The Witzard

It all started about two months ago now, when I received a rather intriguing cold sent email from James Barker at London-based PR company Mystic Sons, which read, "First Listen – New Album from Australia's [Answer to] Bon Iver – Hayden Calnin, Cut Love Pt. 1;" described as a "fantastic artist" whose debut single, "Cut Love," at the time, already garnered 40,000 digi-spins at Hype Machine and had received stylistic comparisons to the likes of Justin Vernon (Bon Iver), M83, Dawn Golden, Beach House, and whom, I, myself, immediately likened to Electro-Soul crooner James Blake. "'Cut Love Pt. 1" the album is a testament to Hayden's creative abilities, demonstrating that each track can resemble a new chapter. It is experimental to say the least, but an experiment that certainly works. It's exhilarating, truthful, and vicariously touching," Mystic Sons befittingly wrote within their initial emailed press release. Leading up to Cu...

" Cut Love Pt. 1 is a conceptual bunch of songs, which should be taken on as a journey. This is not a pop record, so don't expect bangerzzz or much adhering to standard song structure. It's weird, but I like weird. I wanted to make something that was 100% me and the result is something I am really proud of. I recorded [Cut Love] Pt. 1 all at home in my studio and it's taken me a lot of time to get it finished, and I'm so excited to share it with you all. I have so many people to thank, but above all, this record wouldn't have been possible without all of your support and believing in what I create. So, thank you! I'll be posting some more on it tonight to give you a little more insight, but I really just wanted to let everyone know that I've put everything I have into this record, and to not go into listening to it with any expectations, and just let it translate to you as it does naturally. Some of you may love it, others may hate it, but all in all...

Kendrick Lamar generously unveiled a BRAND NEW non-album track, "The Jig Is Up (Dump'n)," to commemorate the sheer fact that good kid, m.A.A.d. city has already managed to move some 250,000+ units since it's initial [Oct. 23rd] release; It's a staggering call-to-arms aimed @ Lamar's critics and detractors, which just might end up being a sample of his long-rumored J.Cole -manned album. Kendrick Lamar even lets loose a couple quick jabs @ a washed up rapper who felt the need to voice his unwarranted opinions: "I pray to God this beat is good enough for Shyne , if not J.Cole your shit is trash" ha! For what it's worth, good kid, m.A.A.d. city sold 241,000 copies between Oct. 22-30th, taking second place on the Billboard 200 charts, just behind Taylor Swift . Most likely against Aftermath/TDE 's wishes, Lamar scrapped the potentially buzz-worthy Lady GaGa collabo track, bumped Dr. Dre & Mary J. Blige 's features to mere bo...

Baltimore, Maryland is a metropolitan city chock-full of creative, artistically-inclined young people. On the Indie Rock side of things, WEEKENDS , Dog Leather, Dope Body , Beach House , and Dan Deacon are a few of it's BIGGER, attention-drawing bands. Townsman Brett Yale runs a cassette-pressing record label, Friends Records and a companion Baltimore -centric music blog, B-more Musically Informed . He really seems eager to help sign, promote, and assist local bands in getting their music heard on a much larger scale. Recently spotted a short write-up about "DJ Dog Dick" (Max Eisenberg) from Dog Leather 's new Jazz -inspired track. Pictureplane once said that Dog Leather "[weren't] trying to be rappers, they are just being themselves" ... with that said, "Lights Down Low" definitely has an underlying Hip-Hop feel to it. Richmond 's very own Lil Ugly Mane is featured rapping alongside DJ Dog Dick on the Shawn Kemp -produced t...

Intentional or not, Abel Tesfaye managed to make quite the [late night] ruckus by boldly opening Echoes of Silence with a spot-on Michael Jackson cover: "Dirty Diana" (Bad) . Tesfaye initially burst onto the scene in March 2011 under the musical guise "The Weeknd," along with fellow Canadian producers Illangelo & Doc McKinney . Their critically acclaimed inaugural mixtape, House of Balloons was released soon thereafter and Part 2 of "The Balloon Trilogy," Thursday was released that following August. The Weeknd 's unique brand of sample-based R&B draws heavily from a number of Indie Rock sources: Beach House , Siouxsie & The Banshees, Cocteau Twins, Thieves Like Us , and Marina Topley-Bird . Mild production work has since been outsourced to fellow up-and-comers, Clams Casino and DropxLife (XO) . Echoes of Silence was released @ roughly 12 midnight, Dec. 21-22; That is, during Fall 2011 (albeit the final minutes) as originally pr...