Usher and Diplo (YES, I said Diplo) just wants to keep us grinding all hot and sweaty on the dancefloor – “Climax”, produced by Diplo is the first single from Usher’s upcoming new album. I know one thing’s for sure….this song screams Ooooooh Ohhhhh. Check it out after the break, I think I need a [...]
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NEW MUSIC: Usher x Diplo – Climax
APPRECIATION: Larry Levan and Frankie Crocker
I believe that new is boring and that history is inspirational. These opinions are not necessarily the views of the Couch Sessions. “Marcus Dowling appreciates…” celebrates the memories that define the future. Enjoy. After the days when payola dominated New York rock and roll and ruined the career of legendary DJ Alan Freed, there was [...]
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THE TOP 5: Los Angeles
LA was and still remains a mystery to me. Even though I spent 5 days there, I still can’t figure out it. The city is so vast, with so many different neighborhoods, that it lacks a cohesiveness that most other cities have. Having that said, I always make a yearly pilgrimage to Southern California. Because [...]
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NEW MUSIC: Vague-à-Bonde
At some point last year, some tracks appeared in my Soundcloud inbox from a mysterious singer that simply went by the name Nichole Alicia. I remember scouring the internet for clues about this girl, only to find nothing. Well, a year has passed and fortunately I have connected with her on Twitter, and I’ve learned that she is set [...]
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VIDEO: Jessie Ware – Running
We’re huge fans of Jessie Ware at Couch Sessions. The UK singer has captured our heart with the the Sampha collaboration Valentine last year and she’s made a name for herself in the underground. However, she’s about to get noticed with this track “Running.” It deviates from her previous work, but the track and sultry [...]
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POST-VALENTINES MIX: LUVSTEP
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We were down with Dirty South Joe and Flufftronix’s LUVSTEP mixes before America knew was a Skrillex was. And right on time, the duo delievered their third iteration of the series this week. Their combination of smoothed out dubstep vibes is a collection of some of my favorite Dubstep remixes and this year is no [...]
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OPINION: On black homosexuality, “church as state,” the Grammys and Roman’s “holiday”
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America is not post-racial, especially if you’re gay. Of the many lessons learned from Sunday night’s performance of “Roman’s Holiday”at the Grammys by Nicki Minaj, the loudest and most poignant is that the Brooklyn-born dramatist-turned-rapper can’t and never will be the black Lady Gaga. Arguably, Gaga’s turn as “Mother Monster” – a super-heroine for the [...]
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LIVE: Action Bronson, Southpaw, Brooklyn
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Photos by Photoleer. The closing of Southpaw is a sad day for New York Hip-Hop. Thanks to the tireless efforts of promoters like Jah-C, the venue became a mecca for underground hip-hop culture. In a time where venues are still hesistent about booking hip-hop shows, Southpaw has had a consisent and vibrant lineup of some [...]
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NEW MUSIC: Tensei – ONE EP
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The Chicago-based production crew of Tensei has been on my radar for a minute, thanks to my friends at Plug Research. Producers Simple X and Midas Wells connected in college through their love of hip-hop and what resulted is a sound based off of lush instrumentals, blending in live instrumentation instead of traditional hip-hop samples. In [...]
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NEW MUSIC: Miles Bonny and B.Lewis – Together Forever
Most of y’all know that we have been fans of Kansas-city crooner Miles Bonny for a long time now (almost 5 years, an eternity in blog time). It’s good to see that in 2012 he is consistently putting out new music. This teaser track, “Together Forever,” is only the beginning of a new EP, titled [...]
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NEW MUSIC: Gabriella Kyle – Midnight Escapades
STREAM: Gabriella Kyle – Midnight Escapades I tried ridiculously hard to get some more information on Gabriella Kyle after stumbling across this AMAZING song she posted on her “Saga Baby” Tumblr page. I reached out to her trying to find out when she’ll be releasing a music project or if she ever performs anywhere and [...]
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NEW MUSIC: Stacy Barthe feat. John Legend – No Strings Attached
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Stacy Barthe hooks up with John Legend on the breezy, SupaDup-produced, ode to Mr. Right Now, “No Strings Attached.” The reggae-influenced track showcases a strong vocal performance by the Grammy-nominated, Surf Club, songwriter and John Legend’s featuring turn adds a masculine counterbalance to Barthe’s sensual lyrics. Having written big tunes for international stars like Katy [...]
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IN MEMORIAM: Whitney Houston
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Whitney Houston, arguably the most public of tragic tales at the mainstream height of the classic record industry model, is dead. Believed to have drowned herself in a bathtub a night prior to the 54th Annual Grammy Awards, she doesn’t just leave her family as her survivors, she leaves the world in shock and awe. [...]
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RETRO RE-CAP: Whitney Houston (Self-titled, 1985)
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It is with great sadness and a heavy heart that I write this. The untimely death of the incomparable, the inimitable, the incredible Miss Whitney Houston brings me to focus on her self-titled debut album. It is such an odd feeling listening to Whitney’s music under these circumstances, as I have always been a fan [...]
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MUSIC NEWS: Our Top 9 GRAMMY Predictions
This might be one of the more interesting Grammys yet. With the embrace of EDM and the dominance of such artists as Adele and Bon Iver, there seems to be a shakeup in the works for the music industry’s largest night. Honestly 2012 will go much like 2011 with traditional artists being favorited over more [...]
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GIVEAWAY: 2012 Grammy Program Guide and Music Magazine
Thanks to the fine people at Zinio, we’re giving away a digital copy of the 54th Annual GRAMMY Awards Program Book! For the first time the program guide (at first only available to Grammy attendees and members of the Academy). The digital copy is over 200 pages long and can be viewed on your computer, iPad, Android and [...]
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MUSIC NEWS: MTVu Woodie Awards Announced
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Last year I got the opportunity to cover the MTVu Woodie Awards. Not going to lie, it was really amazing. As someone who deals with emerging music, I’m always happy to see an international platform Having the opportunity to chop it up with Skrillex (before he was Skrillex). And with the shift now to EDM, it seems [...]
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LIVE: Florrie, HMV’s Next Big Thing, Barfly Camden, UK
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Pop. Out. My. Ears. #yes The Siren: Florrie Arnold The Scene: Snow, ice, pints, and Summer Nights… on the outside: London’s first snow of the year, on the inside: the strobed sublime of HMV’s Next Big Thing – snowballs and disco balls make for a splendid sonic nightcap. Roughly speaking, Barfly hosted a beautiful melange of art [...]
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PHOTO INTERVIEW: Breakfast with…Aniekan Udofia
Breakfast with…Aniekan Udofia Artist… We decided to meet up at The Diner with my daughter who was present due to no school this day, but she also a fan of art too all but made sense to sit and talk with an inspiration, artist and forward thinker like Aniekan Udofia. We talked about today’s art, Hip [...]
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LIVE: Sockets Records Showcase, Black Cat, DC
If Washington, DC is going to be a next wave indie powerhouse, it is absolutely necessary that Sockets Records be a dominant label. If an attendee at Saturday night’s Sockets Records showcase, there was significant sonic evidence to prove that the label’s acts may quickly be making this the case. A nearly filled to capacity [...]
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