Culture

Apr 24, 2012
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Categories: CultureEvents

Last Saturday we teamed up with the homegrown Origami Vinyl in the quaint neighborhood of Echo Park close to the eskuché headquarters in East Long Angeles. Fans came from near and far not only to dig through crates of their favorite jams but to show support for Record Store Day, the time we pay homage to the small, medium and even the big-box patrons of music. We caught up with a few loyalists to find out what was in their record bag and to hear what they had to say about this unique day.

 
Name: John
What records did you buy?: I grabbed some soundtracks: Pretty in Pink, Empire Records​, and Breakfast Club. Snapcase Progressions LP, Curses LP, and Crosses 7”.
What are your thoughts on Record Store Day?: I wish Record Store Day existed when I worked at record stores!
 
 
Name: Angela
What records did you buy?: St. Vincent and an of Montreal and Deerhoof split.
What are your thoughts on Record Store Day?: I love the communal aspect of it. A lot of us were brought out here from different places and we all got to hear each other’s different style of music. 
 
 
Name: Jace
What records did you buy?: I bought Destroyer’s Rubies on red vinyl and I got the St. Vincent "Crocodile" single.
What are your thoughts on Record Store Day?: It feels like a real holiday where you can treat yourself so I feel obligated to treat myself to vinyl, which hopefully I’ll have for a long time. I feel that supporting one record store shows support for all of them.
Apr 12, 2012
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Categories: CultureEventsOCF

eskuché and Let's Play House have teamed up to present you with a very special contest! Now's your chance to win one (1) pair of headphones of the winner's choosing as well as a pair of tickets to see Tiger & Woods live LPH performance at Glasslands in Brooklyn, New York, April 21. Entering is simple: just "like" both LPH and eskuché on Facebook and shoot an email to nik@lphnyc.com with your name and mailing address. We will randomly select a winner on Friday, April 20, and dispatch the headphones to you the following week.

For more information on the event, head on over here. Also, you can purchase tickets here.

Apr 9, 2012
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For our latest installment of Classic Cuts, we hit up our L.A. friends Poolside to grab a track they can't live without... and it just so happens we be one we're equally in to.

This is one of our favorite tracks, we keep coming back to again and again. We play it in all our sets and feel like we'll be will be playing this for years. It fits nicely into both our daytime and our club sets as it's mellow yet still very danceable.

One thing we like is that this song manages to mix together a bunch of sounds/genres that you don't usually hear together: cellos, a disco beat, dub effects, interesting vocal melodies... and all comes together effortlessly.

It's almost more of a remix than an edit, as he completely transform the song into a new thing.―Poolside

Apr 5, 2012
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Brennan Green is spinning tomorrow night at Let's Play House alongside another Classic Cuts contributor, Ital, which reminded us that we've been meaning to tap him for a track selection of his own. The Canada-born, NYC-based DJ and producer of colossal talent opted to lob us one hell of an unexpected song, though we can't say we're too surprised as Mr. Green is notorious for being against the grain (and we say that with only love and affection).

I've always thought of disco as a bridge of two musical worlds, classical and popular. Always believing that, in order to make a piece of music immortal, it has to be universal, regardless of style. Through my experiments with sound and harmony I've found myself in summertime, that is, George Gershwin's "Summertime." One of the most covered songs in the history of music and one of the finest songs ever written. The first time I heard it, it was as if the colors of all my previous musical interests spilled out of the speakers onto the floor at my feet. I could hear Americana encapsulated: hip-hop, funk, house, techno and ambient, as if the jig was up! This instrumental of "Summertime" could be Gershwin's spiritual folk lullaby; I'm all about Americana music.―Brennan Green

Apr 3, 2012
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Categories: CultureOCF

Brooklyn-by-way-of-San Francisco indie dance rockers Lemonade have been keeping a pretty low profile since their debut, 2009's self-titled LP (or long EP, depending on how you look at the six tracks), but that doesn't mean the trio hasn't been keeping busy! They just released a sublime new single called "Neptune" from the forthcoming full-length, Diver (True Panther), which hits shelves on May 29.

We sat down with the guys for our third installment of Check-Up to chat about their travels over the past few years, the non-musical activities they've been partaking in, and how to chow down on the road.

Hometown: San Francisco

Describe your sound in two words: Clear water

What was the last city or country you traveled to and why?: The last place we went together was to Brazil to play a handful of dates around the country. We stayed for a month, mostly in São Paulo, sometimes writing music, and often gazing out at the grey high rises, helicopters, and fires. Somehow it was less relaxing than New York. São Paulo looks kinda like a post-apocalyptic Los Angeles... like T2. It was a beautiful month though.

What was the last album you listened to in full (and why did you like it)?: It was perhaps John Talabot's ƒIN. It is not often that producers today reference '94 style Balearic techno and progressive house/proto-trance which is really fun, but when you listen to the record it sounds fresh and modern as well.

Last great book you read: Midnight In the Garden of Good and Evil makes Alex wanna visit Savannah, Gergia.

Favorite meal to have while on the go: Burritos are the best for this, but if you eat the whole thing you don't really want to go anywhere so it is best to eat half and eat the other half when you get home.

Something you always carry in your pocket: Just survival basics like iPhone and keys. Having things in your literal pockets feels awful unless it's the jacket pocket, which is useful for smuggling.

Best way to pass the time while traveling: Starting endless amounts of track ideas in Ableton if you are stuck in a van, but, otherwise, the best way to pass the time is to eat and drink and watch people pass by you through sunglasses.

Best (or worst) live performance experience from the last year: After reworking our live set so that it was significantly more MIDI-operated we attempted to play a show at the Bowery Ballroom having had way too little practice. Instead of practicing, we were troubleshooting, then instead of sound-checking, we troubleshot some more. When we went to play, it was literally terrifying knowing that we hadn't yet made it through the live set without complication and there were hundreds of people staring at us, expecting us to pull it all off. Somehow, it went okay, as it always does somehow.

Last crazy show you played: Lemonade has been barely playing at all and mostly just for money for quite a while, but once people know the lyrics and the drops to this album they are going to match a level of craziness that we haven't felt for a while.

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