Product of the Week: For Wizards #2

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New Music Mondays: CHBP Interview with FLY MOON ROYALTY

New music is so important, and I love finding out about new artists and bringing new music to the Embellish blog readers. My summer has been filled with amazing music, beautiful weather, and talent-packed festivals. I have seen some pretty amazing acts and have begun to talk to these innovative musicians about their craft, why they do what they do, and their origin. I have paired down my interviews to five questions that will acquaint you with the individuals making this great music and even make you a fan……ENJOY!

Action Jackson and AdraBoo make up buzzworthy band Fly Moon Royalty and the duo is taking Seattle by storm with their harmonius mix of hip hop, soul,and  rap with a little bit of funk . The Duo recently played Seattle's Capitol Hill Block Party, Friday evening July 20th, drawing the largest crowd the Vera stage saw all weekend. I feel very honored the duo took a few moments to answer some questions for readers.
Najamoniq: Fly Moon Royalty, I know this is a typical question, but tell our readers the inspiration for your unique name?
Action Jackson: Honestly, there is not a very clear answer for this. It was a challenging process considering we were about to press the album when we changed from Sugar Water Purple to Fly Moon Royalty, due to another band already having the name - SWP. FMR was a long, careful process of finding a name that we felt somehow embodied our music. Simply put, it just had to feel right. Just like when we make music. We would prefer the name to take on its own personal meaning for the listener.
Najamoniq: Adraboo, you are from Seattle. What got you into music?
AdraBoo: I grew up with music in the house, in my family. My uncles were in bands, them and my big brother rapped around the house and, currently, around the town, and my mom sings too. I didn’t know that this is where I would be with it, but it’s like home.
Najamoniq: Action Jackson, I’ve heard you referred to as a musician’s musician. What was your inspiration for getting into music? What made you transplant to Seattle?
Action Jackson: Like many young people the first time they heard an intoxicating sound come out of speakers…. I has hooked. When I heard Gangstarr’s ‘Mass Appeal’ it blew my damn mind. I was like, ‘How the hell did he (DJ Premier) make that sound, that beat, that uuuuugh!’Make-your-neck-snap snares and kicks and those samples. Damn. I needed to know how that sound came to life.’ I didn’t know where to start, so I bought turntables and taught myself how to scratch and mix. Years after that, I bought my first Akai MPC 2000 and taught myself how to make beats. At the same time, I started in a music recording program at the community college in Grand Rapids, Michigan. I had never properly used a musical instrument in my life before this point. I was a percussion major; however, I discovered I had a deep love and understanding of the piano. I am a producer at the core of me. Playing piano LIVE was something that manifested by working with Adra and this project. Moving to Seattle was a natural direction because it was a bigger and more music-friendly city than where I was in Michigan. I was in a hip hop group in MI called Sex Panther: 1 MC(Matt) and 1 DJ/Producer (me). We were serious about our music so we both moved to Seattle in ’09 to give it a shot.
Najamoniq: What musicians have inspired your rebel music style?
AdraBoo: Really, we listen to so much of a variety of music…I'm into a lot of old school funk, 90s R&B, and also a bit of indie alternative, and then Mike grew up with that Detroit hip hop and soul… (Mike jump in here…)
Action Jackson: If I was to credit one genre over another, it would have to be hip hop. Golden era hip hop. (Late 80′s/ 90′s) Tribe, Dilla, Gangstarr, Busta, Talib, Mos Def, etc… But hip hop by no means is the only inspiration. Stevie, James Brown, and the entire Motown sound. Older soul/ funk music tends to have an energy that I don’t hear as much these days. An honesty and rawness. Intentional or unintentional, it was there. The way things we recorded were so rich you can taste it. At the end of the day, I just want to hear some good music that comes from the soul.
Najamoniq: How did the two of you meet and come up with the concept of Fly Moon Royalty? AdraBoo: We met at work, and we still work there currently. The day we met we were both in other groups and had started talking trades and this and that. Action produced an EP for the group I was in, and I sang a few hooks for his group, and in the middle of all that, kept meeting in the middle about what we dug about music… and then, Andoid Love was born. We’ve been making music that we want to make since! Emphasis on ‘that we want to make.’ We’ve never called it anything conceptually. We just make what we feel.
Najamoniq: What are some music artists/DJs right now that you are into?
AdraBoo: Frank Ocean, Le Vice, Allen Stone, Lemolo, Incubus, Little Dragon, DJs Action Jackson (obviously), Supreme LaRock, and 100Proof to name a handful… I listen to so much music right now, I couldn’t possibly name it all.
Action Jackson: Little Dragon, Black Milk, Guilty Simpson, Money Making Jam Boys, Black Keys, Beirut, Herbie Hancock, Erykah Badu etc.

For more on Fly Moon Royalty, check out their reverb nation page, and for a look at something really fly, check out the video below "My Heart Keeps Pumping" a tale of strength, retrospect and triumph, truly an empowering track.

See you next week for my new music obsession.
xoxoxoxoxoxo Najamoniq
"Love cannot express the idea of music, while music may give an idea of love." - Louis-Hector Berlioz

Product of the Week: Kevin Murphy Body Builder

Body Builder is a voluminzing mousse. It boosts hair with flexible fullness and hold. It is made with tangerine oil that locks down the cuticle to create shine, while vitamin B5 binds moisture into the hair. Apply to damp hair and blow dry it in.

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New Music Monday: A$AP ROCKY AND LANA DEL REY

Good Monday Music Lovers,
This week I'm doing something a little different. Instead of showing you a new artist, I'm highlighting a few new tracks. I found these gems in a mix I downloaded while preparing for a DJ gig.

"Ridin," a sexy beat filled track, is by New York native A$AP ROCKY, featuring songstress Lana Del Rey. The duo met after ASAP Rocky appeared in her "National Anthem" video.

Lana Del Rey returns the favor by assisting Rocky with his new record, 'Ridin," produced by The Kickdrums. “LiveLoveASAP” drops September 11th. There are rumors the two are dating and, by checking out the video and pictures from the two tracks the duo have worked on, I think the rumors are true lol.

Enjoy the two videos by this sexy pair, "National Anthem" and my personal favorite, "Ridin.  "

See you next week with a new music obsession.
xoxoxo Najamoniq
"Music expresses that which cannot be said and on which it is impossible to be silent." Victor Hugo

New Music Mondays: POOLSIDE

Good Monday Music Lovers,
Summer is still in our midst, and I've got a new band on my radar. POOLSIDE is a Los Angeles based duo - Filip Nikolic and Jeffrey Paradise. Their sound is described as "Daytime Disco."

Filip Nikolic is a Danish born producer, DJ, and multi-instrumentalist, known for his contributions in the rock, dance, and pop genres. Jeffrey Paradise, formerly known as DJ Jefrodisiac, is a DJ synonymous with San Francisco's young, hip, and ready to party scenes.

Poolside's debut single, "Do You Believe," was positively received by fans and praised for its "pop-tinged disco, brimming with optimistic vocals and retro acid synths." "Take Me Home," Poolside's second single was released in November 2011, and their debut album, "Pacific Standard Time," was released on July 9th, 2012 on Day & Night Records.

I really enjoy this band, they are a serene mix of good dance music with relaxing yet energized tones. Basically, good summertime music. I recently had the pleasure of watching these guys live and even spending a few moments with them, and I can tell you that they are a good live show as well as gracious and charming in person.

I hope you enjoy my favorite track from Poolside, "Do You Believe." I will see you next week for my new music obsession.
xoxoxoxoxo Najamoniq
"Music is a higher revelation than all wisdom and philosphy. Music is the electrical soil in which the spirit lives, thinks and invents." - Ludwig van Beethoven
 

Product of the Week: Sachajuan Straight and Shine Spray

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New Music Mondays...FRANK OCEAN

Good Monday Music Lovers,
It's been a scorcher, and I'm all about all things hot! This week I bring you one of musics hottest newbies, Christopher Francis Ocean, better known by his stage name, Frank Ocean.

Frank Ocean is an American singer-songwriter from New Orleans, Louisiana. Ocean's early career was as a ghostwriter for artists such as Brandy, Justin Bieber, and John Legend. In 2005, Hurricane Katrina hit Ocean's hometown of New Orleans; his recording facility was destroyed by floodwater and looted. To continue recording music, he moved to Los Angeles, where he intended to stay for six weeks. However, after acclimating himself with music industry circles, Ocean stayed longer and develop his music career.

He recorded demos at a friend's studio and shopped them around Los Angeles. After getting a songwriting deal, he started working with other record producers and writing songs for artists such as Justin Bieber, John Legend, and Brandy. Ocean later said of his work at the time, "There was a point where I was composing for other people, and it might have been comfy to continue to do that and enjoy that income stream and the anonymity. But that's not why I moved away from school and away from family."

After meeting them in 2009 through networking, Ocean joined the Los Angeles-based hip hop collective OFWGKTA, also known as Odd Future. His friendship with Odd Future member Tyler, The Creator, reinvigorated Ocean's songwriting. In late 2009, he met Tricky Stewart, who helped him sign a contract with Def Jam Recordings as a solo artist, though he was initially unable to build a relationship with the company.

In 2010, through a legal website, he changed his name from Christopher Breaux to Christopher Francis William Ocean, inspired partly by the 1960 film Ocean's 11. Ocean is also known for being one of the first mainstream hip hop artists to come out a a gay male. To my surprise and delight The hip hop world exploded with support for singer Frank Ocean when he revealed his first love was a man.

So take a load off and enjoy this innovative musician with two of my favorite songs by Ocean, "Thinking About You" and "Crack Rock".

See you next week with my new music obsession!
xoxoxoxo Najamoniq
 "Music is the mediator between the spiritual and the sensual life." ~Ludwig van Beethoven