NEW BAND & NEW VIDEO: Interview with Made Violent.
Do you remember what influenced you to start a band?
In 6th grade, there was this group of kids who said they had a band and all this bull shit. They had a free webpage with a bunch of mumbo jumbo about the supposed shows they were playing and all these songs that they had. They were full of it and it just pissed me off. I was just starting to play guitar and knew that they didn’t know the first thing about it so I started claiming I was in a band, as well. Not long after that I started playing with a different group of kids and all we’d do was play Hotel California (not very well), but it was the shit. Started climbing the ladder from there..
And let’s get a cliche question out of the way. Why “Made Violent”?
The joke is are we made good or made violent? We’re really just a bunch of pussies at the end of the day.
If people were to ask you what you sounded like, what would it be? I certainly seem to hear some Strokes in your music.
Everyone loves to say it sounds like something else… There are definitely bands that have inspired the way we think and write songs, but at the end of the day it is still our own sound. That’s how I look it when it’s all said and done. I tell people it’s guitar music. Rock and roll. Fuck anyone who says it’s dead. Not true.
The idea behind the “Dirty” video, can you explain the concept?
The song is a sarcastic look at our inner desires and the video piggy backs on that idea. It’s just human nature to want to do bad things. It sounds way deeper than it is, but the video is supposed to represent that idea that everything is tainted; everything in it’s own way is “Dirty”. Including you.
Is this a part of the creative process that you enjoy? or just a necessary evil?
I don’t know why it would ever be a necessary evil..? Video allows you to peel back another layer that you wouldn’t stumble upon by just listening to it. It’s definitely not a necessary evil; it makes it easier for the listener to see our thought process and connect with us.
Is there a certain bands videos that you admire?
FIDLAR has a video of Nick Offerman (Ron Swanson) pissing on everything, that’s pretty funny. The new Cage the Elephant video was really heady, as well.
So where from here? EP? LP? tour?
Tour Tour Tour Tour Tour. We have plenty more music to release as time goes on but the biggest thing for us is playing shows and getting to everyone who has been waiting to see us. Dates are being booked for late spring and summer so be on the lookout for that.
Have you done any extensive touring in the past?
We did a full east coast run this past June. We did some regional stuff this winter. To be honest, the ball just started rolling for us so there’s a lot more to come.
Ultimate indulgence for you guys in the game of rock and roll? The truth! Why get into it? Can’t just be for arts sake. What worldly spoils do you look forward too?
The obvious reasons… I want to party a bit and see the world yada yada. The genuine soft boy reason is we just want to give whatever’s to be made back to our family and friends. They’ve given us everything so it would be mad to just keep it all to ourselves.
“NYC’s Skaters have ably thrashed their way from the sweat-soaked moshpits of FUZZ into the national spotlight over the past 18 months, and new single “Miss Teen Massachusetts” is arguably their best offering to date.” Said the outlet upon the remix’s release. “Enter Magic Man, who weave gold into gold as they lend their silky remix touch to the Skaters original…It’s like Mr. Brightside on MDMA as Magic Man whip ‘Miss Teen’ into a hormone-crazed frenzy.”
With the release of debut album Manhattan in the not to distant pass, the band has played their NYC Record Release Show at Bowery Ballroom, then took off for a handful of dates in the UK. SKATERS just did a run at SXSW and are ensuing a bi-coastal spring headlining tour featuring Team Spirit. For a full list of upcoming dates, see below.
03/19 Satellite – Los Angeles, CA
03/20 Bottom of the Hill – San Francisco, CA
03/21 Mississippi Studios – Portland, OR
03/22 Tractor Tavern – Seattle, WA
03/25 Larimer Lounge – Denver, CO
03/26 Czar Bar – Kansas City, MO
03/27 7th Street Entry – Minneapolis, MN
03/28 Bottom Lounge – Chicago, IL
03/29 CD101 Show – Columbus, OH
03/31 Grog Shop – Cleveland, OH
04/01 Revival Room – Cincinnati, OH
04/02 Altar Bar – Pittsburg, PA
04/03 Rock and Roll – Washington, DC
04/04 Boot & Saddle – Philadelphia, PA
Inspired heavily by science fiction and an obsession with old photography books, The Mary Onettes release the grand Portico: on March 4. If their two first albums were dramas, last year’s Hit The Waves was an adventure film then Portico: is their own space odyssey.
Those who waited four years from Islands ’til the follow up, Hit The Waves from last year probably didn’t expect a new album so soon, even if it’s a rather short one. But The Mary Onettes are in a creative flow, unafraid to change.
“I’m in love with the idea of a constant flow of albums where you never know what’s going to come next. The Mary Onettes move in that direction. Next album could be an ambient CD box or a 7″ with two jangly pop tunes,” says singer Philip. “It’s a part of the longing to escape myself and dive into a void and the unknown.”
“Besides this little space crush, this year has also been a lot about photographs. Endless pages in photo books has been a major influence for us. The pictures have served as portals into colors and emotions. I even sleep with the books in my bed”says Ekström.
The Mary Onettes are doing their first US tour in six years in March. Both volcanos and flight anxiety have stopped them past attempts to cross the Atlantic. This time it’s really happening.
March 3 – Montreal, QC @ Under The Snow Festival
March 5 – Boston, MA @ Great Scott
March 6 – Philadelphia, PA @ Johnny Brenda’s
March 7 – Brooklyn, NY @ Glasslands
March 8 – Savannah, GA @ Savannah Stopover
March 10th – Baton Rouge, LA @ Venue: Mud and Water
March 11 – 16 – Austin, TX @ SXSW
March 17 – Scottsdale, AZ @ The Western
March 18 – San Diego, CA @ Bootleg Theathre
March 19 – Los Angeles, CA @ BoMarch 21 – San Francisco, CA @ Neck of The Woods
NEW VIDEO & NEW ARTIST: “I” By Perfect Pussy *SXSW Artist*
Noise-punk outfit Perfect Pussy are one of the most intriguing projects to surface in recent years, garnering widespread critical acclaim following the release of their debut, 4 song EP, titled I have lost all desire for feeling. Almost instantly gaining the reputation as a ‘must see’ act, frontwoman Meredith Graves has no problem living up to such a bold statement, performing her disarmingly honest and poetic lyrics with a feverish intensity. Today, the band released the video for “I”, the first track off the EP, capturing the band in their hometown of Syracuse, NY.
It was announced this morning that the five-piece are confirmed to open NPR’s SXSW Showcase Party on Wednesday, March 12th, at Stubb’s in Austin, TX. This show will be the first of a nonstop week for the emerging project. Full details on their schedule will be released in the coming weeks. The band will be hitting the road this spring with genre-bending, avant garde artists YAMANTAKA // SONIC TITAN, achieving what is sure to be one of the most electrifying co-headine bills you’ll see this year. See below to check out all of Perfect Pussy’s upcoming tour dates.
The band are set to release their debut full-length album, Say Yes to Love, on Captured Tracks on March 18th. The first 300 copies of limited-edition vinyl were mixed with the blood of singer Meredith Graves, and sold out in less than an hour following their announcement. Tour Below:
Upcoming Tour Dates /
03.04.14 – The Haunt – Ithaca, NY
03.05.14 – Now That’s Class – Cleveland, OH
03.06.14 – Freakin’ Weekend Festival at The End – Nashville, TN =
03.07.14 – Buccaneer – Memphis, TN
03.09.14 – Festival NRML – Monterrey, MX
03.10.14 – Galaxy Z Fair – McAllen, TX
03.11.14 – Mango’s – Houston, TX &
03.12.14 – Stubb’s Outside (NPR Official SXSW Showcase) %
03.14.14 – Red 7 (Chaos in Tejas Official SXSW Showcase) – Austin, TX #
03.16.14 – Padre’s (Free Show) – Marfa, TX
03.17.14 – Wall Street – Phoenix, AZ @
03.18.14 – Che Cafe – San Diego, CA
03.19.14 – Bootleg Bar – Los Angeles, CA
03.20.14 – East 7th St Warehouse – Los Angeles, CA
03.21.14 – Rickshaw Stop – San Francisco, CA
03.22.14 – Slabtown – Portland, OR
03.23.14 – Treefort Music Festival – Boise, ID
03.24.14 – Vera Project – Seattle, WA
03.25.14 – Cobalt – Vancouver, BC
03.27.14 – Tubby Dog – Calgary, AB
03.28.14 – German Club – Regina, SK
03.29.14 – Dead Lobster – Winnipeg, MB
03.30.14 – 7th Street Entry – Minneapolis, MN ^
04.01.14 – Township – Chicago, IL
04.02.14 – Ace of Cups – Columbus, OH
04.03.14 – The Shop – Pittsburgh, PA
04.04.14 – Death By Audio – Brooklyn, NY ~
04.05.14 – Mercury Lounge – New York, NY +
04.24.14 – The Middle East (Downstairs) – Boston, MA *
04.25.14 – First Unitarian Church (Basement) – Philadelphia, PA *
04.26.14 – DC9 – Washington, DC *
04.27.14 – Gallery 5 Arts – Richmond, VA *
04.28.14 – King’s Barcade – Raleigh, NC *
04.29.14 – Mammal Gallery – Atlanta, GA *
04.30.14 – Bottletree – Birmingham, AL *
05.03.14 – Hotel Vegas – Austin, TX $
05.05.14 – Conservatory – Oklahoma City, OK *
05.07.14 – Sweatshop – Omaha, NE *
05.08.14 – Gabe’s Oasis – Iowa City, IA *
05.09.14 – Shakespeare’s Lower Level – Kalamazoo, MI $
05.10.14 – Trumbullplex – Detroit, MI *
= w/ Pujol and the Tweens
& w/ Ex Hex and Connections
% w/ Damon Albarn, St. Vincent and Kelis
# w/ Destruction Unit and The Gotobeds
@ w/ Gay Kiss
^ w/ Condiminium
~ w/ Total Slacker and Friendless Bummer
+ w/ Tumul and Green Dreams
* w/ YAMANTAKA // SONIC TITAN and Green Dreams
$ w/ Green Dreams
NEW SINGLE & TOUR: “Do It” (Don’t Try”) By Japanther
Japanther on Tour
* with Tiny Moving Parts
3/9: Brooklyn, NY @ Saint Vitus*
3/10: Richmond, VA @ Strange Matter*
3/11: W. Columbia, SC @ Conundrum Hall*
3/12: Mobile, AL @ Alabama Music Box*
3/14: Austin, TX @ SXSW
3/15: Austin, TX @ SXSW
3/16: Dallas, TX @ Club Dada (Spillover Festival w/ Ty Segall, Dum Dum Girls, Weekend, Diarrhea Planet & more)
3/17: Oklahoma City, OK @ Arhaham House*
3/19: St Louis, MO @ The Gargoyle Basement
3/20: Nashville, TV @ The End*
3/21: Atlanta, GA @ The Earl*
3/22: Greenville, NC @ The Tipsy Teapot
3/24: Frederick, MD @ Cafe 611*
NEW SINGLE & NEW ARTIST: “Closer” By Thief
Thief has revealed the debut video for his new single Closer reflecting the song’s upbeat vibe with vibrant colours and shapes. Disconnected themes throughout take you through the songs breakup lyrics, piece by piece.
Fresh out of Australia, singer-songwriter THIEF releases his first track official in the UK, the upbeat pop gem, ‘Closer’. After already receiving massive amounts of love from Triple J in his home country and due to debut in the US at SXSW in March; expect to start hearing a lot more of this brand new Aussie import before he hits our shores in May for The Great Escape.
THIEF, real name PJ Wolf, ditched guitars for synthesizers when developing this new project and the outcome was more than he ever could have hoped for. Setting the blogosphere aflame with his early demos, he then went onto release the ‘Closer EP’ in Australia at the end of last year, which is now seeing its own UK release on May 12th. Kick-off single ‘Closer’, out March 25th, encapsulates PJ Wolf’s well-honed skill for writing a pop song in a perfect two and half minute chunk with upbeat horns and clever lyrics that grip you from the off.
Co-produced by Matt Redlich (Emma Louise, The Trouble With Templeton), the ‘Closer EP’ creates a fresh minimalist sound to rival the likes of Metronomy, Miike Snow and Frank Ocean for which THIEF has already received fantastic accolades, including winning Triple J’s ‘Unearthed Top Song’ competition and a nomination for the prestigious ‘Vanda and Young’ songwriting award. BE ON THE LOOKOUT AT SXSW!
FEATURED VIDEO OF THE WEEK: The Foreign Resort “Alone”
Denmark’s The Foreign Resort are gearing up for South By Southwest and the release of their new album, New Frontiers, by digitally releasing another single today, “Alone.” The video for “Alone,” shot in Los Angeles last fall, was directed by Arian Soheili and nods at the beauty of film noir. Bringing a classic simplicity to jangly guitars and a scorned vocal with their blend of indie rock n roll, The Foreign Resort are recommended if you’re a fan New Wave artists like The Cure or New Order. DO NOT MISS them at SXSW!
TOUR DATES:
March 6 – Great Scott, Boston, MA
March 7 – Radio Bushwick, Brooklyn, NY
March 8 – The Velvet Lounge, Washington, D.C.
March 9 – Nightlight Bar & Club, Chapel Hill, NC
March 11 – The Nick, Birmingham, AL
March 12 – 16 – South By Southwest, Austin, TX
March 17 – The Vanguard, Tulsa, OK
March 18 – Blank Space, St. Louis, MO
March 20 – Mac’s Bar, Lansing, MI
March 21 – South Park Tavern, Dayton, OH
March 22 – Kobo Live, Columbus, OH
Our Newest “Sealebrity”: Christopher & Robin of MANSIONS
Last thing you do before sleep: Scold myself for every dumb thing I said that day.
NEW SINGLE & NEW BAND: “Dreaming” By SMALLPOOLS
Today, Smallpools announce their upcoming March/April tour with GROUPLOVE and MS MR, which will bring them back to Austin, TX which they visited for Austin City Limits as well as visits to Washington, DC, Atlanta, Arizona and New York for instance. This week the band plays three New York shows; two opening shows with Twenty One Pilots at Irving Plaza and will play a late Popshow headline show on Thursday at Santos Party House.
The release of their self-titled debut EP gained them critical acclaim. Neon Gold calls “Mason Jar” “a sepia splash of power-pop that crystallizes into a starscraping smash before the verse even kicks in, as stadium-sized Of Monsters and Men gang vocals ride high on the buoyant flair of Smallpools’ youthful,Two Door-esque ebullience.
Their first single “Dreamin” was produced by Captain Cuts and instantly shot to #1 of Hype Machine within the first 3 days of its revealing. You heard em here first!!!
Premiere Feature “Sealebrity” : ORBE ORBE
This is a new project where we will spotlight Seattle musical talent, both new and old, and find out a little bit about them. They send us selfies and answer a few easy but hopefully interesting questions.
Make sure and check them out and find them on Facebook and Twitter, as well as buy their music. Hopefully we will introduce you to some new music to enjoy. In the meantime hit “play” and read a about them. [Push play below]
NEW ARTIST & SINGLE: De Lux “Better at Making Time”
De Lux are a post-disco dance-punk DIY duo that sound like they could have come out of 1979 or 1982 just as easily as 2013. Founders and multi-instrumentalists Sean Guerin and Isaac Franco (who are both currently 22) didn’t meet so much as simply appear to each other, sometime before high school ended and after learning to correctly fall off skateboards began. Even at age 18, however, it was a connection that had been years in the making.
Sean began making music at 15 and had spent recent years recording and re-recording his own songs. Isaac had been on a strict diet of classic and obscure disco and boogie music since he too was 15, figuring out the original source of hip-hop’s greatest samples thanks to an older brother with a DJ sideline and an enviable record collection. They were even in a band together, prior to De Lux’s inception, and both were in pursuit of the same musical goal: the groove, which, they say resides where the bass and the beat align in such a perfect way that you want a song to go on forever. Just before one particular practice of that other band started, Isaac began playing a bass-line that grew to become “Better At Making Time.” From that moment on, their collective pursuit of the groove, was known as De Lux
“SONG DISSECTION WITH: Ryan Devlin Of Smokey Brights And Song “Beg, Borrow and Steal”.
I’m a grumpy old punk sometimes. (PRESS PLAY BELOW AND READ)
I mean, I’m only 28, but I started my first band when I was 12 and have been performing, recording, and touring since then (I wasn’t touring when I was 12, but you get the point.) I’ve purchased every pack of strings, booked every show, and pressed each record I’ve made with money I’ve earned either by playing shows or by working shitty jobs. When I didn’t have enough money from those shows, I’d make records in my bedroom and burn copies for my friends. No doting parent or rich benefactor has paid for studio time or bought me a brand new pre-worn Guitar, (though my parents are thankfully supportive of all this risky “art” business, if not at times perplexed by it.) I’d never campaign my friends and family for 10K to make a folk record either. I just do it with what means I have had because I want to. It’s hard work, seldom rewarding, and I wouldn’t trade it for the world.
From this vantage point however, it’s really hard to not get frustrated with the rich kids that just get a pass on all the work “your ass off” stuff and get to skip ahead to the “being a cool guy in a successful band” part. Music is a business, and when you start with some good investors you’re going to have a leg up on the other guys. The fact that it’s also art makes this relationship complex, and sometimes dangerous. Playing in bands you see it happen over and over- the children of wealth making garbage music, wearing second hand clothes, and having really shitty attitudes towards everything, including you; all the while getting success and praise from a system that takes an increasing amount of money to juke. It’s pretty easy to look like you don’t give a shit when you really don’t have to.
Ok, you’re eyes might be rolling by this point. I know I’d be in slow-clap-major-eye-roll-mode if I was reading some Seattle hipster’s martyr complex about his indie band. I guess that’s the heart of the song “Beg, Borrow, and Steal.” It’s an outward and inward critique; I’m poking fun at myself while simultaneously calling out the rich kids in ripped jeans. I’m wagging my finger and saying: “I’m poor! Therefore my art is more authentic! You bourgeoisie phony!” Then I’m catching myself in the mirror, shaking my head in utter disgust, and thinking: “What are you going on about you self righteous, grumpy old punk? Shut up and play.” So I do, and I wouldn’t trade it for the world.
Catch Smokey Brights tomorrow night at Neumos with Radiation City and Tomten. 8PM Adv Tix here.
NEW ARTIST & VIDEO: “A Long Walk” By Tango With Lions
Inner Ear are proud to release the second album of Athenian indie rock group Tango with Lions.
Just six months after its initial digital release in Greece, Tango with lions second album “A Long Walk” will be released worldwide by Inner Ear Records and Rough Trade Distribution, on October 18th.
Their debut album, “Verba Time“, has received enthusiastic reviews and the song “ In A Bar” climbed the European charts and loved by two millions youtube viewers.
Their musical path during the last four years could be compared to a long walk. The project of Kat began as a changing group of musicians and has grown to be the stable lineup of the band that recorded “A Long Walk”.
With the compositions and lyrics of Kat as a starting point, the band took their time to arrange the 10 album songs with continuous pre-production and rehearsals during the last two years. The recordings began in summer 2012 and were completed in January 2013 by Thodoris Zefkilis in SCA studio.
As in “Verba Time” so here, every song is a small story, but this time the stories are self-contained, with routes through dark dreams, night trips, sunny fantasies, memories and stories of love and separation. In Tango With Lions’ long walk bittersweet melodies and dreamy lyrics encounter rich arrangements. The result is unique: atmospheric electricity with dark outbursts, mystic trombone melodies, an old piano and a dark and solid rhythm section, always maintaining the special atmosphere that hovers around Kat’s voice.
Beastmilk;the Finnish post-punk troupe highly anticipated debut album poignantly combines haunting clean vocals, darkly shimmering melodies, and a throbbing rhythmic pulse to create an atmospheric yet energetic journey into post-punk’s past, present, and definitely its future. Set for international release on December 2nd on CD, LP and digital formats via SVART, this will be many people’s introduction to a band who have what it takes to stick around. (BRAND NEW VIDEO BELOW)
Evoking the anxious jangle of Jesus & Marcy Chain, an angrier Echo & The Bunnymen, a medicated Killing Joke, the lyrical animosity of PiL and even a lush layering of Bahaus’s Peter Murphy – all this, and vastly more, describes the immediately memorable 3D darkness of BEASTMILK.
Born in 2010 during a nuclear winter in Helsinki, Finland, the void-mothers of BEASTMILK kick out an irradiated dust of what they appropriately dub “apocalyptic post-punk.” Their debut demo, White Stains On Black Tape, sold out quickly and earned the attention of Darkthrone’s Fenriz, who made it one of his favorites of 2010. Metal Hammer Germany soon wrote that “Beastmilk sounds like the secret recording from a psychedelic mass, located stylistically between Roky Erickson, early Misfits, and The Devil’s Blood.”
BEASTMILK quickly gained the recognition of Finnish label SVART RECORDS and inked a deal to reissue the demo on wax along with their next release, both on 7″ vinyl, they played their first show with local old-school legends (and noted band influences) Nolla Nolla Nolla and Radiopuhelimet, followed by plenty of live shows both in Finland and abroad, culminating with an exclusive show at the Metal Magick festival in Denmark. In June 2013, they flew out to Boston, USA to record at GodCity Studio with the legendary Kurt Ballou (Converge), who produced their debut full-length album, Climax; the members of Converge found BEASTMILK online, loved them, and ordered both their 7″s, with Ballou soon offering to produce their debut album at his world-famous studio.
The result is Climax, an album of dark, driving anthems – from the widescreen immediacy of the opener, “Death Reflects Us”, to the pitch-black pop suss of “Genocidal Crush” and “Fear Your Mind”, to the irresistible “You Are Now Under Our Control”, the greatest compliment you can give the record is its sheer consistency – it doesn’t let up on its quality throughout. A mix of dynamics and styles never painted any lighter than black, the album is one that will unite fans of punk, indie-rock and metal sub-genres alike.
NEW ALBUM & VIDEO: By Ravenna Woods “Live Alone” Off New Album The Jackals (Nov.14th)
With a reputation for frenetic live performances and penchant for well crafted, unconventional indie rock, Ravenna Woods provide a crucial reminder to Seattle, WA’s music scene that, as Spin put it when describing the band, “Just because it’s acoustic, doesn’t mean it must be pastoral and warm.” On the eve of their upcoming release The Jackals (out November 14th via RavWoo), that statement is more relevant than ever.
Comprised of Chris Cunningham on lead vocals and guitar, Matt Badger on an unconventional setup of drums, Sam Miller steadying the arrangements with piano and subtle bass work, and Brantley Duke on vocals, guitar, xylophone, keyboards and percussion, Ravenna Woods has quickly become a favorite among Seattle concert-goers and music cognoscenti alike. Born out of demos written and recorded by Cunningham while teaching abroad in an isolated oceanic village, the band developed around the art of making more with less. Their 2010 full length Demons and Lakes and subsequent follow up EP Valley of the Headless Men earned them top album status from Seattle indie radio stalwart KEXP two years in a row and a dedicated following across the Pacific Northwest. Now, after a year and a half of writing and recording new material, Ravenna Woods is ready to begin their next chapter.
Growing eerily from silence, a flood of analogue chirps heralding the arrival of “Eidetic” sets the stage for The Jackals. Expanding on their own distinct brand of darkhorse-acoustic-indie, songs on The Jackals create cavernous, ambient soundscapes that flux with dynamic and heavily percussive pieces ranging from the starkly minimal “Kenya,” (inspired by a trip Cunningham took to the spectacularly wild lands of the Maasai Mara in East Africa) with its stately horns and thundering toms, to the labyrinthine epic “Border Animals.” During the elusive title track, “The Jackals,” the melody seems to hang ominously in the air while chord structures shift like unstable landscapes beneath Cunningham’s anthemic lyrics.
Lyricist Cunningham gives The Jackals a surreal, urgent purpose, with Kafka, McCarthy and their ilk’s influence clearly present in his writing. Prominent overarching themes of distrust and paranoia snake throughout the record; shady government agencies, sociopathic predators operating in distant countries, even friends and loved ones ready to rollover on you at the drop of a dime peer around the edge of every chorus. “They’ve got your jobs, friends, lovers all calling you out!” Cunningham desperately warns at the end of Border Animals. There’s also a recurring sense of letting go that runs throughout The Jackals. Not a resigned, morose self-pity, but rather a defiant, Butch Cassidy and the Sun Dance Kid -we’re full of holes and bleeding out anyways…might as well go out in a hail of gunfire release.
One of the most compelling – if not just plain interesting -records of 2013, The Jackals exists entirely of its own design. 100% produced and recorded by Cunningham and close friend Chris Proff in their century old Seattle home; this is imagination brought to reality without compromise or boundaries.
Look for their Kickstarter here, if you would like to take a special part in the album.
(Bio-Ever Kipp)
Seismic Interview with: VALIENT THORR. THE HIGHLINE 9/14 By Jason.F
I was able to interview Valient himself and get some insight to the new album, the critics, Seattle and life on the road. (Listen and read below).
Photo By: Gary Copeland
SHOW PREVIEW: Flume at Neumos 9/29 By Sara Johnson
Pretty Boy … AKA Flume is an Australian electronic producer whose debut album, ‘Sleepless’, takes you on a dance-party-rollercoaster that combines heavy synths and bassy hip hop beats with vocals ranging from ambient to rap. He’s done several collaborations with vocalists that go way beyond the typical electronic audience. Tracks “Holdin’ On” or “Left Alone” he teams up with Chet Faker amongst a cast of others. Flume himself doesn’t even call this project “electronic”; though he has dubbed his genre “orchestral-crunk-wave”. It is a collection of songs that surprises at every turn, so much so that when listening from beginning to end, it doesn’t exactly make sense but seeing it live, it all starts to make perfect sense and it makes for one helluva sweaty, sold-out show!
Tomorrow he is playing his second sold-out show in Seattle this year, the first being a few months ago at The Lo-Fi. This time around, he is playing bigger venues and has some new edits of unreleased material, as well as the “Infinity Prism” which is apparently an optical illusion that syncs with his music. Check out his promo video for the “Infinity Prism” tour below.(photo by Dani Elshipp)
Check out Flume’s recent remix of Disclosure’s You & Me and if you can find a ticket, head to one his shows!
A Featured Song Of The Week By: Blouse “A Feeling Like This”. Seattle 9/17 At Vera Project
Evolution is a tricky word when discussing current trends in music, especially when it comes to sophomore albums. The critically lauded BLOUSE, the 2011 debut from the Portland band of the same name was a lush, melodic and dreamy affair spiked with whoozy synths and delicate vocals. For Imperium, their 2nd LP for Captured Tracks, Blouse have shed the synths, done away with drum machines and wrote and recorded with “instruments that don’t plug into the wall,” as enforced by band member/producer Jacob Portrait.
Sonically speaking, that comes through on the LP immediately. Perhaps bolstered by the ongoing construction occurring next to the studio while the record was being made, the sense of force and urgency propelling the record is evident. Patrick Adams’ driving bass and plodding drums in the title track usher in this new guitar-friendlier Blouse; more direct and clearer of vision, but still mysterious and beautiful.
Jacob and Patrick’s Pacific Northwest alt-rock roots (filtered through post-punk and V/U) are a great counterpoint to ex-pat Southern CA transplant Charlie Hilton’s Cohen/Patti/Nico singer/songwriter nature. The dichotomy of those two forces on tracks like “No Shelter” and “1000 Years” are at the core of Imperium. These are delicate songs from the perspective of a valley girl who grew up with gurus and ashrams played by indie lifers on a steady diet of NEU! It makes it all the more understandable to have showers of acoustic guitars and (real, not synthesized) cellos interrupted by fuzz guitar.
But these interruptions aren’t a bad thing, they’re what makes Imperium the great record it is. “In a Feeling Like This” describes it perfectly; it’s a strange place that you’re weirdly familiar with. Warm but also kind of spooky and imposing, you want to stay there for longer than you’re invited. Thankfully, it’s ok to flip it over and listen to it again.
Imperium is out Septmeber 17th, 2013
Seismic-Sound 