take a look / listen
We told you about BEAST a long time ago
In the recent announcement for the 52nd annual Grammy Awards, acclaimed Montreal group Beast was recognized for their first-ever Grammy nomination in the category of Best Short Form Video for “Mr. Hurricane”. The band is in good company with industry heavyweights Coldplay, The Black Eyed Peas and Depeche Mode populating the category. The video was directed by Ben Steiger Levine and produced by Sacha Baylin-Stern at Nu Films; “Mr. Hurricane” appears on the band’s self-titled debut, released on Verve Forecast earlier this year.
Hailing from Montreal via France, Beast’s aural assault can best be described as Portishead meets Rage Against The Machine with elements of rock, trip-hop and jazz thrown in for good measure. Their self-titled debut has won over the critics and fans alike, with The Globe & Mail calling the album “One of the best albums of the year” and The Toronto Star referring to it as “One of the most strikingly original and swaggeringly bad-ass Canadian albums to rear its head in recent memory”.
Beast’s live show is not to be missed. Brooklyn Vegan stated, “Singer Betty Bonifassi is a magnetic performer, with a powerhouse set of pipes and a swagger you can’t fake…they are something else live”, while Spinner.com proclaims their set to be “vibrant and upbeat”. With a successful string of CMJ dates already under their belt (including a packed performance at this year’s Brooklyn Vegan showcase), Beast will soon return to the United States to tour.
Beast is the union of two remarkable and eclectic artists - chanteuse extraordinaire Betty Bonifassi and drummer/composer Jean-Phi Goncalves. Bonifassi’s gripping vocals bring to mind Shirley Bassey; she is best known for her work in the Academy-Award-nominated animated film Les Triplets De Belleville (The Triplets Of Belleville – she provided the singing voices for the title characters). Goncalves is a multi-platinum producer who has worked with the likes of Lauryn Hill and is also the leader of this own cutting edge band, Plaster.
http://www.myspace.com/beastsound
Brooklyn pop band Xylos recently finished recording their debut LP with producer Britt Myers (Chairlift, Yeasayer). The record will be released later in 2010. In the meantime you can download for free the MP3 of "Not Enough," the first single, an appropriately inappropriate account of love and sexual innuendo over at http://www.xylosmusic.com/
BAY AREA'S WORKER BEE RELEASES TANGLER
Download "No Dreams" mp3 from Tangler
Evan Jewett - Vocals/Guitar
Damien Wendel - Drums
Andy Barnes - Bass/Vocals
Gordon De Los Santos - Keys/Samples/Guitar
Worker Bee's debut album, Tangler, is what the band made it to be and whatever the listener wants it to be. This ethos has been instated since the first conception of the band came together in San Jose, California in 2006. They self-released two EPs before mounting creative clarity came to a head and they penned their first full-length album. Their sound continues to evolve from one release to the next, perfecting the marriage of elaborate instrumentation, angularity and beautiful haunting noise.An exercise in simplicity, limitation was key in the recording of Tangler.
Done in the non-studio of the band's house in California and working with only eight tracks each song, the record itself speaks of something larger than the whole. Space left ajar by the music is quickly occupied by the listener's own impartments.Because of this intended elasticity, the album never makes a home in any strict genre. Songs like "Nesting" and "Cold Rats" are awash in percussive gasps and collapsed guitars. Through its blue dirge, the narrative of "When You Came Through" depicts a man giving in to something that most never could. "Rough Magic" emits a displacing fog where landmarks only appear in the sampled clangor and the steady drums become the only ground. The album's side closers "No Dreams" and "Surface Eating Acid Bath" entail all the ideas of Tangler. No one thing has meaning and reason endowed on it in the same way twice but the attempt is the real goal.
Tangler is available for purchase on CD and as a digital download via Bandcamp.
US Debut Album Concrete Jungle available February 2nd
Nneka is 2010’s First Breakout Artist to perform on
“The Late Show with David Letterman” on February 3rd
From Nigeria to Hamburg to the United States, it is Nneka’s journey that is at the center of Concrete Jungle, her stateside debut album available on February 2nd. Journeying to the US to spread her message of hope, optimism and truth, Nneka embarks on her Concrete Jungle Tour on January 27th, hitting 14 cities across the US, including New York, Chicago, Atlanta and Los Angeles.
Press and fans alike have heard Nneka’s message, and the Nigerian-born artist will make her US late night television debut on “The Late Show with David Letterman,” which airs on February 3rd.
Other supporters include SPIN and Rolling Stone who recently selected her as an Artist to Watch in 2010, and her video for “The Uncomfortable Truth” has been getting regular spins on both BET and MTV.
Shot throughout the course of her recent November 2009 visit to the US, the Who Is Nneka? video is an intimate look at the artist, and the important message she hopes to share with Concrete Jungle. “My main message is to wake people up,” Nneka explains. “To make them feel themselves; to make them feel their spirit; to be in touch with their innermost.”
To watch Who is Nneka?
please click here.
From the critical acclaim of her recent collaborative mixtape The Madness (Onye-Ala) with DJ and producer extraordinaire J.Period to her sold-out performances with The Roots in NYC, Nneka’s certainly only just getting started. “There’s so much that I, myself, have to learn in my life…and there’s still much that I do not know. At the same time I’m sharing my music with people, [I’m] learning from that sharing.”
Concrete Jungle Tour Dates
Jan 27 San Francisco, CA @ Red Devil Lounge
Jan 29 Los Angeles, CA @ Hotel Cafe
Feb 2 New York, NY @ S.O.B’s
Feb 3 Performance on David Letterman
Feb 4 Cambridge, MA @ Middle East
Feb 5 Philadelphia, PA @ World Cafe Live
Feb 6 Baltimore, MD @ Sonar Club Stage
Feb 8 Birmingham, AL @ WorkPlay Theatre
Feb 9 Atlanta, GA @ Vinyl
Feb 11 Nashville, TN @ 3rd & Lindsley
Feb 13 St. Louis, MO @ The Gramophone
Feb 14 Chicago, IL @ Double Door
of course - no detroit date
NEVADO RECORDS RECORDING ARTIST LEIF VOLLEBEKK ANNOUNCES TOUR DATES FOR EARLY 2010,
DEBUT ALBUM TO BE RELEASED JANUARY 19TH
Photo: Caroline Desilets
In support of his debut release, Inland, folk artist Leif Vollebekk will be playing in and around Ontario, Quebec, and the east coast in early 2010. Inland will be released January 19th by Nevado Records (Bahamas, Yukon Blonde) on CD and 12 inch vinyl. Also available will be an iTunes exclusive version that includes a live recording of "Don't Go to Klaksvik" and a previously unreleased track "Te og Kaffi". The Montreal singer-songwriter has made a name for himself in Canada and around the world thanks to his organic and honest live performances. Having shared stages with Elliot Brood, Basia Bulat, and Royal Wood, it is just a short amount of time before Vollebekk is recognized as one of this countries finest exports.
DOWNLOAD a few tracks off Inland. http://leifvollebekk.nevadorecords.com
There is a hole in this big, fast, technicolor city.
A big, gaping, black hole. And Montreal folk artist Leif Vollebekk, is frantically trying to fill it. With his organic folk songs and sensitive melodies, scraping along minimalist guitar strums, Vollebekk's debut full length Inland and live shows, somehow, stop time. Giving the city a moment to breathe and reflect, Vollebekk fills this hole with warm-hearted compositions. And, at the sound of his last strum, the city goes back to a booming rage.Wearing his heart on his sleeve, Vollebekk independently released his beautiful debut album Inland, and has just returned from a tour out East, which included playing alongside Elephant Stone, Basia Bulat, Elliot Brood, Royal Wood, and also making an appearance at Pop Montreal. A Blacksheep Inn favourite, Vollebekk, with his captivating live sets, has made a name for himself in some of Canada's most competitive music communities; Toronto, Montreal and Ottawa.The songs on Inland balance on the edge of emotional heartbreak, and bottled up tasteful discretion, both lyrically and instrumentally. His dynamic vocal timbre seems to make the songs classic, even before they are played. His music is timeless and real, with the same oddities as Bob Dylan and the raw intensity, reminiscent of Jeff Buckley. Seriously honest songs, even when it's hard to be honest. A multi-instrumentalist in the true meaning of the word, Vollebekk rotates between acoustic and electric guitar, piano, violin, and harmonica, often looping instruments together. Always leaving his songs space and room to breathe, building up with full band accompaniment and stripping down to silent one-man-empty-room compositions.Now signed to rising independent Toronto label, Nevado Records, alongside the countries best (Bahamas, Yukon Blonde, Fox Jaws, and The Paint Movement), the time has come for this modest musician to take a few steps away from humble small-town beginnings, and into the arms of national, and international respect and adoration. Just wait and watch as the subtle beauty of Vollebekk's music embraces new listeners far and wide.
TOUR DATESJan. 16 @ Cafe Deckuf, OTTAWA Jan. 19 @ The Mansion, KINGSTON Jan. 21 @ Phog Lounge, WINDSOR Jan. 22 @ Cameron House, TORONTO Jan. 28 @ In the Dead of the Winter Festival, HALIFAX Jan. 29 @ Cafe Aberdeen, MONCTON Jan. 30 @ Cafe Ampersand, CHARLOTTETOWNFeb. 6 @ Blacksheep Inn, OTTAWA (*In the Dead of Winter Festival)Feb. 12 @ L'Astral, MONTREAL (w. Basia Bulat)Feb. 13 @ First Baptist Church, OTTAWA (w. Basia Bulat)Feb. 27 @ Casa Del Popolo, MONTREAL
‘No Hope, No Future’New Album Released Digitally on 26th January 2010
Download the new single Under Control from the Good Shoes website
http://goodshoes.co.uk/
The Disco Biscuits Announce 2010 Winter/Spring TourLook Out For New Album Planet Anthem Coming Soon!
View the Video for “You and I” Here
MP3 for “On Time” is Available Here
Fresh off a spectacular five-night run of shows in New York’s Times Square, including a legendary New Year’s Eve blowout, The Disco Biscuits will be hitting the road throughout February, March and April. The tour will take the band up and down the East Coast for three months, following four sold-out dates in Boulder, CO’s Fox Theatre at the end of January. Fans in Colorado can consider themselves extra-lucky, as the band will return in May for the Bisco Inferno show at the famous Red Rocks Amphitheatre in Denver (full lineup to be announced shortly).
2009 was a banner year for The Disco Biscuits, which saw them headlining their first show at Red Rocks and playing Japan’s Fuji Rock Festival. 2010 promises to be another fantastic year, with the band continuing their tradition of incendiary live shows at Miami’s Ultra Music Festival and many other tour dates. Tickets for the Ultra Music Festival can be purchased at www.ultramusicfestival.com, while tickets and more information for the Disco Biscuits’ individual shows can be purchased at www.BiscoTix.com. Additionally, The Disco Biscuits’ upcoming album, Planet Anthem, is slated for release later this year.
Blockhead Preps New Album!"The Music Scene" is Out January 12th on Ninja Tune
MP3- Which One Of You Jerks Drank My Arnold Palmer?
"so, i've been writing a blog over a definitivejux.net for a while now. i figured it would be cool to take all those old posts (at least the good ones) and archive them, while at the same time adding new stuff. so, here it is..."Blockhead's New BLOG!!!!
New York hip hop producer Tony Simon aka Blockhead returns with his third and best instrumental album for Ninja Tune. Blockhead has long made beautiful, emotive music based around the hip hop template, but on "The Music Scene" he elevates his craft to another level. Tony puts it down to the use of Ableton, which means that rather than working from "one basic beat and building off it" (the standard hip hop model), he has begun stringing together multiple beats and weaving them together into increasingly complex, surprising and satisfying pieces of music. As he himself puts it, "I made each song a little more of a musical journey than anything I have ever done before." Blockhead's ambition to "tell stories without words" is evident from opener "It's Raining Clouds" onwards. The tune starts off as classic downtempo and ends up almost drum and bass, the music having changed and fallen away, echoing back through itself and feeding into previous themes at least three times. It's an epic in an album of epics. At the heart of the record is the remarkable "The Daily Routine" - an exploration of drug addiction (based around a found recording of drug addicts arguing), Blockhead says "it's pretty much the creepiest song I've ever made." "Four Walls," meanwhile aims a musical broadside at the current vogue for autotune. "Which One Of You Jerks Drank My Arnold Palmer" is huge ambient space rock hip hop. "The Prettiest Seaslug" is Bahia-beat on opium. "Tricky Turtle" begins as afro-blaxpoitation, turns into a voodoo orgy and ends somewherte in the Middle East. "Farewell Spaceman" starts off sounding like an outtake from "Bewitched" and ends as an ecstatic, chugging flight off into the stars. While "The Music Scene" represents a development in Blockhead's work, he still holds true to his basic beliefs about music and rhythm. When not working on his new album he has been providing production for Aesop Rock, DJ Signify, Joanna Erdos and many more, plus remixes for Yameen and Chin Chin, amonst others. Whereas the music scene is "a bastardized version of something that was already watered down," Blockhead's "The Music Scene," like his career as a whole, is "the opposite of that." By re-working, chopping and melding samples, by blending them together, Blockhead restores rather than dilutes their purity.
Pre-Order Link(limited sticker set included with cd preorder)
ALI LOVENEW SINGLE "LOVE HARDER"
"Love Harder" Free Download
The old saying has it that good things come to those who wait. Ali Love’s story provides
a new twist on that saying: even better things come from those who wait.
You probably remember the name Ali Love from the string of brilliant and eclectic solo singles
that he pumped out in 2006 and 2007. Singles like the riotous, traffic-stopping commentary on a
night of ill-advised excess, K-Hole, from 2006, or his chart-scraping Secret Sunday Lover in 2007, or the dancefloor glitter of Late Night Sessions from that same year. You definitely recall his insistent vocal from the hemical Brothers’ international hit single "Do It Again," also released in 2007, even if you were never quite sure who provided that memorable hook. He became the buzz name amongst the music magazines and blogs tipping artists to watch over the next 12 months. As the year closed out, the world seemed set fair to be Ali’s oyster.
But after a brief and unsatisfactory association with Columbia Records, Ali took the money he’d earned from "Do It Again" and went on a voyage of self discovery. “I spent a year traveling the world on those roceeds, going to amazing places and amazing parties,” he explains. “I wasn’t trying to write songs, but ecause I wasn’t trying and because my head was so free of all the routine anxieties of the day-to-day, thesongs started writing themselves through all the experiences I was having.”
What Ali Love does on his debut album is craft super-contagious dance-pop songs, music that’s
full of both romantic longing and boggle-eyed lust, that’s influenced by both Italian house rhythms and psychedelic vocal melodies, by vintage keyboards/drum-machines and state of the art production, by boththe sounds of yesterday and the ideas of tomorrow. It’s music of perfectly balanced contradictions. If MGMT or Empire Of The Sun had come of musical age on the day-glo dancefloors of London and Ibiza instead of in the
guitar-shops of suburban New York and Sydney, they might sound a little like this.
Debut album will be released in the UK on Back-Yard Recordings, be sure to check out the first single"Diminishing Returns", remixes courtesy of Azari & III and Elli Escobar.
More On Ali Love:
Myspace
cars & trains - i know someone who can't recognize from cars & trains on Vimeo.
Cars & Trains
'The Roots, The Leaves'
(Fake Four Inc.)
The Roots, The Leaves is the sophomore effort of Portland, Oregon based multi-instrumentalist Cars & Trains (Tom Filepp), a more personal and emotive foray than his 2007 debut full-length, Rusty String. Tom Deftly mixes out-of-the-box electronics and found sounds seamlessly with a myriad of instruments, woodwinds, banjos, acoustic guitars, strings and glockenspiel, walking a blurry line that makes one wonder where exactly the uncommonly organic drum programming ends and the instruments and lushly layered found sounds begin.
The Roots, The Leaves is cars & trains' most realized and expressive effort to date, full of energy and intimacy gleaned from Filepp's intense, energetic, and intricate live looping show that he has steadily developed and gained notoriety for. From the intricate plucking of The Root's cyclical opening and closing songs, and everything in between, cars & trains carefully journeys hand in hand with his influences, cajoling them into a world all his own.
http://www.carsandtrains.net/
http://fakefourinc.com/
Elephants video premiere (via FADER)
MP3: Billie HolidayMP3: Elephants
LA's Warpaint weaves majestic guitars, hypnotic vocals, and driving post-punk rhythms into gorgeous, sprawling songs that skirt the line between the soundscapes of psychedelia/shoegaze, the haunting intimacy of folk, and rock's primal heaviness. At the core of the band are Emily Kokal, Theresa Wayman and Jenny Lee Lindberg.
In early 2009, their self-released debut EP Exquisite Corpse soared straight to #1 on the Amoeba local artists chart. This September, Manimal Vinyl (Bat For Lashes) will reissue Exquisite Corpse on CD and vinyl, complete with a new bonus track. Mixed by John Frusciante (Red Hot Chili Peppers), the EP successfully captures the band's sonic textures and playful dynamism that they're notorious for creating in a live setting. With a buzz already in the LA air, Warpaint is now beginning to stir the masses with praise in the US and abroad. Dazed and Confused calls Exquisite Corpse "a collection of magical psychedelia drifting over sublime moments of raw melody courtesy of the three free ethereal vocalists," while London's The Independent adds, "They make a quite lovely sound with dreamy vocals, off-kilter hazy guitars."
Onstage, Warpaint's disarmingly authentic package can shake a room into a dance frenzy, while simultaneously holding it in a trance-like dreamworld. Playing to many captivated audiences in LA, Warpaint has opened for Flea, Black Heart Procession, Little Joy, and The Slits to name a few. With a busy schedule in the works to close out 2009, Warpaint is poised to win over those willing to join them on their complex, melodic, dark odyssey.
