Movement Magazine would like to thank you for bearing with us over the holidays here and assure you we will hit you with updates aplenty this Monday (if not sooner!)
Love,
movementNORTH/Dave.
Friday, November 27, 2009
Terrance Zdunich posts ZonaCon follow-up
Terrance Zdunich posted a follow up to ZONACON last weekend in Orlando on his blog and specifically thanks MOVEMENT! Awesome.
http://www.TerranceZdunich.com/blog
http://www.TerranceZdunich.com/blog
Wednesday, November 25, 2009
Quasi "American Gong" out February 23rd
Art by Chris Johanson and Jo Jackson: http://chrisjohanson.com/
Quasi (Sam Coomes, Janet Weiss, Joanna Bolme) has been rocking the sticky floored graffiti scrawled dimly lit trenches since '93, & "American Gong" is their eighth album. It will be released on their new label, Kill Rock Stars, on February 23rd, 2010. What's been learned in these long years? Get off your ass, kick out the jams, lay it on the line, & communal mind meld is within reach. Do it for love & there is no reason for regrets.
Mixed by Steve Fisk, Tucker Martine, AND Dave Fridmann. As you can imagine, it's a total powerhouse record.
Track Listing
01. Repulsion
02. Little White Horse
03. Everything and Nothing At All
04. Bye Bye Blackbird
05. The Jig is Up
06. Black Dogs and Bubbles
07. Death Is Not the End
08. Rockabilly Party
09. Now What
10. Laissez Les Bon Temps Rouler
::UNDERCOVER SLUT signs to DEADLIGHT ENTERTAINMENT::
“This century’s most controversial record from today’s most scandalous band.”
In memory of all Saint Valentine’s Day Massacre’s victims, UNDERCOVER SLUT ’s album “Amerikkka Macht Frei” will be released on February 14th, 2010 as a digipack CD and as a black & white vinyl-LP strictly limited to 616 numbered copies via Deadlight Entertainment / Underclass Distribution (Ministry, Twisted Sister, W.A.S.P.).
“Amerikkka Macht Frei” was produced by Chris Baseford (Rob Zombie, Tommy Lee),
assisted by Will Thompson (Rob Zombie), recorded and mixed at the Chop Shop
(Los Angeles, U.S.A.), home of Scott Humphrey (Green Day, Metallica, Mötley Crüe).
The album cover and photographies were taken by Dean Karr (Marilyn Manson, Ozzy Osbourne, Slayer) who also filmed the controversial music video for the “Shadow Song” smash hit single.
- Track-Listing -
1. “intOx” 2. “Shadow Song” 3. “Anna Nicole Smith” 4. “White Whore Conspiracy”
5. “What Kinda Lamb Do Ya Think I Am?” 6. “Dear Dead Prez,” 7. “Black CNN”
8. “Kastration Kar Krashes” * 9. “Dali Was A Junkie” ** 10. “Creature Feature”
11. “Jesus Kills! Coroner Saves!” *** 12. “detOx”
+ uncensored “Shadow Song” video
- Featuring -
* Eric Griffin (Faster Pussycat, Murderdolls, Wednesday 13),
** Teddy Heavens (Rebel Rebel) & *** Matthew Roberts, son of Charles Manson.
So far, UNDERCOVER SLUT has already toured 6 times in the U.S.A. and performed many Sold-Out headlining shows including the Whisky A Go-Go (L.A.), the Viper Room (L.A.), Snitch (NYC), Club Antichrist (London), La Locomotive (Paris), etc…
To this day, UNDERCOVER SLUT ‘s official MySpace profile www.myspace.com/undercoverslut has been visited over 1 million times. UNDERCOVER SLUT songs have been played over 850.000 times for a total of over 180.000 friends.
In memory of all Saint Valentine’s Day Massacre’s victims, UNDERCOVER SLUT ’s album “Amerikkka Macht Frei” will be released on February 14th, 2010 as a digipack CD and as a black & white vinyl-LP strictly limited to 616 numbered copies via Deadlight Entertainment / Underclass Distribution (Ministry, Twisted Sister, W.A.S.P.).
“Amerikkka Macht Frei” was produced by Chris Baseford (Rob Zombie, Tommy Lee),
assisted by Will Thompson (Rob Zombie), recorded and mixed at the Chop Shop
(Los Angeles, U.S.A.), home of Scott Humphrey (Green Day, Metallica, Mötley Crüe).
The album cover and photographies were taken by Dean Karr (Marilyn Manson, Ozzy Osbourne, Slayer) who also filmed the controversial music video for the “Shadow Song” smash hit single.
- Track-Listing -
1. “intOx” 2. “Shadow Song” 3. “Anna Nicole Smith” 4. “White Whore Conspiracy”
5. “What Kinda Lamb Do Ya Think I Am?” 6. “Dear Dead Prez,” 7. “Black CNN”
8. “Kastration Kar Krashes” * 9. “Dali Was A Junkie” ** 10. “Creature Feature”
11. “Jesus Kills! Coroner Saves!” *** 12. “detOx”
+ uncensored “Shadow Song” video
- Featuring -
* Eric Griffin (Faster Pussycat, Murderdolls, Wednesday 13),
** Teddy Heavens (Rebel Rebel) & *** Matthew Roberts, son of Charles Manson.
So far, UNDERCOVER SLUT has already toured 6 times in the U.S.A. and performed many Sold-Out headlining shows including the Whisky A Go-Go (L.A.), the Viper Room (L.A.), Snitch (NYC), Club Antichrist (London), La Locomotive (Paris), etc…
To this day, UNDERCOVER SLUT ‘s official MySpace profile www.myspace.com/undercoverslut has been visited over 1 million times. UNDERCOVER SLUT songs have been played over 850.000 times for a total of over 180.000 friends.
Julian Lennon "Lucy"
LENNON TEAMS WITH BIRCH AND MEAGHER TO LAUNCH
ARTIST-FOCUSED MUSIC SERVICES COMPANY, theREVOLUTION
“Lucy,” Co-Written by Julian Lennon and Singer / Songwriter James Scott Cook
Debuts December 15, Portion of Proceeds to Benefit Lupus Charities
AUSTIN, TX (November 24, 2009) – You say you want theRevolution? Well, you know, we all want to change the music world... Tapping the reach of the Internet and a power-shifting business model, musician Julian Lennon and digital pioneers Michael Birch and Todd Meagher today officially announced the launch of theRevolution LLC, a full-service, artist-focused, music services company.
In the vanguard of theRevolution is the single “Lucy,” co-written by Lennon and James Scott Cook, to be released on a four-track EP on December 15. A portion of the proceeds will be donated to two charities focused on lupus, an autoimmune disease afflicting Cook’s Grandmother Lucy, as well as Lennon’s late childhood friend Lucy Vodden, a watercolor painting of whom led John Lennon to write “Lucy in the Sky with Diamonds.”
With the mission of “Turning the music business into the musician’s business,” theRevolution (www.theRevolution.com) serves as the funding vehicle which endeavors to partner with both emerging and established artists to give them control as well as ownership of their creative output and to help build their fan bases and, ultimately, their brands. Under its singularly structured, transparent 50/50 “artist partnership” model, the artist forms a company and theRevolution funds it, with musical artists owning equity in their own companies.
Through its subsidiary the Artists Alliance and its affiliates, theRevolution provides artists an a la carte menu of integrated services, among them: business/legal affairs; product design, manufacturing and retail/direct distribution; online transactional management; tour/event logistics, sponsor outreach; marketing, promotions and branding; and music publishing/licensing.
“Julian and I have been friends for over 20 years and have partnered on several businesses together, as I have with Michael. Our combined understanding of technology and the music industry, our love of innovation, and our ability to capitalize our own company make this new partnership ideal,” explains Texas-based Todd Meagher, a former songwriter for Warner Chappell Music who, as an internet entrepreneur, successfully founded and sold such entities as Credit.com. In 2002 Meagher created the industry’s first 50/50, artist-owned model, going on to launch MyStore.com with Michael Birch and Lennon in 2006, in the early days when MySpace did not allow direct sales. As an outgrowth of both businesses, Meagher approached Lennon with the idea of a full-service, artist-focused music services company, and Lennon agreed not only to be a partner, but to be its first artist after a nearly ten-year hiatus from the music industry.
“I think the digital age of music has allowed independent artists to be heard, where maybe they would have not been before due to record labels’ pigeonholing of music, musicians and style,” explains Lennon. “theRevolution puts artists into business for themselves. It came about because I personally couldn’t see a way forward, given the state of the music industry, and wanted to start something new – a new model – which will hopefully continue to grow and be accepted, appreciated and become successful.”
That hopefulness is shared by Birch, the media community/Internet marketing guru who co-founded BirthdayAlarm.com, Ringo.com and the social networking site Bebo, which AOL bought for $850 million. An advisor to myriad companies, this past summer Birch helped launch PROfounders Capital, a UK investment fund for entrepreneurs. “Many artists are quite good at promoting themselves, but you need other elements to build a proper business and brand,” says Birch. The model of theRevolution is to fully align its interests with those of artists (i.e., one party doesn’t make money unless the other does) and, for artists used to turning over the lion share of the revenues from their music to traditional labels, says Birch, the key is education. “We need to build our reputation as a true partner and prove our dedication to building long-term careers.”
On December 15, the company will mark its first release with the four-song EP Lucy, featuring the same-named title track written by James Scott Cook and Julian Lennon. Produced by Todd Meagher, the lead single “Lucy” is Lennon’s first single in close to a decade.
Lennon initially planned only to sing background vocals on the song, but before its completion he learned that his childhood friend Lucy Vodden had passed away after a long battle with lupus. With some lyric changes the decision was made for the song to be a duet between Lennon and Cook. By remarkable coincidence, Cook told Lennon that Lucy was also the name of his 92-year-old grandmother who has been living with lupus for years. Seeking to honor the memory of both women, a portion of the proceeds from the single will be donated to two charities, St. Thomas’ Lupus Trust (www.lupus.org.uk) and the Lupus Foundation of America (www.lupus.org).
The EP – inside of which buyers will discover a fold-out copy of Julian Lennon’s original watercolor drawing of “Lucy in the Sky with Diamonds” – features two versions of “Lucy,” the studio track and an acoustic version. There’s also Lennon’s slow and sentimental song “Beautiful,” which will appear on his full-length album Everything Changes, to be released in 2010, and Cook’s song “Sober,” which will be on his own eponymous album next year. RED Distribution (a division of Sony Music Entertainment) is providing manufacturing, retail distribution and radio promotion for the EP, and the title track will initially be available for download online exclusively at iTunes until the first of the year, which will also make a donation to the lupus charities. VH1, YouTube, MySpace Music and Yahoo Music have all agreed to support the video release.
Julian Lennon first came to the public’s attention as a musical artist with his 1984 debut album Valotte, which produced two Top Ten singles, “Valotte” and “Too Late for Goodbyes.” The album led to a Grammy nomination for Best New Artist. Along with his sophomore effort, The Secret Value of Daydreaming (Atlantic),” his subsequent albums include Mr. Jordan, Help Yourself and the independently produced Photograph Smile— his most critically acclaimed album to date. In recent years, Lennon has focused on photography and other endeavors, also producing the eight-time internationally award-winning documentary WhaleDreamers.
ARTIST-FOCUSED MUSIC SERVICES COMPANY, theREVOLUTION
“Lucy,” Co-Written by Julian Lennon and Singer / Songwriter James Scott Cook
Debuts December 15, Portion of Proceeds to Benefit Lupus Charities
AUSTIN, TX (November 24, 2009) – You say you want theRevolution? Well, you know, we all want to change the music world... Tapping the reach of the Internet and a power-shifting business model, musician Julian Lennon and digital pioneers Michael Birch and Todd Meagher today officially announced the launch of theRevolution LLC, a full-service, artist-focused, music services company.
In the vanguard of theRevolution is the single “Lucy,” co-written by Lennon and James Scott Cook, to be released on a four-track EP on December 15. A portion of the proceeds will be donated to two charities focused on lupus, an autoimmune disease afflicting Cook’s Grandmother Lucy, as well as Lennon’s late childhood friend Lucy Vodden, a watercolor painting of whom led John Lennon to write “Lucy in the Sky with Diamonds.”
With the mission of “Turning the music business into the musician’s business,” theRevolution (www.theRevolution.com) serves as the funding vehicle which endeavors to partner with both emerging and established artists to give them control as well as ownership of their creative output and to help build their fan bases and, ultimately, their brands. Under its singularly structured, transparent 50/50 “artist partnership” model, the artist forms a company and theRevolution funds it, with musical artists owning equity in their own companies.
Through its subsidiary the Artists Alliance and its affiliates, theRevolution provides artists an a la carte menu of integrated services, among them: business/legal affairs; product design, manufacturing and retail/direct distribution; online transactional management; tour/event logistics, sponsor outreach; marketing, promotions and branding; and music publishing/licensing.
“Julian and I have been friends for over 20 years and have partnered on several businesses together, as I have with Michael. Our combined understanding of technology and the music industry, our love of innovation, and our ability to capitalize our own company make this new partnership ideal,” explains Texas-based Todd Meagher, a former songwriter for Warner Chappell Music who, as an internet entrepreneur, successfully founded and sold such entities as Credit.com. In 2002 Meagher created the industry’s first 50/50, artist-owned model, going on to launch MyStore.com with Michael Birch and Lennon in 2006, in the early days when MySpace did not allow direct sales. As an outgrowth of both businesses, Meagher approached Lennon with the idea of a full-service, artist-focused music services company, and Lennon agreed not only to be a partner, but to be its first artist after a nearly ten-year hiatus from the music industry.
“I think the digital age of music has allowed independent artists to be heard, where maybe they would have not been before due to record labels’ pigeonholing of music, musicians and style,” explains Lennon. “theRevolution puts artists into business for themselves. It came about because I personally couldn’t see a way forward, given the state of the music industry, and wanted to start something new – a new model – which will hopefully continue to grow and be accepted, appreciated and become successful.”
That hopefulness is shared by Birch, the media community/Internet marketing guru who co-founded BirthdayAlarm.com, Ringo.com and the social networking site Bebo, which AOL bought for $850 million. An advisor to myriad companies, this past summer Birch helped launch PROfounders Capital, a UK investment fund for entrepreneurs. “Many artists are quite good at promoting themselves, but you need other elements to build a proper business and brand,” says Birch. The model of theRevolution is to fully align its interests with those of artists (i.e., one party doesn’t make money unless the other does) and, for artists used to turning over the lion share of the revenues from their music to traditional labels, says Birch, the key is education. “We need to build our reputation as a true partner and prove our dedication to building long-term careers.”
On December 15, the company will mark its first release with the four-song EP Lucy, featuring the same-named title track written by James Scott Cook and Julian Lennon. Produced by Todd Meagher, the lead single “Lucy” is Lennon’s first single in close to a decade.
Lennon initially planned only to sing background vocals on the song, but before its completion he learned that his childhood friend Lucy Vodden had passed away after a long battle with lupus. With some lyric changes the decision was made for the song to be a duet between Lennon and Cook. By remarkable coincidence, Cook told Lennon that Lucy was also the name of his 92-year-old grandmother who has been living with lupus for years. Seeking to honor the memory of both women, a portion of the proceeds from the single will be donated to two charities, St. Thomas’ Lupus Trust (www.lupus.org.uk) and the Lupus Foundation of America (www.lupus.org).
The EP – inside of which buyers will discover a fold-out copy of Julian Lennon’s original watercolor drawing of “Lucy in the Sky with Diamonds” – features two versions of “Lucy,” the studio track and an acoustic version. There’s also Lennon’s slow and sentimental song “Beautiful,” which will appear on his full-length album Everything Changes, to be released in 2010, and Cook’s song “Sober,” which will be on his own eponymous album next year. RED Distribution (a division of Sony Music Entertainment) is providing manufacturing, retail distribution and radio promotion for the EP, and the title track will initially be available for download online exclusively at iTunes until the first of the year, which will also make a donation to the lupus charities. VH1, YouTube, MySpace Music and Yahoo Music have all agreed to support the video release.
Julian Lennon first came to the public’s attention as a musical artist with his 1984 debut album Valotte, which produced two Top Ten singles, “Valotte” and “Too Late for Goodbyes.” The album led to a Grammy nomination for Best New Artist. Along with his sophomore effort, The Secret Value of Daydreaming (Atlantic),” his subsequent albums include Mr. Jordan, Help Yourself and the independently produced Photograph Smile— his most critically acclaimed album to date. In recent years, Lennon has focused on photography and other endeavors, also producing the eight-time internationally award-winning documentary WhaleDreamers.
Tuesday, November 24, 2009
Toolshed's Chokeules Releases Hypergraphia
CHOKEULES – HYPERGRAPHIA
“...one more reason to be proud of Canadian hip-hop”
The world of underground hip-hop can be a saturated one. It takes an immediate yet proven voice to stand out and rise above mediocracy. And who better to make that move than Chokeules, emcee from the legendary Canadian hip-hop team of Toolshed. Masters of the underground scene in their own right, Toolshed provided the foundation for Chokeules to make the leap into mainstream hip-hop domination with the release of Hypergraphia, his newest record.
Loaded with intricate rhyme schemes, dense wordplay and touching on everything from self-introspection and the state of modern hip-hop, Hypergraphia is a bold, confident step for Chokeules. Having shared the stage in both Canada and the United States with established acts such as El Da Sensai (Artifacts), Aceyalone, Devin The Dude, Lootpack and Swollen Members, Chokeules has paid his dues in the underground and on Hypergraphia, sounds poised and hungry for a bigger piece of Canadian hip-hop.
It is Chokeules’ aggressive and relentless stage presence that sets him apart, evident on “Stand Out,” one of the first tracks available on the album. Thick beats move back and forth between groovy and heavy territory, yet they propel Chokeules’ lyrics to a whole new stratsophere. Already lauded with Toolshed in Exclaim! Magazine as “...one more reason to be proud of Canadian hip-hop,” one thing is for sure: this is only the beginning of the rise of Chokeules.
For music and more info please visit: www.myspace.com/chokeules
See it live for yourself here:
Dec 4th – Toronto, ON – Rancho Relaxo (CD Release Show)
Dec 19th – London, ON – Call The Office
“...one more reason to be proud of Canadian hip-hop”
The world of underground hip-hop can be a saturated one. It takes an immediate yet proven voice to stand out and rise above mediocracy. And who better to make that move than Chokeules, emcee from the legendary Canadian hip-hop team of Toolshed. Masters of the underground scene in their own right, Toolshed provided the foundation for Chokeules to make the leap into mainstream hip-hop domination with the release of Hypergraphia, his newest record.
Loaded with intricate rhyme schemes, dense wordplay and touching on everything from self-introspection and the state of modern hip-hop, Hypergraphia is a bold, confident step for Chokeules. Having shared the stage in both Canada and the United States with established acts such as El Da Sensai (Artifacts), Aceyalone, Devin The Dude, Lootpack and Swollen Members, Chokeules has paid his dues in the underground and on Hypergraphia, sounds poised and hungry for a bigger piece of Canadian hip-hop.
It is Chokeules’ aggressive and relentless stage presence that sets him apart, evident on “Stand Out,” one of the first tracks available on the album. Thick beats move back and forth between groovy and heavy territory, yet they propel Chokeules’ lyrics to a whole new stratsophere. Already lauded with Toolshed in Exclaim! Magazine as “...one more reason to be proud of Canadian hip-hop,” one thing is for sure: this is only the beginning of the rise of Chokeules.
For music and more info please visit: www.myspace.com/chokeules
See it live for yourself here:
Dec 4th – Toronto, ON – Rancho Relaxo (CD Release Show)
Dec 19th – London, ON – Call The Office
GET BUSY COMMITTEE RELEASE DJ CHEAPSHOT MIXTAPE FOR FREE
Re-experience Get Busy Committee's Uzi Does It through the eyes of acclaimed mix tape king DJ CHEAPSHOT, now with 50% more Smiths, Def Leppard, Bjork, and The Cure.
Cover art is a features a play on Notorious B.I.G.'s "Ready To Die".
Los Angeles, CA (November 23, 2009) - If you've been paying attention you already know Ryu (Styles of Beyond), Apathy (East Coast powerhouse MC and solo artist), and Scoop Deville (in-demand producer for Snoop Dogg, Clipse, The Game, Murs, etc) have a new group called Get Busy Committee, and that their new record, Uzi Does It, dropped November 10th. The content keeps coming with a mix CD by acclaimed mix tape king DJ CHEAPSHOT (Styles of Beyond) mixing the entire album together with unlikely cuts from The Smiths, Def Leppard, Shinehead, The Cure, Bjork, Smashing Pumpkins, and many more.
The entire mix tape is available FREE from Get Busy Committee's Web site:
http://GetBusyCommittee.com
GBC co-signs:
"Uzi does it is the hip hop album of the year, it's no wonder GBC is making so much noise without the help of a major label." - Mike Shinoda, Linkin Park
"For real this album is so good." - Rob Dyrdek
"INgrooves is proud to be working with Get Busy Committee's fantastic new release that is sure to connect with legions of passionate music fans. I am certain our various retail and promotional partners around the world will be eager to share it with their customers." - Robb McDaniels, President and CEO, INgrooves
"We're making sure we connect with anyone interested in Get Busy Committee, giving them incentive and simple ways to share with others, and allowing them to buy the music in unique, collectible, valuable formats which flow from the creativity of the artists." - Ian Rogers, CEO, Topspin
Gorevette to Release The Lustfully Yours EP on Strange Girl Recordings on Jan. 26, 2010
"Bubble-gum and hip-shakeable hooks meet ruthless, pure-firestorm guitar ecstasy" - Real Detroit Weekly
Some things are just meant to be. When the legendary Nikki Corvette arrived with equally revered rock critic Robert Matheu at a Gore Gore Girls show in Los Angeles, he instinctively knew that she and bandleader Amy Gore would be natural compatriots. Both women have toured the world, rejecting trends and gimmickry to play the authentic, powerful rock n’ roll they’ve made their religion. They became friends that night, not industry associates but real pals. When Corvette relocated to her native Detroit for family reasons, she and Gore began to spend time together, spending hours talking about music while hanging out by the record player.
With members of each woman’s bands in different cities, they originally conceived the idea of doing a punk cover band, playing their favorite songs from bands like the Buzzcocks and the Damned. That soon changed when Nikki brought her tune “Lustfully Yours” to the table. Amy Gore, a formidable guitarist and writer, began writing songs specifically for Nikki that carry on the ‘Shangri-Las meets Ramones’ v sound she is famous for while incorporating lyrics rejecting the artificiality of current feminine ideals (“Fake It”) and making stand for the hedonistic fun of dancing, cars and staying up all night. “Rock n’ roll, above all else, should be fun,” said Gore.
Enlisting Lianna Castillo (bassist from the Gore Gore Girls) and Al King (Powertrane) on drums, the line-up was compled, and Gorevette began playing festivals and club shows. When it came time to record their EP, they split time between both Jim Diamond’s Ghetto Recordings in Detroit and Rock City Studios in Ann Arbor, MI, Gore producing and the songs. Gorevette were honored to have Radio Birdman guitarist Deniz Tek playing lead guitar on 'Nothin's Gonna Stop Me' and trading licks with Amy Gore on 'Brand New Lover'.
The new tracks are compiled for The Lustfully Yours EP, available Tuesday, January 26, 2010 on itunes USA and Internationally, Rhapsody, Napster, eMusic, IMVU, LimeWire Store, Amazon MP3 & Amazon on Demand.
The video for “Lustfully Yours” has just been unveiled as well! Watch it here: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=taMdqu7R-BY
About Nikki: 1978 saw the birth of Nikki Corvette's career with the release of the Nikki Corvette and the Convertibles single "Young and Crazy" b/w "Backseat Love" and "Criminal Element". This was all happening in Detroit during the punk rock explosion where Nikki would see herself sharing the stage with The Ramones, Johnny Thunders, The Romantics and many more. By 1980 the band name was changed to Nikki and the Corvettes. They would release their legendary debut album on BOMP! Records, an incredible mixture of 60's style girl group vocals, twangy guitars and teenage pop with plenty of punk rock attitude, with songs about cruisin for boys and fun in the sun. The album and band would influence everyone from The Go-go's (to go for more of a "pop" sound) all the way to The Donnas (see the lyric "I wanna be like Nikki Corvette" from Gimmie My Radio), and around the world to Japan with The 5678's.
About Amy Gore: Amy was born in Detroit, Michigan and in 1997 she founded the Gore Gore Girls, the first of few all-female bands of the garage rock genre. Along with other bands such as The White Stripes, The Dirtbombs, The Detroit Cobras and others, the Gore Gore Girls helped establish the modern American garage rock scene of the 1990s in Detroit. Gore’s talents are myriad: she is a ferocious guitarist who has helped bring Gretsch hollowbody guitars their due, a songwriter who distills the perfect pop gem and a studio pro whose unerring ear brought Gorevette to light.
Listen to Gorevette here! http://www.myspace.com/gorevette
Kid Koala Presents The Slew: '100%' Gets Official Release TODAY!
Videos: The Slew YouTube Channel
including tour blogs, performance w/ Mike Patton in SF and more...
OUT TODAY
via Puget Sound
BUY LINK:
http://www.ninjatune.net/ninjashop/index.php?cat=0&type=LP&by=6&code=PSR100&shop=na#PSR100
The Slew: Forging the new chapter of rock. 100%: The iconic rock turntable experience.
What started as a soundtrack to a film never made has spun into an amps-at-11 turntable rock experience.
Four and a half years ago, Eric San (aka Kid Koala) and Dylan J. Frombach (aka Dynomite D) started working on a rock record. The pair, who met on the Beasties Boys tour in 1998, had been approached to soundtrack a documentary feature film. The film was eventually abandoned, but with Mario C on board for mixing, San and Frombach were already deep into the psych rock-influenced score and there was no turning back.
Teaming up with Chris Ross and Myles Heskett, the former rhythm section of Grammy Award-winning band Wolfmother, The Slew set out to put together a full-blown rock band experience to do justice to the material in a live setting. And justice was served: The truly excessive six turntables, drum, bass, keyboard and wall of amps that made their way across North America this October made for a full-on raw, pummeling rock experience. The Slew bring punk rock attitude back to the turntable unlike anything you've ever heard.
The Slew's album, 100%, was given away online ahead of the tour, and limited quantities were made to sell at the gigs. Due to overwhelming post-tour demand,100% is now hitting record stores, distributed by Koala's longtime record label, Ninja Tune. Backstage rumors suggest more shows and new material from The Slew may emerge at some point, but for now, enjoy 100% in all its rock excess.
http://www.myspace.com/kidkoalaonesandtwos
including tour blogs, performance w/ Mike Patton in SF and more...
OUT TODAY
via Puget Sound
BUY LINK:
http://www.ninjatune.net/ninjashop/index.php?cat=0&type=LP&by=6&code=PSR100&shop=na#PSR100
The Slew: Forging the new chapter of rock. 100%: The iconic rock turntable experience.
What started as a soundtrack to a film never made has spun into an amps-at-11 turntable rock experience.
Four and a half years ago, Eric San (aka Kid Koala) and Dylan J. Frombach (aka Dynomite D) started working on a rock record. The pair, who met on the Beasties Boys tour in 1998, had been approached to soundtrack a documentary feature film. The film was eventually abandoned, but with Mario C on board for mixing, San and Frombach were already deep into the psych rock-influenced score and there was no turning back.
Teaming up with Chris Ross and Myles Heskett, the former rhythm section of Grammy Award-winning band Wolfmother, The Slew set out to put together a full-blown rock band experience to do justice to the material in a live setting. And justice was served: The truly excessive six turntables, drum, bass, keyboard and wall of amps that made their way across North America this October made for a full-on raw, pummeling rock experience. The Slew bring punk rock attitude back to the turntable unlike anything you've ever heard.
The Slew's album, 100%, was given away online ahead of the tour, and limited quantities were made to sell at the gigs. Due to overwhelming post-tour demand,100% is now hitting record stores, distributed by Koala's longtime record label, Ninja Tune. Backstage rumors suggest more shows and new material from The Slew may emerge at some point, but for now, enjoy 100% in all its rock excess.
http://www.myspace.com/kidkoalaonesandtwos
MASSIVE ATTACK SET TO RELEASE 5TH STUDIO ALBUM HELIGOLAND ON VIRGIN RECORDS FEB. 9th
(Nov.24th, 2009 -New York, NY) – Legendary trip-hop duo Massive Attack are set to release their highly anticipated 5th studio album Heligoland on EMI’s Virgin Records on February 9th, 2010. Last month, the duo released their first new material in three years, giving fans a preview of Heligoland with a 4-song EP Splitting the Atom which features 2 album tracks and 2 album track remixes. Heligoland features an all star cast of guest vocals from Damon Albarn, Hope Sandoval, Martina Topley-Bird, Guy Garvey and Tunde Adebimpe. Long time cohort Horace Andy makes a return alongside Massive Attack founding members Robert Del Naja (3D) and Grand Marshall (Daddy G). Damon also plays bass on ‘’Flat Of The Blade’ and keyboards on ‘Splitting The Atom’ while Portishead’s Adrian Utley plays guitar on ‘Saturday Come Slow’. The band also collaborated with DFA’s Tim Goldsworthy on selected tracks. The cover artwork features an original image by Robert Del Naja.
Over the last three years Robert Del Naja has written and produced soundtracks for a number of films and documentaries, including ‘Trouble In The Water’, ’44 Inch Chest’, ‘In Prison My Whole Life’ and ‘Gomorra’, the latter for which he won the David Di Donatello Award for Best Song. Earlier this year, Massive Attack won the Outstanding Contribution to British Music Award at the Ivor Novello Awards. In September, Massive Attack headlined this year’s Bestival ahead of their first full UK tour in three years. They have just announced a few more UK dates in February and are expected to announce a U.S. tour next year.
For more information on Massive Attack, visit www.massiveattack.com or massive attack wikipedia http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Massive_Attack
Monday, November 23, 2009
The Willowz Announce Tour, Give a Peak Into Making of New Album
The Willowz Announce First Tour For Everyone (Available Digitally Now, In Stores December 15th on Dim Mak/Downtown Records)
Band Gives a Sneak Peak Into The Making of New Album
Soulful garage rockers The Willowz are hitting the road in support of their latest full-length, Everyone, which is available digitally now and hits stores on December 15th via Dim Mak Records/Downtown Records. The band’s 2007 album, Chautauqua, made Rolling Stone’s 50 Best Albums of the Year list, was OC Weekly’s #1 Rock Album of the Year, and was Nominated for LA Weekly’s Rock Band of the Year. The Willowz have also been featured on the soundtracks to Michel Gondry’s award-winning films Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind and The Science of Sleep.
The bands also pulls back the curtain for a taste of how Everyone was made in a ‘Making Of’ featurette about the album.
Watch it on YouTube HERE
And on Vimeo HERE
Check out the mp3 for “Repetition,” which Blurt describes as a “mash-up of White Stripes, Yardbirds, and Talking Heads” HERE
The Willowz Tour Dates:
12/11: Columbus, OH @ Bourbon St.
12/12: Indianapolis, IN @ Radio Radio
12/13: Chicago, IL @ Empty Bottle
12/14: Cambridge, MA @ The Middle East
12/15: Toronto, ON @ Lee’s Palace
12/17: Philadelphia, PA @ M Room
12/19: Providence, RI @ Jerky’s Live Music Hall
12/20: New York, NY @ Mercury Lounge
Band Gives a Sneak Peak Into The Making of New Album
Soulful garage rockers The Willowz are hitting the road in support of their latest full-length, Everyone, which is available digitally now and hits stores on December 15th via Dim Mak Records/Downtown Records. The band’s 2007 album, Chautauqua, made Rolling Stone’s 50 Best Albums of the Year list, was OC Weekly’s #1 Rock Album of the Year, and was Nominated for LA Weekly’s Rock Band of the Year. The Willowz have also been featured on the soundtracks to Michel Gondry’s award-winning films Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind and The Science of Sleep.
The bands also pulls back the curtain for a taste of how Everyone was made in a ‘Making Of’ featurette about the album.
Watch it on YouTube HERE
And on Vimeo HERE
Check out the mp3 for “Repetition,” which Blurt describes as a “mash-up of White Stripes, Yardbirds, and Talking Heads” HERE
The Willowz Tour Dates:
12/11: Columbus, OH @ Bourbon St.
12/12: Indianapolis, IN @ Radio Radio
12/13: Chicago, IL @ Empty Bottle
12/14: Cambridge, MA @ The Middle East
12/15: Toronto, ON @ Lee’s Palace
12/17: Philadelphia, PA @ M Room
12/19: Providence, RI @ Jerky’s Live Music Hall
12/20: New York, NY @ Mercury Lounge
Sic Alps announce tour with Magik Markers and Sonic Youth
Sic Alps are artisans of the highest order - for their music is the bright, surging sound of ye olde rock and roll radio (and the garages that tuned in), but heard through air darkened with specks of nameless obstruction. Formed in the early 2000s as a collaboration between SF'ers Matt Hartman and Mike Donovan; Sic Alps are one of the most important bands out there today.
Unearthed from the mines of Connecticut in 2001, Magik Markers have been brutalizing audiences with their shattering live appearances and recordings since the first part of this century. They are now living and creating on opposite sides of the country. Elisa Ambrogio recently moved to Seattle from San Francisco and Pete Nolan resides in Brooklyn but will be reunited for the tour.The band has cut a swath across noise, improv, free rock, no wave, punk and/or hardcore, usually all at once, bellowing forth a sound that leaves all reference points bloodied in the dust, scratching their collective heads and wondering, “What the fuck just happened?”- Michael Crumsho
DECEMBER JAMS SIC ALPS & MAGIK MARKERS
12.09.09 San Jose, CA @ The Blank Club
12.10.09 Santa Cruz, CA @ The Crepe Place
12.11.09 Los Angeles, CA @ the Smell
12.12.09 Oakland, CA @ The Continental Club
12.13.09 San Francisco, CA @ The Hemlock
12.15.09 Sacramento, CA @ The Hub
12.16.09 Portland, OR @ Eagles Lounge
12.17.09 Seattle, WA @ Chop Suey
12.18.09 Vancouver, BC @ Rickshaw Theatre
12.19.09 Olympia, WA @ Northern
12.20.09 Arcata, CA @ The Arcata Theater
01.04.10 Tucson, AZ @ The Rialto Theatre w/ SONIC YOUTH
01.05.10 Phoenix, AZ @ The Marquee Theatre w/ SONIC YOUTH
01.07.10 San Diego, CA @ The House of Blues w/ SONIC YOUTH
01.08.10 Pomona, CA @ The Fox Theatre w/ SONIC YOUTH
01.09.10 Los Angeles, CA @ The Wiltern w/ SONIC YOUTH
01.10.10 San Francisco, CA @ The Fillmore w/ SONIC YOUTH
Unearthed from the mines of Connecticut in 2001, Magik Markers have been brutalizing audiences with their shattering live appearances and recordings since the first part of this century. They are now living and creating on opposite sides of the country. Elisa Ambrogio recently moved to Seattle from San Francisco and Pete Nolan resides in Brooklyn but will be reunited for the tour.The band has cut a swath across noise, improv, free rock, no wave, punk and/or hardcore, usually all at once, bellowing forth a sound that leaves all reference points bloodied in the dust, scratching their collective heads and wondering, “What the fuck just happened?”- Michael Crumsho
DECEMBER JAMS SIC ALPS & MAGIK MARKERS
12.09.09 San Jose, CA @ The Blank Club
12.10.09 Santa Cruz, CA @ The Crepe Place
12.11.09 Los Angeles, CA @ the Smell
12.12.09 Oakland, CA @ The Continental Club
12.13.09 San Francisco, CA @ The Hemlock
12.15.09 Sacramento, CA @ The Hub
12.16.09 Portland, OR @ Eagles Lounge
12.17.09 Seattle, WA @ Chop Suey
12.18.09 Vancouver, BC @ Rickshaw Theatre
12.19.09 Olympia, WA @ Northern
12.20.09 Arcata, CA @ The Arcata Theater
01.04.10 Tucson, AZ @ The Rialto Theatre w/ SONIC YOUTH
01.05.10 Phoenix, AZ @ The Marquee Theatre w/ SONIC YOUTH
01.07.10 San Diego, CA @ The House of Blues w/ SONIC YOUTH
01.08.10 Pomona, CA @ The Fox Theatre w/ SONIC YOUTH
01.09.10 Los Angeles, CA @ The Wiltern w/ SONIC YOUTH
01.10.10 San Francisco, CA @ The Fillmore w/ SONIC YOUTH
Past Lives preps debut album, Tapestry of Webs, for Feb. release on Suicide Squeeze
MP3: "Hex Takes Hold" -
http://pitchfork.com/forkcast/13596-hex-takes-hold/
Past Lives-the Seattle quartet consisting of Jordan Blilie, Mark Gajadhar, Morgan Henderson and Devin Welch-present Tapestry of Webs, their debut full-length release, due Feb. 23, 2010. As the summer of 2009 pooled into the fall leaves and grey wash, the group captured 12 songs with producer/engineer Steve Fisk, taking initial tracks from Seattle's Avast! studios to Fisk's home recording den for completion.
The result is an album that crawls from the primordial ooze of anti-parent culture sound to stand on newly formed legs, moving forward with carefully considered steps. Here, sibling harmonies are offered to The Wickerman death-dub, tom-toms locked in hypnotic BPM. Guitars alternate between glistening pop tones, ethereal bliss-out and raw rhythmic ruin. Throughout, each song delves deep into the blank gaze, the experience of everyday living as viewed through the tired eyes of uncertainty and doubt. It's all kinda "vibey".
MySpace - http://www.myspace.com/pastlivesmusic
The Mother Hips announce new Fall 2009 and Winter 2010 dates
THE MOTHER HIPS EXPAND FALL TOUR SCHEDULE
& ANNOUNCE WINTER 2010 DATES
THE SAN FRANCISCO QUARTET IS MAKING WAVES WITH
PACIFIC DUST, NOW ON BILLBOARD'S HEATSEEKER CHART
NEW RECORD MIXES PURE AMERICANA STORYTELLING
WITH PSYCHEDELIC POWER POP
"Tim Bluhm & Greg Loiacano continue to churn out amazing album after amazing album...it's one of my favorites of ‘09." - Hearya.com
"A romping strain of countrified psychedelic power pop." - NEW YORKER
As the buzz around Pacific Dust, the brand new release from The Mother Hips, continues to build and the great reviews pour in, The Hips announce additional fall 2009 tour dates and their early 2010 winter tour schedule. The Bay Area psych-rockers continue to tour nationally behind Pacific Dust, their 11-song studio album, which reached # 82 on Billboards Heatseekers chart this week. After a recent return from the Northwest and a series of warm-up festival plays over the summer (including their own "Hipnic" Festival in Big Sur, CA) The Hips are excited to bring Pacific Dust and their "California-soul" to fans around North America.
The critically acclaimed Pacific Dust, the band's seventh studio album, was recorded at Mission Bells Studios in San Francisco with producer/engineer David Simon-Baker (Little Wings, Jackie Greene, Chris Velan, ALO).
The Mother Hips are on tour this fall/winter in support of Pacific Dust. The complete list of currently confirmed tour dates is as follows:
December 4-5 Emo's Austin TX
December 18-19 Great American Music Hall San Francisco CA
December 31 Marilyn's On K Sacramento CA
January 3-8 Jam Cruise 8 Fort Lauderdale FL
January 28 Hotel Cafe Los Angeles CA
January 29-30 Moe's Alley Santa Cruz CA
February 12 State Room Salt Lake City UT
February 13 Star Bar Park City UT
February 26 SOhO Santa Barbara CA
February 27 Belly Up Tavern Solana Beach CA
March 10 Bud Light Street Beat Vail CO
March 11 Paradise Theater Paonia CO
March 12 Hi-Dive Denver CO
March 13 Ghost Ranch Steamboat Springs CO
Additional dates to be announced.
The Mother Hips have flown under the radar as true indie music pioneers for almost two decades. With the release of their new album, California's unsung psych-pop heroes tell their story. Hailed by critics for their "rootsy mix of 70s rock and power pop" (pitchfork.com) and for their unflinching ability to "sing it sweet and play it dirty" (New Yorker), on Pacific Dust The Hips' signature sound rings more genuine and relevant than ever before.
The Hips - led by co-founders Tim Bluhm (vocals/guitar) and Greg Loiacono (guitar/vocals) - have been playing music for nearly 18 years, and in the process, have had the luxury of exploring and refining their craft. For the band's seventh full-length studio album, The Mother Hips have never been more primed to share their well-traveled tales - the long days and nights on the road, the gritty politics, the smart inward reflections and man, the music! - all delivered with a most appealing balance of Americana storytelling and their California-burnished rock.
DOWNLOAD TWO FREE MP3's from the new album Pacific Dust at:
http://www.motherhips.com/albums/golb09.html
"The Hips have created one of its best albums, and likely one of the year's best" - RELIX
"breezy, freewheeling melodies..." - BLURT
www.motherhips.com
& ANNOUNCE WINTER 2010 DATES
THE SAN FRANCISCO QUARTET IS MAKING WAVES WITH
PACIFIC DUST, NOW ON BILLBOARD'S HEATSEEKER CHART
NEW RECORD MIXES PURE AMERICANA STORYTELLING
WITH PSYCHEDELIC POWER POP
"Tim Bluhm & Greg Loiacano continue to churn out amazing album after amazing album...it's one of my favorites of ‘09." - Hearya.com
"A romping strain of countrified psychedelic power pop." - NEW YORKER
As the buzz around Pacific Dust, the brand new release from The Mother Hips, continues to build and the great reviews pour in, The Hips announce additional fall 2009 tour dates and their early 2010 winter tour schedule. The Bay Area psych-rockers continue to tour nationally behind Pacific Dust, their 11-song studio album, which reached # 82 on Billboards Heatseekers chart this week. After a recent return from the Northwest and a series of warm-up festival plays over the summer (including their own "Hipnic" Festival in Big Sur, CA) The Hips are excited to bring Pacific Dust and their "California-soul" to fans around North America.
The critically acclaimed Pacific Dust, the band's seventh studio album, was recorded at Mission Bells Studios in San Francisco with producer/engineer David Simon-Baker (Little Wings, Jackie Greene, Chris Velan, ALO).
The Mother Hips are on tour this fall/winter in support of Pacific Dust. The complete list of currently confirmed tour dates is as follows:
December 4-5 Emo's Austin TX
December 18-19 Great American Music Hall San Francisco CA
December 31 Marilyn's On K Sacramento CA
January 3-8 Jam Cruise 8 Fort Lauderdale FL
January 28 Hotel Cafe Los Angeles CA
January 29-30 Moe's Alley Santa Cruz CA
February 12 State Room Salt Lake City UT
February 13 Star Bar Park City UT
February 26 SOhO Santa Barbara CA
February 27 Belly Up Tavern Solana Beach CA
March 10 Bud Light Street Beat Vail CO
March 11 Paradise Theater Paonia CO
March 12 Hi-Dive Denver CO
March 13 Ghost Ranch Steamboat Springs CO
Additional dates to be announced.
The Mother Hips have flown under the radar as true indie music pioneers for almost two decades. With the release of their new album, California's unsung psych-pop heroes tell their story. Hailed by critics for their "rootsy mix of 70s rock and power pop" (pitchfork.com) and for their unflinching ability to "sing it sweet and play it dirty" (New Yorker), on Pacific Dust The Hips' signature sound rings more genuine and relevant than ever before.
The Hips - led by co-founders Tim Bluhm (vocals/guitar) and Greg Loiacono (guitar/vocals) - have been playing music for nearly 18 years, and in the process, have had the luxury of exploring and refining their craft. For the band's seventh full-length studio album, The Mother Hips have never been more primed to share their well-traveled tales - the long days and nights on the road, the gritty politics, the smart inward reflections and man, the music! - all delivered with a most appealing balance of Americana storytelling and their California-burnished rock.
DOWNLOAD TWO FREE MP3's from the new album Pacific Dust at:
http://www.motherhips.com/albums/golb09.html
"The Hips have created one of its best albums, and likely one of the year's best" - RELIX
"breezy, freewheeling melodies..." - BLURT
www.motherhips.com
MASTER To Embark On Five-Week South American Tour
Legendary death metal giants MASTER will embark on a five-week South American tour, stretching 15 dates across numerous Brazilian territories. Dubbed Masters Of Hate 2010, the tour will commence on January 14, 2010 with a final destination at the Otacílio Rock Festival in Santa Catarina, Brazil on February 21, 2010. Joining MASTER as tour-support throughout will be UK modern metallers After Death and Brazilian death metallers Predator.
1.14.10 - Sao Paulo/SP
1.15.10 - Rio de Janeiro/RJ
1.16.10 - Vilha Velha/ES
1.17.10 - Salvador/BA
1.22.10 - Aracaju/SE
1.23.10 - Maceio/AL
1.24.10 - Recife/PE
2.07.10 - Belem/PA
2.12.10 - Palmas/TO
2.13.10 - Goiania/GO
2.14.10 - Brasilia/DF
2.18.10 - Campinas/SP
2.19.10 - Santos/SP
2.20.10 Curitiba/PR
2.21.10 Otacílio Rock Festival in Santa Catarina Brazil
MASTER will enter the studio in the coming weeks to record their tenth studio album The Human Machine. Cover art was done by Israeli artist Eliran Kantor who was responsible for TESTAMENT's Formation Of Damnation cover among so many others. View The Human Machine cover art HERE.
The Human Machine will be released via Pulverised Records in 2010.
http://www.master-speckmetal.com
http://www.myspace.com/masterspeckmann
1.14.10 - Sao Paulo/SP
1.15.10 - Rio de Janeiro/RJ
1.16.10 - Vilha Velha/ES
1.17.10 - Salvador/BA
1.22.10 - Aracaju/SE
1.23.10 - Maceio/AL
1.24.10 - Recife/PE
2.07.10 - Belem/PA
2.12.10 - Palmas/TO
2.13.10 - Goiania/GO
2.14.10 - Brasilia/DF
2.18.10 - Campinas/SP
2.19.10 - Santos/SP
2.20.10 Curitiba/PR
2.21.10 Otacílio Rock Festival in Santa Catarina Brazil
MASTER will enter the studio in the coming weeks to record their tenth studio album The Human Machine. Cover art was done by Israeli artist Eliran Kantor who was responsible for TESTAMENT's Formation Of Damnation cover among so many others. View The Human Machine cover art HERE.
The Human Machine will be released via Pulverised Records in 2010.
http://www.master-speckmetal.com
http://www.myspace.com/masterspeckmann
Slow Six to release new full-length "Tomorrow Becomes You" via Western Vinyl on Jan 26, 2010
"Listening is like slipping into a warm aural bath...Tignor's beguiling compositions move seamlessly through several stages of development, often ending up somewhere distant from where they appeared to be headed at the outset." – The Wire
Western Vinyl (current or former home of Balmorhea, Dirty Projectors, Here We Go Magic, Ola Podrida, J. Tillman, and more) announces its first release of 2010. The Austin-based independent label will release Tomorrow Becomes You, the new album by Slow Six, on January 26th, 2010.
At the turn of the millennium in downtown New York, in an era of Moby and the Strokes, Slow Six was pulling up in front of clubs, loading in music stands, video projectors, a battery of string players, and a desktop computer programmed with custom software. Reading down its twenty-minute electro-acoustic scores to stunned audiences, Slow Six helped redefine what was possible when those who grew up with both classical and rock music re-imagined their surrounding musical landscape in their own image.
Today, so-called “cross-over” music is near ubiquitous, from New York's Wordless Music Series to bands like The Books and composers like Nico Muhly. Yet it is now, following the group's 2007 sophomore release for the prestigious classical label New Albion, that Slow Six returns to its experimental rock roots with Tomorrow Becomes You, an emotionally unrestrained full-length infused with taught rhythms, unraveling melodies, and detailed ambiances that owe as much to Tortoise and The Dirty Three as Steve Reich and Brian Eno.
In keeping with the Slow Six mantra, this is still music that changes – and changes us -slowly over time – the virtuosic, minimalist hocketing in “The Night You Left New York” slowly giving way to its eruptive guitar-soaked finale. But a new, welcomed optimism runs through Tomorrow Becomes You – never has the band’s light shown so brightly as in the record’s finale, “These Rivers Between Us”. The signature software creations of Slow Six's composer Christopher Tignor (free from the band’s site), which he uses to transform live sound, also make key appearances, creating unique electronic landscapes from talk radio on “Because Together We Resonate” and the players’ own performances on “Sympathetic Response System (part 2)”.
"Instinctively marrying amplified classical strings, fender rhodes piano and electric guitars...the dramatic tension created between instruments cascades over you with cut-glass perfection...8/10" – PopMatters
"In these two releases, Slow Six accomplishes something very rare in creating spellbinding art music that's wholly accessible to the masses without suffering any compromise to its artistic integrity." – Textura
"The gorgeous orchestration and complex rhythms make this album an engrossing, compulsive listening experience...8/10" – Foxy Digitalis
"a thing of rare, fragile beauty, urgently recommended to admirers
of Brian Eno's ambient music and West Coast minimalists like
Ingram Marshall and Harold Budd." – Time Out New York
"Each (song) has its own breath and life, and moves with a irit that
feels like a wise and aged soul...the music becomes more lovely
with every replay." – Brianwashed
Nouvellas Announce Debut Self-Titled Album Out December 8th on Ernest Jenning!
"Think Dusty Springfield backed by the Yardbirds..." - Music Snobbery
"We may be going out on a limb here, but if the Rollling Stones were fronted by a woman, they would sound not unlike NYC's Nouvellas." - The L Magazine
When the Nouvellas played their first show in late 2007, those in attendance remarked in disbelief about how tight and talented the band was. For a first show, the members all played in perfect synch with each other, as if they'd been playing together for years. Truth be told, they had been. They were all former members of the New York soul girl-group The Dansettes. When The Dansettes called it quits, the five of them decided that they were far from quitting the music scene, though all ready for a slight change. Vocalists Leah Fishman and Jaime Kozyra, along with the Pierce brothers - Dennis on guitar and Andy on drums - as well as Joseph Babic on bass, had a new vision: build on the solid soul foundation that was their reputation, but also blend in all of their other favorites. From the sounds of Lyn Collins and Bobbie Gentry to Steve Cropper and Black Sabbath; the group delivers something fun, something toe-tapping, something that will stick in your head for weeks to come!
The band hit the ground running, playing their first shows to packed houses with the likes of Mary Weiss of the Shangri-Las, the Reigning Sound and the Mooney Suzuki. It wasn't a huge surprise, as The Dansettes spent the last few years building a name for themselves while sharing the stage with bands including The Dirtbombs, Vampire Weekend, and The Electric Six, while also serving as a backing band for seasoned soul legends Archie Bell, The Mighty Hannibal, Roscoe Robinson, and Young Jesse. When the incomparable Sharon Jones makes an appearance in New York, Jaime and Leah can be seen on stage with her adding backing vocals to the arrangement - just as they did on Jones' most recent LP, so it comes as no surprise that Jones' Daptone label-mates, The Budos Band, can be heard lending a hand on the album closing "Right Kind Of Woman (Part Two)."
Nouvellas Live!
11.25.09 Asbury Park, NJ The Stone Pony w/ Nicole Atkins and The Black Sea
12.3.09 Brooklyn, NY Bruar Falls w/ The Sights
TBA December 2009 NY, NY Cakeshop - Nouvellas Holiday Spectacular!
www.myspace.com/nouvellas
Friday, November 20, 2009
Fang Island delivers sound of "everyone high-fiving everyone"
"A triumphant, heavily riffed, primarily instrumental epic, whiplashing through six minutes of smiling prog jams, and as many tempos as passages, before settling into one last minute of uplifting chants." -- Stereogum
"Life-affirming prog guitar anthems." – Seattle Stranger
Fang Island describes its sound as "everyone high-fiving everyone." And, the Brooklyn quintet's anthemic and soaring songs make it quite possibly one of few bands befitting such description.
Its finger-tapping guitar lines, chanted vocals, triumphant harmonies and overall perky songs hearken to the sort of "Total Music" of the Fucking Champs, Jay Reatard, Ponytail, Kraftwerk, Marnie Stern, Thin Lizzy, et al. But, perhaps more so, its songs are like the music in your head at that moment when everything feels just right: that first kiss, that high score on the video game, buying your first small nation in cash... you know, good stuff.
Nothing embodies the band's sense of optimism and enthusiasm better than this clip of Fang Island performing live for a classroom of kindergartners. Watch HERE.
Fang Island began, oddly enough, as an art school project while the band members were attending the prodigious Rhode Island School of Design (also the foundation for Yeah Yeah Yeahs, Les Savvy Fav, Lightning Bolt, Six Finger Satellite and some band called the Talking Heads.) According to guitarist Jason Bartell, the goal was to "make music for people who like music." That is, music without irony that harnesses its uplifting qualities. Just like a classic rock song or classical symphony can stir us emotionally, Fang Island exists to unlock that spirit.
Fang Island is guitarist Jason Bartell, bassist Philip Curcuru, guitarist Chris Georges, guitarist Nicholas Andrew Sadler, and drummer Marc St. Sauveur. They all share collective group vocal harmonies and the occasional hand claps. While Sadler is also known for his role in the debauched rock band Daughters, it is only his fretboard skill that translates between the two groups.
Fang Island begins appropriately with the sound of erupting fireworks on "Dreams of Dreams" leading into a cascading chorus of ringing guitar notes before the group vocal harmonies chime in with the mantra, "they all are within my reach, they are free." The second song, "Careful Crossers" launches in beneath the vocals with a chorus of gleaming guitar harmonies smeared over the marching, syncopated rhythm section. Elsewhere, tracks like "Sideswiper" hearken to the metal-laced positivity of Andrew WK. "Daisy" sounds like a unique collaboration between the Fucking Champs and Jay Reatard. Throughout the album, it's like listening to the cool version of classic rock -- the type of anthemic pop -- without the cheesiness -- that you wished Journey and Boston could've made.
Fang Island's debut album, Fang Island will be released February 23rd, 2010 via Sargent House.
http://www.myspace.com/fangisland
http://fangisland.com
http://digital.fangisland.com/
NEVER SHOUT NEVER LAUNCHES ACOUSTIC TOUR IN JANUARY IN SUPPORT OF MINI-ALBUM WHAT IS LOVE? — DUE JANUARY 26TH, 2010
VIDEO FOR THE TITLE TRACK TO PREMIERE ON MYSPACE ON DECEMBER 15TH * NEVER SHOUT NEVER WINS 2009 MTV “BREAKING WOODIE” AWARD
Burbank, CA – Christofer Drew, the 18-year-old singer-songwriter and guitarist who records under the name Never Shout Never, will hit the road in January for a solo acoustic tour in support of Never Shout Never’s eight-song mini-album, entitled What Is Love? The album, which was produced by Butch Walker (Weezer, Katy Perry, Pete Yorn) and recorded in both Los Angeles and London at the world-famous Abbey Road Studio, will be released by Loveway Records/Sire on January 26th, 2010. The tour begins January 13th in Little Rock, AR, and finishes up in Lawrence, KS, on January 30th. Please see below for all upcoming tour dates.
Drew will also perform a series of very special shows backed by a string quartet in December, including stops in Philadelphia, New York City, Foxboro, MA, and Hartford CT. He recently completed a headlining tour, culling tunes for his set from What Is Love?, as well as from the three EP’s he released on his own Loveway Records: The Yippee EP, the Me & My Uke EP, and The Summer EP, which broke into the iTunes Top 10 Album chart in June.
On December 8th, Never Shout Never will release a new physical EP exclusively through clothing retailer Hot Topic, which features two songs from What Is Love? (“Jane Doe” and “What is Love?”), a live track (“Big City Dreams”), a b-side (“She’s Got Style”), plus two music videos (“On the Brightside” and a live video of “Trouble”). Physical copies will be available for purchase exclusively at Hot Topic stores nationwide. The digital version will be available for purchase from all digital service providers on December 15th, as well as through www.shockhound.com and www.nevershoutnever.com. A video for the title track to What is Love? will premiere exclusively on MySpace on December 15th.
In other Never Shout Never news, Drew took home the coveted “Breaking Woodie” Award at the MTVu Woodie Awards on November 19th, beating out Grizzly Bear, Wale, La Roux, Friendly Fires, and Passion Pit. He was also voted “Best Dressed” during the live-blogging of the event on MTV’s website for his awesome Mickey Mouse sweater and rosary beads ensemble. Voted on by college students around the country, the coveted “Breaking Woodie” honors the best breakthrough artist of the year.
Never Shout Never’s upcoming tour dates are as follows:
12/16 Philadelphia, PA First Unitarian Church
12/17 New York, NY Highline Ballroom
12/18 Foxboro, MA Showcase Live
12/19 Hartford, CT Webster Theatre
12/20 S. Hackensack, NJ School of Rock
12/28 Covington, KY Mad Hatter Club
12/29 Detroit, MI St. Andrews Hall
12/30 Lemont, IL Jaguar Club
1/13 Little Rock, AR The Village
1/14 Birmingham, AL WorkPlay Theatre
1/15 Metairie, LA The High Ground
1/16 San Antonio, TX White Rabbit
1/17 Austin, TX Emo’s Alternative Lounge
1/19 Tulsa, OK Cains Ballroom 2nd Stage
1/20 Albuquerque, NM Launchpad
1/21 Flagstaff, AZ The Joint
1/22 St. George, UT The Electric Theater
1/23 Thousand Oaks, CA Teen Center
1/24 San Luis Obispo CA Downtown Brew
1/26 Fresno, CA Starline
1/27 Orangevale, CA The Boardwalk
1/29 Boulder, CO Club 156
1/30 Lawrence, KS The Bottleneck
www.nevershoutnever.com
Burbank, CA – Christofer Drew, the 18-year-old singer-songwriter and guitarist who records under the name Never Shout Never, will hit the road in January for a solo acoustic tour in support of Never Shout Never’s eight-song mini-album, entitled What Is Love? The album, which was produced by Butch Walker (Weezer, Katy Perry, Pete Yorn) and recorded in both Los Angeles and London at the world-famous Abbey Road Studio, will be released by Loveway Records/Sire on January 26th, 2010. The tour begins January 13th in Little Rock, AR, and finishes up in Lawrence, KS, on January 30th. Please see below for all upcoming tour dates.
Drew will also perform a series of very special shows backed by a string quartet in December, including stops in Philadelphia, New York City, Foxboro, MA, and Hartford CT. He recently completed a headlining tour, culling tunes for his set from What Is Love?, as well as from the three EP’s he released on his own Loveway Records: The Yippee EP, the Me & My Uke EP, and The Summer EP, which broke into the iTunes Top 10 Album chart in June.
On December 8th, Never Shout Never will release a new physical EP exclusively through clothing retailer Hot Topic, which features two songs from What Is Love? (“Jane Doe” and “What is Love?”), a live track (“Big City Dreams”), a b-side (“She’s Got Style”), plus two music videos (“On the Brightside” and a live video of “Trouble”). Physical copies will be available for purchase exclusively at Hot Topic stores nationwide. The digital version will be available for purchase from all digital service providers on December 15th, as well as through www.shockhound.com and www.nevershoutnever.com. A video for the title track to What is Love? will premiere exclusively on MySpace on December 15th.
In other Never Shout Never news, Drew took home the coveted “Breaking Woodie” Award at the MTVu Woodie Awards on November 19th, beating out Grizzly Bear, Wale, La Roux, Friendly Fires, and Passion Pit. He was also voted “Best Dressed” during the live-blogging of the event on MTV’s website for his awesome Mickey Mouse sweater and rosary beads ensemble. Voted on by college students around the country, the coveted “Breaking Woodie” honors the best breakthrough artist of the year.
Never Shout Never’s upcoming tour dates are as follows:
12/16 Philadelphia, PA First Unitarian Church
12/17 New York, NY Highline Ballroom
12/18 Foxboro, MA Showcase Live
12/19 Hartford, CT Webster Theatre
12/20 S. Hackensack, NJ School of Rock
12/28 Covington, KY Mad Hatter Club
12/29 Detroit, MI St. Andrews Hall
12/30 Lemont, IL Jaguar Club
1/13 Little Rock, AR The Village
1/14 Birmingham, AL WorkPlay Theatre
1/15 Metairie, LA The High Ground
1/16 San Antonio, TX White Rabbit
1/17 Austin, TX Emo’s Alternative Lounge
1/19 Tulsa, OK Cains Ballroom 2nd Stage
1/20 Albuquerque, NM Launchpad
1/21 Flagstaff, AZ The Joint
1/22 St. George, UT The Electric Theater
1/23 Thousand Oaks, CA Teen Center
1/24 San Luis Obispo CA Downtown Brew
1/26 Fresno, CA Starline
1/27 Orangevale, CA The Boardwalk
1/29 Boulder, CO Club 156
1/30 Lawrence, KS The Bottleneck
www.nevershoutnever.com
Caspian Announce US Tourdates w/ The Sainthood Reps (feat. members of Brand New!)
Quiet. Crescendo. Shimmering guitar. Crunch and thunder. Decrescendo. Sounds like a simple formula for a post-rock band, but you'd be surprised at how many get it wrong. Caspian, a Massachusetts post-rock crew, knows that "epic" doesnt have to mean an album of five 16+ minute songs, and the crew have the melodies to prove it. - Brooklyn Vegan
A solid record, a thoughtful masterpiece. - Absolutepunk
Caspian's just released their latest opus, Tertia - ten tracks that swirl, that twist and curl out of and into themselves, embracing the paradox of evoking the wildly specific by exploring the elusively abstract. There is a narrative, but it is spasmodic, fleeting moments, amidst songs like "La Cerva" and "Malacoda" where the instruments come together to an inextricable point, yet they seem to be uniting to deliver this: Things are about to fall apart. And then they do.
Tertia is, at it's blood pumping core, an aural descent through darkness towards a sun-soaked radiance. There is a sweeping sense of storytelling happening here, and fans of the band will have no difficulty assigning their own highly personal meaning to the narrative that unfolds. And yet, Tertia is also simply sixty minutes of new music written by five guys, inspired by the relentless cycle of performing on the road and experiencing a world much larger than the small oceanside town they call home. An honest reaction to life experience is being attempted, and it's taking form in a gloaming full of guitar flurries, bass throbs and pulsating, steady percussion.
Since forming in 2004 as a four-piece with no aspirations other than to create music they could collectively appreciate, the band have added a third guitarist, whose weighty presence makes its recording debut here. After playing their first show in their hometown of Beverly, Mass. five years ago, Caspian have been in a seemingly constant state of motion, bringing their sound well beyond borders they initially imagined, with a plan to add even more this Fall.
The rain of fists that was their debut EP, You Are The Conductor, bled into the distinctive-but-circular tone poems of their first full-length, The Four Trees. Now, Tertia. One word meaning 'three' - the sum is merely an echo of its parts, the parts always aching--or, at least trying--to be one.
Caspian Live!
w/ The Sainthood Reps
01.03 - The Space.. Hamden, CT
01.04 - The Haunt Ithaca, NY
01.05 - Broadway Amityville, NY
01.06 - The Ottobar Baltimore, MD
01.07 - The Triple Richmond, VA
01.08 - The Red and The Black Washington, DC
01.09 - Piano's NYC, NY
01.10 - The ICC Allston, MA
01.11 - Kings Row Derry, NH
01.12 - Firehouse XIII Providence RI
www.myspace.com/caspiantheband
Morningbell reveals new video and will release its new full-length, Sincerely, Severely, on December 1st, 2009!
Video: Morningbell -- "Let's Not Lose Our Heads" (via MBVmusic)
MP3: Morningbell -- "Stay In The Garden" (via Under The Radar)
Tour Dates Below!
Gainesville, FL’s Morningbell is back with its fourth full-length, Sincerely, Severely.
Brothers Eric and Travis Atria have been playing music together their whole lives. Stacie, Eric’s wife, joined the band a few years ago, and drummer Chris Hillman rounds out the mostly family affair that is Morningbell. Throughout the 2000s, Morningbell developed its own brand of melodic, psychedelic rock, rooting itself as a well-established tradition in the Florida music scene. After four successful national tours supporting 2007’s Through the Belly of the Sea, the band holed up in its home studio to record the group’s most ambitious effort to date.
Rhythm is king on Sincerely, Severely. The guitar, one of the most prominent instruments on the band’s previous releases, takes a back seat to bass and drums for an album that evokes everything from Curtis Mayfield to Tom Waits to African drumming and Brazilian folk music.
Morningbell Tour Dates:
11/20 - Bobo Gallery - Asheville, NC
11/21 - The Pinhook - Durham, NC
12/04 - Common Grounds - Gainesville, FL
01/09 - The Atlantic - Gainesville, FL
02/26 - Common Grounds - Gainesville, FL
“We wanted to make an album that reflects everything we are interested in,” says singer Travis Atria.
The result is the band’s best, most mature work yet. The breadth of influences, lyrically and musically, is vast. From Haitian proverbs (“Dancing in the Jaws of a Lion”) to the Book of Revelation (“Soul Ma’am”) to abstract art (“Hello, Dali”) to American spirituals (“Stay in the Garden”) . . . and from Mayfield and Waits to Paul Simon, Al Green, Isaac Hayes and more – Morningbell covers more ground in one album than many bands do in a career.
“Our albums tend to be cerebral,” Atria says. “This one isn’t. It’s direct. It’s sexual.”
The band recorded, produced, engineered and mixed the album, experimenting exhaustively with recording techniques and sounds. Sincerely, Severely reflects that adventurous spirit as well. Listen closely and you’ll hear a toothbrush used as percussion, horns, strings, kazoos, a dog’s bark and much more.
“We worked like motherfuckers on this one,” Atria says, “And it shows.”
Morningbell's music stands up best behind its captivating live performances. Armed with an arsenal of low budget lighting effects, Morningbell not only causes the stage to erupt with sound, but with it's trademarked ‘100-dollar light show’ too. The band has toured the Eastern U.S., including a set at Bonnaroo 2008 where it shared the stage with Bela Fleck, Broken Social Scene, and Solomon Burke.
www.myspace.com/morningbell
MP3: Morningbell -- "Stay In The Garden" (via Under The Radar)
Tour Dates Below!
Gainesville, FL’s Morningbell is back with its fourth full-length, Sincerely, Severely.
Brothers Eric and Travis Atria have been playing music together their whole lives. Stacie, Eric’s wife, joined the band a few years ago, and drummer Chris Hillman rounds out the mostly family affair that is Morningbell. Throughout the 2000s, Morningbell developed its own brand of melodic, psychedelic rock, rooting itself as a well-established tradition in the Florida music scene. After four successful national tours supporting 2007’s Through the Belly of the Sea, the band holed up in its home studio to record the group’s most ambitious effort to date.
Rhythm is king on Sincerely, Severely. The guitar, one of the most prominent instruments on the band’s previous releases, takes a back seat to bass and drums for an album that evokes everything from Curtis Mayfield to Tom Waits to African drumming and Brazilian folk music.
Morningbell Tour Dates:
11/20 - Bobo Gallery - Asheville, NC
11/21 - The Pinhook - Durham, NC
12/04 - Common Grounds - Gainesville, FL
01/09 - The Atlantic - Gainesville, FL
02/26 - Common Grounds - Gainesville, FL
“We wanted to make an album that reflects everything we are interested in,” says singer Travis Atria.
The result is the band’s best, most mature work yet. The breadth of influences, lyrically and musically, is vast. From Haitian proverbs (“Dancing in the Jaws of a Lion”) to the Book of Revelation (“Soul Ma’am”) to abstract art (“Hello, Dali”) to American spirituals (“Stay in the Garden”) . . . and from Mayfield and Waits to Paul Simon, Al Green, Isaac Hayes and more – Morningbell covers more ground in one album than many bands do in a career.
“Our albums tend to be cerebral,” Atria says. “This one isn’t. It’s direct. It’s sexual.”
The band recorded, produced, engineered and mixed the album, experimenting exhaustively with recording techniques and sounds. Sincerely, Severely reflects that adventurous spirit as well. Listen closely and you’ll hear a toothbrush used as percussion, horns, strings, kazoos, a dog’s bark and much more.
“We worked like motherfuckers on this one,” Atria says, “And it shows.”
Morningbell's music stands up best behind its captivating live performances. Armed with an arsenal of low budget lighting effects, Morningbell not only causes the stage to erupt with sound, but with it's trademarked ‘100-dollar light show’ too. The band has toured the Eastern U.S., including a set at Bonnaroo 2008 where it shared the stage with Bela Fleck, Broken Social Scene, and Solomon Burke.
www.myspace.com/morningbell
THE CRIBS ANNOUNCE FULL AMERICAN TOUR DETAILS FOR JANUARY 2010
Burbank, CA – Wakefield + Manchester + Portland = melodic punk rock quartet THE CRIBS who celebrate the release of their brand new, critically-embraced Warner Bros. Records album IGNORE THE IGNORANT, with news of a coast-to-coast American tour beginning January, 2010. Following their recently completed blitz upon Los Angeles and New York which included their second barnstorming performance on The Late Show with David Letterman, (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DVdp5hKSAKo ) THE CRIBS return, stronger, louder and more forceful than ever:
“The Cribs are following a forked path to a great catharsis.” – Rolling Stone
“Another pile of consistently great pop songs.” – Alternative Press
“Mostly brilliant….they are able to paint outside the lines with the added shadings, nodding to Sonic Youth and The Smiths.” -- Spin
“One of the UK’s best bands are about to find themselves in an even brighter spotlight.” – Nylon
“They are a down-to-Earth, no bullshit kind of group... Likewise, the crowd didn't seem to pay Marr's presence any mind -- as they were too busy going mental. I'm a Cribs fan, but I do think this was the best I've seen them since they made the leap from smaller-sized clubs.” – BrooklynVegan.Com
At present, THE CRIBS are on a brief stadium tour of Europe with old friends Franz Ferdinand (you’ll recall Franz’ Alex Kapranos produced THE CRIBS' last album, MEN’S NEEDS, WOMEN’S NEEDS, WHATEVER), followed by an arena headline tour of the UK before heading back to the USA for more chaotic fan frenzy which has become the trademark atmosphere of their live shows around the world. You’ll be hard-pressed to find a more engaged audience/band bond from anyone else touring today. Do yourself a favor – don’t miss THE CRIBS live in 2010. Confirmed dates as follows:
Wed Jan 13 Lincoln Hall Chicago, IL
Thur Jan 14 The Magic Bag Ferndale, MI
Fri Jan 15 Phoenix Theatre Toronto, ONT
Sat Jan 16 Irving Plaza New York, NY
Sun Jan 17 Paradise Boston, MA
Tue Jan 19 9:30 Club Washington, DC
Wed Jan 20 The Earl Atlanta, GA
Fri Jan 22 Granada Theatre Dallas, TX
Sat Jan 23 The Parish Austin, TX
Tue Jan 26 The Glass House Pomona, CA
Wed Jan 27 Bimbo's 365 Club San Francisco, CA
Fri Jan 29 Wonder Ballroom Portland, OR
Sat Jan 30 Showbox Theatre Seattle, WA
Sun Jan 31 The Venue Vancouver, BC
Support from special guests will be Adam Green and The Dead Trees Jan 13 – 22. Jemina Pearl will support as special guest from Jan 26 – 31.
“We Share the Same Skies,” from IGNORE THE IGNORANT, will be the first track and video to hit domestic audio/visual airwaves (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1DbcAl3EbIs). Until then, you know what to do.
For tour dates, merch and more visit
www.thecribs.com
“The Cribs are following a forked path to a great catharsis.” – Rolling Stone
“Another pile of consistently great pop songs.” – Alternative Press
“Mostly brilliant….they are able to paint outside the lines with the added shadings, nodding to Sonic Youth and The Smiths.” -- Spin
“One of the UK’s best bands are about to find themselves in an even brighter spotlight.” – Nylon
“They are a down-to-Earth, no bullshit kind of group... Likewise, the crowd didn't seem to pay Marr's presence any mind -- as they were too busy going mental. I'm a Cribs fan, but I do think this was the best I've seen them since they made the leap from smaller-sized clubs.” – BrooklynVegan.Com
At present, THE CRIBS are on a brief stadium tour of Europe with old friends Franz Ferdinand (you’ll recall Franz’ Alex Kapranos produced THE CRIBS' last album, MEN’S NEEDS, WOMEN’S NEEDS, WHATEVER), followed by an arena headline tour of the UK before heading back to the USA for more chaotic fan frenzy which has become the trademark atmosphere of their live shows around the world. You’ll be hard-pressed to find a more engaged audience/band bond from anyone else touring today. Do yourself a favor – don’t miss THE CRIBS live in 2010. Confirmed dates as follows:
Wed Jan 13 Lincoln Hall Chicago, IL
Thur Jan 14 The Magic Bag Ferndale, MI
Fri Jan 15 Phoenix Theatre Toronto, ONT
Sat Jan 16 Irving Plaza New York, NY
Sun Jan 17 Paradise Boston, MA
Tue Jan 19 9:30 Club Washington, DC
Wed Jan 20 The Earl Atlanta, GA
Fri Jan 22 Granada Theatre Dallas, TX
Sat Jan 23 The Parish Austin, TX
Tue Jan 26 The Glass House Pomona, CA
Wed Jan 27 Bimbo's 365 Club San Francisco, CA
Fri Jan 29 Wonder Ballroom Portland, OR
Sat Jan 30 Showbox Theatre Seattle, WA
Sun Jan 31 The Venue Vancouver, BC
Support from special guests will be Adam Green and The Dead Trees Jan 13 – 22. Jemina Pearl will support as special guest from Jan 26 – 31.
“We Share the Same Skies,” from IGNORE THE IGNORANT, will be the first track and video to hit domestic audio/visual airwaves (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1DbcAl3EbIs). Until then, you know what to do.
For tour dates, merch and more visit
www.thecribs.com
Thursday, November 19, 2009
Groove Armada Returns With "Black Light" Out Feb. 2010
New CD, Black Light, Drops Feb 2010, featuring Bryan Ferry, Nick Littlemore, SaintSaviour and Others
Check out their amazing video for "I Won't Kneel" HERE
Andy Cato and Tom Findlay, better known together as Groove Armada, will release their sixth studio album, Black Light, February 23, 2010 in the U.S. The album, which features an impressive list of guest artists, represents a bold new phase in the duo’s artistic evolution, while maintaining a signature Groove Armada style that fans have come to know and love.
Drawing inspiration from Lovebox – their award-winning London festival featuring bands like the Friendly Fires, the Klaxons, LCD Soundsystem, Ladyhawke and MGMT – the band has taken their songwriting in an unexpected and original direction. “We could've knocked out an album of reggae-influenced house bangers and a couple of chill-out tunes, and that would've been a much easier life," explains Andy. "But we needed a new challenge. Neither of us was interested in just repeating ourselves.” The bands at Lovebox, however, played a large part in bringing the band back towards their influences. “They're the ones really leading the charge, making genuinely exciting, dance-informed music. And that sound really pushed us back towards people like Bowie, Gary Numan, New Order, Fleetwood Mac and Roxy Music."
Listening to Roxy Music’s classic “Love Is A Drug” on repeat during the recording sessions for Black Light led to the ultimate coup for Groove Armada, as Roxy Music’s vocalist Bryan Ferry lends his vocals to the track “Shameless.” Other standout guest stars on Black Light include SaintSaviour, who has been described as a cross between Kate Bush and Anthony & The Johnsons, as well as Brooklyn She Keeps Bees songstress Jess Larabee and Nick Littlemore from the Aussie electronic sensation Empire of the Sun who collaborates vocally on several of the album’s tracks.
Groove Armada couldn’t be more proud of Black Light. “It's amazing to make a record at this point in your career that you're viscerally excited about," says Tom. "But that's honestly how I feel." Andy is quick to agree. "I think even people who've hated everything we've ever made before could absolutely love this record. I'm incredibly proud of it. If I could leave just one album of ours behind, there is absolutely no question as to which one it would be."
“I Won’t Kneel,” the first single from Black Light, features a scintillating vocal from SaintSaviour, The track is currently available on iTunes, along with remixes by Mock & Toof, Bloody Beetroots, and more!
THE PHENOMENAL HANDCLAP BAND TO PERFORM IN EUROPE WITH FRANZ FERDINAND, FINISH OFF THE YEAR IN AUSTRALIA, HEADLINE BOWERY BALLROOM IN NYC 12/11
NYC collective The Phenomenal Handclap Band will be performing their final NYC show of the year, headlining the Bowery Ballroom [6 Delancey St.] for the first time on Friday, December 11th. Opening will be Javelin and Eclectic Method. Show is 18+, Doors at 8pm. The band has been playing select dates across North America with Simian Mobile Disco, Chromeo and Bajofondo among others in support of their self-titled debut on Friendly Fire Recordings. They will return to Europe once more to play several dates with Franz Ferdinand, capping off the year with performances at festivals throughout Australia.
Led by Daniel Collás and Sean Marquand, (producers/musicians/pals/DJs), The Phenomenal Handclap Band has been touring behind their self-titled album, out now on Friendly Fire Recordings. The album features contributions from their friends in TV on the Radio, Antibalas, The Dap Kings, The Jon Spencer Blues Explosion, L'Trimm, Calla, The Mooney Suzuki, Sí Se, and Honeycut among others. Live they are an 8-piece band, with a variety of special guests.
The band recently released a sizeable remix album for "15 to 20"/"You'll Disappear," featuring some of the finest electronic artists around the world, including Prins Thomas, Montee, Horse Meat Disco, Ilya Sanatana and more. They also released a video for the single, "15 to 20," a song RollingStone.com called "Summer's First Party Jam" and one of SPIN's "Songs You Must Hear Now!" Directed by Moh Azima, the video was filmed at various locations in New York City. The band also performed "15 to 20" for a recent Live on KEXP Session from the Cutting Room Studios in NYC.
"...equal parts psychedelia, proto-disco, heavy rock 'n' roll, '60s soul and hip-hop - what NPR Music calls "a perfect mix of everything from the past 40 years of popular music." - NPR 'All Songs Considered'
"...buzzing, burbling four-on-the-floor dancefloor fillers... a resounding success" - Pitchfork
"The PHB's sense of style is spot-on..." - Entertainment Weekly
"...musically diverse, incredibly melodic and dance-floor ready. It's the kind of album that gives cookie-cutter pop the trashing it deserves." - New York Post
"...an impressive hodge-podge of various accomplished musicians simultaneously channeling the energy of !!!, Tom Tom Club, Can, Cerrone, and Giorgio Moroder in a surreal explosion of sound." - XLR8R
"It's hard to describe the all-encompassing sound of thePhenomenal Handclap Band. The New York based collective drapes a layer of electro-disco sheen over '60s-inspired psychedelic prog-rock, creating danceable freak-out fusion worth its weight in mirror balls." - Waxpoetics
Check out PHB's Bowery Ballroom 12/11 Facebook Invite here.
The Phenomenal Handclap Band On Tour:
Nov 20 The Rest Is Noise London, Brixton, UK
Nov 21 Paradiso Amsterdam, NETHERLANDS
Nov 22 MOD Hasselt, BELGIUM
Nov 23 Trix Antwerp, BELGIUM
Nov 25 Karlstorbahnhof Heidelberg, GERMANY
Nov 26 Prinzenbar Hamburg, GERMANY
Nov 27 Haus Am Köllnischen Park Berlin, GERMANY
Nov 28 Atomic Cafe Munich, GERMANY
Nov 29 Scopitone Club Paris, FRANCE
Dec 2 Camp Pequeno Bullring w/ Franz Ferdinand Lisbon, PORTUGAL
Dec 3 Ramdell Madrid, SPAIN
Dec 4 Pabellon Principe Felipe w/ Franz Ferdinand Zaragoza, SPAIN
Dec 5 Pavello Olimpic de Badalon w/ Franz Ferdinand Barcelona, SPAIN
Dec 7 Palatorino w/ Franz Ferdinand Torino, ITALY
Dec 8 Palazzo dei Tursmo w/ Franz Ferdinand Jesolo, ITALY
Dec 11 Bowery Ballroom New York, New York
Dec 12 Rock and Roll Hotel Washington DC, Washington DC
Dec 31 Falls Festival Lorne, Victoria, AUSTRALIA
Jan 1 Field Day Festival Sydney, New South Wales, AUSTRALIA
Jan 2 Corner Hotel w/ Chairlift Melbourne, Victoria, AUSTRALIA
Jan 6 Sunset Sounds Festival Brisbane, Queensland, AUSTRALIA
Jan 7 Manning Bar w/ Chairlift Sydney, New South Wales, AUSTRALIA
Jan 9 Southbound Festival Busselton, Western Australia
For more info, please visit:
http://www.phenomenalhandclapband.com
http://www.myspace.com/phenomenalhandclap
Led by Daniel Collás and Sean Marquand, (producers/musicians/pals/DJs), The Phenomenal Handclap Band has been touring behind their self-titled album, out now on Friendly Fire Recordings. The album features contributions from their friends in TV on the Radio, Antibalas, The Dap Kings, The Jon Spencer Blues Explosion, L'Trimm, Calla, The Mooney Suzuki, Sí Se, and Honeycut among others. Live they are an 8-piece band, with a variety of special guests.
The band recently released a sizeable remix album for "15 to 20"/"You'll Disappear," featuring some of the finest electronic artists around the world, including Prins Thomas, Montee, Horse Meat Disco, Ilya Sanatana and more. They also released a video for the single, "15 to 20," a song RollingStone.com called "Summer's First Party Jam" and one of SPIN's "Songs You Must Hear Now!" Directed by Moh Azima, the video was filmed at various locations in New York City. The band also performed "15 to 20" for a recent Live on KEXP Session from the Cutting Room Studios in NYC.
"...equal parts psychedelia, proto-disco, heavy rock 'n' roll, '60s soul and hip-hop - what NPR Music calls "a perfect mix of everything from the past 40 years of popular music." - NPR 'All Songs Considered'
"...buzzing, burbling four-on-the-floor dancefloor fillers... a resounding success" - Pitchfork
"The PHB's sense of style is spot-on..." - Entertainment Weekly
"...musically diverse, incredibly melodic and dance-floor ready. It's the kind of album that gives cookie-cutter pop the trashing it deserves." - New York Post
"...an impressive hodge-podge of various accomplished musicians simultaneously channeling the energy of !!!, Tom Tom Club, Can, Cerrone, and Giorgio Moroder in a surreal explosion of sound." - XLR8R
"It's hard to describe the all-encompassing sound of thePhenomenal Handclap Band. The New York based collective drapes a layer of electro-disco sheen over '60s-inspired psychedelic prog-rock, creating danceable freak-out fusion worth its weight in mirror balls." - Waxpoetics
Check out PHB's Bowery Ballroom 12/11 Facebook Invite here.
The Phenomenal Handclap Band On Tour:
Nov 20 The Rest Is Noise London, Brixton, UK
Nov 21 Paradiso Amsterdam, NETHERLANDS
Nov 22 MOD Hasselt, BELGIUM
Nov 23 Trix Antwerp, BELGIUM
Nov 25 Karlstorbahnhof Heidelberg, GERMANY
Nov 26 Prinzenbar Hamburg, GERMANY
Nov 27 Haus Am Köllnischen Park Berlin, GERMANY
Nov 28 Atomic Cafe Munich, GERMANY
Nov 29 Scopitone Club Paris, FRANCE
Dec 2 Camp Pequeno Bullring w/ Franz Ferdinand Lisbon, PORTUGAL
Dec 3 Ramdell Madrid, SPAIN
Dec 4 Pabellon Principe Felipe w/ Franz Ferdinand Zaragoza, SPAIN
Dec 5 Pavello Olimpic de Badalon w/ Franz Ferdinand Barcelona, SPAIN
Dec 7 Palatorino w/ Franz Ferdinand Torino, ITALY
Dec 8 Palazzo dei Tursmo w/ Franz Ferdinand Jesolo, ITALY
Dec 11 Bowery Ballroom New York, New York
Dec 12 Rock and Roll Hotel Washington DC, Washington DC
Dec 31 Falls Festival Lorne, Victoria, AUSTRALIA
Jan 1 Field Day Festival Sydney, New South Wales, AUSTRALIA
Jan 2 Corner Hotel w/ Chairlift Melbourne, Victoria, AUSTRALIA
Jan 6 Sunset Sounds Festival Brisbane, Queensland, AUSTRALIA
Jan 7 Manning Bar w/ Chairlift Sydney, New South Wales, AUSTRALIA
Jan 9 Southbound Festival Busselton, Western Australia
For more info, please visit:
http://www.phenomenalhandclapband.com
http://www.myspace.com/phenomenalhandclap
THE HEAVY METAL TOUR OF A LIFETIME!! (If you're into that sort of thing.)
YES, THE RUMORS ARE TRUE:
SLAYER, MEGADETH TEAM UP FOR
"AMERICAN CARNAGE"
Co-Headliners to Tour the U.S. Together For the First Time in Nearly Two Decades
Testament to be Special Guest
Recession-Proof $10.00 Tickets Available in All U.S. Markets
Los Angeles, CA - MONDAY, November 16, 2009 -- Slayer. Megadeth. Two names synonymous with fierce, crunching power. Two bands whose histories are inevitably intertwined in defining the thrash/metal genre. Individually, their respective prowess and accomplishments are impressive; but together, they're brutal and unstoppable. Megadeth and Slayer will join forces to co-headline "American Carnage," the most blistering, the most explosive, and the most eagerly anticipated mega-tour of the winter - and you do not want to miss it.
"American Carnage" will kick off on January 18 in Seattle, WA for a 26-date trek across North America that will include the six Canadian dates postponed earlier this month. Tickets for most shows go on sale this Friday, November 20. Ticketmaster is offering a special presale for most shows from Wednesday November 18 at 10am until Thursday November 19 at 10pm.
"American Carnage" is the first time that Slayer and Megadeth will have toured the U.S. together since 1991's epic "Clash of the Titans" tour. To celebrate that and in recognition of the tough economic times that many of their fans are having, Megadeth and Slayer have decided to roll back the price of a chunk of tickets at every U.S. show to the "1991 price" of $10.00. These specially-priced tickets will be limited and when they're gone, they're gone. Megadeth has also teamed with iloveallaccess.com to provide an Ultimate Fan Package including premium seats, meet and greets, pre-show parties and more.
In addition, Testament - who was also on the "Clash of the Titans" bill, will be Special Guests on the entire tour, marking the first time that all three bands have shared a stage together in more than 18 years, and making this a "must see" metal event.
Both Megadeth and Slayer will hit the road supporting new albums: Megadeth's 2009 album, ENDGAME, while Slayer's World Painted Blood, the band's 10th studio venture, hit stores November 3. Testament's The Formation of Damnation: Special Tour Edition, will be released on February 23, 2010, with special unreleased bonus tracks.
Slayer and Megadeth have already massacred territories together outside of the U.S. - first with four explosive dates in June, 2009 across Western Canada - "Canadian Carnage" - marking the first time the bands had shared a stage anywhere in 18 years; and then six co-headlining "Carnage" dates in Australia followed in October.
According to various Canadian press outlets last summer: "It was a night of thrash impossible to trash..." "Tales about war, death, destruction, Satan, aliens and serial killers have never been so much fun..." "The two heavy metal heavyweights ...went head-to-head on a level playing field. Both bands brought their 'A' game. And the results were anything but pretty - unless you include pretty freakin' loud and pretty freakin' awesome."
Slayer. Few bands come close to matching the intensity that Slayer - guitarists Kerry King and Jeff Hanneman, vocalist/bassist Tom Araya and drummer Dave Lombardo - brings to its live shows, having been named "Best Live Band" by numerous media outlets including Revolver, SPIN, and Metal Hammer. World Painted Blood offers a Slayer-ized point of view of our world - God's terrifying global genocide, the chaos of our broken political system, the way-too-close proximity of world horrors that technology has brought us, and a chilling hypothesis of how the rest of the world might view America. The album was recorded in Los Angeles over two time periods, during October 2008 and then between late January and March 2009. World Painted Blood was produced by Greg Fidelman, who's spent time in the studio with Metallica, the Gossip, the (International) Noise Conspiracy, Slipknot and others, and executive produced by long-time Slayer colleague, Rick Rubin, who suggested Fidelman for the project. One reviewer called the album "the heaviest, bloodiest and best album in almost two decades." Fans got a couple of early morsels of the brutal new Slayer material -- "Psychopathy Red," a Hanneman song inspired by the heinous Russian serial killer Andrei Chikatilo, who confessed to savagely murdering 56 children, was recorded last October and then leaked online. Then, the King-penned track, "Hate Worldwide," was made available in July as a limited-edition single through Hot Topic. For "American Carnage," Slayer's Tom Araya promises, "no ballads, no acoustic numbers, no slow tempos."
Megadeth. 2009 saw the release of ENDGAME, what has been heralded as Megadeth’s best album in years. It’s the record where it all comes full circle in a career that has not only set standards in hard rock and metal, but defined them. Megadeth’s signature shredding and rousing lyrics are the hallmarks of ENDGAME, with vocalist/guitarist Dave Mustaine once musing and making declarations about the world we live in, having named the album after a government document that should strike fear in the hearts of Americans! But that’s Mustaine and Megadeth, using the vehicle of music to shake things up, to make a point and to rattle your brain, literally, figuratively and sonically. Revolver magazine said of ENDGAME, ““One of their best albums.” VH1’s That Metal Show deemed it, “One of the metal albums of the year”, and Popmatters said, ““the record positively scorches with an intensity not heard since Rust in Peace.
Legendary thrash metal titans Testament, whose latest award-winning release (2008 Album of the Year, Metal Hammer's Golden God Award) The Formation of Damnation, displays them as the quintessential modern heavy metal band, whose experience and accumulated skill allows them to attack with reserves of anger, energy and finesse that make them more powerful than ever. Lead singer Chuck Billy says, "Uniting these bands is the heavy metal event of generations. We are so proud to be a part of it."
Slayer and Megadeth are also re-scheduling the east coast leg of the “Canadian Carnage” tour, postponed from this fall.
JANUARY
18 WaMu Theatre, Seattle, WA*
19 Memorial Coliseum, Portland, OR - tickets sold via www.rosequarter.com
21 Cow Palace, San Francisco, CA*
22 Long Beach Arena, Long Beach, CA* (tickets on sale 11/21)
23 Dodge Theatre, Phoenix, AZ**
25 Magness Arena, Denver, CO*
26 Tingley Coliseum, Albuquerque, NM*
27 El Paso Coliseum, El Paso, TX*
29 Verizon Wireless, Houston, TX**
31 Municipal Auditorium, Nashville, TN*
FEBRUARY
1 Gwinnett Arena, Duluth, GA* (tickets on sale 11/20)
2 Broadbent Arena, Louisville, KY* (tickets on sale 12/4)
4 Roy Wilkins Auditorium, Minneapolis, MN* (tickets on sale 12/4)
5 UIC Pavilion, Chicago, IL* (tickets on sale 12/4)
6 Cobo Arena, Detroit, MI*
9 Chevrolet Theatre, Wallingford, CT**
11 Izod Center, East Rutherford, NJ*
13 Susquehanna Center, Camden, NJ*
14 Tsongas Arena, Lowell, MA*
16 Pavillon de La Jeunesse, Quebec City, QC - tickets sold via Billetech.com
18 John Labatt Centre, London, ON - tickets on sale 11/27 via JohnLabattCentre.com
19 Air Canada Centre, Toronto, ON - tickets sold via Ticketmaster.ca
20 Bell Centre, Montreal, QC - tickets sold via Admission.com
22 Moncton Coliseum, Moncton, NB - tickets sold via MonctonColiseum.com
23 Metro Centre, Halifax, NS - tickets sold via TicketAtlantic.com
* tickets sold through Ticketmaster
** tickets sold through LiveNation.com
SLAYER, MEGADETH TEAM UP FOR
"AMERICAN CARNAGE"
Co-Headliners to Tour the U.S. Together For the First Time in Nearly Two Decades
Testament to be Special Guest
Recession-Proof $10.00 Tickets Available in All U.S. Markets
Los Angeles, CA - MONDAY, November 16, 2009 -- Slayer. Megadeth. Two names synonymous with fierce, crunching power. Two bands whose histories are inevitably intertwined in defining the thrash/metal genre. Individually, their respective prowess and accomplishments are impressive; but together, they're brutal and unstoppable. Megadeth and Slayer will join forces to co-headline "American Carnage," the most blistering, the most explosive, and the most eagerly anticipated mega-tour of the winter - and you do not want to miss it.
"American Carnage" will kick off on January 18 in Seattle, WA for a 26-date trek across North America that will include the six Canadian dates postponed earlier this month. Tickets for most shows go on sale this Friday, November 20. Ticketmaster is offering a special presale for most shows from Wednesday November 18 at 10am until Thursday November 19 at 10pm.
"American Carnage" is the first time that Slayer and Megadeth will have toured the U.S. together since 1991's epic "Clash of the Titans" tour. To celebrate that and in recognition of the tough economic times that many of their fans are having, Megadeth and Slayer have decided to roll back the price of a chunk of tickets at every U.S. show to the "1991 price" of $10.00. These specially-priced tickets will be limited and when they're gone, they're gone. Megadeth has also teamed with iloveallaccess.com to provide an Ultimate Fan Package including premium seats, meet and greets, pre-show parties and more.
In addition, Testament - who was also on the "Clash of the Titans" bill, will be Special Guests on the entire tour, marking the first time that all three bands have shared a stage together in more than 18 years, and making this a "must see" metal event.
Both Megadeth and Slayer will hit the road supporting new albums: Megadeth's 2009 album, ENDGAME, while Slayer's World Painted Blood, the band's 10th studio venture, hit stores November 3. Testament's The Formation of Damnation: Special Tour Edition, will be released on February 23, 2010, with special unreleased bonus tracks.
Slayer and Megadeth have already massacred territories together outside of the U.S. - first with four explosive dates in June, 2009 across Western Canada - "Canadian Carnage" - marking the first time the bands had shared a stage anywhere in 18 years; and then six co-headlining "Carnage" dates in Australia followed in October.
According to various Canadian press outlets last summer: "It was a night of thrash impossible to trash..." "Tales about war, death, destruction, Satan, aliens and serial killers have never been so much fun..." "The two heavy metal heavyweights ...went head-to-head on a level playing field. Both bands brought their 'A' game. And the results were anything but pretty - unless you include pretty freakin' loud and pretty freakin' awesome."
Slayer. Few bands come close to matching the intensity that Slayer - guitarists Kerry King and Jeff Hanneman, vocalist/bassist Tom Araya and drummer Dave Lombardo - brings to its live shows, having been named "Best Live Band" by numerous media outlets including Revolver, SPIN, and Metal Hammer. World Painted Blood offers a Slayer-ized point of view of our world - God's terrifying global genocide, the chaos of our broken political system, the way-too-close proximity of world horrors that technology has brought us, and a chilling hypothesis of how the rest of the world might view America. The album was recorded in Los Angeles over two time periods, during October 2008 and then between late January and March 2009. World Painted Blood was produced by Greg Fidelman, who's spent time in the studio with Metallica, the Gossip, the (International) Noise Conspiracy, Slipknot and others, and executive produced by long-time Slayer colleague, Rick Rubin, who suggested Fidelman for the project. One reviewer called the album "the heaviest, bloodiest and best album in almost two decades." Fans got a couple of early morsels of the brutal new Slayer material -- "Psychopathy Red," a Hanneman song inspired by the heinous Russian serial killer Andrei Chikatilo, who confessed to savagely murdering 56 children, was recorded last October and then leaked online. Then, the King-penned track, "Hate Worldwide," was made available in July as a limited-edition single through Hot Topic. For "American Carnage," Slayer's Tom Araya promises, "no ballads, no acoustic numbers, no slow tempos."
Megadeth. 2009 saw the release of ENDGAME, what has been heralded as Megadeth’s best album in years. It’s the record where it all comes full circle in a career that has not only set standards in hard rock and metal, but defined them. Megadeth’s signature shredding and rousing lyrics are the hallmarks of ENDGAME, with vocalist/guitarist Dave Mustaine once musing and making declarations about the world we live in, having named the album after a government document that should strike fear in the hearts of Americans! But that’s Mustaine and Megadeth, using the vehicle of music to shake things up, to make a point and to rattle your brain, literally, figuratively and sonically. Revolver magazine said of ENDGAME, ““One of their best albums.” VH1’s That Metal Show deemed it, “One of the metal albums of the year”, and Popmatters said, ““the record positively scorches with an intensity not heard since Rust in Peace.
Legendary thrash metal titans Testament, whose latest award-winning release (2008 Album of the Year, Metal Hammer's Golden God Award) The Formation of Damnation, displays them as the quintessential modern heavy metal band, whose experience and accumulated skill allows them to attack with reserves of anger, energy and finesse that make them more powerful than ever. Lead singer Chuck Billy says, "Uniting these bands is the heavy metal event of generations. We are so proud to be a part of it."
Slayer and Megadeth are also re-scheduling the east coast leg of the “Canadian Carnage” tour, postponed from this fall.
JANUARY
18 WaMu Theatre, Seattle, WA*
19 Memorial Coliseum, Portland, OR - tickets sold via www.rosequarter.com
21 Cow Palace, San Francisco, CA*
22 Long Beach Arena, Long Beach, CA* (tickets on sale 11/21)
23 Dodge Theatre, Phoenix, AZ**
25 Magness Arena, Denver, CO*
26 Tingley Coliseum, Albuquerque, NM*
27 El Paso Coliseum, El Paso, TX*
29 Verizon Wireless, Houston, TX**
31 Municipal Auditorium, Nashville, TN*
FEBRUARY
1 Gwinnett Arena, Duluth, GA* (tickets on sale 11/20)
2 Broadbent Arena, Louisville, KY* (tickets on sale 12/4)
4 Roy Wilkins Auditorium, Minneapolis, MN* (tickets on sale 12/4)
5 UIC Pavilion, Chicago, IL* (tickets on sale 12/4)
6 Cobo Arena, Detroit, MI*
9 Chevrolet Theatre, Wallingford, CT**
11 Izod Center, East Rutherford, NJ*
13 Susquehanna Center, Camden, NJ*
14 Tsongas Arena, Lowell, MA*
16 Pavillon de La Jeunesse, Quebec City, QC - tickets sold via Billetech.com
18 John Labatt Centre, London, ON - tickets on sale 11/27 via JohnLabattCentre.com
19 Air Canada Centre, Toronto, ON - tickets sold via Ticketmaster.ca
20 Bell Centre, Montreal, QC - tickets sold via Admission.com
22 Moncton Coliseum, Moncton, NB - tickets sold via MonctonColiseum.com
23 Metro Centre, Halifax, NS - tickets sold via TicketAtlantic.com
* tickets sold through Ticketmaster
** tickets sold through LiveNation.com
Native Instruments Introduces SONIC FICTION
Berlin, November 16th, 2009 - Native Instruments today introduced SONIC FICTION, a new KORE-Powered instrument that combines inventive field recording with advanced synthesis into an arsenal of hundreds of genuinely otherworldly sounds. Designed by prolific sound design artist Jeremiah Savage and usable with KORE 2 and the free KORE PLAYER, the instrument provides musicians and producers with a inspirational resource for movie and game scoring, modern sound design and various electronic music styles.
Expanding on sound design paradigms established with Jeremiah Savage's previous ACOUSTIC REFRACTIONS collection, the sounds in SONIC FICTION are inspired by imaginative Science Fiction scenarios and concepts. Unusual, complex acoustic sources ranging from volcanic mudpots to television static were carefully captured in extensive field recording sessions, and combined with the vast synthesis and sound processing capabilities of ABSYNTH, KONTAKT and KORE. The result is an array of previously unheard, charismatic instruments that are both alien and organic in their sonic character, but also highly playable and of profound musical value.
SONIC FICTION provides 100 KoreSounds with eight morphable Sound Variations each, resulting in 800 individual sounds. Concise parameter assignments allow for immediate, intuitive sound tweaking in KORE 2 and KORE PLAYER. Full musical metadata for all presets also makes SONIC FICTION integrate seamlessly with any individual collection of KORE-Powered instruments.
A video of Jeremiah Savage explaining the concept and design process of SONIC FICTION is available on YouTube at
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=z3q6qKmC1FE
More information on SONIC FICTION can be found at
www.native-instruments.com/sonicfiction.info
Expanding on sound design paradigms established with Jeremiah Savage's previous ACOUSTIC REFRACTIONS collection, the sounds in SONIC FICTION are inspired by imaginative Science Fiction scenarios and concepts. Unusual, complex acoustic sources ranging from volcanic mudpots to television static were carefully captured in extensive field recording sessions, and combined with the vast synthesis and sound processing capabilities of ABSYNTH, KONTAKT and KORE. The result is an array of previously unheard, charismatic instruments that are both alien and organic in their sonic character, but also highly playable and of profound musical value.
SONIC FICTION provides 100 KoreSounds with eight morphable Sound Variations each, resulting in 800 individual sounds. Concise parameter assignments allow for immediate, intuitive sound tweaking in KORE 2 and KORE PLAYER. Full musical metadata for all presets also makes SONIC FICTION integrate seamlessly with any individual collection of KORE-Powered instruments.
A video of Jeremiah Savage explaining the concept and design process of SONIC FICTION is available on YouTube at
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=z3q6qKmC1FE
More information on SONIC FICTION can be found at
www.native-instruments.com/sonicfiction.info
Bonnaroo 2010 Dates Announcement
2010 BONNAROO MUSIC AND ARTS FESTIVAL
DATES ANNOUNCED
NINTH ANNUAL EVENT TO TAKE PLACE JUNE 10 - 13
TICKET HOLIDAY PRE-SALE TO BEGIN
FRIDAY, NOVEMBER 27th AT 12PM EASTERN
SPECIAL PAYMENT PLAN OPTION AVAILABLE
Superfly Productions and A.C. Entertainment are proud to announce the dates for the ninth annual Bonnaroo Music and Arts Festival. Confirmed to take place June 10 - 13, 2010, the four-day festival will once again be held at the same beautiful, 700-acre farm in Manchester, Tennessee, 60 miles southeast of Nashville. Ticket pre-sales for the festival will begin on November 27, 2009 and will last until 11:59pm eastern on December 31st. Bonnaroo will once again offer general admission tickets for five easy payments of $50 plus applicable fees through the holiday pre-sale. In addition, with each ticket purchase the festival will send a Bonnaroo holiday greeting card featuring a unique, iconic photo from Bonnaroo's colorful past. To get a card, purchasers must place their order by December 16th. A limited edition 2010 Bonnaroo Calendar will also be available during this period. To see a great stop motion video created by Shadow Machine (Robot Chicken, Moral Orel) about the Holiday Pre-Sale, go to bonnaroo.com.
Always looking for ways to better the festival each year, Bonnaroo's ninth promises to build on the achievements of the previous eight in all facets of the event. From its music programming to the non-music attractions, activities and art, the promoters are already deep into adding new and exciting elements to create yet another incomparable weekend. Since it's inception in 2002, the festival has evolved into a world-class, multi-faceted entertainment experience, swiftly earning its status as the country's premier music and arts event.
Bonnaroo continues to make a strong impact on the American music industry. The Wall Street Journal called it "one of rock's best festivals," and said that the 2009 lineup "fairly bursts with some of the most gifted acts in rock and pop." The festival has served as a launching pad for such popular artists as Norah Jones, Jack Johnson, Kings of Leon, My Morning Jacket, Ray Lamontagne, Matisyahu, Robert Randolph and many others. A creative and cultural mega-success, Bonnaroo has also featured a staggeringly diverse range of world-class acts such as Bob Dylan, Metallica, Bruce Springsteen and the E Street Band, Neil Young, Radiohead, Phish, Willie Nelson, The Police, Pearl Jam, David Byrne, Tom Petty, Tool, Wilco, The Dave Matthews Band, James Brown, The White Stripes, Al Green, Nine Inch Nails, The Dead, Regina Spektor, Widespread Panic, Death Cab For Cutie, Elvis Costello, Ornette Coleman, Amadou and Mariam, Beck, TV on the Radio, Against Me!, Merle Haggard, The Black Crowes, Phoenix, Alison Krauss and Robert Plant, Bright Eyes, Bonnie Raitt, Steve Earle, Jurassic 5, Modest Mouse, The Mars Volta, Common, Burning Spear, the Flaming Lips, among many others.
The festival is also starting to make quite an impact on the comedy industry as well, as it has featured some of today's best comedians working today. From Chris Rock, Lewis Black, Flight of the Concords, David Cross and Fred Armisen to Jimmy Fallon, Triumph The Insult Comic Dog, Jim Norton, Patton Oswalt, Zach Galifianakis, Louis CK, Janeane Garofalo, Aziz Ansari, John Oliver and Brian Posehn, Bonnaroo is now considered to be an essential play for every comedian both established and on the rise.
The Bonnaro 2010 line up will be announced in late January/early February.
DATES ANNOUNCED
NINTH ANNUAL EVENT TO TAKE PLACE JUNE 10 - 13
TICKET HOLIDAY PRE-SALE TO BEGIN
FRIDAY, NOVEMBER 27th AT 12PM EASTERN
SPECIAL PAYMENT PLAN OPTION AVAILABLE
Superfly Productions and A.C. Entertainment are proud to announce the dates for the ninth annual Bonnaroo Music and Arts Festival. Confirmed to take place June 10 - 13, 2010, the four-day festival will once again be held at the same beautiful, 700-acre farm in Manchester, Tennessee, 60 miles southeast of Nashville. Ticket pre-sales for the festival will begin on November 27, 2009 and will last until 11:59pm eastern on December 31st. Bonnaroo will once again offer general admission tickets for five easy payments of $50 plus applicable fees through the holiday pre-sale. In addition, with each ticket purchase the festival will send a Bonnaroo holiday greeting card featuring a unique, iconic photo from Bonnaroo's colorful past. To get a card, purchasers must place their order by December 16th. A limited edition 2010 Bonnaroo Calendar will also be available during this period. To see a great stop motion video created by Shadow Machine (Robot Chicken, Moral Orel) about the Holiday Pre-Sale, go to bonnaroo.com.
Always looking for ways to better the festival each year, Bonnaroo's ninth promises to build on the achievements of the previous eight in all facets of the event. From its music programming to the non-music attractions, activities and art, the promoters are already deep into adding new and exciting elements to create yet another incomparable weekend. Since it's inception in 2002, the festival has evolved into a world-class, multi-faceted entertainment experience, swiftly earning its status as the country's premier music and arts event.
Bonnaroo continues to make a strong impact on the American music industry. The Wall Street Journal called it "one of rock's best festivals," and said that the 2009 lineup "fairly bursts with some of the most gifted acts in rock and pop." The festival has served as a launching pad for such popular artists as Norah Jones, Jack Johnson, Kings of Leon, My Morning Jacket, Ray Lamontagne, Matisyahu, Robert Randolph and many others. A creative and cultural mega-success, Bonnaroo has also featured a staggeringly diverse range of world-class acts such as Bob Dylan, Metallica, Bruce Springsteen and the E Street Band, Neil Young, Radiohead, Phish, Willie Nelson, The Police, Pearl Jam, David Byrne, Tom Petty, Tool, Wilco, The Dave Matthews Band, James Brown, The White Stripes, Al Green, Nine Inch Nails, The Dead, Regina Spektor, Widespread Panic, Death Cab For Cutie, Elvis Costello, Ornette Coleman, Amadou and Mariam, Beck, TV on the Radio, Against Me!, Merle Haggard, The Black Crowes, Phoenix, Alison Krauss and Robert Plant, Bright Eyes, Bonnie Raitt, Steve Earle, Jurassic 5, Modest Mouse, The Mars Volta, Common, Burning Spear, the Flaming Lips, among many others.
The festival is also starting to make quite an impact on the comedy industry as well, as it has featured some of today's best comedians working today. From Chris Rock, Lewis Black, Flight of the Concords, David Cross and Fred Armisen to Jimmy Fallon, Triumph The Insult Comic Dog, Jim Norton, Patton Oswalt, Zach Galifianakis, Louis CK, Janeane Garofalo, Aziz Ansari, John Oliver and Brian Posehn, Bonnaroo is now considered to be an essential play for every comedian both established and on the rise.
The Bonnaro 2010 line up will be announced in late January/early February.
New Xiu Xiu record details!
Xiu Xiu
Dear God, I Hate Myself
(Kill Rock Stars)
Release date: February 23, 2010
Read almost any piece about Xiu Xiu and you'll see words like 'harsh' or 'brutal' — the same words that appear before 'truth' when an unwavering eye is turned on any intimate detail of our lives. Fair descriptions of the themes central to the music, they sit incongruous to the refined, intricate, and beautiful approach taken in crafting the twelve tracks on Xiu Xiu's new album Dear God, I Hate Myself.
The two biggest constants throughout Xiu Xiu's catalog are honesty and evolution. This remains true with Dear God, I Hate Myself as it delivers a look at responsibility, fear, healing, and societal roles wrapped in rich gothic pop music. The sound is still distinctly Xiu Xiu, but Jamie Stewart's vocals are finally effortless paired with vibrant melodies full of subtlety and the distinct sonic accents expected of this anticipated Xiu Xiu release. The result is a record that proves that art can be pop and pop can challenge you to look inside yourself.
Stewart is joined by new full-time band member Angela Seo on piano, synth, and drum programming; with production handled by Jamie and Deerhoof'sGreg Saunier. Together they've crafted a fully grown sound for Dear God, I Hate Myself with elements from goth and pop that are expertly performed by a crop of brilliant musicians. Saunier himself plays on much of the record as does Ches Smith (John Zorn, Terry Riley, Marc Ribot) who supplies timpani, conga and moog along with a broad range of other instrumentation. Deerhoof's John Dieterich is all over a rendition of the traditional folk song “Cumberland Gap” and Xiu Xiu is even joined by the Immaculata Catholic School Orchestra in Stewart's ode to heartbreak and healing, “This Too Shall Pass Away (for Freddy).” The title track, one of four songs done primarily on a Nintendo DS, explores the relationship between faith and despair with a layer of commentary provided by the bizarre sounds of the music itself.
Each new Xiu Xiu release has evolved alongside the lives of Jamie Stewart and company. On this record you'll find more intensity and introspection than ever before, but sonically and lyrically it continues to move forward with a subtly new perspective — hyper-focussed yet aware of a larger, external picture unfolding. The pace of the record grips you, the music offers layers of detail, and the themes focus on not just the past or stark present but hint towards vespers of the future as well. Dear God, I Hate Myself will challenge you and force you to look inside yourself, but only after you get lost in the music. It's passionate, it's energetic, and it affects you.
Dear God, I Hate Myself is a beautiful piece of humanist art. It's an important addition to the growing body of intelligent music from Xiu Xiu. And it's a brilliant gothic pop record that can stand next to anything.
A handful of videos for your viewing pleasure...
Courtesy of Daffodil Publicity.
pablos video for morning:
http://www.spinner.com/2009/11/10/pablo-morning-video-premiere/
meat puppets on kexp/ npr:
http://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=120248918
josh ottums video for it's alright
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GgmakqJiMNs
vulture whales "the pipe"
http://www.aquariumdrunkard.com/2009/11/16/vulture-whale-bamboo-you/
olof arnalds:Englar og darer
http://www.box.net/shared/static/xzrzrqznys.mp3
pablos video for morning:
http://www.spinner.com/2009/11/10/pablo-morning-video-premiere/
meat puppets on kexp/ npr:
http://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=120248918
josh ottums video for it's alright
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GgmakqJiMNs
vulture whales "the pipe"
http://www.aquariumdrunkard.com/2009/11/16/vulture-whale-bamboo-you/
olof arnalds:Englar og darer
http://www.box.net/shared/static/xzrzrqznys.mp3
WARNER BROS. RECORDS AND DEVO ANNOUNCE THE RELEASE OF THE ULTRA DEVO-LUX EDITION LIMITED PACKAGE
THE ULTIMATE TWO CD/TWO DVD RE-MASTERED EDITION OF SEMINAL RECORDINGS FROM OHIO ART-ROCK PIONEERS AVAILABLE EXCLUSIVELY ONLINE
Burbank, CA – Electro-art-rock iconoclasts DEVO celebrate their early recorded works from the Warner Bros. Records vaults with an expanded Ultra Devo-lux, Limited Edition four-disc set of their first and third groundbreaking albums: Q: ARE WE NOT MEN? A: WE ARE DEVO! and FREEDOM OF CHOICE, available online only through www.clubdevo.com this holiday season.
Both albums have been re-mastered from the original analog recordings and housed in DEVO-luxish packages with a plethora of audio and video bonus material including the Live at the Forum, London 2009 concert video. The package also includes an original 7-inch colored vinyl single of “Jocko Homo”/”Mongoloid,” plus an original 18” x 30” foldout poster and 16-page booklet. The DEVO-LUX package will be sold for $49.99. Each order will include a digital audio download delivered upon order. A limited number of orders will also include autographed B/W 8x10 vintage DEVO promo photos from the Warner Bros. Records vaults. These are the definitive versions of the band’s classic works, supremely packaged and loaded with previously unreleased rarities made available for the first time ever.
Just how DEVO-LUX are we talking here? This special collector’s edition contains the complete audio CD of Q: ARE WE NOT MEN? A: WE ARE DEVO! — the Brian Eno-produced album re-mastered from the original analog recordings, plus three previously unreleased demos from the DEVO archives. These ultra-rare recordings were committed to tape by the band between 1975 and 1977, including one track produced by Joe Walsh (Ex-James Gang and future Eagle). Believe it! These early recordings provide a unique view into the primitive early world of DEVO.
The second audio disc is comprised of the complete Devo-produced third album, FREEDOM OF CHOICE, also re-mastered from the original tapes. Bonus tracks include the rare six-track DEV-O LIVE EP, recorded live at the Warfield in San Francisco circa 1980. The package also includes three more previously unreleased demos from the DEVO vaults that were recorded at Modern Music Rehearsal Studio in Hollywood, CA, and the Record Plant in Los Angeles in 1979, and are available now for the first time ever and exclusive to this release only.
The first DVD disc contains the debut album performed live in its entirety from The HMV Forum in London 2009, and includes behind-the-scenes footage and more, exclusive to this release only. The second DVD disc is comprised of four classic DEVO video clips. Little did anyone know what kind of global impact these unique short promotional films would have upon the music world for years to come.
THE ULTRA DEVO-LUX LTD. EDITION PACKAGE will sell out quickly so don’t delay. Act now and achieve total audio and video bliss before it’s too late because as we now truly know, Devolution Is Real!
THE ULTRA DEVO-LUX LTD. EDITION Track listings:
Disc 1 (Audio):
Q: ARE WE NOT MEN? A: WE ARE DEVO
1. Uncontrollable Urge 3:11
2. (I Can't Get No) Satisfaction 2:41
3. Praying Hands 2:48
4. Space Junk 2:15
5. Mongoloid 3:44
6. Jocko Homo 3:39
7. Too Much Paranoias 1:58
8. Gut Feeling/(Slap Your Mammy) 4:58
9. Come Back Jonee 3:49
10. Sloppy (I Saw My Baby Gettin') 2:40
11. Shrivel-Up 3:04
Bonus Demos:
1. Uncontrollable Urge (demo) 3:08 (Produced by Joe Walsh at The Record Plant LA, CA., 1977)
2. Social Fools (demo) 3:42 (Recorded at Audio Recording Studio Cleveland, OH., 1975)
3. Sloppy (demo) 2:21 (Recorded at Manray Studio, Akron, OH, 1976)
Disc 2 (DVD-Video):
Q: ARE WE NOT MEN? A: WE ARE DEVO
Performed Live at the HMV Forum, London 2009:
1. Uncontrollable Urge 3:26
2. (I Can't Get No) Satisfaction 3:07
3. Praying Hands 2:48
4. Space Junk 2:17
5. Mongoloid 3:38
6. Jocko Homo 4:32
7. Too Much Paranoias 2:26
8. Gut Feeling/(Slap Your Mammy) 4:19
9. Come Back Jonee 4:21
10. Sloppy (I Saw My Baby Gettin') 2:25
11. Shrivel-Up 3:05
Disc 3 (Audio):
FREEDOM OF CHOICE
1. Girl U Want 2:55
2. It's Not Right 2:20
3. Whip It 2:37
4. Snowball 2:28
5. Ton O' Luv 2:29
6. Freedom of Choice 3:28
7. Gates of Steel 3:26
8. Cold War 2:30
9. Don't You Know 2:14
10. That's Pep! 2:17
11. Mr. B's Ballroom 2:45
12. Planet Earth 2:45
DEV-O LIVE EP: DEVO Live at the Warfield, San Francisco, CA. 1980:
1. Freedom of Choice Theme Song 2:46
2. Whip It 2:41
3. Girl U Want 2:56
4. Gates of Steel 3:17
5 Be Stiff 2:50
6 Planet Earth 2:32
Bonus Demos:
1 Snowball (demo) 2:49 (Modern Music Rehearsal Studio, Hollywood to 4-track 1979 )
2 Gates of Steel (demo) 3:28 (Modern Music Rehearsal Studio, Hollywood to 4-track 1979)
3 Time Bomb (demo) 2:54 (Recorded at the Record Plant, LA 1979)
Disc 4 (DVD-Video):
Bonus Videos:
1. Satisfaction 2:38
2. Whip It 2:47
3. Freedom of Choice 3:25
4. Girl You Want 2:58
All product details can be found at…
http://www.clubdevo.com/store/product/ultra-devo-lux-ltd-edition
Burbank, CA – Electro-art-rock iconoclasts DEVO celebrate their early recorded works from the Warner Bros. Records vaults with an expanded Ultra Devo-lux, Limited Edition four-disc set of their first and third groundbreaking albums: Q: ARE WE NOT MEN? A: WE ARE DEVO! and FREEDOM OF CHOICE, available online only through www.clubdevo.com this holiday season.
Both albums have been re-mastered from the original analog recordings and housed in DEVO-luxish packages with a plethora of audio and video bonus material including the Live at the Forum, London 2009 concert video. The package also includes an original 7-inch colored vinyl single of “Jocko Homo”/”Mongoloid,” plus an original 18” x 30” foldout poster and 16-page booklet. The DEVO-LUX package will be sold for $49.99. Each order will include a digital audio download delivered upon order. A limited number of orders will also include autographed B/W 8x10 vintage DEVO promo photos from the Warner Bros. Records vaults. These are the definitive versions of the band’s classic works, supremely packaged and loaded with previously unreleased rarities made available for the first time ever.
Just how DEVO-LUX are we talking here? This special collector’s edition contains the complete audio CD of Q: ARE WE NOT MEN? A: WE ARE DEVO! — the Brian Eno-produced album re-mastered from the original analog recordings, plus three previously unreleased demos from the DEVO archives. These ultra-rare recordings were committed to tape by the band between 1975 and 1977, including one track produced by Joe Walsh (Ex-James Gang and future Eagle). Believe it! These early recordings provide a unique view into the primitive early world of DEVO.
The second audio disc is comprised of the complete Devo-produced third album, FREEDOM OF CHOICE, also re-mastered from the original tapes. Bonus tracks include the rare six-track DEV-O LIVE EP, recorded live at the Warfield in San Francisco circa 1980. The package also includes three more previously unreleased demos from the DEVO vaults that were recorded at Modern Music Rehearsal Studio in Hollywood, CA, and the Record Plant in Los Angeles in 1979, and are available now for the first time ever and exclusive to this release only.
The first DVD disc contains the debut album performed live in its entirety from The HMV Forum in London 2009, and includes behind-the-scenes footage and more, exclusive to this release only. The second DVD disc is comprised of four classic DEVO video clips. Little did anyone know what kind of global impact these unique short promotional films would have upon the music world for years to come.
THE ULTRA DEVO-LUX LTD. EDITION PACKAGE will sell out quickly so don’t delay. Act now and achieve total audio and video bliss before it’s too late because as we now truly know, Devolution Is Real!
THE ULTRA DEVO-LUX LTD. EDITION Track listings:
Disc 1 (Audio):
Q: ARE WE NOT MEN? A: WE ARE DEVO
1. Uncontrollable Urge 3:11
2. (I Can't Get No) Satisfaction 2:41
3. Praying Hands 2:48
4. Space Junk 2:15
5. Mongoloid 3:44
6. Jocko Homo 3:39
7. Too Much Paranoias 1:58
8. Gut Feeling/(Slap Your Mammy) 4:58
9. Come Back Jonee 3:49
10. Sloppy (I Saw My Baby Gettin') 2:40
11. Shrivel-Up 3:04
Bonus Demos:
1. Uncontrollable Urge (demo) 3:08 (Produced by Joe Walsh at The Record Plant LA, CA., 1977)
2. Social Fools (demo) 3:42 (Recorded at Audio Recording Studio Cleveland, OH., 1975)
3. Sloppy (demo) 2:21 (Recorded at Manray Studio, Akron, OH, 1976)
Disc 2 (DVD-Video):
Q: ARE WE NOT MEN? A: WE ARE DEVO
Performed Live at the HMV Forum, London 2009:
1. Uncontrollable Urge 3:26
2. (I Can't Get No) Satisfaction 3:07
3. Praying Hands 2:48
4. Space Junk 2:17
5. Mongoloid 3:38
6. Jocko Homo 4:32
7. Too Much Paranoias 2:26
8. Gut Feeling/(Slap Your Mammy) 4:19
9. Come Back Jonee 4:21
10. Sloppy (I Saw My Baby Gettin') 2:25
11. Shrivel-Up 3:05
Disc 3 (Audio):
FREEDOM OF CHOICE
1. Girl U Want 2:55
2. It's Not Right 2:20
3. Whip It 2:37
4. Snowball 2:28
5. Ton O' Luv 2:29
6. Freedom of Choice 3:28
7. Gates of Steel 3:26
8. Cold War 2:30
9. Don't You Know 2:14
10. That's Pep! 2:17
11. Mr. B's Ballroom 2:45
12. Planet Earth 2:45
DEV-O LIVE EP: DEVO Live at the Warfield, San Francisco, CA. 1980:
1. Freedom of Choice Theme Song 2:46
2. Whip It 2:41
3. Girl U Want 2:56
4. Gates of Steel 3:17
5 Be Stiff 2:50
6 Planet Earth 2:32
Bonus Demos:
1 Snowball (demo) 2:49 (Modern Music Rehearsal Studio, Hollywood to 4-track 1979 )
2 Gates of Steel (demo) 3:28 (Modern Music Rehearsal Studio, Hollywood to 4-track 1979)
3 Time Bomb (demo) 2:54 (Recorded at the Record Plant, LA 1979)
Disc 4 (DVD-Video):
Bonus Videos:
1. Satisfaction 2:38
2. Whip It 2:47
3. Freedom of Choice 3:25
4. Girl You Want 2:58
All product details can be found at…
http://www.clubdevo.com/store/product/ultra-devo-lux-ltd-edition
Wednesday, November 18, 2009
Birds & Batteries release Up To No Good ; Stream their synthesizer-focused departure this week
Combining psych-pop, electro-boogie, and lush production.
"Up To No Good" is out today Nov 17 on Eightmaps
listen now at SPINNER
"A bit like a high-concept mashup, this fusion of two of the slickest eras of pop production produces some polished results ... an electronic landscape that's actually pretty akin to being out in the woods, immersed in a barrage of chattering, ebullient life."
- Pitchfork Media
"Like watching Halloween on a bunch of cough syrup and then having a dizzy and slowed dance party at the end"
- The FADER
"Meticulously funky...twenty minutes of synth pop bliss"
- URB
Combining meticulously produced psych, synth-funk, americana, aching electro, and unveiling more surprises upon closer listen SF's Birds & Batteries return with their latest: the spooky, funky Up To No Good EP. Stacked with addicting aching-electro/boogie jams the EP manages to convey a degree of mystery/magic amidst post-modern wreckage, combining the fun of late 70's freak funk with a detached, studio cool of 80's r&b.
Still centered around the art of the song, redoubled by meticulous arrangements and rich atmospheres, B&B saw the EP format as an opportunity to dig deeper into one group of sounds, with synth bass, kick drum, percussion and voice at the forefront. The result is more focused than previous efforts, allowing for a unified statement and narrative to emerge as well as a nineteen minute dance party. This fusing of song craft and electronic music feels natural and easy, owing more to pioneering electro-funk than post-punk.
Birds & Batteries' live show focuses on the more energetic and rocking parts of their repertoire. "As we've toured and played more and more shows, we've found ourselves choosing set lists from the material that is most enjoyable to play live and that gets people loose."
They will be on the road this fall and winter to support Up To No Good and previewing songs from their upcoming full-length due in 2010.
"This is some freak-funk, alt-electro right here. Blast it in honkey-tonk dives and haunted houses alike."
RCRD LBL
"They reminded him of early Brian Eno, which I can also hear in their fine melding of electronic bleats and slow simmering pop. I also pick up on a similarly playful aesthetic that aligns them with groups like Super Furry Animals."
Pampelmoose
"It's rare that a band can remind you of Neil Young, Sparklehorse and The Legend of Zelda at the same time, but San Francisco's left-field electric-folk band, Birds & Batteries traffics in both the nerdy and beautiful."
Williamette Week
"When Neil Young discovered the synthesizer, he made Trans. San Francisco's Birds & Batteries demonstrate another-dare we say better?-way that combination could have worked."
RollingStone.com
www.birdsandbatteries.com
Robot Koch "Death Star Droid" Spinner Party
AOL Spinner Listening Party
http://www.spinner.com/new-releases#/12
VIDEO: "Hard to Find"
from 'Death Star Droid'
Following the successful 'Aftershocks' EP on his own Robots Don't Sleep label, Robot Koch returns with his long anticipated full length 'Death Star Droid'.
Technically, this is Robot Koch's debut LP but the man is no rookie - 'Death Star Droid' connects the dots between his club project Jahcoozi and his post rock outfit The Tape. He has also made beats and remixes for many international artists including Rustie and Amanda Blank - staple drops in the playlists of bass luminaries such as Mary Anne Hobbs, Gas Lamp Killer and Hudson Mohawke.
'Death Star Droid' is infused with dubstep and wonky hip hop, but the introduction of live acoustic instruments and heartfelt melodies is what sets it apart. The grizzly synths and bass lines on 'While' are supported by a drifting piano. On 'Hard To Find' Robot introduces strings and flutes - the signature use of wobbling Moog and Korg present throughout.
Robot has always drawn inspirations from all ends of the musical spectrum.
Having started out as a drummer in a punk and hardcore band, he found his way into electronic music via hip hop, jazz and DJing. His favourite albums include 'Reign In Blood' by Slayer, 'A Love Supreme' by John Coltrane and '36 Chambers' by Wu-Tang Clan.
Robot's mixtapes have what could be easily called a cult following on the net. The blogosphere is jam packed with these gems. What sets these mixes apart from the next man's is the liberty that they exhibited in defying genre based music by combining and clashing a broad spectrum of sound. Flying Lotus recently asked him to contribute a mixtape for the brainfeeder podcast. The mix featured West African folk and rare jazz oddities. Fly Lo had told Robot: "We gotta feed the kids more than just beats." It's clear that the man listened.
'Death Star Droid' is far more than just a producer album with a selection of up to date beats. It's a sincere musical statement. Expect to be surprised - this is music made for true music lovers.
http://www.robotsdontsleep.com/
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