FEATURES
Song of the Week: Indianapolis Hip-Hop Trio 81355 Bury the Past in Hope of a Better Future on “Capstone”
Song of the Week breaks down and talks about the song we just can’t get out of our head each week. Find these songs and more on our Spotify Top Songs playlist. For our favorite new songs from emerging artists, check out our Spotify New Sounds playlist. This week, hip-hop trio 81355 return with the second single off their upcoming, full-length debut. If there’s any initial impression to be gathered from hip-hop trio 81355, comprised of three staples of the Indianapolis music scene (Sirius Blvck, Oreo Jones, and Sedcairn Archives), it’s that great music can come from anywhere. It’s commonplace to see artists emerging from the expected staples — Los Angeles, New York, Chicago, Atlanta, and Nashville — and, so often, it’s harder to find gems like 81355. This collaborative effort has alre...
The Swoopy Acura ZDX Was a Polarizing Pioneer of Rakish Rooflines
The aforementioned quintet of SUVs proves it. These days, Americans are gobbling up sport-utes of all shapes and sizes. There is niche after niche to be filled—heck, automakers have even toyed with convertible SUVs. But the luxury crossover with the sloping roofline owes its origins (at least in part) to an Acura that is virtually forgotten today. Based on the MDX of the time, the ZDX is about six inches shorter than its SUV counterpart. It also weighs almost 4,500 pounds and has a total of eight inches of ground clearance, just 0.2 inches fewer than a contemporary MDX. Motivation comes from a 3.7-liter V-6 that cranks out 300 horsepower at 6,300 rpm and 270 lb-ft of torque at 4,500 rpm. It even has VTEC, yo. Power is routed to all four wheels via Acura’s Super-Handling All-Wheel-Dri...
The 2021 Lexus IS300 AWD Is a Cheap Tune Away From IS350 Power
Don’t let the 2021 Lexus IS300 AWD‘s name deceive you; while the $40,025 rear-drive IS300 uses a 241-hp turbocharged 2.0-liter I-4 for motivation, the $42,025 all-wheel-drive IS300 has a 3.5-liter V-6. So despite sharing a badge with a four-cylinder car, it actually shares its engine with the pricier IS350 F Sport that stickers for $43,925 in rear-drive guise and $45,925 with AWD. There’s a “but” in there, though, as the IS300 AWD’s 3.5-liter V-6 makes just 260 horsepower and 236 lb-ft of torque, 51 fewer horses and 44 fewer lb-ft than its IS350 stablemate. But the lesser IS model’s V-6 sure doesn’t feel detuned. In our testing, an IS300 AWD needed 5.7 seconds to scoot from 0 to 60 mph, the same as a 100-pounds-light...
Sam Feldt on the Launch of Fangage 2.0, Collaborating With Kesha, and More
Known for his signature uplifting sound, dance music beatsmith and music entrepreneur Sam Feldt has developed a remarkable global fan base. Feldt, who registered his first company with the Dutch Chamber of Commerce at the tender age of 13, developed early passions for entrepreneurship and music and eventually launched extremely successful career as a touring artist. Prior to the pandemic, he would sometimes even perform with a live band at the nation’s largest music festivals, such as Coachella, Ultra Music Festival, and Life is Beautiful. All the while, Feldt never lost his sight of his passion for entrepreneurship. In 2016, when his career truly began taking off following his successful remake of Robin S’ iconic dance anthem “Show Me Love,” he founded F...
Wankelmut’s Top 5 Gigs to Look Forward to After the Safe Return of Live Music
The absence of clubbing has plunged the dance music community and its artists into a constant state of melancholia. But as the light at the end of the COVID-19 pandemic’s tunnel becomes more and more bright, Wankelmut is looking at it through rose-colored glasses. Perhaps best known for his global hit remix of Asaf Avidan and the Mojos “One Day / Reckoning Song,” Wankelmut is no flash in the pan. Having released records on iconic dance labels such as Defected, Spinnin’ Deep, and Toolroom, the 33-year-old DJ and musician has solidified himself as a staple in the international club circuit. Dulcet tracks like “Oh Love” and “Give & Take” have only reinforced that notion, catapulting him to the upper echelon of house music in little...
5 Absurd 2021 EDM Stories That Are Not April Fools’ Jokes
It’s April Fools’ Day, so odds are you’ve read a number of sensationalistic, completely false stories today that would normally appear in The Onion. Here are five absurd stories which actually happened this year that could be mistaken for pranks, but are completely real. A porn star purchased the $4 million castle Avicii used to produce his final album AVN Award-winning porn superstar Mia Malkova purchased a piece of electronic dance music history when she forked over $4 million for the massive Oregon castle that Avicii rented to produce Tim, the album that would ultimately prove to be the legendary EDM artist’s last. “It’s a porn castle now,” said the listing agent at the time of the sale. Porn star Mia Malkova purchased the $4 million Or...
How Mobile Technology could Provide Food Security for Rural African Communities
Climate change combined with unsustainable farming practices has exhausted African soil — leaving much of the ground unfarmable. In the future, a major reduction in crop yield and productivity is likely to be seen as a consequence of the extreme weather conditions and unviable farming techniques. In fact, the production of maize could decrease by as much as 10%, even if no climate adaptation actions are taken. /* custom css */ .tdi_3_560.td-a-rec-img{ text-align: left; }.tdi_3_560.td-a-rec-img img{ margin: 0 auto 0 0; } According to the African Development Bank (ADB), this is not only unsustainable but unaffordable as the continent spends close to $65 billion importing food — a number that is expected to grow exponentially within the next decade. In addition to the growing lack...
Oil and Water: How ArtGrails.com is Changing the NFT Space Through Unusual Collaborations
In the business world they say “you can mine either mine for gold or you can sell pickaxes.” In brothers Avery Andon and Alec Monopoly‘s case, they’ve got both bases covered and then some. Andon, a veteran art consultant and founder of ArtLife Gallery, and Alec, a prolific visual artist and pop culture phenomenon, are the latest to join the NFT arena, and they’re tackling the space thoughtfully, from all angles. The duo recently launched ArtGrails.com, an NFT platform bringing a uniquely collaborative vision to the flourishing blockchain-powered digital art space. The launch also saw the minting of several new pieces from Alec Monopoly himself, a renowned street artist who is taking the opportunity to explore new artistic avenues. ArtGrails.com launched with a...
Making Music Theory Entertaining
To me, music theory is as foreign a concept as the intricacies of cooking meth, and I don’t think I’m alone in that. Sure, I have a basic grasp of scales, and I can read sheet music from my piano lesson days, but as soon as someone mentions the Dorian scale and E-flat-diminished-seventh chords, my eyes start to glaze over. So, when I found myself on the other side of an Adam Neely YouTube wormhole, I was a little surprised. Not only had I just sunk four hours of my life into content discussing those aforementioned topics, but also that I was thoroughly entertained by it. And I’m not alone. Neely, 33, has garnered 1.25 million subscribers with his music theory-drenched video content. It’s all highly polished, cleverly edited and consistently funny. Some of his videos are simple Q&...
The History of the Funky, Fun Subaru BRAT
Once upon a time there was a brat—and no, it wasn’t a tantrum-throwing two-year-old inside the grocery store, but rather a little trucklet parked out front. It was the Subaru BRAT, which stood for Bi-Drive Recreational All-terrain Transporter. Bi-drive meant that there was a part-time all-wheel-drive system, actuated with a switch. Now, was the BRAT acronym actually dictated by that super technical, unexciting name, or did a team of rebellious marketing folks come up with a half-hearted retcon? That’s an investigation for another time. A lot of people wouldn’t know a BRAT from a bratwurst, and even fewer would be able to recall the last time they spotted one on the road. Indeed, it’s an obscure automotive specimen that hasn’t been imported to the United S...
Queen Latifah’s Anthem “U.N.I.T.Y.” Still Spells Out a Critical Message About Women’s Rights
Editor’s Note: As Women’s History Month draws to a close, arts critic Okla Jones looks back at the indelible legacy of Queen Latifah and the long-lasting influence her anthem “U.N.I.T.Y.” had on women’s rights, especially in the hip-hop world. The contributions of women to the arts have often been overlooked throughout history. In music (specifically hip-hop), the female artist has been held to an unfair critical standard. The industry requires women to be both talented and desirable, only to allow them to be negated by public opinion if they come across as overtly “sexy” or if their content doesn’t fit some status quo. For quite some time, the music business has served as a microcosm for society’s treatment of women overall: including the verbal and physical abuse, lack of appreciat...
“Like a Journey Back In Time”: Claptone on Reimagining a Unidisc Classic to Celebrate the Evolution of Dance Music
Established in 1977, Unidisc Music has grown exponentially over the years to become one of Canada’s largest independent record labels. With a lifespan over four decades long, their extensive catalog has been immersed in pop culture through the years, even appearing in iconic television shows such as The Fresh Prince of Bel-Air, Sex and the City, and Grey’s Anatomy, among others. To celebrate the evolution of dance music, Unidisc has enlisted some of the world’s most renowned electronic music artists to produce exceptional remixes of the label’s music. This endeavor, called the “Reimagining Campaign,” was created by Francis Cucuzzella—son of founder George Cucuzzella—as a way to modernize some of the imprint’s timeless classics. Francis’...
