Frequency Of The Week No. 2: Cheshire
–Written by Kevin Madert
Electronic music’s explosive expansion seems to have hit Australia and New Zealand harder than almost anywhere else in recent memory. The meteoric rise of artists like Flume has been coupled with the emergence of a plethora of smaller artists with huge potential. The region has become a hotbed for glitch producers in particular; Opiuo just embarked on his first full-fledged world tour, and labels like Adapted Records have begun to curate some of the most promising up-and-coming talent. That’s where we find Cheshire, the man who’s redefining glitch-funk with his blend of uplifting melodies, non-traditional instrumentation, and deceptively heavy breakdowns.
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In Case You Missed It: Jazzsteppa’s Hyper-Eclectic “Hyper Nomads”
–Written by Kevin Madert
Hi all. This is the first in a recurring series we’re calling “In Case You Missed It,” where we’ll feature non-new music we feel went unnoticed, as well as music that may have been somewhat popular but has since faded from the consciousness of the general population. Alert us to any music you feel fits this description by emailing contact@thealternatefrequency.com; we love to hear music for the first time and we’re certainly not infallible.
If you put a couple of dudes on Mars with some production equipment, some Red Bull, a twelve-piece brass section and a sheet of LSD, you may just recreate the conditions I imagine were necessary to concoct an album as sporadic and multi-faceted as Jazzsteppa’s “Hyper Nomads.”
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Frequency Of The Week No. 1: Moon Hooch
–Written by Kevin Madert
This is the first in a recurring series we’re calling the “Frequency of the Week.” We’ll be spotlighting up-and-coming artists you should be keeping a close eye – ear? – on. Got a group you think fits this description? Drop us a line at contact@thealternatefrequency.com and we’ll be sure to give it a listen.
Two saxophones. One drummer. That’s it. The Moon Hooch experience isn’t one anyone could imitate. It’s not a genre, it’s not a style, it’s not a sound; it’s a state of being. They call it Cave Music – “It’s like house, but it’s more wild, more jagged, more free, more natural to live in” – and it’s not something that can be wholly understood until you’re immersed in it.
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Review: Branx Brings The Funk On Debut EP “Look But Don’t Touch”
–Written by Kevin Madert
When foraying into the ever widening future-funk landscape, it’s good to have two things: serious talent and serious friends. Branx (formerly DCarls) has more than enough of the former to not even need the latter, but it doesn’t hurt when everyone from Gramatik to Opiuo is singing your praises. Case in point: the producer’s debut EP under his current moniker, Look But Don’t Touch. Over five tracks he pilots the listener on a funk-fueled odyssey, often changing the tempo but never straying from the crisp basslines and shimmering synths that shape the album tonally.
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Review: Four Year Strong’s Career-Affirming “Go Down In History”
–Written by Michael Hogan
Every city has their hometown heroes – those bands they’re going to cheer on no matter where they go, be it the other side of the world or that shitty VFW down the street. They’re so meaningful to so many different people that the very idea of them brings a city together, rallying behind them in support of every show, every new album, every single.
When I lived in Boston, we were incredibly lucky to have a huge and diverse music scene. Everything from post-hardcore and metal to pop-punk and hardcore was equally represented. Hell, we can even lay claim to some extremely talented progressive and post-rock bands.
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Review: United Nations’ Brutal Sophomore Effort “The Next Four Years”
–Written by Michael Hogan
I first heard about United Nations not long after the release of their debut album. They were very secretive about everything, going so far as to wear matching Ronald Reagan masks and not telling anyone who was actually in the band. It didn’t take long for astute listeners to determine that Geoff Rickley and Daryl Palumbo (of Thursday and Glassjaw, respectively) were a part of the project – pretty solid credentials on their own. I was really sold when I heard Converge drummer Ben Koller had something to do with it.
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