Following the stabbing of Joseph Capriati over the weekend, the famed Italian DJ’s management confirmed that his injuries “are not life-threatening.”
Parallel shared a statement via Facebook in which the company thanked fans for sending their love to Capriati, who was stabbed by his father on January 9th, 2021. The renowned electronic music producer, who lives and works in Spain but had returned to his parent’s home in Caserta due to the COVID-19 pandemic, was reportedly stabbed in the chest with a kitchen knife.
When the news broke, Capriati was in stable condition after a delicate surgery for a pneumothorax, or a collapsed lung. At the time, Alberto D’Agostino, director of the Major Trauma Surgery Department of the Sant’Anna and San Sebastiano hospital in Caserta, had said the DJ was “still in danger of life.”
The late Eddie Van Halen will have a new range of nine guitars made in his honour by the company he helped found and name, EVH.
The reimagined 5150 series, set to be released in early 2021, comprises guitars that have been designed for speed and comfort, supporting Van Halen’s signature “tapping” technique. They’ll arrive in a bright set of colours, including neon pink, and at a range of prices.
In a statement announcing the new guitars, EVH spoke of Van Halen’s influence: “The industry saw record guitar-playing interest in 2020 but also sadly said goodbye to one of the most innovative and influential players of its time.
“Eddie Van Halen’s singularly inventive style inspired an entire generation of players. He innovated not only in how he played but what he played and what he played through by creating some of the greatest guitars and amps the world has seen and heard.”
The nine guitars have Stratocaster-style basswood bodies with a deeper upper body curve, featuring specifications made by Van Halen himself: bolt-on quarter-sawn carved maple necks, and a 12- to 16-inch compound radius fingerboard with 22 jumbo frets. All are powered by direct-mount EVH Wolfgang bridge and neck humbucking pickups.
The new 5150 range of EVH guitars, made in the rock icon’s honour. Photo credit: EVH / Eddie Van Halen via @evhgear on Twitter.
Two Wolfgang Special guitar models and four Wolf WG Standard variants will also be released as part of the 2021 EVH range. The former pair of guitars are similar to the 5150 range, excepting a direct-mount EVH Wolfgang Alnico 2 bridge and neck humbucking pickups. The WG Standard variants are entry-level models, and will feature a baked maple neck and fingerboard with standard EVH Wolfgang humbuckers.
Van Halen died on October 6, 2020, at the age of 65, following a long battle with cancer. Last month, the rock icon’s death certificate was obtained by TMZ, citing his immediate cause of death as a cerebrovascular accident, or a stroke. He also had several underlying causes, including pneumonia, the bone marrow disorder myelodysplastic syndrome and lung cancer.
Joseph Capriati‘s management team has given a reassuring update following his recent hospitalization — he’s going to be ok.
The DJ was staying with his family in Caserta, Italy on Friday night when he got into a heated fight with his father, who reportedly grabbed a kitchen knife and stabbed Capriati in the chest. The wound affected his lungs, which could have been fatal, but his management followed up with good news.
The statement below via Parallel’s Facebook page reads:
Thank you all for the love you are showing to Joseph. Fans, colleagues, DJs and friends. We want to reassure you that Joseph’s injuries are not life-threatening and he sends you all a big and warm hug.
Capriati’s father, a 61-year-old with a clean record, was taken into custody for attempted murder of his 33-year-old son.
Vi ringraziamo di cuore per l’affetto che ci state dimostrando. Fan, colleghi e amici.
Though COVID-19 threw a wrench in plans for all things music-related last year, the #DNB2020 movement, spurred by drum & bass’ rising and established talent, still proved to be an important one.
Last year saw some of drum & bass’ brightest new artists step into the spotlight. Artists such as Justin Hawkes (fka Flite), REAPER, and Zeal certainly dominated, garnering support from the genre’s biggest names, like Sub Focus and Netsky. But #DNB2020 was just the beginning for others, who are set to explode in the year to come.
Here are five drum & bass artists to watch out for in 2021.
WINSLOW
Winslow got some well-deserved recognition toward the end of 2020, when UKF began to catch wind of the stateside drum & bass producer’s penchant for delivering some of the most soulful liquid drum & bass in recent memory. A multitude of his tracks were subsequently uploaded to the channel, but a true standout was Winslow’s release on Goldfat Records, “Mumbles Of Grace.” He’s currently on a hot streak with releases that hopefully won’t slow down anytime soon.
TSUKI
23 year-old UK-based producer Tsuki certainly turned heads in 2020 with the release of his debut album, Redemption, on Crucast in November. The album has already seen massive support, and after last year’s collaborative effort with Night Bass‘ Taiki Nulight and Dread MC, it seems all the pieces are in place for this young artist to dominate drum & bass and beyond in 2021.
STOIC
It seems an absolute travesty that stateside drum & bass producer STOIC hasn’t amassed a following to rival that of any of the genre’s top dogs, but his recent works are certainly on par with them. Last year, STOIC released Interim, a three-track EP of some of the most well-produced and technically detailed drum & bass of 2020. He only seems to get better with each offering, and STOIC seems set to take over in the new year.
GYROFIELD
Hong Kong-based, self-proclaimed “e-girl” gyrofield turned heads in 2020. The 18-year-old producer has already nabbed a four-track release with mau5trap and is featured on many UKF playlists with her unique and future-forward take on drum & bass. 2021 is a perfect year for this young producer to breach into the genre’s elite.
SIEGE MC
Often overlooked in the world of drum & bass, MCs certainly deserve credit where credit is due. Bristol-based Siege MC is certainly one to watch, leading the Soulvent Records collective’s events in the UK and abroad with his soulful and energetic verses. Siege recently released his Life In The Sixteen EP, showcasing his immense talent and building anticipation for what’s next.
New York City’s iconic recording facility Electric Lady Studios has linked up with Daniel Johnston‘s estate for a new creative partnership.
The partnership, which was first conceived by Studio Managing Partner Lee Foster, will see Electric Lady Studios preserving the late songwriter’s drawings and original art.
Foster presently curates a large collection of Johnston’s art at Electric Lady, which is currently displayed in its famous Studio A. Foster’s collection also includes Johnston’s famous ‘Symbolical Visions’ piece.
READ MORE: Daniel Johnston, 1961-2019 – The NME Obituary
The new partnership between Electric Lady and The Daniel Johnston Trust – overseen by Dick Johnston, Daniel’s older brother – aims to cement Johnston’s legacy and serve as creative inspiration for musicians recording in the studios.
“Art has always been a fixture at Electric Lady – from the large sci-fi, space murals commissioned by Hendrix, to the decoupage installations done here in the early 1970s,” Foster said in a press statement.
“I began building my own collection of Daniel’s work and recognized that a separate collection for the studio would be great inspiration for musicians recording here. The creative dialog begins instantly when people see them.”
In September last year, Phoebe Bridgers, Beck and many others paid tribute to Johnston in a special event on the anniversary of his death. The video, produced by Foster, has been viewed more than 120,000 times at time of writing.
With the turn of the new year, thus brings a welcomed wave of fresh new talent. Through a barrage of political developments, economical fluctuations, and a general social volatility, the world’s balance seems to fall largely onto the shoulders of those we look to in times of real trouble; musicians. Tokyo-based Shurland Ayers touches down with everything we could’ve wanted in trying times like these.
With an eery inception, Shurland lifts off with a foundational cohesion of his experimental signature characteristics. Through a collectively-unique blend of his unapologetic vocals laced tightly with a fresh beat, this young maverick of a producer is absolutely on our list to pay close attention to this year. Absolute bliss.
Looking at 2021 through rose-colored glasses are the NERVO twins, who recently released an uplifting house track called “Gotta Be You.”
Created in collaboration with blossoming singer-songwriter Carla Monroe, the single is a bouncy pop-house hybrid from the famed sisterly duo. With fluttering arpeggios and bubbly piano chords, it has all the makings of a sun-kissed poolside anthem.
“Gotta Be You,” which arrived last week via Thrive Music, is NERVO’s first release of the year after closing 2021 on a rampage. They dropped a flurry of singles last year, including massive collaborations with KANDY, 7 Skies, Krewella, Plastik Funk, Vini Vici and Shapov, and Frida Sundemo, among others.
You can listen to “Gotta Be You” below and find the track on streaming platforms here.
Esteemed house legend Kerri Chandler revs his engine with a brand new take on Bonobo and Totally Enormous Extinct Dinosaurs‘ collaboration, “Heartbreak.” Released off of Bonobo’s imprint OUTLIER, Kerri Chandler’s remix combines the stylistic traits of three of dance music’s most genius innovators into an undeniably groovy output.
While the original track touts a gliding electro groove, Chandler’s rework showcases his classic four-four expression that fans know and love. Introducing an evolving chord progression and funky vocal chop, Chandler’s rendition of “Heartbreak” surges energy throughout the track, providing a compelling dance statement. On the collaborative process, Chandler states,
“We spoke on the phone about the direction that I wanted and felt I should go, and they just trusted me with what I felt as long as I put my swinging beats and vibe to it.”
Stream Kerri Chandler’s remix of “Heartbreak” below.
Sia has announced she’s teamed up with Burna Boy for a remix of her recent track ‘Hey Boy’, coming later this week.
Taking to social media today (January 12) to make the announcement, Sia revealed that both the song and video would be coming this Thursday (January 14). She captioned the post simply with “Pucker up”.
The original song is set to appear on Sia’s forthcoming album ‘Music’, due out February 12, which was written to accompany her new film of the same name.
‘Hey Boy’ was initially released back in November of last year, and was preceded by other singles ‘Together‘ and ‘Saved My Life‘, co-written with Dua Lipa.
Music, the film, is set to be released in cinemas around the world throughout January and February, and is directed, produced and written by Sia herself.
It’s set to star Kate Hudson, Leslie Odom Jr. and Maddie Ziegler, a casting choice Sia has come under fire for. Ziegler, who is able bodied and neurotypical, is set to portray an autistic teenager, which drew criticism from people across the internet. Autism rights activists even started a petition in an effort to get the release of the film cancelled.
Sia initially defended her decision, stressing that she thought it was unfair for people to criticise the film without seeing it. However, she later doubled back, admitting that she “should have just shut up” and said the casting of Ziegler was “nepotism”.
Nashville musician Chris E. Kelly called his electro project Lost American because at the time, he was an expat in Spain, having wandered Europe and Asia for years. Now that he’s retuned to his hometown, it seems he may keep the moniker; it’s certainly a “lost” sort of time for America, after all.
Potential sociopolitical statement names aside, Kelly has fashioned Lost American to be a modern take on electro house with lots of synth, deadpan vocals and ravey collabs. Think Nashville’s answer to Roxy Music, The Pet Shop Boys and The Human League with a bit of German techno and Kaskade-style pop EDM thrown in, or maybe just a “Sirius” version of early 00s synth pop upstarts, Gil Mantera’s Party Dream. It’s international nostalgic, punchy and fun all at the same time.
Lost American’s most recent few tracks, despite all being unapologetically synth-heavy, vary quite a bit in both style and substance, especially when the remixes get involved. “Let’s Stay Outside” is a slow, thoughtful and ambient heart-clincher of a track whose original mix uses deep, industrial-style bass and future bass backing to lift the pensive vocals out of monotone and into the sublime. This track has two remixes and Kelly has certainly been smart to employ this tactic of remixing his work. The wide open composition and synthy nature of the original tracks really lend themselves to remixing, forcing the listener to hear the vocals differently and, not for nothing, expose it to a wider audience.
The first remix was done by Stash Konig, a breakout EDM artist who put a definite dancefloor spin on “Let’s Stay Outside” that certainly will catch the ear of the festival audience but at the same time really preserves the feeling of the original. The “tetraphobic” mix by Lee Groves follows the lines of the original but adds even more punchy deep bass and distortion to really squeeze down on the emotional feel of the track. All three mixes are technically masterful and perfectly evocative.
“Robot Spark” also has two mixes, with the remix being done by a Rauch von König, seemingly another name for Stash Konig (if the promo is anything to go by). This track is where the Roxy Music rubber really meets the vintage synth road, as with both mixes that sort of ennui-filled ambient work is paired with new wave-style keyboard melody. Von König stuck to the lines here this time, punching the track up with the 80s synths that match the fun, atomic age lyrics. Kelly made what he calls a mini documentary video for this track but it’s more like a cheeky director’s cut of the actual video, where Kelly explains everything that’s going on as images of his band flash in the background, he apparently gets sick at one point and he dances around like a GenX dad visiting the disco set of Trainspotting. Both versions are a lot of fun.
Bringing Lost American’s releases current to the day, he just released “Thank You Miss America” today and if you were wondering if we pulled that “America is lost” theory out of our altogether, wonder no more. Both video and song are heavily charged with political commentary and really can you blame Kelly? Imagine playing music abroad for almost 20 years and then coming back to this. Talk about culture shock.
Musically, “Thank You Miss America” is as close stylistically to Kelly’s own description of his recent work: “I”m calling it Southern Gothic electronic: a modern take on what triggers passions in the deep South.” Well said, as this track has that great call-and response vocal quality with drawn out vowels and high notes that are on the verge of a yodel. Despite there being lots of fancy instrumental work and electronic production in the background, one can feel the swamp of the deep South here.
There’s not much to say for the video other than “watch it,” but presumably Kelly made it before the events of January 6 so it’s eerily prophetic. Or some might hope it’s prophetic, that is, as at the end (spoiler), an animated Trump is jettisoned from the planet. Here’s hoping Kelly and his animator are psychic.
With an intensely diverse and open-minded style, an obvious mastery of production and songwriting and the wherewithal to work with some great remixers, it’s likely this won’t be the last the EDM world has seen of Lost American. In fact, the remix of “Thank You Miss America” isn’t out yet so suffice it to say we’ll have at least more thought-provoking banger on our hands shortly. Bridging genres, eras and literal oceans with his work, Lost American is far from lost, even in the current times.
All the tracks reviewed above are out now and can be streamed with lots of other Lost American tracks on Spotify. Check out Kelly’s YouTube channel as well, as there are interesting videos for almost every track he’s put out in the last year.
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