Black Sands - Bonobo Saint Dymphna- Gang Gang Dance Hercules and Love Affair- Hercules and Love Affair High Places vs. Mankind- High Places Settings EP- Tanlines Low Ceiling EP- Poirier 2- Javelin Diego Bernal- For Corners*
For those who don't know, I'm minorly obsessed with the Barcelona music scene. Beyond having a burgeoning arts scene for sometime, the Barcelona alternative music community is small but lush. During my time in Spain I got to explore BCN for all its musical iterations, whether Razzmatazz style Electro or intimate Serrat troubadours, BCN is all over the place. Indeed my favorite haunt is a place in the Gracia Barrio, out of the typical tourist range, called Heliogabal. A small bar, Heliogabal features all kinds of experimental sounds ranging from Barcelona IDM artists to Spoken word poets in Catalan. Indeed I met Pablo "El Guincho Diaz-Reixa there, whose album Alegranza! is one of my all-time favorites.
In the alternative rock scene there are loads of bands doing cool music like Extraperlo, Thelematicos, Joe Crepusculo, Astrud, El Guincho, and more. However one band seems keen to tap into a larger audience and that is Delorean. After some stellar EPs, their new album, Subiza drops in June (or if you are in Spain, April). The single, Stay Close, was released last week and I can't listen to it enough.
First and foremost, Jamie Lidell, the idiosyncratic music force previously featured on this blog, has released a video for the second single off of his upcoming album, Compass
Featuring about every variation upon granular cinema possible on an anonymous beach, its way enjoyable.
For those of you who haven't been paying attention to the revamp of his website he launched back in June, Beck's new site features a series of segments, inluding one entitled Planned Obsolescence featuring some of the best mixtapes this side of everywhere. The most notable, however, is Record Club.
The video clips feature black-and-white shots of studio music-making at its finest. The albums so far have been Velvet Underground & Nico, Songs of Leonard Cohen, and Skip Spence's Oar.
Now in its fourth iteration, Record Club is a one-day gathering of musicians to cover an album in its entirety. Myriad guests have included Jamie Lidell, Feist, Glenn Kotche & Wilco, James Gadsen, Devendra Banhart, MGMT, and more.
The new record is INXS' 198, Kick. Guests this time around include Liars, St. Vincent's Annie Clark, and Serge Dias aka the guitarist from Os Mutantes. The first episode is up and it is good. real good.
Lastly there LCD Soundsystem has finally released the first single from the new album. The track is called "Drunk Girls" and it is good. Pleasantly it has nothing to do with the college mock-rap pseudo-party music implied by the title.
After seven months of severe prevarication and two weeks of work, I've finally finished a new mixtape.
This new mixtape is entitled Salamero, after the Plaza de Salamero where I lived in Zaragoza, Spain. It is dedicated to a creative inspiration of mine, JVG (www.myspace.com/jvgmusic)
The music on the tape comes from all corners of the globe, and features select vocal samples I've been collecting off Youtube. Its a dynamic mix so try to listen in one sitting.
Please feel free to leave comments about the mixtape on this post, or if you so like, even better would be to leave comments on the Soundcloud track page.
Stars of the Lid- And Their Refinement of the Decline 2562- Unbalance Gorillaz- Plastic Beach White Hinterland- Kairos 5: Five years of Hyperbud Compilation Mux Mool's discography Gold Panda- Miyamae EP Mississippi John Hurt- Complete Studio Recordings Devendra Banhart- Cripple Crow
The following albums are up as free downloads:
The Gaslamp Killer- Its a Rocky Road Vol 1,2 The Ethiopians- The Original Reggae Sound Mighty Sparrow- The Calypso Genius Ghostly Swim Compilation Maria y Jose- Espíritu Invisible Tom Ze- Estudando o Samba De Janeiros- Plateado
There is little to say about this new music video from Hot Chip. Seldom am I blown away by a video. Even this one is not exactly the most technically creative but for some reason it just might be the most enjoyable.
Stellar show this evening. Several call-ins plus the first MP3 recording courtesy of wiretap. I will have the edited mp3 file up on my soundcloud within the next couple of days.
Hour 1
Deceptacon- Le Tigre Mal Poli- Yelle Dusty Fruit- The Ruby Suns Baby- Devendra Banhart Lifted- Lemonade As Far As I Can See- Phantogram Icarus- White Hinterland The High Road- Broken Bells Hearing Damage- Thom Yorke Black Angel's Death Song (Velvet Underground cover)- Beck's Record Club Twilight- Lusine Unite- Burial
Hour 2
Written in Reverse- Spoon Surprise, Surprise- The Rolling Stones My Turn- Basement Jaxx Crutch & Cane- Peter Wolf Crier Excuses- Morning Benders White Flag- Gorillaz Something is Not Right With Me- Cold Wark Kids Minimal (DJ Koze edit)- Matias Aguayo Code- Jose James Hammock- Million Young Emergency Exit- Beck Kala Djula- Ali Farka Toure & Toumani Diabate
Hour 3
Nueva Nueva- Think About Life Mushaboom- Feist Once in a Lifetime- Talking Heads Love is a Wave- Crystal Stilts Let's Go Surfing- The Drums Lola- The Kinks Graceland- Paul Simon Hummingbird- Wilco Sleeping Lessons- The Shins For No One's Better Sake- Little Joy Rocky Racoon- The Beatles
I no longer believe in the space-time continuum. This film is exactly the movie I would make. The world's greatest musical muse, Brasil. Accepted into the 2010 SXSW festival question, I am devastated I won't be able to see the premiere.
and interviews: David Byrne, Diplo, Ursula 1000, M.I.A, Thievery Corporation, Gilberto Gil!
and these are just the guests in the trailer.
I have no words really for how excited I am to see this. This is pretty much my dream movie.
Also for those of you who are unfamiliar with Tropicalia in Furs, on East 5th St. in Manhattan, or possibly the world's greatest brasilian record shop, the record store is featured.
Indeed my current favorite documentary, Mo Noro Brasil, happens to also be about Brasilian music.
To celebrate the release I'm posting this video of Seu Jorge performing "Tive Razao" in front of a million people during carnaval.
Phantogram- Eyelid Movies Devendra Banhart- What Will We Be Ruby Suns- Fight Softly Gonjasufi- A Sufi and a Killer Flaming Lips- Embryonic Department of Eagles- The Cold Nose Gorillaz- Demon Days School of Seven Bells- Alpinisms
It seems to have come into vogue recently for musicians to make teaser videos for albums. Indeed two favorites of mine have recently done this for their respective albums that drop a day apart.
First up is LCD Sounsystem.
This Clip is the first of 3 so far announcing the new LCD Soundsystem album. It features grainy cinematography and enigmatic shots of what is known as "The Manshun". Watch the second two for more information.
This second video comes from one of music's most brilliant voices, Jamie Lidell. Lidell has for quite some time been involved in music however his sound is more elusive than just about anybody else's. For starters he started as a sort of IDM producer/laptop jockey, living in Berlin. Later, revealing the fact that he could sing he came out with Multiply, a brilliantly idiosyncratic effort in pop music. Finally 2008's Jim was his brush with pop. Indeed the tunes on Jim were the most focused and packaged yet. However those who wrote him off as trite pop act, are going to be very much mistaken with 2010's Compass. He has released the self-titled single for the album, and it is going to be excellent.
Finally this last video is a teaser to Cold War Kids' last EP that was released this past January.
After an airport drop-off in SLC, I realized it had been quite a while since I had visited my favorite music store in Zion...Slowtrain
I walked in and headed straight for the back. As always the store is immaculate but chalkfull of good stuff. In the back is where there are the listening stations. Threw on "Fight Softly", Ruby Suns' latest (review to come) and searched the dollar cd bins
Sure enough afte some 15 bins I had found three worthwile purchases: like new copy of Simian Mobile Disco's Attack Decay Sustain Release Promo copy of Koushik's Out My Window Chihuahuas& Chinese Noodles- 555 Recordings Remix Compilation (no idea what this is but looked too cool to pass up)
additionally I got a used copy of Devendra Banhart's latest "What Will We Be"
I Wonder Who We Are- The Clientele Elevator Music- Beck Mal Poli- Yelle Vein of Stars- Flaming Lips Twilight- Lusine Swing that Tambourine- Kristoffer Ragnstam Converging in the Quiet- Crystal Stilts Blackmagic- Jose James My Turn- Basement Jaxx Perfect Wave- JVG
No One's Better Sake- Little Joy Rock & Roll- Led Zeppelin World Sick- Broken Social Scene Bull Black Nova- Wilco Down For So Long- The Rapture Refection of Janes- The Clientele Race for the Prize- Flaming Lips Into Eternity- Jens Lekman Hammock- Millionyoung
Emergency Exit- Beck Kala Djula- Ali Farka Toure & Toumani Diabate Ohiani Sua Efir- The Barbecues Brown Sugar- Rolling Stones Your Arms Around Me- Jens Lekman Shirin- Jens Lekman Minimal (DJ Koze edit)- Matias Aguayo Devil in Disguise- Lightspeed Champion
Thanks for listening. I apologize to all those who tuned in to the online stream and couldn't hear the show. Tune in on the 15th for the next chapter.
Nowadays there are officially no excuses for stealing licensed music. Classic arguments such as the "try it before you buy it" or "they already make lots of money" aren't welcome.
Go to lala.com for the first concern The second concern is absolute rubbish.
