12/14/09

MP3 Mondays on MOTORCITYBLOG

MP3 Mondays on MOTORCITYBLOG
Photo by Paul Hitz

take a look / listen




Moneypenny Offer Free Holiday Single Download
And Holiday-Themed Mixtape


Chicago-based electro duo
Moneypenny are putting the finishing touches on a great year by offering up a FREE holiday single AND special holiday mixtape to the masses. The 2-sided single features Moneypenny's reworking of the classic "Peanuts" Christmas song "Christmas Time Is Here" as the A-Side and a cover of the much-loved Joy Division song "Love Will Tear Us Apart" as the B-Side, while the mixtape comes as the final installment of Moneypenny's Spandexxx monthly mixtape series of 2009, complete with yule tide
cheer to keep you warm this holiday season. 





2009 was quite a year for Moneypenny. The group, which was primarily known as a DJ duo at the beginning of the year, unveiled their "Live" act and original songs at Perry's stage @ Lollapalooza to great critical acclaim and parlayed that good fortune into high profile gigs with Neon Indian, Flosstradamus, Basement Jaxx and Miike Snow in Chicago, as well as other high profile plays such as the Dim Mak party in LA and the legendary Popscene party in San Francisco.

Moneypenny saw the release of their first single, "
Say No" (which came packaged with a killer remix from Chicago contemporariesHey Champ), which prompted features in Time Out, CS, and URB and led tastemaking indie blog Pretty Much Amazing to call the track "catchy and interesting, and guaranteed to make you want to bounce." Last but not least, the girls of Moneypenny also found some success in the highly competitive world of music licensing, with their yet-to-be-released song "Lipstick Revolution" finding airplay on ABC's "Make It Or Break It."

Moneypenny will play one final hometown show in 2009 this Saturday, headlining a holiday celebration featuring Chicago's next crop of dance/electro talent, before going into studio hibernation to finish up recording on their debut EP, which is set for release in the spring of 2010. Before the EP's release, Moneypenny will open for
La Roux in Chicago, headline the Metro and play a series of shows in New York City and Austin for SXSW.

Latest installment of Asthmatic Kitty Library Catalog Music available this week; new recordings by Lowell Brams w/ Sufjan Stevens, Roberto Carlos Lange, and Yuuki Matthews
AKR
New MP3 : A Cross Section of Clown Mountain
Lowell Brams w/ Sufjan Stevens and Bryce Dessner (The National)


Volumes 4-6 out today! Volumes 7-9 due Spring 2010!

Shhh. The moment is about to pass. But, wait, ...there is something missing, something important. A crucial element that exists in all moments like these...ahh, yes, music, that's it.

And this, friends, is the point in your life where you reach for the Asthmatic Kitty Library Catalog shelf in your music collection. Luckily, we are doubling its size as of December 8th. Lowell Brams, Director of Asthmatic Kitty, turns out Music for Insomnia with a little help from stepson Sufjan Stevens and Bryce Dessner (of The National). Read more on this ode to sleeplessness. Music for Insomnia was written and performed by Lowell Brams and Sufjan Stevens on Harmonium, Little Casio, Little Korg, Big Prophet, Prepared Piano, Unprepared Piano, Acoustic and Electric Guitars, Autoharp, Drums, Bass, Reedless Woodwinds, Bells, Shakers, Tambourine, Hair, Duct Tape and Keys. rack 8 written and performed by Lowell Brams, Harmonium and Korg, Bryce Dessner, Electric and Acoustic guitar, and Sufjan Stevens, Piano, Casio and Percussion. Many thanks to Bryce and Sufjan, and, Ed N., The Lone Ranger, and the dudes of Con Los Dudes, who may be heard riding into the sunset on "Alpha to Theta."

AK4
"MP3: Lowell Brams feat. Sufjan Stevens
"Alpha to Theta"
from Music for Insomnia : Volume 4

"Music For Insomnia is a thing of jarring beauty that perfectly evokes varying states of exhaustion, restlessness, and distraction."
Fluxblog

And you might also recognize a certain Roberto Carlos Lange. He lives in Brooklyn and has great hair - ok, ok we give in: it's the frontman of Helado Negro. And his Music for Memory is a swirling disc of loops and drones perfect for those memory related quests for keys, or mid-afternoon epiphanies. Music for Memory is like one giant crossfade going from one idea to the next in long rhythmic patterns. Its broken tape delays and found reel to reel tapes comprise the beats and the long drone music made from orchestrations that became re-assembled from short ideas to long ones.

AK5
MP3: Roberto Lange
"Amazonian Pacific"
from Music for Memory : Volume 5

"elongated rhythms, warped analog effects, and found-sound collages"
XLR8R

"Sounds implode, break and drip all over the place, but somehow it makes sense and leaves you astonished."
Surfing on Steam

Finally, there's Seattle-based Yuuki Matthews with his Music for Savage Tropical Imagery. Don't let the title dissuade you; jungles aren't all lions and vines. Think more SUVs and lightposts. In 100 years. Music for Savage Tropical Imagery is the perfect soundtrack to commutes, either now or after the apocalypse. Yuki Matthew is a Seattle based musician, formerly of Crystal Skulls and Seldom. He recorded the songs that make up Music for Savage Tropical Imagery at home between tours, odd jobs, and major milestone events. With this record, Yuuki sought to expand upon the nostalgia of subtle sound degradation.

AK6
MP3: Yuuki Matthews
"Conquerers"
from Music for Tropical Savagery : Volume 6

"lo-fi instrumental album that ventures into fuzz, distortion, scrapes, and rough edges"
Prefix Media

more info on the AK Library project...
Asthmatic Kitty's Library Catalog Music is a series of instrumental albums designed for possible use in films and television, background sounds for home or office, or personal needs, such as relaxation, stimulation, meditation, concentration, or elevation. For your listening pleasure, we asked a select group of talented artists to create a unique recording for this collection. Specific uses for the music is this series may include accompaniment to cooking, eating, sculpting, exercising, high stakes poker, soaking, panoramic landscapes, cuddling, car chases, drawing, knitting, bandaging, romance, playing chess, or planning the rest of your life, of which this is the first day.


More info below and HERE.



The first three installments in the soundtrack to your life...OUT NOW.

AKR
MP3: 101805
Vol 1: Music for Lubbock, 1980, brought to you by American sound pioneer 900X, is a record exclusive to the Asthmatic Kitty Records Library Music Catalog. That's right! You won't find this recording anywhere else. Northwestern Texas never sounded this good until now. Lubbock's nickname is the "Hub City," derived from being the economic, education and health care hub of a multi-county region commonly called the South Plains. The music, therefore, is equally complex and foundational. Explore this fertile region of the United States with us.
AKR
MP3: Law 2
Vol 2: Music for Measurements highlights the infectious groove of deep-soul funk outfit Law of the Least Effort. Music for Measurements propels listeners through 10 cuts of pure soul and marketability. Buddy cop movies, high-impact convenience store branding, Texas Holdem...look no further, these will have you tapping your toe in no time to the tune of cash!
Vol 3: Music for Drums is a collection of quadratic-based marching band drum-core experiments by the geniuses whom produced our first two volumes. We convinced the enigmatic musicians to collaborate in our mountain studio resort to create this focused and highly advanced recording that fills several unique niche markets, that are as of now still untouched. We imagine a polaresque science-fiction intrigue that could very well be Antarctica or Pluto, with sweat, sex and icicles!


A Very Bloodshot Christmas - with 2 exclusive mp3s!

Thought you might be interested in how we're celebrating the holidays over here at Bloodshot... Not only do we have a very depressing tree (http://www.flickr.com/photos/marahe/4170453384/), but we also have TWO awesome Christmas-sy MP3s, one HUGE sale, and an even HUGER contest for anyone who orders during the "15 days of Bloodshot" - all very bloggable, I would say, if you're so inclined.

So let me give you the ol' yule rundown.


1. We're right in the middle of our annual Blowout sale right now, with more than 60 albums on sale - some as low as $5. With releases from such crowd pleasers as Ryan Adams (Heartbreaker for only $9.75 - and it's on a ton of "best of the 2000s" lists, so what a great present!), Detroit Cobras, The Blacks, Alejandro Escovedo, Old 97s, Ben Kweller and the Sadies, how can anyone afford not to shop bloodshot? Check out all the on-sale items here: http://www.bloodshotrecords.com/bloodshot-blow-out-sale-08

2. We're also a couple of days into the 15 days of Bloodshot contest (http://www.bloodshotrecords.com/15daysofBS). When you order with us between now and 12/21, you'll be entered to win one of 15 amazing prize packs from our pals at KEXP, Spin, The AV Club, Everything is Terrible, Alarm, No Depression, Make, and more. We've also got some bitchin' artist themed packs. For example, Saturday, December 19 is "Down 'n' Dirty day," featuring a signed copy of the latest Andre Williams record, some Earlove Earplugs, and some very luxe cologne, because Andre smells so heavenly every time he pops into the office. Wednesday, December 16 is Firewater day, featuring a CD, t-shirt, and a Bloodshot shot glass for your firewater. There's Jon Langford day, Scott H. Biram day, Detroit day, and more. Seriously - the prizes are amazing, and we're loving giving things away. The more holidays we can brighten the better.

3. Our BFFs in Ha Ha Tonka
(favorites of Twilight's own Stephenie Meyer - http://bloodshotrecords.com/news/stephenie-meyer-talks-ha-ha-tonka) are offering a very special present to their fans. Earlier this year, they recorded a cover of Big Country's "In a Big Country," and it turned out just amazing. Now, you can download it for free, just by goinghere. (http://blogs.myspace.com/index.cfm?fuseaction=blog.view&friendId=7471062&blogId=521659427) Ring in 2010 w/ some majestic soundin' early '80s Scottish folk rock, Ozarks style.

4. Once again, we're featuring rock and roller Dex Romweber's "Dark Christmas" as a free download
on our site. (http://bloodshotrecords.com/giveaways) The man w/ the plan released the first Bloodshot record in 2009, the awesome Ruins of Berlin, and now he'll close out the year w/ this track.