Robert DeLong
Gig Seeker Pro

Robert DeLong

Los Angeles, California, United States | INDIE

Los Angeles, California, United States | INDIE
Band EDM Alternative

Calendar

This band has not uploaded any videos
This band has not uploaded any videos

Music

Press


"LIVE REVIEW: Silver Lake Jubilee 2012, Day 1"

LIVE REVIEW: Silver Lake Jubilee 2012, Day 1
[Pin It]

Ah, the sights, sounds, and occasional odd smells of the Silver Lake Jubilee. Now in its 3rd year, the festival is becoming a Southern California staple. In the past, it’s featured great bands, tasty food, awesome weather, and interesting people-watching. This year’s festival continued those traditions while still maintaining their commitment to environmental sustainability and creating zero waste. The festival is also a great way to discover new acts. Here’s a recap of some from Day 1:

undefined
Wildcat, Wildcat!

LA’s Wildcat, Wildcat! opened it up. The guys were a good match for the day’s sunny-yet-cool weather. They have a very organic stage presence, employing many falsetto harmonies in their vocals. Their second song “Arrow,” reminded us of The Thrills with its multi-layered poppy instrumental melodies. “The Chief,” which will be on an upcoming vinyl release, had dreamy fairy tale organ lines, and a crescendo that had the guys onstage rockin’ out to their own sounds. They closed with “Martha,” which had more natural vocals and dance-funk verses that could have made the audience shuffle had they gone on later.

undefined
Robert DeLong

We caught electronic dance artist Robert DeLong on the Sunset Stage. Robert looks like he’s not a day over 15, but we do say, this kid is amazing. Decked out in all-black with orange X’s duct-taped onto everything, he was truly in command of the bevy of instruments and units he had onstage. DeLong is like a new millennium wizard of dance, sampling and looping himself on the fly and manipulating his sounds with everything from joysticks to a repurposed Wii-mote. At one point, he even jumped on the drum kit to accompany himself with a tribal backbeat that had the raver kids in the audience bopping along in a trance. “Did I leave my life to chance, or did I make you fuckin’ dance?” he asked, and yes, yes he did.


Dunes

We next caught Dunes on the other side of the fest at the Hoover Stage. Dunes is a band with a lot of varied influences in their DNA. At times their psych-pop had elements that were sludgey, stonery, dreamy, and punky, sometimes in the same song. Though listed as a trio, onstage they had four players. Mark and the other unnamed gent were pretty still onstage, while the ladies, Stephanie and Kate really got into it. Unfortunately, the left-side speakers of the Hoover Stage would occasionally cut out on them, a problem that would continue throughout the day. Dunes persevered, dropping in some funky rhythms and arpeggiated guitar lines, but in the end, we have to admit that their songs started to sound redundant after a while.


Catwalk

Catwalk was next up on the Sunset side. Their presentation of jangly garage-pop had some sloppy moments, but they were still a likeable bunch. Lead singer Nick Hessler seemed content to reside behind a pair of mirrored shades, while guitarist Arin sported a gimpy knee and a mischievous grin on her face, like she was in on a secret we weren’t privy to. “(Please) Don’t Break Me” was a bouncy 3-chord highlight of their appearance. Hessler’s voice seemed to fall a bit flat towards the end of their set, but they closed out soon after with some spacey surf vibes.


Moses Campbell

Moses Campbell took the Sunset Stage at 4:45 pm. Moses Campbell is not a man, Moses Campbell is a band; per their website, they are a family making their patriarch frontman Sean Solomon, whose vocals reminiscent of Clap Your Hands Say Yeah, venturing into Jack White territory when he hit the loud high notes. Jams like “Ceiling” brought a manic alt-rock energy that really got the crowd going, prompting the first and only mosh pit we saw all day. Their songs touched on everything from ’90s slacker rock, to Joe Jackson-esque dance punk, with Pauline Lay adding distorted violin like it was spiky lead guitar. At the end, Solomon pulled out an admittedly old trick that still won me over, jumping int - www.owlmag.com


"Photos: Jubilee Festival In L.A.: May 26-27, 2012 (The real artist to remember: Robert DeLong )"

Photos: Jubilee Festival In L.A.: May 26-27, 2012

May 29, 2012 | By Annie Lesser

Abe Vigoda, Abe Vigoda CMJ, Abe Vigoda Jubilee
This past weekend’s Silver Lake Jubilee was certainly jubilant and with over 35 bands, food trucks galore, cute dogs as far as the eye could see, and perfect high 60s to low 70s weather, what was there not to be happy about? The only real disappointment of the weekend came to Soft Pack fans, when the band started its set 15 minutes early and only played for 35 minutes causing many to miss the set. Unless you consider the fact that the Maine Lobster truck was sold out of their gourmet lobster ice cream the whole festival to be a disappointment.

While nationally recognized groups like Kinky, Aloe Blacc, and Family Of The Year had good sets, this festival really belongs to the smaller local bands. Though Batwings Catwings was not the most technically proficient of the local acts, the band’s fun nature got the crowd riled up despite not having the insane antics of XBXRX, whose loud punk almost drowned out Ben Ehrenreich’s reading at the Pen Center’s literary stage. But for those that really wanted to be loud, local gay bar, Eagle, hosted a side stage with boisterous punk and cover bands like Threeway and the Gay Gays. Chasing Kings’ set was rock magic, causing even the most excited children to stop and look at the stage in awe. While Manhattan Murder Mystery and Abe Vigoda both had good sets, Sunday’s best performance probably goes to Summer Twins whose care free radiance and cute vintage rock sound made its set reminiscent of Zooey Deschanel in She And Him.

Wildcat! Wildcat! was a highlight of Saturday’s sets, but got lost due to the fact that they played early and right before the real artist to remember from the festival: Robert DeLong. DeLong was an 8-bit warrior, seamlessly creating danceable electro beats with his Wii Remote and Sega Genesis controller on par with the Chemical Brothers. In the audience a group of Robert DeLong fans, adorned with his orange neon “X” logo and face paint from the free block party section of the fest, shook their booties with joyous smiles singing along to every beat. Throughout the set they would throw their arms around each other, screaming lyrics, holding their shoulders tight in a cathartic musical hug. - www.CMJ.com


"Robert DeLong @ Los Globos Review"

ROBERT DELONG @ LOS GLOBOS
February 7th, 2012 · No Comments
Share this article on FacebookShare this Article on TwitterAdd this Article to DiggAdd this Article to Stumbleupon

I first encountered Robert DeLong through his orange duct-tape, segmented X symbol, the street-art piece that seemed suddenly everywhere this fall. Then, in December, when my power was out after the freak windstorm, I found myself at a friend’s music studio/storefront on Echo Park Ave. where DeLong was shooting a music video. Not at first realizing he was the “rockstar” in the room, I found him to be a pretty unassuming, even polite guy. But when he began the 10-15 takes of his “radio” song for the cameras, he transformed alchemically from normal human being into full-on performer. If you’ve seen this before, it’s a fascinating aspect of human behavior among musicians, performance artists, etc. Meanwhile, I was texting friends: “In Echo Park drinking, doing drugs at a music studio, somebody’s filming a video for some song hitting the airwaves, whatevs.” I was slightly exaggerating, but his song “Happy” was soon in rotation on both KROQ and KCRW, an odd couple of stations to have onboard for one’s first single, still, after hearing it that many times in a row I’d say it’s a pretty good song to have rattling around your head for a while.

Like much of DeLong’s output, “Happy” is a paradox in and of itself. This is melodic pop EDM that really makes you want to dance yet there lurks a sense of melancholy, not at the edges but deep in the bass and in lyrics like, “I see everything quite clear … I see life outside of time, but I don’t feel it.” DeLong’s version of dance music is far subtler than even your most club-hardened DJ might imagine; to say there are “multiple layers” would be an understatement comparable to saying that three or four months ago there were “a few” Republican candidates running for president. When he’s belting out the refrain “Yeah, we’re gonna die!” in “Basically, I” the music is swelling and any number of loops he’s set in motion are all coming together at one time, and everyone on the floor is dancing ecstatically, certainly not gazing down at their feet in a morose sense of apathy.

Having been at his month-long Monday night residency at Los Globos a couple times, I’d say it’s well worth the effort to catch his live act, and soon. Besides being a solid drummer playing at Modest Mouse levels of complexity, DeLong isn’t that guy sitting in the glow of his laptop. He’s the guy dancing around stage among three laptops, a couple MIDI-interfaces and drum pads, several pedals, a number of mics plugged into different inputs, a couple Wii-remote and Sega controllers, and oh yeah the full drum-kit he rocks out on. This is the music you want to hear when you hit the club, the music people 10+ years younger than me maybe haven’t heard of yet, but will be dancing to in the coming weeks and months.

—Mathew Timmons - www.larecord.com


"Robert DeLong’s New Brand of Electronic Dance Music"

Robert DeLong
January 11, 2012
Add a comment

Robert DeLong’s New Brand of Electronic Dance Music
0 Email
Michelle Uy's photo
Michelle Uy
LA Live Music Bar Scene Examiner
+ Subscribe

The arrival of Echo Park’s Robert DeLong in the indie electronic dance music scene, which seems to be in stagnation, came just in the nick of time. He is salvaging what is left of everything great about electronic music and creating something fresh and so immediately appealing that you can’t help but start moving to the music as soon as he starts playing.

Tagged as EDM’s newest rising star, the 25-year-old’s multifaceted and rousing compositions are an evolution from or perhaps a sort of freak crossbreed of today’s modern sounds. DeLong takes electronic music to a whole new level by infusing it with the elements of dubstep, pop, house, and wait for it, folk music (you heard me). Every now and then, he adds some tribal and rock elements with his fantastic drumbeats. And while loud, upbeat, and at times detached on the outside, his tunes all have soft centers, thanks to his melancholy yet hopeful and perhaps a bit idealistic lyrics about change and life’s impermanence, which he sings with the optimism of youth. His brand of music fits perfectly with LA’s growing local transethnic music scene.
Advertisement

DeLong looks modest and very at ease on stage at Silverlake’s Los Globos, where he is playing every Monday in January, like he’s been doing this all his life. Surrounded by his sequencing and mixing equipment, a keyboard, and his drum kit, he turns into an impressive one-man show as he moves from one instrument to another. In between songs, he invites his audience of high-strung twenty-somethings to dance some more. They yell in response but it’s his music that really does the trick – the dance floor re-vibrates with energy as he starts off on his next track.

Robert DeLong is having a Monday-nights residency at the Los Globos Night Club in Silverlake all through January. His album is expected for release this year. - www.examiner.com


"All month long with Robert DeLong"

Text: Text: Larger Text: Smaller Text: Reset Next Article »
Orange Pop: All month long with Robert DeLong in Santa Ana

The L.A.-based electronic artist is the Monday resident this month at the new Constellation Room inside the Galaxy Theatre.


Allure Hair & Nail Spa
$28 European Spa Manicure and Pedicure
ADVERTISEMENT
More from this story
L.A.-based electronic artist Robert DeLong, pictured performing on the first evening of his Monday night residency this month, performs throughout December at the Constellation Room inside the Galaxy Theatre in Santa Ana.
SLIDE SHOW:
Robert DeLong
5 Photos »
More from Local Music
San Juan Summer Nites concerts get country-rockin' start
Tierra, Barela, Soto, more to perform at OC Parks summer concert series
Win a music recording package valued at $12,000
Recommended for You

Newstogram dynamically matches relevant content to your interests. Click to learn more.
ADVERTISEMENT

By KELLI SKYE FADROSKI / THE ORANGE COUNTY REGISTER

Music has always been an integral part of Robert DeLong’s life. His father was a drummer, and as a kid he recalls that with a kit readily available in the house, it wasn’t long before he picked up sticks and began experimenting with sound.

Originally from Seattle, DeLong says that growing up, he went through a lot of music phases.
Article Tab: L.A.-based electronic artist Robert DeLong, pictured performing on the first evening of his Monday night residency this month, performs throughout December at the Constellation Room inside the Galaxy Theatre in Santa Ana.
L.A.-based electronic artist Robert DeLong, pictured performing on the first evening of his Monday night residency this month, performs throughout December at the Constellation Room inside the Galaxy Theatre in Santa Ana.
JESICA BIJLMAKERS
MORE PHOTOS »
ADVERTISEMENT



Robert DeLong

When: 9 p.m. Monday and Dec. 19

Where: The Constellation Room, located inside the Galaxy Theatre, 3503 S. Harbor Blvd., Santa Ana

How much: free

Call: 714-957-0600

Online: constellationroom.com



“When I was really young I listened to a lot of fusion and (jazz musician) Pat Metheny,” the 25-year-old says as we sit close in a booth at the newly opened Constellation Room inside the soon-to-be-renamed Galaxy Theatre in Santa Ana, where DeLong is the Monday resident artist this month.

“From that, I did the pop-punk thing and then got into all the Seattle bands: Death Cab for Cutie, Pedro the Lion, Modest Mouse. Those were all pretty important bands as far as me and my songwriting goes. In college, I started listening to Radiohead and then really started getting more into electronic music and dance music in the last few years.”

In 2004 DeLong moved from Washington to Southern California, settling in Azusa, where he attended Azusa Pacific University to study music, production and engineering. After earning his degree he moved to Echo Park, where he currently resides.

Through his college years he performed in several bands, but in the last 18 months he’s been more focused on developing his solo endeavors, mixing electronic music, pop and indie rock. His stage setup finds him surrounded by equipment, including mini controls on various stands, drum pads, a drum kit and keyboard.

DeLong cracks a shy smile as he attempts to describe it, settling on “a hybrid electronic performance.”

[More...] “I do sequencing on the fly and looping,” he adds. “I also play the instruments over it and I sing, so it’s really a lot of different things. I wish I could describe it better than this – but it’s a performance experience and I’m definitely not a DJ.”

The evolution from a more generic folk-rock sound into electronic music, he says, was sparked when DeLong realized he had too many slow, depressing songs that were difficult for people to get into live. Once he added the electronic element, however, audiences - OC Register


Discography

Robert DeLong is set to release a full length record in late 2012 on Glassnote Records.

Currently Robert DeLong has two singles "Happy" and "Global Concepts" in rotation on many FM and internet stations across the US, Canada and UK including the prestiguous KROQ FM Los Angeles and BBC Radio 1 in the UK.

Robert DeLong charting below:
KKBB Specialty Show Singles Chart #8 (tied) 3/14/2012

FMQB Specialty Show Singles Chart #19 (Debut / Tied) 3/7/2012
FMQB Specialty Show Albums Chart #11 (Debut / Tied) 3/7/2012

KKBB Specialty Show Singles Chart #9 (Debut / Tied) 3/7/2012
KKBB Specialty Show Artists Chart #14 (Debut / Tied) 3/7/2012

Photos

Bio

Robert DeLong produces indie-electro-pop, which fuses elements of EDM and Rock. He generates an effortless blend of futuristic technology and classic songwriting, his performance utilizing everything from conventional instrumentation like drum set and keys, to wi-mote, MIDI-interfaces and drum pads.