Here's something you might be interested in.
Jamuel Saxon's new video for "Planetarium," directed by Mike Brown and Anthony Levas, is a celestial sway-and-shake anthem about losing yourself in the stars, even if they're just projected on the planetarium ceiling. The song is the first single off their debut full-length, due early next year on local Single Screen Records (named for the Ken Cinema, where the label owners have worked).
The band will play two local shows today, November 18: the America's Cup Music Fest on San Diego Bay (with Chromeo, K-Flay, and the Soft Pack), and then the Hullabulloo Music Fest at UCSD (with Felix Cartal). You can also catch them December 16 at the Soda Bar, along with Cuckoo Chaos (which includes Keith Milgaten’s older brother Jackson).
The electro-pop group originally comprised Keith Milgaten (Vision of a Dying World), Spencer Rabin (Charles Musket), Aimee Sanchez (Black Mamba), and a vocoder. The trio’s music is created by beat programming, two Korgs, one guitar, and vocoder.
“Don’t let the name fool you,” says their website. “Jamuel Saxon isn't a jam-rock frat band. It's one dude in San Diego [and friends] making scratchy laptop beats with soulful vocoder vocals and Casio keyboard effects that sound like the hold music at the Emotionally Abused Robot Hotline.”
“Dancey music will always be coveted by people...it’s this inevitable thing about the human heartbeat and how we relate to rhythms,” says Milgaten. “I’m not really into dance music, but I’ve found it’s a way to connect with people, so I’ve tried to maintain that while adding the elements of a live band...I’m trying to please everybody by having both [electronic and live] worlds there.”
Milgaten's performing bandmates in Jamuel Saxon have included Writer brothers Jayme Ralph (drums) and Andy Ralph (bass). “[The Writer brothers] and I have been crossing paths for the past five years or so,” says Milgaten. “We jammed in December [2009] and it sounded awesome...I’d been feeling lazy with my music, but these guys really showed me the level of professionalism-slash-having-fun-with-it that they’re at. They reminded me that practicing music is a lot of fun.”
The extra hands are essential for performing. “There are certain people who just don’t like to see a guy with a laptop, and there are some people who love that,” says Milgaten, who was nominated for Best Electronic at the 2009 San Diego Music Awards. “If you can please both those people, you’re much better off.”
The band currently includes Jayson Ehm, a longtime fan whom Milgaten asked to join in on drums for a one-off gig. The two got along so well together, and Ehm's skill and vision were so in sync with Milgaten's, that he made Ehm a permanent fixture as both drummer for Jamuel Saxon and designer of their visual element.
"All I've ever wanted is to be a good influence on people," says Milgaten, who describes his sound as being "somewhere between pre-Utopian-core and intelligent dance music."
The Jamuel Saxon EP The Prolly Shores, recorded at Jayme Ralph’s North Park home studio, was released in 2010. Around the same time, Milgaten released a ten-song solo album, Landmines & Chandeliers. He teamed up with Writer brothers Jayme and James Ralph for a tour.
Not long ago, Milgaten survived a drug-induced near death experience along the side of the road between San Diego and Las Vegas. He suffered a panic attack while driving on the highway, and thankfully was able to get off the road and to an urgent care center. The experience not only inspired Milgaten to get clean, but also to work even harder on Jamuel Saxon.
The band recorded their upcoming full-length Pre-Madonna in late spring 2011, co-produced by Jimmy Lavalle (Album Leaf, Tristeza) at a cabin in Boulder Creek, California, though its release was put off until the band could find a suitable label.
The songs were written when Milgaten was still battling his addiction, using drugs and boozing extremely heavily and generally not taking care of himself. However, he says he doesn't resist playing them now, because "My new outlook makes my connection to those old songs even deeper than before."
At the August 2011 San Diego Music Awards, the band took home the trophy for Best Electronic. In October 2011, they released an EP (CD and digital download) of songs that didn’t make the Pre-Madonna album cut. The EP features a club version of the Vision of a Dying World tune “Awoken By a Scene From the End Times,” as well as covering a song by Cuckoo Chaos.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yxZgoLX8fBM
Jamuel Saxon's new video for "Planetarium," directed by Mike Brown and Anthony Levas, is a celestial sway-and-shake anthem about losing yourself in the stars, even if they're just projected on the planetarium ceiling. The song is the first single off their debut full-length, due early next year on local Single Screen Records (named for the Ken Cinema, where the label owners have worked).
The band will play two local shows today, November 18: the America's Cup Music Fest on San Diego Bay (with Chromeo, K-Flay, and the Soft Pack), and then the Hullabulloo Music Fest at UCSD (with Felix Cartal). You can also catch them December 16 at the Soda Bar, along with Cuckoo Chaos (which includes Keith Milgaten’s older brother Jackson).
The electro-pop group originally comprised Keith Milgaten (Vision of a Dying World), Spencer Rabin (Charles Musket), Aimee Sanchez (Black Mamba), and a vocoder. The trio’s music is created by beat programming, two Korgs, one guitar, and vocoder.
“Don’t let the name fool you,” says their website. “Jamuel Saxon isn't a jam-rock frat band. It's one dude in San Diego [and friends] making scratchy laptop beats with soulful vocoder vocals and Casio keyboard effects that sound like the hold music at the Emotionally Abused Robot Hotline.”
“Dancey music will always be coveted by people...it’s this inevitable thing about the human heartbeat and how we relate to rhythms,” says Milgaten. “I’m not really into dance music, but I’ve found it’s a way to connect with people, so I’ve tried to maintain that while adding the elements of a live band...I’m trying to please everybody by having both [electronic and live] worlds there.”
Milgaten's performing bandmates in Jamuel Saxon have included Writer brothers Jayme Ralph (drums) and Andy Ralph (bass). “[The Writer brothers] and I have been crossing paths for the past five years or so,” says Milgaten. “We jammed in December [2009] and it sounded awesome...I’d been feeling lazy with my music, but these guys really showed me the level of professionalism-slash-having-fun-with-it that they’re at. They reminded me that practicing music is a lot of fun.”
The extra hands are essential for performing. “There are certain people who just don’t like to see a guy with a laptop, and there are some people who love that,” says Milgaten, who was nominated for Best Electronic at the 2009 San Diego Music Awards. “If you can please both those people, you’re much better off.”
The band currently includes Jayson Ehm, a longtime fan whom Milgaten asked to join in on drums for a one-off gig. The two got along so well together, and Ehm's skill and vision were so in sync with Milgaten's, that he made Ehm a permanent fixture as both drummer for Jamuel Saxon and designer of their visual element.
"All I've ever wanted is to be a good influence on people," says Milgaten, who describes his sound as being "somewhere between pre-Utopian-core and intelligent dance music."
The Jamuel Saxon EP The Prolly Shores, recorded at Jayme Ralph’s North Park home studio, was released in 2010. Around the same time, Milgaten released a ten-song solo album, Landmines & Chandeliers. He teamed up with Writer brothers Jayme and James Ralph for a tour.
Not long ago, Milgaten survived a drug-induced near death experience along the side of the road between San Diego and Las Vegas. He suffered a panic attack while driving on the highway, and thankfully was able to get off the road and to an urgent care center. The experience not only inspired Milgaten to get clean, but also to work even harder on Jamuel Saxon.
The band recorded their upcoming full-length Pre-Madonna in late spring 2011, co-produced by Jimmy Lavalle (Album Leaf, Tristeza) at a cabin in Boulder Creek, California, though its release was put off until the band could find a suitable label.
The songs were written when Milgaten was still battling his addiction, using drugs and boozing extremely heavily and generally not taking care of himself. However, he says he doesn't resist playing them now, because "My new outlook makes my connection to those old songs even deeper than before."
At the August 2011 San Diego Music Awards, the band took home the trophy for Best Electronic. In October 2011, they released an EP (CD and digital download) of songs that didn’t make the Pre-Madonna album cut. The EP features a club version of the Vision of a Dying World tune “Awoken By a Scene From the End Times,” as well as covering a song by Cuckoo Chaos.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yxZgoLX8fBM