The Witzard

CREDIT: Jesse Lirola Last night, without any prior wanrning, Wavves released a brand new song to Bandcamp, Spotify, and other like-minded digital streaming services. "Sinking Feeling" is, actually, Wavves' first proper single since their 2017 album, You're Welcome and their first with Fat Possum Records since 2010's King of The Beach. Last we heard from Wavves, they were actively planning a KING OF THE BEACH 10-YEAR ANNIVERSARY TOUR, but that, like most things, was cancelled, re-scheduled to 10-11/2020, and has now, seemingly, been postponed indefinitely. Wavves' current line-up now consists of Nathan Williams, Stephen "Stevie" Pope , Alex Gates, and Ross Traver formerly of Culture Abuse. For lack of a better term, Wavves have always kinda been one of those "buzz" bands who have remained very popular within the Indie Rock blog circuits; frontman Nathan Williams even has/had a number of side-projects including both Spirit Club & Sweet...

Daniel Ledinsky & Dave Sitek (TV On The Radio) are THE NEVERLY BOYS . While it appears as though they've released a few now-scrubbed songs and have, seemingly, had a couple false starts over the years, Ledinsky & Sitek have finally unleashed their proper debut album together as THE NEVERLY BOYS , Dark Side of Everything . Back when these Nation/world-wide shut downs first started happening a few months ago, as events, concerts, and whatnot started getting cancelled indefinitely, many artists began hosting livestreamed concerts, album listening parties, etc. It was Tuesday, March 17, 2020 and we saw a post on both THE NEVERLY BOYS & Dave Sitek 's personal Instagram page that Sitek would soon be hosting a late night stream of THE NEVERLY BOYS' then-untitled album on his page (@davesitek.) We, of course, tuned in, as did many other fans who had been hearing rumblings about the project for quite a while now; R&B/Psychedelic Soul-Funk singer and producer Migu...

"Hey Carl ! So, I was cooking pierogies earlier and made this little mix of your music as MANIKINETER on Spotify . And I was wondering, if you might be interested in making a mix for The Witzard ? Maybe, Halloween -themed/tinged and we can include some (or all) of your music as MANIKINETER , as well..." read part of a recent email I sent to Carl Kavorkian a couple weeks ago. The Witzard regulars may, in fact, recognize Kavorkian's name from his recent musical re-birth as Noise Rap behemoth MANIKINETER . He's self-released a staggering three EP's— Mannequin Eater , Missing & Not As They Do —in just two short years, all while fine-tuning his frantic one-man live show. So, lo and behold, now, a matter of weeks later, Carl Kavorkian has hand-selected 22 seasonally-appropriate festive favorites, as part of his exclusive Halloween Playlist for TheWitzard.com . Carl 's Halloween mix includes ghoulish selections from everyone from Gravediggaz to George Cli...

"I go by the name King Ani Mal. I'm out of South Philly and originally from Gulf Port, Mississippi. SPP GSF AFFILIATE. I am currently working on a "so-far" untitled 5-track EP produced entirely by Look! It's Aidan AKA Aidan Douglas AKA A.I.D. (@look_itsaidan.) It should be out very soon! To keep up with my music and shows, Follow my Instagram, @turbocrunch . Also, check out my latest album, Skinny God out on EVERY streaming platform. Here's my Beat-maker Bedrock:" I. TV On The Radio - Dear Science (2008) "I think, Dear Science was one of the first albums that made me want to dip into production. I just remember thinking how good the album was and telling myself that if they could do it, so could I. Then, I downloaded LMMS (Linux MultiMedia Studio) and started playing around on my laptop. At the time, I was playing guitar in a Punk band and no one wanted to hear what I was making, except my homie Scress. I didn't rap or even plan on becomi...

"Nowadays, I'm more influence by the artists around me making making music here in Baltimore. We probably take that for granted a bit, but we're really lucky. When I [first] started making beats at 16-17, I was pretty much just biting DJ Premier and every producer on [Nas'] Illmatic, sampling the hand-me-down vinyl I was given from my friend's weird uncle. As I got older and more fascinated with Pop and Alternative music—especially, the really depressing stuff—my production was shaped by hearing this handful of albums in my early beat-making days. Honestly, it's really hard to narrow down [to] under 10 (I wish I could pick a Prince album or Madonna's first album) but I'll keep it at six." - Drew Scott (AKA Giddeon Gallows) Forbid feat. Al Rogers Jr. by Giddeon Gallows I. OutKast - Aquemini (1998) "First CD I bought with my own money; hearing the 808's and that guitar on "Rosa Parks" at 10 years old was a moment. I alread...

Now, many of you may or may not recognize the name "TV On The Radio," but for me, personally, they were my first favorite Indie Rock band. Their 2004 major label debut, Desperate Youth, Blood Thirsty Babes was essentially, my gateway into Indie Rock and to an effect, helped shape what I do now here at The Witzard . Since TV On The Radio 's initial ascension to Indie Rock super-stardom, long-time guitarist, multi-instrumentalist, and producer Dave Sitek has produced albums for everyone from Kelis to Cerebral Ballzy , released a 2010 solo album as Maximum Balloon , and in 2012, even started his own label imprint called Federal Prism and launched a sister label, Sounds Like Fun Records , with The Cool Kids' rapper-producer Chuck Inglish . LEDINSKY AKA Daniel Ledinsky is a Swedish -based singer, producer, and song-writer, who had a massive streaming hit last year with "DonalTrumpMakesMeWannaSmokeCr**k" and has worked with Cee-Lo , Rihanna, Shakira ,...

"I did [approach TVOTR ]. They have been my friends for years and I knew it could be something special," @therealelp replied when asked by a fan what the story was behind Run The Jewels' Colbert -facilitated collaboration with "the most under-rated band of all time," TV On The Radio . "HUUUUGE shout out to our friends @TVonTheRadio , Kareem Bunton, @littleshalimar , and everyone who made last night happen. Love y'all," El-P exuberantly Tweeted Wednesday morning, following his Late Show with Stephen Colbert performance along with unlikely partner in crime, Killer Mike . El-P and TV On The Radio 's working relationship would seemingly date back to around 2006 when El-P was commissioned to remix "Hours" from their Return to Cookie Mountain LP, while Killer Mike was still running with OutKast -affiliated crews Purple Ribbon All-Stars and Dungeon Family . It should additionally be noted that TVOTR lead guitarist and in-house pro...

"'Last of The Flohicans" in many ways embodies RetroHash as a whole. Loss. Transformation. Rediscovery. "Flohicans" is basically a reminder to myself. To remember what it's like to lose faith. To rediscover yourself and ultimately become better. Growing up," Asher Roth wrote in a highly inspirational do-not-reply fan club email just the other day. Just about a week ahead of the release of his nearly five years in-the-making second album, RetroHash , Roth unleashed a fourth and final pre-release track; "Last of The Flohicans" was produced by genre-blending production team Blended Babies , like the rest of the album, which will finally see a wide-release this upcoming Tuesday, April 22nd. Asher Roth has lyrically progressed leaps and bounds since the "I Love College" days and for those who might be unfamiliar, his stellar mixtapes Seared Foie Gras , Pabst & Jazz, and The GreenHouse Effect (Vol. 2) are quite an appropriat...

For the sake of cohesive clarity, maybe it should be duly noted that the majority of this very post was written down in my parents' basement earlier tonight while I was listening to Dope Body 's latest Sludge-Punk album, Natural History , and drinking midair-smuggled German beer: While I can't exactly say that I'm a huge Kelis fan, and you may not be either, but let's be totally honest... who isn't at least vaguely familiar with "Milkshake" or even "Got Your Money" (ODB)? TIME further notes that Kelis has essentially bounced all over the place during her 15-year career; "she made strange, funky Pop songs like "Milkshake" [with Pharrell ] that took over American radio. She was more forceful still with clanging, dissonant R&B tracks like "Bossy." Then, she transformed into a spaced-out Electro-House diva on her last album, 2010's Flesh Tone ." Now the ex-wife of legendary Queens emcee Nas , K...

While his primary band is taking what at least seems to be an honest, yet semi-active, indefinite hiatus, TV on The Radio frontman Tunde Adebimpe has crafted a new mouth-full of a band, Higgins Waterproof Black Magic Band . Here, Adebimpe is joined by 3 equally busy long-time friends: Ryan Sawyer, Josh Werner , and Alex Holden ... members of Lone Wolf and Cub , Lee "Scratch" Perry/CocoRosie, and Big Numbers (respectively). Higgins Waterproof have recently announced a 5-track self-titled EP that's set for an October 1st release on their own imprint, ZNA Records , along with a month-long (October) Sunday night residency at Brooklyn 's own Union Pool venue. I think it's pretty safe to assume that this is in fact the same 5-song collection Tunde Adebimpe was describing to SPIN just a few months ago: "You have friends in bands and you realize you've known each other 15 years and never played together, maybe out of respect for your friendship. We star...

"WE REMIXED THE BEAT FOR "GUV'NOR" AND DOOM SPAT NEW VERSES ON THE TRACK," BADBADNOTGOOD (BBNG) Tweeted almost immediately preceding Noisey's world premier of the JJ DOOM remix, which was lifted from Keys to The Kuffs (Butter Edition) . Lex Records plans to unleash the expanded and remixed album version on August 21st, but sadly the 12" picture discs won't ship until the end of October; The 2-CD set includes the original 14-track album, plus 4 BRAND NEW tracks and a gaggle of all-star remixes, 2 of which make use of expanded DOOM verses, too. In addition to BBNG and in-house producer Jneiro Jarel , Butter Edition features glitched-out remix contributions from Beck , Clams Casino, Radiohead members Thom Yorke & Jonny Greenwood , and TV on The Radio mega-producer Dave Sitek . Chester Hansen, Alex Sowinski & Matt Tavares AKA BADBADNOTGOOD previously recorded and self-released a blazin' instrumental Jazz cover titled "DO...

Since we're being honest, I don't think I've ever actually heard anything from Kelis besides "Got Your Money" and "Milkshake;" "My milkshake brings all the boys to the yard and they're like, it's better than yours..." After a few rough years full of shelved albums, label drama, and the dissolution of her marriage to Nas , Kelis has signed to TV on The Radio multi-instrumentalist/producer Dave Sitek 's new label imprint. Federal Prism plans to unleash 2 Kelis albums and a single by year's end, along with new material from Scarlett Johansson , Maximum Balloon/Miguel, Freddie Gibbs , CSS, Chuck Inglish , and more. Kelis uploaded "Call On Me" to Soundcloud mid-Monday afternoon, which was later re-upped in substantially higher quality as "Jerk Ribs." Dave Sitek weaves a densely-layered soundbed that includes squalling horns, Funky basslines, and African drum rhythms; It almost has sonic accents re...

VH1 's downright gorgeous Carrie Keagan keeps throwing to Jim James' newly-released music video/single, "A New Life" during Big Morning Buzz 's commercial breaks. It's an oddly endearing acoustic-R&B hybrid jam from his premier My Morning Jacket -less solo album, Regions of Light & Sound of God . Jim James says it's all partially based off a 1929 wood-cut book where a struggling artist sells his soul to The Devil in exchange for a magic paintbrush... "A New Life" [obviously] finds him @ the part where he falls off a cliff/in love with a woman who nurses him back to health. Man, I've gotta admit, Jim James really has that whole crazy/weird Hipster -fied cool vibe down pat these days; We're talkin' about a buffalo-headed girl, sharply-dressed back-up dancers, Jim James and a time-crippled lover, portal-opening doors, and just general desert weirdness. Regions of Light & Sound of God has been in-the-works since...

David Bowie quietly unleashed "The Stars (Are Out Tonight)" late Monday night; It's the second pre-release single from his long-awaited/rumored album - The Next Day , which is slated for a world-wide release this upcoming March 8-15th. Bowie has been largely in-active for the bulk of the past 10-12 years... recording with TV on The Radio/Scarlett Johansson , morphed into a fashion icon, re-interpreted in Portuguese for The Life Aquatic , hanging out with Snoop Dogg and Alicia Keys , just growing old gracefully, etc. Producer-bassist Tony Visconti recently called The Next Day "quite a Rock album" that was secretly recorded between 2010-12 with Earl Slick , Gail Ann Dorsey, Sterling Campbell , Zachary Alford, guitarists Gerry Leonard/David Torn , Tony Levin, and saxophonist Steve Elson . Italian film-maker Floria Sigismondi directed "The Stars (Are Out Tonight)"' s companion music video, which co-stars actress Tilda Swinton as David ...

Musicians have been releasing additional video content ("Bonus DVD's") along with their albums since the decline of the CD format - roughly since the early 2000's. I literally have a stack of 10-15 band DVD's in jewel cases down in my basement, but TV on the Radio have quite arguably executed the strongest DVD format-utilizing release. Nearly a year after it's original [digital] release, TV on the Radio have since decided to give Nine Types of Light a proper re-release. Now available on DVD for the first time, the film helps transform 11 lush, Experimental tracks into an intricate, yet completely "sound" video album. Nine Types of Light has since been nominated @ the upcoming Grammy's (2012) in the category of "Best Long Form Music Video." TV on the Radio commissioned various directors and friends to create clips for each of Nine Types of Light 's 11 tracks... an album which was then slightly re-arranged to form an hour-lon...