Mixtape Monday: January 16, 2017

We made it through another week, Dentonites. Maybe today you're off from work or school in observance of Martin Luther King Day, maybe you're on your regular grind; either way, you could probably use some tunes. This week we'll see a new president installed in the White House, but more locally, tons of us will be piling into houses on Friday and Saturday for Band Together Denton. (Grab your tickets if you haven't already!) In the meantime, listen to the tunes we scooped for you over the last couple of weeks.

Mix & Match - William Austin Clay
William Austin Clay remains one of the most prolific musicians to be featured on Mixtape Monday--it's barely been two months since his last release and he's already got a whole new album up on Bandcamp. "Mix & Match" is funky, slightly atonal, and yet completely catchy. (The composition on this one reminds us a little of The Books.) This new album, also entitled Mix & Match, includes tracks like "46.9% Didn't Vote" and "List of African-American Inventors and Scientists," both of which seem hella appropriate for Martin Luther King Day and Inauguration Week.

Smoker - Strays
Holy wow, is "Smoker" fucking good. Lucky for you, Strays' first recording is a one-track album, and you'll be glad there's thirty minutes of this stuff. The group may be new in town but the players aren't: Ben Copeland (of Abacaba), Spencer Jones (of Mink Coats), and Ben Scott (of Terminator 2) are definitely neighborhood cats. If you're into sludge, theremins, and groovy, noisy melodies, crank this up. Loud.

S E C R E T L O C A T I O N - L0fty
L0fty (a.k.a. Luke Peterson) is a Denton-based beatmaker who crafts ethereal pieces that work beautifully on their own (although we could totally see some rhymes really setting them off). "S E C R E T L O C A T I O N" is quietly sexy and spacy, and we recommend playing it in the car on your morning drive.

Sunflower - Wax Logic
Wax Logic—a self-proclaimed "12-piece jazz hip hop machine"—has been churning out their unique brand of funky jazz for several months now. The group's live and in-studio collaborations with Denton rappers (like Muenster, among others) sets them apart from the other jazz outfits in town. "Sunflower" is cool and contemplative, and possibly best enjoyed over the first coffee of your day.

Header Image by Brittany Keeton