The Acid | Soundcloud

The Acid are no strangers to cerebral sounds. This trio is Angeleno Steve Nalepa channeling his skill with atmospheric flow and organic elements, Brit Adam Freeland planning chemical rhythms and cosmic grittiness, and Australian RY X binding it all together with his Thom-ish groaning and Iver melancholy. With all their worldly influences teamed together, they’re synthesizing obscure yet crisp, moody, and heady music for cranial adventures.

Their full length, Liminal comes out July 15. in the meantime keep your senses satiated, or be anticipated, with their 4-track EP.

Get lost, get found

Take 2 Entertainment | Tickets

This weekend is of much celebratory import. We’ve got the birth of our nation on Friday. And then we’ve got the 1-year anniversary of Take 2 Entertainment’s sea-born baby: Boatylicious. I’m sure you know the setting by now. But if not, then there’s no reason not to get acquainted with the Long Beach Harbor backdrop, Pacific kisses, and California sun atop a triple decker of red, white, and blue. Deep, tech and disco house vibes and feel-good freedom ensure this party will be booming. Come catch the Sunset and IndepenDANCE with Moon Boots, Yolanda Be Cool, aRod, Ruby Sparks, and more. Check after the jump for music!

HOW TO ENTER

Standard procedure: The contest ends at 8PM Tuesday July 1st! The more ways you enter below, the better your chance is to win. Be sure to be ready to check your e-mail/twitter, because we’ll be giving it to the first person who responds when the contest is over. See you guys there!

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JL | Soundcloud

Steel pan drums are all the rage for the tropical house scene, especially with this lovely summer weather. Along comes Aussie Alex Hiew, or JL, to mix things up with his new 2-side Never Have | Night Walk. You wouldn’t expect the upbeat echo in trap, but dear god it works so well. We’d expect nothing less of a DIE HIGH. affiliate. His other tracks experiment with other lovely island sounds too. Catch that guitar on ‘Hold Moi’. Most of his stuff is free to download through SoundCloud or Facebook.

Tep No | Soundcloud

Tep No combines essences of deep house and dream pop to create some seriously hypnotic flows to back his rhythm-and-bluesy voice, which maintains a sort of airy scratchiness. While the lyrics are relatively melancholy, the combination of everything pans out oddly soothing.

His first release, ‘Promises’, was a hit among those in the know. It brought to mind a more electronic Lana. We waited to see if he could carry the rep and his subsequent 2 releases definitely indicate he’s onto something good. You can download all his work for free off his SoundCloud.

Splash House

Splash House is like a much needed kick-off cruise to Summer without the need for sea legs or the risk of being stranded in the great blue. We went in with our questions: How will this operate between three pools? What will the crowd be like? What debauchery would take place? Now that we’re back, we highly recommend Splash House for anyone searching for a more intimate vacation where a less hectic pool vibe (see: Vegas) and music are the centerpiece. Add squirt guns, floaties, awesome views and architecture, beautiful people, and hammocks and you’ve got the one-of-a-kind experience that is Splash House.

The shuttle system was the first question to leave our thoughts. They literally came one after the other so waiting was a non-issue; they even had free water, red bull, and shade for attendees throughout the festival. As it turns out, the shuttles were also my favorite part of the festival. Traveling from the 6 various stages (I’ll get to that) in tight seating allowed for a more personal touch to the festival and made for a great way to organically meet people. Everyone surely came away with new friends, at the very least.

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Alt-J | Jessie Ware | Pomo | Solomun

It’s Summer! That means warm days, long nights, hazy memories, and a total disregard for the concept of time. Here are some of the latest and greatest tracks for you to match to whatever mood you’re caught in out there.

Pomo

Pomo’s newest work is an upbeat future beat track to either wake up smiling to or loosen up for the night groove. Andrea Cormier on vocals adds an angelic touch that only a care-free summer can complement. It’ll be on his forthcoming EP as well.

Solomun

You can’t have a summer without friends. You can’t have a summer without Deep House. Solomun brings that all together with Friends – 2DIY4. It’s a 9-minute adventure with just the right amount of tempo changes and surprises for those moments when thinking just won’t do. Put on a smile and dance those troubles away.

Alt-J

Alt-J’s newest single in their continued musical endeavour sans bassist Gwil Sainsbury is an ambient trip featuring replacement member Miley Cyrus. I jest. The sample used fits perfectly, though, considering the song is about fighting through loss. Lull yourself to sleep with this one.

Jessie Ware

Jessie Ware’s Tough Love channels Cyndi Lauper. Remember Time After Time? That was high-school graduation right there. This one’s got melodic electronics for those nights when your flings flop. Don’t worry – there’s always tomorrow. It’ll be out on her upcoming second studio album.

Marian Hill | Soundcloud | Buy Play

Marian Hill is a duo out of Philadelphia; they are joined live by a bassist/saxist. We had the privilege of catching them at School Night and were immediately addicted. Jeremy Lloyd controlled the sway with finger-tapped drums and samples on an MPK49. Steve Davit had the room swooning to jazzy saxophone and bass. Samantha Gongol’s bewitching, bluesy voice and seductive movements hypnotized the crowd.

Marian Hill is simple and sultry electro-soul and R&B fit for dim rooms and whisky. When it comes to production, less is definitely more with Marian Hill.

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