Stephen Mejias

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Stephen Mejias

Stillwater Artisanal & Lower Dens

Stephen Mejias First Published: Sep 14, 2012
We all know that good beer and good music make a beautiful couple, so it should come as no big surprise that craft brewer Stillwater Artisanal Ales is partnering with independent artists to create a new line of beers. The first of Stillwater’s Sensory Series is inspired by “In the End is the Beginning,” the closing track from Lower Dens’ recently released Nootropics.

Says Brian Strumke, Stillwater owner and brew master:

Stephen Mejias

Touch.30 Live in NYC

Stephen Mejias First Published: Sep 14, 2012
Michael Lavorgna reports on Philip Jeck and Ted Riederer’s performance, last night, at Our Lady of Lebanon Cathedral, in Brooklyn. Jeck sat at a table, with access to a small keyboard and a few simple turntables. Meanwhile, Riederer played guitar and sang, sending his signals through various effects pedals, looping them and transferring them directly to lathe-cut vinyl. Upon the completion of a side, Riederer would hand the newly created record to an unsuspecting Jeck. In turn, Jeck, with a smile, would place the record upon a turntable and play along. It continued like that for some time.

Like ML, I was captivated by the total experience: the dim lighting, the attentive crowd, the lulling sounds, the rich scents, the soft feel of old floorboards and torn carpeting&#151it all worked to transfix and transport.

Stephen Mejias

Dan Deacon: America

Stephen Mejias First Published: Sep 11, 2012
I'll have more to say about Dan Deacon's America, both here and in the pages of Stereophile, but, for now, I'll just quickly say that I like it&#151a LOT.

Full of major chords and glorious crescendos, littered with screeching electronic noise and dressed up with sweeping violins, America is bold, ambitious, arrogant, pretentious, and really beautiful.

Stephen Mejias

Matmos: The Ganzfeld EP (and Incase headphones)

Stephen Mejias First Published: Sep 05, 2012
I will not pretend to understand the concept behind The Ganzfeld EP, electronic duo Matmos’ upcoming release, but I will simply say that I dig it, deeply. From the press release, because I can’t say it any better:

The EP and the album [The Marriage of True Minds, available early 2013] have the same conceptual basis: telepathy.

Telepathy!

For the past four years the band have been conducting parapsychological experiments based upon the classic Ganzfeld (“total field”) experiment, but with a twist: instead of sending and receiving simple graphic patterns, test subjects were put into a state of sensory deprivation by covering their eyes and listening to white noise on headphones, and then Matmos member Drew Daniel attempted to transmit “the concept of the new Matmos record” directly into their minds. During videotaped psychic experiments conducted at home in Baltimore and at Oxford University, test subjects were asked to describe out loud anything they saw or heard within their minds as Drew attempted transmission. The resulting transcripts became a kind of score that was then used by Matmos to generate music. If a subject hummed something, that became a melody; passing visual images suggested arrangement ideas, instruments, or raw materials for a collage; if a subject described an action, then the band members had to act that out and make music out of the noises generated in the process of the re-enactment.

The result, to which I am now listening and which is in turn driving me crazy, is perhaps the greatest work I’ve heard from Matmos&#151and that’s saying a lot, as Matmos generally blows my mind.

Stephen Mejias

Jagjaguwar Sounds on Drip.FM

Stephen Mejias First Published: Sep 04, 2012
Drip.FM offers an interesting new way for music lovers to connect with their favorite record labels. The platform is free to participating labels, with no sign-up costs or usage fees; Drip.FM makes money when the participating labels make money, through a revenue share on sales. Labels set their own user-fees for access to a Drip.FM account. While content varies depending on the label, fans can expect to receive digital files (MP3 and WAV) of new titles on the day they are released (or sooner); randomly selected back-catalog titles; and plenty of enticing perks, such as exclusive, subscription-only tracks and remixes, and other giveaways (imagine: t-shirts, posters, LPs, CDs, concert tickets).

Back in June, AudioStream’s Michael Lavorgna reported on Domino’s new Drip.FM service.

Founded by Ghostly International and currently operating in closed beta, Drip.FM has also partnered with Dead Oceans, Dirtybird, Fool’s Gold, Luaka Bop, Mad Decent, Morr Music, Now-Again Records, Planet E Communications, Stones Throw, Wav.Pool, and now Jagjaguwar.

I recently signed up for an account with Jagjaguwar.

Stephen Mejias

Lamps and Stuff

Stephen Mejias First Published: Aug 31, 2012
Photo: Laura Leif and Amber Phelps Bondaroff

My latest addiction is “Stuff I’ve Been Reading,” Nick Hornby’s column for The Believer. I know: It's very hipster/nerdy of me to be reading this stuff; you might even think I live in nerdy Brooklyn. But, I swear, I live in Jersey City, and I have completely sincere and profound reasons for reading The Believer and "Stuff."

Not only does it remind me of how much I admire and enjoy Hornby’s writing—he’s clear, deep, funny, and extremely likable even when he’s being snarky and clever—but it also fuels my passion for reading. And when I read, I feel like a better person: stronger, smarter, healthier, whatever. Profound, see?

When I read, I at least feel like I have something to say. When I read, I’m happy.

You should check it out. In the preface to Housekeeping vs. the Dirt, the second of four published collections of “Stuff,” Hornby reminds us that reading addresses many of our needs, none more important than simple pleasure. Read the books you like, and don’t let anyone tell you that you shouldn't enjoy Moby Dick or The Hunger Games or whatever.

There’s something to be learned here, even for you know-it-all audiophiles.

Stephen Mejias

Teen: In Limbo

Stephen Mejias First Published: Aug 28, 2012
Other than the fact that they’re a bunch of cute girls with a suitably high level of cute-girl energy, Teen isn’t the sort of band I typically get into. They’re not rapping about sex and money; they’re not just turning knobs on analog synths or chopping up bits of field recordings; they’re not sampling obscure 78s; they’re not playing 24 saxophones at once; they’re not making their guitars sound like vacuum cleaners; they’re not really lo-fi, but they’re certainly not hi-fi; they’re neither terribly weird nor completely normal. They’re somewhere in between. And, if you know me, you know that I tend to run screaming from that sort of thing. But there’s something about Teen’s sound, despite the fairly straightforward instrumentation (guitars, drums, keys, voices, percussion) that keeps me coming back.

That, by itself, is probably reason enough to buy the record, but I remain conflicted.

Stephen Mejias

Diogenes: Digital Home for Experimental Music

Stephen Mejias First Published: Aug 17, 2012
Over at AudioStream, my man Michael Lavorgna mentions Diogenes: Digital Home for Experimental Music. I stumbled upon the site yesterday. Thinking that ML would love it, I forwarded the link to him immediately. I was right!

For the adventurous music lover who craves new, unusual sounds&#151stuff that might challenge, that might delight, and that will certainly expand your mind&#151and for the audiophile who primarily uses a computer as a source, Diogenes is an online heaven.

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