Twenty Top 5s with Dylan Kersten

HEY! Welcome to Twenty Top 5s. I (Tyler) have been sending out questionnaires to some of my favorite musicians and asking for their top 5 favorites in every category. I’ll be publishing them every Thursday for the foreseeable future. Hopefully this lets you get to know some of your favorite musicians a little bit better, and I hope it distracts you in these trying times.

Today’s Twenty Top 5s participant is Dylan Kersten AKA DJ Dylly K. Dylan plays synth (and an excellent tambourine) in Pittsburgh’s very own String Machine. Their 2019 album Death of the Neon is one of the best albums to come out of Pittsburgh in my 8 years living here. It’s an absolutely beautiful album filled with epic, folksy, baroque poppy bangers that demands multiple listens.



If you’ve met Dylan, you know he is one of the kindest souls in the world. He exudes positive energy like no other. Dylan moonlights as a DJ for weddings and other parties, and he’s been comforting many of us during quarantine with his virtual dance parties. I hope this questionnaire gives you some insight into the man, the myth, and the legend that is Dylly K.


recording artists when you were in high school

 1. August Burns Red

 2. Of Mice and Men

 3. Bastille probably :/

 4. Twenty One Pilots probably :/

 5. The Naked and Famous


songwriting influences

 1. Walt Whitman

 2. David Beck

 3. Jon Foreman

 4. Julien Baker

 5. Brandon Flowers


Instrument influences

 1. Synth- them synth lines on An Army of Shapes Between Wars by Action Action

 2. Drumming- John Otto on Chocolate Starfish and the Hot Dog Flavored Water by Limp Bizkit (taught me how to drum)

 3. Synth - M83

 4. Contemporary worship music has influenced everything I do a heck ton because church is where I started playing in bands (in other words, reverb)

 5. Electronic production- the album Settle by Disclosure


Karaoke Songs

1. "Born to Run" by Bruce Springsteen

2. "I Believe In A Thing Called Love" by The Darkness

3. "Man in the Box" by Alice in Chains

4. "Like a Prayer" by Madonna in the style of James Hetfield

5. Radio Edit of "Rollin" by Limp Bizkit


Junk foods

 1. Ice cream (chocolate marshmallow Turkey Hill to be specific)

 2. White cheddar Cheez-Its

 3. Cheese Nips

 4. White cheddar popcorn

 5. chocolate chip cookies of any kind


Places to eat in your city

 1. Yovi’s Hot Dogs (food truck)

 2. Blue Sparrow (food truck)

 3. La Gondola (pizza)

 4. Spirit (for that pizza)

 5. Taco Bell


Movies

 1. Tree of Life

 2. Swiss Army Man

 3. Hot Rod

 4. The Spongebob Squarepants Movie

 5. Con-Air


Role models

 1. MLK

 2. My professor J. Dwight Hines (tied with 3)

 3. My professor Bob Ross (tied with 2)

 4. Andrew WK

 5. My new dear friend Memphis Hill


String Machine Songs

 1. Mara (In the Breeze)

 2. Finale

 3. Rattle on the Spoke

 4. Panic Attack

 5. No Holiday / Excite Again



Musical artists in your city (I did 6 bcuz too many good)

 1. PARK (Dave Parker)

 2. Silver Car Crash

 3. Sleeping Witch & Saturn

 4. Vireo

 5. Rave Ami

 6. Merce Lemon



Productive ways to pass time during corona

 1. Reflect on what the heck we’re doing here and what heck makes you the way you are

 2. Talk with friends you haven’t caught up with in a while/make sure your community is okay

 3. Read a book

 4. Pull-ups

 5. Make that synth pop album you’ve been dreaming of



Unproductive ways to pass time during corona

 1. Social media for too long

 2. Watch Tiger King

 3. Consider voting for Joe Biden

 4. Picking at your face

 5. Coughing on your roommate


Songs right now

 1. “Zoo Eyes” - Aldous Harding

 2. “XO Tour Llif3” - Lil Uzi Vert

 3. “Baby” - Four Tet

 4. “Just Before Dawn” - Sonnymoon, Miguel Atwood-Ferguson

 5. “On Melancholy Hill” - Gorillaz


80s pop jams

 1. “Everybody Wants to Rule the World” - Tears for Fears

 2. “99 Luftballons” - Nena

 3. “Down Under” - Men at Work

 4. “Dancing in the Dark” - Bruce Springsteen

 5. “Like a Prayer” - Madonna


Venues you’ve played

 1. Spirit Hall

 2. Mahall’s (CLE)

 3. The Mr. Roboto Project

 4. Mr. Small’s

 5. The Bushnel


Albums that changed your life

 1. To Pimp a Butterfly by Kendrick Lamar

 2. S.C.I.E.N.C.E. by Incubus

 3. Doolittle by Pixies

4. Sprained Ankle by Julien Baker

5. Scary Monsters and Nice Sprites EP by Skrillex




Pizza toppings

 1. Cheese

 2. Pepperoni

 3. Banana Peppers

 4. More cheese

 5. Chicken


Cities you’ve visited

 1. Atlanta, GA

 2. Irvine, CA

 3. Washington DC

 4. Nashville, TN

 5. Toronto, Canada


Condiments

 1. Cheese

 2. Ranch

 3. Ketchup

 4. Chili (on a hot dog)

 5. Chocolate drizzle


Fictional characters

 1. Hank (Swiss Army Man)

 2. Greg (Over the Garden Wall)

 3. Wheezy (Toy Story 2)

 4. Cameron Poe (Con-Air)

 5. Fred Durst

Check out DJ Dylly K's virtual dance parties at https://www.twitch.tv/dyllyk and check out his personal bandcamp https://dyllykandfriends.bandcamp.com/.

Written by Tyler Gallagher (@TylerGallagher8)

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String Machine - "Death of the Neon"

I think the first time I saw String Machine I was playing a show with them when Soda Club was trotting and boppin’ around. It was at, the now defunct (RIP I really liked the venue), James Street Gastropub. It was kind of a surreal evening for me I was soaking up in friendship because a couple days later I was going to be leaving PGH for a month to study on a Native American reservation, very far away from a lot of the urban landscape I’d been accustomed to for quite some time. Anyway, here’s all these feelings, magnified by the city and the multitude of people who were at the show. Lights, friends, laughter, music, and I WAS FEELING it. Being caught up in a dopamine rush//heightened awareness//whatever you want to call it, String Machine was just about to start and close out the night. David started playing his guitar and the band members started joining in steadily as if it were an orchestra feeling it out and sound checking, I wasn’t sure exactly what to expect, then it all clicked. Whatever anxieties I had dissipated for those few minutes and my brain had a momentary reset. The song was “Pit of the Peach” and I was completely blown away. I’ve been humming that song for about a year and a half now and I bet the band has had it in their back pocket for that long or longer, but now, now we all get to bask in the glory of the world this band has created with Death of the Neon, and let me tell you folks something, hell yeah. 

String Machine are a 7 piece collective hailing from north of Pittsburgh, the rural hinterlands above the city. Comprised of David Beck (vocals, lyrics, guitar), Dylan Kersten (synth, piano), Laurel Wain (vocals), Ian Compton (trumpet), Nic Temple (drums), Mike Law (bass), Katie Morrow (cello) this group has blended together to create the best version of maximalism I’ve heard in a long minute. Tender maximalism is hard; emotions meant to create a scope the size of the earth can either be narcissisticly hollow or pretentious to the point of drool, but String Machine have created an environment that puts the whole world in your heart while you’re shoveling snow in your backyard. 

The album begins and the first three tracks immediately capture me into a world of hope, despair and earnestness. Engine/It’s Time immediately grabbing me as Beck narrates how his brain is working and jumping across thoughts, scatterbrained yet focused, as he’s waiting for his car to start working again. It seems like in times of forced patience during chaos our mind can focus and create beautiful connections.

“I’m thinking of how friends treat friends differently. If I’m an engine to you, I have no use if I overheat.” 

The lyrics fall off and we’re transported into a second suite giving us a preview of how the album will teeter between earth and the ether finally bringing us crashing back with the rhythm section locked into a beautiful back and forth that leads to an explosion. The instrumentation and production on this track is incredible and this is just the first track? God damn. 

As the album continues and we’re brought about the countryside as Beck narrates to us the angular didactics of his mind, with Laurel Wain’s harmonies pushing every song to greater heights. The layers of instrumentation, vocals, and weird car engine noises/found sounds make this album a great thing to come back for repeated listens to. Every track is either a city or a forest and you can’t explore Yellowstone or New Orleans in one day. Everything needs space to breathe. This might be accredited to them recording this album in Saxonburg. While still being listed as part of the Metropolitan area of Pittsburgh is more rural than urban. I feel that this is something that you can feel through the music as well, a distinct recognition of ruralness against the backdrop of urbanization, technology and desolation through industry. While all of this sounds bleak, which I mean yes of course it is, there is still the idea of resolution, strength, and most importantly, love. That’s the thing that String Machine is so good at doing, creating a space that you can float around in and feel surrounded by love while still being by yourself in vast isolation, whether it be through nature, walking alone in a city, or in your own anxious thoughts.

While I’m guessing String Machine will consistently be compared to big maximalist groups like TWIABP and Los Campesinos, I can’t help but think of Neil Young when I hear the first three tracks. Sincere, folk bounce amongst anxiety. It’s like String Machine is taking us along a scrapbook of their influences while not ripping any of the pages out to shove up their sleeves to cheat on the exam. I think it all comes together on Old Mack, my favorite song on the album. It’s a reflection on memories but also reassurance of everything; in the face of trouble we rely on our friends, community, memories to keep us safe. When the guitar solo hits I’m brought to the images of coming to in a haze after naps in the car when torrential downpours are going on, sitting there hearing the chaos around me while knowing a loved one is trying to safely maneuver through it all. Which brings me back to that feeling of ease I got when I saw them live at James Street. Here we are surrounded by a downpour of existential thoughts and chaos in the universe, but I can rest easy knowing String Machine is driving, trying to get us through this storm into better territory. 

RIYL: Grizzly Bear, Neil Young, Los Campesinos, your heart exploding with feeling all over the dashboard, the biggest bedroom you’ve ever cried with your friends in, “hell yeah, brother”

Favorite Tracks: Engine/It’s Time, Old Mack, DEATHOFANEON (Pt. 1,2, & 3), Pit of the Peach

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