J.D. Moyer

sci-fi author, beatmaker

Month: July 2013

New House Music Release With Kevin Knapp, and a Personal Update

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On July 31

In Electronic Music, Personal Updates

Yellowcake and Kevin Knapp - Waterfall

Yellowcake and Kevin Knapp – Waterfall

My buddy Kevin Knapp just moved to Berlin to pursue his music career. We have a new release out today on Beatport that we put together a few months back. Give it a listen (and purchase) here.

I have some longer posts planned that I’m eager to write (one on gut bacteria, and also a follow-up to picking and pursuing a single life goal). I’ve also been under a large amount of family and work stress lately, so I have some insights to share in relation to stress management and anxiety reduction (and in particular to how that relates to genotypes the control the degradation rates of various neurotransmitters — 23andMe users will love this one). The work stuff is mostly resolved (after a two-hour call with Microsoft support yesterday re: SSL certificates) and the extended family stuff is ongoing (nothing to do with Kia or my daughter — they’re both doing well).

So stay with me if you’ve been enjoying this blog — there is much more to come. I’ll hopefully finish the first draft of a major writing project I’ve been working on within a couple weeks, and that will free up some time for blogging.

If you’ve been reading, commenting, following, buying my music, supporting in any way — thank you! I appreciate it. I’ve had less time to respond to comments lately, but I do read all of them.

Adventurecation! (6 principles)

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On July 21

In Travel

The Norumbega Inn, in Camden, Maine (photo by Terry Bowker)

The Norumbega Inn, Camden, Maine (photo by Terry Bowker)

Just got back from two weeks on the East Coast, where we visited friends and family in Maine and Massachusetts. We tried a new style of traveling, borrowed from our friends The Wests, from Bonny Doon, who have three kids. Basically, you get on the road and see where it takes you. They’ve dubbed this style “adventurecation.” Why not?

For the first week, we stayed with Kia’s extended family in Martha’s Vineyard. We had dinner on a schooner. BBQ’s and beach parties. Ate lobster. Ran into Jake Gyllenhaal at the deli. Good times!

But week 2 of our vacation, we had no plan at all. We had talked about visiting some friends who had recently moved to Maine, and had some really vague ideas about what else we might do (like maybe visit Acadia National Park). For a planner like me, the prospect was nerve-wracking. No plan, no itinerary? I had visions of driving around dark towns late at night, and settling for a crappy, overpriced hotel room.

The actual experience was the opposite of my fears. We discovered and explored  some great places, and (when we weren’t guests of friends or family) stayed in fantastic hotels, inns, and resorts, at prices that were extremely reasonable.

Here’s how we did it:

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Coffee Infographic

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On July 10

In Health/Body-hacking

I saw this “pros and cons of drinking coffee” infographic from Jason Tham last year, and saved it, meaning to repost it because it’s so excellent. Better late than never — here it is! Click for larger image.

pros-and-cons-of-coffee-consumption-infographic

Hydras at the Helm

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On July 3

In Electronic Music

Kleidosty's new album "Hydras at the Helm"

Kleidosty’s new album “Hydras at the Helm”

Oakland recording artist Kleidosty has a new electronica/ambient album out on my label Loöq Records. Like all the music we put out on Loöq, not only do we like it (myself and A&R director Spesh), but we feel it contributes to the cultural dialectic, taking sounds forward.

“Hydras” flirts with dissonance in places, but overall is melodic and pleasing. The compositions strike a perfect balance between novelty and familiarity; while listening it’s hard to predict what note will come next, but the patterns make sense, the big picture fits together, the music delivers what it promises.

Some of the compositions are similar to the new Boards of Canada album “Tomorrow’s Harvest.” Others are reminiscent of Nathan Fake’s “Drowning in a Sea of Love.” Kleidosty also lists Stars of the Lid, Lone, Oval,  Freescha, Bibio, Brian Eno, and Nobukazu Takemura among his influences.

Have a listen! Among other places, the album is available on:

If you have some thoughts about the album please leave comments on iTunes or amazon — the album comes out today and is brand new to the world.

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