Jack Anderson

If you’re not into electronic music…well, you’re wrong. The Austin-born Capyac has been crushin’ the club scene and well beyond for a few years now, making them one of few artists willing to play four-hour non-stop deep house sets. And while they may call LA their home more often than not these days, their new EP has an inherent Texan energy to it.

Baby Make Money is out May 24th and fires excellence on all six cylinders. Capyac’s just about ready to hit the road once again and in case you can’t join them on their upcoming tour, get a feel for Baby Make Money right now with a track featuring Cool Company, “Ceasefire”!

Watch out, world; there’s a new authority on Scandinavian soul! Hailing from Helsinki, Finland, Bobby Oroza might not be a household name quite yet but with his sensational chops it’s only a matter of time. Backed by a well-disciplined four-piece, the show-stealing Oroza is set to release his debut full-length, This Love, on Friday.

It’s a dozen soul-soaked tunes that’ll warm your heart and put you in a sentimental mindset, but two days is a long time to wait! Enjoy a free sample from This Love ahead of the release with “Lonely Girl”!

Given the immense lyrical world and refined arrangements of The Suitcase Junket, it may surprise you that there’s just one storyteller behind the curtain. Multi-instrumentalist and sole songwriter Matt Lorenz (with his almost Dali-esque appearance) has been at it for awhile, zeroing in on The Suitcase Junket’s sound that’s somewhere in a cloud of folk, blues and psych rock. Lorenz’s latest offering, Mean Dog, Trampoline, encourages the spirit of curiosity in light of the world’s cynicism and he’s been spreading that message all across the United States since its release, continuing tonight at The Townsend.

The record was mixed by Vance Powell, who’s worked with Jack White and Houndmouth, making for Lorenz’s sturdiest album yet. So pop some latches on The Suitcase Junket before the show with “Stay Too Long”!

For Montreal singer-producer Sophia Bel, her past isn’t just formative; it’s prime fodder for her music. Bel’s upbringing on millennium-era skate-punk and emo-wave crossbreeds with her proclivity towards ’90s-style trip-hop and electro-pop production, all for a woeful retelling of her earlier years. Re-appropriating the moniker given to her by teenage bullies, Sophia Bel’s debut EP Princess of the Dead, Vol. 1 sounds equal parts Avril Lavigne, Moby and Dido and it came out last Friday.

Keep your eyes peeled for more from Bel in the future and enjoy Princess of the Dead, Vol. 1 in all its royal necromancy with the synth-heavy album opener, “Time”!

Rest assured, Mia Gladstone is NOT just a blip on your radar. The eccentric singer-producer has been dropping singles for the past couple years and between her vivacious personality and uncompromising lyrics, Gladstone is pop-R&B beast. And while her singles may be spread out in terms of release dates, when you listen to them together you really feel the cohesiveness within this young up-and-comer, whose style walks a tightrope between upbeat and chill.

This Wednesday Mia Gladstone shared her third single of 2019 in advance of an upcoming EP. It’s just as impressive as the rest of Gladstone’s burgeoning discography and benefits not only from a message of self-acceptance but also a flute performance by Cautious Clay. Put yourself in the weekend mindset and burn off the stress with “Baby Don’t Worry”!

Much like parmesan with dark chocolate or peanut butter on a hamburger, Americana and Soul isn’t an obvious pairing…but it’s still pretty dang good.

Just ask The Get Ahead, a Portland five-piece founded in 2012 by lead singers Nathan Earle and Juliet Howard. Their shared love of Gospel, R&B, moving a crowd and beyond initially propelled The Get Ahead, and an auspicious meeting with  Son Little resulted in one of their biggest musical heroes producing the group’s 2017 EP Mind is a Mountain.

Recently Earle and Howard were married and in addition to welcoming their firstborn into the world, The Get Ahead shares a new full-length tomorrow! At just shy of a dozen songs, Deepest Light illuminates this period of transition, brings matriarchy to the forefront and will enthrall you with their take on American roots. Enjoy the full thing Friday, and jump the gun on The Get Ahead with the album’s title track!

For starters, this isn’t Kim Simpson‘s first rodeo with radio. He’s the current host of KOOP’s International Folk Bazaar , co-host of Around the Town Sounds and actually once had a spot with us here at KUTX hosting Folkways. On top of that, a book and a Ph.D., Simpson’s been strumming out his brand of sixties-and-seventies-inspired folk since well before his 1992 debut album, and doing a damn fine job of it too.

On his latest record The Comets Swish Their Tails, Simpson couples his distinctive fingerstyle guitar technique with striking lyrics, covering anything from spiritualism to folk remedies to “sky omens”. Oh, and he’s the sole performer of every single instrument across all fifteen tracks. The Comets Swish Their Tails came out back in January and the release show takes places one day before Kim Simpson’s 50th birthday, next Thursday, May 2nd at the Townsend. You can hear the full record whenever you get a chance but go ahead and kick back this Hump Day with an elegant acoustic tune: “By Lake Kavano”!

-Jack Anderson

The philosophy behind French songwriter Rémi Antoni is all about building bridges between left and right brain, simplicity and complexity and beyond to create the world of Orouni. Antoni started the group as a solo endeavor and now, nearly a decade and a half later, this Parisian indie pop outfit is quick to charm listeners with atypical instrumentation, rich harmonies and a serious dedication to their craft. Orouni recalls sounds of The Kinks and Bob Dylan as much as they do Belle & Sebastian and other contemporaries and just last Friday they released their fourth record Partitions.

The fourteen new tunes on Partitions make for a great introduction to Orouni, so tune up your Tuesday and be a third wheel for a bit with “Charles And Sylvester”!

If you’re still itchin’ for more from our April 2019 KUTX Artist of the Month, then it’s time to dig deeper into The Well. This Austin-based trio draws from a maelstrom of musical influences, filling buckets full of psychedelia, hard rock, metal and punk. Sure, it may be distorted to all hell but that doesn’t mean there’s not a ton of melodic elements and intriguing chord progressions in the mix.

The Well joined us in Studio 1A last Wednesday in advance of their third record Death and Consolation and three release shows later this week. Catch The Well this Thursday at Barracuda, Saturday at Independence Brewing Co., and Sunday at Waterloo Records. Listen back to their This Song and My KUTX episodes when you get a chance, and enjoy a free download of Death and Consolation‘s opening track and an exclusive live recording of “Sabbah”!

When lyricist Megz Kelli met producer-keyboardist Dougie Do at St. Edward’s University back in 2012, they knew they needed to set their sights on music but they had no idea how far it would take them. Now in year seven as in-studio-duo-turned-live-band Magna Carda, they’ve become one of Austin’s most recognizable hip hop/R&B acts and have played alongside the likes of The Pharcyde and Oddisee.

There’ve been recent murmurs of another upcoming album from Magna Carda and just today they released a brand new single that doubles as a heartfelt tribute. Catch Magna Carda at Stubb’s Thursday May 9th and start your weekend off right with the new stuff, “Angels”!

When it comes to Anglo-Swiss producer Little People, hip hop is top priority. Raised by the golden age of rap and further influenced by the ever-burgeoning UK electronic scene, Little People brings a hodge podge of sounds to the table that makes it hard to keep your toe from tapping.

Back in January Little People put out his first album in five years and he continues the Landloper tour this Saturday at the Mohawk! Lock it in with Little People right now with “Tonight”!

There’s not much known about Wilder Woods, but that doesn’t mean there’s not a lot to talk about. We may not have a birth name or a hometown but we do have two singles that flex the unbridled forestry of this soul singer.

While we eagerly await for more information on this secretive crooner, let the music speak for itself and dive right into “Someday Soon”!

It’s been a long time coming for Natalie Price, who’s sang her whole life and written songs since her hands first met six strings. This Fort Worth native moved to Austin some years back and after a particularly well-received open mic performance, Price put some more stock into her music.

Fast forward to last week, when Natalie Price shared her debut EP, Through the Fog, a robust addition into the annals of indie-Americana with a five-song infusion of folk, country and pop. Through the Fog is available everywhere and in case you missed the release show, enjoy the EP opener, “These Days”!

Before settling in Austin over a decade back, California’s Abram Shook studied jazz and in between surfing sessions he soaked up the rays of Brazilian and West African music. And while the “surfer” persona might fit Shook on first glance, his synth-heavy songwriting is so much more than the influences he draws from. Lighthearted instrumentation often contradicts Shook’s sarcastic-yet-personal lyrics and his fourth full-length kicks it up with a crust of dance-inducing tunes over a core of sinister themes.

You can expect more details about the upcoming album soon but for now let Abram shake up your work week with its foreboding lead single, “Can’t Get Away“!

Hayes Carll is no stranger to the Old Settler’s Music Festival- his earliest appearance was back in 2009 and he is back at it this year. Well known for his humorous lyrics and classic Americana sound, Carll continues to fine-tune his approach to producing music that is as soulful as it is impressive. He released his sixth album, What It Is, this February which has been met with abundant praise.  A new album paired with the same charm, his performance at this year’s Old Settler’s is sure to be memorable. You can listen to him today from 6:45-8:00 pm at Original Black’s BBQ Stage.

For now, let’s listen back to the Studio 1A performance of a track off the new album, “Things You Don’t Wanna Know”!

–Simone Puglia, KUTX Intern

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Photo: Bryan Winter for KUTX

Full Studio 1A Session

To put it lightly, James Hunter has had one hell of a life leading up to this point. Over the course of three decades, Hunter went from working on the railroad, to busking on the streets of London, to providing backup guitar and vocals for Van Morrison. Now with a Grammy nomination under his belt for his solo work and at the helm of The James Hunter Six, this Daptone darling has become a British blue-eyed soul icon. His effortless vocals and intoxicating instrumentation instantly evoke the work of R&B legends like Sam Cooke and Marvin Gaye but delivered in a style that belongs to Hunter alone.

The James Hunter Six joined us in Studio 1A almost one year ago exactly around the release of Whatever It Takes and they play 5:35pm tonight on The Bluebonnet Stage at Old Settler’s Music Festival. Can’t make it out there in the next couple hours? No worries. Listen back to the sanguine Studio 1A performance right now with (the astutely-titled) “MM-Hmm”!