Buddhas and Beeps playlist

Kate Estwing

I really enjoyed working on this playlist and presenting it alongside Reflections of the Buddha at the Pulitzer Foundation for the Arts. Some artists and labels that sprang to mind immediately, played heavily into the final mix, such as artists Four Tet, Tycho and Moby; and labels like Ghostly International, Warp, and Om.

Peruse the setlist below and please support the artists if you enjoy what you hear. Reflections of the Buddha continues to run through March 10.

Sound Waves, a collaboration between the Pulitzer Foundation for the Arts and 88.1 KDHX

Thursday, January 26, 6-9 p.m.

(Playlist as Artist “Song” from “Album” on Label)

Chad Valley “Reach Lines” from “Equatorial Ultravox” on Cascine - listen

Birds & Batteries “Sneaky Times” from “Up To No Good” on Eightmaps - listen/download

Flying Lotus “Zodiac Shit” from “Cosmogramma” on Warp - listen/video

Massive Attack “Inertia Creeps [Album Version]” from “Inertia Creeps” - listen/video

Porcelain Raft “Tip Of Your Tongue (Keep Shelly in Athens Remix)” from “Tip of Your Tongue Remix EP” on Acephale - download

Kodak to Graph “Zagroz” from “Visio’l EP” on Bad Panda Records - listen/download

Orbital “Halcyon (7″ Version)” from “Work 1989-2002″ on FFRR

Four Tet “Circling” from “There Is Love In You” on Domino

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Posted by | February 1, 2012 | Culture, Music | Comment 

88.1 KDHX DJ Spotlight: Kate of Beep Beep Boop Boop

Photo by Sara Finke

Overflowing with cheerful energy, KDHX DJ Kate constructs each episode of Beep Beep Boop Boop (every Wednesday night, 9-11 p.m. Central) with exceptional precision and the goal of sharing something unexpected with listeners. 

A few weeks ago, I was given the opportunity to sit down with Kate at the KDHX studio and talk with her about St. Louis’ amazing local DJs, her love for and vast knowledge of music and the critics of the electronic music genre.

Jessica Lackey: How did you become interested in music?

Kate: Pretty much from my family. We have a lot of music in our background, and actually where I went to college in the Quad Cities goes back to my great uncle playing in this Dixieland jazz festival — the first ever Bix Beiderbecke Jazz Memorial Festival — as a drummer, and so my family has always been very musical. Our big joke from growing up is my mom blasting whatever her favorite songs were from the radio at night, and we would be going home from dinner and then in the morning, her freaking herself out because she left the car on too loud because she was singing along to Wham! or whatever. 

Is that what she kind of listened to, Wham!?

She liked pop music. My mom and my dad were divorced when I was younger, and they like pretty different styles of music. My dad really liked older stuff. He liked ’60s and ’70s rock a lot more than the ’80s that I was growing up in, and my mom was more latched on to pop. Not necessarily dance or club music like we know it but sort of pop and dance music. 

Some of the stuff I remember hearing around the house with her, we’d go from eight tracks of Barry Manilow and the Bee Gees to a little bit later stuff like Erasure and Pet Shop Boys and Wham!. I will listen to songs when I am getting ready for my show and I’m like, “Oh my God, that sounds just like, you know, early Wham!, like George Michael dance pop stuff.” It definitely creeps back in to the music that I enjoy. 

It sounds like it definitely influenced the music that you are interested in today. 

Yeah, and we all liked different kinds of music. I played the piano from the second grade all the way through college. I was a music major in college and that was my main instrument. I played the flute from seventh grade into college as well. I sang in a few choirs and took voice lessons and stuff, so I really had, and still do have, an affinity for classical music and jazz. And some more regular genres like rock and indie rock and hip hop and stuff like that. 

So it’s far spanning. 

Yeah, people will say, “So you must really just like techno,” and I’m like, “Well, actually techno is a sub genre of electronic music, but I like all this other stuff too,” and it’s funny because I think people will say, “Oh that’s what I have to talk to you about,” and it’s like, “No.” [Laughs]

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Posted by | November 16, 2011 | Interviews, KDHX | Comment 

Interview + MP3: Wallpaper. plasters electronica with pop

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Wallpaper. brought its poppy electronica from Oakland, Calif. to St. Louis for a show at the Gramophone on September 18, and Eric Frederic took the time to chat with me while driving through Missouri. The duo’s 2010 release, Doodoo Face (on Eenie Meenie records) encapsulates a party: funky bass lines, weird noises, distorted vocals and playful lyrics. While he boasts a bit of an alter-ego on stage, Frederic and I had a down-to-earth conversation about the group’s experiences in Springfield, Mo., White Castle and of course, poo (and music).

Enjoy the interview, plus a download of a song from Doodoo Face while it lasts!

Wallpaper. on Myspace

Beep Beep Boop Boop Interview With Eric Frederic

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Posted by | September 26, 2010 | Music | Comment 

Interview with Free the Robots on Beep Beep Boop Boop

Photo courtesy of Free the Robots

Free the Robots visited 88.1 KDHX and Beep Beep Boop Boop on May 27, 2010. Along with a DJ set, Chris Alfaro also took the time to sit down and discuss sampling, equipment, and the thriving L.A.-area music scene he’s a part of with the Glitch Mob, Gonjasufi, and others who take part in the weekly Low End Theory night.

Free the Robots – Interview with KDHX by beepbeepkate

Crossposted from Beep Beep Boop Boop.

Posted by | June 4, 2010 | KDHX, Music | Comment 

Listen to the Sadat X interview with 88.1 KDHX

Photo by Will Tell.

Photo by Will Tell.

Sadat X chatted with me over the phone on February 19 to discuss his upcoming album, Wild Cowboys 2, due out March 23. Stream the weekly radio show Beep Beep Boop Boop here, anytime via KDHX.org. Here’s the interview:

Sadat X Interview with KDHX by beepbeepkate

…and peep the first single, “Turn It Up” featuring Pete Rock:

Turn it Up (feat. Pete Rock) (CLEAN) by beepbeepkate

beep!

Cross-posted from Beepbeepboopboop.com

Posted by | March 12, 2010 | Music | 2 Comments 

The Hood Internet x KDHX: Mashups, Yo!

With over 6,000 Facebook fans, the Hood Internet proves that mashups ain’t goin’ nowhere just yet. It doesn’t hurt that they give away all of their tracks, make creative song titles (and artwork), and have a functioning, up-to-date Web site.

STV SLV (aka Steve Reidell), half of this mashup production duo out of Chicago, visited Beep Beep Boop Boop at KDHX before their performance at Wash U’s the Gargoyle Friday, February 12. Here are some things he had to say, and his mix for KDHX along with tracklist posted below. Enjoy!

Kate: Some people think mash-ups require little skill. How would you respond to this? Mash-ups seem like a hard thing to become successful with, but you seem to keep busy with gigs etc. What do you feel drives your success?

STV SLV: Ha, there’s certainly some truth to that. Recording software is so readily available nowadays that literally anyone can put a mashup together. But in the same sense, anyone can play guitar, anyone can spin records, etc. Doesn’t mean it’s all going to sound good. ABX and I both have a background in making/producing music and I think that’s why the Hood Internet is able to stand out in a digital sea of mashups. We also work hard at touring and playing DJ sets so that crowds in all sorts of other cities have the chance to come out and dance and have a good time.

What’s the usual mashing process for you?

Cut up SONG A to make an “instrumental” of sorts that’s tailored to the verse/hook structure of SONG B. When applicable, stretch tempo, re-pitch or on rare occasion, auto-tune! Repeat.

Any interesting legal stories?

None yet. But hopefully someday there will be something that Law & Order bases a plot on.

What do you think about the creativity of artists like yourself in the current music industry? What do you predict will happen to artists who thrive on the creativity of sampling etc., in the next 5 years? or ten?

Well, it’s hard to predict where music itself will be in the next 5-10 years. To wit, in the ’90s when I was listening to mostly grunge, I wouldn’t have guessed that in 10 years time there would be amazing bands like LCD Soundsystem. So really, who knows. People always want something new, and after a while things like Hood Internet and Girl Talk will become tiresome. Sampling has been around for quite a while, and it’s always taking on new forms, like Washed Out for example: awesome songs that are primarily rooted in sampling. But even that could get old in 5 years. Hopefully grunge has made a full comeback by then. That would rule.

The Hood Internet Mashups, Yo! – Live at KDHX by beepbeepkate

Tracklist:
caribou – odessa
lykke li x holy ghost – i’m good i’m ghost
weezer x glass candy – buddy holly’s imagination
kid sister x walter meego – pro nails forever
talking heads x ellen alien & apparat – psycho break
foals x the chain gang of 1974 – electric dirt
telephoned x the-dream – rockin that thang
drake x birdman x delorean – blowin money at the deli
big boi ft purple ribbon all-stars x ghislain poirier – blazin kryptonite
r. kelly x major lazer – ignition (keep it remixing louder)
ludacris x joker & ginz – how purple can you go
BBU x body language x shuttle – juke this city

beep!

Cross-posted from Beepbeepboopboop.com

Posted by | February 26, 2010 | Music | 2 Comments 

Ubiquitous KDHX

Some new releases from Ubiquity have made their way to KDHX – and they shouldn’t disappoint anyone who has high standards set for Ubiquity. A label well-known for re-issuing funk and soul, to releasing fresh new sounds, here’s the latest:

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PPP: Abundance (Ubiquity)

PPP (formerly known as Platinum Pied Pipers) started with their Detroit-based production work, and have grown into a mature – and varied outfit. Including vocals by Saint Louis’ own Coultrain, this album transcends from funky horns to synth-drenched neo-soul.

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James Hardway: LA Instrumental (Ubiquity)

Funk with a little bit of world tinge to it – Hardway wants you to imagine L.A. in the 70s. Take a trip!

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Betty Padgett: Betty Padgett (Luv N’ Haight)

Another nod to the 70s (but from the Florida coast), this is a reissue of Padgett’s 1975 release. She worked with Milton Wright to record the entire album in one night, at just 21 years old. A local Ft. Lauderdale station ran an ad for Pepsi to her song, “Sugar Daddy” – how come they couldn’t have used it for the new Pepsi Throwback ads?

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Shawn Lee Presents: Soul in the Hole (Ubiquity)

More straightforward than his movie score-esque work as Shawn Lee’s Ping Pong Orchestra, you’ll find plenty of vocals on this album, including some by Paul Butler (of the Bees and Devendra Banhart) the eclectic Darondo, and Nicole Willis.

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Clutchy Hopkins Meets Lord Kenjamin: Music Is My Medicine (Ubiquity)

While both Ubiquity and Hopkins’ “representatives” continue to mask the identity of Clutchy Hopkins (and some even suggest it’s Cut Chemist of Ozomatli and Jurassic 5), I guess we’ll just have to continue enjoying his music in speculation. The music, even, has a mysterious groove to it.

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Nomo: Invisible Cities (Ubiquity)

Recorded during sessions and tours for their last full-length album, Ghost Rock, Invisible Cities continues to build Nomo’s Afrobeat sound with solid horns and driving bass lines. Rigorous touring has put them through Saint Louis not too long ago; hopefully they’ll swing by again soon.

Cross-posted from Beep Beep Boop Boop.

Posted by | May 21, 2009 | Music | Comment 

Junior Boys Visit KDHX

Junior Boys (Jeremy Greenspan and Matthew Didemus) came to KDHX’s studio on Saturday, April 25 to perform an exclusive 30-minute DJ set. They were in town to perform a live set later that night at SLU’s Billiken Club along with Max Tundra. Junior Boys are on tour in connection with the release of their latest studio album, Begone Dull Care.

The DJ set, along with an interview, will be aired this Wednesday at 10:20pm CST during Beep Beep Boop Boop. Tune in at 88.1 FM in Saint Louis, listen live online, or peep the entire show streaming later on.

While Junior Boys are probably best known for their own electronic pop (”Like a Child” and “In the Morning“), it’s always interesting to hear what music an artist is digging – and during the DJ set at KDHX they did just that, playing only vinyl.

Their first time in Saint Louis, I pointed out that if the Arch is that big from Grand Avenue, think of how big it is closer up. Unfortunately, they would be closest to the Arch on Sunday morning at around 6am, sleeping in the tour bus on their way to a Daytrotter session in Rock Island, Illinois.

Check out Rob’s blog post interview with Max Tundra here.

Posted by | April 29, 2009 | KDHX, Music | Comment 

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