Is He Really Back?

With an over joyous certainty, we can proudly say that, YES, Jai Paul is back, and better than ever before. After nearly ten years of silence, Jai Paul released two surprise tracks on June 1. He also officially released his original album, Leak 4-13.

Back in 2011, when the album was supposed to release, people got a hold of the project early and leaked it. Frustrated and shamed, Jai Paul shunned the world from his artistry. Now, he has gotten over his grievances and blessed the world with new music.

Do You Love Her Now/He

Jai Paul‘s new tracks, Do You Love Her Now and He, are unlike anything he put out in his 2011 reign. More of a ballad than an electronic dance song, Do You Love Her Now sounds like Tame Impala and Steve Lacy‘s love child. The track features a lo-fi, slow rock drum beat and funk guitar riffs. The ethereal vocals flow over the track like an angel, piercing the chorus,”Do You Love Her Now,” into the soul.

Where Do You Love Her Now takes a slower, almost RnB approach, He returns to Jai Paul‘s electronic roots, but his improvement is stark. What starts off as a chill pop tune quickly turns into a nightmarish club beat, with haunting percussion dominating the scene. The end of the track showcases Paul’s talent, with a groovy distorted synth riding perfectly over a beautifully simple beat.

It is clear Jai Paul is only teasing us with what is to come, and if it takes any inspiration from his new releases, his next album will be one hell of a project.

Stream His New Tracks Below

The post Jai Paul Returns After 8 Year Hiatus appeared first on Red Roll.

When Eilish finally took the stage, she gave the audience the moody, broody show they were waiting for. Her performance was far from perfect, according to Shane Newell and Vickie Connor at the Palm Springs Desert Sun. She tripped on stage, forgot lyrics, and interrupted the set to ask for water. Those that stayed throughout the delay, prove that any imperfections are no big deal.

Eilish wowed the crowd with some aerial stunts from atop a flying bed during her song “Bury a Friend.” She also invited rapper Vince Staples on stage to help her perform their song “&burn” but, according to an article at CNN, and dozens of tweets on the subject, technical difficulties caused Staples’ mic to cut out. His entire part was inaudible.

For now, Eilish is new and exciting, and her fans are willing to wait a long time just to see her perform a flawed set. Will this last forever, or will her novelty wear off? Eilish may need to polish up her performance skills if she wants to stay in the spotlight.

Despite her imperfections, 17-year-old Billie Eilish Pirate Baird O’Connell (Yes, I said “Pirate”) is quickly establishing herself as a household name by churning out her moody music and introspective lyrics.

Over the past year, the singer has burst onto the electro-pop scene, drawing comparisons to others who took the world by storm as a teenager like Lorde.

Eilish’s debut album, WHEN WE ALL FALL ASLEEP, WHERE DO WE GO? Was released in March and currently sits at number 1 on BIllboard’s Top 200 Albums list. Her song “bad guy” reached number 7 on the Hot 100 chart as well.

Listen to “bury a friend” by Billie Eilish below:

The post Billie Eilish at Coachella: Flawed, But Fiery appeared first on Red Roll.

Popular music today reveals this unspoken pressure to collaborate with a popular rap name of the year or an electronic artist in order to achieve radio airplay.

Take Maroon 5, for example. The music group—who have been together for over twenty years and famous for Billboard-charting numbers such as “She Will Be Loved” and “Maps”—took the stage and performed one of their newest songs, “Don’t Wanna Know“. It was a largely digitized tune, with an electronic soundboar heavily present in the backdrop and an uncharacteristic Kendrick Lamar guest appearance. The soft pop rock that has become such a trademark sound for the band over the decades was unrecognizable in this performance. It was almost unsettling the way that this theme carried out and made itself so recognizably real.

Even Justin Bieber has demonstrated this transformation from a band-based live act to putting his vocals on the back burner in order to rely on DJ Snake for a catchy backbeat in his performance of “Let Me Love You“.

This is not a criticism of the infiltration of electronic and rap into mainstream radio, considering popular music is a reflection of the populatrity of culture of the time. But it is rather the observation that the pre-existing dominating forces of mainstream radio have come to adapt to the less admirable characteristics of the genre. Maroon 5 have evolved to dropping their commanding pop rock wholesomeness, built upon guitars, a bass, and a drumset, for the more robotic digital output–which, in this case, also features an odd hip-hop interruption. This is merely one of many examples present on the airwaves today.

As far as its interference with live instrumental quality, electronic music serves to exist in its own realm because that’s exactly the standard it has set itself up to exist within. With technology’s rapid advancements and availability, it is very difficult to compare the skill level of a DJ with that of a traditional musician. However, that is not to say the core ethics and ideals within the EDM community are to be underappreciated or criticized. The values placed on unification and togetherness demonstrated in EDM culture are a respectable aspect of this genre’s composition. But when it boils down to display of talent on a concert level, the traditional means of instrumental performance is an untouchable one.

It remains by opinion whether or not the rapid change in pop music makeup has been a degradation of the genre or purely a lateral progression. Individual, separate values exist within both hip-hop/rap and electronic. The simple observation to be made is that the tangibility of performance is no longer there in the way it used to be. And—when it comes to the electronic influence, anyway—the exceptionality in talent it takes to perform to a live audience is no longer there, either.

The post The AMA’s: An Observation in Pop Music Progression appeared first on Red Roll.