Two signs of a mature band hitting their stride and performing at their best in front of a live audience are versatility and crowd-control. Both were on display as Papadosio brought it hard at the House of Blues this past Saturday. This group has carved out a place amongst the best within their genre through years of tireless touring and continual refinement. In doing so, they’ve amassed a die-hard fanbase that always shows up. Exhibiting an original sound and tons of breadth within their talents, Papadosio wins crowds over by playing it both slow and fast. Shows like theirs are a breath of fresh air in this day and age, and as far as I’m concerned there can never be enough good jam and dance music breezing through the Windy City.
Dosio, no stranger to performing in Chicago, hails from Asheville, North Carolina and is currently in the midst of a nationwide tour. A self-proclaimed mixture of progressive rock, psychedelia, folk, electronica, dance, and jam, this quintet is multifaceted. Where some other groups may lose their focus trying out too many things, Papadosio uses this as a strength.  A beautiful autumn day preceded by a tranquil night set the mood for Dosio’s effervescent vibe and I arrived feeling positive and ready to get loose on the dance floor. The ideal mindset one needs to harness and inject this type of music into their soul and let it make its purposed impact.

The show initiated with Papadosio playing it slow. When they ease you into their music the sound seemingly wraps around you and you float into another dimension. With eyes closed, you’ll undoubtedly find yourself rocking back and forth envisioning being cradled in a hammock on another planet amidst ethereal beauty and love. Tunes such as “Find Your Cloud,” “New Love,” and “The Bionic Man Meets His Past,” are textbook examples of the fluttery transformative musical expressions that Papadosio has masterfully taken ownership of. The intricacies in each individual performance intertwined with the energy of the crowd in a synergy that only happens when the band and spectators are all on the same wavelength. While this experience is subjective to each individual, it certainly felt harmonious
From this point on, Papadosio’s live show starts to feel more like a road trip through the mountains. The scenery is nice and you’re cruising in a Rolls Royce Phantom (not that I ever have), but this is how I’d imagine it to feel. You’re on the highway doing 65, it’s comfortable, you’re safe, and the ride is pillowy soft and luxurious. However, when you switch gears and punch the throttle your head is thrown back and your ass is glued to the seat. You’re hanging on for dear life and smiling like an idiot watching the speedometer accelerate to over 160 mph, everything is whipping past you at an alarming rate. What impresses me about Papadosio is their ability to do just that, switch gears without missing a beat to take you from the slow melodies that tip-toe around your senses to the fast beats which grip your soul and takes you on a thrill ride. When they dropped, “Method of Control” the crowd was jumping and jiving. It says a lot about Papadosio’s crowd control and pacing being at a professional level. As I was jamming out and dancing, I glanced to my left and to my right and noticed that every single person was bouncing. The camaraderie and connection was there.
Dosio’s show was complimented by a tight video board display and sharp lighting, never intrusive, but always adding to the music. The atmosphere was on point and The House of Blues deserves  it’s praise of being a well-run venue in Chicago that caters to even the most die-hard music fan’s needs.

Overall I left this show feeling elated; so much so that I stayed around and mingled with strangers for a while outside of the venue and even managed to snap a great pic of some cool people still enjoying their night. Shows such as this are the reason why this genre of music and this culture can be deeply impactful; it’s really about connecting with others, enjoying some great music, and re-discovering our indigenous roots with the help of modern technology, instruments, and production. The jamtronica funky groove masters Papadosio are just the final piece of the puzzle to an inspiring evening. I hope I can catch them again next time they are in town.

Check out all of Papadosio’s sounds on Soundcloud here

 

 
Manic Focus, a TSIS favorite artist we’ve supported since day one is building up hype amongst his long awaited follow up album, which is set to easily be his biggest release to date. The album will be coming out through GRiZ’s Liberated Music label, and today we hear the album’s lead single “Bumpin’ In The Voodoo”, a collaboration with Dominic Lalli of Big Gigantic.The song fueled with a catchy vocal sample is a match made in heaven as both producers styles meld perfectly with Dom’s signature sax setting things off just right. Listen below and look out for a free download coming. Enjoy!
Manic Focus is also on the road with a mixture of headline dates and support plays, see all the dates below the player.

Manic Focus – Bumpin’ In The Voodoo (Ft. Dominic Lalli)

 

Upcoming Manic Focus tour dates.

10/08/14 – House Of Blues w/ Big Gigantic – Cleveland, OH
10/09/14 – The Intersection w/ Big Gigantic – Grand Rapids, MI
10/10/14 – The Pageant w/ Big Gigantic – St Louis, MO
10/11/14 – CrossroadsKC w/ Big Gigantic – Kansas City, MO
10/12/14 – The Canopy Club w/ Big Gigantic – Urbana, IL
10/15/14 – Revolution Music Room w/ Big Gigantic – Little Rock, AR
10/16/14 – Minglewood Hall w/ Big Gigantic – Memphis, TN
10/17/14 – Iron City w/ Big Gigantic – Birmingham, AL
10/18/14 – Track 29 w/ Big Gigantic – Chattanooga, TN
10/24/14 – Tower Theatre w/ Big Gigantic – Philadelphia, PA
10/25/14 – Freaky Deaky @ Masonic Temple w/ Big Gigantic – Detroit, MI
10/28/14 – Lincoln Theater w/ Big Gigantic – Raleigh, NC
10/29/14 – The NorVa w/ Big Gigantic – Norfolk, VA
10/30/14 – The Music Farm w/ Big Gigantic – Columbia, SC
10/31/14 – Eagles Ballroom w/ Grizmatik – Milwaukee, WI
11/02/14 – Voodoo Music Festival – New Orleans, LA
11/12/14 – Culture Room w/ Break Science – Fort Lauderdale, FL
11/13/14 – Orpheum w/ Break Science – Tampa, FL
 
 
Sources – http://thissongissick.com

React Presents continues the tradition of bringing some of the most innovative and forward thinking artists through Chicago to celebrate the inaugural REACTion New Year’s Eve. With critically acclaimed acts Zedd and Porter Robinson the past two years performing to over a combined 18,000 fans, React Presents is thrilled to welcome bass-heavy innovators ZEDS DEAD back to Chicago for a two night New Year’s Eve Run at the Aragon Ballroom.
Tickets go on sale Friday, October 3rd, at 12 PM CST at www.ReactionNYE.com.

The place is Toronto, Canada. Teenagers Zack Rapp-Rovan and Dylan Mamid are introduced – they hit it off immediately over a shared love of classic hip-hop, music production, and digging through crates. It’s 2009 and hip-hop is in a coma. Hooks and DC are about to have an epiphany that will change everything. They want to make people move to their sounds and not just bob their heads, but to grind, heave, shiver, stomp, and dance to their music. They want to capture the camaraderie of house, the heart pummelling thrill of Drum and Bass, the beauty of ambient music, and the heaviness of electro – all in one sound. They want to push boundaries.
In 2013, Zeds Dead have an enormous catalogue that includes remixes for some of the biggest artists out there, and releases with the most credible labels in the game. They’ve accumulated hundreds of millions of views online. They play tours of over 70 dates to hundreds of thousands of people. Fans love their shows, critics love their creativity, and heads love their production. They’re big. Really big.
After a strong string of EPs, singles and mixtapes, Zeds Dead released their Somewhere Else EP July 1st,2014 on Mad Decent. Having already established themselves as one of the most versatile and ambitious acts around, DC and Hooks broke new sonic territory with eight tracks that that cover a wide spectrum of electronic music. Joining the Toronto duo on the record isTwin Shadow for the house anthem “Lost You” which features vocals from D’Angelo Lacy. Jane’s Addiction singer Perry Ferrell made an appearance on closing track “Blink.” Also on the EP are Colorado group Big Gigantic & fellow CanadianOmar LinX for the smooth hip-hop cut “Stoned Capone,” producer and vocalist Bright Lights, New York rapper Sean Price and French DJ/Producer DIrtyphonics. Somewhere Else is their first proper release since l2013’s Hot Sauce EP, which received praise from The New York Times and Billboard among many others, and is another showcase to the diverse yet cohesive sounds that they are capable of producing.
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The story of Krewella starts out like an American fable: Two sisters and one former boyfriend from a Chicago, Illinois suburb form a music group, and using some social media savvy, rocket to fame as headliners of popular EDM festivals worldwide. Unfortunately, now the trouble happens: Kris Trindl, a founding member, is suing sisters Jahan Yousaf and Yasmine Yousaf for at least $5 million for kicking him out of the group and for allegedly violating an oath that dates back to the time when the three had “6-8-10” tattooed onto their bodies.
The history of music is replete with lessons on how breaking up is hard to do, but Trindl’s lawsuit is a unique one that befits an age where electronic music has exploded in appeal. The plaintiff says he went through pains to deal with alcoholism and after he got sober, the Yousaf sisters didn’t like the fact that he wouldn’t party anymore, mistook his condition for depression and began scheming to deny him membership in the group.
The three met as students at Glenbrook North High School.
Kris and Jahan were dating, according to the lawsuit, and Kris’ career was beginning to take off in the Chicago music scene. “One of Kris’ clients for whom he wrote and produced music gave him the stage name ‘Rain Man’, because he predicted his music would bring much success, and so it did,” says the complaint filed in California state court on Monday.
On June 8, 2010, the three are said to have marked “a vow to put aside any other career plans outside of music and commit to Krewella” with tattoos of the date.
The three then moved into a loft together in Chicago and came up with an idea to mix heavy-metal inspired performances with EDM. The sisters would sing on stage while Trindl would stay behind the sound deck as the DJ.
But the huge success would only come after they hooked up with another Glenbrook North High School graduate named Jake Udell, who had gone into marketing and became adept at using social media. Krewella’s success leveraging Twitter and Facebook has been well documented — even the subject of a Billboard profile that told how the group was making ripples in the industry.
Not long after the group self-released its first record and video entitled “Killin’ It,” Krewella signed a recording agreement with Columbia Records.
“From March of 2012 until March of 2013, it was non-stop music, good times and partying for the members of Krewella, and the money started rolling in,” says the lawsuit. “Kris and the Yousaf sisters were public about their drinking and partying, posting on the Internet video dispatches from the road that only served to stoke their popularity with an ever-growing worldwide fan base.”
They moved to Los Angeles, but were hardly there, playing 140 dates last year all over the world. Even though the group was living a “frugal lifestyle” as opposed to Udell, Trindl says the excessive pace began to take a toll on Krewella.
“Kris used alcohol to try to cope with the pressure,” his lawsuit states. “By late summer of 2013, he knew he had a drinking problem and checked himself into a detox program and then a 30-day rehab program.”
While in rehab, he says he produced at Udell’s request a remix of a song called “Alone Together” by the band Fall Out Boy, and after some more time, says he got sober and went back on the road. He reports attending Alcoholic Anonymous meetings and besides two relapses, stayed on the wagon.
“But the Yousaf sisters didn’t like the new, sober Kris, who took care of business but did not party or drink anymore,” continues the lawsuit. “They thought he was depressed, although he explained it was just part of the recovery process.”
In January, Trindl says he moved into a bedroom at Udell’s residence, which from the sounds of the lawsuit, might not have been the best place for a recovering alcoholic. And so begins the foundations of the legal claims.
“At this time, Udell, the Yousaf sisters and others conspired to remove Kris from the group altogether,” says the lawsuit. “Now that the band was successful, they figured they could always hire outside people to write and produce music for far less money than it would cost to continue splitting their income equally with Kris, as they have done (one-third to each member).”
The complaint poses the band’s contractual situation as “even more disorganized and mismanaged than their touring schedule,” with talk of attorneys who worked despite conflicts, a drafted-but-never-signed limited liability company agreement for the band, and registrations of LLCs without a signed operating agreement.
Trindl says he missed a flight to Mexico City this past March to perform at the Electric Daisy Carnival. Thereafter, Trindl says he was ushered into a living room at Udell’s home for a meeting led by an “interventionist,” where others told him to go into rehab.
“But it was not rehab for drinking, because Kris was staying sober,” says the lawsuit. “They demanded he go into rehab for ‘depression.'”
Trindl didn’t think that was necessary, but a day later, he says Yasmine and Udell told him it was time to take a break from the group and get healthy. The DJ/producer says he acquiesced, through still created new music for the group. It didn’t matter, he adds. According to the complaint, “It was not Kris’ health or sobriety the others were thinking about, it was all about keeping him off the road so Jahan and Yasmine could establish themselves to live audiences as a duo without Kris, so they could eventually erase him completely from Krewella and reap greater financial rewards.”
At that point, attorneys began getting involved. Trindl’s presence began being diminished, and after he saw a billboard of the group without his presence, he retained Dina LaPolt and litigator William Hochberg. The other side retained attorney Richard Busch. The two sides went back and forth about whether Trindl’s share of live performance income should be reduced (LaPolt’s suggestion) or whether Trindl should resign from the band, check himself into rehab for 60 days, and then possibly, rejoin the band if the Yousaf sisters allowed (Busch’s alleged insistence).
“Busch’s outrageous September 25th letter, which purported to be an ultimatum, precipitated the filing of this lawsuit,” says the complaint that demands declaratory and injunctive relief plus damages for breach of contract, breach of fiduciary duty and violations of the Lanham Act.

Trindl v. Yousaf, Et Al

Source: Eqiq Gardner at Hollywood Reporter