Island Records/Courtesy

In a January 2013 interview with The Guardian, Aluna Francis, the vocal half of the electronic pop duo AlunaGeorge, described their music as “fat beats with songs on top.” After the duo’s 2012 debut EP, You Know You Like It, Francis’ description was accurate, but following the drop of their debut album, Body Music, the British electronic pop duo — made up of Francis and producer George Reid — have shown, in full force, that AlunaGeorge is much more than that. Body Music offers all of the “fat beats” and beautiful vocals that we heard on You Know You Like It combined with elements of R&B, more interesting production and even more electrifying songs. It’s unclear when the last great electronic R&B-pop album was released — or whether that’s even a real genre — but AlunaGeorge’s Body Music surely is the best in a long while.

Body Music is full of emotion and power, brought out in Francis’s high-pitched yet dynamic vocals and Reid’s straightforward yet remarkably elastic production. The album plays like it was produced by R&B and electronic veterans who have somehow managed to take old love-song themes — unrequited love, volatile relationships and broken hearts — and transform them into something new, exciting and fun. But Body Music isn’t a falling-in-love album, and it certainly isn’t a breakup album. It’s much more of a fall-in-love and a get-back-together and a realize-how-shitty-you-are-really-are-but-I-am-still-in-love-with-you kind of album. It’s an album that walks you through someone’s thoughts as they fall in love with a best friend, break up, get back together again, gain self-confidence and go through all of the other emotions that nearly everybody has experienced during a relationship.

And, even better, the mood of the music accurately fits the emotion that a character would be feeling. Francis’s voice produces such sadness in “Outlines” that you can almost imagine her crying while singing it. The production and vocals on “Best Be Believing” are so upbeat and fun that you can imagine Francis finally standing up for herself and leaving the person she had fallen in love with on “Friends to Lovers.”

If you’ve purchased the album, then you know that Body Music comes with a bonus track. It’s a cover of Montell Jordan’s classic R&B hit “This is How We Do It.” While AlunaGeorge have recorded some pretty phenomenal covers, like Frank Ocean’s “Thinking About You” and “I Wanna Be Like You” from Disney’s “The Jungle Book,” their cover of “This is How We Do It” misses the mark. It’s an interesting idea, but it’s a cover that will lose you 30 seconds into the song (which is really unfortunate, because it’s about time that we get a good cover the late ’90s backyard party anthem).

Disappointing bonus track aside, Body Music does something very important for the emerging electro-pop duo: It solidifies their skill, raising them above hype and noise of Internet music blogs. While their This is How We Do It EP may have raised many eyebrows, Body Music has carved out a definite place for the future of AlunaGeorge as a respectable act. Where other progressive electronic artists may be rejected as “too weird” or “too experimental” for mass audiences, AlunaGeorge straddles the line between progressive electronic music, traditional pop and R&B, giving them the ability to become massively successful. Perhaps most importantly, Body Music isn’t a difficult album to like. It’s not an album that will take you a few listens to get into. Francis and Reid have given us an album that is, from beginning to end, electrifying and fun.

Contact Samuel Avishay at savishay@dailycal.org.

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HBO/Courtesy

It’s a few weeks into summer vacation and you’ve probably already accepted defeat: Your reading list will go unchecked, your body will not magically chisel and you will not make it to the beach unless dragged by your family for a picnic with grandma and grandpa. Instead, you’ll most likely spend the next few months doing exactly what you are doing now: sitting at your computer in sweat pants, aimlessly clicking away, reading articles about Portia De Rossi’s face between episodes of “Arrested Development,” carefully following Amanda Bynes’ slow descent into insanity and, if you are like me, counting down the weekdays until Sunday for the hour of enjoyment/horror/sex/action that is HBO’s “Game of Thrones.”

If you use the Internet, then you know that last week’s episode was shocking. After Season 3 Episode 9, “The Rains of Castamere,” aired, fans everywhere let out a collective, “HOLY F****** S*** WHAT THE M************ F*** JUST HAPPENED?!” as fans of the books let out a collective sigh and took to their message boards to remind everybody that they knew what was coming. Yes, we had finally reached the infamous and climactic Red Wedding.

So what exactly did happen in the wildest episode of television since that one Room Raiders episode with Zac Efron? Simply put, the entire Stark inner circle, made up of Robb Stark (King of the North), his pregnant wife, Talisa Maegyr, his mother, Catelyn Stark and their entourage were slaughtered by Walder Frey’s army after Robb’s uncle, Edmure Tully, married Frey’s stunning daughter, Roslin.

Earlier in the series, Catelyn had promised Walder Frey (leader of House Frey, ruler of the Twins and Lord of the Crossing), who is played by the same geezer who played Argus Filch in Harry Potter, that her son, Robb, would marry one of his daughters. When Robb broke his engagement promise by marrying Talisa Maegyr, played by Charlie Chaplin’s granddaughter Oona Chaplin, Lord Frey began cahooting with Southern army leader and grandfather of King Joffrey, Tywin Lannister, and all the while feigned loyalty to the Stark cause. However, after Robb agreed to marry his uncle to one of Lord Frey’s daughters, it appeared that the entire mess could be put behind them. However, throughout the entirety the Stark’s visit, Lord Frey was planning to massacre the Starks once Roslin and Edmure tied the knot and were carried off for their bedding ceremony.

Once the doors were shut, one of Lord Frey’s men snuck up behind Talisa and stabbed her repeatedly in her pregnant belly, murdering both her and her unborn child. As archers shot Robb and Catelyn, Frey men murdered the Stark entourage and Lord Bolton stabbed and killed Robb just before another slit Catelyn’s throat. Yes, very bloody.

So what was this episode’s take-away? If you are a fan, the Red Wedding should teach you that if you have a favorite character, do not get too attached, because the world’s most brilliant sadist George R.R. Martin will soon kill him or her off.

If you are a king, then the Red Wedding should teach you to adjust your demands when attending a wedding; always use a wedding DJ and not a live band, make sure all of the silverware is plastic, don’t invite Coldplay and have some bodyguards (really, this is a must if you are a king in rebellion and plan on going anywhere).

But what of the future of the Starks? Arya, who had made it to the Twins but was saved by the Hound, is still alive. As is her sister, Sansa, and her brothers, Bran, Rickon and Jon Snow. Who, now, is the heir to Winterfell? Who will exact revenge against Lord Frey and his buddy Lord Bolton? Hopefully these questions will tomorrow during the finale of Season 3. Until then, keep your Internet nonsense going and make a “Scumbag George R.R. Martin” meme to pass the time. Because, hey, why not? It’s not like you’re exercising or reading.

Contact Samuel Avishay at savishay@dailycal.org.

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If the music world were a high school, then punk-rock sisters Jennifer and Jessie Clavin of Bleached would be the most popular girls in school. Since their first album, Ride Your Heart, dropped in April, the Clavin sisters have been riding a seemingly nonstop press circuit and tour. Last month, we sat down with Jen and Jessie before their show at the Independent. In a dog park in San Francisco, set against the backdrop of the skyline during sunset, we talked about everything from their debut album to their mother’s 1993 Nissan Quest minivan turned tour van. With summer vacation just beginning, Bleached’s Ride Your Heart is guaranteed to be the perfect soundtrack to your beach-filled, lovesick summer.

The Daily Cal interviews sisters Jennifer and Jessie Clavin about their debut album.

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Over the past few weeks, Brooklyn-based indie-rock group The National have teased us with preview releases of two songs off of their new album Trouble Will Find Me. Earlier in the month, The National released “Demons” accompanied by a stop-motion video of a man sketching the album art for Trouble Will Find Me: a woman’s head cut in-half by a mirror. Last Thursday, The National released “Don’t Swallow the Cap” on YouTube.

Both “Demons” and “Don’t Swallow the Cap” are phenomenal songs that capture the very best of The National’s dark, melodic and heart-wrenching music. If these two tracks are any measure of what we can expect from the album’s full release, Trouble Will Find Me might just be The National’s best album yet.

Trouble Will Find Me, The National’s sixth studio album, will be out on May 20 in the UK and May 21 in the US via 4AD. It has been confirmed that Trouble Will Find Me is set to include collaborations from Sufjan Stevens, St. Vincent, Sharon Van Etten, and Arcade Fire’s Richard Parry.

Check out the songs below.

Contact Samuel Avishay at savishay@dailycal.org.

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North America Cherry Blossom Festival/Courtesy

Cherry Blossom Festival in Japantown

There are only three remaining Japantowns in the United States, and we are lucky to have one in San Francisco. Every year, in each of the three Japantowns, the blooming of the Japanese cherry blossoms, the “sakura,” is celebrated with a festival that attracts hundreds
of thousands. The Northern California Cherry Blossom Festival is spread over two weekends (April 13 to 14 and 20 to 21) and offers a parade of performers, dancers and musicians, as well as a variety of free events that celebrate Japanese heritage and culture.

TNGHT at Midnight in SF

If you love wild and chaotic hip-hop and trap, then head over to TNGHT’s show at San Francisco’s Mezzanine on Saturday, April 20. TNGHT — the trap duo consisting of DJs Hudson Mohawke and Lunice — have gained massive popularity as the premiere trap producers, helping bring the once fringe genre of electronic music to the forefront. Many have dubbed TNGHT’s production as the future of hip-hop, and their shows are known to be full of energy. TNGHT’s show is 21+ and, unfortunately, is sold out. If you can get your hands on a ticket, do not hesitate to go.

The Antlers at Cal Day

Every year on Cal Day, SUPERB brings a musical group to perform on Memorial Glade. Last year, Dr. Dog played an awesome 90-minute set, and this year The Antlers will be doing the same. The Brooklyn-based indie rock group is sure to set the perfect soundtrack to your 4/20 relaxation and festivities.

Cine/Spin at BAM

It might be difficult to imagine how a group of DJs spinning electronic music and a silent comedy might come together. Student DJs will be mixing over Buster Keaton’s “The General”
at the Berkeley Art Museum (BAM) on Friday, April 19. Cine/Spin is a fixture at BAM and is put on every spring semester as part of BAM’s L@TE series. This event is free for students and $7 for the general public.

Contact Samuel Avishay at savishay@dailycal.org.

The post Samuel Avishay’s Picks of the Week appeared first on The Daily Californian.

Dead Ocean/Courtesy

If California invented the valley-girl punk-rock beach-pop combo, then Jennifer and Jessie Clavin of Bleached perfected it. Ride Your Heart, the debut album from Los Angeles’s Bleached, straddles the line between pop and punk with an energy that is both fun and exciting.

Throughout Ride Your Heart, Bleached seems to shuffle between two different sounds: the bare, stripped down punk-rock of “Looking for a Fight” and the melodic pop of “Outta My Mind.” The former seems far more natural, while the latter is experimental and unlike much of what Bleached has released before. While their poppier songs are enjoyable and catchy, the most exciting songs on the album come from the Bleached with which everybody fell in love: the punk-rock that runs through “Looking for a Fight” and their 7,” Electric Chair.

Ride Your Heart is more mature than Bleached’s earlier releases and you shouldn’t expect it to capture the same grunge. Above its fun and catchy songs, Ride Your Heart speaks volumes about the progress that the Clavin sisters have made over the past few years. From Mika Miko to Cold Cave to the various groups Jen and Jessie bounced between, the Clavin sisters, when working together, have seemingly mastered the perfect pop-punk combination. This power is on full display throughout Ride Your Heart.

Summer vacation is on the horizon, and Bleached’s Ride Your Heart might just be the perfect soundtrack to your beach-filled lovesick summer. Bleached’s debut album does just as its title, Ride Your Heart, would suggest: it rides your heart. The album stays with you, grows on you — getting better and better with every listen. Once again, the Clavin sisters are riding the hearts of all punk-pop lovers.

Contact Samuel Avishay at savishay@dailycal.org.

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Angel Olsen/Courtesy

Angel Olsen’s performance Saturday night at the Rickshaw Stop in San Francisco was one the most impressive performances I have seen in a long while. On the first night of her national tour, Olsen captivated the audience with unparalleled energy. Her songs sounded better than on record — a hard feat to achieve considering how impressive Olsen’s debut EP, Strange Cacti, and her debut album, Half Way Home, were.

Olsen, backed by her band, made up of two former Lionlimb members and a cellist, brought a new energy to her typically minimalist recordings. The addition of a bassist, guitarist and cellist made all the difference, bringing songs like “Miranda,” previously performed with just Olsen on guitar and vocals, to their full potential. Towards the end of the set, the bassist and drummers left, leaving just Olsen and her cellist — a beautiful compliment to Olsen’s simple guitar and chilling voice.

The most exciting part of Olsen’s set came halfway through the performance, with “Sweet Dreams,” a grungier and less folky song. When Olsen and her band reached the crescendo, the strobe lights began to flash, fog poured from the ceilings and Olsen, singing “on your own” moved her voice into a near howl. For the encore, Olsen came out alone and began to play an older song, “California.” A minute in, she forgot the words and invited the audience to remind her of them.

“Play a Joni Mitchell song!” a fan yelled. “If you want a Joni Mitchell song, go see Joni Mitchell,” joked Olsen before rounding out a fabulous performance with a 7-minute long “Lonely Universe.”

Aside from her impressive performance, Olsen was clearly enjoying herself — laughing and joking with the audience. “You’re making me nervous,” Olsen said. “I’ve never played a show in San Francisco surrounded by so many strangers!”

In a room packed with strangers, Olsen stunned. Her performance was powerful and chilling to the bone. There were no special effects and no manipulation of her voice. It was, simply put, an amazing performance by a wonderfully talented up-and-coming artist.

Contact Samuel Avishay at savishay@dailycal.org.

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Bathetic Records/Courtesy

There are few words to properly describe the power of Chicago-based artist Angel Olsen’s music. Olsen’s ability to manipulate her voice — which at one moment seems almost effortless and at the next unbelievably powerful — is reminiscent of a 1920s radio personality. Her lyrics are painfully honest, and her music is gorgeously simple. She released her debut 12” Strange Cacti in 2010 and her debut album Half Way Home last year through Bathetic Records. Olsen was signed to JagJaguwar Records this week.

We caught up with Angel Olsen last week — snagging her from band practice at her friend’s loft in Chicago. Our conversation covered a range of topics, including recording and writing Half Way Home, a past project under the pseudonym Angela Babbler, performing with her new band, Bill Murray, Leonard Cohen, some questionable photos she received from a fan in the mail and her secret life as a rapper.

Angel Olsen will be performing on April 6 at San Francisco’s Rickshaw Stop with support from Villages and Kacey Johansing.

Daily Cal: If you could be talking to anybody besides the DC right now, who would it be?

Angel Olsen: Bill Murray. I don’t know what I’d ask him, probably just a really normal question.

DC: You’re a Bill Murray fan? Is there a particular movie that you like?

AO: Yeah, I really like “Stripes” a lot.

DC: You guys have been on a mini-tour. How’s that been going?

AO: Really good, we haven’t been playing together live for very long, but I feel really comfortable merging with them. For the longest time, I was playing solo, and it took me a while to get used to adjusting to other people playing parts of my songs, and now I’m at a point where I’m allowing things to become what they are live instead of trying to control them.

DC: Your songs are really personal. Do you feel differently about them now that you’re playing them every night and with other people?

AO: Parts have changed because different people are playing them, and they don’t want to play the same exact thing that is on the album. I think that I still tend to write quieter songs whether or not the band is here, but now if I want to write something like “The Waiting” or “Sweet Dreams,” then I have a band that I can play it with instead of it being this thing where I record something and then play it differently live. Now it’s cool to have that change with my music.

DC: Do you have a favorite show that you have played? Is there a show that particularly sticks out to you?

AO: We just played this space in Nashville that was fucking awesome. It was a friend of a friend who runs this space, and he only has shows there sometimes. He’s an older guy, and William Tyler played and this guy Richie played with two drummers — it was crazy. It was a really fun night, and it felt like family vibes. He’s from Nashville, so a lot of friends and family were there. It was really fun.

DC: When you walk away from a show, how important is the reaction from the audience that determines whether a show is memorable or not?

AO: There are certain parts of the lyrics that I pay attention, to because when I wrote, it I thought, “Oh, this is funny to me.” It’s cool when somebody in the audience starts laughing — not in a “this sucks” kind of way — but I can tell that they got the inside joke. I get really psyched when people react in that way because it shows that they’re really listening to what I’m saying, and it’s not just this thing that’s being played for them.

DC: Do you ever have fans give you gifts after shows?

AO: Sometimes. I played a show in Chicago at The Hideout, and for some reason, even though I had a great time at the show, I was feeling weird because a friend of mine was going through a rough time with her family, and I had just found out about it. Afterwards, this woman came up to me and gave me this Valentine, and I guess, evidently, she had met her boyfriend in England, and he had introduced her to my music, and they fell in love. She wrote this really long, beautiful Valentine, and you could tell that she put a lot of effort into it, and it was really sweet. I was almost moved to tears, because at that moment, I needed something like that. I know it sounds cheesy, but she gave me a Valentine, and it was awesome to receive something at that moment.

DC: Do you ever get weird gifts from fans? Something you just have to laugh about?

AO: I have my P.O. box somewhere on the Internet, and somebody sent me a bunch of different exposed photos that they did, and I’ve been meaning to return the gift. I just don’t have time — I have this package of all these random photos from this person that I don’t know, and I’m grateful for it, but I don’t know what to do. I don’t know what the next step is.

DC: Do you have a specific group of people, musician or ideal audience you’d want to play for?

AO: Oh man, I wonder what it would be like to perform for an audience of only classical musicians. I wonder what that would be like.

DC: Did you play any classical music growing up?

AO: No. I played piano for a few years, but I stopped playing just in time for me to forget theory. But I wish that I had kept it up. I’d probably be more flexible on the guitar. There’s something kind of mysterious, though, about not knowing what chords you’re playing or how to mathematically figure something out.

DC: I read that you’re a big Mariah Carey, Whitney Houston and Lauryn Hill fan. Is that true? Do they have any influence on your music?

AO: I mean I grew up on them, you know. It’s one of those things where you can put on one of any of their albums and every girl that I know, including myself, knows all of the lyrics for some reason. Even though you haven’t heard it in 10 years, it’s like, “Shit! I used to sing this entire thing every day in my living room!” But in terms of them influencing my music, I don’t know if I’ve reached that level. It might take a couple of decades to reach that level, but I’ll try.

DC: What about Bob Dylan or Leonard Cohen?

AO: I grew up on Bob Dylan, and later on, I found out about Leonard Cohen. I actually found about his poetry first, and I really liked his poetry. Then I heard his voice and didn’t like it at all, and then I really started to like him a lot. A year passed, and I was like OK, “Give me some more Leonard Cohen!”

DC: Can you tell me a little bit about who Angela Babbler is and who the Babblers are?

AO: Oh my god. Well, Bonnie “Prince” Billy and the Cairo Gang contacted me about performing for this part as Angela Babbler, and they sent me these tracks, and it was kind of something I’d never done before. It was really theatrical, and her voice shrieked a lot almost like gothic punk-anthem music. I was really shy. I had never performed with a group of professional musicians — professional as in bands that make a living — and I had to force myself to learn so many songs that I felt like I was entering theater, but I was entering theater and so many realms by skipping so many steps to get there. It was really fun because during this whole project, we were wearing these jumpsuits with sunglasses, and it ultimately brought us all onto the same page musically and made us more comfortable. It was a really fast way to get to know everyone because we were doing this really emotional and theatrical thing together, so I tried my best to embody this punk-anthem creature. It has nothing to do with any of the music that I play now or the music that I was playing before, so I could put myself fully into it without worrying about anything. I could just become that character instead of worrying about presenting myself personally to an audience.

DC: It’s a lot different than Strange Cacti and Half Way Home. Do you feel that there is any relationship between them? Did Angela Babbler help you grow as a musician or set the stage for your recording your solo project? How did you get from working with Bonnie “Prince” Billy to Half Way Home?

AO: Well, I feel like I just spent a lot of time watching the way that things worked out for us all as a group. Singing someone else’s music and singing parts that I wasn’t necessarily totally comfortable singing — but I knew that I had to because it’s part of this music that we were all playing — made me stretch myself and forced me to challenge myself to do these things that I wasn’t comfortable doing, and I think by just exposing myself to that kind of challenge, constantly, by default my voice just changed. The way that I approach writing has probably changed; the way that I sing has changed. But also, I don’t think I’ve totally completely changed — I’ve just learned how to do other things with it because it is so much easier to sing someone else’s songs than your own. It takes this weight off of you. You can just become their song instead of it being this thing where it’s all up to you because you’re presenting it. I think doing that for so long has helped me figure out going about writing the album and composing parts for it.

DC: I was listening to “Miranda,” and towards the end, there’s this point that you almost yodel. It’s unusual to be able to do that. How did you figure out that you are even able to make that sound?

AO: I wouldn’t call it a yodel because it’s not this thing that I’m continuing to do. It happens because for some reason or another my voice ends up skipping a note instead of going to the next one. I have a weird range. There’s this range that I just can’t reach, and it’s in the middle somewhere, so I end up doing that. I’ve thought about it a lot: How does this happen, and why does that occur? I think it has something to do with something missing in the range, and I’m just cheating.

DC: Is there a specific song that you feel the most connected to?

AO: “Some Things Cosmic” is my favorite song that I feel connected to always. There’s another one — I don’t really perform it live — from Half Way Home, and its called “You Are Song.” When I’m playing that one at home, I think a lot about it. It has everything to do with being friends with other musicians and knowing where they’re coming from. I don’t know how else to explain it; you’ll just have to listen to it again.

DC: There are a few unrelated questions that I want to get in before we wrap up. Do you have a favorite sound?

AO: I really like the sound of the ocean.

DC: Is there a sound that you particularly dislike?

AO: I really hate the sound of nails on a chalkboard. That’s a pretty typical problem in the world. Oh, and the sound of ambulances. I hate the sound of them. It’s so unnecessary. It’s like, you could turn it down a little bit; people get the idea. It’s cool when they’re far away. But when you’re on a bike and they ride by, the sound just damages your ears.

DC: Do you think that the Angel Olsen that I’m talking to now is the same as the Angel Olsen behind the microphone? Are your songs a good way to get to know you?

AO: I think there are parts of me in it, but I’m a very social person, and I like to have a good time, and I don’t think that that comes across, necessarily. I think that the people that know me know that there are these other elements to who I am outside of what I’m playing or what I’m writing about. It just so happens that I end up writing about these things. I think that I’m probably different. You couldn’t get to know me from what I sing in my music. You might to get know me a little bit, but not the full picture. You don’t know about my secret life.

DC: Is it an Angela Babbler kind of secret life?

AO: Kind of like that, yeah.

DC: Do you have an underground rap career nobody knows about?

AO: Wow, I mean, it’s a secret, so I can’t tell you. I have an alternate personality, sort of like Chris Gaines and Garth Brooks.

DC: What’s your alias?

AO: You’ll find out eventually if you’re a master.

Contact Samuel Avishay at savishay@dailycal.org.

The post Singing the Angel’s song with indie Olsen appeared first on The Daily Californian.

Marcel Everett/Courtesy

XYYXX’s show last month at San Francisco‘s DNA Lounge was packed — and for good reason. Hundreds of sweaty, more-than-likely inebriated teenagers were cramped into the DNA lounge, hoping to get a piece of XXYYXX’s Marcel Everett. Everett is, in many ways, one of the most impressive producers to splash onto the scene last year. Signed to Relief in Abstract Records, Everett is the perfect example of what it means to be supremely young and supremely talented.

One of Noise Pop’s most buzzed about events was the XXYYXX, Teebs, Nanosaur, DJ Dials show at the DNA Lounge on Thursday February 28th. Teen Daze was originally scheduled to support 17-year old Marcel Everett of XXYYXX, but was replaced at the last minute by artist and producer Teebs.

The night went exactly as one would expect. The dance floor was crowded, the fans were young and the show ran until the early hours of the morning. Nanosaur did a fabulous job of getting the crowd ready for artist and producer Teebs, who tore down the venue with his simplistic yet mind-blowing creations. As his set neared its end around midnight, he was joined onstage by XXYYXX and together they transitioned from veteran-mastermind Teebs to freshman varsity all-star Marcel Everett.

XXYYXX’s set was a bit jerky at first. He seemed nervous and unsure. His transitions were awkward and some seemed slightly confused as to what to do.

“Do we dance now or what?” quipped one girl behind me.

The few bumps were to be expected. Everett is very talented, but very young. He is an ingenious producer, yet very inexperienced. He wears his immaturity on his sleeve, but for many that’s what makes Everett so impressive. In an interview with PlayGround Magazine, Everett admitted that he is just “a brat with a laptop and a MIDI controller.” Brat or not, Everett surely had DNA Lounge alive with love for everybody’s favorite bedroom producer.

After a few minutes — just long enough for Everett to get comfortable with the wild, stage-diving crowd and the nonstop flashes of the dozen or so photographers there — something magical happened: His entire set came together into an awesome blend of hip hop, lo-fi, electronic, R&B, and everything in between. By the middle of his set, Everett had the crowd in his pocket. As he moved between upbeat dance tracks, like a remix of TLC’s “Scrubs”, to his R&B inspired jam “LUV U GRL pt. 2,” the crowd moved at his command.

It was clear that Everett knew the crowd would go wild for “About You,” the first track that made so many fall in love XXYYXX. As his set came to an end, to the joy of everybody there, Everett jumped into “About You.” “I fucking love you Marcel,” shouted a group of teenage girls dressed in tutus as they pulled the same fox masks worn in the music video for “About You” over their faces.

As XXYYXX’s set came to an end after 1 o’clock in the morning, the crowd seemed overjoyed by what they had just experienced. Many came to the DNA Lounge with the hopes of making sure that Everett was as brilliant live as he was on the Internet. Simply put, everybody got what he or she came for and nobody should have left disappointed.

XXYYXX’s Marcel Everett is quickly becoming the lo-fi prince of electronic music and his power was on full display last week at the DNA Lounge. But, like all good princes, Everett has a lot to learn. With the right amount of experience, which he will undoubtedly gain on his national and European tours, Everett will surely be one of the most exciting producers this year.

Contact Samuel Avishay at savishay@dailycal.org.

The post XXYYXX is the Prince of Lo-Fi appeared first on The Daily Californian.

SUPERB/Courtesy

ASUC branch SUPERB has provided the UC Berkeley campus with sublime and free entertainment since 1964. Their concert lineups bring together both up-and-coming and well-established artists from near and far away, indie-rock to rap. The Daily Californian is excited to be the first to announce SUPERB’s Spring 2013 Lineup.

Pangea + Shannon & the Clams

5 p.m. on March 1 at BAM/PFA

This is not a protest: It’s a warning, an incitement, an inducement, a kick in the pants even. To do what? To stake out a spot at the Berkeley Art Museum for This is Not a Protest, a night of arts, crafts and some seriously rocking tunes. SoCal duo The Littlest Viking’s instrumental prog/punk is the appetizer preceding a meat-heavy meal. Oakland’s very own Meat Market will bring the debauchery (or debutchery?) with riffs Meat Market describes as “family-friendly.” (This is assuming your family’s a garage rock band living in a West Oakland warehouse, of course). Finally, San Francisco darlings Shannon and the Clams, a surfpunk outfit led by buxom, brassy Shannon Shaw, will rumble and roll alongside LA-based Pangea, the hard-partying ensemble of perennially drunk dudes. Four bands for the price of free? No protests here.

— Natalie Reyes

PAPA

5:30 p.m. on March 4

PAPA was a breakout hit at last year’s Outside Lands music festival, and there could not have been a more appropriate city for them to electrify. The band is led by vocalist and percussionist Darren Weiss, previously the drummer for San Francisco’s critically-acclaimed band, Girls, which broke up last year.  Though their EP, A Good Woman is Hard to Find, is packed with high-flying, energized anthems propelled by catchy guitar riffs, the lyrics are thematically reminiscent of Weiss’s former band.  Every song delves into the fragility of modern romance and what makes the endeavor (despite its fragility) worth it. Their performance precedes the highly-anticipated release of their full-length album and gigs opening for Matt & Kim.  The band’s proclivity for entertaining shines in songs like “I Am the Lion King” or “Let’s Make You Pregnant” and although the audience is unlikely to leave pregnant, they are sure to be treated to some gratifying aural sex.

— Ephraim Lee

White Fence + King Tuff

5 p.m. on March 21

It’s hard to go wrong with two of the California’s most popular garage-rockers, King Tuff and White Fence. If you haven’t been captured by their psychedelic-pop inspired tracks, King Tuff’s credentials say it all: they are signed to Sub Pop and Burger Records, their 2008 debut album Now Dead is already considered collectible and their self-titled 2012 EP topped the CMJ charts at number 2. King Tuff is the brainchild of Vermont native Kyle Thomas, who, after releasing Now Dead in 2008, began touring with best friend and artist Hunx and His Punx. Fellow California punk rocker, Tom Presley, will be joining the line-up with his solo project White Fence. Collaborating with artists like Ty Segall, Presley has built a name for himself as one of the busiest artists in California, releasing six albums, two EPs and two compilations in the past three years. White Fence and King Tuff’s lo-fi, fuzzy, bedroom recorded tracks are reminiscent of 60’s garage rock and capture everything awesome about today’s growing and changing punk-scene.

— Samuel Avishay

Mister Lies + XXYYXX

TBA on April 12

In many ways, XXYYXX’s Marcel Everett is one of the most unlikely producers to emerge onto the scene last year. Producing, mixing and releasing tracks from his bedroom in Orlando, Florida, 17-year-old Everett is, as he admitted in a 2012 interview with PlayGround Magazine, “just a brat with a laptop and a Midi controller.” Brat or not, Everett, signed to Relief in Abstract Records, is quickly gaining international levels of recognition for his ability to take the best of EDM and pop music and create a new and experimental sound. Joined by fellow bedroom producer, songwriter and instrumentalist, 19-year-old Chicago-based Nick Zanca, AKA Mister Lies, the April 12 Mister Lies and XXYYXX show will be a tour de force of what it means to be very young and supremely talented.

— Samuel Avishay

The Underachievers

TBA on April 25

Brooklyn rap duo The Underachievers are the latest to emerge from New York’s rising independent hip-hop scene. Loosely affiliated with fellow Brooklyn acts Flatbush Zombies and Joey Bada$$’s Pro Era crew, the duo, made up of rappers Issa Dash and AK, balance the 90s nostalgia rap aesthetic of their contemporaries with a melodic, rapid-fire delivery that mostly deals with psychedelic drugs and spirituality. Their songwriting exhibits an extensive appetite for knowledge about the world around them, and this meshes well with the dark, minimal production they tend to choose. The music video for their song “Herb Shuttles” has earned over 1.5 million YouTube views, and the group recently signed a deal with Los Angeles record label Brainfeeder, which was founded by Flying Lotus. Their debut mixtape Indigoismcontinues the duo’s LSD and “third eye” references and positions them as one of rap’s most interesting new acts.

— Rahul Pandya

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