Last week, I talked about some records I think will boost 2011's boner meter into rocket red. Well, this week I'm back, and not just with a straightforward list of records, but also some vibes, labels, etc. that I think are going to, well, not fucking blow it.
Cats Purring Collective
For those of you know in the know, Cats Purring — NO COMMAS / NO APOSTROPHES — is the-mostly-Oxford, MS crew made up of core members Dent May, Flight, Bass Drum Of Death, Dead Gaze, and Gray Things. I like to think of this band of Mississippi natives as close cousins. They are the white, slightly less nihilistic, “rock and roll” version of, say, Odd Future Wolf Gang Kill Them All (Free Earl). Lots of dudes bringing their own vibes, each one just as essential as the next, stacking talent on top of fucking talent, being rad, and killing it their way.
These dudes are fucking class acts. They're doing DIY in a way that's not all “let's go dumpster-diving.” They swa out with their brand new Dude Ranch, which is already a home base for recording fresh new hits from Gray Things and Dead Gaze, as well as out of this world shows. Bass Drum Of Death is dropping a brand new full-length, G.B. City, on Fat Possum, sitting next to fat cats like Wavves and The Black Keys. I've heard it. It's baller as shit. You should hear it too. Flight's working on new recordings… Do I smell a full-length? God, we can only hope. Dent was just heard doing backing vocals on a Ducktails jam with Panda Bear, as well as working on his own music, and basically keeping Cats Purring constantly in the public eye via a tumblr, twitter, and blogspot — now official dot com.
Yeah, they just got profiled on that Altered Zones thing, and the hype is only beginning to build. Funny thing is, these guys have been working at this shit for a while, so it's nice to see homeys get the love they deserve. Shit's going off in 2011. Get ready.
Software Recording Company
Yeah, so remember when that Oneohtrix Point Never dude and that Joel dude were called Games? They had to change their name, and now they're called Ford & Lopatin, which sounds like a law firm, and is pretty radical. They also got their own imprint label through Mexican Summer called Software, how awesome is that?
As a fan of what Ford & Lopatin were doing with their r&b-cum-video-game-race-car-lamborghini-soundtrack music, I got really excited at the idea of these guys curating releases for their very own label. Then, I saw who they had plans to work with in 2011, and it's all the more boner-popping… We're talking, well… firstly… themselves — with Ford & Lopatin, Oneohtrix Point Never, and Airbird all repped, which is awesome. Then we've got releases from Prefuse 73, Autre Ne Veut, and Demdike Stare to look forward to.
This is going to be a label to keep your eyes firmly glued to for sure. You might wanna follow them on twitter.
Every Hidden Color, Luz (Arbor)
I know very, very, very, very little about this… Here's the facts: Every Hidden Color is a duo comprised of ambient sound artists Federico Durand and Nicholas Szczepanik — both with incredibly gorgeous solo efforts of their own. I first heard an excerpt from Luz on a podcast curated by Mike Pollard, head of Arbor Records and of Pale Blue Sky & Treetops fame. I was so blown away by this excerpt, that I tracked down Nicholas to get what information I could.
Luz is excepted to drop in the summer of 2011 on Arbor. It's going to be beautiful. For now… That's it, but take a listen.
Earth,
Angels Of Darkness, Demons Of Light 1 (Southern Lord)Um. Yeah. I don't need to say anything. Earth fucking rules. Go back and listen to Earth2: Special Low Frequency Version. Go back and listen to Hex; Or Printing In The Infernal Method. It doesn't matter. Since Hex, Earth has been playing this rootsy, balls the wall, country-fried, western-twanged, Telecaster-howlin', sort of Dirty Three-meets-Bohren & Der Club Of Gore-meets-Ennio Morricone-meets-Sabbath-meets-fuck if I know. It's heavy, it's righteous, like the spirit of the LAWD cries throughout the guitar tone, there's a relentless, drawn out desperate vibe, while pillars of fucking pure light come on down and cleanse the whole, bad land of its rottenness. Go order this record at Southern Lord right now.
Lastly…
Bathetic Records
I know it's weird to talk about how I think a label I pretty much work for is going to help usher in some serious dome shreddage in 2011, but I can't help it, it's true… and I should know, I've seen the upcoming line-up. So what's to expect from Bathetic? Well…
Right now, there's a pre-order up for two brand new seven inches. There's the debut from Wreathes, a dark-dark-dark-magickal-folk type band made up of characters you might know from acts such as Kinit Her and Burial Hex. Also, there's a brand new High Wolf 7″ entitled A Guide To Healing, and at this point everyone should be pretty well aware of the spiritual-meditative vibes of Mr. Wolf.
In the near future expect: vinyl versions of highly acclaimed releases like Angel Olsen's Strange Cacti and King Dude's My Beloved Ghost — with some killer bonus material, as well as brand new vinyl from Ren Schofield's — of God Willing fame — new project, synth-mind-blower Age Wave, a split between Bitchin' Bajas and Face Plant — that would be Aaron of Peaking Light's solo project, as well as more vinyl releases from Lee Noble, Cough Cool, Lazy Magnet & Caethua, cassettes from the likes of Raga Chrome and Gremlynz, and maybe even some trips into literature and zines, and just some out there shit…
Big, big times ahead for this lovely label I'm stoked to be a part of… Pardon me for gloating. No. I don't care. Shit rules.
