Show Preview: Blue Sky Black Death w/ Marley Carroll & RBTS Win

Blue Sky Black Death will be performing at The Pour House
in Raleigh, N.C. on Thursday, Mar. 27 with Marley Carroll
and RBTS Win.

As the years have passed I've found myself getting more and more transfixed on the electronic music scene, it's silly not to really. Electronic music is quite simply the future, it opens up the musical vastness to anybody that's able to afford a laptop and a DAW and allows them to fine tune their own sounds down to every intricacy. That's what makes shows like this one so damn interesting, it's a night filled with electronic acts that all have remarkably different sounds but still mesh very well together. Thursday night at The Pour House will be home to some of the most exciting acts in the western North Carolina music scene along with an equally impressive production duo based out of Washington. While Blue Sky Black Death will be headlining the evening with their mind-numbing hip-hop based instrumental tracks, an equal amount of focus will be on Marley Carroll and RBTS Win for me.

Blue Sky Black Death have been making waves in the instrumental hip-hop scene since 2006, blazing a trail for themselves as one of the most impressive production duos on the scene by working with highly acclaimed acts like Jedi Mind Tricks, Gang Starr, Cam'ron and Awol One to name a few. Regardless of the hip-hop acts that have cosigned the duo, the proof of their talents lies within their immense productions. Stuttering synths bob in and out of the mix as their blistering hi-hats and pounding bass drive the tracks along, leaving the listener with an undying urge to bob your head until your neck gets sore. Many instrumental hip-hop artists can fall into simplicity, relying on trap-style beats and heavy sub-bass to draw in listeners, but Blue Sky Black Death packs the groove and swing to keep listeners interested.

Marley Carroll will be representing an entirely different end of the electronic spectrum, bringing mid-tempo IDM together with electronica, Carroll boasts an impressive musical range. Whether you're focusing on the straight-forward melody and rhythm or the densely packed productions, you're liable to fall in love with this music from this Asheville based producer. Carroll's most recently full-length Sings, combines heady beats with rich vocals to create a lush arrangement that's as pleasing to the dancer as it is to the introspective head-bobber. Carroll's pop-leaning IDM tunes place the producer's music in a field of its own, one that's surely going to be an absolute treat to see live.

Opening up the evening will be another Asheville based electronica act, RBTS Win. I remember seeing their name a while back and being initially turned off, seeing it as another group that fell into the "no vowels" fad, but I'll be damned if I didn't learn not to judge a book by its cover. RBTS Win produce an absolutely infectious blend of electronic music that, much like Caroll, combines danceable grooves with head-spinning melodies. Whereas Carroll leans more towards mid-tempo bangers, RBTS Win is geared towards a chill-wave inspired blend of soul, hip-hop and electronica. This production duo brings dizzying soundscapes to the table that are washed over with smooth vocal stylings and lingering hooks that you'll be humming for days. Make no doubt that I'm stoked to see Blue Sky Black Death, but finally getting the chance to see Marley Carroll and RBTS Win on the same night, that's enough reason alone to drag my happy ass out to the Pour House to take in these incredible tunes.

The doors open at 8:00 pm and the show begins at 9:00. Tickets are $12 in advance and $14 at the door, you can purchase them online at thepourhousemusichall.com