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Formed in Long Island two years ago, the band has lately been wooing fans and critics alike, with glowing write ups in Chocolate Bobk, Pitchfork, Stereogum, Said the Gramophone, My Old Kentucky Blog, and dozens more, all on the strength of a free debut EP. Their first official release will be entitled “Color Your Life”, and is being released in May on Infinite Best Recordings. More than anything, Twin Sister want to make music you could feel comfortable cheating on someone to.
King Khan & The Shrines have been spreading their love like peanut butter since 1999. A youngblood King Khan on his royal buddhistic journey decides to sow some wild oats in Germany, he finds true love and fulfills his life long dream of leading a super bad ass 10 piece soul inferno!!!! “I didn’t just want the audience to have an aural orgasm… I wanted an EYEGASM too!!!” – King Khan. The line-up includes 60 year-old Chicago-born, Ron Streeter (the live-percussionist of Curtis Mayfield, Stevie Wonder, and many other Soul-Legends), a horn section consisting of Simon Wojan (the mastermind behind Kranky Records recording artists Cloudland Canyon), Ben Ra (Germany’s John Coltrane), and famous French rockabilly saxophonist Big Fred Rollercoaster. The rhythm section of the Sensational Shrines has been called “a German/French version of the Freak Brothers”. Their first album THREE HAIRS & YOU’RE MINE was produced by Liam Watson recorded in the legendary Toe Rag Studios in London, England and released in 2002. A second full-length, MR. SUPERNATURAL, followed in 2004. King Khan & the Shrines became an all-star international movement. Numerous gigs followed all across Europe with the Black Lips, Enon, Demolition Dollrods, Mr.Quintron & Ms. Pussycat, an after-party for 50 Cent in Norway. They headlined Toronto’s NXNE festival 2006 playing three nights in a row and even had a member of the Sun Ra Arkestra join their brass section…. In 2007 King Khan made the soundtrack and film score for “Schwarze Schafe” a major motion picture in Germany. The soundtrack included music from The Black Lips, The Spits, Gris Gris, Quintron and more. In 2007, King Khan also released WHAT IS?! which received critical acclaim from all over the world, landing at #33 on Pitchfork’s Top Albums of 2007 while their track “Welfare Bread” landed at #66 on Pitchfork’s Top 100 Songs of 2007. Now comes 2008 and for the first time ever this musical dynamite is widely available the U.S. of A. for the very first time. A greatest hits of his greatest hits, the cream of a very creamy crop – this is the Supreme Genius of King Khan and The Shrines at their absolutely very best. The entire 11-person psychedelic-soul big band revue will be raving up stages for the first time through North America the summer of 2008, leaving behind them a colorful spell of amazement and wonder. OK Productions & Tight Bros Present: Friday February 3 at The Earl Theophilus London Phony Ppl Venus X 9pm / $12-14 / 21+ Tickets on sale HERE or at the following Ticket Alternative Outlets: Decatur CD * Fantasyland Records * Criminal Records * The Earl Urban electro pop phenom Theophilus London releases his debut LP Timez Are Weird These Days on Warner Bros. Records world wide on July 19th. Following a series of wildly popular independent mixtapes and the Lovers Holiday EP that landed him a performance on The Late Show with David Letterman earlier this year, Timez Are Weird These Days arrives as Theophilus’ most fully realized work to date: a wide-open album of original music, genre bending sound, mesmerizing storytelling and inspired, honest emotion. Culture vultures and hardcore music fans alike already know Theophilus from his self-starting music trajectory as well as from his style icon profiles in GQ, Esquire, Elle, NY Times, Complex, Fader and NME. Timez Are Weird raises the bar on everything that’s come before, moving past the comfort zone of sampledelia and oddball cover tunes into the dreamlike headspace of a globetrotting young artist blurring the lines between 80’s rap, new wave beats, freestyle noise and the snarling guitars of psychobilly surf rock. Recorded in NYC, LA and Stockholm, Timez Are Weird showcases Theophilus as a rapper and a songwriter working with a small clique of producers. With John Hill, Dave Sitek, Jokke and Ariel Rechstshaid at the control Theophilus kicks off the album with rap credentials intact on “Last Name London” before moving through a surprising range of emotion, from party starting dance floor defiance to moments of quiet intimacy and introspection. Timez Are Weird exclusively features two guest vocalists: indie star Holly Miranda on “Love Is Real” and Sara Quin of Tegan and Sara on “Why Even Try”—the song she joined Theophilus to perform on “The Late Show.”
Saturday February 4 at 529 Weird Wives (MEMBERS OF SURFER BLOOD) A. Grimes Death Domain 9:00pm | FREE | 21+ Before the boys in Florida indie-rock outfit Surfer Blood teamed up to record their BNM'd debut, Astro Coast, Â guitarist Thomas Fekete, bassist Brian Black, and touring percussionist Marcos Marchesani, along with vocalist and non-Surfer Nick Klein, played pigfuck thrash-punk together under the moniker of Weird Wives. Even though Surfer Blood's profile is steadily rising, the guys aren't leaving Weird Wives behind. Far from it, in fact. Triple D's and Tight Bros present: Saturday February 4 at The Earl Big Freedia Noot d' Noot DJ Dookie Platters 9:00pm | $10- $12 | 21+ Tickets on sale HERE or at the following Ticket Alternative outlets: The Earl * Decatur CD * Fantasyland Records * Criminal Records Big Freedia (pronounced “Free-da”) is the undisputed “Queen Diva” of Bounce Music, and performs six or more times a week in various venues throughout her home town of New Orleans. Bounce Music is an original urban music rising up from the intimate and fun-loving nature of the New Orleans housing projects which dominate the city’s street culture, and Freedia performs a derivative of Bounce reserved for self-proclaimed “Sissies” (a locally used name for biological men with varied and ambiguous sexual identities) that has risen to prominence in recent years and features explicitly gay and cross-dressing musicians and themes. Big Freedia, like other “Sissy” artists, has achieved mainstream success with several New Orleans hit singles such as “Gin in My System” and “Azz Everywhere!” from her albums “An Ha, Oh Yeah” (1999) and “Queen Diva” (2003). Freedia began her musical career almost 15 years ago at the Walter L. Cohen High School in New Orleans, where she was enlisted as choir director from her Sophomore to Senior years. She sees her performance as a Bounce artist as an extension of this work, often interacting in a call and response/teacher and student, fashion with her audiences. While also running a successful decorating business (for which she counts the Mayor’s office as a client), Freedia recently developed a musical about her life entitled “Catch That Beat” which featured cameo appearances by a who’s who of New Orleans Bounce artists alongside the story of her upbringing in New Orleans 3rd Ward. Since 2009 Freedia has begun traveling outside the city regularly with her dancers and live DJ, Rusty Lazer, playing to audiences on the East and West Coast alongside (or onstage with) artists such as Spank Rock, Ninjasonik, Japanther, Monique and many more. Big Freedia has always acted as a mentor for many younger artists and is currently at work on her third album. This year Freedia performed on the West coast with New Orleans band Galactic, recreating her collaboration on the critically-acclaimed 2010 album “Ya-Ka-May”, and at North By Northeast alongside Kid Sister, De La Soul and her New Orleans neighbors Quintron and Miss Pussycat. Freedia will be performing at FYFest in Los Angeles soon, and will share the stage with Major Lazer at MusicfestNW in Portland this September. Later appearances are planned for the Windish Agency Showcase at CMJ and Fun Fun Fun Fest in Austin Triple D's and Tight Bros present: Wednesday February 8 at The Earl Bleached The Black Belles Black Lodge 8:30pm | $ | 21+ Tickets on sale soon at the following Ticket Alternative outlets: The Earl * Decatur CD * Fantasyland Records * Criminal Records Back to basics. Take your time. Guitars and golden noise. Meet Bleached, two sisters from LA creating rough-hewed, high-collared, melodic Rock & Roll. Formerly part of Mika Miko, Jessica and Jennifer Clavin were best known for their freewheeling ’77 punk and riot girl lawlessness. In Bleached, they share the same slant towards the hard-edged, but instead veer towards a more vintage ensemble of Ramones bubble-gum, Merle Haggard country, and 60’s psychedelic rock. Bleached originally formed when the Clavin sisters resolved to continue working with each other upon the break up of Mika Miko. Plans were postponed when Jennifer was asked to join NY band, Cold Cave, where she toured extensively and relocated east. With Jennifer away, Jessie began to play with the popular LA band, Cold Showers. Since moving back to her hometown, Bleached now serves as both girls’ chief creative outlet. Earlier this year, they released their first 7” on Ooga Booga, a Los Angeles art, book and fashion boutique imprint. On their new single “Think of You,” Bleached’s playful harmonizing masks the dark topics they sing about: the struggles experienced upon failed relationships and all the sad themes that Stevie Nicks once eloquently expressed. That’s the goal, the sugary and sour repurposed by two aggressively harmonic musicians and songwriters. The band’s “Carter” 7” was released on July 19th on Art Fag Recordings. The girls have plans to release another 7” soon and are playing a number of shows in California. Known for their raucous irrepressibly fun live shows, Bleached will tour the West Coast in August with San Diego surf rockers, Heavy Hawaii.
Wednesday February 8 at 529 Old King Cole Younger (Cole Alexander of Black Lips) Blunt Fang 10:00pm | FREE | 21+ Once a member of backpack eccentric crew Supreeme, Atlanta’s Negashi Armada has been reborn as Blunt Fang. With “Crystal Power” he mumbles decidedly post-Based raps about H. Rap Brown and FAO Schwartz while pacing awkwardly in front of a blue screen with a very Spirit of Truth swagger. He also smokes an amethyst crystal like it’s a crack rock (word to Ray from Slam. In an interview with Creative Loafing the ATLien broke down his mission statement of not ever sounding like Outkast. If that’s the measuring stick then “Crystal Power” can only be seen as a grand triumph. Friday February 10 at 529 Natural Child Turf War The Boom Bang 9:00pm | FREE | 21+ Natural Child is a garage/punk/pop band from Nashville, TN on the Infinity Cat label. http://www.myspace.com/naturalchildband Wez Traylor rocks! One day he ate pot brownies and called Zack and called Seth like 3 times telling them he wanted to start a band. Seth said cool but only if they toured and recorded all the time so that's what they're doing now. They have songs about eating drugs and white people and various other subjects. It's unsurprising then that Doomtree's origins are a decade deep, dating back to 2001 when a handful of friends fresh out of high school hatched a plan to make a life out of the passion that'd carried them that far. Handmade CD-Rs (the start of their cult-beloved False Hopes series) and local shows (echoed by the annual Doomtree Blowout festival today) evolved into a proper business and respectable home base. In the time since, P.O.S., Dessa, Sims, Cecil Otter, Mike Mictlan, Lazerbeak and Paper Tiger have become stars in their own right, but no matter where their careers take them (poetry books, the Gayngs super-band with Bon Iver, records with Rhymesayers, Strange Famous and Frenchkiss), they always come home. While 2008's full-crew album Doomtree functioned as a group manifesto and (re)introduction to each member's particular charms, 2011 was all about claiming what was already theirs. As rap, flush with new blood, began to get wild again, Doomtree reminded us that they've been doing it for a decade, fusing punk's explosive energy with hip-hop's heady swagger. The WUGAZI mixtape 13 Chambers, mashing Fugazi classics with Wu-Tang bangers, was a perfect palate cleanser for the group's strikingly ambitious No Kings LP. Ready to break new collaborative ground, they stocked up on booze and sandwich fixings, retreated to a Wisconsin cabin and stayed there till they'd created something bold, beautiful and hard. The title of the record is both a call for rebellion and respect: Obey no kings, seek no thrones. Indeed No Kings displays a gang of friends who are fearless in each other's company and beholden to none. At times musical and lush ("Beacon") and at times dark and clanging ("Bolt Cutter"), the beats project the radical power of P.O.S., the inventive classicism of Cecil Otter, the moving moodiness of Paper Tiger and the face-melting heat of Lazerbeak. Meanwhile, Mike Mictlan and Sims trade lithe lines with much swagger over smashing drums on "Punch-Out," Otter and Dessa get bluesy on top of the mournful guitar of "Little Mercy," and P.O.S. leads the amped-up charge for "Bangarang," which celebrates "ten years in our lane." Both fun and fierce, blade-flashing and uplifting, unpredictable and unapologetic, No Kings is the sound of seven people who look different, talk different and listen to different music coming together and simply going full-tilt on an album from start to finish. Wings and teeth—it's the Doomtree way Wenesday February 15 at 529 Scott Kelly (Neurosis) Eugene Robinson (Oxbow) From Exile Nate Hall (U.S. Christmas) 9:00pm | $8-$10 | 21+ Tickets on sale HERE or at the following Ticket Alternative outlets: Decatur CD * Fantasyland Records * Criminal Records Scott Michael Kelly is one of three founding members of Oakland, California experimental metal band Neurosis, in which he is a vocalist and guitarist. He has been writing and publishing music since 1985 with Neurosis, Tribes of Neurot, Blood and Time and his solo acoustic project. He is also involved in a project named Shrinebuilder involving Al Cisneros, Scott Weinrich, and Dale Crover. The first album from Shrinebuilder was released in October 2009. He has also guested on five albums by the band Mastodon. In addition to his musical projects Scott, along with his bandmates in Neurosis, is co-owner of Neurot Recordings. He and a friend also run an internet radio site called Combat Music Radio. Beginning in April 2011 he began hosting a monthly radio show on Scions' Radio 17 channel 5. Since December 2008 Scott has written a blog, named 'We Burn Through the Night', on the Blogspot site. In addition to information about his projects this blog also offers personal thoughts and insights, as well as stories from his life experiences. A native of the East Bay area, Scott now resides with his wife Sarah and two youngest children in the woods of Southern Oregon. Tight Bros & OK Productions Present Friday February 17 at The Earl Cloud Nothings A Classic Education Gold-Bears 9:00pm | $8-$10 | 21+ Tickets on sale HERE or at the following Ticket Alternative outlets: The Earl * Decatur CD * Fantasyland Records * Criminal Records Cloud Nothings is the brainchild of 18 year old Cleveland resident Dylan Baldi. Late in 2009, he started recording a bunch of catchy indie rock songs on his computer in the basement of his parent’s house. Dylan wasn’t so concerned with them being lo-fi. But since he only had his simple computer and a crappy microphone that’s the way they turned out. Almost immediately praise was bestowed upon young Dylan, and as new songs were unleashed, the online excitement only grew. Dylan needed to take his songs on the road, so he formed a band with TJ Duke on bass, Jayson Gerycz on drums, and Joe Boyer on guitar. Their first show was in New York last December opening for Real Estate and Woods. Since then the band has played SXSW, toured with Wavves, and played shows with such bands as Titus Andronicus, Parts & Labor, Best Coast, and Kurt Vile. Their live shows have become super tight, displaying an intensity and precision rarely seen in bands of any age. 2010 has been very busy for Cloud Nothings. First there was the Turning On EP, then a seven inch single on Group Tightener and then another one on Old Flame. In August, True Panther released a Cloud Nothings single as well, and there is a super rare split cassette release on Bathetic. This fall, Carpark compiles the Turning On EP, the Group Tightener single, and two songs from the split cassette for a handy introductory compilation called simply Turning On. Cloud Nothings are recording their first full length this summer in Baltimore with Chester Gwazda who has also recorded albums for folks like Dan Deacon and Future Islands. The album is planned for a winter 2011 release. It probably won’t be as lo-fi as his past stuff. Bass Drum of Death is a band from Mississippi. John plays guitar and sings and Colin plays the drums. Together they make blown-out, blazing songs. They are set to release their debutLP GB City on Fat Possum Records. John was Fat Possum’s worst employee 3 years ago. He wrote and recorded the whole record himself using just a drumset, a guitar, a usb microphone, a computer, and a shitload of talent. The songs are about drugs, trying to make it with religious girls, panic attacks, stealing stuff, mild to severe depression, Elvis appearing in your dreams and giving you advice, gravity bongs and the devil living inside your brain. This record is the soundtrack playing in your head when you’re fucked up and walking home in the middle of the night. Boucher, born in Vancouver, Canada, came to Montreal in 2006. Her experience as a performer is deeply embedded in the illegal DIY loft culture of Montreal, where Grimes was one of the prominent figures in the scene surrounding Lab Synthèse – a 4600sq ft re-appropriated textile factory. She developed in a scene where punk ethos and pop music collide, resulting in a distinct sense of community, religiosity and psychedelic revelry. Visions, Grimes’ forthcoming record, arises as Boucher’s fourth release in less than two years. Geidi Primes (2010), initially released as a limited 30 cassette run and free download, then followed by Halfaxa (2010) – arguably one of the first witch-house or lo-fi R&B releases. On Darkbloom (2011), Grimes begins taking her first steps as a producer, bringing together the experimentation behind her early work and a cutting edge pop aesthetic. Each album tackles a different set of influences and styles. Her newest album, Visions, incorporates influences as wide as Enya, TLC and Aphex Twin, drawing from genres like New Jack Swing, IDM, New Age, K-pop, Industrial and glitch. This approach has marked Grimes as a curator of culture, and allowed the project to remain flexible and evolving. A phantasmic state for the deep listener, sourcing the long forgotten spells running alongside humans for centuries and forcing them through a hyper-futuristic filter. Compositional and vocal delivery are coloured with an emotional trauma. Despite a generally upbeat demeanour, an urgency permeates the music. Calling us between our history and the future it uses the pleasure of minimal rhythms and dance to entice, but beyond its rich, software-sculpted cohesiveness, and vocal energy, runs a very real and odd world. She describes her work as “the only means through which I can be fully expressive. It is both an ethereal escape from, and a violent embrace of my experience. The creative process is a quest for the ultimate sensual, mystical and cathartic experience and the vehicle for my psychic purging.” Tight Bros OK Productions Present: Tuesday March 6 at The Earl Cults Spectrals Mrs. Magician 8:30 | $12/15 | 21+ Tickets on sale HERE or at the following Ticket Alternative outlets: Decatur CD * Fantasyland Records * Criminal Records * The Earl Cults' twinkling experimental pop arrived in a shroud of mystery early in 2010, when the group posted three songs on their Bandcamp page. One of those songs was “Go Outside,” which mixed dream pop haze with girl group harmonies (and, fittingly, samples of Jonestown leader Jim Jones) and earned the band acclaim from publications including Pitchfork and NME. Eventually, Cults' core duo was revealed as guitarist Brian Oblivion and vocalist Madeline Follin. Later in 2010, Cults released Go Outside as a single on Forest Family Records and performed shows with bands including Best Coast. Early in 2011, the group made its U.K. debut and signed to Columbia Records; Cults' self-titled album, which featured production by Shane Stoneback, arrived in the middle of that year. ~ Heather Phares, Rovi Triple D's & Tigt Bros Present: Wednesday March 7 at The Earl Jeffrey Lewis Wooden Wand 8:30 | $8 | 21+ Tickets on sale HERE or at the following Ticket Alternative outlets: Decatur CD * Fantasyland Records * Criminal Records * The Earl Jarvis Cocker says Jeffrey Lewis is the finest lyricist of his generation and coming from him that’s quite an accolade. We’re inclined to agree and really it’s quite undeniable when you hear him explain the history of communist China or being sexually assaulted on a train by Will Oldham through song with an ease that makes you forget he’s being limited by rhythm and rhyme. Jeff’s the product of loving beatnik parents who raised him in New York’s Lower East Side in a tenement apartment with no television (it seems they’re on to something there). Before Jeffrey could even read he was crazy about comic books, which is probably why listening to his lo-fi anti folk punk rock feels a lot like reading one. Nearly all of his songs contain at least one killer lyric that you’ll want to tell people about when you hear it. This writer for instance has explained the storyline of ‘Chelsea Hotel Oral Sex Song’ to every friend and family member. Lewis’s themes may range from bad acid trips to politcal history and oral sex, but there’s an overriding preoccupation that tends towards the life affirming. Relentless positivity usually makes us puke, but how irresistible are lines like, “bad times give you something to talk about/the next time you feel you’re all worn out/remember life is a story, don’t you doubt/it only takes a day for everything to turn around”. Some of us actually get jealous the first time we’re just about to play someone Jeffrey, because they’re going to get to spend the next few months picking out favourite lines and hanging on every word until a story ends. His songs are so full of self-deprecation, honesty, sadness, humour and truth that he’s nothing less than a gem to be held up and treasured. And in a world where a song that begins with the line “my life is brilliant” can stay at number one for over a month, we need that more than ever. Tight Bros & Speakeasy Present: Wednesday March 7 at 529 Lotus Plaza (Lockett from Deerhunter, Kranky Records) Psychic Ills Lyonnais Mirror Mode 9:00pm | $8-10 | 18+ Tickets on sale HERE or at the following Ticket Alternative outlets: Decatur CD * Fantasyland Records * Criminal Records The project of Deerhunter guitarist/vocalist Lockett Pundt, Lotus Plaza recalls some of his other band's shoegaze-tinged hazy experimentalism and bursts of lucid guitar pop, but takes those sounds in directions influenced by '50s and '60s pop and '80s post-punk. Though he played in several groups during high school, Pundt wasn't in any serious bands until he met Deerhunter frontman Bradford Cox in college and joined the fold. Pundt began recording as Lotus Plaza in 2007, playing most of the instruments himself and working in his bedroom on a four-track and computer setup. Lotus Plaza's debut album, The Floodlight Collective (named for the first band Pundt was in), arrived in spring 2009 on Kranky Records. Triple D's & Tigt Bros Present: Thursday March 8 at The Earl K-Holes Bezoar Carnivores Hollow Stars 8:30 | $8 | 21+ Tickets on sale HERE soon at the following Ticket Alternative outlets: Decatur CD * Fantasyland Records * Criminal Records * The Earl The K-Holes speak at once of the mystic and the cosmopolitan, the primal and the urbane, the earthen elements and their synthesized cousins. But unlike their contemporaries, the K-Holes’ sound is not of the grinning, gregarious panderer. Nor is it of the bored or at-ease. Rather, it’s the sound of escape. Escape from the concrete scrabble of New York, that moneyed parking lot for the cynical and privileged; escape from the vulgar materialism sung from the metropolitan mouth; escape from the vacuous r’n‘r pantomime that smells of mere vaudevillian entertainment in any number of the city’s myriad dives. The K-Holes set these things afire, and in their stead, they proffer a wet hand, leading you, the listener, to another flame, a funereal white-hot pyre — one that promises more than sheer nihilism. One that promises freedom amongst cages of different shapes, sizes and colors. A way out. Their abdication follows a natural extension of the atrophied rock/roll ligament — unfurling from H. Williams to G. Vincent to Larry & the Blue Notes to the Pagans, Birthday Party, Flesh Eaters, Scientists, beyond — colored, at times, with smudges of primitive ceremony. As we follow their trajectory, running from the towering urban oppression, we catch whiffs of guttural noir in the honk of the sax, we hear the jagged swaths of guitar, we sense the bite and lust in their gang vocal. It’s fueled, all the while, by a low, thundering beat of tribal divination. Their burghal séance urges us onward, upward, and we sense the fire nearing. But the heat emanates not from the flame to which we run. It flowers from the cleansing pyre that has devoured us from the inside all along: the one that burns us up and tells us to move — in any direction at all, in any way we see fit, consequences be damned.
Leslie Hall initally caught the hearts & eyes of America’s children when she began posting images of her world famous gem sweater collection on the interweb. Word of mouth quickly grew and within a month Leslie recieved over 2 million unique hits to her website, which left her with a $800 bill for exceeding her bandwidth. In order to raise money to pay back her mother, Leslie did what any 200 lb. plus girl from Iowa would do. She became a rapper. Leslie’s star has risen quickly with such viral video music hits as GOLD PANTS, BEATDAZZLER, & ZOMBIE KILLER. Her stage show is like nothing you have seen before. Complete with video projection & 3-6 costume changes (all lovingly hand sewn by her mother), you can expect to be “beat”dazzled. Leslie’s laserbeam dance moves have been known to cause near blindness in the fans who gather at her shows. You can be sure that gay men will squeal with delight when she tumbles and triumphs never before seen dance moves. If you are lucky, it is possible that a bead of perspiration may ripple down her brow and upon your flesh. -recent shows include 2 sold out nights supporting the Scissor Sisters at New York City’s Bowrey Ballroom. Influences : Tracy Turnblad, Elvira - Mistress of the Dark, Ginger Spice Sunday March 18 at 529 HOUSSE DE RACKET Distal Dub Featureless Ghost 8:00pm | $5 | 18+ Tickets on sale SOON at the following Ticket Alternative outlets: Decatur CD * Fantasyland Records * Criminal Records Introducing France’s latest exciting export! Pierre Leroux and Victor Le Masne, aka Parisian duo Housse de Racket, has joined the ranks of label extraordinaire Kitsuné to release its superb second album, “Alesia.” Pierre and Victor both grew up in the suburb of Chaville, situated between Versailles and Paris. They avoided each other at school, but clicked at the local music conservatory as teenagers. Starting out as in-demand session musicians-for-hire with local bands Air and Phoenix, plus touring band members behind Chilly Gonzales, Alex Gopher and Stardust singer Benjamin Diamond, the boys were simultaneously making their first steps as Housse de Racket. Fast forward to the close of 2008 and the duo’s debut album Forty Love sees the light of day. Hungry to conquer the world, Housse tour the album relentlessly, playing over 200 live shows from Lisbon to Tokyo via Berlin and Beijing. New album Alesia looks set to establish the band as a force to be reckoned with. Having written a batch of new tunes Pierre and Victor met with Philippe Zdar, the respected Parisian producer and one half of Cassius, to play him some demos. Zdar has just completed the final mixes of Wolfgang Amadeus Phoenix. Possibly a pitfall, joked the band, who don't want to be lazily lumped in with their pals, “but who better than Phoenix’s producer to keep us away from the sound of Phoenix?” Highly enthusiastic, Zdar follows the album's creation from start to finish, getting increasingly involved, in-between his sessions with The Rapture, stimulating the boys’ curiosity at every opportunity, widening their musical scope, encouraging them to break every rule they have set themselves. As the ideas for the album take shape, Housse's endless touring away from their native France gives the album an unusual thread: of their homeland seen from afar. Resulting in multiple references to their own culture: Chateau and Alesia (French history), Empire (cinema's auteur theory), Les Hommes Et Les Femmes (the French outlook on relationships). As Alesia's finishing touches are put together in Zdar’s studio in Montmatre, they continued to look out for lucky discoveries and unexpected accidents. Amongst all the complex harmonies, from the futuristic chaos (Human Nature and Chorus) to the timeless pop anthems (Chateau and Roman), Housse de Racket has given new life to a certain psychedelic heritage. And yet they relate far more to today’s era of electro pyro-technicians than yesteryear’s bearded prog-rockers. Trust us, when the archaeologists of the future look back into 2011, Alesia will have established itself as one of the cornerstones of 21st century French pop. In the meantime, Alesia is coming out on Kitsuné in August. A French imprint resolutely aiming at an international audience, globally renowned for its Maison compilations and now having broken Two Door Cinema Club, who better to share Housse de Racket's challenging vision
Their debut album † was released in June 2007 to critical acclaim.The album was later nominated for a Grammy Award for Best Electronic/Dance Album and came in at number 15 on Pitchfork's Top 50 Albums of 2007 and number 18 on Blender's "25 Best Albums of 2007" list] It was nominated for the 2007 Shortlist Prize, losing out to The Reminder by Feist. Their remix of the MGMT song "Electric Feel" won the Grammy Award for Best Remixed Recording, Non-Classical in 2009. OK Productions & Tight Bros present: Thursday March 22 at Drunken Unicorn Youth Lagoon Dana Buoy of Akron/Family 8:30pm | $10 | 18+ Tickets on on sale HERE or at the following Ticket Alternative outlets: Decatur CD * Fantasyland Records * Criminal Records Twenty-two year old Trevor Powers, whose musical venture is called Youth Lagoon, has had a long year. Not because he's been endlessly touring or pursuing some wild dream, but because of life -- the life of a kid going to college, being in love, dealing with heartache, and just living. "Youth Lagoon isn't me." says Powers. "It's merely a part of me. I was in and out of different bands in high school and always tried to define myself by what music I played. I tried to find a sense of meaning by being in a band. But it wasn't until this last year -- when I realized I was more than just music -- that I was able to create music that means something to me. And that is Youth Lagoon." Throughout the course of 2010, Powers began to write an album about things he had a hard time talking about. He claims that when he tries to talk about it to people, he doesn't make sense. So he wrote an album about it entitled The Year of Hibernation. "For my whole life I've dealt with extreme anxiety." says Powers. "Not anxiety about passing a test or somewhat normal things, but weird.. bizarre things. Things that only I know. I sometimes feel like I'm literally being eaten up inside. So I started writing these songs. Not just songs about my anxiety, but about my past and my present. Songs about memories, and all those feelings that those bring. I know that if I can be honest about what is inside my mind, there will be others that will be able to relate to it." Although his music seems somewhat dreamy with the first listen, the lyrics show a different side to the matter. Hidden beneath the melodies is a voice that is eerie yet nostalgic. Powers claims his music is like letting people read his journal. "I don't think I could ever write a completely happy album. It's not that I'm not a happy person," claims Powers, "but I just have too many things in my mind that haunt me."
Alcest was originally conceived as a solo project, though it would eventually take on the form of a full band as Hegnor (also of Peste Noire) and Arguth joined the fray and released a four-track demo entitled Tristesse Hivernale in 2001. This demo was a more straightforward black metal affair, much different from what would happen next. After that released, Alcest returned to a one-member format, with Neige moving away from the metal overtones of the three-piece and embracing a more atmospheric approach to his work. The 2005 EP release, Le Secret, was more in tune with the project`s ultimate goal, which was to put to ear, as it were, Neige`s fascination with an “otherworld” — of sorts — that had held a fascination for him beginning in his childhood. In 2007, Neige released the first full-length Alcest recording, Souvenirs D`un Autre Monde (Memories of Another World, for those keeping up in English), which was released on Prophecy Productions, and was a critical success. 2007 also saw a split-EP release with Angmar. Écailles de Lune (Scales of the Moon), released in 2010, continues in the otherwordly vein, evoking images of an underwater realm. Live Nation, OK Productions, Speakeasy & Tight Bros present: Sunday March 25 at Tabernacle Odd Future 7:00pm | $25 | All Ages Tickets on sale at all Ticket Master locations Odd Future Wolf Gang Kill Them All, a ten-member cult rap collective from L.A., bring to mind a younger, crazier Wu-Tang Clan -- if the Clan had skateboarded and rhymed about drugs and gore instead of chess and kung-fu. Ranging from the ages of 16 to 20, core members Tyler, the Creator, Earl Sweatshirt, Mike G, Left Brain, and Hodgy Beats started making music along with collaborators Taco, Matt Martians, Domo Genesis, Syd, and Jasper the Dolphin in 2007. The crew’s crude sense of humor and confrontational subject matter earned them a huge underground following, and put them on “top artists to watch” lists. Throughout 2010, Tyler, Earl, Mike G, and MellowHype (Hodgy and Left Brain) released mixtapes individually as free downloads, but as of 2011, no concrete plans were yet made for a definitive full-length OFWGKTA album. Tight Bros & OK Productions Present Sunday April 1 at Five Spot Kimya Dawson Paleface Your Heart Breaks 8:00pm | $12 | All Ages Tickets on sale HERE or at the following Ticket Alternative outlets: Decatur CD * Fantasyland Records * Criminal Records THUNDER THIGHS is the first solo album from ex Moldy Peaches Kimya Dawson since the Grammy winning, platinum selling soundtrack from the movie JUNO. Album features guest performances from Aesop Rock, members of the Strokes, Mountain Goats, Forever Young Senior Citizen Rock and Roll Choir, Kimya’s 5 year old daughter Panda, and more. Album will be released on Kimya’s own label – Great Crap Factory- via Burnside Distribution October 18, 2011. Kimya Dawson is not preaching to the choir, rather gladly admits standing in the middle, arms around each member, singing her upcoming self-released album, Thunder Thighs due out October 25th via Burnside Distribution. As Kimya’s seventh album, the assumed lo-fi sound has taken a delightful turn with the addition of pianos, backing choirs, string arrangements and several beats produced by rapper Aesop Rock. Although the personal touch of Kimya’s delicate strumming and the crackling of her soft voice still sit forefront, the backbone is a more mature solid arrangement that supports her powerful poetry. The mother of one, who’s work with The Moldy Peaches and the Grammy Award winning, platinum selling soundtrack for the film Juno, did not record alone. With her latest release, Kimya has recruited several artists to join the aforementioned choir, appearances by Aesop Rock, John Darnielle of the Mountain Goats, Nikolai Fraiture of the Strokes, Daniel Bryan, Forever Young Senior Citizen Rock and Roll Choir, Olympia Free Choir, and her own five year old daughter Panda create an eccentric journey through Kimya’s revealing and honest songs. The first of 16 tracks to be uncovered is “All I Could Do,” a live performance for Kimya’s chickens in her backyard shot by Aesop Rock. The first track of the album acts as a musical snapshot of Kimya’s life, and is the perfect introduction to her latest release. Friday April 13 at Sound Table Mike Simonetti Italians Do It Better, Troubleman Unlimited 10:00pm | $8- 10 | 21+ Tickets on sale SOON at the following Ticket Alternative outlets: Decatur CD * Fantasyland Records * Criminal Records Born in Bayonne NJ, Mike Simonetti grew up a hardcore punk kid in the New York hardcore scene in the mid 1980s. Through friends involved in the club scene, he began going to nightclubs during the heyday of NYC nightlife- the late 1980s. By 1989, he landed a job at the legendary club Mars as a promoter. During that time he became friends with the djs and club promoters of the day, and it was then he got his first taste of djing- going out and working at clubs like Palladium, The Tunnel, Save The Robots, Soul Kitchen, The Red Zone, Building, NASA, The Limelight… After Mars (and pretty much all the Troubleman Unlimited Records - releasing seminal releases by Unwound, Erase Errata, Glass Candy, Black Dice, Death Comet Crew, Wolf Eyes, Pixeltan, Chromatics, The Walkmen, Devendra Banhart, and over 170 other releases spanning every imaginable genre and format. The label is still going strong with flagship bands Glass Candy, Growing, Chromatics, and Wolf Eyes taking over the world. In 1998 Mike started his first weekly party in NYC at the Knitting Factory called “Contort Yourself” focusing on reviving old disco and post punk. During that time Mike was a resident DJ at the infamous Happy Birthday Hideout loft parties in Brooklyn. The HBH parties were known to pack in over 600 people a month and sometimes go almost 12 hours straight into the next afternoon. In 2003, Mike and Chris Catalyst, his partner from Happy Birthday Hideout, started “Aerosol Burns”- a weekly party at the very tiny bar Boogaloo in Brooklyn.
Tight Bros & OK Productions Present Thursday April 19 at The Earl Chairlift Nite Jewel 8:30pm | $10/12 | 21+ Tickets on sale HERE or at the following Ticket Alternative outlets: Decatur CD * Fantasyland Records * Criminal Records * The Earl Chairlift is Caroline Please and patrickWhat. Chairlift’s songs pivot around a hazily romantic, fragmented, psychedelic sense of humor and love for pop music. After touring their ?rst record, Does You Inspire You (2008), the band retreated into the a spare room of an antique shop for a year to produce their upcoming album, which is currently being debuted in live-band form throughout the spring/summer of 2011. New themes in their music include gothic pastoral, pizza punk, infomercial spiritual, road-rage surf, and faux-jazz sulk. OK Productions & Tight Bros Present: Tuesday April 24 at The Earl Disappears 9pm / $10 / 21+ Tickets on sale HERE or at the following Ticket Alternative Outlets: Decatur CD * Fantasyland Records * Criminal Records * The Earl Right on cue, the third annual report from Chicago's Disappears is submitted for your consideration. Following up on the acclaimed Guider album released just over a year ago, and with new drummer Steve Shelley now fully integrated into the group, these songs were again forged into proper shape during live shows before heading to the studio and the tape machine. Never ones to dither or be indecisive, it's a full-bore assault from the opening track to the last as Disappears attack these new songs with their usual relentless determination. It's a sinister proceeding - debut Lux was preoccupied with death and endings while follow up Guider with protection - but Pre Language finds the band speaking on, of all things, love. Direct allusions to Philip K. Dick, James Baldwin, and Joan of Arc sit side by side with songs about the lows of life and the characters that permeate it. Recorded in Hoboken New Jersey at Sonic Youth's Echo Canyon West studio and mixed with John Congleton, Pre Language finds Disappears at their most potent and focused. The band has finally stepped into their own world and the results are thrilling. Tight Bros & OK Productions Present Wednesday April 25 at The Earl Sharon Van Etten 8:30 | $12 | 21+ Tickets on sale HERE soon at the following Ticket Alternative outlets: Decatur CD * Fantasyland Records * Criminal Records * The Earl The shimmering sound of Sharon Van Etten's Jagjaguwar debut album, Tramp, both defies and illuminates the unsteadiness of a life in flux. Throughout the 14 months of scattered recording sessions, Van Etten was without a home -- crashing with friends and storing her possessions between varied locations. The only constant in Van Etten's life during this time was spent in Aaron Dessner's garage studio. A two year journey brought her to that point of instability. Upon the release of epic (Ba Da Bing; 2010), Sharon Van Etten surprised the music world with a touching embrace. Having established herself as a reliable performer around New York, and coming off the release of her spartan first effort, Because I Was In Love (Language of Stone; 2009), Van Etten created a short album of diverse songs connected by a shared goal of expanded sound and her unmistakable voice. Fans quickly picked favorites, discovered their choices changing, then changing yet again. That is the magic of epic; the intricate, understated record covered so much ground within its 33 minutes, it required more than an initial half hour to absorb. Since epic's release, she has opened the Pitchfork Music Festival, played The Hollywood Bowl with Neko Case and at Radio City Music Hall with The Antlers, sung on new records for Beirut and Ed Askew, and collaborated with Bon Iver's Justin Vernon and Megafaun on the Songs Of The South project. Dessner, a member of The National, heard Van Etten early on, and in collaboration with Justin Vernon, performed a cover of "Love More" at the 2010 MusicNow Festival in Cincinnati. Van Etten heard about this and contacted him. Almost immediately they formed plans to work together, with Dessner offering both a location for Van Etten to record new songs, as well as the opinions of a wise producer. Now, one year later, Van Etten unveils Tramp, an album showcasing an artist in full control of her powers. Tramp contains as much striking rock (the precise venom of "Serpents," the overwhelming power of "Ask"), as pious, minimal beauty (the earnest solemnity of "All I Can," the breathtaking "Kevins," "Joke or a Lie"); it can be as emotionally combative ("Give Out") as it can sultry ("Magic Chords"). Contributions from Matt Barrick (Walkmen), Thomas Bartlett (Doveman), Zach Condon (Beirut), Jenn Wasner (Wye Oak), Julianna Barwick, and Dessner himself add a glowing sheen to the already substantial offering. Van Etten has traveled far, and if her displacement took an emotional toll, she offset those setbacks with a powerfully articulated vision. And so, once again, each listener will discover their own moments along the way, and the debates as to the best song start anew. OK Productions & Tight Bros present: Friday April 27 at The Earl Bear in Heaven 9pm | $10/12 | 21+ Tickets on sale HERE or at the following Ticket Alternative outlets: Decatur CD * Fantasyland Records * Criminal Records * The Earl Bear in Heaven have trapped echos, tremors, winds, and fading light. Theyve redefined time, and folded it. Theyve unbuttoned sound, and realigned it. Within four walls in Brooklyn, Jon Philpot, Adam Wills, Sadek Bazaara, and Joe Stickney mined the democracy of their collaboration, plus the endless hours of streamofconsciousness recorded documentation of rehearsals over the past years, to conceive the crystalline form of Beast Rest Forth Mouth, their second album, their exaltation. A seed planted in the Southern US years ago (all members hail from Georgia or Alabama), Bear In Heaven began as the musical arm of Jon Philpot in 1998. Time eventually brought in a slew of players, like rickety scaffolding, that grew the sound and guided the group to morph from a 6to5to4piece. As a fourheaded organism, Bear In Heaven has now found a sonic stride unlike any in their history. Freely acknowledging the importance of the number four, the album Beast Rest Forth Mouth (think 'East West North South') was a conscious product of the four compass points, of the four makers, and of the inevitable confusion that manifests from that crossroad mentality: four directions could lead you anywhere and everywhere. Its the acknowledgement of what can go down at that convergence, at that dusty center, that drives Bear In Heaven and imbues the songs of Beast Rest Forth Mouth with something akin to both eternal peace and nervous urgency. Preceding Beast Rest Forth Mouth is 2007s Red Bloom of the Boom, a 7track, 43minute exploration that crosses the streams of psychedelia and prog. Pitchfork called it 'a true cohesive work in an era when the albumasart form appears to be slowly dying' (7.8), and The Onion found it 'a powerful, functional mix of This Heat, 70s soft rock, early Genesis, and oddly, later Pink Floyd.' The album was further informed by a collection of remarkable music videos by the band and their collaborators, providing a mirror into both the creative scope of the Bear In Heaven consciousness, not to mention the day jobs they keep as editors, filmmakers, and designers. The packaging and visuals for Beast Rest Forth Mouth continue in this tradition, the band collaborating with artist Laura Brothers to create the tactile doorway into the sonic swirl of the album. Feeding the Bear In Heaven process further is a collection of extracurricular activities. Jon Philpot recently collaborated with Roberto Lange on his Helado Negro project (Roberto also had a hand in the final mix of Beast Rest Forth Mouth), as well as performed live with neighbors and labelmates Stars Like Fleas. Adam Wills has played and toured with Jonathan Kanes February Rhys Chathams Guitar Trio, and started a new band with Joe Stickney called Dark Vibe. Joe Stickney was one of the drummers in the Boredomsled 88 Boadrum last summer. Jon, Sadek, and Adam were three of the two hundred guitarists in Rhys Chathams recent Crimson Grail performance at Lincoln Center. Beast Rest Forth Mouth will first reveal itself through a limited 12' EP of the track 'Wholehearted Mess,' out September 8 on Hometapes. Bear In Heaven curated remixes from Pink Skull, Max Brannslokker, and Arclike, simultaneously creating a unique tributary off their own musical flow and a bona fide clubfriendly 12' pressed in multicolor vinyl. Tour dates across the east coast and the south will accompany the album release, adding yet another dimension to the prism of Bear In Heaven, built on sound and vision and everything in the inbetween. Tight Bros & OK Productions Present Saturday April 28 at 529 Allo Darlin’ The Wave Pictures Gold-Bears 9:00pm | $8-10 | 18+ Tickets on sale HERE or at the following Ticket Alternative outlets: Decatur CD * Fantasyland Records * Criminal Records Allo Darlin’ is the music of Australian-born, London-based songwriter Elizabeth Morris. Originally from a country town in Queensland, Elizabeth moved to London in 2005 and, inspired to write songs by her purchase of a ukulele from the famous Duke of Uke shop in Brick Lane, began to make music. Although Elizabeth has been releasing music under various guises since 2007, it wasn’t until 2009 that Elizabeth hooked up with Paul Rains (guitar), Bill Botting (bass) and Michael Collins (drums) and Allo Darlin’ was properly born. Elizabeth and Bill are from Australia, Mike and Paul are from Kent, and they all play in other bands too – Elizabeth is in Tender Trap, Paul and Michael are in Hexicon, Bill is one half of Moustache of Insanity and also in Darren Hayman and the Secondary Modern. Early in 2009, augmented by Terry Edwards of Tindersticks / Gallon Drunk fame on trumpet and sax, Allo Darlin’ cut their first single, “Henry Rollins Don’t Dance,” released in 2009 on the cult WeePOP label. Much to their surprise, “Henry Rollins” started getting airplay on BBC Radio 1, 6 Music and XFM and the like, and received glowing reviews in places such as the Metro, The Fly and The Guardian, the latter calling it “the best indiepop song for years”. The band’s single that followed, “The Polaroid Song,” was named as one of Drowned In Sound’s Top 50 singles of 2009, while their latest single “Dreaming” was voted Single Of The Week by Jarvis Cocker, Peter Hook and Huw Stephens on Steve Lamacq’s BBC 6music round table (beating MGMT, The Radio Dept. and Kate Nash in the process!). In their brief lifetime Allo Darlin’ have been interviewed (three times) by Steve Lamacq on BBC 6 Music and also recorded live session for John Kennedy on XFM and Lauren Laverne on 6 Music. They’ve played Indietracks Festival, stealing the show with their impromptu station platform performance two years ago and this year playing on Friday’s main stage, have toured in Sweden and Germany, and appeared at the prestigious Swn Festival in Cardiff promoted by BBC Radio 1 DJ Huw Stephens. In March of this year they headed out on their first major UK tour as support to The School, followed by trips to the States for SXSW festival, NY Popfest and an East Coast tour, the appearance at NY Popfest leading to a glowing review on the front page of The New York Times website! Steve Lamacq also selected them as his choice for BBC’s Introducing week, resulting in a session at Maida Vale and a filmed interview for the BBC, and they’ll shortly be returning to XFM for a full electric session.
As the creative director for HUF and lifelong skater, El Khatib professes to a love for well-crafted objects: classsic cars, cans pomade and stiletto switchblades. This craftsmanship carries over into his music, where El Khatib is inspired and informed by the specificity of a guitar tone or the fuzziness of an amp sound . His background in DIY and skate culture manifests as a desire to “keep mistakes in” and make things “as raw as possible.” Merging primitive rock sounds with punk aesthetics, El Khatib toes lines between all genres and ends up firmly in his own. His diverse interests in music, zines, art, photography, and film, converge around his singular personal aesthetic, which reveals itself in all of El Khatib’s work. Combining the old weird America with the brave new frontier of home recording, El Khatib bridges the past and the present to create music that already sounds timeless and were written for anyone who’s ever been shot or hit by a train. "Many of the songs are about wanting relief from pain, and searching high and low for release," attests Clark. Such powerful emotions prompted — demanded, really — not just a bracingly candid lyrical style but a new musical approach. St. Vincent's acclaimed 2007 debut album Marry Me was created almost entirely on a laptop; the exquisite follow-up, 2009's Actor, was a collection of arrangements fashioned into ornately structured songs. Strange Mercy, she says, is different. "I just wrote the songs first and didn't worry about the embellishments. On the last album, I could play about three songs by myself on guitar. On this album, I can play every song that way." Strange Mercy features very little of the baroque strings, woodwinds, and reeds that marked Actor, and the grooves are sturdy, deep and beguiling. "I wanted to make things direct and immediate," Clark says. "I didn't tinker. I tried to keep the arrangements pretty simple and use just enough instrumentation to get the point across. I didn't want anything to get in the way." Consequently, it's a much more guitar-oriented album than Clark has ever made. Clark is one of the most gifted guitarists to come along in the new millennium, and Strange Mercy is filigreed with indelible hooklines and ingenious rhythm parts, not to mention a concise and debonair solo on "Neutered Fruit" and a couple of Frippy freakouts on the glorious "Northern Lights." And with all that musical real estate opened up, Clark literally sings more on Strange Mercy than on the previous two — there was just much more to say. So the voice is paramount, shape-shifting to the demands of each song: on "Chloe in the Afternoon," Clark goes breathless and high; on "Cruel," she's practically wailing; she's languorous on "Surgeon" and r&b-inflected on the title track and "Dilettante." Clark again conjured her impeccably vivid soundscapes with brilliant producer/engineer John Congleton (Okkervil River, Wye Oak, Explosions in the Sky). Ace modern gospel organist Bobby Sparks "did all the really sexy keyboard parts," Clark says, helping to take St. Vincent's music where it hadn't gone before. Midlake's McKenzie Smith reprised his Actor role and once again played drums. Also contributing were Daniel Hart, Evan Smith and Beck's musical director Brian LeBarton. "Chloe in the Afternoon" is a stunning opener, vaguely sinister and frankly kinky, serving notice of the album's intense candor and darkling tone. "Cruel" is St. Vincent you can dance to, like some phantasmagorical Abba track. The aqueous confessional "Cheerleader" is the thematic touchstone; Clark is just not going to politely mince words (or sounds) anymore. "Surgeon" blurs the line between summer daze and barbiturate haze, its suave '60s Euro-pop miraculously morphing into a slinky disco inferno, keyboards dissolving into a blaze of hysteria. The heartbreaking "Strange Mercy" is an almost Hendrixy ballad, the album's soulful core, strong at a broken place. Strange Mercy is what happens when the very picture of elegance and poise confronts turmoil and grief: You can either gaze in mute despair at those pieces lying on the floor, or you can make something beautiful, even transcendent out of them, but only by confronting yourself. "Marry Me is very cute — it's funny and sarcastic, and that's fine, I was 22 and that's who I was," Clark says. "And Actor was cerebral — not that I would have known how to do it any differently — but I've grown beyond that now. I want to make a record that's more human every time."
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