The long awaited return of the Glitch Mob has come to reality. This was the first single released off their upcoming album See Without Eyes (out May 4th!). The first drop is everything you could ever want from a GM song, deep penetrating bass with the overlayers of ethereal synthy magic. This track takes you on a journey. This song found me at a turning point in my life, a time that I allowed myself to surrender to a new love that I was scared to fall into. But hearing this song for the first time, the morning after we shared our first kiss, all of the hesitation went out the window as we asked ourselves "How could this be wrong?" 

The lyrics in this song are so empowering. "Gotta hold on, gonna make it through this time." It's got to be one of the best songs for anyone going through a difficult time. It inspires so much hope and it's just one of those songs that makes you believe that better days are ahead, that it's okay to admit you're a bit broken. But you have to keep moving in order to get to a better place in the future. Aside from that, it has all of the classic Odesza-esque loops and synths which makes it such a beautiful track.

I am absolutely digging everything about Minnesota's new EP Curio. This song is one of the thicker tracks on this mix but it offers a nice contrast from all the bubbly tracks. It just layers on so heavy, and keeps building throughout. Not to mention the funky blips and beeps make you feel like you're exploring the catacombs of the pyramid level in Mario Bros 3. I'm super stoked to catch Minnesota throwing down next week at Digital Gardens! His shows always throw down, and I'm dying to hear this new new live.

I've known this song since it came out in 2014, but I never truly listened to it until this year. It was dropped at the Spring Gathering, making for one of the heaviest beauty banger moments of the weekend. The lyrics (sung by Simon Morel) are highly uplifting, and the message I take from it is not to be afraid to open up to the people around you. I've spent the better part of my young adulthood insistent on handling things on my own. But by being open to help others and be helped by them in return, you allow space for collaboration and new inspiration to spark; ammunition to be loaded so to speak. And, while I haven't been one for love songs until recently, I now find a whole new meaning to the lyric "you're my ammunition" - because finding someone that feeds your passion and supports you is rare and I for one feel unstoppable because of it.

There are almost 50 tracks on this playlist, and I could talk about all of them but instead I'll let you explore the mix for yourself. I hope it brings you breaths of fresh musical air and inspires you to keep moving no matter what. Enjoy!

There is something more to what we are. On the surface, we just look like people carrying out our busy lives. But, there are deeper layers to everything - messages floating all around us. And I want to show you how to listen to them. Your next opportunity is here today during the Super Moon, but I will explain that shortly. 

Why is this important? Well. That’s up for you to decide. If you think it’s at least important enough to keep reading then you must continue. What intertwines us as humans is our pursuit of purpose as it pertains to ourself and the outside world. At some point we will all be faced with the opportunity to believe in more than ourselves. The question is wether you will let it pass you, or let it fill you with inspiration and wonder. ​

Last night my dad and I watched one of the most magnificent skies I’ve seen in a while. The sky is my ultimate source of inspiration; it always changes yet remains constant. Stars, clouds, planets… I could stare into it forever. And the more often I do the more often these other worldly messages find their way to me. I cherish the moments I spend with my dad looking into infinity, and we talked a lot about how it makes so many other problems in life seem insignificant. We both trust in the universe, and no matter how challenging it can be to live in modern society, he reminds me that our roots are intertwined with the divine and ancient ancestors; that our spirits are more special than we are taught to believe.

There have been multiple instances where I was deeply reflecting, working through life in my mind, when a message will come. Such as a feather found on the ground, or a seemingly random (but noticeably stronger) gust of wind, or I’ll hear a far-off chiming sound. To me, these are signs of good luck. Your signs may be different to you, but if you are primarily an Air sign like myself (Gemini, Aquarius or Libra), then you should take more notice in the timing of air elements entering your life. 

One thing to note is that there is always two parts; the messenger (or vehicle) and the message (or meaning). The most recent sign I have received is the fact that tonight is the Gemini Super Moon, meaning the full moon will coincide with the gemini constellation. In addition, Mercury (Gemini’s ruling planet, and the planet of communication) will go into retrograde. Despite the stigmas you may have heard about planetary retrograde, it really isn’t some hoax to roll your eyes at (nor is it an omen for which to place blame). Think of retrograde as a shift in the universal energy - to some it affects like a magnifying glass, to others like radio static. In this scenario, the messenger is the celestial beings themselves, and the message is subjective, but each person will have their own interpretations (and that's what's so great - don't just take my word for what it means to me, infer your own meaning and purpose). ​

No matter what way you look at it, the convergence of these intertwined celestial beings should grab your attention. It’s a curious pattern, and the intellectual energy that Gemini are so prone to can be truly magnified during this time (another note on astrology - just because you weren't born during Gemini season does not mean it isn't present somewhere in your birth chart!). The  energies I'm sensitive to right now are making me feel overly compelled to publish this blog post (even though I hardly feel well-studied enough to write about pseudoscientific topics). It’s my purpose in life to connect to people; I am a social scientist through and through, and I'm curious to see the effect this post will have on some people. I don’t always fully understand how, but I can’t ignore the fact that I’ve given people advice and led them to interests that created a massively impactful chain of events. Sometimes when I give advice it’s as if I lose my sense of ‘self’ and become a messenger for the universe. If you’ve ever had a revelation during a conversation with me, you know I am a natural communicator - almost too natural at times. 

The point is, it is all connected. Every word, every combination of date, location and time, can all be decoded into something purposeful. Today, in particular, is important because it is a great opportunity to think about closure for 2017 and your purpose for 2018. What do you want to achieve? What areas do you want to grow? What gives your life true meaning? To me, life is all about connecting the dots. That’s why I work in the field of communication. It’s why I’ve learned to notice signs of luck, and take them as affirmations that I’m on the right path. It’s not always good, I don’t want to give the illusion that my life is perfect whatsoever. But, I am happy every single day because I choose to be. And I choose to see the good signs and piggyback off of them into even better signs. This is something you can do too, every person is capable of tapping into that universal flow. 

Use the resources out there, let yourself be curious about the convergence of events that makes you special. Look up and learn to read your birth chart, read about your life path number, read about the traits that were engrained with you since your soul met your body. I promise it will offer insight, it will help you understand your faults and weaknesses, and it will help you heal and learn to love who you are and feel confident about where you are going. 2018 is about to be a very powerful year, and now is the perfect time to set some future intentions. Connect more dots within yourself. Communicate with yourself more often, and you will in turn communicate with the universe. 

​Atlanta is about to get a whole lot of bass in its face this week, and if you’re an Atlanta music nerd like I am, you should already know why. The annual celebration of bass, 808 Fest, is returning this year in full force. The festival kicks off at Aisle 5 tomorrow and will take place over four days with headliners including Conrank, Treasure Fingers, and MONO/POLY, as well as performances by local favorites like Mighty High Coup and Scales.

​Speaking of Mighty High Coup, they’re the voices behind The 808 Track - a song which countless Bassnectar fans will be jamming out to properly tomorrow.  August 8th is a national holiday according to Bass Heads, and if it weren’t for that track I may not have grown the same appreciation for the 808 that I have today.

​I can’t think of a better way to celebrate bass music than by gathering with a bunch of ATLiens to do what we do best - and 808 Fest has the 404 covered. Ricky Rothstein, aka Ricky Raw, is not only the mind behind Mighty High Coup, but he's also the founder and producer of 808 Fest. I sat down with him to learn how he jumped into electronic music, the inspiration behind The 808 Track, and what he’s excited about for this year’s 808 Fest.

RJ: Have you always lived around Atlanta?
RR: Mhm, I was born in Clayton County hospital, Riverdale - Southside. I live in Zone 6 right now and have for almost 10 years. Once I was old enough to choose where to live, I’ve pretty much been in East Atlanta.
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RJ: You said you fell in love with bass at a young age?
RR: Yup, I was a bass player at age 12 when I got my first bass guitar for Christmas. Then I started a band with Nick Weiller aka Bro Safari, at the time he was the guitar player, and then the third member Kerry Henderson. We played our very first gig at Samba Reptile at 14 years old. We weren’t really even old enough to be in the venue, but we played around 2AM and the only people there was the band after us. We planned to start a mosh pit at the end of our last song, so I threw down my bass and jumped into the crowd which was like three people. So I got a black eye by some dudes head smashing me in the face, and that was my first live club performance.
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RJ: How did that lead into you getting involved with electronic?
RR: So, when I first started play the bass guitar I was into heavy metal, and that slowly went into punk rock. I went to Independence High School and I got a job across the street at this pizza place with all these Roswell kids who introduced me to drum and bass. And I loved it because before that everything was techno, any type of dance music. And this was in the late 90s so I mean, it really was. It was much more limited than it is today, like 10 years before dubstep existed. So by the time I was 17 I was able to buy turntables, two Technics, 1210s - I think. Then a friend sold me his mixer and gave me a bunch of Joker (not the DJ, the label - which was an old jump up DnB label) and Aphrodite records. So I got into mixing DnB, and then Bro Safari, who was going to college in Alabama, came back to Atlanta to come to some big rave or whatever it was and we chatted again, hadn’t seen each other in a while. He was like ‘I’m spinning drum and bass now,’ and I was like ‘I’m spinning drum and bass!’ When Nick came over, he was just kinda getting into it, and I was transitioning into the darker drum and bass. I spun jump up cause that’s what I had, but I was trying to buy records of the darker stuff. Me and some friends would go every Tuesday and buy all the new stuff at Rewind Records and Satellite Records. And then Nick was more into the jump up stuff so I started showing him more of what I was getting into, and pretty soon after that he started Evol Intent* and then he was a million miles past, production-wise, he just took off. He had Gigantor, and then soon brought on The Enemy, AJ, and made the trio Evol Intent. They put out some great stuff, and we kinda traded gigs. And yeah, that was the beginning of DJing. I started rapping over drum and bass, got into production soon after that, which led to more rapping just naturally as a next move. 

*Evol Intent was a hardstep trio that formed in 2000 which included Mike Diasio (Gigantor) and Ashely Jones (The Enemy) - slated to headline 808 Fest on Wednesday under his alias Treasure Fingers.
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RJ: So then at what point was Mighty High Coup found?
RR: Mighty High Coup started, in my opinion… So we would all go to this rap battle called Mic Club at Apache Cafe, hosted by DRES Tha BEATnik, and I met a lot of rappers there - a lot of really talented people - but, specifically, Mr. SOS and A-Bomb. They had two completely opposite styles. A-Bomb was the most ‘get drunk, get money’ kinda rapper ever, and then SOS was the most hiphop, had a backpack on every time he was on stage and still rocked a Kangol hat. So, to me, I just thought it’d be really cool to have a group where everyone is different. Cause most groups would have very similar styles, and I thought Atlanta was one of the only places that you would have people who are polar opposities work together on a song. I was making lots of beats, and playing around with verses but I wasn’t writing full songs - I was a battle rapper. But then these guys came in and wrote their verse, so you have three battle rapper verses and it starts to feel like a song. So, that’s how that got started and here we are three albums later. And we have half of a new album recorded with those guys too.
RJ: Oooh, will we get to hear any new stuff debut at 808 Fest?
RR: We’ll see, we’ll see. Mighty High Coup is playing 8.09. We’ll kick off 8.08, it’ll be all DJs, and the next night we’ll have some live performances.
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RJ: So, now that we’re on to 808 Fest, looking at where it started and where it is now, does it follow the vision you saw for it or is it taking its own path?
RR: Both. When I started the first year in 2011, it was on a Wednesday and we had a really big year. I got Kilo Ali, it was his first show since he was out of jail, and it was a big deal. We had about 550 people show up to Connect Lounge on a Wednesday. It looked amazing, it was a great time. At that point I thought the sky was the limit. The next year, I did a 2-day thing at the Quad, and it was well-attended, but I learned that people just don’t like to go to the same club two nights in a row. The third year we did multiple venues for one night in East Atlanta Village. The fourth year we did multiple venues on Edgewood and that was on a Saturday. Last year 8.08 was on a Monday so we did Friday-Monday and made 8.08 the closing day and last year was definitely our highest attended yet. And now this year we’re going to kick off on Tuesday, 8.08, and move into the weekend. 
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RJ: So 808 Fest started in 2011, and The 808 Track came out in 2010?
RR: That sounds right, well the Bassnectar version. Mighty High Coup’s version came out in 2009. That was a cool story, some of my friends were playing it backstage at Bonnaroo all weekend and I guess he was playing that year and then heard the track a few times and started asking them ‘who is this?’ We had just put the video out, and I guess people were watching it around Bassnectar and he heard it and he called me probably a week after Bonnaroo and said he wanted to sample it. It’s not exactly a remix, it’s his song that he made and then sampled Mighty High Coup. His song was definitely its own thing, I wouldn’t consider it a remix at all. 
RJ: I’d be curious to hear the original.
RR: Yeah, it’s online, Mighty High Coup - 808s. 
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RJ: So, would you say that 808s are your most often used drum samples?
RR: Yeah, I use 808s in almost every single song. And there are so many things that kinda qualify as an 808, you know theres sine waves that people would consider an 808. Even though, technically, nothing is an 808 unless it came out of the Roland TR-808. And then, to take that sound and use it in todays music, it takes a little bit of processing. That sound, even though it’s the most raw and true to the 808 sound, you still gotta throw some EQs and properly process and compress. You can use it as it is, but it’s such an old machine. In today's scene, you need a certain level of quality to even be relevant.
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RJ: Which 808 sample is your favorite?
RR: The one that’s most famous is the 808 kick drum, specifically the one that has a sustain, a long tone. I mean, there’s a million versions even of that, but that’s what I use. That’s what people think of as the 808. You know, there’s the 808 cowbell, the 808 clap, there’s the 808 this the 808 that. *laughs* And, to get back to that song, I wrote that song as a joke. It was making fun of mainstream rap music, saying all you needed to make rap music these days was an 808 kick drum, an 808 hat, 808 snare drum, 808 clap, 808 this, 808 that, 808 boom and an 808 bap. Boom. That’s it, you know? And when we wrote the song, to me, at first it was so silly - that song wasn’t even going to make it on to our record because it was just so goofy. I like to say that I make pop songs that are making fun of pop songs. I have a song Heady Music with McBeezy, it’s like a heady song but it’s also making fun of that at the same time. Cause, you know, it’s entertainment. I don’t take it too too seriously. But as I played the album to all sorts of people, the 808 song was the one that stood out - it was different. There’s nothing in that song besides original 808 samples and a Sir-Mix-A-Lot sampler, and then some effects on them. But that’s literally the whole track, there’s nothing that wasn’t out of an 808 sampler. 
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RJ: I just love the way so many different music cultures have become so affected by that sound. I think that’s all I’ve got for you, is there anything else you want to add?
RR: Support your local bass head! Support your locals as much as you support the big guys. Support the people you see have the drive and the talent in the here and now, the culture you live in because that’s where the next big thing is going to come from. Make sure you give them the same, if not more support, as the people who are already there. Some people have the full potential but they’ll never make it anywhere if they don’t get the little bit of reassurance that they need. So, yeah, support your local bass head. 
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I’ll be doing exactly that this week, and you’ll know where to find me! Come celebrate all things bass at 808 Fest! ​Also, you should read this very insightful article about the 808.

​August 9: Locals SuperJam [Aisle 5]
August 14: Beer & Comedy Night [SweetWater Brewery]
August 17: MCBEEZY w/ Briggs Eyeland [Aisle 5]
August 18-20: Atlanta Underground Film Festival [Synchronicity Theatre]
August 25: Underwear Comedy Party [Village Theatre]
​

Atlanta got a new paint job last month. Or, to be accurate, seventeen of them. If you’re tuned into the art scene here, you already know all about the OuterSpace Project. It’s easily one of the coolest annual projects in Atlanta, and this was the first year I immersed myself in all it had to offer. 

​The OuterSpace Project is a public outdoor mural expo that just held it’s third year, each being more successful than the last. Over the course of a week, Greg Mike’s ABV Gallery selects both locally favored and world-renowned artists to create massive new works around the city. Since street art is my very favorite thing about Atlanta, I was overly stoked to watch the murals go up and feed off the creative buzz going on throughout the art community all week. Below are a few of my favorite murals from this year’s OSP artists.

I’d move to the beltline just so I could see this mural every day. Created by Ouizi, the only female OSP muralist (and my new fan girl obsession), this piece is nothing short of strikingly beautiful to see in person. I urge you to pop down to Paris on Ponce and see it first chance you get!

I’ve been following Greg’s work for a year or two now, and this is the most vibrant piece I’ve seen yet. It’s also in a prime location, adding a much needed pop of color to thousands of work commutes. Definitely keep an eye out for it next time you drive on the connector! 

Maybe I just have a color fetish, but this piece spoke to me immediately. The smooth shapes and bright hues are Aaron Kai’s signature style, and it definitely stole my heart. You should head to Decatur and scope it out yourself - prepare to be captivated.

Big Teeff’s mural definitely wins the ‘most clever’ superlative. I love pieces with depth, and this solution adds so much to a business that has a 9 foot fence covering most of it’s back wall. Don’t ask what I climbed to get high enough to snap a photo of the full wall, just enjoy the fact that I did it for you so that you won’t lose sleep over wondering what’s behind the fence (photo in bottom gallery).

​To top it off, at the end of the week there was a huge block party thrown at Terminal West featuring Emancipator. OSP is known for merging public art with live music, and ties in the action sports community by partnering with Zumiez and including a half-pipe at the celebration (shoutout Zumiez for hooking me up with a sick screen print!). Shots by Carl aka my mega talented friend Carlie captured some great photos from the show, check em out!

​Oh, and did I mention there’s even more art at the block party? You can watch 10+ wall-sized canvases come alive as artists live paint (and simultaneously dance) throughout the night. I especially love this because watching the skill, the eye, and pure talent that goes into each stroke or spray is how you really build a deep appreciation for it all. See gallery below :) 

I have to tip my snapback to ya, Greg Mike. This vision of yours is truly spectacular and I have much gratitude for the work you and your dedicated team did to bring so many creative minds together. Art is the ultimate gift, and the world needs more events that create perpetual inspiration like this. Check out the rest of my photos below, and go to OuterSpace Project’s website for the map of how to find each of them in person. It makes for the perfect Atlanta adventure, get out and explore!

​Wondering what’s next? Here’s a list of upcoming can't-miss Atlanta events you'll find me at:
July 27: Animal Ace EP Release Showcase [Aisle 5]
July 29: Lights Out ATL: Tsurda X Proko [Aisle 5]
July 31: Beer & Comedy Night [SweetWater Brewery]
August 8-11: 808 Fest 2017 [Aisle 5, The Music Room, Speakeasy, Basement EAV]
August 19: A-Town Music Fest with Big Boi + Goodie Mob [Wolf Creek Amphitheater]

Until then, keep creating my friends. Much love!