Thu, 25 November 2010
Some cracking music from Italy, California, Finland, the UK, Brooklyn and Canada. Along with news from Codger and a delicious rant from Dave Stewart. The hops which grew up the barn again this year didn't really throve but they look pretty good now with the light behind them. A very happy Thanksgiving to all my old and new friends in the USA. Your generosity, hospitality and warm welcome made the recent New York trip a total blast and gave me so many memories which I shall always treasure.
You!You! - Stylish Kids in the Riot (Bozano, Italy) The newcomer-band Stylish Kids In The Riot was founded during a train ride from Bolzano to Meran-City in February 2010. It was Alessio Posar’s (guitar) and Francesco Sartorel’s (drums) idea; Sasha Vergolini joined the two young musicians and Theo Durante (vocals and bass) did so shortly afterwards. Stylish Kids In The Riot performed successfully at the Upload Festival and so the band was given the opportunity to play at Upload Firmian in September 2010, too. After some live gigs in, the band was taken to the studio by Carmelo Giacchino and recorded their first & stylish “You!You! EP” which you can download from Jamendo or from www.airbagpromo.com/records www.jamendo.com/en/album/79606
PC Podcast the end of an era. Let's hope there's another one soon. "I’m not giving up podcasting, but after 5 years, I’ve decided that PCP#336 will be the last show. I’ve really enjoyed the diversity of music I’ve played since Jan 30th 2006 and worked with some amazing musicians. You can still listen to The Dub Zone or The Dub Step Zone for regular infusions of fantastic music." "Don’t worry…. I’ll be back with something new sometime in 2011. In the meantime, thanks for listening, thanks for contributing and thanks for supporting independent music."
Goodnight Company - Jane Lui (San Francisco / LA, CA, USA) Her instrumentation and vocalization have a whimsical, homemade feel that is inventive, magical, masterful and intimate. Jane integrates left and right brain to produce her own videos and play 14 instruments including piano, guitar, xylophone and harmonium, not to mention Ikea wine glasses, handmade music boxes and fireplace brushes against walls. “You’re poor in college -- don’t have stuff, so you make it up. Found objects sound grittier, dirtier and more acoustically imperfect than manufactured ones. If they rust, they rust then resonate differently,” claims Lui. True to her independent spirit and mastery of choral music, Jane is largely responsible for her own sound. She records most of the music with a mobile studio and mini-disc in classrooms, churches, recital halls, houses, and 19th century sailing ships. “Accidents and lack of budget can give life to music. I’ve never worked in a huge recording studio,” says Lui, “I’ve always had a small board and moved wherever I needed to. On location, the sound lives more vibrantly in 3-D and it has become my favorite way of working.” Goodnight Company, Jane’s third album is out as a free digital download from her site and will be released on CD in January, 2011. It builds on her previous successes with debut Teargirl and Barkentine. “Goodnight Company has the most production value. Of all my albums,” says Lui, “I let the reins go and allowed the songs to speak for themselves. I'm at a much happier point in life -- more confident to let my co-producer, Aaron Bowen bring out the real ‘Jane.’ These songs feel best to me.” Using PledgeMusic.com, Lui raised over $11,000 in two months to fund 50% of the album. “I couldn't believe how much people wanted to help and it’s made the project more real now that I’m responsible to my fans. Youtube really helped,” she says, “The world is watching; it’s crazy."
Anything But Hopeless - Rendezvous Park (Helsinki, Finland) A longer form instrumental piece. Founded in 2008 by Kai Kousa and Mikael Nousiainen, Rendezvous Park was supposed to be just a simple side project for releasing tracks that were too different for their other band project. Two years later this small side project had already become the primary vehicle for their creativity. From 2008 to early 2010 they spent writing, re-writing, recording and re-recording their debut album The Days You Didn’t Notice. The process of making the album was slow and challenging, but in fall 2010 the album was finally ready to be released. Musically they draw influences from post-rock, movie soundtracks, French minimalism and diverse collection of artists. They write, perform, mix and produce all their material. Rendezvous Park is: Mikael Nousiainen - piano, glockenspiel, percussions, drums programming, recording and mixing Kai Kousa - electric guitar, acoustic guitar, electric bass, music videos and graphic design The single, Anything But Hopeless is available for free download from: www.jamendo.com/en/album/77565
Dave Stewart's words of wisdom on Twitter
Dave Stewart (Eurythmics, etc.) was watching the American Music Awards TV show on Sunday. OK, so how do I know? Well a bit of a give-away is that he was tweeting to his @DaveStewart Twitter account at the time. It has been suggested that he was jet-lagged and/or drunk, but regardless, I think he spoke his highest truth and expresses how a lot of us feel about an awful lot of big label music right now. So what did he say? Well here are the relevant tweets: "AMA's ridiculous why is evrything like a pole dance... What have we come to." "We used to have amazing artists now it's fucking ridiculous , record labels are to blame" "Rhianna I'm sure you could be interesting but wht the fuck are you doing , who the hell is writing these ridiculous songs" "AMA's get a life American Music Awards , where is the music?" "What the fuck has happened we need artists directly communicating with their fans get rid of the media companies fucking it up greedy pigs" "There are great new artists that don't/won't get a chance because _____________________ you fiLl in the blanks" "I had to stop wtaching as it remibded me of when I injected amphetamines in my tearduct" "I love new young artists with something to say , in any style of music what would Lennon think if he was alive he would throw up" "Ama's I turned off because Not one thing was real , now listing to Buddy Guy LOUD" "Fucking TV crap , everyone is in a panic (partly by the way is because 90% of music is now downloaded for free) so spiralling downwards" "Signing off with last comment , bring back "sex and drugs and rock n roll" better than "botox , tits and autotune" Yes, he was obviously angry and, in my opinion, that anger was honestly felt, clearly expressed and fully justified. I've been wondering for some time why so many musicians have to go through the nonsense of a dance routine. It is almost as though the director, labels, management or whoever don't want us to notice that he/she may just have a great voice. I've been wondering for a while why we can't just listen to and watch someone making music; that's where the alchemy is to be found. Not in bloody choreography. As is blatantly obvious from the number and of tracks I get submitted every week and from those that really have what it takes, the music business is actually going through quite a boom right now, more live music than ever, music available in decent quality from so many sources and fans hooking up with artists through channels such as Facebook and Twitter to create and manage their own sustainable careers. Yup, the music business is doing just fine; I'm not so sure about the record industry though. Every dramatic lurch the big labels make looks more and more like a death throw. It must end soon, surely. I suspect that the remaining big labels will become mainstream entertainment companies and may do quite well with pretty boys and girls dancing nicely to appeal to a very young, pre-teen market. * [Actually, add to that the nostalgia market. I just saw that The Beatles sold 450,000 albums and 2 million individual songs in their first week on iTunes]. The real/ indie/ DIY/ DTF music business model has changed so radically with the advent of digital technology that it will take a little time to settle down. But we live in exciting and unpredictable times, out of which will surely come another wave of amazing new music and exciting means of getting it out to making a living. I can't and won't believe that is really is impossible to make a living in music other then through through "Botox, tits and auto-tune". Hardly "living" is it?
Fish and Crab + Have Some - pc Muñoz (San Francisco, CA, USA) A couple of the new batch of micro-jams that are available for free download. Drum programming, acoustic percussion, belembaotuyan, and voices by PC Muñoz Drum programming recorded and edited by Willie Samuels and Justin Lieberman at Studio Trilogy Acoustic percussion, belembaotuyan, and voices recorded by PC Muñoz at Studio Trilogy Produced and mixed by PC Muñoz http://pcmunoz.bandcamp.com/album/micro-jams
Roll Back The Years - Graham Robins (Hertfordshire, UK) Graham Robins began performing in the 60s and played alongside Amen Corner, The Herd, Geno Washington and Ram Jam Band, Long John Baldry, Georgie Fame and The Blue Flames, Jimmy Ruffin and many others. Graham is a superb performer with great songs and a soulful voice that has been likened to Van Morrison's while Geno Washington has said of Graham 'This man has soul' - and he should know. Graham has recently ben touring with Van's daughter, Shana Morrison, and recording a forthcoming album. Graham is playing CB2 in Cambridge on Saturday. The music starts at 8.30 and entry is £5. CB2 is in Norfolk Street, Cambridge CB1 2LD. They've already sold quite a few tickets, so if you'd like to come, please send an email to john[at] johnmeed.net or call Dave on 07734 504274 to reserve. www.myspace.com/cambridgeacousticnights Further dates include:
2 Dec 2010 The Crossroads Blues Club, Cotteridge, Birmingham, GB 5 Dec 2010 Blues At The Red, Old Town, Stevenage, Hertfordshire, GB 9 Dec 2010 The White Horse, Stony Stratford, Milton Keynes, GB 10 Dec 2010 The Kontra Roots Club, Irthlingborough, Northamptonshire, GB 12 Dec 2010 The HALFMOON (With Gary Fletcher), Putney, London,
Dansi dans - For A Minor Reflection (Reykjavík, Iceland) I keep forgetting to tell you that For a Minor Reflection, who I interviewed in SnC 241 (13th October 2010), have made their single Dansi Dans available as a free download from Suffolk'n'Cool. Thanks guys. Just go to the shownotes at http://suffolkandcool.libsyn.org/sn-c-241-wednesday-13th-october-2010 and use the link. FaMR comprises of four 20-year-olds from Reykjavík, Iceland. Their music is best described as energetic, melodious post-rock, though being the natural creative visionaries they are, the band expand and even subvert their style with almost every song. www.myspace.com/foraminorreflection
Lines - And the Wiremen (Brooklyn, NY, USA) And The Wiremen is lead by Brooklyn-based songwriter and multi-instrumentalist Lynn Wright. A member of the cinematic orchestral rock band Bee and Flower, in this project Wright collaborates with former Sparklehorse guitarist/trumpeter Paul Watson (Michael Hurley), Pere Ubu bassist Tony Maimone (Frank Black, Mekons, Book of Knots, etc.), guitarist Jon Petrow (Cloudroom, Bee and Flower), and a revolving cast of musicians to create music that evokes images of a gothic deep South combined with the rhythms of South America and the grainier elements of barroom jazz and avant-pop. Their eponymous debut was recorded over the course of the last five years with the bulk of the sessions taking place at a now defunct studio in a tin-roofed, cedar-walled camp beside the Tangipahoa River north of New Orleans. While the rest was recorded at bassist Maimone's Studio G Brooklyn, it's easy to imagine their sound coming off the muddy waters of a Louisiana swamp. The band is currently working with a group of filmmakers and multimedia artists to create videos/short films for every song on the album. Starting November 1, a new video will be released every 3 weeks to a month via their Myspace and Facebook pages.
Once loved a Cowgirl - Marshall Lawrence (Edmonton, Canada ) Not many blues artists can call themselves “the Doctor of the Blues” without a whole stretcher-full of the idiom’s winking big talk. But Marshall Lawrence can, and with only the slightest bit of irony. The award-nominated Canadian bluesman actually holds a doctorate in psychology, and he knows how to use it—just as he knows how to use his slashing guitar, stinging, lightning-fast slide, and pleading, mournful moan: Marshall’s prescription for a maximum blues remedy. Another track, Going Down to Louisiana was played on SnC 233, back in August. www.myspace.com/marshalllawrence
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Wed, 17 November 2010
Quite a bit of news, comment and an interview with Jordan Reyne this week as well as fine music from Iran, New York, Chicago, Hamburg Essex squished into a sandwich between two slices of Canada. We've had a couple of impressive sunsets this week. Still, cold air seems to do it. The shownotes are getting bombarded with spam comments recently so I may well turn the facility off for a while and hope the spammers go away. If you'd like to get in touch by all means do so through the contact tab on the site. Oh and just a reminder that you can help cover some of the production costs of Suffolk 'n' Cool by shopping via the affiliate links on the Deals page at suffolkandcool.com. Mean What I Say - Clothes Make the Man (Toronto, Canada) From their very new EP Control (2 Nov). Clothes Make the Man is like a group of loud mouthed kids yelling into microphones alongside cranked up amplifiers and pounding drums... except with beards and deeper voices. The band manages to maintain the same level of wide eyed enthusiasm with every set they play, so each audience member feels as they did the first time they ate sushi on a yacht made of diamonds. Rest assured, CMTM are not a metal or hardcore band and lack the immature essence kids often bestow. CMTM are masterful songwriters, almost unbeknown to themselves. The EP is out now and the forthcoming full album Distance should be available in the new year.
Marc Farre posted a new video: "Harry..."
The Beatles on iTunes - I wonder who's bothered.
Asiyeh - Salim Ghazi Saeedi (Tehran, Iran) Rock music is of course not rooted in Iran, but the enticement within the genre has strikingly pierced Salim Ghazi Saeedi’s heart in his hometown. Living in a country with domination of traditional culture, Salim has now globally released his 4th album, Iconophobic. Iconophobic is an instrumental concept album on “fear of the world of imagery”, composed and performed for electric guitar, bass and synthesizers by Salim, hiring various elements of classical, electronic and progressive rock music to communicate artist's extreme feelings: Satire, bizarre phobias, ecstatic joy and embryonic love are themes of this daydream. He has composed three albums "Abrahadabra" (2006), "Sovereign" (2007) and "Ustuqus-al-Uss" (2008) in the band Arashk. His fourth album, "Iconophobic" released in 2010 under his own title in which he played the roles of composer, guitarist, keyboard player, drums arranger, mixing engine er and producer. www.myspace.com/salimghazisaeedi http://cdbaby.com/cd/SalimGhaziSaeedi
Saadi This week Smile / nickydigital.com are making a great mix of Saadi indie world pop tracks. It is available for free download If you’re in NYC you should get out and see/hear Saadi LIVE tonight! Snag all the info about her “Clotheslines” release party
Four Days Straight - Scattered Trees (Chicago, IL, USA) Scattered Trees is a dapper, young group of artists who grew up together in the outskirts of Chicago, often playing music. Some of the members share last names, albeit for different reasons. They are the kind of friends who can separate and come back together at ease, entertained by a constellation of conversations and the familiarity of each other’s voices. As is the case with any ambitious set of individuals aspirations beyond their hometown, as they grew, Scattered Trees spent more and more time apart until it seemed the norm. Just when it appeared life had separated them for good, tragedy struck, a death, and Scattered Trees came back together, recording an album emblazed with the sincerity and beauty that only the most terrible of times can yield. This fall, the first singles from this record will be made available to purchase. In the coming months a short, multi-part documentary will be released telling Scattered Trees’ tale in a far more intimate way than a band bio ever could. www.myspace.com/scatteredtreesmusic
Jordan Reyne interview - A conversation with Jordan, over a slightly dodgy Skype line, about her music, her influences and about playing gigs almost every day to a world-wide audience from her kitchen! If you want to know more about the technicalities of how Jordan does her on-line performances , take a look at: One Minute How To (George Smyth) Item #523 How To Perform Ur Music Internationally W/O Leaving Ur Couch by Jordan Reyne at http://lnkd.in/RmEreZ The Brave - Jordan Reyne (New Zealand via Hamburg)
No Black Crayons - Mux Mool (Brooklyn, NY, USA) “I know it's electronic music,” Brian Lindgren says, “but sometimes I feel like an old-timey traveling musician with an M-Audio Trigger Finger instead of a guitar.” As Mux Mool, Lindgren has been criss-crossing the USA by himself for years, collecting records, loops, and samples, and rocking parties in towns both large and boondock-small. Lindgren is a self-confessed nerd to the bone, an incurable doodler, a Star Trek: The Next Generation fan; he lives on energy drinks and barely sleeps, spending his days working on music and his nights absorbing Internet memes by the hard-drive load. Mux Mool’s homespun electro hip-hop is the product of an introverted mind, an extroverted imagination, and a bottomless cultural appetite. “I think beat-making is really the study of every kind of music, anyone who makes beats should be experimenting in other genres.” On Skulltaste, Lindgren’s full-length debut on Ghostly International, the producer was determined to explore every corner of his beat-steeped psyche, and the resulting document is a masterpiece of eclectic cohesion: chunky instrumental hip-hop sits next to new-wave anthems and dubby dancefloor bangers, which abut skittery slices of D’nB and made-up video-game soundtracks. Skulltaste may cover a lot of ground, but Mux Mool pulls it off. He even makes it look easy.
Racing with the Sun - Annabelle Chvostek (Montreal, Canada) Annabelle played a great show at The Winelight Club a little over a year ago now, where I picked up her then new album Resiliance - along with the OK to play you a few tracks. Recorded in New York and Montreal with Grammy-nominated Canadian record producer Roma Baran and her producing partner Vivian Stoll, Resilience has been described as, "a sublime, spare, and profoundly reflective album that Chvostek describes as "a big complicated hug." One of those magical instrument players who seem to make virtually no movement and yet the most amazing complex sounds come out. Couple that with her beautiful strong and passionate voice and exceptionally well crafted songs and you have something pretty special. www.myspace.com/annabellechvostek
Gold Panda (played last week) A show this week, along with Banjo Or Freakout & Ghost Eyes. Saturday 20 November at the Norwich Arts Centre 8pm : £7.00 adv : £8.00 door Norwich Arts Centre, St. Benedict's Street, Norwich (01603) 660352 http://norwichartscentre.co.uk/gold-panda/
Rudies Don't Care - Rude City Riot (Vancouver, BC, Canada) Yes, they've been on the show a few times and deservedly so. Rude City Riot is a hard hitting 7 piece “Power-Ska” band from the Pacific NorthWest, Vancouver BC, Canada to be exact. What is Power-Ska you ask? The answer when applied to Rude City Riot is “start with Ska Music and add equal parts Reggae, Punk and Hard Rock and you get “Power-Ska”. RCR released their debut self titled EP / CD in Nov. 2008 and has released 3 digital singles on Skaspot Records in 2010 and are currently working on their first full length LP for release in early 2011 on Stomp Records. Dustin Lionhart, lead singer and primary songwriter for RCR has been writing Ska songs since age 14 and is now writing melodic anthems accessible to all those who love good music and well crafted songs.
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Thu, 11 November 2010
Some wonderful music from around the world, news of some gigs that you might just want to get to and the announcement of Adnams Artist of the Month for October I was in Southwold yesterday. The sea was heaping up on the beach and stained brown from all the sand and silt the high winds had caused it to stir up from the seabed. The sandwich and a pint a The Lord Nelson were a great comfort on a cold, wet and blustery day. :)
Pen 15 - Unsolved Mysteries (Brooklyn, NY, USA) Unsolved Mysteries began in 2004 as the solo musical project of Jon Lynn and has since evolved to a full collaboration with producer Colin Alexander. Drawing from inspirations as diverse as Vangelis and Three Six Mafia, New Order and Keith Sweat; it is everything weird that you barely recall from childhood memories. www.myspace.com/unsolvedmysteries
Tin Pan (played last week) have a show coming up on 11/11/2010 at 05:00 PM at the 34th Street - Herald Square subway station above the N/R/Q trains. Reverbnation has them down as headlining - lovely! Details at www.reverbnation.com/show/3384599 BTW, the Twitter engine has it that Jesse and Clifton from the band are "working on vocal tracks. Album is getting closer and closer to being done, yall!!! " This con only be good news. Tin Pan Band will be done by 7 so you'll have an hour to high tail it to The Living Room on Ludlow Street for a show with our good friend Marc Farre. Details of Marc's show at www.reverbnation.com/show/3182341
Harry - Marc Farre (Piermont, NY, USA) Singer/songwriter Marc Farre was born in France, but immigrated to the U.S., where he managed the Merce Cunningham Dance Company during the 1980s and worked with avant-garde classical composer John Cage. He composed a dozen scores for modern dance in the '80s and '90s. His work with Cage brought him into contact with MODE, a classical record label, which signed him to its AVANT imprint (notwithstanding his desire to record his own pop/rock songs) and released his debut EP, Margaret Maybe, in 1994. The disc gained little notice, however, and Farre sought his release from the label, going on to issue his subsequent recordings himself on his own All Weather label. The first of these was his debut full-length album, Unsafe Songs, released in 1998. Man on the Sun followed in September 2000. After the 9/11 terrorist attacks, he released a benefit single, "Prayer Flags," to radio only. In 2003, he scored the documentary film He Who Is Blessed for public television. Harry is taken from his third full-length CD, Secret Symphony, was released on June 23, 2008. The best news is that a new release is imminent.
Japanese - The Art of Shooting (Brooklyn, NY, USA) The Art Of Shooting is 3 folks from DC and one from Detroit who all live in Brooklyn and love one another very much. Their sound comes directly from Kelly's pelvis and inability to play by ear, making for a unique sound. They are often compared to Feist meeting Explsions in the Sky, the Pretenders, and an early Smashing Pumpkins and, in their time, have played every imaginable venue Manhattan and Brooklyn have to offer. Nov 10 The Sunset Tavern, Seattle, WA Nov 11 TBA Seattle, WA Nov 12 Le Voyeur Olympia, Wa Nov 13 Full Tilt Ice Cream Seattle, WA www.myspace.com/theartofshooting
Mace Spray - The Jezzabels (Sydney, Australia) One of the frustrations of CMJ was the artists that I didn't get to see, with around 50 shows on at any one time, it just isn't possible to see every you want to. The Jezabels are one such band. Formed at university in Sydney in 2007, their careers seem to have really taken off in the past 12 months. Since releasing their second EP, She’s So Hard, in November 2009, the four-piece have toured the country supporting Tegan & Sara, Katie Noonan and Josh Pyke, and as headliners in their own right (selling out shows nationally in the process). They’ve watched Hurt Me, the lead single from She’s So Hard, receive heavy rotation on radio in Australia and abroad, a feat also achieved by its follow-up, Easy To Love. Fittingly, The Jezabels have seen their fanbase grow every step of the way. There have been lessons learned along the way. The constant touring has, says 24-year-old keyboardist Heather Shannon, made the band – completed by guitarist Sam Lockwood (24) and drummer Nik Kaloper (25) – much tighter. Sharing the stage with Tegan & Sara, they learned how to work the biggest rooms of their career. Best of all, the long hours travelling betweens gigs and the routine of performing every night has solidified the band’s understanding of what it is that makes them tick. The Jezabels’ new EP, Dark Storm is the third and final release in a trilogy of EPs that began with 2009’s The Man Is Dead, its five songs represent the band’s most confident outing to date – moody, mysterious and epic, yet buzzing with the quartet’s ever-present knack for an irresistible pop hook.
Liet International 2010 On Saturday 27th of November the Breton city of An Orient (French: Lorient) will host the seventh edition of European minority language song contest Liet International, the one and only song contest for singers and bands who sing in a European minority language. In previous contests Liet international had songs in languages such as Basque, Breton, Catalan, Cornish, Corsican, Frisian, Friulian, Gaelic, Galician, Karelian, Lowgerman, Manx, Meankieli, Mordvinian, Northfrisian, Occitan, Romani, Sámi, Sorbian, Votian and Welsh. The Sámi (Laps) have won the festival four times, but the 2008 contest in Swedish Lapland was won by the Corsican singer Jacques Culioli.
Lliendes - Xera (Asturies, Spain) Jamendo One of the bands in the contest final is Asturian folk music group Xera. Asturies is right up in the far north of Spain facing out over the Bay of Biscay. Head due north from there and it's pretty much next stop Dublin! Their sound is an integration of electronic and traditional Asturian music, mixing live instruments with samplers, industrial percussion... with a symphonic treatment that result in a very wide spectrum of sensations. You can buy the CD or listen to the full Lliendes album for free on their site where you can also find more info about them (philosophy, concerts, etc.) Check out the contest site too at: www.liet.nl/internationaal/
I was in Southwold yesterday to meet up with Rob Chase who chose this month's Adnams Artist of the Month and has the glorious title of "Fine" wine manager upon which I, of course, immediately challenged him. There is an extended version of the interview with Rob on the SnC site under Artist of the Month (well, there will be tomorrow) and there will be an interview with October's AOTM Jordan Reyne in next week's SnC. Blood - Jordan Reyne (New Zealand via Hamburg) Jordan's unusual approach to music pairs the rhythms of steam-based technology and machinery with folk instruments and vocal styles, crossing technology with history to tell the dark stories of characters real and imagined. As evidenced by her 3 nominations for the “Tui” Music Award in her native New Zealand and her performance on the soundtrack of Peter Jackson’s Lord of the Rings films, she is a serious artist who puts an immense amount of time and effort into her work. There is an interview with Jordan in next week's show. She is one articulate and interesting woman with a very interesting approach to creating and playing her music.
The Extras, is a remarkable book of photographs by my podcasting colleague George Smyth. In it he beautifully records images of those people with whom he has no direct connection, who play no significant part in his life and yet who populate his world. The Extras. George's Bromoil prints are stunningly beautiful low resolution one-off prints. No two prints, even from the same negative, can ever be the same. There is an explanation of the process at the back of the book which you can view online and, if inclined, purchase from the site. Please do take a look I think it is just magic. www.blurb.com/bookstore/detail/1648400
Snow & Taxis - Gold Panda (Essex, UK) “I didn’t want to write ‘beats,’” says UK producer Gold Panda, “I didn’t want bangers. I wanted songs with structure.” And yet, despite the artist’s protests to the contrary, his debut album, Lucky Shiner, is full of bangers—of a kind. “Lots of factors affected the way it came together,” he explains, “touring, mixing, moving houses and splitting with a girlfriend. Family, friends, and lovers, places I’ve never been.” It’s that mix of directness and emotion that characterizes Lucky Shiner, an album of beat-driven electronic music that’s easy to fall in love with, and to. In Gold Panda’s world, vinyl-static beats and heart-on-sleeve melancholia collide, and the results are breathtaking. The first single, "Snow & Taxis," is available at The Ghostly Store (digital only) now and available at all digital retailers in North America and Continental Europe while the 12"/Digital version is available in the UK now. The single includes remixes from Glitterbug and Throwing Snow . Cologne-based producer Glitterbug’s “Pink Snow Balls Remix” stretches Gold Panda’s original to nearly twice its length, expanding the track’s sense of time into nine minutes of luscious ambient twirls and swirls. UK producer Throwing Snow bumps the BPM to a near-frantic speed and stirs up a flurry of micro-samples that lend “Snow & Taxis” a giddy, disorienting rush. Some dates in UK: 11.11 Brighton, UK @ Audio 11.13 Newcastle, UK @ The Cut 11.14 Leeds, UK @ Constellations Festival 11.15 Manchester, UK @ Ruby Lounge 11.16 Glasgow, UK @ King Tuts 11.18 London, UK @ Corsica Studios 11.19 Bristol, UK @ Start the Bus 11.20 Norwich, UK @ Arts Centre ... and France ... 12.10 Lille, FR @ La Peniche 12.11 Paris, FR @ La Maroquinerie |
Wed, 3 November 2010
Just a few New York tracks this week, now that I'm back from CMJ. It is certailly easier to produce the show on the dual screens rather than on the laptop which died again today. This time I think it is permanent. Shame I spent $100 last week on a new battery for it :( A brief visit to Cambridge demonstrated that autumn really is here - very few people out punting! UPDATE: Sorry about the delay to the mp3 being available - a glitch in the system that was probably caused by me. Thanks to DK in Germany and François in London for pointing it out ... very nicely :)
Singing in Tongues - Bleu (LA, CA, USA) The astonishing generosity of Bleu's fans helped him raise $40,000 following the launch of his campaign on DIY fundraising site Kickstarter. As a result of fans’ contributions, he’s been able to launch his own record label and put his album Four out himself in North America (U.K. indie Lojinx acquired the rights to release the record here in the UK). The financial offerings were accompanied by fervent good wishes. “I only wish I could afford to pledge more,” goes a typical comment. “I want to help because you are giving me so much with your music,” reads another, while still another admirer writes, “Loved your music for years—so glad to help in any way and be a small part of your work!” Bleu was stunned by the enthusiasm of his loyal fan base, “I was playing a show a couple of weeks ago and told everybody about the whole thing,” he recalls. “I started crying onstage.” The release follows on the heels of 2009’s critically admired A Watched Pot (which suffered, promotionally, from big-label implosions far out of his control), and comes amid a flurry of co-writing and production projects. “I really enjoy working with other artists part of the time and then creating my own material,” he says. “It keeps things nicely balanced.” He has just completed a UK tour and is heading for the US with November dates lined up: 11/09 Boston MA TT The Bear's 11/10 NYC NY Rockwood Music Hall 11/11 Easton, MD Nightcat 11/12 Philly PA Tin Angel - late show 11/13 Silver Sping MD House Concert 11/16 Nashville TN 3rd & Lindsley, 7pm early show 11/19 Indianapolis IN House Concert 11/21 Chicago IL Mayne Stage
If the Sea was Whiskey - Tin Pan (New York, NY, USA) The band comprises Jesse Selengut on trumpet, lead vocals and compositions, Clifton Hyde on guitar and hollerin’, Stefan Zeniuk on reeds and boy soprano vocals, and Peter “Baby Hands” Maness on bass and some singin’. They describe themselves as a “street band,” they often play in Central Park and in the New York City transit system. It’s the embodiment of the band’s belief that their music should be accessible – literally and figuratively. With two previous CD releases, Early Jazz and Americana and Alice McNulty, they sold a total of 6000 CD’s in 2008, a phenomenal total for an completely unsigned band, and earned rave notices in the New York Times and Huffington Post, among others. www.last.fm/user/TinPanBluesBand
If You Happen to See a USB Sticking Out of a Wall In New York... (via digitalmusicnews.com) This is one of those catchy ideas that may never get past novelty stage, and probably never make a dime. Then again, innovation has a funny way of spawning more innovation, often in unimaginable ways. The latest fun idea is happening in New York, where one disruptor is actually fixing USB sticks into walls. That's right, passers-by will just see the stick popping out, and can plug and share content at will. The idea, called 'Dead Drops' and created by Aram Bartholl, is just getting started, and just a smattering of sticks are planted right now (see list below). The overall concept is to encourage sharing within public spaces, and fan the flames on anonymous, anarchic trading. Bartholl is hoping this catches on, and encouraging similar 'implants' on deaddrops.com. Sounds fun, though use protection, son: who knows what's lingering on those dirty sticks. Some spots to check out... 87 3rd Avenue, Brooklyn, NY (Makerbot) Empire Fulton Ferry Park, Brooklyn, NY (Dumbo) 235 Bowery, NY (New Museum) Union Square, NY (Subway Station 14th St) 540 West 21st Street, NY (Eyebeam)
Birthplace - Mon Khmer (Brooklyn, NYC, USA) Rising Brooklyn act Mon Khmer (pronounced: Mohn-Kmair) released their debut EP, Birthplace on October 19th via High Scores Recordings. Tiding listeners over until their forthcoming debut LP, the six track EP contains the highlights of their short but fruitful two years together. Playing alongside acts like Bear in Heaven, Secret Machines, and Micachu & the Shapes, Mon Khmer have been captivating listeners sending them into a groove/trance/dance mode thanks to their tribal relentless and hypnotic rhythms that are legitimately hard to resist with their refined yet unclassifiable sound. The band’s unusual name derives from a family of languages that exist in Eastern Asia, called Mon Khmer. The worldliness of the name is quite fitting taking into account the wide array of influences that co-exist with each member. Having met in Boston, the four friends found home in Brooklyn and formed Mon Khmer, following a summer of session work that included Hammarsing (Vocals/Guitars) joining Albert Hammond Jr. (The Strokes) on a world tour. With Hammarsing’s departure, the remaining members of Mon Khmer kept busy with equally as exciting side-projects; Dave Cole (drums) is also a member of Rubblebucket while Matt Scheiner (bass/synths/vocals) splits his time with other Brooklyn band Oberhofer and Elias Meister (guitar) spends time playing in various jazz side projects.
The Return of Point of No Return - NuShooz Orchestra (Portland, OR, USA) The SHOOZ are back!!! More than two decades after their 1986 Top Ten Hit single, “I Can’t Wait,” took the world by storm, it continues to be played on radio stations around the globe every 11 minutes. Now NU SHOOZ returns with a new album, “Pandora’s Box”, and a 10 piece orchestra Gil Evans would have loved. Formed in Portland, Oregon in the summer of 1979, their line-up has changed over time, but in all its various forms, they’ve always pushed the boundaries between pop, funk, and jazz. Now, with the release of Pandora’s Box, Portland’s favorite soul explorers take one giant leap for mankind with a brave new sound, combining their signature brand of funk with elements borrowed from Film Noir, ‘60s Spy Movies and even Tarzan. This really is an interesting album. That said from one who really lost interest in a lot of chart music during the 80s. Even better news is that Valerie and John will be in Manchester in a week or so to play a gig at Sound Control. November 13, 2010 - 10 PM to 3 AM Venue: SOUND CONTROL Manchester, Greater Manchester M1 5NP Info: 0161 236 0340 Ticket price: £16.50 Ad Minimum age: 21 Other Information: Legends of the Old School presents the iconic NU SHOOZ performing their “Old School” hits at Sound Control, Manchester England. Also appearing: DJ’s Gordon West and Ben Chesters. For more information on Valerie and John’s first appearance in the UK since the 80′s, visit
Let's Kiss - Living Days (Brooklyn, NYC, USA) LIVING DAYS is a dark romantic pop group from Brooklyn, NY. The band begun when two broken hearted life long friends met up with the desire to soundtrack those hearts. The recording process was psychedelic and debaucherous, full of thunderstorms and fireworks and broken light bulbs (all of which they recorded). As an experiment, they began to consider the notion that the universe was a benevolent one and the rest of the five members showed up. Now, they all consider each other family. Their unpredictable front woman, Stephonik Youth, is an underground legendary performer. Venus magazine writes, "Stephonik is of a reckless charisma, a dizzying combination of swaggering bravado and heart-wrenching emotion." They have completed a full length album called "Make Out Room" produced by Matt Boynton (Gang Gang Dance, The Lemonheads, Amazing Baby, MGMT). They will release the album in two parts. The first part is an EP entitled, "Make Out Room, Part 1"
How it ends - DeVotchKa (Colorado, USA) It wasn't too long ago that a weary band hauling a violin, a tuba, an accordion, and trumpets into rock club were told they must be in the wrong place; when a band fusing musical elements from across the globe needed to fight to be considered a rock band instead of being marked by the dubious 'world music" tag. DeVotchKa is a four piece multi-instrumental and vocal ensemble that fuses Romani, Greek, Slavic and Bolero music with American punk and folk roots. The quartet is made up of Nick Urata, who sings and plays theremin, guitar, bouzouki, piano, and trumpet; Tom Hagerman, who plays violin, accordion, and piano; Jeanie Schroder, who sings and plays sousaphone and double bass; and Shawn King, who plays percussion and trumpet. Numerous nationwide tours in support of self released records earned the band an underground following. Their song “How It Ends” was featured on the trailer for the film “Everything Is Illuminated”, introducing the band to a widening audience. To hear more - visit their site. www.myspace.com/devotchkamusic http://twitter.com/devotchkaband
Spanish foufou l'electro - Audio_Out (Tarbes, France) By day a tracker and first-aid worker for a ski resort in the Pyrenees, Audio_out has been DJing for 6 years and his background in piano goes back twice that far. He has produced a few works on vinyl under the Fox Tanz and Freestylelisten labels and was more involved in the underground scene rather than clubs or festivals. You may want to take a look at http://www.freestylelisten.com/label/label.php?menu=art Watch out for the little pop-out player.
One more night in Brooklyn - Justin Townes Earle (Nashville, TN, USA) Justin Townes Earle's age belies his experience. Growing up in Nashville he mis-spent his youth playing in bluegrass/ragtime combo The Swindlers and the louder, more rocking The Distributors and developing some very bad habits. During tours as guitarist and keyboardist (“…and not a very good one,” laughs Earle) in his father Steve Earle's band, his problems became untenable and he was fired. Ultimately he cleaned up his act, dropped his self-destructive habits and began to focus on songcraft. “You don’t have to be fucked up or torture yourself to write songs,” explains Earle, “I used to write a lot, a whole lot, and half those songs I don’t even remember. Now, I sit there and I write it and I finish it and I keep it.” www.bloodshotrecords.com/artist/justin-townes-earle www.myspace.com/justintownesearle
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