The Larva Ink

All the fellas grab your pumps and killer loops, and y’all ladies best bust out the shorteralls and scrunchies – we’re takin it back to the 90's. Consisting of production mastermind Johnny Lewis and soulful vocalist Lizzo, The Larva Ink is a breath of fresh air amidst the crunchy, cookie-cutter glitch-hop sounds coming out of Denver right now. We here at Let’s Get Digital are pleased to turn some heads onto the beats-centric, 90s pop-infused sounds of The Larva Ink. Below you’ll find a free download of the debut track from their forthcoming album “Due Process and Product”, dropping later this summer on Minneapolis-based Foolish Bastard Records. If ya dig, please be sure to support by scooping the track on iTunes HERE for a mere 99c. - Let's Get Digital

The homies Larva Ink have their full length debut dropping this summer. Here we have the lead single from the project and I’m definitely loving the direction these two are going with this. The Denver based duo is made up of producer Johnny Lewis and vocalist Lizzo. - PWELBS CHICAGO

The Belle of Louisville is a beauty. She’s almost a century old, but she still eases out onto the Ohio River a couple of times a day. This aged steamboat served as the late night venue for Forecastle’s electronic, post-festival parties. Thankfully, for those of us who can’t find our sea legs, the ship stayed docked for the midnight affair. The previous night, Ana Sia and Big Gigantic rocked the boat to much acclaim, and the sold out event attracted a lot of last minute ticket-seekers.

Johnny Lewis A.K.A. Larva Ink started off the festivities in the Belle’s low-ceilinged ballroom. He’s got a real easy style. Lots of uptempo and upbeat tunes with a really elegant electro feel. The Denver-based DJ brings on a drummer for his live performances, and the kid is incredible. George Horn doesn’t like a day over 15, but his youthful appearance belies some serious chops. More than once he got some approving nods from EOTO’s drumming vets. - TheUntz.com

BY NATTY MORRISON

The notion of incorporating live drums into electronic music is generally pretty exhilarating. With the usual flurry of samples, digitized chord progressions and quick-sequenced breakdowns, everything can seem so exact, so coldly exact that you begin to forget you’re dealing with humans here. When a live drummer comes into the mix, it’s like you can feel his heartbeat, like you can taste his warm, sticky blood pumping through the music. If he drops the beat midway, who cares? It’s the excitement of hearing a humanoid enter the robotic den that really matters.

However, in the case of the Denver-based group The Larva Ink, messing up the beat isn’t really an issue. With the a sonic attack fronted by producer Johnny Lewis, the group is ultimately propelled forward by drummer George Horn, who has no problem replicating the deceptively difficult down-tempo hip hop beats that flow throughout much of the group’s music. The drum tracks are shrouded in thick layers of reverb and shimmer, but it’s undeniably real. And coupled with Lewis’ fantastic approach to composition, it becomes a wonderful one-two combo knockout.

The group is anxiously awaiting the release of its first full-length album “Tricks, Glitch and Candy,” and were kind enough to send a few preview tracks my way. What I heard was a lush, energetic approach to down-tempo. It stays funky, swaying in the breeze of synth blasts and airy pad swells. It’s intoxicating in its simplicity. That’s one of the best features of this group: They know how to get your head nodding quickly, and then keep you there forever.

The first cut I heard was “Bleeding Tundra.” This feels like a kind of entrance or portal to the group’s sound; it begins with a quivering loop that recedes to the background, while short key stabs fall on quarter notes and hand claps are nearly syncopated to the rhythm. Soon the track becomes a sort of dancehall or dub reggae track. The listener is intrigued, drawn in by the upstroke keys and the echoes of mournful vocals wailing deep within the song’s shell. But suddenly, without warning, Lewis launches a synthesizer line that drips all over the track and eventually builds the song to a towering crescendo.

“Fear You” is a dreamy piece of total beauty. It strolls softly through ambient keyboards and quick shudders of snare drum. It hits with short guitar licks and high-flying synth riffs. It thickens and thins, quickens and slows. It’s a terrific piece of down-tempo bliss.

If “Tundra” had a bright dancehall feel, then “Fixed System” is what it would be like if dancehall fell into hell and raged with the Devil. It’s dirt-speckled glitch, with terrifying and thrilling samples of didgeridoos and shamanic chanting creating a whirlpool for Horn to get his feet wet in. But the real star of the track is Lewis, who builds the tune into a cacophony of otherworldly sounds and landscapes.
“Hell Dome” is an undeniable force of music. Funk-filled and laid back, this is what it would sound like if George Clinton ate a few rolls and went to a rave. It’s reminiscent of early G-funk from the West Coast, but without the usual limits of harmonic exploration found in hip-hop. It has a descending bass line that makes the listener want to throw up their hands and sky punch until the roof caves in. If these tracks are merely a preview, then I simply cannot wait to hear the full force of The Larva Ink. - TheUntz.com

-Big Gigantic
-Ana Sia
-Leo 123
-Mux Mool
-KJ Sawka
-TwoFresh
-Lazerswords - Colorado Music

http://www.Myspace.com/LarvaInkk - MYSPACE

http://www.LarvaInk.com - LARVA INK

http://www.facebook.com/pages/Larva-Ink/147288469836?ref=ts - Facebook