You know that cosmic kind of rush you get when you hear a song for the first time that’s just so good, that it just blows your mind? That happened to me when a good friend of mine first introduced me to “Global Concepts” by Robert DeLong that was released back in 2012. As I began listening, I immediately established that it was going to be a cool, alternative, hipster type of track. At about the 45 second mark into the song, the beats got more hyphy, there was a minor build, and then a drop. The very first word that came to mind was “woah”. I was definitely not expecting this to be what it turned out to be. It was something so much better. Its uniqueness and playfulness is something completely different than any other dance track I’ve ever heard. It’s got a really cool, rhythmic, tribal-like feel to it that meets moombahton/electronic rock. You should listen closely to the lyrics too⎯they’ll give you something to think about.
So as the story goes, the dude was originally born and raised in the suburbs of Seattle, and eventually made his way out to the land of people wishing upon becoming stars, in L.A., California to pursue his music career. Different than most musical success stories, he creatively envisioned and brought to life an impressive one-man rock band. He was originally only using a toolbox of Wii-motes, keyboards, and drums. In 2010, he started to change the game a little bit and incorporated some new “instruments” to his music. MIDI interfaces, a full drum set, drum pads, keyboards, laptops and game controllers, were all added to produce pumping electronic dance beats with cool rock ‘n’ roll melodies. People that can make music out of totally unheard of devices and instruments together is definitely a great artist if you ask me. That’s really something.
After getting over the hump of playing many smaller shows, Robert DeLong was rewarded with having the pleasure of being able to play at a couple of big festivals including Silver Lake Jubilee Festival, The Starscape Festival, and opening for STRFKR. Soon after that, his fan-base grew and his music did as well. Be sure to check out his stuff on his official website and cop some free downloads while you’re at it!