Blockhead – The Music Scene

February 27th, 2010

 

I have to admit something to you right now. I had not been exposed to the work of Blockhead until “The Music Scene” was passed my way. As I sat listening to it, my first thought was  “Who is behind this layered madness!?!?”  Let me explain…

It’s an ethereal mix of organic layers with solid beats that are ultra-infectious. Almost to the point of being ridiculous. It teeters on the edge of darkness, but then a layer of strings pulls you back towards the light for the ultimate balance of yin and yang.

My favorite tracks on “The Music Scene” are:

The Music Scene

Which One of You Jerks Drank My Arnold Palmer?

The Daily Routine

Cool if you’re into: DJ Krush, Red Snapper or DJ Shadow.

Check out Blockhead’s MySpace:

http://www.myspace.com/theblockishot

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Ted Garber – American Rail

February 27th, 2010

 

 

This album has a little something for most people. While it does lack a solid rock song, it does have several flavors of blues and country tracks to satisfy you. Personally, I feel the music is very tight and well layered, it felt like it was a different singer on every track. I really wonder which voice is easiest for this musical chameleon to pull off!

Overall, the disc is good. I do however feel that Ted needs to find himself musically. I would love the opportunity to see him live to see how well he can recreate his recorded sound.

The stand out tracks for me are:

“March of the Working Class Hero”

“A Lot Like Me”

“It’s About Time”

For more info:

http://www.tedgarber.com

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Sweet Apple (Featuring J. Mascis/Cobra Verde & Witch Members) Premiere Debut Single “Do You Remember” On Pitchfork Debut LP Love & Desperation Out April 20th On Tee Pee Records US Tour To Come

February 18th, 2010

Click below To Listen To “Do You Remember”

http://bit.ly/c9Mpbx

Most bands are brought together by guitars, amps and drums. Sweet Apple formed after tragedy, out of friendship, on a miserable day in Vermont. At first glance, the rock ‘n’ roll quartet might seem like one of those “indie-rock supergroup” sideshows. Yes, J. Mascis (drums/guitar/vocals) plays in Dinosaur Jr. Tim Parnin (guitar) and John Petkovic (vocals/guitar) play in Cobra Verde. Dave Sweetapple (bass/vocals) plays in Witch. But Sweet Apple was born of a death — and a cross country drive. Totally by chance.

It was rainy morning in December when John Petkovic got in his car heading eastward. He had no destination in mind, let alone plans for a band. He just wanted to  drive away. “My mother had just died after a long, horrible illness,” he says. “And I’d been totally devastated by so many things, all at once. I’d lost so much weight. I couldn’t eat or sleep. All I did was smoke cigarettes, one and after another after another.”

John got in his car and went for a long smoke. Four hundred miles from his hometown of Cleveland, and out of the blue, he received a phone call from friend Dave Sweetapple. “I couldn’t believe he was driving around aimlessly,” says Sweetapple, of Brattleboro, Vt. “When I found out he was so close to Vermont I told him to come over.”  Dave also called their mutual friend J. Mascis, who lives nearby in Amherst, Ma., and told him to come over. J did, and told John to start writing a bunch of songs when he got back home – so they could start a band.

John hadn’t played guitar for months. He came up with four songs on the ride home – including “I Can’t See You,” with its haunting refrain, “I drove and drove and drove and drove. And drove and drove and drove and drove.” Within three weeks, John was jamming with CV bandmate Tim Parnin – and they whittled 25 songs down to 12.

“Out of the blue, we had an album full of catchy tunes,” says Parnin. “It’s one of the weirdest things I’ve experienced playing in bands.” Even weirder, many of the songs are upbeat – fun and mockingly funny, with loud, brash guitars. “Do You Remember” is a driving anthem. “I’ve Got a Feeling That Won’t Change” is wounded pop. “Flying Up a Mountain” is a nihilist singalong.

Love & Desperation was recorded in Cleveland and Massachusetts. It was mixed by John Agnello (Dinosaur Jr., Sonic Youth, The Hold Steady) and Don Depew (Guided By Voices, Cobra Verde).  “I tell people that I saved John’s life by starting this band,” says Mascis. “But they don’t believe me.”

Sweet Apple is:

J. Mascis – Guitar god in Dinosaur Jr.; drummer in Witch. Played with Cobra Verde for a spell. Owns hundreds of guitar pedals and dozens of Adidas. Favorite color is purple. Worked in a coffee shop in India, even though he doesn’t drink coffee. Spends a lot of money at Whole Foods.

Tim Parnin – Guitarist in Cobra Verde. Plays guitar with former Faith No More singer Chuck Mosely. Former clothing designer. Cleveland Cavaliers season ticket holder. Partied with Shaq.

John Petkovic – Frontman for Cobra Verde. Still gets acting residuals from “The OC.” Former aid to the Crown Prince of Yugoslavia. Ex-guitarist in Guided by Voices. Writes about bars and movies for Cleveland’s daily newspaper. Working on underwear-themed art show. Smokes less, eats more gummy bears.

Dave Sweetapple – Bassist in Witch. Native of Newfoundland, Canada (where they beat baby seals). Prefers rock over free jazz. Grew his hair long after seeing a photo of the Alice Cooper Band. Collects rare mushrooms. Trains a best-in-breed Scottish Deerhound named Cyril.
www.myspace.com/sweetapplesongs

www.teepeerecords.com/

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Daedelus – New EP – Righteous Fists Of Harmony – Out March 22nd on Brainfeeder!

February 11th, 2010

Tracklisting:
1. An Armada Approaches
2. Tidal Waves Uprising
3. The Open Hand Avows
4. Order Of The Golden Dawn (featuring Laura Darling)
5. The Finishing of a Thing
6. Succumbing To (featuring Kid A)
7. Stampede Me (with Amir Yaghmai)
8. Fin De Siècle

Brand new promo video here – http://www.brainfeedersite.com/2010/02/08/daedelus-righteous-fists-of-harmony/

**********
Brainfeeder goes global!

The Brainfeeder record label was started by Flying Lotus in 2008 drawing on LA’s underground beat scene, the early releases have established a new sound at the intersection of hip hop and electronica. Now they are going international, putting in place a distribution deal which means their records will be available to more than just a few aficionados.

Flying Lotus had a very simple reason for starting Brainfeeder. “When I first started out, I was lucky enough to have great people take me under their wing and point me in the right  direction. I’ll never forget it, and I try to do my best to do the same for people I believe in. I know that what my peers and I are doing is really important, and I feel the music we’ve created is something that speaks to a new generation, so it’s our responsibility to nurture and guide this movement we started.”

With a roster incorporating buzz names such as Lorn, Samiyam and The Gaslamp Killer and with the next release for the label being a mini-album from Daedelus, the movement is taking shape. “Daedelus was one of the first people I met in the LA scene, he hardly knew me or my sound at all and invited me into his home and shared stories and music with me when I was trying to find my way out here. He’s been such a great and inspiring friend ever since. I feel like with this album we’re close to coming full circle.”

Following that up will be albums from Lorn (“a dark and brooding electronic record that I really think will surprise people”), a label compilation, plus “Sam[iyam] is saying he’s close to finished. And I know GLK is working on his album, he’s sounding super excited to be able to get some time in the studio, if he can ever stop DJing.”

(Daedelus will be releasing his next Ninja Tune album entitled ‘Bespoke’ in late 2010 or early 2011.)

LIVE

DAEDELUS along with NOSAJ THING and JOGGER, are currently on the “Magical Properties Tour” across North America:

Feb 4th – Space 120 – Palm Springs, California
Feb 5 – Echoplex – Los Angeles, California
Feb 6 – Mighty – San Francisco, California
Feb 7 – Jambalaya – Arcata, California
Feb 8 – Rotture – Portland, Oregon
Feb 9 – Fortune Sound Club – Vancouver, British Columbia
Feb 10 – Neumos – Seattle, Washington
Feb 12 – Hodi’s Half Note – Fort Collins, Colorado
Feb 13 – Gothic Theater – Englewood, Colorado
Feb 14 – Mad Planet – Milwaukee, Wisconsin
Feb 15 – Majestic Theater – Madison, Wisconsin
Feb 16 – Lincoln Hall – Chicago, Illinois
Feb 17 – Grog Shop – Cleveland, Ohio
Feb 18 – Wrong Bar – Toronto, Ontario
Feb 19 – Le Belmont – Montreal, Quebec
Feb 20 – Le Poisson Rouge – New York, New York
Feb 22 – Kung Fu Necktie – Philadelphia, Pennsylvania
Feb 23 – Bourbon Street – Baltimore, Maryland
Feb 24 – Xscape Lounge – Richmond, Virginia
Feb 25 – 90 Proof- knoxville, TN
Feb 26 – Club 828 – Asheville, North Carolina
Feb 27 – New Earth Music Hall – Athens, GA

brainfeedersite.com
myspace.com/brainfeeder
twitter.com/BrainFeeder
vimeo.com/brainfeeder
facebook.com/pages/BRAINFEEDER/117839439630?ref=ts

Roster
Flying Lotus, Samiyam, Ras G, The Gaslamp Killer, FLYamSAM, Mono/Poly, Teebs, Dr. Strangeloop, Lorn, Matthewdavid, Ques, Daedelus and many more.

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The Infesticons return! Listen to “Kick Anthem” here!

February 10th, 2010

The Infesticons – “Kick Anthem”

Single – “Kick Anthem” out 5th April on Big Dada Records

Album – “Bedford Park” – out 12th April on Big Dada Records

Listen now!
http://www.bigdada.com/infesticons

Recently relaunched Mike Ladd website – www.mikeladd.net

Mike Ladd returns with the third and final part of his epic Infesticons trilogy, a clarion call against obscurity, indifference and apathy. Some fights are worth fighting and even battles that are lost are worth remembering. In this spirit, for “Bedford Park” Ladd has put together a series of “Anthems” and the first fanfare is sounded by “Kick Anthem”.

Combining Bollywood polyrhythms with punk attitude, Ladd and his band rip through “Kick…” with the kind of abandon and energy which can’t be faked. Saul Williams takes on backing vox duties, having turned up at the studio while Mike was recording. Ladd’s lyrics, meanwhile, subvert the standard rock themes of love and betrayal, ending with him getting ready to smother his ex-lover in his favourite body oils: “Nubian Hawkwind, Egyptian Pinky Ring, Lumumba AK, Angolan Whisper, Portugese Scum, Spanish Dead Men” and so on, the most innocent listings packed with subtext.

One of the true rebel geniuses of Black music, Mike Ladd operates at the intersection of hip hop, punk, funk and spoken word, in the process making some of the most vital and intelligent music of his times. Alongside his Infesticons trilogy for Big Dada he has recorded a succession of solo albums for, amongst others, Mercury, !K7 and legendary hardcore label ROIR. His work with jazz pianist Vijay Iyer has been widely acclaimed, touring major jazz festivals and being released on classic imprint Savoy. He likes playing with toy soldiers.

Press for The Infesticons project:

“A mind- blowing collision of progressive beat-box noise and freeform lyrical splatter… brilliantly deconstructed avant-rap. Exhilarating” – The Times

“(Mike Ladd) has managed to perfectly refract… the tripped-out freakish party jams of Clinton’s funkadelia through a hip hop lens” – NME

“Of all the voices to emerge from the hip hop underground… Mike Ladd represents the scene’s creative apex… Stunning” – The Wire

http://www.myspace.com/infesticons

http://www.ninjatune.net/bigdada/

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UME playing Austin this Friday + SXSW

February 10th, 2010

We’re excited to announce a couple Austin shows leading up to SXSW, including this Friday at The Highball!

Friday, February 12th @ The Highball (1142 S Lamar Blvd)
101x Homegrown Live presents
UME, The Laughing, and Jet Horns
$5 Tickets available here.

Saturday, March 13th @ Mohawk (912 Red River)
Sixteen Deluxe Reunion Show w/ UME

March 16th-20th SXSW showcase and party info coming soon

It’s been almost a year since we self-released our Sunshower EP and we’ve sold out of the first pressing!  There is a limited edition 10″ GOLD 180 gram vinyl of Sunshower now available for sale online at Karate Body Records, Waterloo and End of an Ear Records, and at shows.

Full-length and tour announcements coming soon… Yay!

Love,
UME (ooo-may)

www.facebook.com/pages/Ume/47221309898
www.myspace.com/umemusic

www.twitter.com/umemusic

www.umemusic.com

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King Cannibal tour continues, Ninja Tune launches quarterly in NY this Tuesday!

February 4th, 2010

King Cannibal’s started his tour off right, murdering Boston and Pittsburgh and seducing a 5000+ crowd in -30 (celsius) weather at Igloofest in Montreal with his unique dark and resonating sound. Here are the remaining dates on his FIRST EVER tour in the US.

Feb 5th : Madison (Inferno Club)
Feb 8th : Chicago (Empty Bottle)
Feb 9th : New York (Santo’s, moved from APT)
Feb 10th : L.A (Low End Theory at The Airliner)
Feb 11th : Seattle (Contour)
Feb 12th : Calgary (Lord Nelson)

To sweeten the deal, his New York appearance at Santo’s is also the first in a quarterly Ninja Tune Presents series at the NY venue so if you’re in the tri state area, make sure to free your calendar. This event will also be a kick-off of sorts on a larger scale as the label is celebrating their 20th Anniversary with global events and limited releases running well through 2010. And did we mention the event is FREE?

Santo’s Facebook event page: http://www.facebook.com/home.php?#!/event.php?eid=262022441364&ref=ts
Myspace: myspace.com/kingcannibal
Blog: godsofwar.wordpress.com

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New Bonobo album Black Sands out March, preview the album here!

February 3rd, 2010

Bonobo returns in 2010 with his new album Black Sands, out on Ninja Tune 23 March.   Please download the preview edit of “Eyesdown” here on the eflyer!  A true departure from some of his outings in the past, the skipping beat of “Eyesdown” and the way he weaves vocalist Andreya Triana’s vocals through layers of sub-bass show Green making his own moves with the influences of two-step.

www.ninjatune.net/bonobo

Also, we have the video for the first single, “The Keeper”, which shows Green and Triana coming through with their most intense, emotional outing.  He coaxes a fantastic, characterful performance from Triana and makes music which is both melancholy and effortlessly uplifting. Remixes come Redeyes, who offers the neatest d&b re-working of the original, and labelmates Grasscut, who strip things back to faintly sinister musicbox atmospherics.

The video can be seen here: http://www.vimeo.com/5638643

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Lou Rhodes (Lamb) announces return with free download, new album, and EPK

January 26th, 2010

The Mercury-nominated British singer songwriter Lou Rhodes (of Lamb fame!) has returned with her third solo album “One Good Thing”, released April 20th through The Cinematic Orchestra’s new label Motion Audio (distributed by Ninja Tune).

“With ‘There For The Taking’ I wanted to express the way that, if we just stop and fall back into the arms of the universe for a moment, she usually comes through,” says Rhodes of the writing process for this track.

‘One Good Thing’ brilliantly and beautifully reflects the very natural talent of one of Britain’s most accomplished and unconventional singer songwriters. Recorded in just two weeks in live takes with minimal editing and overdubs, the result is a record of disarming honesty.

Watch this EPK here – http://www.youtube.com/motionaudiorecords

Get the track here for FREE: http://www.motionaudiorecords.com/lourhodes

We’ll be posting a review of the album shortly.

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The Heavy Performing on The Late Show with David Letterman Tonight on CBS (11:35pm ET/PT)

January 18th, 2010

The Heavy Performing on
The Late Show with David Letterman
Tonight on CBS (11:35pm ET/PT)

The boys from Noid, England have been busy since landing Stateside just a week ago. The Heavy played four rambunctious shows this past week, including two as support for the HotRats — Gaz Coombes and Danny Goffey from Supergrass’ side project — and two packed headlining gigs in NY and Philly.

In addition to their live concerts, The Heavy took over the web this past week. If you missed their performances the first time, check out The Heavy on WNYC, MTV Iggy, VIMBY, Shockhound, and LP33 TV. The band also performed live on WFUV.

What’s more, The Heavy’s ‘Sixteen’ was just featured as NPR’s Song Of The Day!

Had that been all the band accomplished this week, that would be a feat, but no, The Heavy are not done yet. To top off their trip to the States, they’re going out with a bang and are landing on US telly nationwide tonight on The Late Show with David Letterman (Monday, January 18, 2010, 11:35pm ET/PT on CBS). The Heavy will perform the US television debut of their single ‘How You Like Me Now?’, off the band’s sophomore album, The House That Dirt Built, out now on Counter/+1 Records. The performance will feature special guests The Dap Kings on horns.

The Heavy now has an iPhone App that is chock-full of all things heavy, get it for free in the iTunes store.

Get Heavy.

Download the eFlyer now! http://www.counterrecords.com/theheavydownload

Site – http://www.theheavy.co.uk
Twitter – http://www.twitter.com/theheavy
Myspace – http://www.myspace.com/theheavy73
Facebook – http://www.facebook.com/theheavy73

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