Altered Zones

Teen Daze says:
Dylan lost his keys the first night I met him. Dylan wore this old 80s looking wind-breaker for the majority of the time I spent with him. Dylan sound checked "Something About Us" at a garage show I played with him. Dylan has a southern accent, and it's charming and seems like it comes from another time. Dylan and his frequent collaborator Rachel drove me to LA from San Francisco, and along the way we watched Youtube videos on Rachel's iPhone. Dylan makes music under the name Persona La Ave and he is my friend.

MP3: Persona La Ave: "Willcave"

You can download Persona La Ave's first EP at his Bandcamp

Janka Nabay says:
This first song, "Bo Sabi Dance" is a form of Bubu from the villages in Sierra Leone. It was recorded by a Peace Corps worker in the '80s in Songo, the Western area of Sierra Leone. The style of the song is called "Tegbe", which is a newer version of Bubu. Bubu is ancient, and faster. "Tegbe" means "easy" or "slow" in Temne, my language. So this is a slower, newer version of the original Bubu, but the instruments are the same. They don’t really have names; they’re flutes made from bamboo cane. Bubu boys travel in Freetown from Union Street to 34th Street; they play this music until they’re tired-- end to end, from the beginning of the town to the end.  

The Temne people own the Bubu and Tegbe music; they are the originators. In the past, Bubu was played at Ramadan. Nowadays, we Sierra Leoneans play Bubu and Tegbe on April 27th, which is Independence Day. This transfer from Ramadan to Independence Day happened after I brought Bubu to the twelve tribes of Sierra Leone. 

I was the first Sierra Leonean to record Bubu properly (during the war), but it’s still going on. New Bubu in Salone (Sierra Leone) sounds like "We Yone Culture" by Pa Follah. "We Yone Culture" is culture music!  I taught Pa Follah everything he knows about music. They call him Pa Follah because he "follows" (follah) me and my work in the Bubu.  Pa Follah is the prince of Bubu and I am the king.

MP3: Tegbe Players of Songo: "Bo Sabi Dance" (1987)

MP3: Pa Follah: "We Yon Culture"

Photo of Bubu boys in Freetown by Vanessa Wruble. "Bo Sabi Dance" field recording is available via Sounds of Salone

Ekhi Lopetegi of Delorean says:
This was originally posted by our friend K**O on Desparrame. It caught my attention right away because of the pitched-up sample base and the quiet mood of the song. Main Attrakionz are Squadda B and Mondre, and they come from the Bay Area. Like Lil B, they sound lo-fi and based, but I'd say they're more special than that. This won't make you dance, but it'll probably feel good after a party session. I am just sad that my English isn't quite good enough to get their lyrics. Oh, they've got a mixtape called 808s and Dark Grapes that you should hunt for, too!

MP3: Main Attrakionz: "Legion of Doom"

Taraka Larson of Prince Rama says: 
Screw chill wave, aloha kill wave. The first time we saw Sewn Leather was on an infernal summer night at Bo Diddley's old house in Gainesville. Never since have we felt that close to the limits of our own mortality and immortality simultaneously. His shows aren’t performances so much as bloodletting rituals. A spontaneous group-trance ceremony transpires from a multitude of sweaty limbs, heads, and feet-- stomping, swaying, punching, pulsing, and hypnotized into one singularly-thinking-entity by infectiously minimal bass beats, seemingly ground to a pulp by the teeth of some odious beast. Griffin Pyn is the demonic spirit, the martyred victim, and the shaman that heals and exorcises us all through his sonic sacrifice. This song is the ghost-modern jam.

MP3: Sewn Leather: "Monotone Killer"

Sewn Leather cassette is out now on Night People

Ripley Johnson of Moon Duo & Wooden Shjips says:
Purling Hiss is a band from Philadelphia with Mike Pollize from Birds of Maya. It may or may not be a solo project. I don't know anything about how their self-titled album was conceived or recorded, which is just as well because it reminds me of some of my other favorite mystery rock albums, like High Speed and the Afflicted Man's Get Stoned Ezy, or any Les Rallizes Dénudés or Vermonster records-- not necessarily in style or attack, but certainly in spirit. This is full-on destroyer guitar rock, with a palpable sense of nothing to lose and everything to prove. To me, it sounds like a serious, sincere statement-- and you don't hear that everyday.

MP3: Purling Hiss: "Almost Washed My Hair"

Purling Hiss is sold out on Permanent Records and out now on CD via Archive Recordings

Christelle Gualdi of Stellar Om Source says:
Total passion! Such overwhelming fantasies! This track is so epic and soooo sensual, melting, uplifting. It's almost too much! Teen Inc. are exploding the L.A. scene (and beyond), redefining the whole game. Their music brings joy and faith. Never think that everything has already been done, because at any moment, something can come along and expand your musical horizons forever! The production is tops, the rhythm so challenging and inspiring. The first two minutes of this song somehow manage to touch upon all the key moments in 70s and 80s jazz/rock/pop. Even the final second is a masterwork! Daniel and Andrew are making history in Los Angeles. I'd give everything to live in the Fountains world.

MP3: Teen Inc.: "Fountains"

Fountains 7" is available at teen-inc.net

Lizzi Bougatsos of Gang Gang Dance says:
This is my summer jam. I hear this drum beat EVERYWHERE even in my own music especially when I was makin my record. I love the playfullness between Princess and Donaeo. Apparently there is a SOCA version that's pretty tite but I haven't found that yet. Princess has a sick voice like old LIL KIM or something but with a sexy swagg.  It's bout a nite out n gettin down!  WAT ELSE IS THERE? HALLO!

MP3: Donaeo & Princess: "Party Hard (Remix)"

Twin Sister says:
Lost Boy is not riding a chillwave. He's looking over his shoulder expecting to catch a glimpse of the grim reaper. If he had his own cartoon (and he should), he'd be drawn with little stress lines over his head like Migrane Boy or a Mike Judge character. He's not depressed or anything like that, but he gets his heart broken pretty often, and he might have taken some bad acid recently. Maybe that's why he's always got his sunglasses on. He'll be alright, he's just feeling kinda creepy.

MP3: Lost Boy: "Fast Burn"

Lost Boy's new album, MTV, is available now at Oh No Kind Spirit