3 minute read
This Little Underground: new releases + concert picks
BY BAO LE-HUU
SWAMBURGER | PHOTO COURTESY OF THE ARTIST
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LOCAL RELEASES
In the music scene, it doesn’t get any more Orlando than rap champion Swamburger. But the MC-producer actually has roots in Chicago, and he’s made something of a return to that in his brand new single.
A nod to Chi-town’s seminal dance music heritage, “All Hail Open Doors” rides a jazzed-up house stomp rather than the classic hip-hop template that Swam usually employs. With lush vibes from Gerry Williams’ keyboards, Ty Gasek’s saxophone and Scarlet Monk’s silky singing, it’s a stylish slice of hip-house that’s built for smart lounging. It’s streaming now on major platforms.
This single’s also a circle back to Swamburger’s Orlando roots. Juan Mejia (aka DJ Fathead) was part of an Orlando crew that first put Swam on a mic in this city at their regular hip-hop nights in the Den at Firestone during the late 1990s, even producing some of his early material. The rest, of course, is some defining Orlando music history. Fast-forward a couple decades and Mejia now runs Miami-based deep-house label Dutchie Music, under whose umbrella “All Hail Open Doors” was just released.
As interesting as this history is, though, it’s the future that makes the reconnection of these two figures especially momentous. The release of this single marks the beginning of a significant new chapter for Swamburger. More than just another song, it’s the launch of an ambitious relationship that will provide Swamburger with some new direction and platform.
“All Hail Open Doors” is the first peek at his upcoming full-length solo album, slated to drop in December. And that LP will be the debut release on Swamburger’s new label AGDEPPA, which will be a subsidiary of Dutchie Music. Following that release, the fledgling label will unveil music by Mugs and Pockets, a new group formed by Swamburger and Scarlet Monk. Even in Swam’s ever-busy world, it seems some fresh looks and big things are on the horizon.
A nod to Chi-town’s seminal dance music heritage, Swamburger’s new solo single “All Hail Open Doors” rides a jazzed-up house stomp and reunites Swam with old musical comrade Juan Mejia
MUSIC EVENTS THIS WEEK
If you go out, be safe, be cool and please be respectful.
Scott H. Biram, J.D. Wilkes, Jordan
Joyes: This loaded lineup is an illustrious cross section of the American South’s musical underbelly. With his grease-bucket sounds and extreme tendencies, Texas blues heathen Scott H. Biram is a living icon of the one-man band tradition. Kentucky son J.D. Wilkes is one of this generation’s most compelling torchbearers of the Southern mystique, plumbing some of its deepest — and often darkest and most twisted — roots with his work in film, art, literature and, of course, music as the diabolical genius behind the Legendary Shack Shakers. And Jordan Joyes is the frontwoman of Virginia bluegrass punk band Gallows Bound. The Devil will be in the house tonight. (8 p.m. Saturday, Oct. 16, Will’s Pub, $15 advance/$20 DOS)
Local H, Radkey: Chicago hard rockers Local H were doing the two-piece rock band thing way before the White Stripes and the Black Keys came along. Well, they’re still doing it and doing it well. In fact, their latest Steve Albini-recorded album — 2020’s aptly titled Lifers — rocks with a brawny vitality that belies their age as a band with three decades under their belt.
It’s an impressive recent testimony to Local H’s enduring power and cult-hero status, with contributions from the illustrious likes of Juliana Hatfield, Deertick’s John McCauley and Naked Raygun’s John Haggerty. Now they’re finally able to take that album on the road. Opening will be anthemic Midwestern punkers Radkey. (7 p.m. Monday, Oct. 18, The Social, $22.50 advance/$25 DOS)
The Hives, The Mystery Lights: These Swedish garage-punk heroes have never been especially prolific, even less so in recent years. But even though they haven’t released a studio album since 2012’s Lex Hives, their fiery 2020 live album (Live at Third Man Records) proves that they’ve still got all the strut and sneer that made them princes of the garage-rock revival of the early 2000s. Openers are the Mystery Lights, a noteworthy psychedelic garagerock band that injects vintage sounds with the kind of bright modern swag befitting an act on the rock arm of Daptone Records. (7 p.m. Wednesday, Oct. 20, House of Blues, $28-$40)
baolehuu@orlandoweekly.com
