Posts by Jakub

New Vintage Hat Culture






Since I was a teenager i’ve wanted to do custom hats, mostly just a cap, i’ve always been fascinated by the choosing color combinations to the quality of the sewing of the patches, embroidery, and all over printing. After digging around I have to say there is an amazing culture set in place of people making high end hats beyond New Era. I hope to do a custom ISO50 one someday soon because i’m itching to do one like the beautiful Oxford one by Quiet Life, here’s a few companies that do it properly:

Quiet Life
Brixton
Obey

Windsor. + D I A N A + Windsurf + Marbeya S.


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Windsor. has the appeal of what James Blake or John Talabot bring to the table but has hints of Berlin’s slower techno charm and has this catchy vocal loop I can’t stop listening to once it settles in.

Chillwave died off as a genre name maybe but it was a good thing, it got rid of the trendy bashing and now the music can live under different names or better yet hybrids of future ideas and even better than that let the music be what it was originally just slow catchy pop, D I A N A just drops one of the best summer tracks i’ve heard all year and i’m just sitting here amazed.

You want the highest quality of Yacht Rock Balearic Nu Disco that will put your dad’s Alan Parson’s LPs to shame? then watch out for and collect all the Windsurf releases.

With a heavier dose of Arp, here’s something to drop in the laps of Drive Soundtrack fans that will stomp that soundtracks head in, pure delight from Marbeya Sound.

Koreless + Sorcerer + Jamie XX + Poolside


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“Start your engines and drive thru the 8 bit dirt in Excitebike” thats what the intro sounds like to me in this older single from Koreless and then the looped vocal comes in and adds that human connection and becomes a sugary fun track that bubbles and like a UK hip version of Pogo.

Sorcerer! who does your guitars? you? I love them, download this one here.

I missed this Jamie Xx track, what an intro, who would have thought that we would listen to this much steel drums in 2008 and on from Ratatat, The Knife and now this.

Here’s the semi pop effort of getting slow disco in front of a larger audience, sadly I think it might be a tad bit too slow, also vox could sit a little better in the mix, I love Poolside, I only want to see them do well.

Mushrooms Proj.+Om Unit+Wild Nothing+2:54


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As I keep my eye on 2 screens, 1 being the UEFA Euro 2012 game and the other on scavenging soundcloud, I keep the soccer sounds off and let these cuts from to ride over and over. My roommate probably hates me being I like to listen to songs over and over that i’m going to post here.

This Mushrooms Project is close to Balearic perfection, almost a 12 minute piece of melting sky over your Blade Runner themed yacht party that only serves tall glasses of Arnold Palmers on a sweat soaked dancefloor thats been occupied to capacity for over 14 hrs now, daybreaks and you don’t even blink twice about the thought that you haven’t had an urge to rest your head.

Park your floating darkstar back onto the moon and connect with this crawling heavy hitter from Om Unit, a fusion of disco, techno and UK’s ever evolving beat scene, this cut just keeps going and fades off like an eclipse on the horizon.

A defining good song in this sea of indie rock that denies The Smiths as a big influence because its just not hip to name drop them anymore. I can’t ever hate Twee, it just has too much honest emotion in it, cuts deeper than any pop song ever could and makes any moment feel more important then it is 10 fold. On a side note, I love this song.

I don’t understand why this record is on Slumberland, it should put a flame under some asses of the whole girl vocal roster on there. These girls are good, I just hope they don’t go the whole NYLON meets Best Coast marketing route with a goth twist, that horse has been beaten, dragged, cut open, photographed and posted all over tumblr and retumbled more times than the word “like” is said at an employee meeting at Urban Outfitters.

Holy Other + Daso + 6th Borough + Zomby


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HIGHLY RECOMMENDED: I’ve been waiting for a glimpse of the debut Holy Other LP, it has this perfect shuffling and sway to it, really easy to get lost in it in a quick amount of time.

An oldie from Daso, let the melody come in, reminds me of the good old days when Tech House was about beauty.

More from 6th Borough Project, this was just released on a 3xLP, the compilation is full of solid edit, each and every single one is perfect. This is how great disco vocals are done, don’t overdue it, no gospel or overpowering divas, let it sit with the rest of the song.

Probably the rowdiest song i’ve ever posted on ISO50, feels classic though, just popped on shuffle and put a smile on my face.

Instagram Photo Favorites: 17th Edition


drsmoothdeath – Such a good feed, it all looks like this, just older parked cars, give it a chance, you won’t be bummed out.


mollielw – consistent silver-ish haze thru the whole feed, makes you feel like you woke up from a daytime nap out in the country.


crivacriva – minimal architecture and solid color schemes are pretty common on Instagram but this feed keeps me interested still, maybe because its not too simplified.

Follow us at ISO50 on instagram:

@iso50 – Scott Hansen
@heatheredpearls – Jakub Alexander
@beamercola – Beamer
@B3PO – Jonathan Marsh

This Weeks ISO50 Show Listings: NY / LA / SF

Matthew Dear DJing @ Vessel in SF this Thursday


Here’s the list of shows in LA, SF and NYC this week of musicians we post on the blog.

Mon. 6 / 11
NY: Xeno & Oaklander @ Webster Hall (The Studio)
LA: Mmoths @ Bardot FREE W/ RSVP
SF: Go see Moonrise Kingdom in Theaters

Tue. 6 / 12
NY: Janka Nabay & The Bubu Gang @ Zebulon FREE SHOW
LA: Nite Jewel @ The Echo
SF: Here We Go Magic @ The Independent

Wed. 6 / 13
NY: Philip Glass @ Issue Project Room
LA: DNTEL & Baths @ The Airliner
SF: Margaret Dygas @ Icon Ultra Lounge

Thu. 6 / 14
NY: Selebrities & Beacon @ Glasslands Gallery
LA: Go see Moonrise Kingdom in Theaters
SF: Matthew Dear @ Vessel

Fri. 6 / 15
NY: Kurt Vile @ Maxwell’s
LA: Onuinu @ The Glass House
SF:

Sat. 6 / 16
NY: Shlohmo @ 285 Kent Avenue
LA: Gui Boratto & Matthew Dear @ Avalon
SF: Heathered Pearls (Ambient DJ set) @ Liminal Space

Sun. 6 / 17
NY: Computer Magic @ Cameo Gallery
LA: Aeroplane @ Drai’s
SF: Lemonade @ Rickshaw Stop

Guest Music Post: Teen Daze


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Luke AbbottModern Driveway
I’m always really inspired by minimal music of any sort, and this song is the perfect example of what a good, simple song should accomplish. It takes you on an emotional trip, from the its small beginnings, to it’s lush, layered ending. It builds into something, there’s movement.

How To Dress WellOcean Floor For Everything
The day this single dropped, I was driving across Western Canada, the love of my life beside me, and we listened to this as we entered the foothills of the Rocky Mountains. The combination of the insanely beautiful sounds, and the insanely beautiful visuals in front of us, it was hard not be affected. Now, the impressive thing is that upon repeat listenings, it continues that possess that moment-creating vibe. Every time I hear it, I’m taken to a different place. It’s a truly beautiful song, and the new LP is one of my most anticipated of this year.

Kuhrye-ooGive In (For The Fame)
When I first started working on what would become Teen Daze material, I took a lot of inspiration and encouragement from my friends from Edmonton, who had a project called “Gobble Gobble”. It’s been an incredible experience seeing all of the individuals in that project gain so much exposure and love (Cecil is now known as Born Gold, and Corin and Megan are known as Purity Ring). This is a track from Calvin’s solo project, Kuhrye-oo, and this track is just so good. That vocal sample completely steals the show. As soon as it hits the “I knowwww”, my heart melts.

Unknown002
I love anonymity in music, just because it brings something new to the table. No goofy promo pics of the band standing on a beach all looking into the camera with vacant stares. It’s like when you were a kid, and a wrestler was from “Parts Unknown”, it made him all the more scarier. Unknown is a mystery-producer making the rounds on a few of my friends’ blogs, and I think this track is especially good.

The Beat Broker: The Slowness II Mix


Easing you into this weekend is a mix from one of my favorite producers/DJs San Francisco’s The Beat Broker.

Tracklist:
Klaus Schönning – Cygnus (edit)
Farbror Resande Mac – Magma
Mouth – Udupu
Pharao Black Magic – Amulet (Begin Remix)
Apollo Heights – Sad Cabaret (Phil Mison mix)
Domes – Former State
Heion – Circus
Soft Rocks – Talking Jungle
Max Essa presents Jan Ken Po – Metropolitan Scene
Billy Bogus – Afro Comedy
Chautauqua – Nat’s Theme
Paresse – The Night Before You Came
Pablo – Stratus (Andrew Weatherall remix)

Also, if you’re in Miami tonight i’ll be DJing as Heathered Pearls along with Tycho’s previous tour supporters Beacon, email me if you want to get in jakub at iso50.

Clams / Instra:mental / G. Fitz / Grizzly Bear


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Probably the most beautiful of all the Clams Casino instrumentals in my opinion, once I finished listening to it I realized what his sound was because before I just thought he was an Art Of Noise jacker.

Sometimes its all about the simplicity and the middle bit like this Instra:mental remix of Mount Kimbie, not a new release but one worth going back too.

Soo impressed by this new cut from George Fitzgerald, all the right pieces to make a proper ode to Detroit and Chicago Techno.

New Grizzly Bear was a surprise, they’re channeling something here, more of a man rock feel but with great experimental expressions, thoughts?