Top five Audiotree performances better than the original studio recordings.
Enshrined in the exceptional sound quality of the music discovery platform Audiotree, these five performances showcase the best of what both the recording company and the artists have to offer.
artwork by James Kim.
Co-founded by audio engineer Michael Johnston and CEO Adam Thurston, Chicago-based music discovery platform Audiotree has been transforming the music industry since 2011. While they offer a wide range of services, they are primarily known for their series of live recording sessions on Youtube featuring talented up-and-coming musicians. They’ve come a long way since the release of their first video, a blurry whirlwind of a performance from the small Pennsylvania band Funktion. And yet, thirteen years later, the platform’s core focus remains the same—live performances recorded with premier audio equipment that provide an intimate look at an artist’s talent. And for good reason, the experience of seeing your favorite artist stripped down in this venue is like entering a realm you never knew existed. Notably, Audiotree’s live music sessions distinguish themselves from their contemporaries, such as NPR Music’s Tiny Desk Concerts or Electric Lady Studios’ recordings, through their dedication to the pure musicality of the performances and their selection of more niche and on-the-rise musicians.
Over the last decade, Audiotree has released over a thousand videos of varying quality and popularity. Some performances are sonic treats, while others stray a little too far from their intended execution. To make everyone’s lives easier, I’ve compiled a list of 5 must-see Audiotree sessions. Honorable mentions include Julien Baker, Flipturn, Slaughter Beach, Dog, Mom Jeans, and Mitski. If nothing else, this list is a plea to throw on some headphones, crank up the volume, and savor these pieces of auditory ecstasy.
5. Field Medic — “Mood Ring Baby”
For Kevin Patrick Sullivan, music with little production is the purest form of artistry—“I never do any more than three takes. That’s my rule.” The folksy lo-fi musician’s rendition of “Mood Ring Baby” proves that we should all listen to him in this respect. While other Audiotree sessions are notable for the complexity of their live instrumental arrangements, Sullivan’s performance is a stripped-down but equally impressive one-man-show. He simultaneously pants into the harmonica and strums the guitar with ease, hypnotizing us into a state of dulled awe. The simple production is mesmerizing, yet Sullivan remains calm and uninhibited. Moreover, Sullivan’s confidence throughout this imperfect rendition is refreshingly charming in a space that is so often fixated on being flawless. Even his lyrics are self-deprecating: “Tease those boys with your crystal charm/while I’m home whittling bamboo.” The thought of him sitting at home pensively whittling bamboo is almost comical. However, the raw sorrow with which he sings transforms this otherwise humorous image into something profoundly genuine. He accepts humanity and the self as they are, inspiring us to be similarly content with feeling just okay.
4. TTNG — “If I Sit Still, Maybe I Can Get Out of Here”
It’s rumored that the English Math rock trio TTNG has disbanded, with no new music releases since 2018. Thankfully, TTNG’s legacy lives on through their captivating Audiotree performance of “If I Sit Still, Maybe I Can Get Out of Here.” Omitting the piano in the live recording is what saves this rendition from mediocrity, allowing the brilliance of guitarist Tim Collis to take center stage. He immediately launches into a nauseating, buttery smooth math riff. His fingers glide across the neck of the guitar like nimble spiders, weaving a web of dissonant, almost jazzy rhythms and patterns as he stands paralyzingly placid. We drink in the crystal clear inflections in Henry Tremain’s voice like it’s the water we need to survive. Each pluck is on beat; each note harmoniously complex. It’s hard not to tap your fingers or move your head frantically when listening to its catchy, mathematical precision. Enshrined in Audiotree’s crisp recording, TTNG’s meticulously detailed representation of math rock reaches its final divine form in this performance.
3. Shakey Graves — “Roll The Bones”
Shakey Graves’ performance is the quintessential one-man show. With no more than two hands and two feet he simultaneously flutters across the fretboard and bangs his heel against a foot drum. His independence allows him to manipulate the rubato to his liking, building the tension and suspense that makes this particular performance so special. Even the sweat that rolls down his face cooperates with the teasing rhythms. Boasting a record-breaking 37 million views on his Audiotree recording of “Roll the Bones,” Graves is unique in his ability to entice people from all walks of life. He transcends genre, taking influence from bluegrass, folk, country, and everything in between. You can read his universal passion in the lines on his face, furrowed brow, and straining voice cracks. The rasp in his voice, pleadingly desperate, urges us to “try to forget all them enemies and debts.” “They’ll just chase you ‘round and give you sour dreams,” he says. “Roll the Bones” is a warning, and Shakey is our messenger. With the studio’s light circling his head like a halo, I ask myself, could Shakey Graves be god? This unparalleled solo certainly suggests so.
2. Remo Drive — “Art School / Strawberita”
Minnesota-based rock band Remo Drive delivers on their album’s titular promise, Greatest Hits, in this tour de force Audiotree performance. Though “Yer Killing Me” is a fan favorite and a suitably lively encore, it’s the execution of opening tracks “Art School” and “Strawberita'' that seals the deal. Immediately you can feel their spirit and excitement as they hurl themselves into distinct math-inspired riffs and pounding percussion. Lead singer Erik Paulson emotes with unencumbered joy and desperation, growing more confident and delirious with each word that escapes him. His vocals are obnoxious, the boyish wail of his register a generational talent. As Paulson sings, now ex-drummer Sam Mathys fosters a contagiously rapid tempo, the two moving frantically together as if fueled by pure feverish exhilaration. They’re funk, they’re jazz, they’re emo, they’re rock. Remo Drive is comfortable with being uncomfortable, living in a world full of satirical lyrics powered by hopes and dreams:
My band
Somewhere in dinky
My bad
Shoulda knew you're busy
Their juvenile jargon and adolescent attitude is refreshing, proving that this generation has not abandoned emo rock. In fact, the aging genre thrives in the hands of Remo Drive. The transition from “Art School” to “Strawberita” is so good it’s laughable; they move in and out of time signatures as if it were their second nature. Their chemistry is palpable: the organ accompanies the guitar, the bass picks up the off beats, and the drums bring it all together. Remo Drive seems hungry for more, and this recording left me hungry for more Remo Drive.
1. Pinegrove — Full Session
If you’ve watched Pinegrove’s Audiotree, this ranking will come as no surprise—it’s infamous among the niche community of Pinegrove fans and Audiotree listeners. This loaded 40 minute set is the perfect encapsulation of the album it draws from, Cardinal. Pinegrove is simple while being inventive, they’re technical without being math. You know what you’re listening to is infatuating, but it’s hard to figure out why. Is it the slide guitar solo in “Need 2” or the outro riff in “Aphasia?” Pinegrove is a puzzle, the solution lying in their mastery of subtle intentionality. This is perhaps best exemplified by drummer Zack Levine’s intuitive ability to sync the constantly fluctuating rhythms. He holds them together in a percussive embrace shielded by crashing cymbals and fills. Like the stem of a flower, Levine’s calculated drumming provides the basis from which the band’s other talents blossom.
Normal things are what normal guy Evan Stephens Hall sings about. “If I did what I wanted then why do I feel so bad?” His lyrics ache, yearning to be heard. You find yourself internally nodding. It’s like a personal reminder for thoughts already festering in your head. If I did what I wanted, then why DO I feel so bad? Hall is able to take your emotions and transport them directly into your soul through his lyrics, chord progressions, and pure stylistic instinct. His whines pedantically portray to us what we’ve always known but been too afraid to admit. The fervor in his eyes tangible, his vocal gymnastics spanning valleys and mountains, Hall is what every lead singer strives to be. His inspiration is people, conversations, and normality. In his words, “I’ve always been interested in words and the way they sound and the rhythms of them and the melodies of the way people speak. I think that a lot of my melodies are inspired by conversational inflections.”
Something tonight was such a letdown on my pride
It takes a part of me, I don't got to take some things in stride
I'd pace around the place, so quiet in myself
I'd wake the next and see my silence went unfelt
Even without any context or musical backing, one can read his lyrics and feels as if they are absorbing poetry. The way his words melt into each other is richly satisfying, as if they were destined to be uttered one after another.
Hall and Levine aren’t trying to do too much because that’s not who they are; that’s not what they represent. The electric guitar is just bright enough, the bass is present but not overpowering. You feel their offbeat head nods and open-mouthed synchronization and know they’re in another dimension of time, space, music, and all things good. They are real, they are epic, they are Pinegrove.
edited by Alyssa Manthi.
artwork by James Kim.