Every Monday through Friday, we deliver a different song as part our Song of the Day podcast subscription. This podcast features exclusive KEXP in-studio performances, unreleased songs, and recordings from independent artists that our DJs think you should hear. Today’s featured selection, chosen by Morning Show host John Richards, is “Rubix Dude” by The Arch Cupcake from their 2009 album, Box of Bees, available from Patriarch Records.
With a name like The Arch Cupcake, I at least, imagine a group of skinny-jean wearing hipsters, bedecked in flashily bright colors, long hair plastered across their foreheads, knocking out self-conscious melodies about math-class crushes. Instead, The Arch Cupcake is, as DJ/Writer/Producer Frederick Sargolini, a former battle DJ and classically trained musician, has chosen to describe himself, “The most soulful Hip Hop head bang you’ll ever have.” And though I can’t fully agree with the word choice, The Arch Cupcake’s sound on the debut full-length, Box Of Bees, somehow fits in to a genre so strangely painted. It’s a noisy sound, a glitchy mix of distortion, samples, and the low-end thump so commonly found in hip-hop, but at the same time it’s none of the above. Instead it’s enjoyable growl, a loosely tied together collection of layers that somehow sounds absolutely incredible. Neon-shirt wearing hipsters be damned.
Currently, there are no live dates on the The Arch Cupcake’s MySpace page, but on the Patriarch Recordings website you’ll find a free mixtape to consume. In the meantime, enjoy this, The Arch Cupcake’s video for “El Gato”:
3 Comments
Hi guys,
Just wanted to tell you that the link to the mp3 file seems broken (?), inoperative (?). I am getting error 500 under iTunes and a ‘file doesn’t exist’ error (actually, the network path was not found) when trying direct download via my browser. Could you please fix the issue? Thanks a bunch.
Hang tight, everybody. We’re experience some problems with our server, but the podcasts and streams will be back in no time. Thanks for your patience.
ups, the cupcake is def doin it right... ugly sweaters and bees rule!