3 Feet High & Rising: Toxit Members Justin Billinger & Ferry Ridderhof Re-form as Elektrostal; release Daft Punk, Iggy Pop & Justice-influenced Hello world 101 (Vinyl Recording)

"We started out asking ourselves the question, 'if Daft Punk didn’t originate from France, but rather a dank dystopian nightmare of a Moscow suburb, what would that sound like?'" reads the brief, slightly tongue-in-cheek, description included on Amsterdam-based Retro-Future Elecrtonica band Elektrostal's Soundcloud page. Elektrostal consists of self-described "song-writer, agitator & synth whizz" Justin Billinger and "floppy label writer, Atari [engineer], vocals & synth [programmer]" Ferry Ridderhof. Billinger & Ridderhof unleashed their appropriately-titled 7-track debut EP, Hello world 101 on vinyl record and high-quality MP3, FLAC, etc. download as recently as November 11th, 2016; a mere six days later, Elektrostal uploaded a digitized vinyl copy of Hello world 101, which consists of "a 96 Khz 24-bit recording of the vinyl album with a classic Technics SL-1210 turntable." Elektrostal readily list Iggy Pop, Serge Gainsbourg, David Bowie, Kraftwerk, Kate Bush, Depeche Mode, deadmau5, Kavinsky, Giorgio Moroder, Justice, New Order, MGMT, and Neu! amongst their greatest sources of influence—although, I would likely most liken Hello world 101 to Death Cab for Cutie frontman Ben Gibbard's beloved 2003 Electro-Pop project with producer Jimmy Tamborello (Dntel), The Postal Service.

Justin Billinger lists his "main reason for starting Elektrostal" as "so he could eventually buy an Aston Martin" and Ferry Ridderhof's was to "pose with analog gear and ancient tech." It appears as though Ferry Ridderhof & Justin Billinger first collaborated on a 1992 white label 12-inch titled Some Mushrooms Approach EP under the short-lived project name Toxit; "in 2015, Ridderhof and Billinger hooked up once more and re-discovered their mutual passion and fascination for pure, raw Electronic music. Although previously caught up in the music-making process involving mainly laptop computers, they instinctively knew something was missing. With a renewed and fresh vision and using solely their favorite bits of vintage analogue equipment—ranging from boutique stomp-boxes to highly [collectible] Russian synths-on-steroids—they incorporated and blended this into their own [personalized] and methodically structured studio workflow." Elektrostal's Hello World 101 is currently available from their Bandcamp in a number of formats including vinyl LP, digital download, and Technics SL-1210-ripped vinyl MP3's.

"Let Me Shine for You:" Lindsay Lohan for Playboy (Winter 2011-12 Leak)

Lindsay Lohan essentially embodies exactly "What NOT to Do In Hollywood :" Fame, fortune, success... sex, drugs & Rock "N" Roll . Within a fairly short period of time, Lohan somehow managed to obtain a plentiful helping of POWER @ a very young age. This gradual rise-downfall was captured on film; Between 1998-2010, she portrayed a wide array of roles across the silver screen in movies including: Mean Girls, Bobby , Herbie Fully Loaded , Georgia Rule, Machete , and Freaky Friday . Between rapid-paced film shoots, Lindsay Lohan also found time to record 2 Pop Rock albums for Casablanca , Speak (2004) and A Litter More Personal-Raw (2005). Needless to say, Lindsay Lohan has gotten roped up in a lot of troubles and woes with the law over the last 3-5 years... a vicious cycle of drugs, arrest, court, rehab, "daddy issues," jail time [Repeat]. That's the pure basics of it - But Google that shit for additional info, if necessary. Towards the end of

[W]reckless, Topless American Youth: Lana del Rey - "Born 2 Die" (Britney Spears Birthday 30)

Lana del Rey [Lizzy Grant] effectively became 2011's "It Girl" with the release of her phenomenal debut single, "Video Games" (Stranger) . Like many struggling singer-songwriters, Grant has been signed, dropped, and significantly changed her public image since bursting onto the scene (2009). With that said, it can be assumed that Lana del Rey has collected just as many "haters" as she has avid supporters. To be perfectly honest, the only other artist I can think of that made this much commotion... garnered so much wide-spread buzz/hate and critical acclaim -- right out of the gates -- with just one track is Britney Spears . And maybe in this post- Mike musical era, that's the true synthesis of Pop Culture: Britney Lynn Spears . After months of repeated teasing and speculation, Lana del Rey 's major label debut, Born 2 Die will [finally] be released this coming Jan. 30-31, 2012. Pitchfork reports that it will feature "Off to The Ra

Liberty Bell Cracked In 1/2: Ween - "Freedom of '76" (Gene Ween's Final Send-Off)

Chocolate & Cheese (1994) was one of the first albums I bought with my own money. I was in some sort of BMG Music Club , where you'd buy 5 CD's and then get 10 for "FREE." It was all sent through mail order and you picked the titles from some special booklet. I'm almost positive that Chocolate & Cheese's side boob-baring album cover was what initially drew me in... mind you, I was 12-15 and the zany Ween logo/middle finger CD graphic really didn't hurt either. Honestly, I forget how I really felt about it @ the time, but a few years later, my older cousin Josh told me that Ween were this BIG college "jam band." CKY did some sort pf 93.3 radio takeover to promote their new album and played "Freedom of '76" late that night on air. Needless to say, I re-visited Chocolate & Cheese @ about 20-something this go 'round and I fucking loved it! Ween were really weird, yet talented... almost too talented. I can vaguel

The Witzard

Search This Blog