Through Devon Sproule’s mailing list I learned of this lovely video for her song “Ain’t That The Way”. Devon has been a long time love of mine. I first came across her music during a live performance in a tiny living room in Vermont, and (as anyone who has seen her in person can attest) immediately became hypnotized. She is one of those magical creatures that everyone wishes they could be or be with, it also doesn’t hurt that she has a gorgeous voice. Her songs are reminiscent of running through fields in the summertime, which this video captures perfectly. She’ll be at SXSW for the first time this year and I can’t wait to fall in love all over again.
Three of our favorite ladies, Alex, Amelia and Molly of the acoustic wonder that is Mountain Man, have been tearing it up on the west coast this winter. I first came across these videos by Yours Tru.ly, here, and am ecstatic I did. These women are best experienced live, and these videos are the closest I’ll be able to get until SXSW. Mind-blowingly gorgeous, this is not to be missed.
Vampire Weekend has recently been getting a lot of love on Dipped in Dollars, and this remix of Cousins by Mexican producer Toy Selectah is keeping them on blast. It kind of reminds me of the Frikstailers remix of Hold the Line, but that may be due to my limited knowledge of latin music. The remix is actually part of a larger mix Selectah did of the entire album, which you can purchase at any of these retailers near you. Check out these Whiplash-y visuals featuring tracks from the rest of his mix.
DJ /rupture is a New York-via-Barcelona based writer/producer/dj. He initially gained a lot of attention for his ridiculous mixtapes, then dropped a coupleofalbums that transcended genres and privied listeners to his influences. He also created a blog that you have to check out. I’m really getting into the visuals for Solar Life Raft Medley. Gorgeous visuals perfectly accompanying/rupture’s ambience. Check him on tour with fellow D.I.D. favorites Gang Gang Danceall winter.
Up-and-coming artists Max Darham and Tyler Weedon have collaborated on an animation for Real Estate’s Suburban Dogs. Things are uncertain if this is will be the official video for the song, but I had an opportunity to speak with Tyler about their process.
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Chief: What led you to pick Suburban Dogs for your animation?
Tyler: I personally trace back the origin of the inspiration for the project to the show that Real Estate played at Bennington in the beginning of the fall term. Max and I, along with our best pal Ian, were in the front row right in front of bassist and good friend Alex Bleeker swaying and jiving to the music, and distilled within that experience I clearly remember this moment when they were playing Suburban Dogs and the music really took me somewhere. From then on, the band’s music really became the soundtrack for our term, and to some degree, the animation was in part trying to recapture the transcendent moment that was experienced at the show. Max and I found that the feeling of riding a bike, and its movement would go well with the feeling and pace of the song.
C: What ideas were you working with in your process?
T: The bike ride featured in the animation, from the Bennington College campus to North Bennington, is one that Max and I almost rode twice a day to visit our best friend, Gabriel, who was living out there. Since the work is taken from the grounds of our everyday experience, as the artist I sought a way to de-contextualize the literal nature of the place and draw the images in a way that they would serve as more archetypal images, more apart of memory than reality, and in that way the work would take on a certain universality. the drawings were produced through a rotoscope method, meaning that photographs were taken first and then traced on a light box, and much of the impact of the drawings comes from the solid composition of my initial photographs, along with the myriad of choices I made within the process of redrawing. The sequence of shots in the animation were something that imagined in my mind each time Max, Ian, and I rode out to North Bennington to visit Gabriel. Within the context of my own disciplined exploration of representation, the use of archetypal images, the recycling of everyday experience, and the juxtaposition of real and dream worlds fall within the major motifs of my artistic project. A major idea for Max and I involved a synesthetic movement of the lines to capture the pulse and energy of the music, and how best to have the music correspond to the visuals.
C: What ideas do you have for your works in the future?
T: Max and I are currently trying to figure that out. We are looking forward to working on a new animation in ‘10, but for right now we are working on our own projects. I am in the midst of working on small-scale drawings of faces, balancing figuration and abstraction in considered compositions, and following the ideas that come about in the process day to day. max is currently working on a new maya animation of a contorting mountain bike, among other things.
C: Is there anything else you’d like to say about the piece?
T: We are glad to finally have the work on the internet for the public and fans of Real Estate to enjoy.
Rocky Business recently informed us of their existence, as well as the imminent release of their mixtape, dropping sometime next month. According to this interview, Rocky Business, “sounds like music teenagers will play in 3010″, and he’s dead ass serious. Combining indie rock and hip-hop, two of our favorite genres, to produce a new super-genre, Rocky Business are definitely a duo to watch. Check out this video for “Find Away”, directed by Tone, as well as the irresistible track “Bass Lines”, and you can be sure this won’t be the last you hear of them.
I guess for us at D.I.D. this is another day of awesome videos from the interwebs. Someone posted this link on facebook, and I ignored it, I know now that I was a fool! My attention was regained by Pasta Primavera, and now I’m in love. This track is slow and simple, as is the video, but in an amazingly hypnotic way. I could watch those green dots form and then separate for ages.
Oh hey kids, look more goodies from this week of wonder! The Knife (Swedish dreamboats) announced a tantalizing collaboration.
They along “with Mt. Sims and Planningtorock, are to release the studio version of the opera ‘Tomorrow, In A Year’, on the 1st March 2010. Commissioned by Danish performance group Hotel Pro Forma to write the music for their opera based on Charles Darwin and his book ‘On the Origin of the Species’, The Knife decided to make this a collaborative process, working with artists Mt. Sims and Planningtorock for the first time, to capture the huge width of the Darwin and evolution theme.” (via their Myspace)
What’s not to love about this? Oh but wait, there’s more. They gave away the first track, “Colouring of Pigeons” for free! The first taste is epic and gorgeous, and The Knife at their best. Can’t wait to see what else they’ve dreamed up.
Dipped in Dollars (D.I.D.) is the brainchild of Chief and Danger. While attending a crazy liberal arts college in Vermont, we realized our mutual love of righteous dance music, art, and the people behind them. D.I.D. exists to share this love with you and hopefully turn you on to something new. More about the brains behind the brawn, here.
This site exists to promote artists, if you hear something you like, think about throwing the artist(s) a few dollars, buy an album, go to a concert, show them you care. If any artists or official people want us to take any of our links down, just shoot us an email and we'll take care of it. Happy Listening!
