STS9 @ House of Blues Chicago - 3/5-7/2015 (Review)

Review & Photography By: Troy Manley

Sound Tribe Sector Nine, aka Sector Nine, aka Sound Tribe, aka STS9, aka one of the best touring bands at the moment. In January 2014 it was announced that David Murphy, a founding member of the band that had been with them for 15 years of face-melting, would be leaving the band due to personal and musical differences. It was unknown what was to come of the all mighty rocky gods of the Sound Tribe after this. Speculation was flying all over the place, until McDowell Mountain Music Festival. Once they hit the stage David Murphy's replacement was confirmed.

Who was it that was set to take hold of the reigns and lead a new era of funky get downs? None other than Alana Rocklin. This rock goddess came into the tribe and elevated them to a new level of cohesion and musical prowess. Her presence has been known since joining STS9. In Chicago it was no different.

While every night at this intimate venue in Chicago was filled with delicious sound bytes, there are always some all-stars in the group that stand out more than others. Some of my favorites from Thursday night were "Kabuki," "Breathe In," "The Rabble," and their stellar encore, "Satori" - which was last played on 2013.12.30 in Atlanta, GA, an awesome show in its own right. Friday night they treated the crowd with a "Kamuy," "Circus," and "Glogli" during the first set. Following up a killer first set, the tribe destroyed a version of "Ramone & Emiglio" that lasted for almost thirteen minutes. Not to mention the great "Abcees" to close out the 2nd set only to be followed by a "We'll Meet in Our Dreams" encore. Yea, Friday was pretty fun.

Saturday night started off pretty good with a "Shock Doctrine," "Monkey Music," "Golden Gate" combo right off the bat. Throw "Blu Mood" and "When the Dust Settles" in there and you've got yourself a hell of a setlist going. With so much for the 2nd set to live up they had to pull out the big guns to keep things going. The second set of Friday night opened up with a killer improv session followed by "Frequencies Peace 2 > 3." Somewhat controversially they whipped out "Awesome feat Cool Kids (STS9 Remix)." I liked this though because it's almost always followed by "The Unquestionable Supremacy of Nature," which is a favorite of mine. To top it off they played a ten minute version of "Water Song" right after.

All in all it was a great weekend spent with great friends listening to great music surrounded by a ton of great people in a great venue in one of the greatest cities in the world. STS9 already has a good amount of festivals lined up for the summer, so chances are they're coming somewhere near you. Check out their tour dates: HERE.

All 3 shows are available for download on 1320 Records' website, just click the name of the day you want to check out: Thursday, Friday, & Saturday.

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Ross Pennock - "A Different Place in Time" - New Album Review [FREE DOWNLOAD]

Artwork By: Rachel Deichert

The Sioux Falls, South Dakota native transplanted in Denver, Colorado, Ross Miller, aka Ross Pennock, just dropped his newest album today, A Different Place in Time. This follow up to his 2014 album, Don't Stand Still, starts off strong with "Falling." Definitely not out of sight, and certainly not out of mind, he sets the stage for killer things to come through the rest of the album. Produced, mixed, and mastered by Dylan West, aka Dylan Jaymes, this album represents a progression of skills and a relentless desire to achieve great things by these two. This skill is ever-present in "Hardly Finished" where production and articulation of a vision come to the forefront. Catchy and powerful with a unique touch of glitchy bass-driven beats, the vocals by Ross are carried along while flawlessly keeping the listener entranced throughout its entirety. "Get Your Own" has an R. Kelly type of vibe to it, without the golden showers. I don't want to ruin the rest of the album for you, so I'm going to let you listen to the remaining songs and draw your own conclusions. Overall, this is great release by a good friend of mine that I only see achieving more and more because of his relentless drive to carve a name for himself in the music world. Cannot wait to see what the future holds for Ross Pennock and Dylan Jaymes. Available for free download through the Mile High Sound Movement bandcamp: HERE.

Ross Pennock Performing Live

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STS9 Live @ McDowell Mountain Music Festival - 2014.03.28 - Set of the Day - (3/31/14)

STS9 abruptly announced their bassist, David Murphy, would be leaving the band due to creative and personal differences. This stream marks the first they played together since his departure, and concurrently, the first set with their new bassist, Alana Rocklin. Today's Song/Set of the day couldn't be anything other than this... enjoy :)

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Crizzly & Figure - "All Black Everything" [FREE DOWNLOAD]

Coming off their massive 2 month long national All Black Everything Tour, Figure & Crizzly have released this wicked tracked appropriately titles, "All Black Everything." Featuring samples from Jay-Z's "Run This Town" and some intense "crunkstep," the track is a perfect amalgamation of sound between these two stellar artists. As if this awesomeness couldn't get any more awesome, it's up for a free download too! We were lucky enough to catch them when they stopped through Minneapolis, read about it HERE.

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Baauer & RL Grime - "Infinite Daps" [FREE DOWNLOAD]

RL Grime & Baauer made this song while on tour and for the next 48 Hours it is available for a free download. The Trap kings came out to play with some pounding bass and beautiful transitions and even offered us a link to the Urban Dictionary definition of "Dap", which is: "The knocking of fists together as a greeting, or form of respect". This song is definitely worthy of immense amounts of respect, so just turn the volume up and crank that fucking bass!

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Codes and Flinch - "The Skeleton Bounce"

It's Halloween and you need something to get the party fired up, here it is. "The Skeleton Bounce" by Codes and Flinch, a big room banger perfect for the Halloween playlist. This track has a vintage bassline, a Sega Genesis type bass if you will, something about it is just intoxicating. You can download the track for free directly from Flinch on soundcloud. Happy Halloween.

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Tiësto's new track "iTrance" - [FREE DOWNLOAD]

Tiesto goes back to his Trance roots with his new track, iTrance.  In collaboration with Disco Fries, we get a little taste of what made us love him in the first place.  Hearkening back to his late '90s sound, and evoking a more down-tempo vibe, it took me all of about 3 seconds to love this track.  I hope this is a sign of what's to come.

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Figure - "Living Dead" [FREE DOWNLOAD]

You can always count on Figure to drop something evil right around Halloween. Monsters Volume 4 will be out tomorrow and today we get a taste with "Living Dead". Figure makes shocking drumstep songs with eerie themes from horror films and other urban legends. This 4th installment of the Monsters series provides another perfect soundtrack for Halloween. You can download "Living Dead" for free directly through Figure's soundcloud.

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Protohype & Getter - "That'll Do" [FREE DOWNLOAD]

Here's a brand new song from Protohype and Getter together. This is an instant classic dubstep/glitch hop track, a sweet blend of the two producer's styles. Amazing electrifying drops with great samples placed at just the right moments. "That'll Do" is available for free download by following the link and liking Getter or Protohype on Facebook.

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"Fatality" by Savant

From the Norwegian mastermind Savant comes a brilliant new track "Fatality". Video game samples and intense melodies are common characteristics of Savant songs. With each new release Savant creates a new twist on a musical style. His catalog consists of every EDM genre and he continues to push the boundaries of all genres forward. You can download "Fatality" by following the link on his Soundcloud page and liking him on Facebook. There you will find a bunch of free songs for download, they are all amazing and unique tracks. Many of his tracks up on Soundcloud are available for direct download also.

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Datsik releases "Let It Burn" Part Two [Free Download]

Datsik has a new LP out today called "Let It Burn part two" and it's free to download. The only stipulation is you have to share the download link via facebook or twitter. There are ten tracks and each one is absolutely filthy. Two song are collaborations "Glock Burst" with Getter and "Closer To The Sun" with Bais Haus. He also has a pair of songs with vocalists "Oxygen" features Zyme and in "Hold It Down" Georgia Murray sings the catchy hook. Go download it, or slack off it's your call.

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Gramatik Releases New Mix-Tape: "Street Bangerz Vol. 4" - FREE DOWNLOAD - Fall Tour Announced!

Releases Brand-New Mixtape "STREET BANGERZ VOL. 4" Available For Free Download - HERE Stream SB4 - HERE

While we anxiously await for The Age Of Reason album release, Gramatik gives away 22 tracks, including a free mix tape to hold us over until fall. "Street Bangerz 4" is a compilation of leftover tracks from SB1 featuring Gramatik's classic sound back when he was known for producing simple and raw, sample-based hip-hop beats. Stream or download SB4 - HERE. As Gramatik prepares for the second part of his upcoming Age Of Reason Tour, he unleased the album's second single, "You Don't Understand" and announced an additional Halloween show teaming up with GRiZ to play the biggest GrizMatik show to date at the 1st Bank Centerin Broomfield, Colorado. The Massacre Begins will feature support by turntablist A-Trak along with guitarist Don Daro of Exmag, who will also be joining Gramatik on tour this fall. General tickets for The Massacre Begins are now on sale. In hype of the forthcoming album, Gramatik explains how he differs from the vast majority of electronic musicians as he records using live instruments while striving to make dance music that tells a story. During a recent interview with Relix Magazine, he states, "There's a lot of guitar, bass, piano, all types of organs, lots of original vocals - more than any other record I've ever produced. [The Age of Reason] combines all the genres I've been producing since the beginning in the most drastic, neurotic, cohesive and outrageous way imaginable." See below for Gramatik's upcoming fall tour dates on the Age of Reason Tour and check out his remaining festival dates including New York City's Electric Zoo and America's firstTomorrowland festival, TomorrowWorld. REMAINING FESTIVAL DATES: Aug 30  | Electric Zoo Music Festival - NYC, NY Aug 31  | North Coast Music Festival - Chicago, IL Sept 07 | Hyperion Music Festival - Spencer, IN Sept 14 | Dancefestopia Music Festival - Kansas City, MO Sept 28 | TomorrowWorld - Atlanta, GA AGE OF REASON FALL 2013 TOUR DATES: Sept 04 | Town Ballroom - Buffalo, NY Sept 05 | Rex Theatre - Pittsburgh, PA Sept 06 | The Intersection - Grand Rapids, MI Sept 10 Headliners Music Hall - Louisville, KY Spet 12 | Wooly's - Des Moines, IA Sept 13 | Skyway Theatre, Minneapolis, MN Sept 15 | George's Majestic Lounge - Fayetteville, AR Sept 18 | Lryic Theatre - Oxford, MS Sept 19 | Republic New Orleans - New Orleans, LA Sept 20 | Soul Kitchen - Moblie, AL Sept 21 | House of Blues Orlando - Lake Buena Vista, FL Sept 22 | Grand Central - Miami, FL Sept 25 | The Ritz Ybor - Tampa, FL Sept 26 | Free Bird Live - Jacksonville Beach, FL Sept 27 | The Music Farm - Charleston, SC Oct 01  | Ziggy's By The Sea - Wilmington, NC Oct 02  | Jefferson Theatre _ Charlottesville, VA Oct 03  | The National - Richmond, VA Oct 04  | Rams Head Live - Baltimore, MD Oct 05  | Trocadero - Philadelphia, PA Oct 06  | Upstate Concert Hall - Clifton Park, NY Nov 05  | Orpheum Theater - Flagstaff, AZ Nov 06  | Railto Theatre - Tucson, AZ Nov 07  | House of Blues - San Diego, CA Nov 08  | The Wiltern - Los Angeles, CA Nov 09  | The Fillmore - San Francisco, CA Nov 10  | Knitting Factory Concert House - Reno, NV Nov 13  | Arcata Theatre - Arcata, CA Nov 14  | Roseland Theatre - Portland, OR Nov 15  | Showbox at the Market - Seattle, WA Nov 16  | Commodore Ballroom - Vancouver, BC Nov 17  | Knitting Factory Concert House - Spokane, WA Nov 19  | Knitting Factory Concert House - Boise, ID Nov 22  | Orpheum Theatre - Madison, WI Nov 23  | Royal Oak Music Theatre - Royal Oak, MI KEEP UP WITH GRAMATIK: WEBSITE | SOUNDCLOUD | FACEBOOK | TWITTER

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