Top Pops! Beat Connection, Gardens & Villa + Here We Go Magic MP3 Downloads & Streams

“Pop music shouldn’t always get a bad rap,” says Top Pops!, a recurring selection of pop music highlights across a selection of styles.

 

Gardens & Villa

We’ve covered these Santa Barbara groovesters quite a bit, but their trajectory this year is upwards-bound at an intense and exponentially-terrifying rate! If you haven’t seen them yet, now is the time; constant touring and being on the road have catapulted them to new heights of live performance expertise, just in time for showing off to Snoop Dogg and Dr. Dre at Coachella. We’ve just posted a series of live tour videos on YouTube, with more to come. Scope out unreleased track “Avalanche” below, from their show last year at Holocene in Portland. They will be returning again to Holocene after Sasquatch, on May 30th — to play with another band we support: Swahili. Stream a demo of a new Swahili track, below.

 

Read our interview with Gardens & Villa Watch “Spacetime” Music Video

Stream more Gardens & Villa Live Videos On REDEFINE’S YouTube Channel

GARDENS & VILLA TOUR DATES
4/26 – Oakland, CA – The New Parish
5/11 – Monterey, CA – Cal State/Black Box Cabaret
5/24 – Davis, CA – Sofia Thai Kitchen
5/25 – Eugene, OR – Sam Bonds Garage
5/25 – George, WA – Sasquatch Festival
5/30 – Portland, OR – Holocene
6/1 – Santa Barbara, CA – Santa Barbara Bowl ^
6/23 – St. Paul, MN – River’s Edge Music Festival
7/7 – Quincy, CA – High Sierra Music Fest
7/8 – Quincy, CA – High Sierra Music Fest

Swahili

Playing with Gardens & Villa in Portland on May 30th, for a MusicfestNW kick-off party, as mentioned above. Here is a rough demo of Swahili’s latest track, “Mokomokai.”

 

Beat Connection


After playing our recent SXSW showcase, Seattle’s Beat Connection have just announced their first headlining tour, with White Arrows as main support, to create an indie-dance combination of truly great vibes, top energy, and musical professionalism in a live show setting. Their first full-length, Palace Garden, comes out later this year. For now, enjoy “Think/Feel”, featuring Chelsey Scheffe, while you ponder the mystery of why so many bright and shiny dance bands come out of Seattle…

 

Stream Beat Connection’s The Palace Garden On Spotify

BEAT CONNECTION TOUR DATES
All dates with White Arrows except San Francisco
* w/ MMOTHS & White Arrows

6/14 – San Francisco, CA – Rickshaw Stop*
6/15 – Santa Cruz, CA – The Catalyst Atrium*
6/16 – Los Angeles, CA – Troubadour*
6/17 – San Diego, CA – Casbah*
6/18 – Phoenix, AZ – Rhythm Room*
6/20 – Dallas, TX – La Grange
6/21 – Austin, TX – Red 7
6/22 – Houston, TX – Fitzgerald’s
6/23 – Baton Rouge, LA – Spanish Moon
6/26 – Tampa, FL – The Orpheum
6/27 – Miami, FL – Bardot
6/28 – Orlando, FL – Will’s Pub
6/29 – Atlanta, GA – The Masquerade – Hell
6/30 – Raleigh, NC – Kings Barcade
7/01 – Washington DC – DC9
7/03 – Philadelphia, PA – Kung Fu Necktie
7/04 – New Haven, CT – Bar Night Club
7/05 – Brooklyn, NY – Knitting Factory
7/06 – Cambridge, MA – TT the Bears
7/07 – Montreal, QC – Il Motore
7/08 – Toronto, ON – Drake Hotel
7/10 – Pittsburgh, PA – Brillobox
7/11 – Cleveland, OH – Grog Shop
7/12 – Chicago, IL – Schubas Tavern
7/13 – Detroit, MI – Majestic Cafe
7/14 – Milwaukee, WI – The Cactus Club
7/15 – Minneapolis, MN – 7th Street Entry
7/17 – Denver, CO – Hi Dive
7/18 – Salt Lake City, UT – Kilby Court
7/19 – Boise, ID – Reef Boise
7/22 – Vancouver, BC – Media Club

 

Here We Go Magic

Mark this as the first time I am really paying attention to this band, fronted by vocalist Luke Temple! “How Do I Know” comes from Here We Go Magic’s forthcoming LP, A Different Ship, and is an upbeat and sunshine-laden track with contradictory lyrical confusions. Take my word for it when I say that it is one of the weaker tracks of indie-dance-mania on the album; A Different Ship is an album to look forward to.

 

Stream “How Do I Know” on SoundCloud

HERE WE GO MAGIC TOUR DATES
* w/ Hospitality
^ = w/ Florence & The Machine
# = w/ The Afghan Whigs
+ = w/Radiohead
! = w/ Andrew Bird

04/22/12 – North Palm Springs, CA – Desert Days Festival
04/26/12 – New York, NY – Knitting Factory w/Glass Ghost
05/04/12 – Brighton, UK – Green Door Store
05/05/12 – London, UK – The Sebright Arms
05/06/12 – Manchester, UK – The Deaf Institute
05/12/12 – Charlottesville, VA – The Southern
05/14/12 – Washington, D.C. – Black Cat
05/15/12 – Pittsburgh, PA – Brillobox*
05/16/12 – Bloomington, IN – The Bishop*
05/17/12 – Chicago, IL – Empty Bottle
05/18/12 – Milwaukee, WI – Stonefly Brewery*
05/19/12 – Minneapolis, MN – 400 Bar*
05/21/12 – Denver, CO – Hi Dive*
05/22/12 – Aspen, CO – Belly Up*
05/23/12 – Salt Lake City, UT – Urban Lounge*
05/24/12 – Boise, ID – The Linen Building*
05/25/12 – Portland, OR – Bunk Bar*
05/27/12 – George, WA – Sasquatch Festival
06/02/12 – London, UK – Field Day Festival
06/04/12 – Newcastle, UK – Evolution Festival
06/10/12 – Manchester, TN – Bonnaroo Music Festival
06/12/12 – San Francisco, CA – The Independent
06/14/12 – San Diego, CA – Soda Bar
06/15/12 – Los Angeles, CA – The Echo
06/16/12 – Phoenix, AZ – Crescent Ballroom
06/18/12 – Dallas, TX – Sons of Hermann Hall
06/19/12 – Austin, TX – The Parish
07/05/12 – Liège, BE – Les Ardentes Festival
07/13/12 – Bilbao, ES – BBK Live Festival
07/14/12 – Oeiras, PT – Optimus Live
07/18/12 – Philadelphia, PA – Johnny Brenda’s
07/19/12 – Brooklyn, NY – Music Hall of Williamsburg
07/26/12 – Sydney, AU – Sydney Factory Theatre #
07/28/12 – Belongil Fields, AU – Splendour in the Grass
08/09/12 – Oslo, NO – Oya Festival
08/10/12 – Gothenburg, SE – Way Out West Festival
08/12/12 – Haldern, DE – Haldern Pop Festival
08/13/12 – Amsterdam, NL – Paradiso
08/15/12 – Berlin, DE – Roter Salon
08/17/12 – Sankt Pölten, AT – Frequency Festival
08/24/12 – Reading, UK – Reading Festival
08/25/12 – Leeds, UK – Leeds Festival
09/26/12 – Madison, WI – Overture Center !
09/27/12 – Cincinnati, OH – Midpoint Music Festival !
09/29/12 – Lexington, KY – Singletary Center !
09/30/12 – Indianapolis, IN – Murat !
10/01/12 – Asheville, NC – Orange Peel !
10/02/12 – Charlotte, NC – Neighborhood Theatre !
10/04/12 – Knoxville, TN – Tennessee Theatre !
10/05/12 – Athens, GA – Georgia Theatre !
10/06/12 – Charleston, SC – Charleston Musica Hall !
10/08/12 – Miami Beach, FL – Fillmore at the Jackie Gleason Theater !
10/09/12 – Tampa, FL – Ferguson Theatre at Straz PAC !
10/10/12 – Orlando, FL – House of Blues !
10/12/12 – Houston, TX – House of Blues !
10/14/12 – Mexico City, MX – Corona Fest

Ω

Written by
Vee Hua 華婷婷

Vee Hua 華婷婷 (they/them) is a writer, filmmaker, and organizer with semi-nomadic tendencies. Much of their work unifies their metaphysical interests with their belief that art can positively transform the self and society. They are the Editor-in-Chief of REDEFINE, Interim Managing Editor of South Seattle Emerald, and Co-Chair of the Seattle Arts Commission. They also previously served as the Executive Director of the interdisciplinary community hub, Northwest Film Forum, where they played a key role in making the space more welcoming and accessible for diverse audiences.

Vee has two narrative short films. Searching Skies (2017) touches on Syrian refugee resettlement in the United States; with it, they helped co-organize The Seventh Art Stand, a national film and civil rights discussion series against Islamophobia. Reckless Spirits (2022) is a metaphysical, multi-lingual POC buddy comedy for a bleak new era, in anticipation of a feature-length project.

Vee is passionate about cultural space, the environment, and finding ways to covertly and overtly disrupt oppressive structures. They also regularly share observational human stories through their storytelling newsletter, RAMBLIN’ WITH VEE!, and are pursuing a Master’s in Tribal Resource and Environmental Stewardship under the Native American Studies Department at the University of Minnesota.

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