With fashion week upon us to provide head turning diversions from the erratic state of international affairs; Impose’s Week in Pop has all the latest and greatest styles to accompany all your catwalk strutting obsessions (and more). With an exciting array of breaking exclusives to offer you, we first give you a quick rundown of some of the week’s biggest buzz. First, Speedy Ortiz is starting a “help hotline” for fans who feel unsafe at their shows; Lana Del Rey dropped “Music To Watch Boys To”; Grace Jones versus the ‘MOR’ pop diva machines in an excerpt from her upcoming September 29 I’ll Never Write My Memoirs memoir; CMJ Music Marathon lineup buzz; composer Robert Ziegler revealed that Radiohead are indeed working away in the studio on a potential The King of Limbs follow-up; Sam Smith & Disclosure are handling theme song duties for the upcoming James film installment, Spectre; Dan Auerbach’s The Arcs dropped arbitrary commentary on the now-ubiquitous Drake/Meek Mill beef in the video for “Outta My Mind”; Blur’s “I Broadcast” video making the buzz rounds; Bon Jovi has been banned from China; Stephen Colbert took over The Late Show; R.E.M.’s cease and desist statement over Trump using “It’s the End of the World” at a campaign stump stop; Survivor’s Jim Peterik is also not happy over Kentucky clerk Kim Davis’s use of “Eye of the Tiger”; Keith Richards encouraged his daughters to snort his ashes after he passes; and Syd Barrett’s nephew Ian Barrett has been making Jurassic Jewellery made from meteorite and fossil materials.
Moving ahead, this week we are proud to present the following exclusives, interviews, and insights from Doombird, Gulfer, Giselle Mynx, Tattoo Money, George Chen and Paco Romane talking to our good pal Mr. Dan Deacon, Acting Strange, Cole, Glockabelle, Nicky Venus, featuring guest selections from Mild High Club and more—in no particular order.
Doombird
When we last talked to Sacramento’s Doombird we explored how the contributions from composers like Debussy, Xenaxis, Feldman, Clara Schumann, Cage, et al. became the imaginative framework that informed that their Cygnus EP where the classic and modern deltas poured forth into the new millennial ocean. From personal interpretations of these figures through absorbing their works into the archives of consciousness, Kris Anaya and Joseph Davancens then retreated to Stinson Beach for a few weeks to record their new album Past Lives between the Muir Woods shadow of giants to the vast outlaying of the Pacific Ocean. In the company of fellow luminaries like Mike Sparks, Aram and Arlene Deradoorian and Dusty Brown; Doombird further examines the past and present existences with a more concentrated synth-directed lens and narrative that finds the overlap between segments of time and place through non-linear visions outside of the traditional chronological conventions.
Feelings spill over the motorik progression of rhythms, guitars, and synthesizers on Doombird’s premiere of “Overflowing”. The Sacramento by Santa Cruz conceptual sketching from Kris and Joe sets the stage for journeys that transcend the attachments to emotions and memory that favor forward sung memories of the aural places where yesterday and today pour over into the new designed sound words of tomorrow. The seclusion of Stinson’s haunting beauty and the surrounding of longtime creative compadres is heard in Kris’s escapist delivery that mixes human anxiety with the exhilaration of new discovery, heard in sections of the refrain with “from the lousy weather, I found a cave of paintings.” Doombird matches the percussive modes and all aspect of the rhythmic considerations for “Overflowing” with a soundscape of harmonies, clusters of synths built upon synths that work in a perpetual forward motion that contains a cornucopia of feelings, fragments and fabrics of the future and history passed working on the same plane of being. “Overflowing” is the outlet for the overwhelming ‘everything at once’ notion where the merits of all the involved collaborating talents shine together in a swift and suave gestalt of virtually unbreakable solidarity. Right after the following debut, read our recent interview with Doombird’s Kris Anaya, and Joe Davancens.
How do you feel these sorts of super natural surroundings impacted where everyone’s focus and perceptions were during the making of Past Lives?
Kris: Mentally, for me being at Stinson was a whirlwind of emotions. I had been suffering a lot of anxiety during the twenty days we were up there, it was beautiful, haunting and surrounded by friendships I’ve had for the past ten years, but for some reason my mind was filled with anxiety. However, my anxiety was the lyrical theme of the record, so I believe, in many ways, I was trying to be a method actor.
But I still had such a beautiful time. Aram, Arlene and Aram’s girlfriend at the time usually did all the cooking and it was always an inviting and homey situation. Each night after the recording session the entire band Dusty, Arlene, Aram, Robert, Joseph, Mike and I made a night club up called ‘Cream’ and someone would have to make up a DJ set and we all just ended up drinking and dancing. I mean, such a wonderful experience. This made the recording process very easy.
Joe: The record is pretty heavy with foggy coastal town vibe. Did you know John Carpenter’s The Fog was shot in Stinson Beach? Some old sailor ghosts looking for their gold may have gotten into the vocal booth.
What types of reincarnated previous existences or similar sort of notions inspired the album title?
Joe: I think in addition to reincarnation, Past Lives can also refer to earlier phases and stages of one’s life. Sometimes these phases have a way of sticking around in your psyche. This record is kind of about dealing with repercussions of the way you used to live.
Kris: When we arrived home from the session I was thinking of a title and I had been watching this movie Uncle Boonmee Who Can Recall His Past Lives and it had me visualizing my own personal themes of reincarnation within this record. Meaning, the people I experienced this record with I had been friends with for years, but unfortunately, because of other musical adventures each person had taken throughout the years it was very rare to have us all in one room playing music together. I felt like I was young again. Like I had been reincarnated. So, I stole Past Lives ha, ha, ha. Great movie.
Give us the tale of the over-abundance of pensive tensions that impacted the electric pop wonderland of “Overflowing”.
Joe: Kris sweating heavily in the vocal booth, recording his 47th take, trying not to have a nervous breakdown.
What about Doombird’s dynamics as a band do you all think has evolved at this moment in time?
Joe: Even though Kris and I are responsible for the songwriting and arrangements, the music has a more open and group-collaborative feel. We wrote these songs with specific musicians in mind, and their personalities all made their way in to the fabric of the record.
Can you describe what the brainstorming and recordings sessions were like for you all?
Joe: The writing phase was kind of neat because it involved Kris [living in Sacramento] and myself [living in Santa Cruz] emailing sketches to each other and building up ideas from a distance. The recording session, however was very close quarters and intimate. It was a wonderful experience recording with the band. All of our friends came down to visit at one point or another and much awesome food was made. Good times were had by all.
Kris: It took a long time to find the sound for the record….about a year. Joe and I had been exploring artists’ song writing techniques and trying to draw influences from anything we were listening too. We wrote about twenty songs. One day, Joe sent me a text and said, ‘Hey man can you sing over this song I wrote?’ And I remember doing my vocal phrasing very fast. I sent it back to him and it was like a ‘eureka’ moment, this is how we needed to write our songs. So we set out to lay all the necessary arrangements for our recording. Writing the songs was very difficult but the recording process was probably the most laid backed thing I’ve ever experienced.
Any Stinson Beach or Muir Woods stories, anecdotes of interest or amusement?
Joe: There is only one grocery store in Stinson Beach, with a curmudgeonly clerk with whom we had many awkward interactions. This record is dedicated to him.
Kris: We had so much fun up in Stinson. The ‘Cream’ nightclub we opened at the mansion each night was probably the highlight. We had this running joke for a while where we would all wake up a little hungover, and a little tired, and everybody would walk into the control room and say “no more Cream tonight.” Everybody would agree, but as the day progressed someone would eventually open a beer and say, ‘Well, maybe I’ll have just a beer.’ An hour would pass and we would usually say, ‘Well, it’s break let’s take shots,’ and by the time it was nighttime we usually would say, ‘Fuck it, Cream,’ and we would open up the nightclub again. You see we were in the middle of nowhere and we had nothing to do during the night so we found a way to pretend we were at an expensive nightclub; the greatest idea ever.
How did engineer Robert Cheek along with Aram Deradoorian, Mike Sparks, Dusty Brown, Arlene Deradoorian, and so forth all inspire or influence the album, along with any of their multitude of offshoots and side projects?
Joe: All of these people are basically our best friends from Sacramento. Kris and I have worked with everyone in one way or another over the years. They all came together for this record and brought their amazing talents in moment that will stand as a highlight in my musical life. I’m super grateful to know them and play music with them.
Kris: The people who recorded on this record have been my friends for years and years and will always be probably the greatest musicians I’ve played with. The recording wouldn’t sound as good without them on it. Aram, Arlene, Joe, Mike, Robert and Dusty inspire me every day. I’m pretty lucky to have such talented friends.
Doombird projections for fall, winter, 2016, and beyond?
Joe: Touring!
Kris: Past Lives 2016, tour with Kanye, star in a new blockbuster film—some super hero movie—become the comedy hunk guy, say I’m going to Burning Man and don’t because I’m so famous, get drunk with a model, hug a stranger, mathematics, believe in myself and then realize that’s kind of lame, hope for change—because I’m broke—have some Chunky Monkey and slowly cry myself to sleep.
Doombird’s Past Lives will be available soon, with the single “Overflowing” available now everywhere.
Catch Doombird playing Sacramento’s illustrious TBD Fest September 20, details available here.
Giselle Mynx
Hollywood by Bushwick’s Giselle Mynx penned her pop single “Sprung Free” as a grrl power response to the Boss’s ubiquitous “Born To Run” and the Fab Four’s “She’s Leaving Home”, and today she presents the premiere of the Kenny Suleimanagich & Meredith Truax directed video that celebrates the unrestrained and indulgent glamorous life. The motivation to run, fly, and abandon the birdcage dollhouse of home is felt with the wanderlust flights of fancy to flea for worlds and times of never ending merriment. With the single available September 15, and an upcoming September 12 show at Pianos with her backup band The Classic Kids; Mynx provides the bright visual component that finds her joined by her posse of Palina Lepeshko, Chloe Hooton, and Cassie Mills.
Giselle’s video for “Sprung Free” begins with our pink-haired heroine snapping photos of vistas from an NYC rooftop with her style-savvy squad of Cassie, Chloe, and Palina. The “we’re flying out of here” thesis of unlimited freedom finds the gang posing for ringer-tee baseball themed pin-ups, to celebrating la dolce vita in the decadent manner where timeless senses of style is met with an occasion that’s a cross between a birthday party or an NYE soiree. The care free chorus of “oh oh oh ohs” is elaborated visually in lavish twentieth century fashioned attire, balloons, champagne, candles, tiaras, replete with a multi-layered pink cake adorned by roses. Giselle Mynx maintains the thrills of spring and summer to last all fall and winter with a vibrance of sound and vision to last for all seasons that is reinforced in lyrics like, “now I can see sun in front of me.” After the following world debut of the “Sprung Free” music video, catch our discussion with Giselle Mynx.
How has the move from Hollywood to Bushwick, Brooklyn contributed to your music and fashion aesthetics?
I’m completely and utterly enchanted with Brooklyn, with the changing seasons. I dyed my hair pink because I was inspired by spring here! I was walking through Central Park and the cherry blossoms were falling like snow, pink petals swirling around me like fainting butterflies on the breeze. I wanted to feel like that all the time so I dyed my hair pink.
I love the electricity, the pulse of humanity, being constantly surrounded by people. The rainbow of individuality, artistry, fashion colliding on the street, on the subway. The pulse of humanity is electric here.
Tell us about the process of making your new EP, and the free-life embracing “Sprung Free” single and jubilant life affirming video to match.
I wrote “Sprung Free” as an answer to “She’s Leaving Home” by The Beatles and “Born to Run” by Springsteen…what it feels like in the girls shoes or in my case, stilettos.
“Sprung Free” is a dreamy celebration of life and friendship in NYC. The last line in the song is ‘now I can see the sun in front of me…we’re free…we’re free.’
I’m always chasing the light at the end of the tunnel, trying to turn tiny glimmers into rays of light. I’m trying to illuminate what often feels like a dark world.
For you, where do you find where the worlds of music, performance, modeling, art, and fashion all collide and make sense together-and where do you find they diverge from one another?
They all make sense that absolutely everything originates and flows from me. These worlds collide within me then I rip my veins, my heart wide open and bleed out…
What can we expect from tomorrow’s gig (September 12) at Piano’s with your band the Classic Kids?
It’s going to be amazing! Rehearsals have been so much fun and we are excited to see your faces!
Fall/winter/2016 plans/battle plan for Giselle Mynx?
Magnificent things are unfolding. I’m bursting to tell you everything but until details are finalized I must keep everything secret.
What I can say is a music video is coming soon for my song “The Murder Ballad of Beatrix Kiddo”. My dear friend Hana Haley is directing and it’s gonna be dreamy. And there’s a world of music I’m writing. You can expect my EP Once Upon a Dream sometime early next year.
Giselle Mynx’s “Sprung Free” single will be available September 15, with her upcoming September 12 show tomorrow at Pianos in NYC.
The Once Upon a Dream EP will be available in 2016.
Tattoo Money
Late in 2014 we helped introduce the world to Tatoo Money, oka Pete Armour, with the single “Melt With You”, and today we premiere the anime styled video for “CoCo Curious” also off the album The Brain, The Mind, The Heart. In our recent conversation, Pete described the album’s inception and subjects revolving real life subjects of desire, communications, and a variety of interpersonal connections. “All the songs [on the album] are inspired by situations I’ve had to deal with, mainly in romantic relationships,” Armour explained to us, “but it also covers friendships and professional relationships as well.” For the visualization of “CoCo”, Tatttoo Money plays upon the humor found in the absurdity of prejudice that plays out like a fantastical animated manga that finds a collegiate coed debutante at odds with the intended dating preferences established by her parents. As Pete described it; “I self-made an Japanese Style Anime music video for my song “CoCo Curious” .The song tackles the subject of interracial dating in a tongue and cheek and funny kind of way and in the video the story follows a young Japanese college girl and her fight to love who she wants despite the disapproval of her parents, friends and other potential suiters. It also has sword fights and magic in it!”
Tatoo Money’s “CoCo Curious” animated video presents the song’s drama and ridiculousness in literal visual representation through the adventures of a young college student who finds true romance with an African American college point-guard named Arthur Rashad. The generational racial prejudice plays out like a contemporary Romeo and Juliet styled story where the wishes of the heart are pitted against the prohibitions and unrealistic preferences of parents who just don’t understand. But unlike the the Shakespearean ill-fated fable, the end of the video finds our conflicted protagonist squaring off face to face in a samurai sword fight dual against her father. Following Tattoo Money’s video debut for “CoCo Curious”, be sure to read Pete Armour’s insights into the song’s inspiration and more.
When I got my first real taste of dating after the end of a relationship that ran from my teens to early twenties, I was ready to just get out there and meet some awesome new girls, and I guess I was naive or crazy, but it never really dawned on me that my race would be an issue. Maybe it’s because to me race wasn’t an issue. I didn’t see skin tone in the girls I dug, I saw beauty, style, and a cool ass personality no matter where you came from.
But that changed quick.
I didn’t realize that people let their families opinions on their love lives dictate who they should and shouldn’t be with. I’ve personally been in situations where I had girls from different cultures and races interested in me, but they were scared to take it further because of the fear that their parents would disown them for bringing home somebody that wasn’t the same race as them. I also have a lot of female friends who I have seen go through the same thing with guys they wanted to date from a different race. As harsh and as cold as it sounds I always just wanted to say, ‘I hate to tell you this, but your parents aren’t going to be here forever, and you shouldn’t risk a life of happiness with someone you want to be with, just to please some one you are going to outlive.’
It messed me up, because before this sad realization, I never thought my race would matter to any girl I approached, but from then on until now I immediately think “I wonder if she likes black dudes” instead of “how does my hair look,’ or ‘do I have anything in my teeth?’
Don’t get me wrong—everyone has their preferences, if my skin tone isn’t your thing, that’s cool! But if you won’t date me because your parents told you ‘don’t come home with a Black dude,’ that’s just weak!
The story that motivated me to write the song is the story of the title of the song, I wish I could take credit for the title but I can’t.
I was at Vans Warped tour, watching a friend’s band A Better Class of Criminal perform and once their performance was over we were hanging out at their tent and across at this other tent was this beautiful tatt’d up girl. I stared at her all day and said to a friend, ‘I love girls like that, but you never see them dating black dudes’ and as we were looking at her, I noticed her looking at me, and so did my friend and she said to me “she is looking over here, maybe she is curious, maybe she is ‘CoCo Curious.’
My eyes lit up and I said ‘I’m going to go home and make that into a song.’
Truth is that song wrote itself. All I did was take my past experiences, make them rhyme and put a dope beat under it.
Tattoo Money’s The Brain, The Mind, The Heart is available now.
Gulfer
From their recent Topshelf Records EP split with Del Paxton, Montreal’s Gulfer present the world premiere of the “F’real for Real” video directed by Guillaume Lebel that features real and raw pop rock sentiments performed among a plethora of pooches. The Canadian quartet of David Aaron Mitchell, Simon Maillé, Steve Blake and Vincent Ford are here depicted holed up a in performance/practice space where canine preoccupations and affections are shown from sketches, online dog photos, to the gang running amok at a park with their favorite hounds.
“F’real for Real” begins with Gulfer standing tall clutching their best doggy friends, as the in-house performance footage finds the group kicking into gear. Utilizing loose equation mathematical like chord progression algorithms, Guillaume’s video focuses in on the band’s inner dynamic workings and chemistry and coordination as they maneuver through quick chord changes, rapid reaction bridges, and swift timing that finds the group blazing through their cues with a combination of focus, ease—yet with concentration care. And the care shines through, as edit cuts depict each of the members reflecting and doting on images of their beloved dog pals as the proverbial kennel gates open and the dogs begin to infiltrate Gulfer’s scene. As the group’s performance is joined by their four-pawed pals, the finale of “F’real for Real” shifts to the band enjoying some overdue quality time with a collection of some of the most beloved and adorable companions anyone could ask for. Stay with us after the video as we catch up with all the latest happenings from Gulfer.
Give us first the latest and great about what and who you all are feeling in the Montreal scenes these days.
We’ve all been really into this band called Boy Friends who have zoned into this really meticulous, jittery “post-punk pop paroxysm” (their words) and are a super tight and nuanced live band. A few of us saw Dories the other day and they were phenomenal. Other than that, I’ve personally been into bands like Girl Arm, Big Knife Little Knife, Bisbâyé, Five Eyes, Big Brave, Ought and Mr. Commander Clark.
What was it like recording your Topshelf split with Del Paxton?
It was great because at the time we had no idea those songs would end up on Topshelf so there was no pressure and few nerves on our end. We were able to take our time and be a little overly analytical, and luckily we were just about finished with the tracks when Topshelf approached us.
How do you all describe your own song drafting methods and sessions?
In the past, Vincent has typically just written the songs entirely and then we all get together to write our own parts. These days we’ve been writing songs as a collective which has been really liberating and has also yielded some pretty different results.
What was the experience of making of the “F’real for Real” video with Guillaume Lebel like?
That was super fun! We were super lucky to have access to an awesome space, an incredibly talented and hard-working director, and also Vincent’s mom brought two dogs, two bottles of wine and a bunch of food. Vincent’s mom catered our music video shoot. We felt very important.
How did the dog motif come about?
We had the idea of making a typical ‘band plays a show’ music video but we wanted the crowd to be composed entirely of dogs instead of humans. The more we thought about the idea the more unfeasible it became, and we ended up with what we have now, mostly due to Guillaume’s help in mapping out a little narrative throughout the video.
What are you all currently listening to right now?
My recently played on iTunes is: Spencer Radcliffe/Blithe Field, Pinegrove, Khonnor, Kid Drama, Leaner, Alaska, Duster, Alex G, Runaway Brother, Caravels.
What’s next for Gulfer?
We are playing some cool shows this fall with bands like Tricot, Invalids, Wild Moth, Solids and Noxious Foxes, and hopefully recording a new 7″ in the winter. The ultra long-term dream is to maybe go back to Europe next year at some point.
Wisdom, mantras, philosophies, etc you can impart?
This band has been way more fun to be in when we started taking it less seriously. Just enjoy yourself #1 first and foremost. Party until 6am in your kitchen with the bands Clique and Loose Tooth. You will have fun.
Gulfer’s split with Del Paxton is available now from Topshelf Records.
George Chen & Paco Romane talk to Dan Deacon
George Chen and Paco Romane present a special edition of their iTunes.”>’Sup Doc Podcast Episode 11 where they discuss Albert and David Maysles and Charlotte Zwerin’s 1970 Rolling Stones documentary Gimme Shelter with none other than the great Dan Deacon. A documentary themed podcast where they discuss great docs with funny people with strong opinions, where this time around George & Paco talk to Dan about the penultimate Stones concert film (that’s not Cocksucker Blues). The interview took place at this years Outside Lands festival in San Francisco’s Golden Gate Park where the three discuss the ins and outs and DIY fest perils that plagued the doomed free concert at Altamont Speedway (somewhat near the Bay Area). Absurdity and obscurities abound.
Subscribe to the Sub Doc podcast via iTunes, and catch up on all eleven episodes via Soundcloud.
Glockabelle
(Glockabelle playing Art Basel Music Distraction in Miami; photographed by Walter Wlodarczyk)
NYC based classically trained pianist and L’Ecole educated artist Glockabelle (oka Annabelle Cazes) will be performing with Kid Millions at Le Poisson Rouge with Dinmachine, TheUse, and more on September 29 and we got a chance to catch up with the eclectic artist, along with a listen to her recent Wolf BBQ EP. From collaborating with The Go! Team on “Catch Me on the Rebound” to taking on the glockenspiel armed with dual Casio VL-Tone pocket calculator keyboards and a whole lotta thimbles; Glockabelle descends from a future that neither France Gall, Françoise Hardy, nor Serge Gainsbourg might have imagined.
Annabelle’s Wolf BBQ EP begins with the title track that imagines an enchanted barbecue that invites all creatures great and small fresh out of the zoo along for the party. “Gazelle” takes flight off on the accord of a flutter of keys that soar anywhere they so desire, as “Washing Machine” creates a spin and tumble approach to the keys aided by a plethora of percussion. “Ne Touche Pas” applies the everything and the kitchen sink approach where all the elements move in circles around Annabelle’s vocals and command of all instrumental elements. Following the listen to her recent summer EP, stay tuned for our exclusive interview featured after the jump.
With a love of juggling portable musical devices; how did you first get into the electric-DIY-pop game?
While living in Paris, a neighbor of mine had a Casio VL-Tone, which I was drawn to instantly. I asked if I could borrow if for a few weeks then started translating my classical repertoire to its tiny keys as well as writing original pieces. Around the same time, my mom mailed me a glockenspiel from NYC which arrived without mallets, so I went to the Bon Marché department store, bought 8 thimbles, and started developing a new technique to perform it with my hands.
Tell us about making your latest Wolf BBQ EP, and for you inspire these songs about birds, washing machines, wolves, and more?
The title track off my Wolf BBQ EP was one of the first Glockabelle tunes I ever wrote. It’s mostly a nonsense song about a wolf going to a bbq with a head of cabbage. I usually tend to prefer singing about the surreal. Who wants to hear another song about a breakup and everyone’s feelings? I’d rather keep things abstract and playful. I often start off writing the instrumentals and then ask myself what the visual for the song might be. In the case of the “Washing Machine,” I thought this one is totally about doing the laundry… splish! splash!
How did you form a collaborative alliance with Kid Millions, and how do you describe the creative synergy that you two share?
I first heard of Kid through mutual friends as both he and I went to Middlebury College. Although we did not attend school at the same time, his band, Oneida, left a legendary presence at Middlebury so I knew I had to meet him. Last year, I happened to be at a Tom Tom Magazine event, met him there, and then we met up to jam. He is a killer drummer who very much reminds me in his style of the legendary krautrock drummer, Klaus Dinger (Neu!, Kraftwerk, La Düsseldorf). Kid’s drumming is so driving, explosive and solid that it really helps me feed off his energy to play my best.
How did the opportunity to work with The Go! Team come about on the track “Catch Me on the Rebound” off their album The Scene Between?
A bit over a year ago, Ian Parton of the Go! Team sent me an email saying that he heard a track of mine on Bandcamp (“Un Chat Fétiche) and wanted me to sing on their new album. I recorded the vocals for “Catch Me on the Rebound” in NYC but then flew to London in December to be in the music video. I didn’t meet the Go! Team until June when I opened for them across the U.K., Ireland and France.
Here’s the clip:
What have you been working on lately?
My plan is to release an album sometime next year so that’s been the focus at the moment. I’ll also be heading up to the Toronto International Film Festival next week. My thimble glockenspiel rendition of Erik Satie’s “Gnossienne #1” is featured in a new short film entitled “Concerning the Bodyguard” which is narrated by Sir Salman Rushdie and directed by Kasra Farahani.
Trailer here:
Favorite things about the underground and DIY NYC scenes as of late?
With the DIY scene moving further out along the L train and the closing of so many venues in Williamsburg last year, I’d have to say I like going to Trans Pecos, which used to be the old Silent Barn. They really did a nice job fixing it up.
What have you been listening to on repeat?
“Démolicion” by the Peruvian punk band Los Saicos:
“Night of the Assassins” by Les Rallizes Dénudés
“Simiolo” by Dengue Dengue Dengue
“Amstramgram” by Isabelle
Catch Glockabelle and friends playing Le Poisson Rouge September 29.
Cole
Meet Knoxville b’s Cole who just dropped the Edging EP via NYC independent imprint Sweat Equity that boasts the best sort of aberrated tricks and twists to the EDM phenomenon. The barrage of beats kick off with “Touch U” that turns all the knobs toward the big EBM, gabber-blood-beat sort of percussion progression right before “Wet Angel” drips with a kind of celestial soaked precipitation of sky-sent dew that growls like the digital soundtrack to the next best time traveling flick that hasn’t hit the theaters yet. The title cut “Edging” finds Cole flipping the rhythm & blues mode with more of those melting percussive synths, as “Blooded” runs a full blooded gauntlet course through the song’s hopes, tricks, and intricately mixed sequences. The closing track “Tenshi” brings relates heart, thoughts, and illuminated images of the self that shine through a murky blend of big thematic flutters of drum machines, industrious effects that grind and crank like factory mechanical devices, that like all the tracks on Edging runs only a minute and a half. Check out Cole on his north American tour now with Chiffon with dates running through September 26, and our recent discussion featured after the listen.
Tell us about what sorts of sharp edges and events impacted the creation of the Edging EP.
I started writing the Edging EP soon after moving to Brooklyn from Knoxville, Tennessee last summer. The move was a big change for me that quickly ruptured a creative block I had been experiencing. After getting settled in Brooklyn, I decided to drop my previous moniker / brand Fine Peduncle, and set off on a new project using just my name as the title: Cole.
Blending the worlds where EDM, EBM, euro and juke beats all sort of meltdown together; how do you go about creating these sorts of percussion heavy beat scapes.
Being in Brooklyn made my blood boil in a productive way. I was bombarded with new vibes, and began writing beats constantly. I think a lot of the production on Edging happened from my absorption / excretion of the new energies that I was experiencing at gay bars and DIY functions in BK. Being around so much club and pop music really affected me and caused me to trim and hone my style to something more crisp and minimal. I’ve never really produced anything like this before.
While there are rich atmospheres that abound that are super brooding, there is also a sense of sparse economies here at work. How do you manage this order of getting the most out of your sound via an approach of effective and efficient minimalism?
A lot of the production is built by converting vocal riffs into midi notes. I sing a melody idea or beat box a drum lick and convert it to midi notes. As midi notes, I can try out different instruments until I get the sound I’m looking for. Its a really direct way to get what’s in your head into the computer quickly without losing that moment.
There is a kind of story arc that appears throughout, where “Tenshi” at the end feels like the end of a video game, or the end of a vintage cult film or something. Was this intentional?
There is definitely a sort of story arc happening with Edging. As far as lyrical content and flow of the EP, Edging seems to follow the order of sexual process. First is the fantasy and flirting, then foreplay and penetration, and just before climax the piece tapers. Edging is a sexual process used for prolonged periods of pleasure that can build into an explosive climax. “Tenshi” appears to be the moment just before orgasm is achieved. The follow up music that I would like to release will keep this same plot line, but will represent the long awaited ejaculation.
What are you the most stoked about now that your tour with Chiffon has kicked off?
Touring with Chiffon has me totally blissed out. I can’t imagine two people I would rather be on the road with. They are both some of the kindest people and most talented musicians that I know. Chiffon are really holding it down in Baltimore’s scene, which is packed with talent and genuine people who love and support music. I’m considering moving to Baltimore after spending a little time there on this tour.
There are so many great stops on this tour. I’m really excited to play new spots, and also can’t wait to see my Tennessee fam. I’m already really inspired by the shows that we have played so far. Feels really good to turn it out, doing what I love the most every night.
Watch Cole’s video for “Wet Angel” here as well.
Acting Strange
We are pleased to bring you direct from Glasgow’s Ali and Billy Strange, aka Acting Strange’s full stream of their Night On The Tiles EP that is available now from In Black Records. The cousins take the title from their DIY home kitchen recording proclivities, built from a collaborative tradition built from summer breaks learning instruments at their Uncle Gabby’s taxidermy workshop in Oban where your favorite reminiscent 60s style charms are met with new solstice and era shifts. Recording their EP in Gabby’s workshop in memoriam, the band has been seen sharing stages with Ezra Furman and pushing to bring their home and heart penned pop to a larger audience.
“Rumble” brings about traces of your favorite Merseybeat favorites, while “Dreaming Away” chimes a stripped down ode to the simple joys of rich visions where the earth and essence of the unconscious becomes the most desired of all things when life falls apart. “Oh No” features more of Al & Billy’s harmonizing where on top of their dueling guitars a bit of harmonica is thrown into the mix for good measure. Continuing Acting Strange’s surveys of trying to understand the complications, frustrations, and confusions about everything we don’t understand about ourselves and the world; the global conundrums and day to day buzz kills are all considered on the closing cut “Universe Blues” that warns with the memorable chorus of “these vampires will wear you down if you let them in…” Acting Strange is here to help the alienated feel like it’s okay to feel and act a bit strange and out of place in a world that champions impatient and intolerant conformity and public shaming as the acceptable approach to appropriated bullying. Hell, Acting Strange might be here to save our sorry souls after all.
Ali and Billy shared some long distance cables with us about the making of their Night On the Tiles EP with the following words:
The EP is called Night on the Tiles, a shitty pun because we do everything in my kitchen. (“Rumble” video was shot in the kitchen)
We met up for Chinese food one day and decided we wanted to create some recordings with the loose atmosphere of the The Band and Bob Dylan’s Basement tapes, the intention was to just record whatever bits and piece’s we had lying around and get a spirited take.
The recordings ended up a little more coherent and clean than the basement tapes.
To record we used two identical Tascam 8 tracks that we had bought on sale when we were kids. It was mostly recorded in our Uncle’s workshop two days before it got pulled down and we had to finish the rest in the kitchen of my flat in Glasgow’s East End,
We used our uncles semi-acoustic and put it through a 10 inch amp or unplugged.
We would just hold my old acoustic bass up to the mic for bass and hit a cajon for percussion.
We badly need mic stands, currently we stuff a cocktail shaker full of kitchen roll and balance the mic on in it. Does the job.
There was a wee Yamaha keyboard lying around so we feed that through an electric guitar overdrive pedal to give it a bit of dirt.
We fleshed it out with some ropey 60’s girl group backing vocals and handclaps and Billy mixed the songs the next day.
Nicky Venus
Nicky Venus recently talked to us about his single “Little Runner” and today we give you one of the first looks at his video for “Bodily Love” that boasts bolder synths, tense rhythms, and lots of analog blurry effects. The San Diego based artist blends together fashion model images melded by overlapping images, analog effects that bring out the textures and vintage-tek appeal to match the synth-pop snesibility of the artist who has been receiving a lot of local love via the Southern Califonria radio dials of 91X, FM949, 102.1 FM, etc. Taking on a goth-ish rendering of your favorite 80s new romantic idol; beauty here is blended in a carnality collision of all sorts of visual transitions and fazed color pallette schemes to make for a Blade Runner-esque event.
Nicky was as kind as to share some reflections with us on the carnal and viscercal inspirations that informed “Bodily Love”, and some thoughts on the heavy-effects laden video:
Bodily love is a song about the differences between sex and love. These grey lines can lead to some dark places and I felt like this track was perfect for exploring these ideas. This is one of my favorite tracks so far. Once the music was finished the lyrics came together quick. Right around the time this song was being written I found a UK glitch artist named AVD_78. He was doing really cool stuff and I knew I wanted to work with him on this one. We did a cross continent collaboration and came up with this vid.
From Lapa’s debut album Meeting of the Waters available now from Loci Records, hear the single “Roadwalk” that provides a gripping soundtrack for traversing the sidewalks and streets of the world with purpose or the sense of immediate urgency. The Russia by US artist Ilya Goldberg bridges the waters of classical form with the new developing designs of electronic audio arts where his masters in classical violin chord progressions meets the infinite ether of digital nether-worlds where anything and everything is possible.
Boasting production from Leroy aka Taste Nasa, our friend Jamil Rashad, oka Boulevards, delivered his brand new single “Sanity” that features more of the Raleigh, NC artist’s aesthetic one two threes of future funk. As the beat and synths push the limits to the brink of insanity, the Rashad toasts the special people out there that push us all toward our own points of questioning the nature of our own states of equilibrium. Check out Boulevards’ exclusive Week in Pop guest selections here.
Empress Of’s debut album Me is available today from Terrible Records with her North American tour with a performance Sunday Septebmer 13 at Musical Hall of Williamsburg and we now give you the sparse (and sometimes inverted) video for “Standard” created by frontwoman Lorely Rodriguez and Zaiba Jabbar.
DeltaFoxx returns with some permeating summer feels with the single “The Beach House” released though Thump on a compilation titled Brazilian Disco Club. The Brazil duo continues to make a sound to rival the very electro-violet/ultraviolet rays of the suns beam and burn with a production that only gets more rich and bright as time progresses. Cris Quizzik described the track to us in our recent conversation with the following descriptive terms:
We think it sounds a little like Neon Indian in the old days and it feels like a good reminder of a brazilian summer breeze.
Childbirth keep the humor brutally honest and the attitude and execution tough as nails as they lampoon the identity fence sitters and casual jumpers on the hilarious “Since When Are You Gay” off Childbirth’s upcoming new album Women’s Rights October 2 available Suicide Squeeze Records. The triple threat of inconvenient truths and satirizing the social mores of the straight sets and strange squares takes aim at the fair weather alternative lifestyle lovers who pick and choose when and where and why they are when they want to as if it was a favorite outfit or aesthetic. Not that there is anything necessarily wrong with any of that, it’s just that Childbirth’s Stacy, Bree, and Julia are here on a mission to continue to ask the real tough questions.
Airbird (Joel Ford) & Napolian (Ian Evans) are back with more audio-bites from the future with their single “J.Park” and details about their forthcoming anticipated debut album, Mr. Foolish available November 11 from Cascine. And while the current and present future does not exactly have the hover-boards or flying cars (although it does have the self-driving ones that we never asked for); Joel and Ian present the sonic aural tapestries that exist like the perfect blending of east meets west coast visions of an infinite, seemingly unlimited, and ineffable grandeur.
Our future funk purveyor and friend DâM-FunK dropped an unreleased instrumental remake of the WAR classic “Don’t Let No One Get You Down” that is the perfect cut for the perfect day or if you feel like the world is beginning to get you down. The nu-Funk master said this about the remake:
Remade, note for note, without any samples & dedicated to all of us who keep shining & continuing forward.
Peep DâM-FunK’s recent guest selection feature here.
We are enthralled to present you Sarah P.’s brand new single “I’d Go” from her anticipated Free available December 14 (on Sarah’s birthday) from her imprint ERASERESTART. The resolve and strength of regrouping and rising above all odds is portrayed through a blizzard of synths and ethereal items of endless wonder that finds our heroine traversing the wide open expanse of roads and spaces that captivate the heart and imagination.
With emcees Big Pooh and Nottz’s collaborative album coming soon, we bring you the cut “Memory (feat. Novej)” that jogs down the stories and tales that take you for a little joy ride down memory lane’s mean and tough love streets. More nostalgic twists, tales, and reflective bars soon to follow on the LP available soon from Mello Music Group.
Playing Bowery Ballroom with Panda Bear October 13, and a September 17 through October 10 European tour; PC Worship readies the Basement Hysteria EP for release November 13 from Northern Spy, and we have the 13 minute face melting banger to start your weekend or weekday off with “My Lens”. Recorded this past summer at Brooklyn’s Kreephaus by the gang of Justin Frye, Michael Etten, Shannon Sigley, Jordan Bernstein, Jessica Papitto, Boston Bongo Dan(iel Rineer) & Andrew Bernstein; these guitars, vocals, and pure blissed up prosodic and pointed noise is the sonic equivalent of placing your head near a jet turbine revving toward the take-off point of no return to a destination that remains unknown.
Being a hater of the silliest of soirees never felt so real, right, and right at home on the single “Hates the Party” from Long Beard off the forthcoming album Sleepwalker available on cassette October 17, and on vinyl and digital October 23. Those perks of being the introverted wallflower resonates here in all the familiar ways that might inspire solo ballroom dancing among both the lonely and/or just inspired.
From her upcoming album Zenith available September 25 from Dark Skies Association and Night School Records; watch Molly Nilsson’s video for “1995” made with Chris Filippini that laments the technology and mediums past while reflecting on how our worlds have been affected by these array of technological contributions and out of control evolutions. Reflections on worlds of memories, worlds of nostalgia are seen through the Windows 95-esque portals where the visual effects overlap like an analog art film combined with Molly’s hushed commanding call coupled by some sax additions and her trademark cold as ice but warm inside synths.
From Melbourne, Australia; meet Bec, Henry, Jack and Marty who are The Harpoons who are making an organic assemblage of digitally arranged grooves and moves with their new single “Ready For Your Love”. Like the coolest sounds coming out of Melbourne these days, the night fog goth cloak beats are traded for an amorous vibe that recalls late night bonfires that keep on raging with the help of driftwood and revelry that remains unseen by the chaperon eyes of the local authorities.
Larry Gus’s new ocular album spectacular I Need New Eyes will be available October 2 from DFA, and we give you the single “A Set of Replies” that muses on thoughts of correspondence exchanges with electric percussive fare. Keys descend and ascend as Gus describes that truths and lack thereof in responses that leave much more to be desired.
KYLE drops his new album SMYLE October 2, and we got the Jakob Owens for “Really? Yeah!” that combines the conversational questioning and subsequent affirmation expressed in the colloquial parlance of our times.
Oxnard’s own Biggs and local producer Oh No join collaborative forces on the bright neon-lit-strip cut “Vegas Lights” that features King Harris. The two emcees exchange game of chance metaphors that mix Las Vegas life and life gambles all together in a high stakes sequence of big bets.
Originally from Malmö trio Hey Elbow’s Adrian Recordings album Every Other; watch the Björn Wahlström video for “Rael” that features the band unleashing pure energy and inviting hints of revolutions yet to arrive (and already in progress). Director Wahlström described the video with the following words:
There is no legitimate reason to talk about time when it comes to the revolution. It is ongoing, continuing and without end. What would we be if we reached our goal, what would be left of us. What remains if we eliminate the struggle. Maybe it is better to embrace the eternal longing and instead slowly participate in the extended, but never ending distillation of the world. Like the offspring between [Alexandre] Dumas’s Three Musketeers and the Herrey brothers they work in the dark, refusing to give up, and willing to fight if they need to fight. They will probably be the last one of us standing.
Kirt Debique (formerly of Mayors of Liberty) presents the frightening Neil Ferron video for “Tell Me How You Know” of aliens, alienation, and worlds becoming tragically undone from his forthcoming album Things Left Unsaid. Available October 23 from Brick Lane Records, Kirt channels the emotional and devastating weights of life shifts, changes, divorces, that seeks some kind of closure and the glimmer of hope and light that new beginnings bring.
Off Sweet Spirit’s forthcoming album debut Cokomo available October 16 from Nine Mile Records; endure the loneliness and sweet paradise of blessed sleep and warm pop dream on the single “Baby When I Close My Eyes”.
Check out the ditch gravel-grunting grooves on Blue Daisy’s new single “Gravediggers” found off the forthcoming Darker Than Blue available September 25 from R&S Records. Like an epic fall from the palatial clouds of paradise, B-Daisy invites you to dance with the devils in the catacombs and caverns that abound in the underground doomed dimensions of peril, and thrashing dissonance that fuses distortion and demented bass lines.
With Apollo Brown new album Grandeur available September 25 from your friends at Mello Music Group, we got the track “Triple Beams” that finds the Michigan producer working with Westside Gunn & Planet Asia about the subversive inner-workings of the contraband underworld markets. Brown spins something that sounds straight from the old NYC school of hard knocks, as Westside and Gunn deliver the particulars of going deep into the risky day-to-day grind.
Operator dropped the beat-bopping rhythm rolls on their new track “I, Banana” off their forthcoming EP debut, Puzzlephonics I available October 9. The bass and percussion move about in motorik manners as bursts of beautiful scuzz make more frequent appearances as the cut approaches the three minute mark.
Currently tour the states in support of her Sacred Bones album Apocalypse, girl; check out Miles Joris-Peyrafitt video for “Take Care of Yourself” that was shot at Stage 48 that provides a privy and unique look at Hval’s eclectic array of stage props, styles, wigs, backstage views, and more to go with her song about self-preservation preoccupations.
Extending their fall tour, Kylesa delivered the heavy cut “Night Drive” off their forthcoming album Exhausting Fire available October 2 from Season of Mist that finds Phillip Cope, Laura Pleasants, and Carl McGinley driving hard into the metallic void of noise aesthetics.
Bay Area DIY heroes The Mantles dropped their new single “Police My Love” off their upcoming album All Odds End available October 16 from Slumberland Records where matters of an unguarded heart are expressed through sincere guitar strums and blessed bursts of pointed distortion.
Catch the single “Neighbour” from Toronto’s Language Arts that features Kristen Cudmore curating warm vocals of the utmost enduring immediacy taken off their forthcoming second album Able Island available October 9 through Maple Music. Recorded last winter during the group’s tour across Canada, the group pen affectionate, and sincere sorts of pop songs that are relayed through earnest expressions where Kristen’s epistolary approach to pop writing is coupled by the group’s atmospheric arrangements.
Catch Kenton Slash Demon’s “Syko” off the upcoming EP of the same name available today via Future Classic full of atmospheric electro futurism of the most chill variety.
Sweden’s YAST followed up the recent cut “When You’re Around” with the single “Together Forever” from the forthcoming Adrian Recordings album My Dreams Did Finally Come True available September 18. Fresh from the Double Sun Studio in Malmö, the Joakim Lindberg produced cut presents the bliss born of the most sacred of bonds that feel infinite and unbreakable that soar off into the unknown of eternity via the interplay between the chord tones, steady percussion, and sleepy vocal delivery.
Check out Carl Gershon’s recent single “Snow”, that offers up some big synth strokes of big romantic pop about that special someone that melted away with the seasonal passing of solstices and emotional phases.
Off their October 2 slated album Grackle for PaperCup Music; hear BOYTOY’s “Your Girl” that features Saara Untracht-Oakner kicking out a big strutting jam that is made up of everything you know and love from the big scuzzy, slippery, sleaze and sneer of alternative 70s rock and roll. Find BOYTOY touring the States later this fall post-release.
Mr. Divisadero’s much awaited self-titled is available now after eight years in the works from Axis Mundi Records and we give you the project made by Workout’s Jack Killen streaming here and now.
Norway’s Torkelsen had an EP in store for the world right before his hard drive crashed, but luckily the following cuts “Walter” and “No One Who Knows” were spared and are now presented here mixed by Kenneth Ishak and mastered by Morr Music’s Isan (aka Antony Ryan) for your listening pleasure. “Walter” starts like the beginning of a brand new day with fluttering percussion that recalls butterflies gently settling upon dew kissed floral leaves, while “No One Who Knows” draws upon the inner emotions and personal reflective spaces that slowly rises from monologue musings to a sophisticated dance pop party. Your weekend and fall season can now begin on the proper notes and autumn atmospheres.
Our Minneapolis buds Carroll are readying their self-titled for release September 18 on Entertainment One Music that was the result of an escape into the rural wilderness where their demos became enhanced by producer Jon Low in Philadelphia. Their new single “Green Acres” recalls the wild wilderness where wonder exists about the band’s plush production where synths and the arrangement of percussion and sweeping notes feel like the expanses of land and endless skies.
From Kisses new album Rest in Paradise from Hit City, check out their new single “The Nile” that will be a must for your next river party playlist or the next time your floating on an inner-tube along the Tigris-Euphrates tributary system.
Gang Signs dropped the Peter Ricq (of HUMANS) b/w video for the sinewy synths and evening sensation of “Tonight” off their debut album Geist available October 2 from File Under: Music.
Lymbyc Systym dropped their new cut “Paraboloid” off the Split Stones LP available October 16 from Western Vinyl that sounds like what we imagine a Knight Rider reboot-reboot soundtrack from the not-too-distant future could sound like.
Wild Sun dropped something for the bashful at heart with the glittering and shimmering chord pop of “Shy Hinges”, taken off their forthcoming album Little Truths available September 18 from American Laundromat Records.
The latest in the Adult Swim Singles series; hear the northwest’s beautiful perennial prom crashers Chromatics cast the late night driving dreams and sleepless/restless thoughts of moon cast silhouettes with “Shadow”.
In case you missed it, revisit Pfarmers’ “The Ol’ River Gang” from their Jurassic Pop album Gunnera that basks in the aquatic element from which all life springs via an assembly of horns and a whole lotta heart.
Hear Nashville’s answer to the cult of Lana Del Rey with Whissell’s new track “Get Free” that wriggles from the clutches from others that stifle in the name of liberating the body, mind, spirit and soul for the sake of a completely autonomous being. The back-up choruses sing along as the drums move in ways that back up Whissell’s uncompromising determination that march forward (and never backward) with the fed-up variety of confidence.
Watch the b/w video from Sven Nyquil for Jesse R. Berlin’s single “Wash Your Boat” that embodies the imaginative hodge-podge of relentless energy that comprises Berlin’s sound and absurdist style. Find this and more off Glitter Lung.
Catch our premiere of Jesse R. Berlin’s “Tallulah” here, and check out his Bitter Dung mix that features favorites from Orange Juice to Sparks, and much more.
Watch Sheer Agony’s Peter Woodford (from Freelove Fenner) vintage looking video for the bounce-pop of “I Have A Dream” as the Montreal group proclaims the forthcoming of their debut album Masterpiece available October 20 from Couple Skate Records. Find them playing Fixture Records Rooftop Show at Pop Montreal September 19, and catch them in NYC for CMJ showcases October 13 at Baby’s All Right and October 14 at Knitting Factory.
Small Black brings all the back to basics and back to beautiful essences on the gorgeous track “Back At Belle’s” from the forthcoming album Best Blues available October 16, 2015 on Jagjaguwar.
Life Sim just released the maximalist rising tides of the ever-peaking EDM-ish horizons of “IDL” that includes a video made by Daniel Swan. Available through PC Music, Swan describes the emotive array of clips with the following insights:
Drifting towards earth and through the blockbuster emotions threaded through it, the video for “IDL” is made up of single clips from a rainbow of random post-Y2K motion pictures.
We bring you the latest in Yassou’s ongoing video series with the dramatic and sparse baroque senses of “To Win / Young Blood” from Lilie Hoy and James Jackson where low-lit evening feelings and hidden intimacy pours forth in a suite of dreams and places that exist above and below the expanses of water. Yassou frontwoman Lilie Bytheway Hoy wrote this on the video serial:
The band made this project not only to express a set of feelings and ideas within them, but also with the clear intention to share them with others. This was made for the people who will be able to escape in it; to fall in and through the story; for those who will take the time to absorb the images, and the sounds. The people who aren’t afraid to be overcome by emotion, praise or disgust, confusion or ambiguity, or to be consumed by an idea, or thought, are also the people who understand the fragility of the ones Yassou love, and ultimately, the fragility of themselves.
Catch our premiere of the single “Young Blood” here.
Watch the old time-y video from Tudd Narson for Mild High Club’s “Undeniable” off the forthcoming September 18 album from Stones Throw’s own Circle Star Records. Depicting the differences in bar-romance games of attraction decorum, Alex Brettin of Mild High Club explained the video with the following quip:
It’s about hooking up, having the balls to talk to someone in real life instead of the obscure Tinder reality.
And just in case you might have missed it, hear more of Alexander ‘Mild High Club’ Brettin with the spaced out space-jam “The Chat” that includes appearances from fellow lo-fi friends Ariel Pink and Weyes Blood turning further psychedelic AM radio dialed mind tricks from the forthcoming Timeline album.
Now stay tuned for a total Mild High Club takeover…
Mild High Club’s Week in Pop
Mild High Club is currently on an international tour running through October 30 to support the forthcoming Timeline album available September 18 from Stones Throw imprint Circle Star Records, and we are excited, honored, and thrilled to present Alexander Brettin’s following exclusive Week in Pop guest selections:
White Fang, “Bong Rip”
Gnar Tapes dudes are the ultimate bong rippers, true rock n rollers of the indigo children. Gut busting debaucherous weedboys.
Sheer Agony, “I Have A Dream”
The baby of Jackson Macintosh, pure heartfelt power-pop for the twenty-first century. I guess power-pop implies heartfelt? It’s power-pop though.
Homeshake, “Give It To Me”
Flip off that robe and light a candle. Sweet and sour sauce for those of us who are interested in bathing couture.
King Gizzard & The Lizard Wizard, “The River”
The Gizz. 7 beautiful young dirty mouthed weirdos with weird ass guitars and shit. Head shredders.
Uh Bones, “Honey Coma”
Stream via Spotify.
Supergroup of local Chicago garage 21st century grandchildren of nuggets. The boners aren’t afraid to love each other and write songs about it. Plus they have a chorbly organ that seeps in every once in a while.
Lemons, “JJ’s House”
Re: Chicago DIY legends.
Gypsy Woman, “Crystal Waters (She’s Homeless)”
A classic somewhat of a hit immortalized by the timeless choreography of this video. la da dee la dee dowww…
Shaman Strings, “Time & Space”
This is something my friend Natalie showed me a couple years ago and it’s stuck with me ever since. I don’t even know what to say about this, I’m pretty sure this dude is serious, but when you give a lunatic a vocal processor, I don’t know if he’s a lunatic. Have you watched the video? You have to watch the video. This is next level.
R.A.E.D., “I’ve Come Along Way”
R.A.E.D. is the um, ok, he’s a next level artist. His unique flow stands out from every other rapper pretty much ever. Probably the best video of 2013. I can’t tell if he’s conscious or not. He’s so good he sounds like he’s making two songs at once.
MFQ, “I Had A Dream Last Night”
A pop nugget that all songwriters can learn from. It’s homework.
Charmaine’s Names, “Paranoid”
There’s not much to say but I’ve never seen or met a performer with such a sophisticated sleaze. It’s the musical that your weird uncle has had in his head his whole life and is now ready to show the world. Andrew Lloyd Webber for trippers and lounge lizards.
Cat 500, “Dregs Hovel”
Cat 500 is a staple of the LA bizarro music world and she makes her own brand of R&B, but on top of the beautiful harmonic structures are these twisted vocals that you’re not sure where they come from. It’s like if Beyoncé dipped her head into a vat of LSD.
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