#picked up the album on a Bandcamp Friday and damn it's good

[ereborne]

Song of the Day: May 2

"HeatStroke" by KaiL Baxley

[doomedandstoned]

Swedish Doomers VOKONIS Share New Single Ahead of RippleFest Sweden!

~Doomed & Stoned Debuts~

What a way to start the week, with brand new music from VOKONIS!   It's hardly a secret that we're fans of the band. After all, they're making their first appearance in North America at Doomed & Stoned Festival in October. One month before that, they'll be joining a damned impressive bill for RippleFest Sweden II. Ahead of the big event, which takes place September 7th and 8th at Copperfield's in Stockholm, we're debuting a new single by each of the bands featured on the bill, starting with the progressive doomers from Borås. You'll be able to download each single the day after we premiere it here.

"It's a somewhat transitional song for us," singer/guitarist Simon Ohlsson says of the massive seven-minute-plus single before us. "We're showcasing our best doom while offering up a varied and progressive feel. I also believe I've done some of my best solos yet on this track!"

Vokonis are about to make a leap forward in their evolution as a band and we dispatched executive editor Melissa Marie to ask Simon all about it, so be sure and check out the interview below and turn up the volume loud as Simon, Jonte, and Emil bring us the roaring "Celestial Embrace."

Give ear...

RippleFest Sweden II

It's coming!

Last year's RippleFest Sweden inaugural Festival was so successful, that it had to come back again...and expand to 2 nights! Invading Copperfield's Stockholm, Sept 7 and 8: Six Ripple bands, two nights, new merch, exclusive shirts, music, beer and fun at RippleFest Sweden II!

To celebrate this event, Ripple Music will be releasing a series of free digital singles showcasing each of the performing bands, one per week, leading up to the event. First up this week, the brand new song "Celestial Embrace" by Vokonis. Taken from the vinyl-only Skull Mountain, a four label compilation from the heavy underground. This particular single has all new artwork by Kyrre Bjurling.

Next up, look for new singles from Kingnomad, Witchers Creed, Craneium, Nekromant and Ozone Mama. All digital singles can be found on Ripple Music's Bandcamp page for free downloading. And check out Doomed and Stoned who will exclusively premiere each single the day before they're released!

Hosted once again by Magnus of Into the Void radio and promoted by Sweet Leaf, RippleFest Sweden II will be one of the must-see events for fans of stoner/doom.

WHEN: Friday and Saturday, September 7 and 8, from 9 pm to 1 am

WHO: Kingnomad, Ozone Mama, Nekromant (Friday) and Vokonis, Craneium, Witchers Creed (Saturday)

WHERE: Copperfields, Sankt Eriksgatan 36, 112 34 Stockholm, Sweden

*Admission is free!   For more information visit www.copperfields.se.

Interview with Vokonis Frontman Simon Ohlsson

  By Melissa Marie

  Photographs by Robert Hellström

Hey, Simon, thanks again for visiting with us. I’d like to first talk about 'The Sunken Djinn' (2017). This album is certainly more dynamic and far more transparent than your debut 'Olde One Ascending' (2016). Did you guys really set out to prioritize and improve your production quality on this album?

Hey Melissa! Thanks for having me. A pleasure as always! Personally, I think our first record Olde One Ascending is very raw. We had only been playing for a few months when we recorded it. So it’s a special record in that sense. I think that’s a good way to keep progressing, write a bunch of songs, record them and let them go and focus on the next thing.

So when we set out to write The Sunken Djinn we knew what we wanted to do differently. I think it’s more focused and direct in terms of songwriting. As you say, it’s also more of a hi-fi experience. That was our first collaboration recording new material with Joona at Studio Underjord. So we kind of developed this bond and for every recording we did with Joona, the better it sounded. He’s just got an ear for what we want out of a record.

Olde One Ascending by Vokonis

You released 'Olde One Ascending' on Ozium Records and at some point, ended up signed with my all-time favorite underground label, Ripple Music. How did you end up with Todd Severin and company?

Yes! Todd really is the man. We actually got linked together by one of the best podcasters that deals in heavy music here in Sweden, Magnus Tannergren of Into The Void Radio. He knows Todd from a while back and he’s always on the lookout for bands. So when he saw us he gave us a great recommendation that landed us a spot over at Ripple. We are very honored to be part of the family, that’s for sure.

The Sunken Djinn (Single) by Vokonis

How important is artwork to you, as a band? Both the artwork on 'Olde One Ascending' and 'The Sunken Djinn' is very interesting and not something you always see in doom metal territory. Even the artwork for “The Sunken Djinn” and ��Blood Vortex” singles are something that looks like they might come from a band like Entombed, which I think it very cool. I love Entombed by the way. Now that you’ve released the new track for “The Derelict Eyes” I can also say that I find the artwork is so unique.

I do love death metal and graphic art! That style is something that has spoken to me since way before I started playing doom. I guess it carries over well stylistically.

Tessa Najjar handles the art for our albums. For us it’s very important to paint a picture. It’s so important I think for a lot of bands in the scene. And I believe that Tessa’s style works very well with our music. We generally present to her a concept and just let her do her thing. If she comes to a crossroad with the piece, we’ll discuss in what direction we should go together. It’s a great partnership.

Kyrre Bjurling have handled art for us too. He’s a very special person to us since we found a fan-made picture for when we had released "The Sunken Djinn" as a single. We reached out to him and he helped us make that piece of fan-art as the cover art for the Ripple Music 7” single. That’s why our community is so cool!

Doomed & Stoned in Sweden by Doomed & Stoned

Speaking of “The Derelict Eyes,” I believe this is likely your fastest song to date. Do you feel putting this track on the 'Doomed & Stoned in Sweden' compilation was a bold move? You know people are bound to complain when bands take new directions, although sometimes I wonder if this occurs mainly in America. Do you feel that Swedes are more musically open minded than Americans? How has the general response been to this track?

Yes this is our fastest song. We wrote it in a period of us not really knowing where to go next. So we wrote something entirely different. Because I’m a big prog-lover. I don’t really care what style I’m listening to as long as it’s good. So that song was very important in our progression. Elements of “The Derelict Eyes” will definitely be used going forward. We have had great reception on the song. Our new label, The Sign Records, was so surprised when we sent it to them, they were like “Have you been sitting on this song for over a year? It’s killer! We gotta get it out now!” So that made me laugh a lot haha! Seeing their initial reaction gave me confidence in the song as well. I’m my own worst critic.

I don’t know if swedes are more open minded as a lot of my favorite bands that I am continuously inspired by are American. My thoughts are that if you dig a band such as Monolord, you probably like Entombed, right? And I’d love for Monolord to do a fast song. They’d pull that off with grace, I’m sure.

We’re now past the halfway mark in 2018. Any favorite albums of the year so far?

I have a few yes! Weedpecker came out with a great album right after the New Year. I’ve listened to that a lot. I know that SVVAMP released a great follow-up to their first album just now. My friends in Fungus Hill released what’s to me one of the best albums this year, Cosmic Construction on Proxima B. Also, we have Spiral Skies that delivered an album that sounds like I wish Ghost would sound. I always love to listen to new music. And I mainly pick up inspiration from bands doing something else than heavy fuzz-stuff.

I understand you are quite the gear junkie. Tell us about your setup. Favorite guitar? Preferred strings? The pedal you refuse to live without? Your amp setup?

Is it that evident? We are huge gear nerds and we’re always looking for ways to reach that tone that you have in your mind. I haven’t been using them live but my favorite guitar is the Jazzmaster. They’re kind of odd birds in heavy music but I can make it fit and I plan on using them extensively going forward. I usually use Elixir 0.13-0.52 in a C standard tuning. I like how it feels crisp and tight. Not to floppy and boomy. If that makes sense.

I refuse to perform without my Black Arts Toneworks Pharaoh. That’s just the best fuzz pedal I know. It can do basically everything you want in the realm of muff-style fuzz. So it goes very well with our music. Regarding amps I have two of them. And they’re actually my dream amps. Ever since I started out playing guitar, I wanted a Marshall JMP 2203. I got hold of one last year and I love it so much. It’s got that grind that I’ve been searching for. I also got an Orange OR100, the other dream amp for me. It’s thick and perfect for playing with single coils as it’s always beefy and never shrill sounding. These two are gonna do the bulk of the work on our new album.

I follow Vokonis constantly on Facebook and see that you have a signature guitar with Boult guitars. How did all that come to be?

Yes! Chris reached out to me after he noticed me using another Boult guitar. I always had this thing for Yamaha SGs and I still do. So he did a Yama style guitar which carries the name The Djinn. Pretty cool, huh?

The heavy metal scene in Sweden is overwhelming, just to say the least. Who are your favorite Swedish metal gods?

That’s gotta be Opeth. I love them with a passion and they got me into heavy music. I can listen to their discography over and over and not get tired of it. The way they’ve transformed themselves time and time again is beyond me. I always get a kick out of listening to them. Then there’s Skraeckoedlan. They’re probably my favorite band in the realm of stoner/doom/sludge.

Let’s talk about the invitation you received to be a part of the Planet of Doom movie. Did you write an entirely new song for it? That must be a massive honor!

That was so insane. I had been aware of the project for a few years before we got an invitation, so when David messaged me asking if we could put together a song we jumped on it. Feels kind of insane even now when it’s out there. Tim helped me with the lyrics just to get the story across. It was certainly the first time I wrote lyrics with someone from the other side of the planet. So yes, to sum it up, we are very honored to be part of it. It’s like a love letter to the whole genre. To be part of that select few is a special feeling.

Speaking of collaborations with Ripple Music, you have a new track titled “Celestial Embrace” on 'Skull Mountain' (2018). Did you write this specifically for this vinyl release?

Todd of Ripple Music asked us if we wanted to be on a compilation. So we became linked at an early stage. More than a year ago. And we had been started writing two songs after we had recorded The Sunken Djinn. We wanted to do something different and try to convey that we’re going to do some different stuff. I think that we got to showcase some of that in “Celestial Embrace” Very proud of that song.

The Sunken Djinn by Vokonis

I hear we can expect a new full-length Vokonis record in the not so distant future. What can you tell us about it?

We are headed into Studio Underjord in August, actually, so it looks like there’ll be at least a single out this fall. Then we’re going to release that album sometime in 2019 on The Sign Records. It’s too early to say dates and such but it’s coming for sure. It’s very different from our previous material. We have more clean passages and Jonte is singing almost half of the record. We had a different approach while writing it, previous albums was mostly my writing. Now I came up with a riff/idea and we did a lot more work on it. So it’s not nearly the same as it was when it was just an idea. In my mind, it’s the most Vokonis-sounding thing from us yet. As we put ourselves into this album more than ever before.

Of course, I must mention that, in addition to Ripple Fest in September, you'll be headlining at this year’s Doomed & Stoned Festival in October. As you recall, we tried to get you guys to come out last year, but the stars just didn’t align the way we wanted. Patience always pays off and 2018 is the year!

We couldn’t be happier! Finally we’ll be able to come to the US and play! Seriously, though, this is what makes the scene so special. It feels kind of close-knit and small even though you’re from the US and I’m from Sweden. I can’t wait!

Thanks for chatting with us once again. We’ll see you on stage!

Thank you! Always a pleasure.

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[audiofixationnews]

#OverloadMonday: Singles, Visuals, Projects & Tours! Oh My!

Here's some overload for your Monday blues. Check out what went down this past week, Jan. 22nd-28th.

Singles

Apple

Royce 5’9”, Joyner Lucas, and Black Thought - yes, you read those names right - have teamed up to tackle one of Lin-Manuel Miranda’s tracks off his 2016 Hamilton mixtape. While the original featured Nas and Dave East, this new remix stars the trio with Aloe Blacc on the hook. Listen above.

Gucci Mane comes through with new music. He teams up with Tiesto and Sevenn for his latest track “BOOM.” Pick your poison and enjoy: Apple Music or Spotify. 

We’ve also seen team efforts from the likes of Dice Soho x Will Peters, Rich The Kid x Famous Dex, Lil Baby x Kenny Gee, and Cam O’bi x Smino. 

Clearly, Meek Mill was busy leading up to his incarceration, and Joyner Lucas has been pretty busy out here in the world. Check out their team effort along with Timbaland on the new track, “Run It.” 

Instead of releasing his EP, Woke You Up, Sonny Digital decided to release two new singles over the weekend: “Keep It Real” and “Love My Plug.” Check them out. 

We got new music from T-Pain, R-Mean, YBN Almighty Jay, and King Los. 

Lil Jon linked up with 2 Chainz and Offset for his newest joint, “Alive.” After posting that picture of him and Jermaine Dupri in the studio, you have to ask: Is Lil Jon gearing up for a comeback? We shall see. 

With his new project on the way, scroll down for that, Skooly dropped the first offering, “Dirty Dawg Insane.” 

As more Pro Era is demanded, shall Joey giveth with Pro Era’s CJ Fly and Nyck Caution.

While we wait for the release of their collab project Can’t Feel My Face, Lil Wayne and Juelz Santana drop for their newest joint track, "Bloody Mary.” The new track appears on Lil Wayne’s newest release, scroll down to “Projects."

And when you thought the team efforts were done: Maroon 5 x A Boogie, Ralo x YFN Lucci, and Young Thug x Gunna x Hoodrich Pablo Juan. 

A$AP Rocky dropped two new singles just a day apart, “5ive $tar$” and “Above.” His newest singles give a peek into the new sounds he’s “testing” for his upcoming third studio album. Also, he may or may not be testing out a title for the upcoming album. All of the artwork on his SoundCloud has been changed from that Testing cover to now a bright yellow background with Dummie in the middle. You can find it above in the cover photo. 

Check out the snippet 50 Cent dropped off his new single with PNB Rock, “Going Crazy.” First, he dropped one via Instagram, then followed up with another snippet the very next day. Produced by Frank Dukes, check the previews out and let’s hope this drops soon. 

Visuals

Apple Music, Spotify, TIDAL. 

After finally releasing their joint project, Friday On Elm Street, Jadakiss and Fabolous have dropped the project’s first visual for “F vs J Intro.” They followed up with another visual, this time for the fan-favorite “Soul Food.” A tough project featuring the likes of Future, Swizz Beatz, Teyana Taylor, Styles P (of course) and more. A must listen, so pick your poison and definitely check it out.

Following the release of their sophomore album CULTURE II, Migos dropped a visual over the weekend. Well, more like an action-packed short film, watch “Stir Fry” starring the song’s producer, Pharrell.

New visuals from Moneybagg Yo and YBN Nahmir were dropped this past week.

Catch producer Sango’s first visual offering from his upcoming project, “Sweet Holy Honey” featuring Xavier Omär.

Jhene Aiko dropped a visual treatment to her fan favorite “Sativa,” featuring Swae Lee - but with a twist.

We also got to see visuals from K Camp, G Herbo, and Downtown Dion.

In 2018’s first week we saw a sudden release, One Week Notice, from Dizzy Wright, Jarren Benton, Audio Push, Demrick, Emilio Rojas, Reezy DJ Hoppa, and Kato. The crew gave themselves a total of 7 days to put together and drop the project. Now they drop a visual treatment for, according to Kato, “one of the group and fan favorites off the project,” “Get Up N Go." Check out the visual here, and go back to the #OverloadMonday for One Week Notice.

Projects

After releasing Dedication 6 for Christmas, Lil Wayne is back unloading the tape’s sequel, Dedication 6: Reloaded. The 20-track tape follows the release of three singles that of course made the tracklist. Featuring the likes of Juelz Santana, Gudda Gudda, Drake, Lil Twist and more. 

Returning with his first project in four years, Evidence dropped a new solo LP over the weekend. Weather or Not is a 16-track project that features the likes of Styles P, Rapsody, Alchemist and more.  A project you do not want to bypass: Spotify or Apple

Former G-Unit member, Spider Loc reemerged this past week with The Lost Tapes. The 15-track album features the likes of Jay Rock, E-Note, Mack 10 and of course 50 Cent. Reminiscent of that old G-Unit sound from the early 2000s, and I’m here for it. It’s definitely worth a listen, so pick your poison: Apple Music, Spotify.

Ghostface Killah and Apollo Brown re-released their ’13 effort The Brown Tape: Bandcamp, Spotify or Apple.

While Migos released their sophomore album, CULTURE II, this weekend, Justine Skye made her official debut with ULTRAVIOLET.

Coming Soon...

Tory Lanez…about damn time. The Toronto-native has finally announced the release of his highly-anticipated album, Memories Don’t Die. Via Instagram, Tory shared a trailer that reveals the album is slated to drop March 2nd. Watch the trailer above and stay plugged. It definitely builds up the hype, and we’re all waiting.

Producer Sango’s forthcoming project, In The Comfort Of, is slated to release March 6th.

And they’re back! Beginning with their 1993’s Bacdafucup, Onyx released seven studio albums along with mixtapes, and let’s not their solo careers. Now the duo is back with their first project in years titled Black Rock. The project will feature the likes of Optimus, Skyzoo, Sickflow, Snak The Ripper, and R.A. The Rugged Man. They took to Instagram to reveal the project’s tracklist along with artwork. Black Rock is slated to release February 17th.

Reports are flooding in that Black Thought is teaming up with 9th Wonder for a new project. After the intense and viral freestyle, this move to drop some solo music outside of The Roots seems strategic. Via Nodfactor's Twitter, a video was released of Black Thought revealing his work with 9th Wonder: “It’s the first of a series of joints that I’m gonna be putting out called Streaming Thought. Be on the lookout for the music that we’re about to hit y’all with.” And 9th followed up by semi-confirming with an obscure tweet. Stay plugged for updates.

Well, since everyone is taking to Twitter, Lil Pump just recently tweeted out that his next tape, Harvard Dropout, is “coming soon."

Producer Jahlil Beats took to Sway In The Morning to announce that his debut project will be released this summer. Titled Gratitude, his debut compilation project will feature the likes of Meek Mill, Dave East, Kendrick Lamar, Anderson .Paak, Beanie Sigel and more.

DJ Carnage is all set to release his highly anticipated sophomore album, Battered Bruised & Bloody, and is set to release March 2nd.

Check out the releases slated to drop this week, specifically February 2nd: Justin Timberlake, Man of the Woods; Skooly, Don’t You Ever Forget About Me; Skyzoo, Bring Back God II; Brain, Amen.

Check This

TDE presents The Championship Tour! TDE’s big players, and little newbies, will be hitting the road. This includes the likes of Kendrick Lamar (duh), ScHoolboy Q, SZA, Jay Rock, Ab-Soul, SiR, and Lance Skiiwalker gallivanting their way through all of North America. The tour will kick off on May 4th in Vancouver, and end in June 16th in Pittsburgh. You don’t want to miss this. Tickets are already on sale via Ticketmaster. Check out the full tour date list to see if the champions will be in a city near you. 

While we’re talking about TDE...SZA has confirmed that she has new music on the way from her collaborations with Mark Ronson and Tame Impala founder Kevin Parker. During an interview with NY Times, TDE’s leading lady revealed that she had been working with the duo and three tracks have been recorded. Any day now, yasss. 

While we’re still waiting for Jay Electronica to drop his highly anticipated album, the Roc Nation lyricist has revealed that he will be heading out on tour starting this week. Starting in Chicago this Thursday, Feb 1st, and end in New York for Governor’s Ball, June 1st-3rd. It will be an eight-city run, let’s just be thankful he’s hitting the road at all.

Both Royce 5’9” and J. Cole were spotted filming a music video for an unreleased and unnamed song. HNHH posted a snippet of some BTS footage via Instagram. With PRhyme 2  (PRHYME = Royce + DJ Premier) out March 2nd, it’s a good assumption that the single may surface on the self-titled collab album from the duo. We will have to wait and see.

With the surprise release during Scary Hours, Drake broke records with his single “God Plan.” First, the single had the most single streams on Spotify. Drake then moved on to break Apple Music’s first day streaming record with 14 million streams. Yes, 14 million streams in just the song’s first day. Jeez.

Donald Glover penned a deal with RCA over the week that will give us new music from Childish Gambino. Chairman and CEO of RCA, Peter Edge, had this to say: “Donald is undoubtedly one of the most talented, multi-faceted, young entertainers of this era. We are excited to join forces with him and Wolf + Rothstein to usher in the next phase of Childish Gambino’s musical career.” Amen. The deal between RCA and Glover’s agency/label, Wolf + Rothstein, for his upcoming album that will drop sometime this year it looks like. 

Stay plugged

That sums up this past week in Hip Hop. Come back next week for more.