THE PEOPLE HAVE SPOKEN: DURHAM’S THE FOREIGN EXCHANGE WINS RED BULL SOUNDCLASH
Even with the streets flooded with rain from Ida’s aftermath, residents of Raleigh came out in full force to witness a true musical conversation between two of the Triangle’s most in demand bands. Durham’s The Foreign Exchange and Raleigh’s The Love Language had people dancing in the street and singing in the rain to the sounds of their tunes, but it was the group from Durham who were named champion of Red Bull Soundclash. A tent the length of the entire block covered North Street outside of The Hibernian Pub and held shelter to a roaring audience who wasn’t going to let a little rain…rain on their parade.
Red Bull Soundclash is a unique clash of sounds, style, and creativity, where two bands with totally different music backgrounds collaborate to create an innovative live music performance. Both groups brought their own respective sounds, a clash of The Foreign Exchange’s R&B melodies and The Love Language’s lo-fi indie-pop, as they performed a variety of different songs, some rehearsed and some improvised, to showcase their musical versatility. DJ Lord of Public Enemy spun on the one’s and two’s while local radio talent, Kyle Santillian, served as the event’s host and laid out the rules to the audience. After all, it is the audience who crowned The Foreign Exchange as the winner, as they judged each round with the sound of their applause. “It feels dope. It feels great to win,” said front man Phonte of The Foreign Exchange. “Some of the styles we did today we’re probably going to end up doing in our shows.”
The concert was broken down into four rounds:
The Cover- Each band played their own take on the same cover song, Prince’s “Take Me With You”
Round Winner: The Love Language Points: 1
The Takeover- This was a collaborative round where one band started playing one of their original tunes then the other band took over the second half of the song on cue and finish it in their own style, and vice versa.
Round Winner: The Love Language and The Foreign Exchange Points: 2 (tie)
The Clash- This round challenged the band’s versatility as they had to adapt their songs to the music genre DJ Lord was spinning; bostanova, reggae, and disco.
Round Winner: The Foreign Exchange Points: 3
The Wild Card- Each band selected a musical artist of their choice to join them on stage and be a part of the performance. The Foreign Exchange chose trumpet player, Stan Graham and The Love Language brought up Motorskills Mike Dillon, who won over the crowd with his lead vocals and antics.
Round winner: The Love Language Points: 1
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