Yonder Mountain String Band - "Annalee" - Song of the Day (6/20/15)

Article: Kyle Sutton

Welcome to the first installment of Saturday Morning Bluegrass! This week's featured artist: Yonder Mountain String Band.

YMSB first hit the scene in 1998, a quartet at the time. The band would go on to make an instant splash in the world of acoustic music. Their overall style is rooted in traditional bluegrass, but is progressive, mixing in rock and mind-blowing improvisation.

After 17 years of making music and touring relentlessly, YMSB shows no signs of slowing down. The band went through a lineup change last year when founding mandolin player Jeff Austin decided to pursue a solo-career but we will just call that a small hump in the road. Soon after Austin's departure, the three remaining members Adam Aijala, Ben Kaufmann, and Dave Johnston continued to tour, playing with whoever they could find to sit in. From the beginning two stood out, fiddle player Allie Kral and mandolin player Jacob Joliff. The two are now official members of the band.

Earlier this week YMSB, as a 5-piece, released a new album entitled "Black Sheep," through their own Frog Pad Records. The album sums up a long career of pushing boundaries and breaking down barriers. Its bluegrass, but with a spin.

Without further ado, here is "Annalee" off of the new album (available on the YMSB band page).

Video credit: Second Story Garage

Read More

[Leftovers] Tycho - "Adrift"

Scott Hansen, aka Tycho, released his debut full length album, Past is Prologue, in 2006. It wasn't until 2011, a whopping five years, he released his critically acclaimed album, Dive. It was with Dive he made the transition to a live band and gave other musicians credits on the album. Namely, Zac Brown & Rory O'Connor. Although this album is stellar from start to finish, I always find myself entranced and enticed to turn up the volume when it reached this track. It's so easy to get lost in your thoughts while this masterpiece is slowly playing out in the background. One of my favorite tracks by one of my favorite musical outifts, I hope this track finds you nicely on this fine Tuesday afternoon.

Read More

[Leftovers] Savant - "Up N' Smoke"

Oh my! Savant just dropped a bomb track called "Up N' Smoke" last week. This is a single that is a commissioned track not affiliated with SectionZ Records. The drop is a new type of moombahcore only Savant could dream up, and of course dazzling video game sounds blended in too. I can never get enough of Savant, and luckily he is never tired of creating new songs. The thing that makes Savant so amazing is his pace in creating new music as well as the detail in mastering. He is consistently releasing 3 or more albums a year, all while touring and putting out countless singles in between. Just search for yourself and you will find days of Savant music to listen to. Savant's soundcloud alone has over 200 tracks of his on it, and that's just a start.

Read More

[Leftovers] Dusty Owl - "Hippocampes"

An old Facebook Profile Picture

When I first stumbled upon this French producer he went by the name of Golden Brahams on SoundCloud, which he still does on facebook, and I have been borderline obsessed over the past month or so. There is just something about these tunes coming out of Rennes, France that beats the drum in my ear. Would love to see a couple of dates in the United States during this summer's festival circuit. Check out some more of his tunes on SoundCloud HERE and let us know what you think!

Read More