Heavy Roc Music

Samuel - I Heart NY (Emil & Friends Remix)

Wed, 01 Sep 2010 12:05:00 -0400

When we released 'I Heart NY' we knew it would be a tough one to remix. Not the same old 4 on the floor track that any old blog-house electro bedroom producers could throw some side-chained synth on to make it heavy. The one guy who we knew would do an amazing job is the same guy that we picked to do our official 'Make It Better' remix. Emil is an incredibly talented musician now residing in NYC by way of Boston. He just released his debut EP on Cantora records which you need to go CHECK OUT NOW because it will blow your mind.

This remix is awesome.

The Long Weekend Mixtape

Tue, 31 Aug 2010 11:53:00 -0400

It starts with a bang and ends with a change in the wind. Monuments are built and all the students begin counting the days until the sun rises earlier again. American football, one last hurrah, the last but not least. Altogether we're encouraged to get back to work and hibernate at the same time. Melancholy and promising with the conviction of a preacher. Rise and fall, ebb and flow, ups and downs. Enjoyment comes from an overwhelming sense of success no matter how fleeting, looking ahead down the unending road put in front of us like the best laid plans. Concrete jungle to real jungle, never ending bus rides from one village to another. We were made for this, just like this was made for us. This mix is for the long weekend.

1. Samuel - I Heart NY (Emil and Friends Remix)
2. Cee-Lo Green - Georgia
3. Francis and the Lights - Lime
4. Woods - I'm Not Gone
5. The Budos Band - Mark of the Unnamed
6. Balam Acab - Dream Out
7. Bun B feat. Drake - it's Been a Pleasure
8. Quadron - Slippin
9. Blackbird Blackbird - Float On (Modest Mouse cover)
10. Honeychild - Driving Song
11. Wild Beasts - We Still Got the Taste Dancing on Our Tongues
12. Big Krit feat. Devin the Dude - Moon and Stars
13. The Gaslight Anthem - Casanova, Baby
14. Ebo Taylor & The Pelicans - Come Along
15. S. Carey - In The Dirt

Sia - Clap Your Hands

Thu, 26 Aug 2010 20:28:00 -0400

Long story short, I had to venture into a Hollister the other day and whilst choosing the perfect seagull-emblazoned camisole (for my cousin, I swear), Sia's "Clap Your Hands" came on. At that point, I couldn't focus on whether the sea-blue or sky-blue was the better color, I just had to clap my hands and prance in and out of the "California-styled" rooms. I can't go anywhere without embarrassing myself. Just listening to this song makes me happy.

Make It Better (The Remixes) Now Available on iTunes!

Wed, 25 Aug 2010 16:16:00 -0400

We are pleased to announce that Make It Better (The Remixes) is now available for purchase on iTunes. The album features seven different reinterpretations of The Knocks' classic by Heavy Roc friends DOM, Samuel, Monsieur Adi, and more. These remixes will make your day so much better!

Cee-lo - F**k You

Mon, 23 Aug 2010 14:17:00 -0400

This is the single catchiest, greatest send-off to an ex I have ever heard. I couldn't stop singing it all weekend. Normally, I would just post the song and talk about how great it is and how I love Cee-lo but, this youtube of the lyrics is so perfect and needed to be shared. Cee-lo doesn't need to make a full production video. It puts all the fan-made imovie youtubes of lyrics to shame.

YADI Interview

Mon, 23 Aug 2010 09:04:00 -0400

YADI (aka Hannah Yadi) is an incredibly talented friend of ours from London. It's difficult to sometimes be unbiased to friends musical endeavours... but I know in my heart of hearts that Hannah is a fantastic writer of big, clever, cool pop music. Playing the friendship card I think I guilted her into sitting down to answer some very intellectual questions I posed to her whilst totally sober. This is what she had to say...

If you HAD to write a description of yourself for a dating website what would you write?

Don’t do this to me Rene. You’re determined to ruin me in my first interview. I’ve just given up dating anyway! Don’t people usually get their friends to write a blurb about them?

Rene please insert description here:

*** MY DESCRIPTION OF HANNAH: Cheeky, funny, sexy girl. Excellent taste in music and is a great person to have as a friend. What she lacks in height she totally makes up for in charisma and intelligence. I'm really excited to see where she goes writing wise… I hope she experiments with French in her songs (which she's totally fluent at being part Algerian princess) as she's doing something a little bit smarter than the average pop music kicking about.

And for me also? Be honest.

*** EDITED OUT... It was rather libelous!

When are you going to play your first live show?

On a very exciting tour with a very beautiful young singer in November…whoop!

Britney or Gaga?

Britney all the way! If Gaga brings out more albums, goes mad, then shaves her hair I may reconsider. Britney’s been through it all!

There are soooooo many girl singers from London with similarities (i.e. slightly electro influenced pop). You must be aware of that… has that affected the way you’ve approached writing your album? Are you influenced by them, or influenced to NOT be like them?

Ah that old chestnut. Of course I’m aware there are loads of female singers but there have always been lots and there always will be. I think the reason people are making an issue of it is due to the problem you mention - that a lot of them sound similar and they have started to blur into each other, with some great exceptions of course. I am certainly determined to be experimental and follow my instincts. It’s about making a record that reflects me. My influences are pretty wide ranging. I want to make music that excites people. And I want the songs to last. Wish me well!

Keanu Reeves’ career. Explain how it still exists.

You need to chill out Rene, what did he ever do to you. He has a silly name, sure - I wouldn’t for example feel comfortable saying his first name in isolation, know what I mean? Everyone always says ‘Keanu Reeves’. It’s never just Keanu. BUT the guy’s a dreamboat. FACE IT!

When I am seeing a girl exclusively and I see a 9/10 I say to myself “oh she’s probably a racist with hairy tits”. It quells any inappropriate thoughts. I’m good at relationships like that. Are you more suited to relationships or being single? Does that work it’s way into your songs?

Haha, doesn’t sound like you’re THAT good! When in love, that’s it, I don’t really look elsewhere, I fall hard. But I also love being single, it gives me much more to write about! That said my most recent song is about trying to force someone to love me. I can get a little aggressive.

You accidentally run over a cat. Turns out the cat belongs to a renowned witch. As punishment she puts a curse on you. After pleading with her she has mercy and gives you an option on the curse; you either become immediately hideously ugly (the sight of you actually makes others repulsed) OR you are forced to hear every song as if sung by Nickelback… when you play a Rihanna track; it is still a Rihanna song, but as if sung by Chad Kroeger. You go to a Fleetwod Mac concert… Stevie Nicks sounds like the Canadian rock dude. Etc… What do you choose?

I never liked cats. They sense my fear. Oh God, this is a hard one. I just don’t think I could listen to ‘Wanna be starting something’ or ‘Strange Fruit’ sung by Chad. I think I’m going to have to go with eternal ugliness. I’d just sit in a dark room listening to beautiful voices for the rest of my life, just me, MJ, Billie, the Stevie’s, Ella, Jeff, Beyonce I think we’d all be very happy together. There’s always surgery.

We recently posted a link to the track 'Guillotine' by YADI. See related posts

HeavyRoc Live Sessions: Alex Winston - Don't Care About Anything

Sat, 21 Aug 2010 20:06:00 -0400

We are back with the 2nd installment of HeavyRoc Live Sessions, and once again, it's Ms. Winston in the spotlight. Last time it was a Mumford & Sons cover, this time its a brand new original. Backed up by The Knocks on drums/organ, the 3 of them squeezed into live room in Chinatown and came out with a lovely acoustic rendition of one of her new song titled "Don't Care About Anything".

Alex has been gaining some great traction after the release of her debut single. Make sure to check out the interview she did with reviewsic.com as well as her mentions from NME & NYLON.

Alex Winston - Pet Sematary (Ramones Cover)

Wed, 18 Aug 2010 20:28:00 -0400

Alex Winston strikes again with a new cover. This time beautifying the 'Pet Sematary' by The Ramones.

Sky Ferreira - Sex Rules

Mon, 16 Aug 2010 17:23:00 -0400

This song is pure pop candy. Even though she wasn’t even born yet, Sky Ferreira’s “Sex Rules” perfectly nails the fun, catchy, and flirty (well, in this case, outwardly sexually suggestive) 80s vibe.

Making The Video: Samuel - I Heart NY

Sun, 15 Aug 2010 17:19:00 -0400

The lovely Alison put together this short behind the scenes peek at the making of Samuel's debut video. Put together from some flipcam footage taken on that freezing day in January, you can see how fun (and how cold) it was to shoot this video. Shout outs to Dana Veraldi for a lot of the footage.

Mark Ronson & the Business INTL - Lose It

Sat, 14 Aug 2010 13:45:00 -0400

Mark Ronson makes it look so easy. I remember seeing him work at the Pop Panel—four musicians attempt to create a hit pop song in one hour at the Creators Project— and he was so effortless. Everyone would do his own bit and it would sound just okay, definitely not “hit-worthy.” Then Ronson would nod his head, step into the stage light, turn a knob or play a hook, and the part instantly became ear candy. “Lose it (In the End)” is the latest single from Mark Ronson & the Business INTL and it features Ghostface Killah...I’m currently losing it.

The Shining Twins Interview

Sat, 14 Aug 2010 13:20:00 -0400

Every guy's dream: twins. How about cute, fun and badass twins? Even better. The Shining Twins, Alex Weiss and Marisa Kreiss, look sweet (and they are!) but are definitely rocking the East Village harder than any group out there. The girls were nice enough to take a break from playing music and breaking hearts to talk to me about the band and much more.

Alison: How did The Shining Twins come together?

The Shining Twins: We figured that first, we needed some sort of excuse to be hooking up with so many dudes in bands, and second, that we could probably start a cooler band, therefore being able to hook up with even more dudes.

A: Rock music is typically a male-dominated field. As females, what obstacles and challenges have you faced or overcame while pursuing a career in this industry?

TST: Let's just say it's way harder to be taken seriously when you have titz.

A: Where do you draw inspiration for your songs?

TST: People who have fucked us over, people we've fucked over, people we've fucked, and just everyday thingz like that. Pretty much all the shit we complain out.

A: What bands and/or tracks are currently on repeat for you lately?

TST: The Damned, The Lemonheads, and Thee Headcoatees "Come Into My Mouth."

A: In what ways are you similar and act like twins? How do you differ?

TST: Well, Marisa's 4'11" and Alex is 5'8". Alex has blue eyes and Marisa has brown. Other than that, and our 18 month age difference, we're pretty much exactly the same!!

A: What’s your favorite horror film and why?

TST: ....The Shining. Because the twins are us? And who doesn't like twins?
A: What are your plans for the future?
TST: Alex is probably going to settle down with our producer, Mikki James, pop out a few kids and move to his family's farm in Connecticut. Marisa would love to star in American Idiot on Broadway. We'll probably also try to put out our record sometime before that, and go on tour.

The Knocks - When You've Got Music

Thu, 12 Aug 2010 11:46:00 -0400

When we first started playing 'Make It Better' for people in the studio their first questions were "what sample is that?". We didn't have an answer for these people because there is actually no sample in 'Make It Better'. So when we were trying to pick a b-side for the 7" release we thought we would try creating the sample that everyone was asking about...
"When You've Got Music' is basically an example of reverse sampling. We sampled something that didn't exist in 'Make It Better' so we wrote this song as if we stumbled across it in an old record store, took to the studio, sampled and flipped for our single. Starring the amazing Mr. Jpatt on vocals, we brought out the organ and live drums and the soul for this jam.
I hope I did an alright job of explaining the thought process behind this..
"You Can Make It Better, When Youve Got Music"
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DOM Interview

Mon, 09 Aug 2010 16:57:00 -0400

   When I was approached to do an email interview with DOM, main-man of the band DOM, I was immediately stoked. This guy is the definition of an enigma. He won’t disclose his full name. His songs are some of the most creative and different tunes out right now. AND he has some weird fascination with llamas (check out the MySpace and you’ll see what I’m talking about). Sure enough, DOM was as enigmatic and funny as I thought he would be…
Alison: What’s the story behind how you all met and came together to form DOM? 
DOM: i met bob in december. we were gonna put together an electronic project but decided to start a band instead and started tryn ppl out. erik was a tryout that seemed to work out at the time. i wrote the song jesus and it picked up on da blogs so we put together a 7 song ep to keep the hype goin. met cosmo at a honky tonk night in bk
A: For those who have never listened to DOM, how would you describe your sound?  
D: idk how id describe the sound really. we've only been a band for a short while so we're sill developing but right now i like writing surfy riffs, cosmo shreds em, bob makes em dancey and erik rounds it all out
A: How has living in Worcester, Massachusetts—not associated as a musical epicenter—influenced and affected your music?  
D: Worcester has been super supportive and fun. there are a lot of creative ppl here and theres always something to do.
A: The content of your songs, i.e. “Bochicha” and “Jesus”, are uniquely personal yet widely relatable. What sorts of experiences or topics are you drawing inspiration from at the moment?
D: trips to da cape, bar fightn, gals, arizona.
A: Your EP is titled “Sun Bronzed Greek Gods," what Greek God would you want to be and why?  
D: i would wanna b hades  
A: What is the sexiest part about living in America?
D: sexiest thing bout living in america is ass wednesdays at Ralphs
A: What are your plans for the upcoming months and future?
D: we're going on a national tour w ratatat, getting married settling down
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Samuel - I Heart NY (Official Video)

Wed, 04 Aug 2010 13:13:00 -0400

This is a big moment. Sit back and enjoy the official video for Samuel's debut single "I Heart NY". Filmed in the dead of winter on our home turf that is Chrystie Street, featuring some of our best friends and family members and directed by the amazing Austin Peters, we couldnt be more happy with it. We have been incredibly excited to share this with the world and now we can. It was premiered by Spin Magazine who also did a good interview which you can check out here.

Teengirl Fantasy - Cheaters

Thu, 05 Aug 2010 20:00:00 -0400

   I first heard of Teengirl Fantasy when they played a few weeks ago at the "Make It Better" single release party and they were really cool. A couple of days later, a friend texted me "are you a fan of Teengirl Fantasy?" And now, their awesome song "Cheaters" is getting rave reviews and love from all over the interweb. It's funny how good music travels fast.
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Samuel - I Heart NY Mini-Doc

Sun, 01 Aug 2010 21:38:00 -0400

Samuel describes how he got into music, growing up in New York, and writing and recording his album. Includes live footage as well as rehearsal and studio footage. Directed by Austin Peters. Look out for the official video for I Heart NY this week.

hood at heart - fall in love

Mon, 02 Aug 2010 13:02:00 -0400

our mother gave birth to us in a experimental beetroot reprocessing centre, one of the many set up during to war to help feed starving refugees by converting beetroot into large honey roast hams. Three weeks after we were born all of the experimental hams began thinking for themselves and quickly took over the centre slaughtering most of the senior staff. we were kept hostage there until we were 14 years old, by which time many of the labourers had managed to form rudimentary weapons by sharpening the bones of their fallen comrades. In a well-planned strike we mercilessly beat the super intelligent hams into submission and fled. The war was over and we were free again, but we were penniless and starving. We wandered the countryside eating nuts and berries until one day a silver haired widow took pity on us and gave us shelter in her rickety old cabin in the forest. Everything went fine for a few weeks but one day while out collecting firewood the old lady was violently savaged by wild bore, we found parts of her dismembered carcass floating in the stream. We decided to stay in the log cabin, which is where we currently reside, ever vigilant for when the hams decided strike again.
We are Hood @ ♥

Love,
Wilkzdoh & Mothface

http://www.megaupload.com/?d=5QQCZRF6
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The Limousines - Internet Killed the Video Star (Video + Mp3)

Mon, 02 Aug 2010 00:05:00 -0400
This, kids, is what we call "irony." When MTV played The Buggles' "Video Killed the Radio Star" as their first music video ever, it blew people's minds. What? Music AND video?!  Nowadays--seeing that MTV doesn't play music videos anymore and that everyone uses the internet to watch televised progamming--it's hard to even get people's attention. The Limousines' " Internet Killed the Video Star" pays homage to the old horror films, old non-electronic music and (old) music videos while simultaneously personifying the newfound problem of the millenial generation. An electropop duo singing about the good old days in their internet music video? Texbook irony kids.

Janelle Monae - Cold War

Sun, 01 Aug 2010 23:46:00 -0400

I've listened to "Cold War" by Janelle Monae 15 times today. WHERE HAS THIS SONG BEEN MY ENTIRE LIFE? So many wasted tears could have been saved. This song makes me want to tell off all my exes, do some serious parkour, run a marathon, and then go out. Thank You Janelle.
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The Knocks "Make It Better" to be released on Neon Gold Records

Tue, 13 Jul 2010 03:36:00 -0400

We are very very happy to announce the release of our second official Knocks single "Make It Better". It will be released by Neon Gold Records on July 27th via a limited 7" vinyl pressing with a B-Side and a banging remix by the one and only Emil & Friends all packaged in lovely artwork by the talented Frau Grau.
Leading up to the release we will be leaking a handful (seven, yes seven) all equally awesome remixes by DOM, Pink Ganter, Monsieur Adi, Samuel & more.
The vinyl is available for pre-order now at the Neon Gold Shop along with the new HeavyRoc Store
"Trading the grimy late night dancefloors of "Blackout" for white sand beaches and the long light of summer, it's an effervescent slice of breezy dance pop that'll have you whistling it's tune well into autumn. Like The Avalanches meeting Delorean for margaritas on the seaside as "Young Folks" drifts by sweetly in the background, it's been the official soundtrack to our summer thus far and we hope it'll make an equally indelible mark on your season as well." - Neon Gold
“Make It Better” brings back memories of playing grab-ass at the pool, friends everywhere; of sharing ice cream sandwiches on the hottest of days; of tooling around on bikes as the only means of transportation; of a time when the biggest care in the world was whether you’d be in a class with your friends in the fall and summers were spent outside instead of in offices. - Cities Of The Plain
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Here We Go Magic Interview

Fri, 30 Jul 2010 22:47:00 -0400

Here We Go Magic is one of the few blogosphere darlings that actually deserves the popular acclaim they receive.Their latest release, Pigeons, is a catchy and ecclectic album on constant replay in my household. Needless to say, I was very excited when drummer Peter Hale took a break from their busy schedule to answer a few questions about the band and other musings.
Alison: HWGM hails from Greenpoint, BK--one of the most creative and innovative musical epicenters to emerge in recent years—what is it like to live and to create music in such a community?
Peter: I live in South Williamsburg, and I love my neighborhood so much. My friends are wonderful, generous, talented people, every last one, and so are my friends who live in Greenpoint!
A: In “Collector,” the lyrics go “I’ve got a mild fascination with collectors.” What are things you have a mild fascination with and/or collect?
P: I live a transient life of a traveling musician, so I don't collect much more than the patina of a journeyman these days. I do, however, have a modest and quirky wine collection in storage. My fascinations tend to become consuming if not obsessive, so they're zealous rather than mild fascinations.
A: For those who haven’t heard of HWGM, how would you describe yourself in terms of both influences and sound?
P: We're influenced by so much! It's all in there somewhere. We have varied tastes, but share some key touchstones. We listen to music together all the time in the van. Not really an iPod scene on the road, so we're probably all being subconsciously influenced by the same stuff. I like to think of us as an exploratory rock band (we play drums, bass, keys, guitars... nothing fancy) who aim to be expressive with each other and not say "no" to anything. All the music that we hear -- that lives in us -- has to be integrated with how the five of us interact with each other. It's essential that we listen to each other and feed off of that energy, rather than trying to construct something conceptual or developing an agenda in getting a "sound" or style.
A: What are your plans for the upcoming months and future?
P: We're on the road in the States and abroad through the summer and fall. Then more records, more touring, more records, more touring... Babies!
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Yadi - Guillotine (mp3)

Fri, 30 Jul 2010 16:19:00 -0400

I met Hannah Yadi when we took a trip to London for some sessions. We didn't meet in a professional setting, more of a loud live music and a lot of beer setting and she was a very very sweet girl. She casually mentioned that she records music and is working on some songs with some producers etc etc...Apparently those songs went VERY WELL because this song "Guillotine" that she just leaked via our Neon Gold Bros is rad as rad can be. We are looking forward to getting in the studio with her when shes in the Empire State and making some magic. Look out for Yadi in 2010 dudez.
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Chromeo - Don't Turn the Lights On

Thu, 29 Jul 2010 11:30:00 -0400
My love for Chromeo runs deep. It's one of those musical romances others try to understand and relate, but ultimately, can't. There are so many reasons as to why I love them so much--their bonafied jams, their album titles (Business Casual will be released in August), and their always interesting music videos. The duo's video for "Don't Turn the Lights On" is whacky, fun, and 100% (pun-intended) Chromeo.

The Knocks - Make It Better (Emil & Friends Remix)

Wed, 28 Jul 2010 14:28:00 -0400

I first got put onto Emil & Friends by our homies over at Cantora Records who will be releasing his record in the near future. I also had heard his remix of Passion Pit's 'Sleepyhead' and was instantly a fan.
We reached out to him to remix 'Make it Better' and when we found out he was down we were stoked. Then we got an email from him describing the remix in which he explained it as "overdrive tactical star trek phaser funk" and how he was "just at a Marnie Stern show and that babe has me practicing my van halen guitar chops like whoa so i thought id take a rip"
If those 2 quotes don't make you want to listen to the remix, then i don't know what will. This remix is the only remix that is actually on the 7" vinyl due to its genius. I can't really say much else, you really just need to listen to the remix and sit back and get ready to have your face melted off by Emil's "Star Trek Phaser Funk"
All the other remixes are now available on Itunes! So go check them out.
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Heavy Roc Music

Samuel - I Heart NY (Emil & Friends Remix)

The Long Weekend Mixtape

Sia - Clap Your Hands

Make It Better (The Remixes) Now Available on iTunes!

Cee-lo - F**k You

YADI Interview

HeavyRoc Live Sessions: Alex Winston - Don't Care About Anything

Alex Winston - Pet Sematary (Ramones Cover)

Sky Ferreira - Sex Rules

Making The Video: Samuel - I Heart NY

Mark Ronson & the Business INTL - Lose It

The Shining Twins Interview

A: What’s your favorite horror film and why?

TST: ....The Shining. Because the twins are us? And who doesn't like twins?

A: What are your plans for the future?

The Knocks - When You've Got Music

DOM Interview

Samuel - I Heart NY (Official Video)

Teengirl Fantasy - Cheaters

Samuel - I Heart NY Mini-Doc

hood at heart - fall in love

The Limousines - Internet Killed the Video Star (Video + Mp3)

Janelle Monae - Cold War

The Knocks "Make It Better" to be released on Neon Gold Records

Here We Go Magic Interview

Yadi - Guillotine (mp3)

Chromeo - Don't Turn the Lights On

The Knocks - Make It Better (Emil & Friends Remix)