Cover Artwork (which I don't usually feature but this is so good) by Datahowler himself. Such a Renaissance man.
Happy 420. Or 204, if you're in Europe.
I don't smoke anymore, but everyone I know still does, so this ones for you guys. (It's also for everyone who just likes good music.) You should all be familiar with Datahowler by now, he's the Dallas-based spacey-psychedelic-electro-hip-hop producer (jack of many trades, as you can see). He's just released a live album, recorded at his first show at Club Dada in Dallas on January 15th, and he's giving it away for free on his bandcamp. As we've come to expect from him, it's lush, swelling, occasionally trippy, and always enjoyable. Preview the song Watchtowers below and then head over to his site to download the album a.k.a. your 420 soundtrack.
*If you're in Dallas or thereabouts, be sure to catch Datahowler tomorrow night, playing live at the Granada Theater with Yelle and French Horn Rebellion. For sure a show not to be missed.
You might remember Datahowler from a couple months back. If you don't (you should), he's the Dallas-based spacelectro (space + electro, get it?) master who is helping put Texas electronica on the map. This week's Monday Mixer [the weekly, multi-blog playlist started by Metropolitan Jolt that we contribute to] theme was 'Local Artists.' When I heard the theme I immediately thought of Datahowler, and shot him a request for a song. He went above and beyond and was kind enough to send along an exclusive, unreleased LIVE recording of his two sister songs Of Stars and From Suns. Though on his debut album, Slowdrifter, the two songs are separate, his live show fuses the two in a mist of twinkling keys, blissed-out guitars, and warm bass. This is a perfect representation of Datahowler's range of artistry (he did, after all, play every single one of the instruments on his album). Not only is this a killer live track--the fusion is seamless and silky--but the style incorporates everything from funk to lounge to psychedelic at parts. It's exotic and yet comforting, like a big sandy beach and a just-hot-enough sun.
A week ago I received a track in my dropbox from a certain Datahowler, who described himself a producer/multi instrumentalist which a penchant for vintage sci-fi aesthetic. Seeing as space disco is my favorite genre, I figured I could dig it. Well, as it turns out the song sounds nothing like the type of ‘space’ music I had it mind, but it is just as amazing in its own right. Prophet begins by fading in to a polyphonic, ethereal chorus of “ah’s” undercut by electronic bloops before breaking into soaring synthetic chord progressions held together by unique kick/snare break patterns. It is captivatingly beautiful and indeed otherworldly—its ambient whirls serve to transport you to another time and place. When I snapped out of my music-induced daze, the first thing I did was check to see just who this Datahowler was. That’s when I saw: He’s from Dallas. Finally, I had stumbled upon an independent, self-promoting, inspiringly talented artist right in my own backyard! Of course I then took the next logical step and sent him a frantic email freaking out about how I loved him and we were basically brethren because we were from the same city. Come to think of it I probably sounded like a raging lunatic. Lucky for me he just rolled with it, and here I am today, elated to present you with one of Dallas’ own rising stars.
Datahowler will be playing his first show next Saturday, Januay 15th at Club Dada. If you like what you hear be sure to go out and support him. He’ll be using two MPC’s (here’s an old video of him performing with just one, under a different alias), those little sample devices that I admittedly know nothing about yet am fascinated by, so expect an engaging and unique show rather than the all-too-typical ‘push play on a laptop and go’ type gigs that so many of today’s producers are fond of. Additionally, he just received enough Kickstart funding to finish and package his Slowdrifter album, so keep an eye out for it sometime this month!
