Archive for January, 2012

January 26th, 2012 News No Comments »

Bishop Morocco Drops Old Boys EP on March 13th

Bishop Morocco

Arts & Crafts have announced the release of Old Boys, the new EP from Toronto natives Bishop Morocco, due out on March 13th.

Bishop Morocco is the musical vision of James Sayce and Jake Fairley. The Toronto-based duo recorded its 2008 self-titled debut at a homemade studio in their Groningen, Netherlands apartment, earning international attention from the likes of Parisian tastemaker Collette and helping develop a strong following at home in Canada. Two years later, Bishop Morocco arrives on Arts & Crafts with Old Boys, a six-track EP on which the band strays from its original new wave influences towards a thicker, more contemplative sound, aided by the addition of Ian Worang on guitar and Jon McCann on drums.

A savvy delivery loaded with smart electronic instrumentation and richly textured melodies, Old Boys was recorded at another homemade studio, this time inside Fairley’s mom’s guest bedroom in west Toronto.

January 26th, 2012 Tour Dates No Comments »

Russian Circles Announce Spring 2012 European and UK Tour Dates

Russian Circles

Chicago trio, Russian Circles, today announced extensive Spring 2012 tour dates throughout Europe and the UK in support of their critically praised new album Empros. Please see complete dates below.

Russian Circles return with not only their fourth and heaviest album to date—but also with Empros they’re poised to take the crown as innovators reinvigorating the staid trappings of genre. Empros picks up where the anthemic riffs and melodies of 2009′s (i>Geneva left off and injects evermore slithering rhythms amid skull-crushing heft with all the visceral intensity of Godflesh, Swans and Neurosis. Put simply, Empros is Russian Circles’ Master of Reality: a radical revision of both heavy and melody that is monolithic in its clarity and perfection. Or, like a lone surviving wooly beast emerging from a brutal winter’s frost, Empros is the sound of a band shaking the ages from its shoulders with all the brutal force of a behemoth awakened.

Russian Circles Tour Dates
Apr 05 – Prague, CZ @ Matrix
Apr 06 – Vienna, AT @ Arena
Apr 07 – Munich, DE @ Feierwerk
Apr 08 – Dresden, DE @ Beatpol
Apr 09 – Berlin, DE @ Festsaal Kreuzberg
Apr 10 – Warsaw, PL @ Hydrozagadka
Apr 11 – Vilnius, LT @ Propaganda
Apr 12 – Riga, LV @ Gertrudes 101
Apr 13 – Tallinn, ES @ Electric Storm Festival at Tapper
Apr 14 – Helsinki, FI @ Virgin Oil Company
Apr 15 – Moscow, RU @ Gogol
Apr 16 – Stockholm, SE @ Strand
Apr 17 – Oslo, NO @ Revolver
Apr 18 – Gothenberg, SE @ Truckstop Alaska
Apr 19 – Copenhagen, DK @ KB 18
Apr 20 – Hamburg, DE @ Hafenklang
Apr 21 – Utrecht, NI @ Tivoli
Apr 22 – Brussels, BE @ Magasin 4
Apr 23 – Esch-Sur-Alzette, LU @ Rockhal
Apr 25 – Glasgow, UK @ Stereo
Apr 26 – Belfast, IE @ Speakeasy
Apr 27 – Limerick, IE @ Dolan’s Warehouse
Apr 28 – Dublin, IE @ Button Factory
Apr 29 – Manchester, UK @ The Ruby Lounge
Apr 30 – London, UK @ Scala Theater
May 02 – Paris, FR @ Point Ephemere
May 03 – Kortrijk, BE @ De Kreun
May 04 – Koln, DE @ Gebaeude 9
May 05 – Karlsruhe, DE @ Jubez
May 06 – Zurich, CH @ Rote Fabrik
May 07 – Geneva, CH @ Le Kab
May 08 – Milan, IT @ Magnolia
May 09 – Lyon, FR @ Le Clacson
May 11 – Bilbao, ES @ Azkena
May 12 – Porto, PT @ Hard Club
May 13 – Lisbon, PT @ Musicbox
May 14 – Madrid, ES @ Ritmo & Compas
May 15 – Barcelona, ES @ Apolo 2

January 24th, 2012 News No Comments »

Human Woman Debut New Single and Spinning Video For Delusional

Human Woman

Icelandic duo, Human Woman, have teamed up with hfn music (Trentemøller, Kasper Bjørke) to release the single “Delusional” in advance of their forthcoming LP set to drop later this year. Comprised of Gisli Galdur (aka Galdur) of Icelandic band Trabant and producer Jo´n Atli Helgason (aka Sexy Lazer), Human Woman have forged a fantastic fusion of modern electronic pop with the debut single. Taking influences across the board, the duo have cooked up a sensual, catchy indie-dance track that is pleasingly reminiscent of the ’80s. Directed by Einar Snorri and Helgason, the psychedelic video for “Delusional” merges footage of a master hula-hoopist with prismatic images that mirror the shapes she creates.

The single also features remixes from Danish DJ and producer Kasper Bjørke who contributes a slow house-disco track and a tense Dub version as a digital extra. Berlin’s Vincenzo then takes on the single with a bass heavy club mix that maintains the slow tempo. Zev, a DJ and owner of NYC label, Wolf & Lamb offers a “Brooklyn Beatdown Mix” and a “Dreamland Mix” incorporating dramatic washes of color and dreamy synth flourishes into the original track. Human Woman will release another single “Love Games” in late April before putting out their debut full-length.

January 23rd, 2012 News No Comments »

Archer Black Drops Forgiveness Is A Weapon on February 7th

Archer Black

Los Angeles-based band Archer Black will release its debut album Forgiveness Is A Weapon, the first full-length release for the newly formed Post Planetary record label, on February 7th.

Archer Black is led by Dustin Morgan, the longtime bass player of The Autumns, who brings a wealth of musical experiences to this new project. Morgan has previously toured the U.S. and Europe (where he met Archer Black band mates, Drummer Steve Elkins and Guitarist Madison Megna) with The Autumns, travelled to Central America to play in composer Eldad Tarmu’s Middle Eastern jazz ensemble, recorded in Los Angeles with noted jazz saxophonist Benny Golbin, and most recently appeared on stage in New York and Los Angeles with French cult icon, SoKo.

Morgan has also studied with Victor Vanacore, orchestrator and arranger for Ray Charles and Johnny Mathis among others. Sonically, Morgan takes the listener from Black Sabbath to Bjork and from Steve Reich to Steve Albini on Forgiveness Is A Weapon.

Of the lyrical content on Forgiveness Is A Weapon, Morgan states, “I didn’t set out to write an entire record of songs about war. Really, the record is made up of love songs.” Citing the song “The Bomb” as an example, Morgan clarifies that the tune is actually about the idea that the deeper two people become invested in one another, the more potential they have to hurt one other. “Essentially you have a nuclear arms race that results in mutually assured destruction. See, it’s a love song!”

That being said, Forgiveness Is A Weapon is still populated with war imagery that plays as war imagery. Confronted with this fact, Morgan admits that the record was written shortly after his brother was enlisted to fight in Afghanistan and Iraq. “Every time I put pen to paper to write what was in my heart, this shaped the metaphors,” he says.

January 21st, 2012 News, Tour Dates No Comments »

Janus Drops Nox Aeris on March 27th with Tour Dates

Janus

Janus—singer David Scotney, guitarist Mike Tyranski, bassist Alan Quitman and drummer Johnny Salazar—experienced great success with their 2009 debut album, Red Right Retunr, but the band’s new album, Nox Aeris, reveals how far they’ve come.

That musical revelation is the self-produced Nox Aeris, which is due out March 27th on REALID Records (through Warner Music Group’s Independent Label Group). The first single, “Stains,” is already getting spins at WIIL (Chicago), KPNT (St. Louis), WBUZ (Nashville), WJJO (Madison), WWBN (Flint), KHTQ (Spokane), as well as SiriusXM’s “Octane” and “Hard Drive XL.”

“Stains” explores what can happen when you don’t follow your heart, the marks left on your spirit when you become someone you’re not. “It embodies what I was trying to say on the record,” says singer David Scotney, “it’s a dark point of view, but represents a cathartic process of self-healing.”

In 2012 touring news, the band’s first round of tour dates will be with Chevelle and Middle Class Rut starting February 24th in Grand Rapids, MI. Additional dates are set to be announced in the coming weeks.

The record’s title, which is Latin for “night air,” comes from the 14th Century, a period where a third of the European population was killed off by the plague. Then, people believed going outdoors at night would cause them to succumb to the Black Death. While writing Nox Aeris, Janus found this idea to be an apt metaphor for their own journey, preconceived notions of their own being flipped around as they became a bigger, more established band since the release of Red Right Return. Nox Aeris reveals who Janus is and what they’ve gone through.

Red Right Returm came out in September 2009 on REALID Records and spawned the Top 10 Active Rock hit, “Eyesore.” They spent months on the road touring with Chevelle, Sick Puppies, Sevendust, Halestorm, Five Finger Death Punch, and Alice In Chains. Janus also sold-out numerous headlining shows of their own, appeared on MTV’s “Headbangers Ball” and performed in the biggest rock festivals in the U.S., including Rock On The Range.

Janus Tour Dates
Fri 2/24 – Grand Rapids, MI – Orbit Room
Sat 2/25 – Fort Wayne, IN – Piere’s
Sun 2/26 – Niagara Falls, NY – Rapids Theatre
Tue 2/28 – Portland, ME – State Theater
Wed 2/29 – New York, NY – Irving Plaza
Fri 3/2 – Providence, RI – Lupo’s Heartbreak Hotel
Sat 3/3 – Atlantic City, NJ – House of Blues
Mon 3/5 – Baltimore, MD – Rams Head Live
Tue 3/6 – Norfolk, VA – The Norva
Thu 3/8 – Knoxville, TN – Valarium
Fri 3/9 – Nashville, TN – Marathon Music
Sat 3/10 – Indianapolis, IN – Egyptian Room at Old National Centre
Sun 3/11 – Springfield, MO – Gillioz Theatre
Tue 3/13 – Wichita, KS – Cotillion Ballroom
Wed 3/14 – Omaha, NE – Sokol Auditorium
Fri 3/16 – Oklahoma City, OK – Diamond Ballroom

All dates with Chevelle and Middle Class Rut

January 12th, 2012 News No Comments »

Creep’s Animals Featuring Holly Miranda Remix MP3 and Single Out January 17th

Creep

Brooklyn producer duo, Creep, will release their newest single, “Animals” featuring guest vocals from Holly Miranda on Tuesday, January 17th. “Animals” is a ghostly blend of Holly Miranda’s ethereal vocals and Creep’s sinister beats & string arrangements. Today Creep has released a new remix from the single. Check out the new “Animals featuring Holly Miranda (Modern Machines remix) right here.

Creep is producers/ DJs Lauren Flax and Lauren Dillard. Lauren Flax is an internationally renowned house DJ and producer. Their ghostly debut singles “Days” featuring The xx’s Romy Madley-Croft and “You” featuring Nina Sky came out earlier this year. Upcoming releases from Creep include their debut full length, which will feature collaborations with Planningtorock, Andrew Wyatt and more.

January 12th, 2012 News No Comments »

The Chemical Brothers: Don’t Think Concert Event Experience in Theaters February 1st

The Chemical Brothers Don't Think

Multi Grammy Award-winning electronic music duo, The Chemical Brothers, will bring their highly anticipated concert event, The Chemical Brothers: Don’t Think to select movie theaters nationwide for a one-night event on Wednesday, February 1 at 7:30 p.m. local time. Directed by Adam Smith, the band’s long time visual collaborator and produced with 20 cameras at Japan’s Fujirock Festival in July 2011 in front of 50,000 dedicated fans, this event marks the first time the duo’s full live experience has been captured for audiences. Considered to be one of the most mind-bendingly psychedelic live shows ever seen, The Chemical Brothers: Don’t Think combines the band’s famously ferocious modern electronic sounds and hardcore dance beats with striking, eye-catching visuals and will be followed by an exclusive interview with Adam Smith recorded in London in late 2011.

Tickets for The The Chemical Brothers: Don’t Think are available at participating theater box offices and online at www.FathomEvents.com. For a complete list of theater locations and prices, visit the NCM Fathom website (theaters and participants are subject to change). The event will be broadcast to more than 200 select movie theaters across the country through NCM’s exclusive Digital Broadcast Network.
“The Chemical Brothers: Don’t Think Think will take fans on an exhilarating ride,” said Dan Diamond, senior vice president of NCM Fathom. “Mixed for the big screen by the band themselves, this Fathom concert event perfectly captures the energy and emotion of one of their most sensational performances.”

Formed in Manchester in 1991 by Tom Rowlands and Ed Simons, The Chemical Brothers are a British electronic music duo. Considered pioneers of bringing the electronic music genre to the forefront of pop culture, The Chemical Brothers have released seven studio albums to date, five of which consecutively debuted at number 1 in the UK. They have won numerous Grammy and Brit awards over the length of their career. Their score for the film Hanna won awards, while the track “Don’t Think” from their album Further was featured in the hugely acclaimed Oscar winning movie Black Swan.

“In the recording of a single show—a single night on a Japanese mountainside—Adam Smith, our longtime collaborator, has managed to capture the atmosphere of a very special festival appearance,” said Tom Rowlands of The Chemical Brothers. “Come see how it feels to feel, be overwhelmed, intoxicated, swoonerated… Surrender to the void.”

Often described as “the third Chemical Brother,” Adam Smith has worked with the Chemical Brothers since their first gig in 1994, designing the visionary video elements of the duos’ live shows, which have become synonymous with their work. From humble beginnings back when he would project spliced 16mm films behind the band at semi-legal raves to conceptualizing an entire album’s worth of visuals (for last year’s Further LP), Smith has created an ever-evolving, hallucinogenic backdrop to one of the most in-demand live shows in electronic music.

“After 18 years of working on The Chemical Brothers live show, we have finally captured it on film; you could almost say it’s 18 years in the making,” said Smith. “I wanted to capture what it is like to experience the show from right in the middle of the crowd, as well as showing and combining the visuals featured in the show with the footage we captured on this one night; to see how the music and visuals emotionally affect and connect with the audience.”

January 12th, 2012 News No Comments »

Cotton Mather Prepares Proper American Issue of Kontiki 15 Years After Original Release

Cotton Mather

Austin, Texas-based band, Cotton Mather, will re-issue its influential 1997 album Kontiki on Valentine’s Day, 2012. Or, as band leader, Robert Harrison, points out, it will basically issue it for the first time. “People have certain assumptions when they hear ‘re-release,’” says Harrison. “But, if our US label at the time only printed two thousand copies and sent it to rarified writers and overseas, was it ever released in the US at all?”

Truly, it seems that most everyone who got to hear Kontiki, an album that has since gone on to be considered an influential, albeit hard-to-acquire classic, were those it actually influenced. In the US, early supporter Britt Daniel of Spoon talked about Kontiki as an inspiration and Little Steven Van Zandt of the E-Street Band gave it generous play on his nationally syndicated radio show. While the record never had a chance commercially in America, in the UK the album was an instant smash in the press, earning raves from Mojo, Uncut and The Guardian upon its European release. When Noel and Liam Gallagher of Oasis discovered the record, they talked about it in interviews, and ultimately invited Cotton Mather on tour.

Even though Kontiki suffered from a lack of a marketing strategy in the US, the music itself was no accident. “When we made Kontiki we’d been courted, groomed and disappointed by the music industry for three years already,” explains Harrison. “Records, at that time, were still being made under the authority of ‘professionals’ and the professionals, up until that point, had failed us. So we reacted.” Harrison continues, explaining, “We were a band operating with a punk rock ethos that eschewed music industry convention and embraced the garage as laboratory in the age before Pro-Tools. The headlines at the time were all ‘Holy shit! It’s four-track cassette?’ We decided the songs were tough enough to withstand our technical limitations and that we could capture the part of it that was pure rock ‘n’ roll. I think that’s why musicians were into it.”

Continuing to reflect on that time nearly a decade-and-a-half later, Harrison adds, “I suppose that besides the songs, it was also the disobedience and daring we displayed when it came to recording and career path that made Cotton Mather loveable, and yet in some ways, it’s what made us little known, as well. Today, everybody is making their own records, but sometimes that’s not a good thing. We’re now hearing the first generation of artists who’ve modeled their whole aesthetic on crappy sounding home recordings. People have come up to me over the years to say ‘You inspired me to record myself!,’ and I think, ‘Sorry about that!’”

Harrison’s songwriting and ahead-of-his-time production skills on Kontiki can finally be heard instead of just discussed now that he has regained the rights to the album and scheduled it for a deluxe “re-issue” on February 14th, 2012 on his own Star Apple Kingdom label.In addition to the original album and copious liner notes, the package comes with the requisite second disc of outtakes, tracks that didn’t make the album and demos like the acoustic version of the rave-up of an album opener “Camp Hill Rail Operator.”

January 10th, 2012 News No Comments »

Seattle-based Lux Drops Debut Album, We Are Not The Same, on April 3rd

Lux
The Seattle-based duo, Lux, will release its debut album, We Are Not The Same on April 3rd, 2012. Inspired by some of the most essential artists of the era of indie and underground music (Pavement, The Velvet Underground, Sonic Youth, The Magnetic Fields, The Jesus & Mary Chain, New Order, Blondie), Leah Rosen and David Chandler trade off vocals, guitars, synths and drum programming on the record that they also wrote, recorded and mixed themselves.

The pair originally met via Craigslist in early 2010 and quickly released the digital EP, Disorders, just a scant five months later in July of that year. Inspired by the DIY ethics of their heroes, Rosen and Chandler began to relentlessly promote the songs on the internet, gaining the attention of adventurous foreign blogs in Switzerland, the United Kingdom, France, Sweden, Italy, and Spain.

The songs began to rack up hundreds of plays a day and after setting up a Facebook page, Lux quickly amassed 8500+ Likes—an impressive feat for a self-released, self-promoted act that was already doing everything else itself. Lux also printed up a couple hundred copies of Disorders, mailed them out themselves to a list of college radio stations, and promptly landed on the playlists of influential stations such as WNYU at New York University and KALX at the University of California at Berkeley.

Lux is still contemplating how it will play live (they never have!) as both Rosen and Chandler are self-confessed control freaks susceptible to the unpredictable nature of the stage. “Really, we just haven’t got around to it yet,” says Chandler. “We were actually offered a tour of Europe, but decided to focus on recording the album instead.” The debut Lux album, We Are Not The Same is aet for an April 3rd release.

January 10th, 2012 News No Comments »

Le Butcherettes Record NPR Tiny Desk Concert and Announce Coachella News

Le ButcherettesGarage-punk trio Le Butcherettes are currently at work on a followup to last year’s breakout debut, Sin Sin Sin. That hasn’t kept Teri Gender Bender out of the public eye, however. The group’s charismatic singer/guitarist/keyboardist recently recorded a captivating live acoustic set for NPR’s Tiny Desk Concert series.

Le Butcherettes also announce today they will perform at this year’s Coachella festival on both Sundays, April 15th and 22nd in Indio, CA. Omar Rodriguez Lopez (At the Drive In, The Mars Volta)—who is also reprising his role as producer and bass player for the band’s sophomore album—will be playing bass for these shows.

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