Released in May, Elevation weaves a hypnotic groove through a beat-driven and mood-shifting soundscape. Unbound by genre Elevation renews my love of thick bass lines, layered rhythms and spontaneous melodies that take the listener on a sonic journey. From the jump-up rhythms of Tweezer to the celebratory groove of Holiday, from the bossa for robots of Palms and Tiaras to the space age dub of Twilight Orange, Elevation moves energetically lifting both feet and spirit through an expansive electronica territory. Available for free download at https://rominajones.bandcamp.com/album/elevation and streaming on all major platforms look under Artist Romina Jones – Soundcloud, GooglePlay, Jango, Deezer & Spotify.
In August I took the 31 day sunset challenge. Inspired by Happy Healthy Vegan’s sunset challenge video, I too committed myself to taking in the sun’s descent each and every day without fail from the 1st to 31st.
The rules I made up for myself because I could find none to read. But I think it is as simple as being there for dusk, taking it in and documenting it somehow. I looped through four nearby waterside locations, mostly beaches and one active dock, and I only once went further than a few kilometers from my house. All except that one time were by bike. I think as long as you can see the sun’s descent behind the horizon, whether it is the same place or a different one is not important. That you stop, drop and behold is.
The camera was a natural companion for me but a sketch book, note book or yoga mat would have been equally reflective. As I caught each sunset on camera, I noticed the photographs from beginning to end showed an evolving eye. What I looked for over the course of each twilight changed; I became less fascinated by the golden globe slipping beneath the horizon, and more interested in how the shifting light transformed objects and landscapes. For thirty-one days I never left the honeymoon phase, and it quickly locked into a habit that didn’t wear thin. How none were ever the same stoked a daily excitement for what the dusk would reveal.
August on the west coast is a good month for it as you have the chance for the driest sunsets (I only experienced rain twice), and all happen post-dinner (perfect time for a bike ride). The daily ritual of studying the vistas and tracing the light energized the entire month. I had always seen one month challenges as light-weight commitments to changing something temporarily as opposed to adding something permanently. But this challenge left a mark on me. It brought in a little spiritual romance and opened the door to a deeper appreciation for the power of the golden hour. Unlike a 31 day yoga challenge or mediation commitment, this one was truly about you being there and you deciding what the doing was. You determined both its merit, meaning and reward. For thirty-one days you just give yourself the space to show up, a chance to go on a date with magic and cultivate a daily habit of adventure and routine all in the same ritual.
Check out some pics on my blog Thinking Like A Village and follow me on Instagram at Thinkinglikeavillage.
Seeking digital streams where content and community come together, over the past few months The Beatrix Generation has become available on different streaming sites; Jango, LastFM and Earbits as well as the Hip Hop leaning, but open to new electronica, Audio Mack. These one-stop audio drops offer free and premium streaming services that let you hear the latest independent music no matter the genre. (more…)
The Beatrix Generation is a product of 5 years of wood-shedding, leaving the city’s edge and going country with music as mate. Five years chopping wood, planting kale, writing beats and looking for harmony, finding it laced to rhythms born under full moons, inside early dawn jams and woven into late night keyboard solos.
Whenever I caught a groove I followed it. Through that journey I found myself reconnecting to a lifetime of listening, sometimes leading me to the sonic palettes of Bluetech, Amon Tobin, The Heliocentrics and Leila Bloom amongst many. The Beatrix Generation is an electric and organic groove-driven snapshot of a musical time and place, born from both synth and soul. (more…)