DJ Reviews: DOA by Lukas Rossi

 Hey there one & all its your old friend DJ Dizzy here & I'm back to do another music review. This time I'm reviewing a new song called DOA by a singer named Lukas Rossi.

For some that don't know who Lukas Rossi is, he's a Canadian rock singer who has appeared on the shows Rock Star Supernova & has also done music for the hit anime Beyblade (Let it rip!) he has a style that borders on alt & hard rock with his singing & he really shows it in his music style which is really admirable.

His songs are all about self-expression through emotion & having heard his music he's a real professional & he really shows that he has real versatility in his singing be it operatic or hard rock he shows real passion & dedication as well real emotion within his songs which what I sensed in his artistry.

The song itself is a living testament of his artistry & the song itself talks about looking for redemption from the scars inflicted on him with a hard rock sound that'll really make you want to mosh but other than that he brings a shear authenticity to his music just with his voice alone which is something that I highly applaud.

So in conclusion if you haven't checked out Lukas Rossi's music his new single DOA I highly recommend it &it gets perfect 10 because of his voice, artistry & creativity & if you all want to check out more of his music, there will be a link to his channel below

So until then I'll catch you on The Flipside, stay frosty & rock n roll!

Links to Lukas Rossi's music

Lukas Rossi - YouTube

Lukas Rossi - DOA (Official Music Video) - YouTube

Terrifying trax

DJ Intervies: The Funkeestas

 Hey everyone, GJ Dizzy here & here's my interview with funk band The Funkeestas

How'd you get started in music?

Rob: I started way back 2002-04 with Primitivo/Amygdala band, we we're just a band that does covers.

Dirtwurx: I was 9, me and my cousin who was 8, were playing. Our grandfather came and brought out a harmonica and called my cousin to play guitar. So, I was left with nothing to do. I just stood there watching them rehearse, Then, I decided I could provide beat by beatboxing on the wooden door, and that very evening, I figured out I could play.

Marcus: I have always been immersed with music. When I was a baby, my mom played a cassette tape of Earl Klugh to get me to sleep. Then, in my early years my father always played Simon & Garfunkel and CSN on the stereo almost the whole day. Then as early as 6 or 7 years old, my uncle introduced me to ALL hair metal bands. By 9 years old, I was already playing Metallica and Guns N’ Roses riffs with my first guitar.

 

Who are your inspirations or influences?

Rob: Fred Durst, Jamir Garcia, Chino Moreno

Dirtwurx: I've been obsessing on the Beatles with the same intensity since I was six years old, I'm 42 now.

Marcus: Of course, Red Hot Chili Peppers is my number one. But I draw inspiration musically to any other musicians.

 

What advice would you offer aspiring performers?

Rob: Confidence, though I’m still workin’ on mine. hehe!

Dirtwurx: Keep it true, never lose your sense of wonder and don't do it half-assed.

Marcus: Yeah! The stage is sacred, give it your 100% and let the music move you.

 

How do you set yourself apart from other bands?

Dirtwurx: To showcase our own art in the sincerest way of expressing is always on top of the list.

Marcus: I can’t top Dirt’s answer, but I think our songwriting is above the average band. Though we started playful, but later on we started crafting songs with care.

 

How would you say that music has inspired/made an impression on you?

Rob: Music is my go-to, in whatever situation.

Dirtwurx: Music always take me to whatever world, time period, feeling, or scene the music "I'm" hearing wants to take me; and that’s also how I want to have an effect with the music we make.

Marcus: I’m possessed by music. At this point, I do not know if it is a gift or a curse. I hear music when it looks like I am idle, I hear music in my sleep. The last song I wrote, I heard in my dream. If all music, released or not; are spirits, I think I am a medium, channeler, psychic or a spiritist.

 

Any new gigs or albums in the future?

Dirtwurx: Working on our upcoming albums is top priority at the moment.

Marcus: For this month and the next, I think we have like 2 gigs and a couple podcast and radio guesting. But we are also working on a new album which we hope to release by December.

To find out more about this group you can check out the following links below & once again special thanks to Grace Williams for her help in providing this interview. so, until then I'll catch you on The Flipside!

Assets can be found here: 

https://www.dropbox.com/home/Funkeestas

A special & important announcement from The DJ

Hello everyone DJ Dizzy here & I wanted to share a special announcement with you all or to those who are reading this.

Sometime last month a friend of mine launched a fundraiser inspired by David H. Thorton & his dream of starting an orphanage, the name of this project is called Orphan's Hope & the mission is to help underprivileged kids find permanent homes, giving them new & better lives & so far there's been some donations made that of forty five dollars but the main goal is to raise up to fifteen hundred dollars or more by December of this year.

Every bit helps to make this dream happen so we ask that you send what you can either through cash app or PayPal, because this dream & goal really means a lot for so many people & its about what we can give to people. The info will be located down below whatever you're willing to give be it weekly or monthly every little but helps. 

 Stay frosty & until then I'll catch you on The Flipside

Orphan'd Hope Project

Cash app or PayPal https://cash.app/$ChristianProkop0812

1LS7XrphY7ruxq2VbM48ns4uCLiZ8jRCGP

 

DJ Interviews: Tiger Mandoza

 Hey everyone here's myinterview with singer Tiger Mandoza special thanks to Grace Williams for her help.

1. How'd you get started in music?
   That's a big question. I guess the big change came when I started playing guitar when I was about 16. I always loved music and I tried playing keyboards and drums when I was younger but the guitar was the first instrument that stuck. I still think of myself as a guitarist first that likes to hit things.
   Tiger Mendoza started back in 2009 when the rock band I was in at the time had pretty much run it's course and my friend Helena and I started writing songs together. I had always liked more electronic and hip hop influenced stuff, making little beats on things like Music 2000 on my Playstation back in the day but TM was the first time I'd tried to actually make a proper collection of electro songs. 16 years later I'm still at it!  
2. Who are your inspirations or influences?
   Oh wow there are so many it's difficult to know where to start. My go-tos are DJ Shadow, Deftones, Nine Inch Nails but I grew up listening to everything from Vangelis' Blade Runner soundtrack to old 60s pop that my mum and dad liked to The Pet Shop Boys. Recent faves include Big Special, Turnstile and I have to give a shoutout to local legends Means of Production, Octavia Freud and Emma Hunter, all of which have new albums out soon which you should definitely check out.
3. What advice would you offer aspiring performers?
   - Keep going. If you love music, if you feel you just have to keep making music, you have to keep going.
   - Don't worry about the money, at least not initially. Don't let people take advantage by any means but don't get in to making and playing music thinking that you're going to get rich, especially not in the current climate. Do it because you love it and have to do it.
   - Go out and meet people. Go to gigs. Support your local scene. It's particularly easy for electro-producers to be sit at home, keyboard warriors and wonder why they're not getting any gigs but I strongly believe in supporting your peers and building an organic scene, even if it's just a small one.  
4. How do you set yourself apart from other bands or singers?
   Really it's the range of influences that I bring into music. We're known as an electro act but I love playing guitar. Stylistically we cover bass music influences, electro, hip hop, drum and bass but aren't afraid to bust out a riff in dropped D if the song needs it. Also the range of collaborations and musicians that I've worked has become a big part of what we do.
5. How would you say that music has inspired/made an impression on you?
   Again big question but to put it simply, music is everything. If I'm not playing music I'm listening to music, old and new and it's a big part of who I am, what I do and who I associate with. 
6. Any new gigs or albums in the future?
   Yes! Thursday 30th October - Truck Store, Oxford - Special album launch set
   Sunday 14^th December - The Bullingdon, Oxford - part of the In A Different Place mini festival

DJ Interviews: Means of Production

 

Here's my interview with electronic band Means Of Production who had allot to say regarding their musical careers

How'd you get started in music?

 

Tim: Looking back I was always interested in electronic music at school, I was into 80s synthpop and such, but I never felt it was something I could make because I wasn’t really an instrument player.  I started playing guitar in university so quite late. I was never an amazing guitarist but was always very interested in the potential for getting cool noises out of it so when computers became powerful enough to mess around with audio and MIDI relatively cheaply I fell into it and never looked back.

Jeremy: I was in choirs and bands as a child, but threw that over for visual art in my 20s, taking photographs, creating small press comics, and illustrating. I’m the visual half of the band, providing beat-matched generated graphics and slide decks.

 

Who are your inspirations or influences?

 

Tim: I’m always listening out for new stuff. Right now I’m listening to a lot of weird dark stuff, Surgeon and a noise band called Mandy, Indiana who are phenomenal. Factory Floor are great. The Overmono album a couple of years back was excellent.

Jeremy: At the moment I’m really into frame construction, overpasses and vacant lots (these aren’t bands they’re visual themes!). Music wise I am loving Self Esteem, Viagra Boys, and the new These New Puritans is also great.

 

What advice would you offer aspiring performers?

 

Tim: It can be quite hard for new outfits to get started. Don’t expect to get paid a lot at the start!

We looked at our local free press, sent in demos, got a couple of good reviews in there, that made promoters prepared to put us on, word of mouth gets you a long way. It can take a while to build so don’t give up and also don’t be afraid to put yourself forward for support slots. Have an idea of where you will fit in as promoters often want to theme nights. We’re lucky in Oxford in that we have a lot of promoters who are willing to take a chance on new acts at small events.

If there is a local scene definitely get involved, help each other out. Do remixes for each other etc, it’s often easier for a scene to get attention and lift everyone than for a single act.

Jeremy: A great way to get involved is to create zines or take photographs around your local scene, I did this for years before I actually ended up in a band, and it can be an excellent end in itself.

 

How do you set yourself apart from other bands or singers?

 

Tim: For electronic music there has to be something to engage with on stage. It’s really easy to just be a bloke with a laptop but that’s pretty dull to watch. Put some thought into it, people have paid to see you! We do a lot of visuals which are all triggered live from the stage by Jeremy. All the images are by her or cooked up with video synthesizers, and they fit in with the way the songs work and form a kind of visual counterpoint.

Jeremy: The visuals create a thematic key for each track. For some they track the lyrics, others they are more commentary or counterpoint. They offer a way to visually engage with the music. It’s partly inspired by a period of time when I had synaesthesia following a head  injury!

 

How would you say that music has inspired/made an impression on you?

 

Tim: I can’t imagine life without music. In my primary school there wasn’t much of a musical culture but in my secondary school I was suddenly exposed to all this stuff – punk, early electronic stuff, all kinds of things - and I think it had some kind of formative effect on my developing brain. I make my living teaching music tech so I guess you can say it’s been pretty good to me.

Jeremy: I was embedded in music culture and performance from a young age as my dad was a folk singer and I sang in church choirs. But this didn’t feel like my music and as soon as I was able I started listening to pop and electronic on portable radios wherever I went. I can’t imagine living without a musical soundtrack, though I frequently had my radio confiscated at school!

 

Any new gigs or albums in the future?

 

Our new album “Joy” has just been released on all platforms. We’re playing a festival  - ApTapFest - at the Apothecary Tap in Banbury on 24^th August, our launch gig is at Common Ground in Oxford on 29^th (Thanks Gappy Tooth Industries who are the promoters) and the All Will Be Wired electronic night at The Library, Oxford on 12^th September. We will be bringing some vinyl to sell!

Special thanks to them & Grace Willliams for this interview & until then I'll catch you on The Flipside! Stay frosty & rock n roll!

 

The Moment That Hooks Us in Beck: Mongolian Chop Squad

Hey there all, normally I do music reviews but this time around I'm sharing a review of a music anime thats been really close to my heart That of BECK Mongolian Chop Squad, it's a really well-done anime & story along with it so if you haven't had the pleasure of seeing it it's something that I highly recommend. so have a look & be sure to post your comments on things.