An Inside Look at Night Swim Radio’s New Comp

If you enjoy diving into experimental hip hop and bouncy future beats, you owe it to yourself to check out Night Swim Radio’s latest compilation The Deep End – Volume 1. Night Swim is a Philadelphia based web radio show that has consistently selected amazing underground artists for their weekly mixes, live showcases and compilation albums. I had the pleasure of hosting NSR’s co-founder and all-around badass, Robert Ritter, for an awesome guest mix on Snack Time, so I reached back out with a couple questions to gain further insight into The Deep End and Night Swim.

Right in time for Night Swim Radio’s 2 year anniversary as one of the best tastemakers in Philly, you guys just dropped one of the hottest compilations of experimental future beats I’ve seen all summer. What has it been like getting this project together?

You’re too kind. We initially were going to try and secure some “bigger” artists for promotional purposes but then realized our first compilation should be from the Night Swim family. We sent out probably 20-30 emails and ended up with 10 artists that we have been promoting for a long time. Everyone involved is super excited to be a part and we can’t wait to keep working with them. Really just honored that they spent time on music for us to release.

How did you pick the title of the compilation, “The Deep End”? How did you tie all of the songs together?

Like our name, Jeff, the other founder, just said “how about The Deep End”? I am not very picky and said sure! We wanted to make it pool related and it just fit. Took about 10 minutes in total to design the cover once I had the name. I wanted to have the compilation run seamlessly and really craft the order but didn’t have enough time. I played the songs back and forth and landed on the order that it is, tried to split up the 3 songs with vocals. I knew I wanted to start with Pold x Baribal because that song is gorgeous.

On the weekly shows and on the new release, you feature lots of local artists who are killing it right now. Who from Philly should definitely be on everyone’s radar right now?

Kilamanzego for sure. She claims she just started producing but I don’t believe her because it is so good! Vendr is another very talented artist. Lastly, godchild makes some impressive music and goes to Drexel, although don’t quote me on that, I might be wrong.

One of your secret talents seems to be connecting artists through NSR to collaborate on tunes. One of your matchmaking successes, Rasiir and Prototyp3, got together on “The Deep End” for the track “Exodus”, which you released ahead of the full comp. How does it feel having such a direct impact on the community?

Oh man, that makes me happier than anything else Night Swim has done. Being from the Midwest, music is very communal. I used to play shows where every band knew each other and supported each other and wanted everyone to succeed. The east coast has been pretty different but I can’t get away from that desire, to help artists meet new people and grow together. The next compilation is going to be 100% collaborative, bringing together vocalists and producers.

What’s the most valuable lesson you’ve learned in your 2 years as founder/co-producer of Night Swim Radio?

Just trying to not care about followers and play count. Although it definitely helps to have thousands of plays, the point is creating a quality radio program and meeting and promoting new artists. You can get so wrapped up in wanting more followers and grow bitter but you have to remember that the whole point of this is to bring joy to the world, at least for me!

What do you have planned for the future?

The compilation was just the start of our newest venture, Night Swim Records. We have an EP from Prototyp3 coming out in August, definitely something with Rasiir in the works, we always release new singles through our soundcloud, and starting to plan out the next compilation!

To find out more information and keep up with new releases from Night Swim Radio, check out their brand new website, Soundcloud, Twitter, and Facebook.

Movement 2017 Recap

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Josh Wink on the Movement Main Stage

Photo credit: Peter Liu

Movement Electronic Music Festival’s 11th year kicked off to a start on a beautifully sunny day this past Memorial Day Weekend.

Ahead of the festival, Detroit Mayor Mike Duggen had officially declared the week of May 22nd-29th as ‘Detroit Techno Week’. This is the one exciting time of the year that people from all around the world come to celebrate and take part in Detroit’s culture as the birthplace of techno music. 

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Chattin’ with Deeper Kenz (100% Silk)

Our friend & anonymous producer Deeper Kenz just put out a fantastic tape on the always-excellent LA-based label 100% Silk. They put together a disco-laced mix for us and we chatted about wandering, relationships, and of course, Kensington.

Peep the mix & our discussion below:

KDU: Where did the Deeper Kenz alias come from?

Deeper Kenz: The name of the project was meant simply to pay homage to the place in which the music was made. I first moved to Kensington in 2007 and was 19 at the time. I feel like I became an adult there. I owe a lot to the neighborhood and its different residents.

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KDU: How did Philadelphia influence the sound of this tape?

Deeper Kenz: The Sound of Philadelphia is a wonderfully dense landscape and so many parts of it have affected me deeply- the city’s towering contributions to Soul, Disco, and Hip hop, the Experimental and Noise music communities of which I was a peripheral part, the Saturdays of Caribbean music on WKDU, the talented people I DJ’d with at clubs and parties, the dancers there- I felt so connected to and inspired by all of this while I was working on the tracks that would end up on the tape. I spent so many hours wandering around the city but I was always most attached to Kensington. The track names were an attempt to create a map of some of the details of the area that were most important to me.

KDU: Were there any artistic influences that went into Deeper Kenz?

Deeper Kenz: I was obsessively digging for Techno, House, Disco, Funk, and Soul tunes at the time I was working on these, so I’m sure I was fully processing my education. I also was trying to make music I could play out Djing and would fit in the context of my sets. I was also inspired by the personal relationships I had at the time and the inexhaustible current of music flowing through so many of them. I hope the gratitude I feel shows in the music.
KDU: How did you get involved with 100% Silk?
Deeper Kenz: I got in touch with 100% Silk through some mutual friends- Britt Brown had written a review of another project of mine and we first began corresponding about that. He was interested when I told him I had some music that sounded vaguely appropriate for the label and I was ecstatic when they agreed to release it. I hadn’t exactly intended for these recordings to come out- they were just for myself and my friends. All this comes as a pleasant surprise.

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KDU: What is your favorite food and/or drink to eat before or after hittin tha club?
Deeper Kenz: Ha- thanks to everyone at W/N W/N who fed me whether I asked for it or not.

Pour yourself a nice covfefe & enjoy the full Deeper Kenz tape here.

I’M OUT, PHILLY! I’M OUT! HERE ARE SOME TRACKS I DIG.

Your pal DJ Es here – and I have some important news.

I’m moving out this week. I’m headed back to where I came from. I’m looking forward to full-time employment, no more homework, and even longer bike rides. Living with my parents until I can find a place of my own. Rummaging in the men’s section at Goodwill and finding middle school lacrosse jerseys from the kids who used to make fun of my name. You know, all that good stuff that comes with the next stage of life.

Despite all this hope for the future, it hits me. I’m. Leaving. Philly. My home for the last 5 years. And, since my record collection has quadrupled in size in that timespan, I figured I’d round up a handful of my favorite Philly cuts. Where you live influences what you like, after all….

Panic Buttons – O Wow

First heard on The Philly Sound Get Down – a CD comp put out by Funkadelphia Records. Dug the original 45 at Sit n Spin Records.

[youtube https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9R2vqUucFUg&w=1280&h=720]

This is an incredibly LOUD 45. Funky horns and chicken-scratch guitar. Currently getting my saxophone out from under my bed and playing along.

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Interview: The Body

“No, no, yes, maybe, no, no, all humans are despicable. Peace.”

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The Body will always hold a special place in my heart because they were the first band I heard who showed me that “metal” or “whatever” isn’t limited to fast minor guitar riffs and double kick pedals (no offense intended to the proponents of aforementioned). I got the chance to ask Chip King and Lee Buford a few questions after their most recent show in Philly, which diverged from their past guitar-and-drums sets into borderline harsh noise territory, which was SICK despite a thoroughly ambivalent response from the blackgaze crowd waiting to see Alcest. This is also the first time I’ve ever tried to interview a band so I apologize for any weird stammering below.

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Creepoid Comes To Underground Arts This Friday

— By Carolyn Hanes

 

Psychedelic fuzz wall of sound hypnotic blah blah blah. Common descriptors for many of the records and bands I love. But maybe it’s not enough for you. Maybe you need more than a general idea of psych rock. Of face melting fuzz. But that’s why the unique aspects of these bands, Creepoid, Ecstatic Vision, Purling Hiss, Spirit of the Beehive – I mean have you seen Kurosawa’s “Dreams”? Dreams, magical realism, one man’s imagination – You follow the path these dreams take you on and yet all are so wildly unique and extreme.

These bands draw you in, they blend comforting elements of these psychedelic fuzz genres with such unexpected punches of rage, voids of silence, lyrical daggers, haunting harmonies. There’s what you know, and what you don’t know. And to see these bands all in one show, it’s hard to imagine where the experience will take you. So don’t assume. Just let the dreams take you.

 

This post will be expanded with images and commentary from Friday nights show.  Stay tuned!

WKDU Feature: Kevin Garrett

— Interview by Ryan Stone

 

You may not have heard of him yet but you probably will soon.

Kevin Garrett, a singer-songwriter/multi-instrumentalist from Pittsburgh by way of Brooklyn, has had quite an impressive few years, from getting cosigns from Sam Smith & Katy Perry to songwriting and producing for Beyoncé – and all off the strength of one EP and handful of singles.

Just last month (February), Garrett dropped his awaited sophomore project, another EP entitled “False Hope.” To support the album, Garrett embarked on his first headlining tour with openers A R I Z O N A.

Before his sold-out show at World Cafe Live on Friday, March 3rd, I had the opportunity to speak with the budding “odd soul” artist to see how his new music is coming along and much more.

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