Big names, big appearances. We all saw Obama slow jamming the stump on Fallon, heard a rumor that Britney Spears is appointed to be the next X Factor USA judge but best of all is Bryan McKnight slated to perform his X-rated track at this year's AVN awards. High fives all around and here is your weekly musical survey in no particular order.
Following up with the Ty Segall Band, we have some audio noise candy with “Wave Goodbye” that is guaranteed to bring down the apartment and get the neighbors riled before they send in the noise complaint police. Recorded with his Ty's touring band of Charlie, Mikal and Emily Rose you can now enjoy that full sound off the road thanks to a little recording help from Chris Woodhouse at The Hangar. Look for Slaughterhouse June 26 from In the Red.
3:33 remixed Danny Brown's “Blunt After Blunt” with some thicker, murkier kettle can rhythms in celebration of XXX's release on vinyl. The production moves in waves like viscous billows of exhaled smoke that rise slowly before undulating in indiividual spirals that are in no hurry to move from their position unless provoked by the force of motion by wind and air. Things begin to get weird on Danny's first chorus call of “And I smoke…”, as the track gets further hot boxed with samplers ground up for rollies. Mark your calendar's for the release of 3:33's album In The Middle Of Infinity October 30 on Parallel Thought.
Having dropped their collaborative album Hair this week on Drag City, Ty Segall and White Fence closed out their Room 205 sessions with the age- and era-defying “Time.” Catch the big blowout visuals directed by Michael Reich, set design by Tamarra Younis, engineered by Jon Gilbert, Conor Simpson directing the photography, and editing by Forrest Borie, resulting in a mixed-media recipe for euphoria. While it's hard to keep up with all the performances and releases from these respective artists, we recommend you get your copy of Tim, Ty, Mikal, Sean Paul and Nick's contempo-garage-classic Hair now.
More from our East Bay buddies League510 this week featuring an appearance from Kreayshawn on the turf claiming, “Representa”. The League explains; “We wanted to make an anthem for Oakland, an anthem for the whole Bay.” On Kreayshawn's cameo she reps her roots before grabbing the tiara while no one is looking: “I put that on my partner, I put that on my family, Oakland city represent address me as your majesty.” Keep an ear out later this year when T.K. Other Realm, Mr. Knowitall, Monty and Mk Smith will release their much anticipated album Slumps & Fist Pumps.
AlunaGeorge is the latest craze that is altering how the UK is approaching modern day rhythm & blues. Thank chanteuse Aluna Francis and producer George Reid for shaking it up with an arsenal of prime keyboard selections that shift through the many suite rooms from new groove fascinations and sequencing experimentations that result in this over-the-top British pop track. AlunaGeorge's You Know You Like It is out now on Tri Angle Records and will be available on 12 inch vinyl June 12.
Monster Rally released a wind chime rider called “Honey” that is sure to keep your head doing that agree nodding in agreement. Following up a collaboration with producer Rumtum earlier this year on MR&RT, the electric psych ambience Rally continues where natural sounds are crafted into spliced tape patterns that drift out to the uncharted waters on unanchored rafts. Beyond the Sea is being made in a limited edition of 500 lava red vinyls from Gold Robot Records with the first 100 copies packaged with a handmade signed art booklet from Monster Rally. LP pre-orders are available now.
While YG Hootie and A-Wax's scolds of “You Doin' Somethin' Wrong” might lack the legal advice angle of past Brick Squad hooks like, “I told my lawyer to get my back for all the crazy shit I did” from Flocka's “Karma”, they are here to let you know that they “must be doin' something right” to be surrounded by diamonds, chains, red cups, paper, and a Maserati just for fun. YG & A'S collaborative LP Interstate Trafficking drops July 17 on Illburn Records.
Netherfriends has been rescoring Ron Fricke's global wonder Baraka with their remix of Loyal Divide's “Vision Vision” from Part 3. Finally the ambient work you wanted without Sigourney Weaver's narrative distractions, over the visually arresting images of waterfalls, skies, Southeast Asian metropolises, rainforests, and beyond.
YACHT took a Franco-revisionist take on Brigitte Fontaine's “Le Goudron”, giving the 1969 revolutionary spinner a new set of synth beeps and beats. The surreal piece was originally recorded by Fontaine and The Art Ensemble of Chicago. Now it is rebuilt as a post-modern construct by YACHT, where Brigitte's radical yells are bathed with LED illuminants replacing the incadenscent club lights of yesteryear. Listen now, courtesy of DFA Records.
Raekwon featuring L.E.P. Bogus Boys with a word on the world of slangin' in the Gregory Bussireth (of TEHO)-directed video for “This Shit Hard”. From the Wu-Tang alum's EP Unexpected Victory, Raekwon and the Boys dispell the urban myth of easy hood rich living while toasting up Chandon Brut Rose, enjoying Chinese take out amid a sea of substance while reiterating the difficulties of achieving financial solubility and wealth in the projects.
Having heard Dntel's latest single “Bright Night” a few weeks back, we follow that up with “Still” featuring vocals from Baths. Jimmy Tamborello brings some restrained bright light keys and glitched drum to the occaision that swirl around the vocal samples that are sequenced in a manner as pointed as the production. Dntel's album Aimlessness comes out June 5 on Pampa Records and we are very happy about this.
LA by way of Chi-town's Kid Static breaks it all down to the essentials of what rules everything around us with “T-Shirts and Sneakers”. He utilizes a minimal drum hook on the verse, “I don't care about haters on the internet they ain't said it to my face, admit it yet, I do care about a lot of things guy, clean socks a boom box and my…” and then cues the title track, grunted one hundred times, on the minor key chorus that drives these basic imperatives home. Look for Static's album It Gleams June 1 on Cobra Music.
RØSENKØPF's “Burning Spirits” excorcises demons through big bunches of hearty NYC metal jumping from the electronic exoskeleton and into the fire. These next 7 minutes could change your life by inspiring you to start your own progressive metal core project, or maybe to commit the rest of your life to easy listening tunes after such a head scorching ordeal. Their self-titled debut LP comes out May 15 on Wierd and they'll play in Austin for Chaos in Tejas June 2 at Empire Automotive with Pop. 1280, ICEAGE, Xeno & Oaklander, and more.
Cool Nutz dropped the video for “Superman” Ft. Mikey Vegaz. Beejan Iranshad captures the two representing the great Portland, Oregon and the Pacific Northwest scene that never gets enough recognition but is coming up in major way as more North dwelling folks are jumping into the game. Catch his latest album The Cook Up on May 1 on Jus Family Records.
Speaking of Portland, we got the new AU video for “O.J.” directed by TAKCOM's Takafumi Tsuhiya. Think multi-colored infrared experiments in thermo imaging put to the sensory overload experience of AU's full band, all styles going at one autonomous and entrancing time. Get their album Both Lights out now on Hometapes / The Leaf Label. Check listings for the remaining dates of their European tour.
Dope Body dropped the track “Weird Mirror” this week that might cause one to be reduced to a state of primal but peaceful anarchic rage. Listen for their album Natural History coming to you this May 22 with grungy love from Drag City.
Allo Darlin' is streaming their new album Europe now ahead of the release May 1 date on Slumberland Records. If Elizabeth Morris captured your heart the first time around on their self-titled, then we encourage you to listen further:
Dusted, a project of Holy Fuck's Brian Borcherdt presents the effervescent midnight lullabye, “(Into the) Atmosphere” produced by Leon Taheny of Bruce Peninsula, Final Fantasy, Rituals fame. Brian gives a take on the ephemeral nature of things while constructing the perfect festival singalong that evaporates into the sun by the song's end. Dusted's Total Dust comes out July 10 on Polyvinyl / Hand Drawn Dracula.
Should you ever be looking for a 90s rave time capsule, we cordially invite you to listen to Jensen Sportag's yourstru.ly mixtape Other People's Poetry made from Austin Wilkinson's old cassettes from that aforementioned dance era. In dedication to a long lost friend named Chuck; Austin and Elvis bottle the cassettes like glow-stick fireflies that burn with a cadence of decade defining warehouse grooves that pretends for 11 classic traxx that the past 22 years never happened.
Julia Holter's Ekstasis is out now from RVNG Intl and tops many of the friends' lists-in-progress this year for best album contender of 2102. For those in the Bay Area, you can catch Julia playing at the Rickshaw Shop in SF this Sunday April 29.
Also for Bay Area shows, Yukon Blonde returns to SF performing Cafe Du Nord May 1 and you can win a pair of tickets by being the 10th person to e-mail me your love for the Vancouver, BC bros with the name of their new album Tiger Talk in the subject line via goldminesacks@gmail.com and you could be the lucky one.
Patrick Watson's video for “Into Giants” blooms from heartfelt sentimentality that goes all out in that kind of classic modernist approach to entertainment sort of way. Brigitte Henry's video goes from Watson enjoying a video chat facetime session with Erika Angell to a tap ensemble choreographed by Andre Tupin preluding much further fanfare to match the gigantic musical arrangement build up. Patricks' new album Adventures in Your Own Backyard comes out May 1 on Domino Records.
