASE-MAPPED PITCH: PARTICULAR THING
I’m sending this because of language, criticism and the record as a written / physical object. The release was built as a complete visual / physical system rather than artwork applied after mastering; “Throwaway Lines” is the musical entrance.
ANGLE: language, criticism and the record as a written / physical object · TEXT/LYRIC RECEPTIVE
WHY THIS TRACK — World-weary piano/strings art-rock: intimate opening, dub echo in the drums and a wide Mer de Noms-scale guitar climax.
SUBJECTLet the Alpine Play
#270
Rob Sevier
Co-founder, Numero Group
Los Angeles-associated label operation
LABEL / INDUSTRYPHYSICAL: NOIV — LONG SHOT / FALLBACKAFFINITY-MAPPED
TARGET-SPECIFIC AFFINITY DATABASE-MAPPED PITCH: DISTRIBUTION / MOVEMENT
The useful point of contact is melodic immediacy without reducing the album to a single format. “Celestial Sighs” is the musical entry, while the finished physical edition and Owner’s Manual show how the project behaves as a complete release.
ANGLE: melodic immediacy without reducing the album to a single format
WHY THIS TRACK — Sparkling piano, an enormous pop/R&B melody, active drums and heavy chorus guitars at deliberately wrong scale.
SUBJECTDistribution vs. Warehousing
#271
032c Magazine & Apparel (Joerg Koch)
— / verify
DESIGN / VISUALPHYSICAL: NOIV — LONG SHOT / FALLBACKAFFINITY-MAPPED
TARGET-SPECIFIC AFFINITY DATABASE-MAPPED PITCH: PARTICULAR THING
I’m sending this because of language, criticism and the record as a written / physical object. The release was built as a complete visual / physical system rather than artwork applied after mastering; “Throwaway Lines” is the musical entrance.
ANGLE: language, criticism and the record as a written / physical object · TEXT/LYRIC RECEPTIVE
WHY THIS TRACK — World-weary piano/strings art-rock: intimate opening, dub echo in the drums and a wide Mer de Noms-scale guitar climax.
SUBJECT“Throwaway Lines” — Scaled Alps
#272
Criterion Collection Editorial & Channel Curators
— / verify
FILM / SYNCPHYSICAL: NOIV — LONG SHOT / FALLBACKAFFINITY-MAPPED
TARGET-SPECIFIC AFFINITY DATABASE-MAPPED PITCH: DISTRIBUTION / MOVEMENT
I’m approaching this through language, criticism and the record as a written / physical object, rather than a broad ‘cinematic’ claim. “Throwaway Lines” is the track that establishes that world fastest.
ANGLE: language, criticism and the record as a written / physical object · TEXT/LYRIC RECEPTIVE
WHY THIS TRACK — Piano and bass in the foreground; rainy jazz-café air, Doors/Floyd shadows, elegant reverb, slow scale.
SUBJECTWe’ve got distribution problems
#273
Kathy Diaz
DJ, Alma del Barrio / KXLU
Los Angeles, CA
RADIO / DJPHYSICAL: SENDIV — LONG SHOT / FALLBACKAFFINITY-MAPPED
TARGET-SPECIFIC AFFINITY DATABASE-MAPPED PITCH: HILLHURST / RADIO
Your programming context makes cinematic atmosphere, scene identity and music that produces an image quickly the useful point of contact here. I’m leading with “Neo Noir” rather than trying to summarize sixteen tracks in genre language.
ANGLE: cinematic atmosphere, scene identity and music that produces an image quickly
WHY THIS TRACK — Bass-first cosmic funk: Brasil ’66 bounce, P-Funk looseness, blue-eyed soul grit and Bowie-stutter tricks.
SUBJECTThe Radio
#274
Alexis Petridis
Rock & pop critic, The Guardian
— / verify
PRESS / CRITICPHYSICAL: NOIV — LONG SHOT / FALLBACKAFFINITY-MAPPED
TARGET-SPECIFIC AFFINITY DATABASE-MAPPED PITCH: HILLHURST / DISCOVERY
The reason I’m sending this specifically is language, criticism and the record as a written / physical object. “Throwaway Lines” is the cleanest first test of that side of the record; the album opens considerably wider from there.
ANGLE: language, criticism and the record as a written / physical object · TEXT/LYRIC RECEPTIVE
WHY THIS TRACK — World-weary piano/strings art-rock: intimate opening, dub echo in the drums and a wide Mer de Noms-scale guitar climax.
SUBJECTField report: The Radio
#275
Jose Cristobal
DJ, KXLU / Alma del Barrio
Los Angeles, CA
RADIO / DJPHYSICAL: SENDIV — LONG SHOT / FALLBACKAFFINITY-MAPPED
TARGET-SPECIFIC AFFINITY DATABASE-MAPPED PITCH: HILLHURST / RADIO
Your programming context makes cinematic atmosphere, scene identity and music that produces an image quickly the useful point of contact here. I’m leading with “Neo Noir” rather than trying to summarize sixteen tracks in genre language.
ANGLE: cinematic atmosphere, scene identity and music that produces an image quickly
WHY THIS TRACK — Bass-first cosmic funk: Brasil ’66 bounce, P-Funk looseness, blue-eyed soul grit and Bowie-stutter tricks.
SUBJECTHillhurst / The Radio
#276
Kitty Empire
Music critic
— / verify
PRESS / CRITICPHYSICAL: NOIV — LONG SHOT / FALLBACKAFFINITY-MAPPED
TARGET-SPECIFIC AFFINITY DATABASE-MAPPED PITCH: HILLHURST / DISCOVERY
The reason I’m sending this specifically is language, criticism and the record as a written / physical object. “Throwaway Lines” is the cleanest first test of that side of the record; the album opens considerably wider from there.
ANGLE: language, criticism and the record as a written / physical object · TEXT/LYRIC RECEPTIVE
WHY THIS TRACK — Funereal piano, martial drums, island-bounce guitar, airy vocals and a violent weather-system ending.
SUBJECTThe Radio
#277
Alex Ross
Music critic
— / verify
PRESS / CRITICPHYSICAL: NOIV — LONG SHOT / FALLBACKAFFINITY-MAPPED
TARGET-SPECIFIC AFFINITY DATABASE-MAPPED PITCH: HILLHURST / DISCOVERY
The reason I’m sending this specifically is language, criticism and the record as a written / physical object. “Throwaway Lines” is the cleanest first test of that side of the record; the album opens considerably wider from there.
ANGLE: language, criticism and the record as a written / physical object · TEXT/LYRIC RECEPTIVE
WHY THIS TRACK — World-weary piano/strings art-rock: intimate opening, dub echo in the drums and a wide Mer de Noms-scale guitar climax.
SUBJECTField report: The Radio
#278
Andrew Nosnitsky
Hip-hop critic / editor
— / verify
PRESS / CRITICPHYSICAL: NOIV — LONG SHOT / FALLBACKAFFINITY-MAPPED
TARGET-SPECIFIC AFFINITY DATABASE-MAPPED PITCH: HILLHURST / DISCOVERY
The reason I’m sending this specifically is language, criticism and the record as a written / physical object. “Throwaway Lines” is the cleanest first test of that side of the record; the album opens considerably wider from there.
ANGLE: language, criticism and the record as a written / physical object · TEXT/LYRIC RECEPTIVE
WHY THIS TRACK — Slow, narcotic, rap-derived menace: blunt hook repetition and Three 6 Mafia syrup under the floorboards.
SUBJECTHillhurst / The Radio
#279
Andy Beta
Writer / critic
— / verify
PRESS / CRITICPHYSICAL: NOIV — LONG SHOT / FALLBACKAFFINITY-MAPPED
TARGET-SPECIFIC AFFINITY DATABASE-MAPPED PITCH: HILLHURST / DISCOVERY
The reason I’m sending this specifically is language, criticism and the record as a written / physical object. “Throwaway Lines” is the cleanest first test of that side of the record; the album opens considerably wider from there.
ANGLE: language, criticism and the record as a written / physical object · TEXT/LYRIC RECEPTIVE
WHY THIS TRACK — Piano and bass in the foreground; rainy jazz-café air, Doors/Floyd shadows, elegant reverb, slow scale.
SUBJECTThe Radio
#280
Ann Powers
Critic / author
— / verify
PRESS / CRITICPHYSICAL: NOIV — LONG SHOT / FALLBACKAFFINITY-MAPPED
TARGET-SPECIFIC AFFINITY DATABASE-MAPPED PITCH: HILLHURST / DISCOVERY
The reason I’m sending this specifically is language, criticism and the record as a written / physical object. “Throwaway Lines” is the cleanest first test of that side of the record; the album opens considerably wider from there.
ANGLE: language, criticism and the record as a written / physical object · TEXT/LYRIC RECEPTIVE
WHY THIS TRACK — World-weary piano/strings art-rock: intimate opening, dub echo in the drums and a wide Mer de Noms-scale guitar climax.
SUBJECTField report: The Radio
#281
Chal Ravens
Critic / broadcaster
— / verify
PRESS / CRITICPHYSICAL: NOIV — LONG SHOT / FALLBACKAFFINITY-MAPPED
TARGET-SPECIFIC AFFINITY DATABASE-MAPPED PITCH: HILLHURST / DISCOVERY
The reason I’m sending this specifically is language, criticism and the record as a written / physical object. “Throwaway Lines” is the cleanest first test of that side of the record; the album opens considerably wider from there.
ANGLE: language, criticism and the record as a written / physical object · TEXT/LYRIC RECEPTIVE
WHY THIS TRACK — World-weary piano/strings art-rock: intimate opening, dub echo in the drums and a wide Mer de Noms-scale guitar climax.
SUBJECTHillhurst / The Radio
#282
Chris Richards
Music critic
— / verify
PRESS / CRITICPHYSICAL: NOIV — LONG SHOT / FALLBACKAFFINITY-MAPPED
TARGET-SPECIFIC AFFINITY DATABASE-MAPPED PITCH: HILLHURST / DISCOVERY
The reason I’m sending this specifically is language, criticism and the record as a written / physical object. “Throwaway Lines” is the cleanest first test of that side of the record; the album opens considerably wider from there.
ANGLE: language, criticism and the record as a written / physical object · TEXT/LYRIC RECEPTIVE
WHY THIS TRACK — Very short, dry anti-product art-rock; the lyric is the organizing device and the song gets out before the pitch can become respectable.
SUBJECTThe Radio
#283
Hua Hsu
Staff writer / critic
— / verify
PRESS / CRITICPHYSICAL: NOIV — LONG SHOT / FALLBACKAFFINITY-MAPPED
TARGET-SPECIFIC AFFINITY DATABASE-MAPPED PITCH: HILLHURST / DISCOVERY
The reason I’m sending this specifically is language, criticism and the record as a written / physical object. “Throwaway Lines” is the cleanest first test of that side of the record; the album opens considerably wider from there.
ANGLE: language, criticism and the record as a written / physical object · TEXT/LYRIC RECEPTIVE
WHY THIS TRACK — Very short, dry anti-product art-rock; the lyric is the organizing device and the song gets out before the pitch can become respectable.
SUBJECTField report: The Radio
#284
Joe Muggs
Writer / DJ
— / verify
PRESS / CRITICPHYSICAL: NOIV — LONG SHOT / FALLBACKAFFINITY-MAPPED
TARGET-SPECIFIC AFFINITY DATABASE-MAPPED PITCH: HILLHURST / DISCOVERY
The reason I’m sending this specifically is language, criticism and the record as a written / physical object. “Throwaway Lines” is the cleanest first test of that side of the record; the album opens considerably wider from there.
ANGLE: language, criticism and the record as a written / physical object · TEXT/LYRIC RECEPTIVE
WHY THIS TRACK — World-weary piano/strings art-rock: intimate opening, dub echo in the drums and a wide Mer de Noms-scale guitar climax.
SUBJECTHillhurst / The Radio
#285
John Robb
Editor / writer, Louder Than War
— / verify
PRESS / CRITICPHYSICAL: NOIV — LONG SHOT / FALLBACKAFFINITY-MAPPED
TARGET-SPECIFIC AFFINITY DATABASE-MAPPED PITCH: HILLHURST / DISCOVERY
The reason I’m sending this specifically is language, criticism and the record as a written / physical object. “Throwaway Lines” is the cleanest first test of that side of the record; the album opens considerably wider from there.
ANGLE: language, criticism and the record as a written / physical object · TEXT/LYRIC RECEPTIVE
WHY THIS TRACK — World-weary piano/strings art-rock: intimate opening, dub echo in the drums and a wide Mer de Noms-scale guitar climax.
SUBJECTThe Radio
#286
Maura Johnston
Critic / editor
— / verify
PRESS / CRITICPHYSICAL: NOIV — LONG SHOT / FALLBACKAFFINITY-MAPPED
TARGET-SPECIFIC AFFINITY DATABASE-MAPPED PITCH: HILLHURST / DISCOVERY
The reason I’m sending this specifically is language, criticism and the record as a written / physical object. “Throwaway Lines” is the cleanest first test of that side of the record; the album opens considerably wider from there.
ANGLE: language, criticism and the record as a written / physical object · TEXT/LYRIC RECEPTIVE
WHY THIS TRACK — Very short, dry anti-product art-rock; the lyric is the organizing device and the song gets out before the pitch can become respectable.
SUBJECTField report: The Radio
#287
Philip Clark
Critic / author
— / verify
PRESS / CRITICPHYSICAL: NOIV — LONG SHOT / FALLBACKAFFINITY-MAPPED
TARGET-SPECIFIC AFFINITY DATABASE-MAPPED PITCH: HILLHURST / DISCOVERY
The reason I’m sending this specifically is language, criticism and the record as a written / physical object. “Throwaway Lines” is the cleanest first test of that side of the record; the album opens considerably wider from there.
ANGLE: language, criticism and the record as a written / physical object · TEXT/LYRIC RECEPTIVE
WHY THIS TRACK — Piano and bass in the foreground; rainy jazz-café air, Doors/Floyd shadows, elegant reverb, slow scale.
SUBJECTHillhurst / The Radio
#288
Rob Sheffield
Music critic
— / verify
PRESS / CRITICPHYSICAL: NOIV — LONG SHOT / FALLBACKAFFINITY-MAPPED
TARGET-SPECIFIC AFFINITY DATABASE-MAPPED PITCH: HILLHURST / DISCOVERY
The reason I’m sending this specifically is language, criticism and the record as a written / physical object. “Throwaway Lines” is the cleanest first test of that side of the record; the album opens considerably wider from there.
ANGLE: language, criticism and the record as a written / physical object · TEXT/LYRIC RECEPTIVE
WHY THIS TRACK — Very short, dry anti-product art-rock; the lyric is the organizing device and the song gets out before the pitch can become respectable.
SUBJECTThe Radio
#289
Simon Price
Music critic / broadcaster
— / verify
PRESS / CRITICPHYSICAL: NOIV — LONG SHOT / FALLBACKAFFINITY-MAPPED
TARGET-SPECIFIC AFFINITY DATABASE-MAPPED PITCH: HILLHURST / DISCOVERY
The reason I’m sending this specifically is language, criticism and the record as a written / physical object. “Throwaway Lines” is the cleanest first test of that side of the record; the album opens considerably wider from there.
ANGLE: language, criticism and the record as a written / physical object · TEXT/LYRIC RECEPTIVE
WHY THIS TRACK — Piano and bass in the foreground; rainy jazz-café air, Doors/Floyd shadows, elegant reverb, slow scale.
SUBJECTField report: The Radio
#290
Will Hermes
Critic / author
— / verify
PRESS / CRITICPHYSICAL: NOIV — LONG SHOT / FALLBACKAFFINITY-MAPPED
TARGET-SPECIFIC AFFINITY DATABASE-MAPPED PITCH: HILLHURST / DISCOVERY
The reason I’m sending this specifically is language, criticism and the record as a written / physical object. “Throwaway Lines” is the cleanest first test of that side of the record; the album opens considerably wider from there.
ANGLE: language, criticism and the record as a written / physical object · TEXT/LYRIC RECEPTIVE
WHY THIS TRACK — Very short, dry anti-product art-rock; the lyric is the organizing device and the song gets out before the pitch can become respectable.
SUBJECTHillhurst / The Radio
#291
Finders Keepers Records (Andy Votel)
— / verify
DESIGN / VISUALPHYSICAL: NOIV — LONG SHOT / FALLBACKAFFINITY-MAPPED
TARGET-SPECIFIC AFFINITY DATABASE-MAPPED PITCH: PARTICULAR THING
I’m sending this because of language, criticism and the record as a written / physical object. The release was built as a complete visual / physical system rather than artwork applied after mastering; “Throwaway Lines” is the musical entrance.
ANGLE: language, criticism and the record as a written / physical object · TEXT/LYRIC RECEPTIVE
WHY THIS TRACK — World-weary piano/strings art-rock: intimate opening, dub echo in the drums and a wide Mer de Noms-scale guitar climax.
SUBJECTScaled Alps — “Throwaway Lines”
#292
Unit Editions (Tony Brook & Adrian Shaughnessy)
— / verify
DESIGN / VISUALPHYSICAL: NOIV — LONG SHOT / FALLBACKAFFINITY-MAPPED
TARGET-SPECIFIC AFFINITY DATABASE-MAPPED PITCH: PARTICULAR THING
I’m sending this because of language, criticism and the record as a written / physical object. The release was built as a complete visual / physical system rather than artwork applied after mastering; “Throwaway Lines” is the musical entrance.
ANGLE: language, criticism and the record as a written / physical object · TEXT/LYRIC RECEPTIVE
WHY THIS TRACK — World-weary piano/strings art-rock: intimate opening, dub echo in the drums and a wide Mer de Noms-scale guitar climax.
SUBJECT“Throwaway Lines” — Scaled Alps
#293
Ben UFO
DJ / label cofounder
— / verify
RADIO / DJPHYSICAL: NOIV — LONG SHOT / FALLBACKAFFINITY-MAPPED
TARGET-SPECIFIC AFFINITY DATABASE-MAPPED PITCH: HILLHURST / RADIO
Your programming context makes cinematic atmosphere, scene identity and music that produces an image quickly the useful point of contact here. I’m leading with “Neo Noir” rather than trying to summarize sixteen tracks in genre language.
ANGLE: cinematic atmosphere, scene identity and music that produces an image quickly
WHY THIS TRACK — Piano and round bass, whispered doubles, spatialized vocal phrases, synth possibility; Faith No More / Mr. Bungle / Melanie De Biasio in the production constellation.
SUBJECTHillhurst / The Radio
#294
Bill Brewster
DJ / author
— / verify
PRESS / CRITICPHYSICAL: NOIV — LONG SHOT / FALLBACKAFFINITY-MAPPED
TARGET-SPECIFIC AFFINITY DATABASE-MAPPED PITCH: HILLHURST / DISCOVERY
The reason I’m sending this specifically is language, criticism and the record as a written / physical object. “Throwaway Lines” is the cleanest first test of that side of the record; the album opens considerably wider from there.
ANGLE: language, criticism and the record as a written / physical object · TEXT/LYRIC RECEPTIVE
WHY THIS TRACK — Very short, dry anti-product art-rock; the lyric is the organizing device and the song gets out before the pitch can become respectable.
SUBJECTThe Radio
#295
Colleen 'Cosmo' Murphy
DJ / curator
— / verify
RADIO / DJPHYSICAL: NOIV — LONG SHOT / FALLBACKAFFINITY-MAPPED
TARGET-SPECIFIC AFFINITY DATABASE-MAPPED PITCH: HILLHURST / RADIO
Your programming context makes cinematic atmosphere, scene identity and music that produces an image quickly the useful point of contact here. I’m leading with “Neo Noir” rather than trying to summarize sixteen tracks in genre language.
ANGLE: cinematic atmosphere, scene identity and music that produces an image quickly
WHY THIS TRACK — Piano and bass in the foreground; rainy jazz-café air, Doors/Floyd shadows, elegant reverb, slow scale.
SUBJECTField report: The Radio
#296
David Byrne
Musician / writer
— / verify
PRESS / CRITICPHYSICAL: NOIV — LONG SHOT / FALLBACKAFFINITY-MAPPED
TARGET-SPECIFIC AFFINITY DATABASE-MAPPED PITCH: HILLHURST / DISCOVERY
The reason I’m sending this specifically is language, criticism and the record as a written / physical object. “Throwaway Lines” is the cleanest first test of that side of the record; the album opens considerably wider from there.
ANGLE: language, criticism and the record as a written / physical object · TEXT/LYRIC RECEPTIVE
WHY THIS TRACK — Very short, dry anti-product art-rock; the lyric is the organizing device and the song gets out before the pitch can become respectable.
SUBJECTHillhurst / The Radio
#297
Frank Ocean
Musician / writer
— / verify
PRESS / CRITICPHYSICAL: NOIV — LONG SHOT / FALLBACKAFFINITY-MAPPED
TARGET-SPECIFIC AFFINITY DATABASE-MAPPED PITCH: HILLHURST / DISCOVERY
The reason I’m sending this specifically is language, criticism and the record as a written / physical object. “Throwaway Lines” is the cleanest first test of that side of the record; the album opens considerably wider from there.
ANGLE: language, criticism and the record as a written / physical object · TEXT/LYRIC RECEPTIVE
WHY THIS TRACK — Very short, dry anti-product art-rock; the lyric is the organizing device and the song gets out before the pitch can become respectable.
SUBJECTThe Radio
#298
Ty Segall
Musician / producer
— / verify
PRODUCER / ENGINEERPHYSICAL: NOIV — LONG SHOT / FALLBACKAFFINITY-MAPPED
TARGET-SPECIFIC AFFINITY DATABASE-MAPPED PITCH: PARTICULAR THING
The production-side reason to send this is physical weight, abrasion and abrupt dynamics without genre orthodoxy. “Tentacoli” exposes that part of the arrangement most clearly and leaves enough friction audible to be useful.
ANGLE: physical weight, abrasion and abrupt dynamics without genre orthodoxy
WHY THIS TRACK — Volatile heavy art-rock: intelligible sung text held against mass, then a larger violent release.
SUBJECT“Tentacoli” — Scaled Alps
#299
Michael Hann
Former Music Editor, The Guardian / Freelance Critic
— / verify
PRESS / CRITICPHYSICAL: NOIV — LONG SHOT / FALLBACKAFFINITY-MAPPED
TARGET-SPECIFIC AFFINITY DATABASE-MAPPED PITCH: HILLHURST / DISCOVERY
The reason I’m sending this specifically is language, criticism and the record as a written / physical object. “Throwaway Lines” is the cleanest first test of that side of the record; the album opens considerably wider from there.
ANGLE: language, criticism and the record as a written / physical object · TEXT/LYRIC RECEPTIVE
WHY THIS TRACK — World-weary piano/strings art-rock: intimate opening, dub echo in the drums and a wide Mer de Noms-scale guitar climax.
SUBJECTHillhurst / The Radio
#300
David Fricke
Music journalist
— / verify
PRESS / CRITICPHYSICAL: NOIV — LONG SHOT / FALLBACKAFFINITY-MAPPED
TARGET-SPECIFIC AFFINITY DATABASE-MAPPED PITCH: HILLHURST / DISCOVERY
The reason I’m sending this specifically is language, criticism and the record as a written / physical object. “Throwaway Lines” is the cleanest first test of that side of the record; the album opens considerably wider from there.
ANGLE: language, criticism and the record as a written / physical object · TEXT/LYRIC RECEPTIVE
WHY THIS TRACK — Piano and bass in the foreground; rainy jazz-café air, Doors/Floyd shadows, elegant reverb, slow scale.
SUBJECTThe Radio
#301
Michael Azerrad
Author / journalist
— / verify
PRESS / CRITICPHYSICAL: NOIV — LONG SHOT / FALLBACKAFFINITY-MAPPED
TARGET-SPECIFIC AFFINITY DATABASE-MAPPED PITCH: HILLHURST / DISCOVERY
The reason I’m sending this specifically is language, criticism and the record as a written / physical object. “Throwaway Lines” is the cleanest first test of that side of the record; the album opens considerably wider from there.
ANGLE: language, criticism and the record as a written / physical object · TEXT/LYRIC RECEPTIVE
WHY THIS TRACK — Long-breath post-hardcore/art-rock: clean-to-scream dynamics, questioning bass, delay architecture, intense midrange guitars and a Morphine undertow.
SUBJECTField report: The Radio
#302
Mikael Wood / physical desk copy
Pop Music Critic, Los Angeles Times
Los Angeles, CA
PRESS / CRITICPHYSICAL: POSSIBLEIV — LONG SHOT / FALLBACKAFFINITY-MAPPED
TARGET-SPECIFIC AFFINITY DATABASE-MAPPED PITCH: HILLHURST / DISCOVERY
The reason I’m sending this specifically is atmospheric guitar architecture, weight and melodic counterline. “Setagaya” is the cleanest first test of that side of the record; the album opens considerably wider from there.
ANGLE: atmospheric guitar architecture, weight and melodic counterline
WHY THIS TRACK — Sparkling piano, an enormous pop/R&B melody, active drums and heavy chorus guitars at deliberately wrong scale.
SUBJECTHillhurst / The Radio
#303
Bruce Pavitt & Jonathan Poneman
Founders, Sub Pop Records
— / verify
LABEL / INDUSTRYPHYSICAL: NOIV — LONG SHOT / FALLBACKAFFINITY-MAPPED
TARGET-SPECIFIC AFFINITY DATABASE-MAPPED PITCH: DISTRIBUTION / MOVEMENT
The useful point of contact is language, criticism and the record as a written / physical object. “Throwaway Lines” is the musical entry, while the finished physical edition and Owner’s Manual show how the project behaves as a complete release.
ANGLE: language, criticism and the record as a written / physical object · TEXT/LYRIC RECEPTIVE
WHY THIS TRACK — Sparkling piano, an enormous pop/R&B melody, active drums and heavy chorus guitars at deliberately wrong scale.
SUBJECTDistribution vs. Warehousing
#304
Daisuke Tanabe & Label Team
Curators, Dais Records
— / verify
LABEL / INDUSTRYPHYSICAL: NOIV — LONG SHOT / FALLBACKAFFINITY-MAPPED
TARGET-SPECIFIC AFFINITY DATABASE-MAPPED PITCH: DISTRIBUTION / MOVEMENT
The useful point of contact is language, criticism and the record as a written / physical object. “Throwaway Lines” is the musical entry, while the finished physical edition and Owner’s Manual show how the project behaves as a complete release.
ANGLE: language, criticism and the record as a written / physical object · TEXT/LYRIC RECEPTIVE
WHY THIS TRACK — World-weary piano/strings art-rock: intimate opening, dub echo in the drums and a wide Mer de Noms-scale guitar climax.
SUBJECTDistribution is movement
#305
Stereogum (Scott Lapatine & Tom Breihan)
— / verify
RADIO / DJPHYSICAL: NOIV — LONG SHOT / FALLBACKAFFINITY-MAPPED
TARGET-SPECIFIC AFFINITY DATABASE-MAPPED PITCH: HILLHURST / RADIO
Your programming context makes language, criticism and the record as a written / physical object the useful point of contact here. I’m leading with “Throwaway Lines” rather than trying to summarize sixteen tracks in genre language.
ANGLE: language, criticism and the record as a written / physical object · TEXT/LYRIC RECEPTIVE
WHY THIS TRACK — Sparkling piano, an enormous pop/R&B melody, active drums and heavy chorus guitars at deliberately wrong scale.
SUBJECTHillhurst / The Radio
#306
A24 Music Department
— / verify
FILM / SYNCPHYSICAL: NOIV — LONG SHOT / FALLBACKAFFINITY-MAPPED
TARGET-SPECIFIC AFFINITY DATABASE-MAPPED PITCH: DISTRIBUTION / MOVEMENT
I’m approaching this through language, criticism and the record as a written / physical object, rather than a broad ‘cinematic’ claim. “Throwaway Lines” is the track that establishes that world fastest.
ANGLE: language, criticism and the record as a written / physical object · TEXT/LYRIC RECEPTIVE
WHY THIS TRACK — Piano and bass in the foreground; rainy jazz-café air, Doors/Floyd shadows, elegant reverb, slow scale.
SUBJECTDistribution vs. Warehousing
#307
Bella Union Team
Founded by Simon Raymonde
— / verify
LABEL / INDUSTRYPHYSICAL: NOIV — LONG SHOT / FALLBACKAFFINITY-MAPPED
TARGET-SPECIFIC AFFINITY DATABASE-MAPPED PITCH: DISTRIBUTION / MOVEMENT
The useful point of contact is language, criticism and the record as a written / physical object. “Throwaway Lines” is the musical entry, while the finished physical edition and Owner’s Manual show how the project behaves as a complete release.
ANGLE: language, criticism and the record as a written / physical object · TEXT/LYRIC RECEPTIVE
WHY THIS TRACK — World-weary piano/strings art-rock: intimate opening, dub echo in the drums and a wide Mer de Noms-scale guitar climax.
SUBJECTDistribution is movement
#308
Bleep.com Editorial Team (Warp Records)
— / verify
DESIGN / VISUALPHYSICAL: NOIV — LONG SHOT / FALLBACKAFFINITY-MAPPED
TARGET-SPECIFIC AFFINITY DATABASE-MAPPED PITCH: PARTICULAR THING
I’m sending this because of language, criticism and the record as a written / physical object. The release was built as a complete visual / physical system rather than artwork applied after mastering; “Throwaway Lines” is the musical entrance.
ANGLE: language, criticism and the record as a written / physical object · TEXT/LYRIC RECEPTIVE
WHY THIS TRACK — World-weary piano/strings art-rock: intimate opening, dub echo in the drums and a wide Mer de Noms-scale guitar climax.
SUBJECTLet the Alpine Play
#309
Crack Magazine Music Editors
— / verify
RADIO / DJPHYSICAL: NOIV — LONG SHOT / FALLBACKAFFINITY-MAPPED
TARGET-SPECIFIC AFFINITY DATABASE-MAPPED PITCH: HILLHURST / RADIO
Your programming context makes language, criticism and the record as a written / physical object the useful point of contact here. I’m leading with “Throwaway Lines” rather than trying to summarize sixteen tracks in genre language.
ANGLE: language, criticism and the record as a written / physical object · TEXT/LYRIC RECEPTIVE
WHY THIS TRACK — Sparkling piano, an enormous pop/R&B melody, active drums and heavy chorus guitars at deliberately wrong scale.
SUBJECTThe Radio
#310
Dublab Curation Team
Los Angeles
— / verify
RADIO / DJPHYSICAL: NOIV — LONG SHOT / FALLBACKAFFINITY-MAPPED
TARGET-SPECIFIC AFFINITY DATABASE-MAPPED PITCH: HILLHURST / RADIO
Your programming context makes language, criticism and the record as a written / physical object the useful point of contact here. I’m leading with “Throwaway Lines” rather than trying to summarize sixteen tracks in genre language.
ANGLE: language, criticism and the record as a written / physical object · TEXT/LYRIC RECEPTIVE
WHY THIS TRACK — Bass-first cosmic funk: Brasil ’66 bounce, P-Funk looseness, blue-eyed soul grit and Bowie-stutter tricks.
SUBJECTField report: The Radio
#311
Ghostly International Curation Team
— / verify
DESIGN / VISUALPHYSICAL: NOIV — LONG SHOT / FALLBACKAFFINITY-MAPPED
TARGET-SPECIFIC AFFINITY DATABASE-MAPPED PITCH: PARTICULAR THING
I’m sending this because of language, criticism and the record as a written / physical object. The release was built as a complete visual / physical system rather than artwork applied after mastering; “Throwaway Lines” is the musical entrance.
ANGLE: language, criticism and the record as a written / physical object · TEXT/LYRIC RECEPTIVE
WHY THIS TRACK — World-weary piano/strings art-rock: intimate opening, dub echo in the drums and a wide Mer de Noms-scale guitar climax.
SUBJECTLet the Alpine Play
#312
Heavy Psych Sounds Team
— / verify
LABEL / INDUSTRYPHYSICAL: NOIV — LONG SHOT / FALLBACKAFFINITY-MAPPED
TARGET-SPECIFIC AFFINITY DATABASE-MAPPED PITCH: DISTRIBUTION / MOVEMENT
The useful point of contact is language, criticism and the record as a written / physical object. “Throwaway Lines” is the musical entry, while the finished physical edition and Owner’s Manual show how the project behaves as a complete release.
ANGLE: language, criticism and the record as a written / physical object · TEXT/LYRIC RECEPTIVE
WHY THIS TRACK — Piano and bass in the foreground; rainy jazz-café air, Doors/Floyd shadows, elegant reverb, slow scale.
SUBJECTDistribution vs. Warehousing
#313
Ipecac Recordings A&R
Co-Founded by Mike Patton
— / verify
LABEL / INDUSTRYPHYSICAL: NOIV — LONG SHOT / FALLBACKAFFINITY-MAPPED
TARGET-SPECIFIC AFFINITY DATABASE-MAPPED PITCH: DISTRIBUTION / MOVEMENT
The useful point of contact is language, criticism and the record as a written / physical object. “Throwaway Lines” is the musical entry, while the finished physical edition and Owner’s Manual show how the project behaves as a complete release.
ANGLE: language, criticism and the record as a written / physical object · TEXT/LYRIC RECEPTIVE
WHY THIS TRACK — World-weary piano/strings art-rock: intimate opening, dub echo in the drums and a wide Mer de Noms-scale guitar climax.
SUBJECTDistribution is movement
#314
Light in the Attic Records (A&R Team)
— / verify
DESIGN / VISUALPHYSICAL: NOIV — LONG SHOT / FALLBACKAFFINITY-MAPPED
TARGET-SPECIFIC AFFINITY DATABASE-MAPPED PITCH: PARTICULAR THING
I’m sending this because of language, criticism and the record as a written / physical object. The release was built as a complete visual / physical system rather than artwork applied after mastering; “Throwaway Lines” is the musical entrance.
ANGLE: language, criticism and the record as a written / physical object · TEXT/LYRIC RECEPTIVE
WHY THIS TRACK — World-weary piano/strings art-rock: intimate opening, dub echo in the drums and a wide Mer de Noms-scale guitar climax.
SUBJECTLet the Alpine Play
#315
Mondo Music Team
— / verify
DESIGN / VISUALPHYSICAL: NOIV — LONG SHOT / FALLBACKAFFINITY-MAPPED
TARGET-SPECIFIC AFFINITY DATABASE-MAPPED PITCH: PARTICULAR THING
I’m sending this because of language, criticism and the record as a written / physical object. The release was built as a complete visual / physical system rather than artwork applied after mastering; “Throwaway Lines” is the musical entrance.
ANGLE: language, criticism and the record as a written / physical object · TEXT/LYRIC RECEPTIVE
WHY THIS TRACK — World-weary piano/strings art-rock: intimate opening, dub echo in the drums and a wide Mer de Noms-scale guitar climax.
SUBJECTScaled Alps — “Throwaway Lines”
#316
MUBI Programming Team
— / verify
FILM / SYNCPHYSICAL: NOIV — LONG SHOT / FALLBACKAFFINITY-MAPPED
TARGET-SPECIFIC AFFINITY DATABASE-MAPPED PITCH: DISTRIBUTION / MOVEMENT
I’m approaching this through language, criticism and the record as a written / physical object, rather than a broad ‘cinematic’ claim. “Throwaway Lines” is the track that establishes that world fastest.
ANGLE: language, criticism and the record as a written / physical object · TEXT/LYRIC RECEPTIVE
WHY THIS TRACK — Piano and bass in the foreground; rainy jazz-café air, Doors/Floyd shadows, elegant reverb, slow scale.
SUBJECTDistribution is movement
#317
Ninja Tune A&R Team
— / verify
LABEL / INDUSTRYPHYSICAL: NOIV — LONG SHOT / FALLBACKAFFINITY-MAPPED
TARGET-SPECIFIC AFFINITY DATABASE-MAPPED PITCH: DISTRIBUTION / MOVEMENT
The useful point of contact is language, criticism and the record as a written / physical object. “Throwaway Lines” is the musical entry, while the finished physical edition and Owner’s Manual show how the project behaves as a complete release.
ANGLE: language, criticism and the record as a written / physical object · TEXT/LYRIC RECEPTIVE
WHY THIS TRACK — World-weary piano/strings art-rock: intimate opening, dub echo in the drums and a wide Mer de Noms-scale guitar climax.
SUBJECTWe’ve got distribution problems
#318
NTS Radio Programming Team
— / verify
RADIO / DJPHYSICAL: NOIV — LONG SHOT / FALLBACKAFFINITY-MAPPED
TARGET-SPECIFIC AFFINITY DATABASE-MAPPED PITCH: HILLHURST / RADIO
Your programming context makes language, criticism and the record as a written / physical object the useful point of contact here. I’m leading with “Throwaway Lines” rather than trying to summarize sixteen tracks in genre language.
ANGLE: language, criticism and the record as a written / physical object · TEXT/LYRIC RECEPTIVE
WHY THIS TRACK — Sparkling piano, an enormous pop/R&B melody, active drums and heavy chorus guitars at deliberately wrong scale.
SUBJECTThe Radio
#319
Numero Group (A&R Team)
— / verify
DESIGN / VISUALPHYSICAL: NOIV — LONG SHOT / FALLBACKAFFINITY-MAPPED
TARGET-SPECIFIC AFFINITY DATABASE-MAPPED PITCH: PARTICULAR THING
I’m sending this because of language, criticism and the record as a written / physical object. The release was built as a complete visual / physical system rather than artwork applied after mastering; “Throwaway Lines” is the musical entrance.
ANGLE: language, criticism and the record as a written / physical object · TEXT/LYRIC RECEPTIVE
WHY THIS TRACK — World-weary piano/strings art-rock: intimate opening, dub echo in the drums and a wide Mer de Noms-scale guitar climax.
SUBJECT“Throwaway Lines” — Scaled Alps
#320
Resident Advisor Music Editors
— / verify
RADIO / DJPHYSICAL: NOIV — LONG SHOT / FALLBACKAFFINITY-MAPPED
TARGET-SPECIFIC AFFINITY DATABASE-MAPPED PITCH: HILLHURST / RADIO
Your programming context makes language, criticism and the record as a written / physical object the useful point of contact here. I’m leading with “Throwaway Lines” rather than trying to summarize sixteen tracks in genre language.
ANGLE: language, criticism and the record as a written / physical object · TEXT/LYRIC RECEPTIVE
WHY THIS TRACK — Sparkling piano, an enormous pop/R&B melody, active drums and heavy chorus guitars at deliberately wrong scale.
SUBJECTHillhurst / The Radio
#321
The FADER (Music Department)
— / verify
RADIO / DJPHYSICAL: NOIV — LONG SHOT / FALLBACKAFFINITY-MAPPED
TARGET-SPECIFIC AFFINITY DATABASE-MAPPED PITCH: HILLHURST / RADIO
Your programming context makes language, criticism and the record as a written / physical object the useful point of contact here. I’m leading with “Throwaway Lines” rather than trying to summarize sixteen tracks in genre language.
ANGLE: language, criticism and the record as a written / physical object · TEXT/LYRIC RECEPTIVE
WHY THIS TRACK — Sparkling piano, an enormous pop/R&B melody, active drums and heavy chorus guitars at deliberately wrong scale.
SUBJECTThe Radio
#322
Third Man Records Art Department
— / verify
DESIGN / VISUALPHYSICAL: NOIV — LONG SHOT / FALLBACKAFFINITY-MAPPED
TARGET-SPECIFIC AFFINITY DATABASE-MAPPED PITCH: PARTICULAR THING
I’m sending this because of language, criticism and the record as a written / physical object. The release was built as a complete visual / physical system rather than artwork applied after mastering; “Throwaway Lines” is the musical entrance.
ANGLE: language, criticism and the record as a written / physical object · TEXT/LYRIC RECEPTIVE
WHY THIS TRACK — World-weary piano/strings art-rock: intimate opening, dub echo in the drums and a wide Mer de Noms-scale guitar climax.
SUBJECT“Throwaway Lines” — Scaled Alps
#323
Waxwork Records Team
— / verify
FILM / SYNCPHYSICAL: NOIV — LONG SHOT / FALLBACKAFFINITY-MAPPED
TARGET-SPECIFIC AFFINITY DATABASE-MAPPED PITCH: DISTRIBUTION / MOVEMENT
I’m approaching this through language, criticism and the record as a written / physical object, rather than a broad ‘cinematic’ claim. “Throwaway Lines” is the track that establishes that world fastest.
ANGLE: language, criticism and the record as a written / physical object · TEXT/LYRIC RECEPTIVE
WHY THIS TRACK — Piano and bass in the foreground; rainy jazz-café air, Doors/Floyd shadows, elegant reverb, slow scale.
SUBJECTWe’ve got distribution problems
#324
Andrew Maxwell / 2220 booking route
Director / booking route
Los Angeles, CA
LIVE / BOOKINGPHYSICAL: POSSIBLEIV — LONG SHOT / FALLBACKAFFINITY-MAPPED
TARGET-SPECIFIC AFFINITY DATABASE-MAPPED PITCH: DISTRIBUTION / MOVEMENT
For a live context, the relevant angle is cinematic atmosphere, scene identity and music that produces an image quickly. “Neo Noir” is the quickest way to hear the proposition without asking you to absorb the whole record first.
ANGLE: cinematic atmosphere, scene identity and music that produces an image quickly
WHY THIS TRACK — Low hypnotic piano, dub/reggae undertow, airy space, boomy bass and a long gradual ascent.
SUBJECTDistribution vs. Warehousing
#325
Carmela Michaeli / KXLU submission desk
Music Director, KXLU
Los Angeles, CA
RADIO / DJPHYSICAL: POSSIBLEIV — LONG SHOT / FALLBACKAFFINITY-MAPPED
TARGET-SPECIFIC AFFINITY DATABASE-MAPPED PITCH: HILLHURST / RADIO
Your programming context makes cinematic atmosphere, scene identity and music that produces an image quickly the useful point of contact here. I’m leading with “Neo Noir” rather than trying to summarize sixteen tracks in genre language.
ANGLE: cinematic atmosphere, scene identity and music that produces an image quickly
WHY THIS TRACK — Piano and bass in the foreground; rainy jazz-café air, Doors/Floyd shadows, elegant reverb, slow scale.
SUBJECTField report: The Radio
#326
Lance Barresi / Permanent Records booking route
Owner / booker
Los Angeles, CA
LIVE / BOOKINGPHYSICAL: POSSIBLEIV — LONG SHOT / FALLBACKAFFINITY-MAPPED
TARGET-SPECIFIC AFFINITY DATABASE-MAPPED PITCH: DISTRIBUTION / MOVEMENT
For a live context, the relevant angle is a short, high-impact live-band proposition that makes the project legible quickly. “Muffler” is the quickest way to hear the proposition without asking you to absorb the whole record first.
ANGLE: a short, high-impact live-band proposition that makes the project legible quickly
WHY THIS TRACK — QOTSA urgency, Kyuss drag, revving guitars, rising drums and a little Painkiller-era metal in the bloodstream.
SUBJECTWe’ve got distribution problems
#327
Molly Majorack / Teragram Presents
Talent buyer
Los Angeles, CA
LIVE / BOOKINGPHYSICAL: POSSIBLEIV — LONG SHOT / FALLBACKAFFINITY-MAPPED
TARGET-SPECIFIC AFFINITY DATABASE-MAPPED PITCH: DISTRIBUTION / MOVEMENT
For a live context, the relevant angle is a short, high-impact live-band proposition that makes the project legible quickly. “Muffler” is the quickest way to hear the proposition without asking you to absorb the whole record first.
ANGLE: a short, high-impact live-band proposition that makes the project legible quickly
WHY THIS TRACK — QOTSA urgency, Kyuss drag, revving guitars, rising drums and a little Painkiller-era metal in the bloodstream.
SUBJECTDistribution vs. Warehousing
#328
Thurston Moore & Eva Prinz
Founders, Ecstatic Peace! Library / Daydream Library
— / verify
LABEL / INDUSTRYPHYSICAL: NOIV — LONG SHOT / FALLBACKAFFINITY-MAPPED
TARGET-SPECIFIC AFFINITY DATABASE-MAPPED PITCH: DISTRIBUTION / MOVEMENT
The useful point of contact is language, criticism and the record as a written / physical object. “Throwaway Lines” is the musical entry, while the finished physical edition and Owner’s Manual show how the project behaves as a complete release.
ANGLE: language, criticism and the record as a written / physical object · TEXT/LYRIC RECEPTIVE
WHY THIS TRACK — World-weary piano/strings art-rock: intimate opening, dub echo in the drums and a wide Mer de Noms-scale guitar climax.
SUBJECTDistribution is movement
#329
Thievery Corporation / ESL Music Team
Curators, Eighteenth Street Lounge Music
— / verify
LABEL / INDUSTRYPHYSICAL: NOIV — LONG SHOT / FALLBACKAFFINITY-MAPPED
TARGET-SPECIFIC AFFINITY DATABASE-MAPPED PITCH: DISTRIBUTION / MOVEMENT
The useful point of contact is language, criticism and the record as a written / physical object. “Throwaway Lines” is the musical entry, while the finished physical edition and Owner’s Manual show how the project behaves as a complete release.
ANGLE: language, criticism and the record as a written / physical object · TEXT/LYRIC RECEPTIVE
WHY THIS TRACK — World-weary piano/strings art-rock: intimate opening, dub echo in the drums and a wide Mer de Noms-scale guitar climax.
SUBJECTWe’ve got distribution problems
#330
Acronym Design Team (Errolson Hugh)
— / verify
DESIGN / VISUALPHYSICAL: NOIV — LONG SHOT / FALLBACKAFFINITY-MAPPED
TARGET-SPECIFIC AFFINITY DATABASE-MAPPED PITCH: PARTICULAR THING
I’m sending this because of language, criticism and the record as a written / physical object. The release was built as a complete visual / physical system rather than artwork applied after mastering; “Throwaway Lines” is the musical entrance.
ANGLE: language, criticism and the record as a written / physical object · TEXT/LYRIC RECEPTIVE
WHY THIS TRACK — World-weary piano/strings art-rock: intimate opening, dub echo in the drums and a wide Mer de Noms-scale guitar climax.
SUBJECTScaled Alps — “Throwaway Lines”
#331
Aquarius Records Alumni / Modulation Curation
— / verify
RADIO / DJPHYSICAL: NOIV — LONG SHOT / FALLBACKAFFINITY-MAPPED
TARGET-SPECIFIC AFFINITY DATABASE-MAPPED PITCH: HILLHURST / RADIO
Your programming context makes language, criticism and the record as a written / physical object the useful point of contact here. I’m leading with “Throwaway Lines” rather than trying to summarize sixteen tracks in genre language.
ANGLE: language, criticism and the record as a written / physical object · TEXT/LYRIC RECEPTIVE
WHY THIS TRACK — Sparkling piano, an enormous pop/R&B melody, active drums and heavy chorus guitars at deliberately wrong scale.
SUBJECTField report: The Radio
#332
Bong Joon-ho’s Production & Music Team
— / verify
FILM / SYNCPHYSICAL: NOIV — LONG SHOT / FALLBACKAFFINITY-MAPPED
TARGET-SPECIFIC AFFINITY DATABASE-MAPPED PITCH: DISTRIBUTION / MOVEMENT
I’m approaching this through language, criticism and the record as a written / physical object, rather than a broad ‘cinematic’ claim. “Throwaway Lines” is the track that establishes that world fastest.
ANGLE: language, criticism and the record as a written / physical object · TEXT/LYRIC RECEPTIVE
WHY THIS TRACK — Piano and bass in the foreground; rainy jazz-café air, Doors/Floyd shadows, elegant reverb, slow scale.
SUBJECTWe’ve got distribution problems
#333
Cav Empt (C.E) Team (Toby Feltwell & Sk8thing)
— / verify
DESIGN / VISUALPHYSICAL: NOIV — LONG SHOT / FALLBACKAFFINITY-MAPPED
TARGET-SPECIFIC AFFINITY DATABASE-MAPPED PITCH: PARTICULAR THING
I’m sending this because of language, criticism and the record as a written / physical object. The release was built as a complete visual / physical system rather than artwork applied after mastering; “Throwaway Lines” is the musical entrance.
ANGLE: language, criticism and the record as a written / physical object · TEXT/LYRIC RECEPTIVE
WHY THIS TRACK — World-weary piano/strings art-rock: intimate opening, dub echo in the drums and a wide Mer de Noms-scale guitar climax.
SUBJECTScaled Alps — “Throwaway Lines”
#334
David Lynch Theater / Asymmetrical Productions Team
— / verify
FILM / SYNCPHYSICAL: NOIV — LONG SHOT / FALLBACKAFFINITY-MAPPED
TARGET-SPECIFIC AFFINITY DATABASE-MAPPED PITCH: DISTRIBUTION / MOVEMENT
I’m approaching this through language, criticism and the record as a written / physical object, rather than a broad ‘cinematic’ claim. “Throwaway Lines” is the track that establishes that world fastest.
ANGLE: language, criticism and the record as a written / physical object · TEXT/LYRIC RECEPTIVE
WHY THIS TRACK — Piano and bass in the foreground; rainy jazz-café air, Doors/Floyd shadows, elegant reverb, slow scale.
SUBJECTDistribution is movement
#335
Design Observer Editorial Team
— / verify
DESIGN / VISUALPHYSICAL: NOIV — LONG SHOT / FALLBACKAFFINITY-MAPPED
TARGET-SPECIFIC AFFINITY DATABASE-MAPPED PITCH: PARTICULAR THING
I’m sending this because of language, criticism and the record as a written / physical object. The release was built as a complete visual / physical system rather than artwork applied after mastering; “Throwaway Lines” is the musical entrance.
ANGLE: language, criticism and the record as a written / physical object · TEXT/LYRIC RECEPTIVE
WHY THIS TRACK — World-weary piano/strings art-rock: intimate opening, dub echo in the drums and a wide Mer de Noms-scale guitar climax.
SUBJECTLet the Alpine Play
#336
Dover Street Market Curation Team
— / verify
DESIGN / VISUALPHYSICAL: NOIV — LONG SHOT / FALLBACKAFFINITY-MAPPED
TARGET-SPECIFIC AFFINITY DATABASE-MAPPED PITCH: PARTICULAR THING
I’m sending this because of language, criticism and the record as a written / physical object. The release was built as a complete visual / physical system rather than artwork applied after mastering; “Throwaway Lines” is the musical entrance.
ANGLE: language, criticism and the record as a written / physical object · TEXT/LYRIC RECEPTIVE
WHY THIS TRACK — World-weary piano/strings art-rock: intimate opening, dub echo in the drums and a wide Mer de Noms-scale guitar climax.
SUBJECTScaled Alps — “Throwaway Lines”
#337
Dusted Magazine Editors
— / verify
RADIO / DJPHYSICAL: NOIV — LONG SHOT / FALLBACKAFFINITY-MAPPED
TARGET-SPECIFIC AFFINITY DATABASE-MAPPED PITCH: HILLHURST / RADIO
Your programming context makes language, criticism and the record as a written / physical object the useful point of contact here. I’m leading with “Throwaway Lines” rather than trying to summarize sixteen tracks in genre language.
ANGLE: language, criticism and the record as a written / physical object · TEXT/LYRIC RECEPTIVE
WHY THIS TRACK — Sparkling piano, an enormous pop/R&B melody, active drums and heavy chorus guitars at deliberately wrong scale.
SUBJECTField report: The Radio
#338
Harmony Korine / EDGLRD Team
Multimedia Studio
— / verify
FILM / SYNCPHYSICAL: NOIV — LONG SHOT / FALLBACKAFFINITY-MAPPED
TARGET-SPECIFIC AFFINITY DATABASE-MAPPED PITCH: DISTRIBUTION / MOVEMENT
I’m approaching this through language, criticism and the record as a written / physical object, rather than a broad ‘cinematic’ claim. “Throwaway Lines” is the track that establishes that world fastest.
ANGLE: language, criticism and the record as a written / physical object · TEXT/LYRIC RECEPTIVE
WHY THIS TRACK — Piano and bass in the foreground; rainy jazz-café air, Doors/Floyd shadows, elegant reverb, slow scale.
SUBJECTWe’ve got distribution problems
#339
Invada Publishing Team
— / verify
DESIGN / VISUALPHYSICAL: NOIV — LONG SHOT / FALLBACKAFFINITY-MAPPED
TARGET-SPECIFIC AFFINITY DATABASE-MAPPED PITCH: PARTICULAR THING
I’m sending this because of language, criticism and the record as a written / physical object. The release was built as a complete visual / physical system rather than artwork applied after mastering; “Throwaway Lines” is the musical entrance.
ANGLE: language, criticism and the record as a written / physical object · TEXT/LYRIC RECEPTIVE
WHY THIS TRACK — World-weary piano/strings art-rock: intimate opening, dub echo in the drums and a wide Mer de Noms-scale guitar climax.
SUBJECTScaled Alps — “Throwaway Lines”
#340
Matias Koren (A&R / Creative Consultant)
— / verify
DESIGN / VISUALPHYSICAL: NOIV — LONG SHOT / FALLBACKAFFINITY-MAPPED
TARGET-SPECIFIC AFFINITY DATABASE-MAPPED PITCH: PARTICULAR THING
I’m sending this because of language, criticism and the record as a written / physical object. The release was built as a complete visual / physical system rather than artwork applied after mastering; “Throwaway Lines” is the musical entrance.
ANGLE: language, criticism and the record as a written / physical object · TEXT/LYRIC RECEPTIVE
WHY THIS TRACK — World-weary piano/strings art-rock: intimate opening, dub echo in the drums and a wide Mer de Noms-scale guitar climax.
SUBJECT“Throwaway Lines” — Scaled Alps
#341
NEON Rated Acquisitions & Music Team
— / verify
FILM / SYNCPHYSICAL: NOIV — LONG SHOT / FALLBACKAFFINITY-MAPPED
TARGET-SPECIFIC AFFINITY DATABASE-MAPPED PITCH: DISTRIBUTION / MOVEMENT
I’m approaching this through language, criticism and the record as a written / physical object, rather than a broad ‘cinematic’ claim. “Throwaway Lines” is the track that establishes that world fastest.
ANGLE: language, criticism and the record as a written / physical object · TEXT/LYRIC RECEPTIVE
WHY THIS TRACK — Piano and bass in the foreground; rainy jazz-café air, Doors/Floyd shadows, elegant reverb, slow scale.
SUBJECTWe’ve got distribution problems
#342
PopMatters Music Team
— / verify
RADIO / DJPHYSICAL: NOIV — LONG SHOT / FALLBACKAFFINITY-MAPPED
TARGET-SPECIFIC AFFINITY DATABASE-MAPPED PITCH: HILLHURST / RADIO
Your programming context makes language, criticism and the record as a written / physical object the useful point of contact here. I’m leading with “Throwaway Lines” rather than trying to summarize sixteen tracks in genre language.
ANGLE: language, criticism and the record as a written / physical object · TEXT/LYRIC RECEPTIVE
WHY THIS TRACK — Sparkling piano, an enormous pop/R&B melody, active drums and heavy chorus guitars at deliberately wrong scale.
SUBJECTThe Radio
#343
Rinse FM Curation
London
— / verify
RADIO / DJPHYSICAL: NOIV — LONG SHOT / FALLBACKAFFINITY-MAPPED
TARGET-SPECIFIC AFFINITY DATABASE-MAPPED PITCH: HILLHURST / RADIO
Your programming context makes language, criticism and the record as a written / physical object the useful point of contact here. I’m leading with “Throwaway Lines” rather than trying to summarize sixteen tracks in genre language.
ANGLE: language, criticism and the record as a written / physical object · TEXT/LYRIC RECEPTIVE
WHY THIS TRACK — Sparkling piano, an enormous pop/R&B melody, active drums and heavy chorus guitars at deliberately wrong scale.
SUBJECTField report: The Radio
#344
Shudder Curation Team
AMC Networks
— / verify
FILM / SYNCPHYSICAL: NOIV — LONG SHOT / FALLBACKAFFINITY-MAPPED
TARGET-SPECIFIC AFFINITY DATABASE-MAPPED PITCH: DISTRIBUTION / MOVEMENT
I’m approaching this through language, criticism and the record as a written / physical object, rather than a broad ‘cinematic’ claim. “Throwaway Lines” is the track that establishes that world fastest.
ANGLE: language, criticism and the record as a written / physical object · TEXT/LYRIC RECEPTIVE
WHY THIS TRACK — Piano and bass in the foreground; rainy jazz-café air, Doors/Floyd shadows, elegant reverb, slow scale.
SUBJECTWe’ve got distribution problems
#345
Subtext Recordings Team
— / verify
FILM / SYNCPHYSICAL: NOIV — LONG SHOT / FALLBACKAFFINITY-MAPPED
TARGET-SPECIFIC AFFINITY DATABASE-MAPPED PITCH: DISTRIBUTION / MOVEMENT
I’m approaching this through language, criticism and the record as a written / physical object, rather than a broad ‘cinematic’ claim. “Throwaway Lines” is the track that establishes that world fastest.
ANGLE: language, criticism and the record as a written / physical object · TEXT/LYRIC RECEPTIVE
WHY THIS TRACK — Piano and bass in the foreground; rainy jazz-café air, Doors/Floyd shadows, elegant reverb, slow scale.
SUBJECTDistribution vs. Warehousing
#346
KEXP Music Team / Don Yates
Music Director, KEXP 90.3 FM
— / verify
RADIO / DJPHYSICAL: NOIV — LONG SHOT / FALLBACKAFFINITY-MAPPED
TARGET-SPECIFIC AFFINITY DATABASE-MAPPED PITCH: HILLHURST / RADIO
Your programming context makes language, criticism and the record as a written / physical object the useful point of contact here. I’m leading with “Throwaway Lines” rather than trying to summarize sixteen tracks in genre language.
ANGLE: language, criticism and the record as a written / physical object · TEXT/LYRIC RECEPTIVE
WHY THIS TRACK — World-weary piano/strings art-rock: intimate opening, dub echo in the drums and a wide Mer de Noms-scale guitar climax.
SUBJECTField report: The Radio
#347
The Quietus Editors (Luke Turner & John Doran)
— / verify
RADIO / DJPHYSICAL: NOIV — LONG SHOT / FALLBACKAFFINITY-MAPPED
TARGET-SPECIFIC AFFINITY DATABASE-MAPPED PITCH: HILLHURST / RADIO
Your programming context makes language, criticism and the record as a written / physical object the useful point of contact here. I’m leading with “Throwaway Lines” rather than trying to summarize sixteen tracks in genre language.
ANGLE: language, criticism and the record as a written / physical object · TEXT/LYRIC RECEPTIVE
WHY THIS TRACK — Sparkling piano, an enormous pop/R&B melody, active drums and heavy chorus guitars at deliberately wrong scale.
SUBJECTHillhurst / The Radio
#348
Dean Blunt
Musician / artist
— / verify
ARTIST / PEERPHYSICAL: NOIV — LONG SHOT / FALLBACKAFFINITY-MAPPED
TARGET-SPECIFIC AFFINITY DATABASE-MAPPED PITCH: PARTICULAR THING
Musician-to-musician, the point of contact is language, criticism and the record as a written / physical object. “Throwaway Lines” is the first thing I’d play rather than giving you a paragraph of references.
ANGLE: language, criticism and the record as a written / physical object · TEXT/LYRIC RECEPTIVE
WHY THIS TRACK — Piano and round bass, whispered doubles, spatialized vocal phrases, synth possibility; Faith No More / Mr. Bungle / Melanie De Biasio in the production constellation.
SUBJECTScaled Alps — “Neo Noir”
#349
Lulu Wang
Director, The Farewell, Expats
— / verify
FILM / SYNCPHYSICAL: NOIV — LONG SHOT / FALLBACKAFFINITY-MAPPED
TARGET-SPECIFIC AFFINITY DATABASE-MAPPED PITCH: DISTRIBUTION / MOVEMENT
I’m approaching this through language, criticism and the record as a written / physical object, rather than a broad ‘cinematic’ claim. “Throwaway Lines” is the track that establishes that world fastest.
ANGLE: language, criticism and the record as a written / physical object · TEXT/LYRIC RECEPTIVE
WHY THIS TRACK — Piano and bass in the foreground; rainy jazz-café air, Doors/Floyd shadows, elegant reverb, slow scale.
SUBJECTDistribution is movement
#350
BrooklynVegan Editorial Team
— / verify
RADIO / DJPHYSICAL: NOIV — LONG SHOT / FALLBACKAFFINITY-MAPPED
TARGET-SPECIFIC AFFINITY DATABASE-MAPPED PITCH: HILLHURST / RADIO
Your programming context makes language, criticism and the record as a written / physical object the useful point of contact here. I’m leading with “Throwaway Lines” rather than trying to summarize sixteen tracks in genre language.
ANGLE: language, criticism and the record as a written / physical object · TEXT/LYRIC RECEPTIVE
WHY THIS TRACK — Sparkling piano, an enormous pop/R&B melody, active drums and heavy chorus guitars at deliberately wrong scale.
SUBJECTHillhurst / The Radio