Essay #3: The cerebral and therapeutic value of art

Essay: The Cerebral And Therapeutic Value Of Art

Our first essay in our newly serialized selection of op-ed pieces focused on the special attributes of music, film, and art in the context of time, legacy, and user experiences. Our third essay will be focused now on the third characteristic, and how it forms this basis for self-reflection and its physiological, therapeutic value.

Interview: Nary Da Producer

Nary Da Producer Interview

Our featured interview this holiday season is seasoned Pittsburgh producer extraordinaire, Nary Da Producer!

AirdriftSignals: How long have you been focused on producing hip-hop beats?

Nary Da Producer: I started seriously producing music around 2007 when I briefly relocated to Green Level, North Carolina, so we can say 12 years... I was making beats for my cousins and some artist around the area... I always knew I would do something with music even before then... But I ended up signing to two different indie labels during my stay in North Carolina that showed me a lot about the business aspect of the music industry and I took what I learned from that and started my journey into this music thing!

Nary Da Producer - The Chill Out Volume I Review

Following our at-length interview with Pittsburgh hip-hop beat maker Nary Da Producer, there's a lot to unpack. Whether it's his most recent productions, such as Cuban Pete's single Nothin's Gonna Stop Me, or his fulfillment of a childhood dream in producing four cuts for a Wu-Tang Clan affiliate, on Solomon Child's 2019 album Wu-Tang BBQ, Nary is hitting the bars of his MPC hard, and now, swerving in just in time for the holidaze is Nary Da Producer's first in a themed series of beat tapes, The Chill Out Volume I!

Daniel Son & Comet - Wormz Single

Daniel Son and Comet - Wormz Review

Madmen Entertainment's own Comet and Brown Bag Money's Daniel Son school it with the brand new MMX-produced single, Wormz!

Hot off the trails of his Moonshine Mix Volume 2 (with Futurewave), Toronto's Daniel Son shows no signs of stopping, and decides to drop a cut with the Bronx's Comet for a hardcore, real hip-hop treat.

Update: "AirdriftSignals Recommends...", AirdriftSignals' Official Spotify Playlist Now Featured In Every Press Package!

AirdriftSignals Official Spotify Playlist

Now, at the top of the website and also along the right sidebar of any page, readers and artists can access "The Playlist", the Official AirdriftSignals Spotify playlist, featuring in reverse chronological order all of the hottest tracks from all the artists covered by the magazine!

High Zombie & graves - GHOSTS Single

High Zombie and Graves - GHOST Review

Industry engineer, DJ, and electronic producer graves teams up with rising hybrid trap and bass producer High Zombie for the epic and high octane EDM track, GHOSTS!

Originally from Hawaii, graves, aka Christian Mochizuki, got his start assisting and engineering top industry hip-hop and pop albums including Kanye West's My Beautiful Dark Twisted Fantasy and Kid Cudi's Man on The Moon Volume 2, among other big projects. His experience in composition and production continued to form as he played at popular music festivals, including the Las Vegas Electric Daisy Carnival, and released his debut EP, Hilo, in 2017. 

Essay #2: Why an electronic press kit (EPK) is so important for independent artists

Essay: Why An Electronic Press Kit (EPK) Is So Important For Independent Artists

In the age of social media, influencers, and followers, what do artists really need other than a large digital following? It seems that with all the services built to promote and build up likes and subscribers, there aren't that many other avenues for artists to grow in terms of their digital following. Networks such as Instagram, Twitter, and Facebook are the primary means nowadays, yet their algorithms have not been very artist or business-friendly. They have now become known to hold back most artist or business posts to just a fraction of those who are interested in their work. This archaic design is targeted to your Facebook page and business, promising increased impressions for "sponsored" posts, and is predatory at best when an artist's reach used to simply mean those who like their page. When it comes to public visibility, what most artists need to understand now more than ever is the ever-growing importance of electronic press kits, or EPKs.

DJ Shadow - Our Pathetic Age Review

Just over a month from the end of a decade, there's been more change in the Internet age than ever before. As the rise in social media, influencers, and connectivity continues to grow, so too do the anxieties, concerns, and questions that our artificial and intelligent world continues to pose. There's a lot to be concerned over, but there's still room for hope. If there was ever an album to sum up what's happened to us globally in the past ten years, then it is DJ Shadow's latest full-length album, Our Pathetic Age, an affecting and universal double LP that features genre-bending electronica, hip-hop, and heart.

Thomas Coppola - Psych Ward Single

Thomas Coppola - Psych Ward Review

Long Island rapper Thomas Coppola is at it again shortly after his Cold Cuts LP drop in September and his May LP Dusty, with the Halloween single Psyche Ward, and B-side, Leave!

Paranormal Adam - Analyze This Music Video

Paranormal Adam - Analyze This Video Review

Hot off the Full Blast Booking OcTourberfest is Paranormal Adam's brand new single and music video, Analyze This!

B. Dvine featuring D-Rage - Clipped Wings Music Video

B. Dvine Featuring D-Rage - Clipped Wings Video Review

Long Island beat maker and touring emcee, B. Dvine, teams up with Hawaiian rapper D-Rage, to produce one of their latest music videos while touring the East Coast, Clipped Wings!

Cuban Pete - Nothin's Gonna Stop Me Single

Cuban Pete - Nothin's Gonna Stop Me Review

UK Rapper Cuban Pete is hot off the trail of his mixtape, The Standout, and his single, Burn, with his latest hip-hop track, the inspirational Nothin's Gonna Stop Me. 

Update: Satellite Beats: Earliest Transmissions OUT NOW!

Update: Satellite Beats - Earliest Transmissions Release

How do I begin? Satellite Beats... Where do I go from here? DJ Dark Flow... As an aspiring songwriter and musician, a 15-16-year-old me was lucky enough to collect and get my hands on various electronic equipment, a keyboard, an acoustic and electric guitar, and a digital recorder. With these circuits and machinery, I was able to begin to fulfill my dream and passion for songwriting by creating acoustic, electronic, and industrial atmospheres full of mystery and dread, and from this era of my musical experimentation, I produced a lot of wide-ranging material under my first musical alias, Satellite Beats. After years of having the songs on my computer, I decided to curate and release this compilation album of my earliest recordings.

Bill Laswell - Smoke + Glass & Realm of Spells Review

Bill Laswell - Smoke + Glass and Realm Of Spells Review

Having significant involvement in the creation and release in over 100 albums since the early 80s, the breadth of musical discography that bassist, producer, and record label owner, Bill Laswell has accumulated is enough to overwhelm the senses and make your head spin. Still, Laswell, an undeniable influence in the genres of world, jazz, and dub, does it again with dual collaborative releases in 2019, Smoke + Glass (with Alex Haas), and Realm of Spells (with Jah Wobble).

Essay #1: What makes music, film, and art so special?

Essay: What Makes Music, Film, And Art So Special?

Being as self-reflective and introspective as I am, I sometimes have deep thoughts that simply cannot be captured or conveyed in my poetry or music. These thoughts relate to human experience and various subjects related to this concept. For this reason, I am opening up the AirdriftSignals music magazine to another feature that I would like to add, called Essays, and my first essay will be titled “What makes music, film, and art so special?” I will continue to explore this idea and others as they come to mind in future essays.