Afro Monk

Grassroots California is a small indie company that sells custom hats. They have been gaining popularity in the underground bass community as they have a strong presence at music festivals. If you’re into festivals such as Wakarusa, Nocturnal, Emissions, SXSW, WMC, etc… you’ve probably seen quite a few of these hats.

I’m a huge supporter of the company as they help bring light to many artist and sports teams. They are well known for spoof hats for many popular teams. They have a special music line that features big names like Pretty Lights, Lotus, Big Gigantic, Fresh2Death, and many more. I personally sport the Miami Dubphins hat. I’ll be adding quite a few to my collection in the near future and have even been in talks with them for special Afro Monk hat for 2012.

Be sure to check out their website that features not only hats but accessories, t-shirts, pins, and more. Also if you’re out at any of the music festivals you’ll probably see a vending booth. Be sure to know your hat size before you head over there. I promise you that you’ll be wanting to buy at least a few and chances are they might be limited to a certain size since they’ve been gaining such popularity.

Also be on the look out for the possibility of a Grassroots record label…
Much respect and love goes out to the Grassroots California crew!

BUY: Grassroots California

The other day, I came across some tracks by Fractal Sky and was really impressed.  I couldn’t stop listening to his latest track “Not Quite December” which sort of has a “Pretty Lights” feel to it.  It’s def a nice tune to throw the headphones on for and chill but still wanna move.  He uses hip hop samples nicely in his tracks too.  I reached out to him to find out a little more about him so I could share it with you……

Fractal Sky is the latest project of producer/dj Aaron Spence out of Arkansas. In 2003, Aaron began experimenting with early 2000 breakbeat/trance production. He slowly started to grasp the raw low ends of analog synthesizers and super tight breaks and cuts. By 2006 He released his first track under the name “dj FL!P.”  By 2009 his sounds evolved into the slower(bpm), super groovey, tight, emotional, and uplifting sound that he calls “Fractal Sky”.

Beginning in 2010 Fractal Sky moved his production to the LIVE stage. His goal is to create an art that touches people’s hearts and souls. He tries to blend many genres w/ a hiphop base, which he says is reflective of his life, so.. it’s all from the heart! He plans to release another CD this year, but isn’t sure when just yet. He’s currently working on plenty of fresh original beats and is booking some shows in his hometown Ft. Smith, Arkansas and is planning big shows and festivals and will have them booked as confirmations roll through. A current bigger show in the works is Feb 4th, 2011 @ Georges Majestic Lounge in Fayetteville arkansas w/ Vibesquad and Eliot Lipp.

He plans to compete in this year’s “Wakarusa Winter DJ Classic” where djs turn in mixes and production to be voted on in hopes of gaining a spot @ Wakarusa 2011. A huge goal for him in 2011 is to open up his live production more and book shows out of the midwest.  Some of his musical influences include the many things going on in his life, friends, family, technology, festivals, art, and nature.

Make sure to follow him on facebook to stay in the loop about upcoming shows and releases: Fractal Sky

For booking, email: thisisaar0n@hotmail.com.

Here’s a few of his hot tracks i pulled from soundcloud.com/fractal-sky.  Grab the free downloads!

Fractal Sky – Not Quite December

Fractal Sky – Trash Talk

Fractal Sky – Laser99

-EA

EA@afromonk.com

soundcloud.com/Ericluvsmusic2

Having missed most of EOTO’s late-night set at this past summer’s Wakarusa, I was ready and waiting to settle into a long night of free-form, fully-improvised electro and dubstep from the side project of  Michael Travis and Jason Hann, both of The String Cheese Incident. Before they took to the Zydeco stage, a familiar face beat them to it – Alabama’s own White Noise, also known as Grant Willis. I’ve seen Grant perform quite a few times now, but he always has something in his set that surprises me; this time it came in the form of a remix of Nit GriT’s “Grit Shifter”, a track I’ve played on my radio show as one of my personal favorites. Lighting by March One Music added to excitement as the crowd eagerly awaited the main act.

As I mentioned, I hadn’t had the chance to witness a full EOTO set yet and really didn’t know what to anticipate. The duo’s love for live improvisation guaranteed a journey through multiple genres — but I had no idea what I was in store for. To explain it best, I think I’ll quote the wide-eyed kid I ran into during the 15 minute set break, describing his take on EOTO’s performance; “It’s like I have no idea how we got to where we are now but I sort of remember where we came from and even though the two are on opposite ends of the spectrum it sort of seems like we’re where we’re supposed to be, when we’re supposed to be there.” Heady? Maybe. True? I think so.

If I had recorded EOTO’s entire set, then broken it up and played in back out of order, I honestly believe much of the awe-factor would be lost. The composition of the performance as a whole has this inexplicable way of connecting the audience to the performers to such a degree that, as unnamed kid was trying to explain, it is clear that the audience is being intelligently guided through a deliberately mapped journey through sound.

EOTO continue their tour with stops in Charleston, SC and Jacksonville, FL and will ring in the New Year with Dieselboy, Heyoka, NastyNasty, Nit GriT, Freddy Todd, Jantsen and S.P.E.C.T.R.E. at a three-stage extravaganza to be held at City Hall in Denver, CO.

Psymbionic is John Burcham. The man is doing it big in Texas and making his way on the national circuit. He’s definitely on his game right now. He recently rocked out Wakarusa & Sonic Bloom this year. John’s constantly hard at work banging out tunes, running a blog, playing out, and staying on top of the music. This guy has some serious love for this and truly welcoming dude. There is a possibility that I might be moving to Austin and he’s been nothing but helpful and making me feel like this giant move will go smoothly if I end up out there. The best part of doing all this is meeting and connecting with up and coming producers but also getting to know some good people in the process.

Check out some of his tracks and LIVE mix from Wakarusa.

Tracklist:
Siren – Summertime in Oakland
The Beatles – Eleanor Rigby (4Centers Remix)
Ben Samples and Stephan Jacobs – Nano Puppy
NiT GriT – Hyphycide
Masia One – In Di Streets (Ill.Gates+Meesha Instrumental)
Reso and Vent – Rumble
Mimosa – The Unseen
Vibesquad – Janitor
Siren – Stunna
Knight Riderz – Bring It
Eprom – Bubble
Bassnectar – Bass Head
Opiou – Nun Cha Ka
Deadmau5 – Ghosts N Stuff (ProBiotiK Remix)
Tipper – Ton of Bricks
Sound Tribe Sector 9 – EHM (Psymbionic Remix
Ill.Gates – Sweatshop (Subvert Remix)
Akira Kiteshi – Boom N Pow
Bassnectar and Jantsen – Blast Off
Devo – Whip It (Mochipet Remix)
Omega – Ultima Ratio Regum
Stagga – Timewarp (Akira Kiteshi Refix)
Spor – Knock You Down (Eskmo Remix)
Freddy Todd and Elfkowitz – Rage Cage
NastyNasty – Knife Play
Heyoka – Flying Dub Sauce
The Chemical Brothers – The Salmon Dance (Psymbionic Remix)