NYC Scene Report – Chanpan, Sub*T, & Rare DM

This week’s NYC Scene Report features Chanpan being inspired by a very unlikely source, Sub*T blazing their own path, and Rare DM handling a suggestive “Compliment.”

* Sometimes inspiration can come from the most unusual of places, and that’s certainly the case with Chanpan's latest single, “buzzin.”

The trio, which consists of Grace Dumdaw, and twin brothers Lance and Matthew Tran, revealed the backstory of the high energy electro-pop song, saying, "buzzin was born from a sample of a video of a sex toy buzzing.”

I guess if I were to say this band has some serious buzz it could now be considered a double entendre, but they legitimately do have buzz, and based on the inspiration, the song, and the video, the trio aren’t lying when they say, “Chanpan is cranking the sexy knob up for this era.”

Who couldn’t use a little bit of that in their life?

* In a heck of a two-for-one deal, the latest release from grunge-pop duo Sub*T is actually two songs that are different parts of the same story.

Titled “Sister Species 1” and “Sister Species 2,” Sub*T described the double shot in a statement, saying, “‘Sister Species 1’ is an absolute diss track. Total ‘you can’t speak for me, or control me’ kind of attitude. There are often voices telling us we’re doing something the ‘wrong’ way, but what are the ‘right’ ways to do something in the industry? ‘Sister Species 2’ goes underneath that exterior and takes a real look inside, like that tough mask is coming off, revealing everything that holds you back, and all the things you’d want to do, and be.”

The songs are off Sub*T’s upcoming debut album, How My Own Voice Sounds, which is due out May 1st, and they’ve combined them seamlessly in one great video.

Click play, and check it out.

* Rare DM knows sometimes things can get awkward when a person sends an adoring text, but on her latest single she has the perfect solution for such a “Compliment.”

Off her upcoming LP, Attention, which is due out May 29th, she explained the pulsating electro-pop song in a statement, saying “It is inspired by when you are in a relationship, and someone who you had eyes for (before meeting your significant other) suddenly pays attention to you. I was sent a suggestive message from someone, and wasn’t single anymore. As the lyrics share, ‘Don’t you worry about it for a second, I can take a compliment,’ because hey, I don’t want them to feel embarrassed, or bad. They didn’t know that I met someone!”

Rare DM adds, in her own suggestive way, “This all being said … I can’t control if they are thinking of me. ‘You can’t have it … but you can imagine it.’”

I imagine people hitting play on “Compliment” repeatedly!

For more of the best of NYC’s indie music scene, come back next Wednesday, and check out the archives for previous columns.