It’s easy to describe multi-instrumentalist Evan Voytas as a pop singer, but his musical background is more complex than the description allows. More interesting, too.

The East coast native dove into the world of jazz as a teenager, and later played lead guitar on tour with a few major label pop acts (Teddy Geiger, Hillary Duff). Somewhere in between, he lived in both Harlem and the middle of nowhere on a Pennsylvania farm, reading up on religion and New Age spirituality. After moving to Los Angeles, he began working with Flying Lotus and Gonjasufi. Oh yeah, and Kate Moss stars in his latest video.

The genre-hopping artist released the EP Tomorrow Night We’ll Go Anywhere last year, featuring blissed-out songs with chill disco synths, falsetto vocals and yes, some subtle jazz stylings. Check out the title track and video featuring the supermodel on his site.

And though he may have a slight fear of interviews, the mild-mannered Voytas was kind enough to swing by our studio and talk about everything from songwriting and Neil Young to vegetarianism and the politics of doing good.

Copenhagen is reportedly one of the happiest places in the world, but CALLmeKAT (Katrine Ottosen) knows a thing or two about heartache. Armed with an intoxicating voice and upwards of five keyboards, this Danish native makes the somber something to sink into.

After releasing the single “My Sea,” and an EP, I’m in a Polaroid, Where are You?, CALLmeKAT made her full-length debut with 2008′s Fall Down. Critics have since called her music “lovely, delicate” with “serious synth talent and [a] voice to melt your ears.”

She’s toured with Blonde Redhead, Bat for Lashes, Okkervil River and others, including stops at SXSW and NXNE, and is widely known in Denmark, though she now calls NYC home.

We sat down with CALLmeKAT, who told us about her recording process (both at home and in leaky barns), her favorite keyboards (KORG gets mad props) and why Copenhagen has that happy reputation, anyway.

Songs created to honor the fleeting moments of careless youth turned one Canadian kid into a buzzworthy producer, and fast. Within weeks of posting his songs online, labels expressed interest and blogs began talking about the Vancouver-based Teen Daze.

The producer is considered part of the emotive chillwave crowd, but separates from the pack by maintaining the kind of energy intended for long nights out on the town, even if every moment isn’t action packed. In fact, it’s more about those reflective moments in between.

Less than a year ago some friends got together to celebrate the final days before turning 20 years old. To mark the passing of the teenage years, they did all the things teenagers do–loitering, trespassing, eating candy–and thus Teen Daze was born. The producer’s debut EP, Four More Years (Arcade Sound Ltd.) made listeners happy with wistful songs like “Saviour” and “Around,” plus he’s done remixes for Yeasayer and Local Natives.

Catch him on tour in December with stops along the West coast up to his hometown of Vancouver. There are plenty of nice things we could say about Teen Daze, but we’ll let the man speak for himself on everything from late night recording sessions to religion.

Before we get started, Tanya Morgan is a hip-hop group, not a singer. Now then, moving on. We stumbled upon Tanya Morgan back in 2006 as they released their debut album, Moonlighting. They were all over mtvU that summer, and we ran across them a couple months later at the CMJ Music Marathon. By that point, they’d already spent a few years in the lab.

What began as a connection via The Roots’ online community, okayplayer, Tanya Morgan formed in 2003. Brooklyn MC/producer Von Pea teamed up with Cincinnati-based MC Donwill to create an album, along with fellow Ohioan Ilyas. In subsequent years, the crew released a couple of EPs, the aforementioned LP and a mixtape titled for clarity–Tanya Morgan is a Rap Group.

By 2009, the guys had done quite a bit of urban planning to promote the release of their third full-length, Brooklynati. An imagined hybrid reflecting the origins of the group, the album comes with a map and an accompanying website full of details about the city, including a tattoo parlor, clock shop, banks and a DMV (extra credit for an abundance of train stations).

(CONTINUE READING)

You’re doing something right when you can silence a room. That’s Elizabeth Harper of Brooklyn group Class Actress, whose seductive electro-pop has critics swooning. Catchy basslines, New Wave-inspired synths and Harper’s soothing, airy vocals on songs like “Journal of Ardency” and “Broken Adolescent Heart” borrow playful sentimentality from ’80s icons Madonna and director John Hughes.

Grizzly Bear’s Chris Taylor released their Journal of Ardency EP in 2009 via Terrible Records, and they followed with a full-length earlier this year. Class Actress has also released a few covers of beloved songs, including Neon Indian’s “Terminally Chill,” and as part of the supergroup Girl Crisis, Nirvana’s “Come As You Are.”

Harper and her fellow band members hit the road next month for a few dates alongside Dan Black, Neon Indian and Prefuse 73 before joining up with Small Black for a month-long tour. They’ll start in Baltimore and loop around the country back to Boston, playing two shows with Delorean and fellow UI interviewees Lemonade along the way.

Catch them live–it doesn’t seem to be something most people regret.

They may be a new band, but catchy, lo-fi punk never gets old. Male Bonding formed in London just two years ago, first cutting their teeth on covers of Black Flag and Mission of Burma songs before releasing a split 7” with PENS on their own Paradise Vendors label. The band then hit the road with everyone from Vivian Girls to Graffiti Island, slowly making friends and fans across the globe.

They released their debut full-length, Nothing Hurts, in May via Sub Pop to positive reviews. Clocking in at a mere 30 minutes, the album was described by critics as “joyful, guile-free surf-grunge” by a band “racing from hook to hook, plowing happily through breakdowns and guitar blasts.”

Starting next month Male Bonding will tour across the States and Canada, playing select shows with Titus Andronicus, Free Energy and Best Coast. Then it’s back to Europe for dates alongside No Age, Crystal Castles, Abe Vigoda, Frankie and the Outs and Blood Red Shoes.

And should you catch them at a show, why not suggest a new tattoo?

The best Lemonade is in Brooklyn. The San Franciscan transplants blend multi-faceted experimental arrangements, wafting vocals and tribal elements into meaty disco-influenced tracks intended to rock the dance floor.

Produced by Chris Coady (Yeah Yeah Yeahs, Architecture in Helsinki, Beach House), the trio released their eponymous debut album in 2008 via True Panther Sounds. Tropical cuts like “Big Weekend” and “Blissout” barely manage to contain their own percussion and build into big bursts of energy.

Their sophomore record, Pure Moods, followed earlier this year, mixing in more dub and soca influences, and found the band zeroing in on their sound.

(VIDEO AFTER THE JUMP)