Jeff Hanneman 1964-2013
Imagine yourself, 16 years old, dirty, riding around in your friend’s rusty pick-up listening to warbled Sabbath tapes, smoking dumpster weed, and generally not giving a fuck– until he pulls out a half-mangled Reign in Blood cassette. Your life was never the same after hearing those first ten seconds of adrenaline pumping, tallboy-induced thrash magic that is “Angel of Death.” Then, that middle part with the chugs and grit comes on and Tom is screaming, “WHEN YOUR BLOOD STARTS TO BOIL,” and you power-frown for the first time ever. You buy a guitar and hang posters of Dimebag, Kerry and Jeff, Hammett, Ian, Mustaine, etc., and these are those you see as larger than life – Gods amongst men – ageless guitar exemplars. Yep, that’s the story of most Slayer fans, or anyone who grew up on metal.
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By Chad Gorn Posted in Features Jeff Hanneman, Slayer
With Coachella 2013 done and in the books we thought we’d give you a more in-depth look at the many varied and awesome sites of this year’s festival. We give you a big picture look at Coachella 2013. This includes some of our favorite photos of Vampire Weekend, Puscifer, How to destroy angels_, Nick Cave, Grimes and many many more. Until next year and the inevitable speculation of the 2014 lineup, here is our last look at Coachella 2013.
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By Raymond Flotat Posted in Features coachella 2013, Grimes, How to destroy angels_, Puscifer, rodriguez, Vampire Weekend, Violent Femmes
It seems everywhere you turn these days, Icona Pop’s infectious brand of high-energy, emotion riddled electro-pop can be found. From soda commercials, to an episode of Girls, their music sets the scene. The duo is made up of members Caroline Hjelt and Aino Jawo, both from Sweden. The ladies sat down with mxdwn during their hectic time at SXSW music festival in Austin, Texas to discuss best friends, touring around the world, not making mistakes in the studio, the new album, and a killer sense of fashion.
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By Sania Parekh Posted in Features Icona Pop, SXSW
Fresh from their headlining slot at week one of Coachella 2013, French band Phoenix, beloved of hipsters the world over, played a short, intimate set to a gathering of prize-winners at the Red Bull Sound Space at KROQ Studios in Los Angeles, CA.
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By Marv Watson Posted in Features, Los Angeles KROQ, Los Angeles, Phoenix
Zebra Katz is the creation of artist Ojay Morgan. Coming from a unique background of performance art, he brings together minimalism, rhymes, and live shows that are explosions. His music has been featured during Paris Fashion Week, and he’s also shared the stage with a diverse set of names including Lana Del Ray and Diplo. Ojay sat down with mxdwn during his second time back at SXSW music festival in Austin, Texas to discuss sounds, the lost element of performance, an awesome new music video and the fine line between music, fashion, and art.
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By Sania Parekh Posted in Features SXSW, Zebra Katz
K.I.D.S. is duo Rosanna Munter from Sweden, and Charles Cave from the U.K. Together they create lush synth-pop sounds with a serrated rock n’ roll edge. They sat down with mxdwn during their first set of live shows ever at SXSW music festival in Austin, Texas to talk influences, coming together to make music, recording, and their debut album that is currently in the works.
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By Sania Parekh Posted in Features k.i.d.s., SXSW
Charli XCX hit the ground running at this year’s SXSW, playing multiple showcases and partying just as much. mxdwn caught up with the singer-songwriter amidst all the chaos.
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By April Siese Posted in Features Charli XCX
Los Angeles quartet Kitten played a wide variety of SXSW showcases, including a set with touring buddies Paramore. mxdwn caught up with frontwoman Chloe Chaidez and keyboardist Bryan DeLeon during their busy SXSW schedule to talk about their forthcoming LP and their most memorable SXSW experience this year.
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By April Siese Posted in Features Bryan DeLeon, Chloe Chaidez, Kitten, SXSW
SXSW 2013 is over. This year, we may have outdone ourselves. For our 2013 coverage we reviewed a whopping 89 shows. That’s right, eight of us ran all around Austin for five days until we were all so tired we could barely stand. In this, our sixth time ranking the best acts we saw at SXSW 2013, we were powerfully reminded how the South by Southwest Music Festival is the best collection of music talent on Earth. In 2012 we picked Santigold as Best New Artist. In 2011, it was Odd Future who delivered the eye-opening goods. The Sleepy Sun blew us away in 2010. And in 2009, Akron/Family were the heart-warming center of the universe. This year, reality lived up to the hype and our team universally championed Haim as the best new act. Read more…
By admin Posted in Features Amanda Palmer, Billy Bragg, bleeding rainbow, haim, Icona Pop, IO Echo, SXSW 2013, The Afghan Whigs, The Flaming Lips, the joy formidable, The Smashing Pumpkins, Usher, Yeah Yeah Yeahs
How many people do you know who can say that they have partied with both Sid Vicious and Joe Strummer? How about collaborating with Red Hot Chili Peppers and Ice T? How many musicians do you know who can play virtually any instrument, have produced music in virtually every genre, and have their own iTunes-esque music distribution network? It could be none other than the creative tour de force known as Keith Levene, which is why we were thrilled to sit down with him and discuss his new solo album, The Search for Absolute Zero, and the process of turning thin air into hit records.
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By Ryan Stabile Posted in Features Keith Levene
