W.I.L.D.
A review of the Fall W.I.L.D. openers
If the cardinal rule of musicianship is to write what you know, it’s an even greater achievement when your audience relates to your expertise. Fall W.I.L.D.-goers may just see themselves reflected in the two openers, the White Panda and OCD: Moosh & Twist. The White Panda began when two friends realized they’d both started making mashups and decided to join forces to make even better ones. Founding member Tom Evans (aka Procrast) got his start combining Rick Astley samples with 2 Live Crew to avoid having to be productive (sound familiar?). DJ Griffi, aka Dan Griffith, makes up the other half of the duo. As for OCD: Moosh & Twist, this rap duo is made up of two high school seniors hailing from Philadelphia. They recently released their third mixtape, “The Welcome Mat.” If their youth doesn’t get you, their love of gummi worms will. Inspiration is truly a multifaceted thing…
Pedigree aside, what these two have in common is sheer command of sound. The White Panda specializes in staccato synth beats over popular songs: It’s as if Team 31 managed to book Adele, Ke$ha, and Britney Spears all in one, to name a few. OCD: Moosh & Twist have both the nerve and the ability to rap over samples from Journey in addition to original beats. Some of their tracks are more heavy-handed than others—the first few lines of “Dream On” may have come straight out of a rhyming dictionary—but soon enough the flow catches up with you, and the rhymes are slick.
Want to get familiar with the W.I.L.D. acts before the day of? You’re in luck. The White Panda hosts Mashup Mondays every week—they post a new track on their website, thewhitepanda.com. All three of their albums are also available for download on their site: Cadenza personally recommends “Lazerblow” and “Til the Bromance Ends.” OCD: Moosh & Twist have original videos for almost all of their songs available on YouTube. Check out “City Kids,” “Live it Up,” and “Since Day One.”