The Witzard

"10 years after their first release, Trapped Under Ice brings you Heatwave. This phat LP is short, fast, and Hardcore; the way Straight Ahead intended, but played more like Fury of Five and Breakdown at a backyard party. For Punks who've considered throwing a spin-kick in jean shorts. Rhythmically, Heatwave is like a trailer park Sepultura. Check it out if you f**k with what TUI has been doing for the last decade. The same, but different" is how Baltimore Hardcore Punks Trapped Under Ice describe their latest record, Heatwave within a Pop Wig Records pre-order. Heatwave consists of 11 rapid-fire tracks that collectively clock in at right around 14 minutes-worth of frantic, blistering well-executed Punk. It's been six years since Trapped Under Ice's last album, Big Kiss Goodnight (2011) and since then, its members have splintered off to form like-minded progressive Punk/Hardcore bands Angel Du$t , Turnstile, Diamond Youth, Down to Nothing, WARFARE, and Sai Nam, ...

"It's a summation of everything up to now; a nice way to present it before we release the newer sound of our more recent writing," Leeds -based producer and Krrum co-vocalist Alex Carrie wrote within a recent email. Carrie started Krrum as a sparse bedroom-produced solo endeavor back in 2010, after a stint playing trumpet in various British Ska bands, "a strange tenure working in a historical cave, and a dead-end job at a local Derbyshire butchery. Krrum quietly unleashed his debut Evil Twin EP in January 2016 and slowly trickled out a string of well-received Soundcloud singles and has since expanded to include Harrison Warke on lead vocals, drummer Charlie Webb , and Thomas Trueman on keys. Krrum 's members collectively drawn influence and inspiration from fellow Pop -minded artists as far-spanning as Gorillaz , Metronomy, Justice , Hot Chip, Jai Paul , and Kanye. Although, they already released a simple cut-and-paste "Evil Twin" video ab...

Bloodnut are a self-proclaimed "Stoner-Sludge band of gingers" hailing from Auckland, New Zealand. I can vaguely recall, just a few short months ago, @BloodnutBand Tweeting a proposition for the senior vice president and creative director of a major music-minded network (which I wont name) to hear their then-forthcoming second album, St. Ranga; I believe said network SVP Replied something to the effect of he didn't listen to pre-release album advances. Needless to say, I saw all of this going down in real time and quickly jumped on the opportunity to score an advanced copy of Bloodnut's St. Ranga. I've been corresponding with Bloodnut founder, bassist, and frontman Doug McFarlane, via email for roughly two weeks now and on the heels of their recent Doomed & Stoned-premiered "The Space Orangutan," agreed we would do a short and sweet, yet informative 5-question mini-interview for publication here at The Witzard. Please feel free to headbang and rage...

" [Lonise Bias'] son, who in his senior season at the University of Maryland , was widely regarded as the best college basketball player in America , a can't-miss talent with absurd hang time. Her son, who had been drafted with the No.2 pick by the NBA Champion Boston Celtics on June 17, 1986. Her son, who would be described in an autopsy report two days later as a "well-developed young Black male," 6-foot-7, 221½ pounds, otherwise fit and healthy and clean, with the exception of the copious amount of cocaine in his system..." ESPN E-Ticket writer Michael Weinreb wrote within a piece fittingly titled 'The Day Innocence Died.' MGNTK. -affiliated Baltimore spitter UllNevaNo and "teacher, husband, beat-maker & dish washer" John Bachman (otherwise known as Jumbled ) have teamed back up for an EP entitled The Ghost of Len Bias . Jumbled & UllNevaNo first worked together on "Hampden Session" from Bachman's entirel...

Brackish are a "Pop-Punk"/Screamo revival band hailing from Trenton, NJ and are currently based out of Philly —think Take This to Your Grave -era Fall Out Boy . Brackish attest they make "songs you can sit in your room and listen to" and readily list "burritos, tacos, chimichangas, and sandwiches" as Band Interests on their Facebook page. Brackish frontman and guitarist Connor Byrne , oddly enough, was introduced to by my older cousin (who also hails from North Jersey ) and is also Facebook Friends with Evan "Darko The Super" Souza , Raymond "Ray" Strife, and Lt Headtrip . It appears as though I was put into contact with Connor because of this June 27 Facebook call-to-action: "Heyyyy, do you know a radio station/blog/podcast that might be interested in covering the Brackish record? Let me know." When asked how they knew @LtHeadtrip @DarkoTheSuper & @RaymondStrife , @brackishtheband simply replied: "Local m...

"What's goodie!? My name is iLL-Omega . I'm a beat-maker from Trenton, NJ . This is my column [for] Beat-maker Bedrock ! Here's three albums that inspired me to start making music. Salute to John "Jumbled" Bachman and The Witzard for letting me be a part of this!" - Darnell "iLL-Omega" Storey I. Wu-Tang Clan - "Enter The Wu-Tang (36 Chambers) (1993) "This album is one of the first Hip-Hop albums that made me want to start doing music. The RZA delivers a cinematic feel with the Kung-Fu samples and crazy chopped-up samples. The hard-hitting drums shake your car and pound your chest on each track. I remember first listening to Wu-Tang in intermediate school. When I first played this tape, it felt like a movie that I didn't want to end. The contributions from all nine members of the Wu-Tang seemed like a big Kung-Fu fight scene with each line that punches you in the face." II. Redman - Muddy Waters (1996) ...

"Video premiere!! Thanks to Otto Granillo and Junko Seki , I got to get my [New Wave] on producing this catchy tune, "Wallflower" for their group Kotolan . Mixed beautifully by my main man, Stephen Kaye at SunKing Studios ," The Lions producer and bandleader Dan Ubick AKA Connie Price enthusiastically wrote on Facebook this past May; just about a month after "Wallflower," Kotolan unleashed their second Dan Ubick -produced single, "Toyko Subway." Trombonist, audio-visual artist, and "OTO" half of Kotolan , Otto Granillo recently told me that he and his wife/bandmate Junko Seki "have been writing an producing singles lately, instead of making an album." Although, Granillo says they're currently "throwing around the idea of releasing a full-length album in the future [with] a group of previously-released singles from a specific year/period" of Kotolan 's recent work. Granillo currently plays trombo...

"I'm Height Keech. I'm a rapper from Baltimore, MD . I grew up being the guy in the crew that didn't know how to make the beats I heard in my head... Now, I feel like I've found my own voice as a producer and I'm off to the races. These are some of the records [whose] production has inspired me, through the years." - Height Keech (Shark Tank) Dan's House by Shark Tank I. Public Enemy - It Takes a Nation of Millions to Hold Us Back (1988) "A lot has been said about this album, so let me zero in on my favorite track: "Night of The Living Baseheads." The main sample is like a Jack-In-The-Box opening every two seconds. The change-up leading into the second verse feels like a transmission from another planet. Every little piece is perfectly executed, yet it feels like you’re on an insane train that could go off the rails at any second. It used to be way more labor-intensive to do all these weird one-off changes and flourishes; the ...

"' Die Berlin Dateien ' is the first fully Instrumental Hip-Hop album by AVER , the chief producer of THE NATURAL CURRICULUM (TNC) . Created whilst living in Berlin , AVER developed the 16 tracks as part of an attempt to evolve traditional sample use with more complex rhythms and off-beat drum breaks. The album features scratching and [beat-boxing] by fellow members of TNC and is overlaid with German -language vocals that provide an abstract narrative to further embellish the dream-like, somewhat dystopian nature of the album," Village Live Records' Die Berlin Dateien Vinyl + Cassette Tape product description reads. AVER AKA Joey Average AKA Joe Mills is one of the producer-emcees behind Manchester -based THE NATURAL CURRICULUM , along with emcee Bill Sykes , rapper-producer Chalk , DJ-producer Omas , beat-boxer Jam , DJ El Statiko , and (sometimes member) DJ Ink . It's currently unclear which of Joey Average 's fellow THE NATURAL CURRICULUM ...

"The musicians in both Blacksonny and Red Datsun are all part of our collective of creative friends that fall under the Riding Mower Records umbrella. For example, Joel [Bernardo] , who plays bass in Blacksonny is also P.I.C. 's bass player, Eric [Gonzales] , who plays keys in Red Datsun is P.I.C. 's keyboard player, I play bass in Red Datsun , but am the DJ for P.I.C. Dave Canton , who plays guitar in Red Datsun has played guitar in Blacksonny and has joined P.I.C. on stage on occasion, as well, etc. Riding Mower Records is the record label that was started by P.I.C. to release their own recordings, but also those of our talented friends. Blacksonny and Red Datsun have released albums on Riding Mower Records in the past. The "label" that this specific release is on is Persistence of Sound , which is my personal imprint and was done with the blessing of Riding Mower Records with both groups retaining all rights to music and artwork accordingly....

"When Rap Dads collide, their Rap Sons win. Shouts to @djaptone and his boy! And shouts to Uncle @curlycastro in the background playing free safety on defense with my son running wild!" Career Crook Stevie Z. (@zillarocca) posted on his Instagram 5 DAYS AGO following an apparent chance meeting with fellow "Rap Dad" DJ Apt One AKA Michael The Lion and his son in West Philly 's own Clark Park . I promptly Followed and reached out to DJ Apt One , figuring any friend of Zilla Rocca 's was an instant friend of mine; @djaptone seemingly shared the same kind of sentiment, simply Tweeting back "a friend of Zilla 's is a friend of mine. I'd be happy to talk about it." He was of course, referring to his upcoming debut as Michael The Lion , by way of aptly-titled Michael The Lion EP on Soul Clap Records . Michael Fichman AKA DJ Apt One has shared stages with "some of the best talents of this generation," including Diplo , Spa...

It would appear as though, after tracing back through a number of rather clumsily chronicled Twitter DM 's, tongue-in-cheek Replies, countless @'s, and emailed transmissions that I first met Third Sight emcee Juan Betts AKA Roughneck Jihad (@roughneckjihad) through Twitter personality and sometimes Rap critic Elmattic (@thisiselmattic.) While he still might be a relatively unknown "underground emcee," Jihad —formerly known as Jihad The Roughneck MC —has been spittin' fresh rhymes since high school, 1988; over the years, he's formed countless Hip-Hop crews including Un Cut Poets , Third Sight with DJ Du Funk, Smooth Tone, and D-Styles, The Incredible Torture Show (T.I.T.S.) with Trailer Trasher & Maestro Gamin , The Language Mechanics with Insomniac & Raggedy Andy, The Tarantula Brothers with Du Funk , Disco Sinisto with Turin, Italy-based producer IL Torsolo, newly-formed Echoes of Oratory Music , The Darc Bros. and currently runs label imp...

"I'm available to edit all sorts of videos and create all sorts of content. I'm also available for interviews, shenanigans, or if you just need a friend - Adam@hiddentracktv.com ," reads part of the YouTube description for OutKast | "Ms. Jackson" | Muppets Version . Needless to say, after witnessing the sheer greatness that is Beastie Boys | "Sabotage" | Sesame Street Mashup on both Stereogum and NPR Music late last week, I quickly reached out to Mylo The Cat AKA isthishowyougoviral AKA Adam Schleichkorn just for sh*ts and giggles, thinking he most likely, wouldn't write back... but before day's end, Adam had already responded back to my email thanking me for contacting him and adding that "most websites just crank out articles" and generally, don't bother to reach out. From what I can piece together from the shattered shards scattered across The Internet , Adam Schleichkorn 's storied history with "going viral...

"Here's another excerpt from the Sulu & Excelsior visual album and what will probably be the next official music video we'll be releasing (we still have to shoot a set-up.) Enjoy this clip of "Misery Luv," which I directed and shot along with @jbsankara - This vid took some serious digging in the Super 8 crates of my pops, who is also featured in this video, as well as a slew of family," @suluandexcelsior wrote on his Instagram back on MARCH 31. I'll never forget, when I first met Sulu & Excelsior frontman Steve "Sulu" Mallorca back in Nov. 2016, he described his rather unique Hiphopfunkpunkmamboska blend of music as "Johnny Mathis meets Mos Def meets Stevie Wonder meets Nat King Cole" and it's stuck with me ever since! Sulu & Excelsior's instantly catchy, foot-stompin' debut Eddie Romero was entirely "Produced, Arranged, Composed & Performed by Steven E. Mallorca." Thanks to an introduction ...

"'Delicate Empires is about the fragility of power and looks to the story of Genghis Khan for inspiration. Genghis saw the weakness in a way of life that was removed from nature and confined by stone walls and governed by greed, the rise of the Mongol Empire was enabled by this realisation," reads part of a statement I recently received from Daniel O'Toole AKA Captain Earwax AKA EARS. O'Toole is an Australian-based multi-disciplinary artist who over the course of the last decade, has done work as a street artist, curator, gallery operator, esteemed painter, musician, and music video director. I actually met Daniel O'Toole because of one of his latest collaborations, Jonti & Steve Lacy's "Scrood," which was the basis of this very interview in its infantile stages; little did I know, EARS was a world-renown graffiti artist and multi-instrumentalist readying his latest full-length album as Captain Earwax, Delicate Empires. An esteemed musicia...