Adult Karate’s first single, “Euphoria,” which comes out this Friday, June 26, is, according to Maloney himself, “by far the poppiest-sounding music I’ve ever written.” Indeed, its four-on-the-floor drumbeat and catchy, Interpol-esque guitar hook recalls the best indie rock of the aughts more than the dark electronic roots where Adult Karate began, but Maloney’s plaintive lyrics and strong vocal performances, along with the crescendo-ing, electronic-leaning choruses, make this one of his crossover-genre masterpieces. “Euphoria” lyrically mines the process of forgetting an ex, a familiar yet timeless subject that Maloney describes poignantly: “It’s not an easy thing to do, but it’s necessary.” It’s a song for shoegazing as much as it is for taking a long, breezy drive with the top down—there’s something in it for fans of genres spanning electronic, dance and rock.

Adult Karate - Euphoria

Adult Karate - Keep Your Love (Single)

Boroky - DNA Kisses

Los Girls - On My Mind - A King Most Redirection

1.Diamand

3.Act Right

5.Bonbon a la Menthe (Feat. Bonnie Banane)

7.Clean Shoes (Feat. Prince Waly)

8.Jolie Fille

1.  Myth Syzer - Fofoff

3.  Myth Syzer - Iggy Azaela-Work Remix

5.  Myth Syzer - Wiz Khalifa-Work Remix

Amp Live teams up with the talented saxophonist Dom of Big Gigantic to bring you the massive single "Brass Knuckles", available now for free download and on all digital retailers. On "Brass Knuckles", the collaborators uniquely create a new sound, trap meets jazz, by combining melodic pads, twisted sax solos, and floating them over huge big room bass drops. While also being one half of pioneering hip hop duo Zion I, Amp Live demonstrates his ability as an innovator, experimenter, and trendsetter that have garnered him solo recognition, bringing together the EDM and hip hop worlds with a technical and classical sensibility. As the first single from his upcoming concept album Headphone Concerto dropping in 2014, it will be a busy year for Amp on the Live side as well as he continues to tour prolifically while pushing the boundaries of sonic bliss.


Amp Live - Brass Knuckles

OKP is proud to premiere “Searching For”, the first single off LA airwave champion Anthony Valadez‘s sophomore LP In Search Of.. . Its a feathery slow jam laced with clean 808s, fluttering hi-hats, a candied Rhodes groove and Miles Bonny‘s mid-range croon. Originally intended as a straight instrumental LP, In Search Of.. morphed into the organic soul review that it is, due to the breadth of musicianship and vocalists Vala had access to during the recording process. The result is a timeless blend of modern tonal textures and vintage r&b sensibilities that keeps your head bopping through and through. So go rock with Anthony Valadez and Miles Bonny as they clue you into what they’re “Searching For” below. You can cop In Search Of.. on March 18th via the Plug Research imprint.

Support:  http://georiot.co/1s44

http://www.daylightcurfewstore.com/collections/plug-research


 http://georiot.co/1s4

Anthony Valadez - Searching For (Feat.  Miles Bonny)

05 Smelly Jesus  Pink Revenge (A Meditation On Ethics)

04 Raspberry Eyes (An Inspiring And Tragic Tale About Responsibility)

03 Rivulet (It Is Brave To Create)

02 Everything (The Dizzying Transformation)

01 Could (Duet For Blocked Artist)

PENNY NICKEL DIME (FEAT.  ANYA AND PROF)

Penny Nickel Dime (Instrumental)

What started off as a (vinyl only) remix project among several respect artists turned into a tribute to the life of one of those artists, Aaron Carl, after his untimely death soon after completing his version.  It was then renamed to the Aaron-Carl Tribute EP and the track name changed to The Power.

This version was previously unreleased.  Just another version that Joe made and never put out until now.  He always felt it was too naughty but Allen from Plug research convinced him otherwise so here it is in all its glory! 🍆

Joe Babylon - P Power - NSFW Mix

Boroky is pleased to announce his new single, AI (Animal Intelligence), out now on all
platforms. It is the second single from his forthcoming album Rat Park, a psychological saga
featuring multiple characters (subpersonalities, alter egos) and many twists and turns. The
first character we meet is Badboroky, aka. Sir Hideous Playful, a twisted, cynical, resentful
denizen of Boroky’s unconscious.
In this song, he reaches peak bitterness, and dreams of destroying the world. He might do it,
too. In this prog pop banger, we live his most murderous moments along with him, and the
taboo pleasures of our more destructive impulses. The chorus begins ‘F*ck it’ - an internal
cry familiar to just about everyone.
All the while, there’s a kind of comical, pantomime tone to the song that leaves you wanting
to giggle at all the evil. But if you laugh, you’re a bad person. Don’t laugh.

Boroky - AI (Animal Intelligence)

Dfalt - Sunrise Soldier

Dfalt - Total Recall

01 - Adult Karate - Freed

02 - Adult Karate - Aracode

"He rises, afraid to turn off the light"

So begins "LXII," the title track from Adult Karate's debut EP. Twinkling, woozy keyboards elicit images of sun reflecting off of choppy waves. Building in intensity behind KC Maloney's cryptic ruminations, they finally wash away, diffusing into a sea spray of synth decay. Spare, rattle-and-click percussion takes their place, pitched-down voices bouncing around the interior, Spaghetti western guitar scraping in the empty spaces- "the peace, it grows, it comes and goes."

Adult Karate is KC Maloney, half of the gauze-and-gossamer duo Radar Cult. Though Radar Cult's sound is fairly spartan, Adult Karate takes the use of empty space even further, hollowing out the skeleton of electronic music- house, techno, ambient- until only the memory is left. These songs are imprints on an empty bed, images on a burial shroud; a wisp of something gone, its impression indelible.

LXII's middle section in particular channels this austere atmosphere. "Chased" could be described as house music, though this particular house is haunted, chilly, its hidden corners populated by cold ghosts. Guitar washes and minor key piano conjure images of a suspicious figure glimpsed out of the corner of the eye. "Falling on your sword/For things you never got to be". "This Is Never" propels the nightmare vibes forward, its John Carpenter synth washes brushing up against clattering, reverb-laden snares before being overcome by Maloney's vocals, plaintive and distant.

"Murderer," announced by a lone, mournful trumpet, segues into a strutting, crunchy electronic pulse, building gradually into a moody groove, all blues and grays, a night time drive through an industrial ghost town as Maloney sings about broken dreams. Then, finally, "So Low", aided by the vulnerable vocals of Adeline, closes out the album on a slightly more hopeful note, a slow burn that turns the melancholy organ at its center into an anchor of hopefulness. As Maloney joins Adeline in the track's climax, what began as a forlorn lover's declaration becomes a joyous duet. Like the album's cover, it is a bit of pink, a bit of warmth, peeking out of the blue and gray.

LXII

Adult Karate - So Low (feat. Adaline)

Never have I met a man with the creative momentum of Anthony Valadez. The brother is never not creating. This latest offering, "Fade Away", seems to be Anthony's walk in the park, at night - foggy, contemplative chords and textures, leading us down ever-winding paths through the thick brush of percussion into clearings that exhale with that shimmer of a moonlight glow. Featured guests lend the perfect narration through the album's 10 cinematic tracks - honest and deliberate, fluid and emotive with every step.

Years as a radio host have brought Anthony's sensibilities to a well-tempered sophistication that underscores this release. Adad the emcee is featured on two tracks ("Divide It" and "Sweet Tooth"), and comes out with an undeniable force that locks you into his cadence and wordplay. Maylee Todd and Miles Bonny make appearances along with a few others, each of them blessing and undressing the track they touch, respectively.

The ever-growing artist that is Ant Vala is best exemplified on "Cab Driver", the closing track on "Fade Away". Anthony recorded a conversation with a driver while in his cab, and the two of them tap into the very essence of being an artist in these days and times.

- Jeremy Sole (KCRW, theLIFT, Le Frique Sonique)

Fade Away

Nature (feat. Alex Isley)

Theory of Mind

Learn more about shortcircles here: www.plugresearch.com/shortcircles

Track List:
Anenon - Equilibrium (Acquiescence EP)
Floating Points - Realise (Shadows EP)
placeholder. - Pot Pan (West In Dust Compilation)
BOATS - Fogburns (Believing EP)
The Orb - Dilmun (Kompassion 12")
Hoodcats - Streed Fung (Mapzzz EP)
Rod McKuen - Untie The Tie That Binds (Lisa Bright & Dark Soundtrack)
D'Angelo - Africa (Voodoo LP)
Michael Stearns - M'Ocean (M'Ocean LP)
Kouta - Granola (Orinda EP)
Born Heller - Mountain Song (Born Heller LP)
Glenn Jackson - Evan (Mapzzz EP)
Anenon - Equilibrium (Acquiescence EP)

Notes from Shortcircles:

To be honest, all I've been listening to lately is Slum Village and D'angelo, but this podcast isn't of music I'm just currently listening to. These songs in the podcast are ones that have sorta stuck with me since I first heard them and have had somewhat of an impact on the music I've been working on lately. The majority of this podcast was made during a flight from San Francisco to San Diego, so the selection of songs is meant to suit that feeling of being approximately 30,000 ft. above ground.

Anenon's "Equilibrium" from his spacious and lush Acquiescence EP serves as the piano backdrop for one of my favorite mediation records, "Concentration & Meditation" by Madam Indra Deví. I picked up "Concentration & Meditation" at the record store I would go to when I was growing up in San Diego. Every time I went to that store, they had pretty much the same over priced, generic collection, but when was looking through the Electronic/Misc. section I came across something new, this meditation record, and with the cover art alone I had to buy it. 
Link to cover here:
http://www.e-profession.com/images/madam_indra_devi_concentra.jpg

Floating Points' 'Shadows' EP finds a way to keep things minimal, but intricate. The lengthy drum beats and jazzy chords keeps the entire EP extremely contemplative. This is easily one of my favorite releases in the last year.

In February of this year, the new Oakland based label West In Dust dropped a compilation and I had the chance to contribute some work as well as master the entire thing. When I came across "Pot Pan" by placeholder. the use of the D'angelo sample from "Left & Right" off his Voodoo album caught my ear since I have been listening to Voodoo on repeat. Besides the vocal sample, the chords and percussion show the great depth of placeholder.'s talents. 

The clip of Stevie Wonder talking about his speech synthesizer is something I snatched from a VHS about Kurzweil technology a few years back. I'm glad I finally had a reason to use it.

Oakland's own BOATS is a familiar face in the area's circle of beatsmiths and musicians. At times contemplative, this dude always finds a way to keep it funky. BOATS, aka Aaron Ferguson is a name everyone needs to be more familiar with.

For awhile, I was told I needed to check out The Orb. When I was at Amoeba looking through some records I came across their Kompassion 12" and decided to give it a listen. Their song "Dilmun" is a calming collection of amazing textures.

Hoodcats is my side project with house mates and Oakland Bummer Pop duo "James & Evander." We dropped our first EP through the  Mapzzz  blog and have since been planning on throwing together some more tunes with an equal amount of juked out drums and silly (at times embarrassing) vocal samples. 

Rod McKuen's "Untie The Tie That Binds" is so damn gangster. Well, gangster in such a nerdy way considering it was originally part of a Hallmark soundtrack for the Television show "Lisa Bright & Dark." I found this record while digging at an Amvets in Escondido.

D'Angelo's album Voodoo is probably the best soul album I've ever heard. Actually, maybe just the best album I've ever heard. It's been in constant rotation as of late. As I said, I was making this podcast on a flight from San Francisco to San Diego and when the initial lullaby-like bells of "Africa" began playing it was a perfect pairing for my night time window seat. This entire album is magical.

New age music has been the soundtrack for my household this year. When I found Michael Stearns' "M'Ocean" album I was already familiar with some of his previous work so needless to say I didn't hesitate to buy it. Almost all of his albums have one song that just blows minds, and "M'Ocean" is no exception. The title track is an ever evolving synth collage. 

Kouta is yet another Oakland sound wizard who I was introduced to through his release, "Orinda EP." All of the sounds Kouta creates are so precise and intimate, but it's really what he's doing with the sounds that pulled me into the music. There's many levels to all of Kouta's songs and "Granola" is a perfect example of that.

There's really not any exciting story for how I discovered Born Heller. I was listening to Pandora and "Mountain Song" played on some random station. I always tried to remember to look for their album, but I really wanted it on vinyl rather than CD. I was at a record store in El Cerrito when I found their self-titled LP and immediately bought it. <3.

The closing track embodies everything that defines my life… piano samples, Brandy vocal samples, and arpeggiators. Glenn Jackson's "Evan" is very introspective, but manages to keep things fun and upbeat. Waiting on an album from this dude….

To close things out with the podcast, I brought back Anenon's "Equilibrium" with the support of more meditative musings from Madam Indra Deví. 

Plug Research Podcast 15 - Shortcircles

Ultimately, “Del Mar” is a song about addiction and hopelessness. Lyrically, I culled a lot of incidents from my past to tell a story about how I felt several years ago at the darkest point in my life, where I was very lost and barely had a place to sleep at night. To juxtapose such a dark theme, I kept the music very uplifting, dreamy, and melodic which I hope creates an interesting experience for the listener. My favorite thing about the song is Adaline’s part; I asked her to write her lyrics and melody like she is the warm, welcoming voice of death, beckoning the weakened traveller to just let go and come with her. Luckily, I overcame that voice in real life.

Plug Research

Pinned to spotlight

Popular tracks