Happy Holidays Music Lovers,
I'm going to be frank, Fall makes me feel sexy, and with that feeling comes music that feels like its caressing your face while you are having a glass of wine. Here is my sexy music pick for the first signs of fall - Emily Wells. Her music is an eclectic mix of electronics, orchestral strings, jazz tones, pop overtures, and folk sensibilities.
Born to a music minister in Amarillo, Texas, Wells began learning violin at 4 at a community college. The family later moved to Indianapolis, where she discovered Bob Dylan, Nina Simone and Biggie Smalls; she gradually moved from the Suzuki method to songwriting, guitars and home recording. Releasing her own music from a young age, Wells learned to keep her work close and toured independently while developing her talent and performance across the U.S.
It was in a humble garage studio in Los Angeles that Wells’ recorded her 2008 breakthrough album, The Symphonies: Dreams Memories & Parties, picking up praise from sources as varied as NPR and SPIN, who compared her to “a feral, streetwise Nina Simone.” Wells returns with Mama, a collection of songs as impassioned and sultry hip hopped as ever, but infused with a new found warmth. Wells rented a tiny cabin on a Topanga Canyon horse ranch and went to work, producing Mama and playing most of the instruments herself (with a little help from longtime touring companions, drummer Sam Halterman and bassist Joey Reina.) She recorded the raw tracks to tape without punch-ins or loops, often in one take.
2012 finds Wells touring Mama, her first release for Partisan Records, and preparing for the release of Pillowfight, her long whispered-about collaboration with legendary producer Dan The Automator.
Ethereal, beautiful, deep, and soulful at times, Emily Wells is a little different from the normal music I listen to, but I know you will enjoy my favorite tracks, "Sugar" and "Becomes The Color" (which is featured in upcoming film, starring Nicole Kidman, Stoker,) and a wonderful cover of one of Emily's musical influences "Juicy."
I will see you my music lovelies next Monday with my new music obsession. xooxoxoxoxo
Najamoniq One good thing about music, when it hits you, you feel no pain.
Bob Marley
Happy Monday Music Lovers,
The crisp air of fall encircles us in the Northwest; I am keeping myself warm with the sounds of good tunes. This week my music obsession is Two Door Cinema Club. They are a Northern Irish indie rock band from Bangor and Donaghadee, County Down, formed in 2007.
I have been into this band for quite a few years and find them to be a perfect mix of dance music, still holding true to indie roots. So take a moment and check out my two favorite songs from this talented trio - "Something Good Can Work" and "What You Know."
I will see you music lovers next week for my new music obsession.
xoxoxoxo
Najamoniq A painter paints pictures on canvas. But musicians paint their pictures on silence. ~Leopold Stokowski
As our thoughts, prayers, and well wishes go out to all those battling Hurricane Sandy, let us take time for reflection and thanksgiving. I always find the best way to be at one with my thoughts is to listen to truly beautiful, energizing music. That being said I have a gem for you. ThomasAzier is an electronic-pop artist based in Berlin. Early in 2012 he released his debut EP “Hylas 001,” featuring the single “Red Eyes.” A live favorite of audiences across Europe and the United State, he is now set to release a 2nd EP, "Hylas 002,“ which again appears on his label “Hylas Records/BMG”.
“The mood of “Hylas002” arises from the sublime essence of solitude,” Azier explains. I have to say I absolutely love an artist that can convey dance, solitude, beauty, energy, and emotion to their listeners, and I believe Thomas Azier does a superb job of this! Think Jeff Buckley and Daft Punk had a baby, tee hee hee.
So please enjoy my three favorite tracks by this new up and coming artist Metropolitan Tribe, Fire Arrow and Red Eyes. www.thomasazier.com xoxoxoxo
Najamoniq
“Music has turned into nothing more than just a rush in the background while you are busy doing other things. I don’t want to change that, but I try to make something that will catch your ear and communicate with you." - Azier
We love making days! We spend time educating ourselves, finding new trends, and listening to you. We've also set up ways for you to communicate with us when you're not in the salon. We have a Pinterest account, a Twitter account, @embellishtacoma, a Facebook page, and of course our blog.
If you've not connected with us through any of these ways, consider doing that today. Then let us know things that interest you about beauty.
Your Daymakers are continually updating their skills and craft. Recently they received training on Davines' A New Colour. It's an ammonia free color line.
Here's what Davines is saying about the new line and the inspiration behind it.
Inspired by the multi-coloured world of insects with their sublime amalgamation of shapes, colours and light, and the scientific potential of carotenoids and melanins, Davines has turned the world of colouring upside down for salons, at last offering a way to work with pure colour and transform it into brand new results, with maximum comfort for customers and full respect for the hair’s structure.
Kevin Murphy Weightless Volume Spray has lavender in it which is a natural astringent that shrinks oil molecules. This is great to spray on for texture and good for getting rid of excess grease from "second day hair." This is designed for anyone that wants volume in their hair, especially fine haired folks who like a weightless volume.
The Knocks are an electronic music duo consisting of Ben "B-Roc" Ruttner and James "JPatt" Patterson. The Knocks garnered notoriety for their singles "Dancing With The DJ" and "Brightside." They have since produced original material and remixes for Katy Perry, Britney Spears, Marina & The Diamonds, and, now, their own music.
With heavy rotation on Australia’s Triple J, their single, “Make It Better,” was released on Neon Gold Records. Their hit “Dancing With the DJ” was #1 on both the Hype Machine and Japan’s iTunes.
The Knocks have been taking their energetic live dance party all over the world, including their sold out NYC Bowery Ballroom debut, Tammany Hall headlining show, and their European tour with Sleigh Bells and M.I.A. They've shared the stage with acts like Big Boi, Chromeo, and just finished a U.S. tour with Ellie Goulding.
As you can probably tell I really love happy, adventurous, awe inspiring, fun party music, and this is as good as it gets. Be prepared, because The Knocks will be knocking at your door and stereo very soon.
So for now, I bid you goodbye. Take some time and check out my two favorite tunes by this dynamic duo, "Brightside" and "The Feeling." I will see you next week with a new music obsession.
xoxoxoxoxoxo
Najamoniq
"Music is a higher revelation than all wisdom and philosophy."
Ludwig van Beethoven
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Happy Music Monday Music Lovers,
Life has been busy these days, the seasons change and we make plans for the holidays and even for the future. Life can go so fast, and be so unsure, but one thing that always keeps me steadfast is good music. There is so much I will show you in the next few months.
I've been very inspired and enamored with the music I'm finding. This weeks gem is GHOST BEACH. a retro-future aesthetic that sounds like Ghostland Observatory, Depeche Mode, and Daft Punk, with a little Passion Pit sprinkled on top for good measure. Ghost Beach are the latest pop pioneers to set the internet on fire with only a couple singles floating around and with no major label backing.
The New York-based duo of Josh Ocean and Eric "Doc" Mendelsohn take their '80s influences one step further with Ghost Beach.
This music is so seductive and emotion filled, you will feel like you are taking a journey through your teenage, angst ridden, love filled years in an old Chevy with the wind in your hair and no cares in your heart. GHOST BEACH is romance, passion and rebellion put into music.
Take some time to get lost in this band; its so easy and so needed. FYI, if you go to the bands Facebook page you can download two of their tracks. Get ready to reminisce and daydream maybe even dance, and I know you will enjoy my three favorite tracks by this amazing duo: "Tear Us Apart," "Bones," and "Too Young."
I will see you next week with my new music obsession.
xoxoxoxox
Najamoniq
“I want people to have their own visions for the dance. Some generations will sit back and relate to the music. And the young people …they'll have the dance right in front of them.”
Judith Jamison
Davines' Rebalancing Shampoo is for oily scalps. It promotes the natural balance oil production of the scalp. Gently massage the shampoo into the scalp and let it air for several minutes before rinsing. The shampoo contains Azelglycine, which has anti-bacterial and sebostatic properties; it also regulates sebum production. With extracts of Birch, Burdock, and Hawthorn this shampoo purifies the scalp.
Undressed is the newest product from Kevin Murphy. It is a firm elastic paste used to create a loose, undone, and natural look. This product is infused with black pepper, honey, and ivy extracts for a matte texture. Apply it to damp or dry hair.
Happy Monday Music Lovers,
This week's pick for my music obsession is Make The Girl Dance. Make The Girl Dance consists of Greg Kozo, musician/producer, Pierre Mathieu, former TV presenter on M6, France 2, and Canal +. Their first single, Baby Baby Baby, released May 12, 2009, is a huge buzz one.
The electro-rock duo Make The Girl Dance created a buzz in Paris by unveiling a very special clip of a model strutting the streets with some black out screens. The duo continued in June 2010 with the title Kill me Kill me, and in October with Wall Of Death. October 31, 2011 saw the release of their first album "Everything Is Gonna Be Ok In The End" and their 4th single "Broken Toy Boy."
The 2012 tour will pass by the USA, South Korea, Japan, Australia, Europe and parts of South America. Lets hope they grace Seattle with a show or two.
This band is for you if you love pumping beats and thumping dance tracks. They are fun, innovative, and so very energetic. So put on those dancing shoes and get ready to move. Check out my two favorite tracks from this band.
I will see you next week for my new music obsession!
xoxoxox
Najamoniq
"Music is the soul of language."
- Max Heindel
Summer's fading slowly, and fall is quickly approaching. As we change seasons I want to bring you a duo that can keep you dancing in summer and keep your feet moving and a smile on your face through the coming seasons. French Horn Rebellion is Robert and David Perlick-Molinari - two brothers born and raised in Milwaukee, Wisconsin. In Brooklyn, NY, in 2007, younger brother Robert, an accomplished French horn player, found himself principal chair for the horn section of the prestigious Northwestern University Symphony Orchestra. Standing at a crossroads, frustrated with the demands that mastery of such an instrument required, and knowing that the instrument would not allow him to fully express himself, he finally asked his brother, David, to rebel with him and together they embarked on a lifelong creative journey.
They set up shop in the arts / music hub in Brooklyn. I was not long before the French Horn Rebellion began to impact the NY music scene. David engineered and produced for the genre parallel MGMT, but in 2007 French Horn Rebellion released a self titled independent album. In 2011 the duo released The Infinite Music of French Horn Rebellion on Once Upon A Time/V2 Records.
This duo is different, fresh, funny, fun, and talented. There really is no way you can NOT dance and feel happy when hearing tracks from this them. So enjoy our last sentiments of summer; gaze at the sunlight and turn up my two favorite tracks for French Horn Rebellion.
I will see you next week with my new music obsession.
xoxoxoxo
Najamoniq
“If I can't dance to it, it's not my revolution.” Emma Goldman
Selah Sue (born Sanne Putseys, May 3, 1989) is a Belgian musician and songwriter. Blazing onto the scene with her debut album, Selah Sue (2011,) she was a major success, selling over 400,000 copies in Europe,with 200,000 in France alone. Today, she has chart success with the hit singles "Raggamuffin, ""Crazy Vibes," and "This World". Previous to "Selah Sue." her first EP was released in 2008, under the title Black Part Love. It contains five songs.
When she was seventeen a Belgian producer asked her to sing some demos of his songs, after which Universal offered her a contract. She refused, because she wanted to sing her own songs. Selah Sue often covers songs of Erykah Badu and The Zutons, but she does has assembled a whole range of her own songs. Two of her well-known songs are "Mommy" and "Black part love," both of which are carried out acoustically.
She says her influences are Lauryn Hill, M.I.A. and Erykah Badu. You can hear a lot of these artists' influence in her record. Selah is soul music, reggae music, singer songwriter style with a dash of jazz, and it is quite refreshing and unlike many artists who enter the industry at her age.
I must give a shout out to Daymaker Susan Pack for turning me onto this extraordinary artist. I hope you enjoy my two favorite tracks "This World" and "Raggamuffin" and i will see you next week with a New Music Obsession.
xoxoxo
Najamoniq "Music is enough for a lifetime, but a lifetime is not enough for music."
- Sergei Rachmaninov
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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
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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
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
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