From the circus-like beach boardwalk to the serenity of the canals, Venice, California truly is where art meets crime. Amongst all of the visual stimulus, we find raw beauty at every corner. A place where progressive lifestyle and simplicity colide. So come take an audio tour of Abbot Kinney’s old stomping grounds. Enjoy the weather and come with us, where it is always fresh + sunny.
Listen to the mix below, download for free or stream from their Soundcloud page here.
Fly O Tech is Demian Muller and Ernesto Yoga who hail from Chile and Switzerland. They have delved deep into the realms of Deep House, Nu Disco, Rock, and Tech House, bringing a new flavor that almost seems to channel Fred Falke’s guitar and the upbeat energy of Bag Raiders. Fly O Tech stands alone however in their traditional meets new age sound that makes us want to dance like crazy. Whether you are lost in an after party or looking at photos from your travels, you won’t be able to shed the shiver that travels through your body as you listen to Spacetacula or Wind On My Life. The rest of the album is absolutely amazing and we feel extremely lucky to be featuring them on Witness This. Listen to some samples below and make sure to visit them on soundcloud to hear more.
One of the most intriguing cities in the world that I haven’t visited yet has to be Tel Aviv, Israel. I have a friend who traveled there and said it was one of the most stunning (due to girls and scenery), exciting cities he has ever spent time in. Tel Aviv seems to be fueled by its culture and of course its music. When you listen to Guy J, you understand why the place is so alive.
Tonight, I find myself lost in ‘creatively-charged-design land’ and I owe it all to Guy J. His sets are smooth yet fiery making you want to dance, but keeping you grounded. I will let the music speak for itself, we have hours and hours of it here for you and if you want more, make sure to pay him a visit on his soundcloud. While you’re there drop him a comment and let him know that across the ocean we all are dancing.
No matter if you witness the grandeur of the sun kissing the horizon on the front or back nine of your evening, it’s impact is the same. Life seems to stand still, if just for a few minutes. Conversation stops. You forget what you are doing and pause to take in its beauty. The sky painted pastels and the surrounding mountains defined in the alpineglow. Simply put, it’s the Golden Hour. It happens twice a day and your life is richer the more you witness it.
This series of mixes was inspired by the emotion evoked by this time of day. Acting as bookends to your evening; one for dusk to warm you up and one for dawn to not go softly into that good night. Enjoy……
Visit FreshandSunny’s Soundcloud for the set lists and to download the mixes for free.
soundcloud.com/freshandsunny/dusk
soundcloud.com/freshandsunny/dawn
Artwork by Dersu Rhodes
Dear Music Diary,
When I set out in January to make a mix every month in 2012, I didn’t realize what I was getting myself into. WAY more work than I ever thought and a lot of bumpy roads to cross. That being said, I am keeping my word to you music diary and doing this. Thank you for being there for me always.
Creatively we often, if not always, work off inspiration. Those of you who choose to create, whether passion project or as career, know that this kind of thing just doesn’t happen as often as we would like. So, when we FEEL it, we have to DO it. This mix was inspired from the place within me that I have really gotten to know of late, a place that I have often quieted down in the past. However, understanding is not created by light alone, we must tap into our darkness or we may never truly know ourselves. To understand light, we must know dark. I invite you to check out some music that not only reminded me of this but is helping pull me out of the fog. Come meet The Dark Passenger. He’s your buddy, don’t be scared.
Photo Credit: Dawn Alexander
Album Cover Artwork: Nik Atkins
Download the mix for free by clicking Download on the soundcloud set above. And make sure to visit freshair on soundcloud here.
soundcloud.com/i-am-freshair
Within the first thirty seconds of pressing play on Bear Mountain’s first track off of XO, their first LP I get really excited. It’s got the layering of The Avalanches, the big anthem feel of Passion Pit, the basslines of Tanlines and its own special powerful ingredients all mixed together in one electronic-rock-synth emotionally charged landscape. It’s hard to completely put a finger on the genre of music as the album travels from minimal house, to Fisherspooner-esque electro salsa beats. Ian Bevis’s vocals add a sing along quality to XO.
Bear Mountain is made up of Ian Bevis and Kyle Statham both from Vancouver, British Columbia Canada. The band has caught the attention of the city and their audience is growing every day. Just last week Bear Mountain played in Stockholm, Sweden opening for Van She.
I caught up with Ian at The Keefer in Vancouver last month and had the opportunity to share a beer with him leaned up against a brick wall outside of the bar. This type of interview has proven to be the most fun. The combination of a few drinks and Ian’s relaxed, engaged, positive energy made this interview one of my favorites to date. A structured interview was far from what took place, and within moments any questions that I had written down to ask were replaced with conversation that energetically shot back and forth.
Ian is one of the nicest people you will ever meet. His calm demeanor isn’t one of shyness, but instead of politeness and authenticity. He knows that he is a part of something special. He’s played in several other bands throughout his career, however Bear Mountain seems to be different from most of the other projects. The songs developed from Garage Band to Ableton and Ian then began to record his vocals and slowly Bear Mountain was birthed. Ian asked Kyle to listen to some of the initial recordings and immediately Kyle was hooked and the two recorded the album alongside Doug Wells and Greg Bevis.
The touring part initially didn’t exactly go quite as well as the recording did. Ian recalls their first concert, “I played a couple shows by myself, I was just playing the songs on Ableton and I was singing, and then had a kick drum.” Ian leans back against the wall and shakes his head then starts laughing as he recalls the next part of the story. “It didn’t really go that great, the next band up was called The Wizards and half way through my set the crowd started chanting, “Wizards, Wizards, Wizards.”
Ian quickly realized that he had to put a band together and Kyle and Doug Wells joined him for the next live show and Bear Mountain found its footing.
It’s certain that big things are in store for the band as trips to LA to meet with record labels, as well as a small tour in Europe keeps the momentum moving forward. I had the opportunity to see Ian again a few weeks later as he caught a few days of vacation with his girlfriend Gina in Berlin. I had the chance to ask him what he sees happening next with the project. I see his eyes move off behind me, scanning the cobblestone streets, and sunny building tops of Berlin. “I would love to move here and just live here, writing during the day and getting inspired by night.” Something tells me this isn’t a far off dream for Bear Mountain, the energy of Ian and the project feels right for Berlin, or Vancouver, or really anywhere amazing music lives.
mybearmountain.com
soundcloud.com/bearmountain
