MARK JOHNS - BEFORE YOU & MOLINO + MOLINO EP DUE 10/28

If you haven't been following the Mark Johns saga developing over the last year then you need to catch up quick. This talented singer/songwriter has been developing her sound through break out hits with the likes of Alexander Lewis & Brasstracks in "5 South," the amazing "Imposter" with Bearson, and an awesome Amy Winehouse cover of "Rehab," which have all led to her being the first vocalist signed to Skrillex's label OWSLA. Flash forward, we're stoked to see the announcement of the Molino EP due 10/28 along with a taste of what's to come in these two gems "Before You" and "Molino." Now before you throw up your trap arms from what you would normally expect from an OWSLA record, Mark Johns is setting a completely different tone. As a bold and possibly a stroke of genius move, she wanted a raw and impactful type of EP to be her debut; exposing her emotional inner artist before she evolves and progresses. Both singles draw from the rough experiences she went through after she first moved to LA. Drawing from that emotional time in her life, the lyrics and melodies draw us close to her sensitivities in a way that is wholly endearing. It takes real guts to come right out of the gates with records like these, and it definitely shows off the maturity she already has as a young artist. Mark Johns is showing us that you don't have to shove down the door to the music industry with guns a-blazing to break through. Instead, success can come from politely strolling in and putting your heart on the line. You can download and watch the music videos for these two songs at her website. 

PROMISES LTD. - DAYS OF LAVENDER (AMTRAC REMIX)

I cannot tell you how excited I am for our annual Halloween party Deadly Disco, and this year is going to be bananas! With a killer lineup and amazing 4000 cap venue - we'll be dancing the night away for one of San Francisco's biggest parties of the year! Deep house legend Amtrac is featured on this year's bill and I am over the moon! Amtrac is such the homie and I have not seen him since our show together last summer - so we're overdue for the hangs! He's released this bad ass remix of "Days Of Lavender" by Promises Ltd. that's filled with that sexy disco groove signature Amtrac sound that we tend to swoon over! Advance tickets to Deadly Disco are still on sale, but they are moving quick to if you're in the bay area ... get on this!  

PANG! - CIGARETTE FEAT. CAMERON DOUGLAS

PANG! is somehow a group that wasn't on my radar. I got an email regarding this new single, and I instantly had to do some research. While this Swedish duo has remained in relative ambiguity, they've put up some insane numbers on Spotify with "Walking in the Sun" raking up 23 million streams and 524,329 monthly listeners. Their newest is a rework of a song they found through an online video posted from the featured vocalist Cameron Douglas. "Cigarette" is a joy to listen to with beautiful acoustic guitar work, folksy style vocals and tropical bells and xylophones. This song is a chilled out delight and is mellowing out my hump day. Oh and just check out that cover art from Faustroll Garden. Out via Dirty Soul can stream/buy this single here. 

[NEW SHOW] LEMAITRE + CHET PORTER + COUCHERON // OCTOBER 20 @ REGENCY BALLROOM // SAN FRANCISCO

Surprise! This one is coming up quick, but cannot be missed!  We've jumped on this Lemaitre date because supporting our homies is what we do best! Goldenvoice & Noise Pop are bringing this Norwegian funky electro pop duo to the Regency Ballroom on October 20th with our love Chet Porter and Coucheron! A limited amount of advance tickets are still on sale, so swoop them while they last! See all you beautiful people there!   

[PREMIERE] KISO - SO LONG (FEAT KAYLA DIAMOND)

It's been a minute, but we're super happy to have our boy Kiso back on our pages. In case you missed it Kiso has put together a monster year with huge number remixes on his Mike Posner cover of "I Took A Pill in Ibiza," and DJ Snake's "Middle" both featuring a singer Kayla Diamond.  Hey if you've got a good thing why change it right? So today we are super pleased to premiere a new original "So Long" with vocals from...you guessed it Kayla Diamond! I asked Kiso to give me some insight into the making of this song, "So this song started way back in May of 2015 as an Instrumental with my main guitar guy/vocal engineer Ashton Price. It took us like 3 hours to place the guitars for some odd reason and by the end of it the time was 3am. So for about a year we shopped it around to vocalists as 3am Instrumental mix. Nothing came out of it, then all of a sudden we remembered Kayla... and so we sent it to her and she had some amazing lyrics for it in like 1 hour. I honestly almost gave up on it but then Kayla killed it so we knew we had to release it ASAP" A year and one hour in the making...I think it's time listeners dive into this one. You can download/stream on your favorite retailer here.  

SIDIZEN KING X THE STRIKE - EYE FOR AN EYE

Well this is an absolute treat of a new record from SIDIZEN KING and The Strike. I'm a huge fan of hip-hop, electronic pop crossovers and the dance-ability of this record simply pushes it into overdrive. KING's verses just go down with ease and the chorus vocals courtesy of The Strike's frontman Chris Crabb inspire some definite Michael Jackson comparisons. Lyrically KING states that his verses come from a dark place, a "toxic relationship that felt like perpetual war." However the upbeat energetic nature of the instrumental allows the track to still beam like a light. Relative newcomer SIDIZEN KING already has a hype machine #1 for a cool cover of The Chainsmoker's "Don't Let Me Down" and we have high aspirations for this one. Better hop on this bandwagon now, because it's definitely picking up steam. You can also nab this as a free download here.  

MATOMA - FALSE ALARM (JUSTICE SKOLNIK REMIX)

We were going to premiere this one, but as the story goes, issues with the label and release got in the way big time. It's a mystery why labels struggle to get organized with releases so often ... this yung producer was not even given the courtesy of a fresh soundcloud upload. So, please ignore the age here - it's brand new not 2 months old! I digress, how stoked are we to talk about Bay Area producer Justice Skolnik right now? Bananas good! He's dropped a siiiick remix of "False Alarm" by Matoma that is full of future pop dance vibes with a tinge of that tropical Matoma flavor. Get into this one kids!   

SONS OF MARIA & ANGELIKA VEE - SWEET MADNESS

When I was sent this track - the email simply said "hot as fuck yo" - and with that how could I resist. Sons Of Maria have delivered a very poppy deep house gem that I am feeling this morning ... and yes it is hot af! They have taken the original chord progression of "Elements" by Dinka and re-created this brand new track "Sweet Madness." It's bouncy dance groove and funky melody with a wee bit of tropical flavor is making these last days of my indian summer feel warm and vibrant. Add in vocals from Angelika Vee and boom .... we've been taken closer to heaven with this sweet madness! Out now via Enormous Tunes, and you can swoop it from iTunes HERE! 

KAUF - KEY TO LIFE

One of the greatest feelings I experience is watching some of my most wonderful friends gain success in this very cut throat and saturated industry we all run around in. KAUF is a fabulous singer/songwriter from Los Angeles who I've been besties with for years, and 2016 has definitely been his breakout year. With an album completed and set for release in 2017, as well as killer live set, KAUF is poised for greatness. "Key To Life" is the third single from Regrowth, and this one is following suit with his signature sound - that dark synthy electro pop groove that is more like a spiritual journey rather than a song. Industry is flipping out over KAUF as well, and every time one of my peers brings up his name, I smile and think to myself .... finally people are seeing what I have seen all along. "Key To Life" is currently sitting at #1 on HypeMachine, and waking up to that has made my day! You guys can swoop this track HERE!