Priscella Vega

HB Surround Sound perform at the Anaheim House of Blues

More »

More »

Courtesy of Michael Maier

Boys Noize

See Also:

*Remix Exclusive: Boys Noize - XTC (MMM REMIX)
*Best of HARD Summer, Day 1 - Los Angeles State Historic Park - 8/3/12
*Bloc Party Speaks: Why Bringing Their Guitars to HARD Summer is a Gutsy Move

Revered as one of the best electronic artists on Beatport for three years in a row, Alexander Ridha, better known as Boys Noize, is finally releasing his highly anticipated third album, Out of the Black, on October 2nd followed by a batch of tour dates were he will debut his new live show. He's come a long way from his tekkno and acid house days and provides us with some of the most solid minimal techno and disco house-inspired sounds in a while. Backstage at this years HARD Summer Music Festival in downtown LA, Ridha said the album was partly inspired by his EDM nostalgia.

"I'm always looking for new sounds and try not to re-peat myself," explains Alex. "[Out of the Black] is sort of a mix of my first and second albums. I really tried to get that feeling I had when I first started to produce music." That feeling was back in 2004 when he realized in order to keep creative freedom in his work he would have to produce music on his own record label, Boys Noize Records which was formed in 2005. "It's funny for me this album felt like in order to make a step forward I had to take a step back again and find my roots. I sounded so raw and naive in a way because I didn't really know what I was doing then."

More »

Cham Kerem
Visions of the Sun
http://soundcloud.com/chamkerem-ninos-muertos

See Also:
*Local Record Review: 'Time' by Immortal Minds
*Local Record Review: 'We Are Locally Grown' by Locally Grown Collective
*Local Record Review: 'The Radical Era' by Sacred Blasphemy

The SanTana-based hip-hop collective of field warriors known as Cham Kerem are shining light on realities others would rather have remain in the dark. The five-member crew recently released their debut effort, Visions of the Sun, offering fourteen tracks (plus a bonus cut) of unrelenting, unapologetic rebel rhymes. Ghost Dance, iLLoheem, La Pavis, iLL Sal and Rethro hit up racism, police brutality and immigration interchanging bilingual lyrics all along the way.
More »

Milo Greene

Milo Greene
Milo Greene
www.milogreene.com

Milo Greene has come a long way since a year ago, when they were being misnamed "The Milo Greene Band" on bills for local festivals. Since then, they've toured with The Civil Wars and have been playing pretty much constantly, somehow finding time to record their first album. The eponymous record, released this week, has been a long time coming -- but worth the wait for anybody who's seen them live. If nothing else, the quality of the record ensures that people will take better care in getting their name right.

More »

Locally Grown Collective
We Are Locally Grown
http://locgrwn.wix.com/lgcltv#!

In the city of Orange, the seeds of good hip-hop music are being sown by its hometown hustlers the Locally Grown Collective. Harvesting together their distinctive talents, Endz, DaveAllen, DeeJaeeBee, FourthBeats and Coley Cole have recently released their We Are Locally Grown mixtape on DatPiff offering listeners everything from underground hip-hop, neo-soul and spoken word poetry. 
More »

Yellow Red Sparks
Four Steps in Corsets
ORG Music
www.yellowredsparks.com

The pure poetry of singer-songwriter Josh Hanson is accentuated by tightly interwoven arrangements on Four Steps in Corsets, the debut EP from OC's premiere indie folk-rockers Yellow Red Sparks. Released by ORG Music, the reflective, melancholic tone of heartache throughout the album makes for a compelling listen. A trio of accomplished musicians with Goldy (drums/vocals) and Sara Lynn (upright bass, piano, vocals, banjo) accompanying Hanson, Yellow Red Sparks find all the right melodies and rhythms on all of the songs. A stripped down soul emerges from intricate musical tapestries.
More »

Sacred Blasphemy
The Radical Era
http://sacredblasphemyradicals.wordpress.com

The Radical Era has arrived and its epicenter is Anaheim. Underground street hip-hop group Sacred Blasphemy let you know where they're coming from throughout their recently released, full-length debut album. Getting their start in 2008, the crew now includes Skandalouz Riot, Zoot Suit Classic, Rinoe, Spanx and DJ Deplete. Though The Radical Era may sound and look like typical Chicano Rap at times, the offerings from its 14 tracks are diverse enough to transcend the label.
More »

Moostache

Huntington Beach four-piece Moostache have just released their anticipated album entitled, Anything, Alone. Featuring 11 tracks produced locally by Jon O'Brien (including 2 bonus tracks produced by Billy Mohler and Jimmy Messer), the album is nothing short of exuberant. Right out of the gate, the impressive range and vocal control of Patrick Wardell is thrust into the spotlight full force with "Guarded Place." Comparable to a tranquil version of The Mars Volta frontman Cedric Bixler-Zavala, it might take some getting used to depending on your musical tastes. Either way, the controlled chaos that is Wardell's vocals is astounding and not over-bearing through out the remainder of the album.

More »

Armando Corriente

La Santa Cecilia represents a generation of genre-mashing Latino musicians raised in Los Angeles. Their preferred forms of expression remain the Latin American realms of boleros, rancheras, cumbias and salsa; nevertheless, they expand far beyond them. The band possesses an impressive talent for interweaving them with other influential styles that might seem worlds away but are rooted in the diversity of their city. That central dynamic is on full display with El Valor, their latest Rebeleon Entertainment release.

More »