As the world continues to rapidly spin like a melting pot of textiles in a washing machine, Impose’s Week in Pop remains steadfast & dutiful in keeping you up to date with the biggest pop buzz & breaking media exclusives. With seemingly everyone making big moves in the entertainment game, Desiigner dropped the anticipated debut mixtape New English; Desert Stars Festival lineup hype; Blood Orange dropped the anticipated album Freetown Sound; Tim Presley announced that his solo album The WiNK will be available September 16 via Drag City, & dropped “Clue”; Rihanna dropped the Floria Sigismondi video for “Sledgehammer”; Vic Mensa dropped “Free Love” ft. Le1f, Halsey, Lil B, & Malik Yusef; Young Thug dropped the Garfield Larmond video for “Turn Up”; Aesop Rock dropped the Toben Seymour video for “Kirby”; Gucci Mane announced the upcoming album Everybody Looking available July 22; Beyoncé performed “Freedom” with Kendrick Lamar at the BET Awards; Aphex Twin dropped the single “CHEETAH7b” off the new Cheetah EP; A$AP Ferg & Big Sean dropped the Shomi Patwary video for “World Is Mine”; Porches dropped the video for “Car”; Jay Z dropped the Reasonable Doubt documentary RD 20 directed by Scheme Engine to celebrate the record’s twentieth anniversary; DJ Khaled, Jay Z, and Future Su dropped the “I Got the Keys” video; Radiohead dropped the Ben Wheatley vignette film for “Ful Stop”; Tacocat announced their fall tour & dropped their cover of The Sunrays’ “I Live For The Sun”; Rae Sremmurd dropped “#DoYoga” off the upcoming SremmLife 2 available August 12; LCD Soundsystem to curate & headline the Beach Vibes festival January 26-28 in Mexico Yucatan Peninsula on the Riviera Maya; G-Eazy dropped the single “In the Meantime” ft. Quavo, produced by DJ Mustard & “So Much Better” ft. Playne James, produced by Street Symphony/8×8/Tyshane; The Strokes dropped Warren Fu video for “Threat of Joy”; Eluvium announced the upcoming album False Readings On available September 2 from Temporary Residence, & dropped “Fugue State”; Kevin Gates dropped the Jon. J. video for “Jam” ft. Trey Songz, Ty Dolla $ign, & Jamie Foxx; Yo! Sissy festival in Berlin to feature Mykki Blanco, Karin Park, Le1f & more July 29-30; Wrecking Ball ATL hype; Kelela x Clams Casino dropped “A Breath Away” off Clams’ upcoming 32 Levels album; Jamie xx dropped the Romain Gavras video for “Gosh”; Prefuse 73 & Michael Christmas collaborated as Fudge & dropped “In My Shoes” off upcoming Lady Parts album available September 9 from Lex Records; Parquet Courts dropped the video for “Human Performance”; of Montreal dropped the Stephen Winter video for “it’s different for girls” ft. moves from Ezra Azrieli Holzman; Ms. Sharon Jones! documentary will open July 29 in NYC & August 5 in LA; Neutral Milk Hotel have stepped up and started an auction to help Phil Elverum’s wife Geneviève Castrée; David Bowie’s hair was auctioned off for $18,750 & Prince’s Yellow Cloud guitar sold for $137,500; Pharrell made an appearance on “Sesame Street”; Birdman allegedly sleeps on a million dollars in cash; Lena Dunham commented on Kanye’s “Famous” video, as did G.W. Bush’s rep, along with Ray J, & the obligatory late night parodies ensue; take the 360 degrees tour of the now shuttered Other Music record store, narrated by co-founder Josh Madell; Prince Harry joined Coldplay onstage at Kensington Palace benefit concert; Lil Wayne’s Gone ‘Til November memoir about his prison stint will be available October 11; Metallica are the new faces of Brioni’s luxury menswear line; Bon Iver’s Justin Vernon versus Apple Music, Elizabeth Warren versus Apple Music, meanwhile Apple’s latest patented technology could potentially curtail live concert recordings, Spotify then accused Apple of “causing grave harm”, & Apple is currently exploring the possibility of acquiring Jay Z’s Tidal; Justin Timberlake apologized for oblivious tweets during the BET Awards; Boosie Badazz’s questionable remarks about the LGBTQ community; Noel versus Liam Gallagher continues; and Britain’s soon-to-be-former Prime Minister David Cameron totally botched the lyrics to The Smith’s “There Is a Light That Will Never Go Out”.
Here to restore our hope in the world, we are proud & privileged to present the following insights, interviews, exclusives & more from Motel Pools, Pat Moon, RAINE, Babygirl, Fovea, Japanese Wallpaper, Miracle Sweepstakes, Jónó Mí Ló, Pastel, Spritzer, Valley Hush, Vinyl Williams, Wildfires, featuring guest selections by Adult Jazz and more—in no particular order.
RAINE
Prior to the formation of RAINE, you might know Jaqui Rae Stewart’s synth & string work in Radclyffe Hall who has been working on the forthcoming debut EP My Dreams slated for October. Taking her solo moniker from the term Moraine that alludes to the mineral deposits of earth & soil that are left in the wake of glacial shifts, RAINE engineers natural elements that command cosmos and the textures of weather patterns that together resounds like electro essences that whistle like a breeze through the reeds whose shores frame the window out to the Atlantic sea. Working with fellow Radclyffe Hall bandmate (also of Clifflight) Sam Burke & Mark Schwartz, Jaqui creates a dreamland where an unexpected encounter with a mysterious stranger is played out like a pagan musical play of wills, fate, & a foretelling of some sort of celestial destiny.
RAINE proudly presents the world premiere of her anticipated single “Not the Same” that dispels subjects of similarity in cinematic sweeps & overtures reminiscent of the greatest film finales & emotional opening sequences. The song starts off like the way both dusk & dawn sparkle in that in-between red and blue glow dimly illuminated by the sun’s orange light where entrances into celestial worlds is brought by the embrace of an opposite other. Random encounters created with dramatic oceanic backdrops provide all the atmospheric environments & air to house the high drama, as the old adage of opposites attracting are displayed like a Bronte sisters novel. Discoveries of newfound paradises found are illustrated in the rendezvous of mysterious liaisons where Jaqui’s questions of “do you know my name?” are inquired in the chorus that is bookended by the refrain of the song’s title.
Describe how RAINE became a phenomenon.
I’ve been writing songs since I was 14 and have gone by different names. I chose the name RAINE because I wanted to immediately convey my reverence of nature. It comes from the word Moraine; the piles of rock and soil that a glacier leaves behind as it shifts across the land. I want to one day make songs that are as timeless and beautiful as the remnants of a glacier.
How has your work in Radclyffe Hall impacted RAINE that you have noticed?
Radclyffe Hall has been an amazing project to be part of. It’s been my entry point into the electro-pop world and has helped me expand my creativity as a songwriter and producer.
How did your northwest upbringing nurture your own creative perspectives?
Nature is my greatest inspiration. Growing up in the northwest surrounded by mountains, ocean, and forests made me very introspective. It instilled in me the need to understand myself and life, and to share what I learn through music. Leaving the city to go home always inspires a new song or two.
Give us insights into the journey that made up your EP My Dreams.
The first song I wrote for the EP, the title track, was written by accident. It happened at about 3am during a burst of inspiration that felt like a blackout. The song is about a dream that I had years ago, and in that moment it suddenly came back to me. I sent a demo to a producer friend of mine, and the next day he sent me back a produced version that sounded exactly like I had imagined it in my head. Our collaboration snowballed after that into the collection of songs that is the My Dreams EP.
What sorts of changes & shifts informed your single “Not The Same”?
“Not The Same” actually wasn’t going to be on this EP. I wrote it a few months ago thinking we would just add it to the new live show, but ended up getting a session at Converse Rubber Tracks so decided to record it and include it on the album. While my other songs revolve around themes like death, purpose, and nature, Not The Same is a bit less serious: It’s about how you can feel real love and bliss out at night dancing in a stranger’s arms. The song goes against the stigma that if you’re not in a serious relationship, you’re doing something wrong.
Other rising Brooklyn artists you wanna give a shout out to?
Too many to count, but everyone should listen to Goste’s surreal beats and Iyves’ electro soul.
Pat Moon
Portland along with it’s slightly northern cousin Seattle continue to keep the northwest lit with some of the greatest icons of rising DIY influence & importance. From the landscapes of electronic bedroom button pushers, closet studio canters, family bands, sister groups, brother groups, three pieces, four pieces, collectives, cults, etc; we are pleased to introduce the latest chapter of solo organic electronic artifices with Pat Moon, who just released the mesmerizing gothic chamber haunt of Don’t Hide From the Light. The solo vehicle of Track and Field Records operator (the imprint of which this record was released on ) & Cemeteries band member Kate Davis, the tenebrous world of cryptic-crystal glowing audio graces that flickers like the candle lit glow of a cathedral, to the ambiance heard & felt throughout such a sanctuary of solemnity.
Don’t Hide From the Light from Pat Moon enjoys something that exist outside of the darkwave tags or “Portlandia” conventions & stereotypes. This is the album that inspires music writers to thumb through their Zola Jesus records, their Siouxsie collections, Chelsea Wolfe releases, looking for comparative studies paradigms that fall into the reasoning of, what Kate Bush imagined pop music would sound like in 2016 all along, or something of that ilk. Pat Moon’s debut album is the sort of thing that will definitely grab the attention of the Sacred Bones/ DAIS / Cleopatra Records / Tri Angle fan crowds from the very beginning with the empathetic expressions made with understated percussion on “Feel You”. From here Davis turns the ignition key to switch on the Pat Moon engine-machine to full RPMs with the echo laden pagan-prayer-pop heard on “Show Me a Sign”, as the synths signal signs of shifts like the cycles of seasons that spin like the spindle of an electric zoetrope. These motifs carry on through the subtle choral pop on the specter song of “I See You” that presents Pat Moon as the omniscient narrator, where the listener is then brought to wade in the soothing baptismal sea on “Into the Water”. The ceremony of communion continues forth on the intimate statement, “Love Me As I Am”, moving from the black light glow of “Dark Light”, before congregating at the dinner table of perpetual consciousness on the finale, “Enter My Mind / All I Know is Now”. Pat Moon provides a gateway entrance that gives glimpses of the exterior world we all inhabit from a inner perspective that sees the world through a lens that describes the inward responses to our own shared society. Kate Davis shared with us the following preface that introduced us to the world of Pat Moon proper:
Written between June 2015-May 2016 in Portland using mainly analog synths and drum machines, the songs were written as a the songs were written as a necessary way to communicate and analyze constant inner thoughts, fears, and anxieties. In each song I address myself in one way or another, attempting to break unwanted thoughts and come closer to finding confidence and self-love. Though playing music has always served as the primary way of connecting to myself, I’ve finally started to become more comfortable sharing that part of myself with others.
Pat Moon’s album Don’t Hide From the Light is available now from Track and Field Records.
Motel Pools
You might already know Chiara Angelicola from her work in Bird Call, who lately has been making music under the moniker Motel Pools devoted to making spaced out pop sounds to fill the suburban skies. With the release of her Vol. II & Vol. I EPs happening July 15 via Suburban , Chiara presents a premiere listen to “Suburbia from the forthcoming Motel Pools release, along with the wasteland wandering & wading wonder, “Waste Away”. Angelicola pens testaments to the hearts that are “so young & so free” in a combination of lamentations along with a particularly delectable style of fashionable destitution.
“Suburbia” paints the track-home rows of pre-fab house boxes, and the trappings of city planning where identical neighboring neighborhoods are separated by strip malls and inundated by teeth grinding boredom. Motel Pools start the song with distorted howling riffs that teeter-totter back & forth with with a cacophony of feedback that finds a growling rhythm progression made up of gnashing teeth, stylish looks, and manufactured disaffection. Motel Pools portrays the worlds of rampant complacency, drug store pharma-party runoff, the bored & ignored & vengeful housewives, beer bellied husbands doing work in the yard, Tupperware party hangovers, keys in the fishbowl follies, latch-keys kept like collars on their progeny and more are conjured together in Chiara’s horror rock opera. The mundane world of nine to five automatons is depicted like something out of The Burbs, where Motel Pools sharpen the lens at what weirdness exists beneath the perfect AstroTurf lawns & other sorts so perverse proclivities shared between members of the local neighborhood watch team.
Chiara draws the curtains on the Motel Pools self-described horror picture show of sound that begins something of a midnight matinee for jaded ex-lovers & cretins of the industry. Every time Angelicola repeats the refrain of, “what is the big idea, you get no second chances, there is no unicorn”, the very illusion of intimacy & attraction dissolves like tear drops pour profusely into the concrete motel room patio. The lonely feeling of watching trashy late night HBO, PPV, Showtime & coin-op mechanical massage beds are exhibited like ill-fraught break-up scenario recalled like the feeling of having a blow out or sordid relationship fall-out at Disneyland, whilst in-line for Splash Mountain. Fantastical visions of a doomed bond continuing onward are painted like mythological beasts that exist only in fairy tale fables, or in the fantastical-fabrics of religious liturgy, tractates & verses. “Waste Away” is the romantic meltdown for the post-apocalypse where former heartbreak scenarios are played on a continuous loop. We recently had a chance to catch up with Chiara to discuss everything Motel Pools & more:
Describe what making your Vol. II EP was like for you, and the discoveries you made along the way.
As a whole, I think Motel Pools has been a project of great discovery for me both personally and as an artist. The process of writing rock music has been more energetic, cathartic, and liberating than any of my work in Bird Call. The latter seems to require a bit more of a meticulous heady process in production. Where as, Motel Pools has really demanded more of my impulses, gritty emotions, and risk-taking. Volume II was more of a dilated emotional process because of the personal things I was going through at the time…a big break-up and my dog getting sick and old. I also put myself in the bull ring and decided to produce this all on my own. I very immediately had to put all my fears of failure to bed. Overall, I’ve learned that I’m more capable than I tend to think I am, both as an artist and as a woman.
How has your previous projects and works from Bird Call impacted the aesthetic of Motel Pools from your perspective?
It’s interesting to think about the similarities between the two. I definitively see the same level of vulnerability in both projects through the lyrics and performance. Both carry a big weight of emotions, grit, and confrontation. They seem to just be disguised in different cloaks of sound and visuals. One, inspired more by my surrounding in NY at the time, and the other a reflection of my life in California. When I first premiered Motel Pools live at Baby’s All Right in Brooklyn last year, my friends showed up not knowing what to expect. After the show, my buddy told me how unexpected the sound was yet he totally understood where it was coming from and that it was still me up there performing. It’s liberating to be able to tell the same stories and feel the same things in different projects but use different mediums, materials, and influences for each thing. It’s gotta be that sense of self that shines through any work one does…otherwise it’s no longer human.
Top three things you are really into right now in terms of media, art, visual, audio etc.
I’ve been thinking a lot about social media and how it impacts modern art creation and discovery. I’m discerning between long-lasting and impulse art and I am discovering that impulse art in media (Snapchat, periscope, things we obsess over for brief periods of time) are actually really important because they keep us moving forward, learning, and building greater meaning. These things we impulsively attach ourselves to are just mirrors of our current needs in modern pop culture, and I think we can learn from that.
As far as music, I’ve been gravitating towards classic rock on my playlists these days. I think that’s because it’s so dead that I want some of it’s ethos back. I want to exist in a time where the 110 bpm is no longer ubiquitous. The Day of the Dead tribute record has been on repeat as well. I think that’s a great example of how to take the strengths of the past but recreate a story that is relevant now.
Also, I finally finished “House of Cards”. Riveting. I can’t quite figure out why I still want Underwood to win.
Next moves for Motel Pools?
MP is on tour in the summer, followed by some new Bird Call production in the winter.
It would be cool to hear how suburban feelings & reflections inspired the track “Suburbia”.
I was born and raised in Marin County, the epitome of white suburbia. There was so much that I took in subconsciously while growing up..so much stigma and fear. It’s obviously such a psych trip being back in these parts. It’s a stunning place geographically, and I am grateful to call Northern California home now. Yet, I can’t help but poke at those stereotypes that I still see played out. I oddly have a weird obsession with the suburb car and mall culture. Sam Mendes could articulate this strange attraction more eloquently than me. I always find art-making more interesting when there’s a palpable dissonance or dichotomy of ease yet unsettling discomfort. These sorts of themes have always inspired my work.
Miracle Sweepstakes
Brooklyn’s Miracle Sweepstakes are playing tomorrow July 2 at Bushwick Public House, and we are thrilled to bring a listen to their singles “Time Is The Joke” & “Diagonal Retreat” accompanied by an interview with Craig Heed. A group of childhood chums brought together through the courses of secondary school & all the ups & downs that life throws at you; the Sweepstakes make music that abides by the definition of the group’s own bond & connection that creates for an all around rewarding & original sounds. “Time is the Joke” is one of those songs that abides according to it’s own self-defined access. The titular line is sung in a refrain during the song’s climax where the joke that is time is completed the quip that “getting older is the comeback.” The issue & matter of time is played out in epic instrumental proportions where the entire song is created unto the band’s own self-arranged & defined structure that hinges on the concepts of the most confusing construct that we all have to unfortunately abide by in one way or another.
“Diagonal Retreat” is one of those lazy morning calls where lo-fi guitars and sleepy keys coast toward a holiday that perhaps can only be found in the most guarded places of the heart. The previous notions of time are still entertained in an open form where every verse commands & invites some of the most unexpected progressions of surprise & sunny day sensations. “Retreat” is the perfect escape for anyone who is stuck in a schedule, the prison of jobs that treat you like a number on a spreadsheet or blemish on a payroll. This is song made to soundtrack getting away for it all for everyone that cannot feesibly get away from it all for at least a while. Join us after the jump for our interview round with Miracle Sweepstakes’ Craig Heed.
Describe the process of making your recent single.
We spent a full year tracking over an album’s worth of songs in fits and starts. Studio time is expensive, so my plan was to do a weekend session here, get three or four songs tracked to completion, have it mixed and spend the next couple months saving up for the next one until we did enough of ’em that all the material was in the can.
We tracked as a power trio–Ian on drums, Doug on the bass, me playing guitar – live to two inch tape at Strange Weather in Brooklyn, working with Daniel Schlett for the session that yielded “Diagonal Retreat,” and Yale Yng-Wong in the sessions that produced “Charles ii and “Time Is the Joke.” We only had room for two takes of each song, so we’d pick the best one and then layer the vocals and auxiliary sounds on top of that. On the single, that layering included five part vocal sections, bass harmonica, piano and mellotron.
What have you all been obsessed with lately, and have you found fixations on certain things making an impact on your music?
Hard to speak for the boys, but our guitarist Carlos (who joined after recording), Ian and I were recently night cruising when I put on “Telephone Line” by ELO. Ian immediately looked up their greatest hits and the next time I saw Carlos he’d already learned how to play it. What a tune. Doug recently told me to listen to The Ventures in Space for inspiration. Is he obsessed with it? I’m not sure, but maybe he can sound off in the comments section.
How do you achieve this almost effortless floating vibe in your sound? It’s very catchy.
That’s good! A lot of the best parts came to me pretty effortlessly, but I would say putting it all together was a pretty intense process, as I’d never really arranged music before, and could barely play some of the instruments we used. A common backhanded compliment we’d get at our first shows was, just when you guys start playing a part I can get into, the whole song changes! So, maybe the Float Factor is up for debate.
Break down each song for us; “Time Is the Joke”, “Diagonal Retreat”, and “Charles II”.
“Time Is the Joke” is a title I took from my pal Ross Barkan, who’s a writer and better at naming things. It’d be a jokey pseudo-profound response to an observation in our Gchat convos about how we’re aging- that there are MLB players younger than us, or something. “Man, Zoilo Almonte is 4 months younger than me!” “… Time Is the Joke..” The money section is the ending, so be sure to listen farther than your average Bandcamp partial play.
“Diagonal Retreat” was the first song Ian and I did a full demo of, and so the arrangement was kind of a blueprint for how we’d approach recording the rest of ’em. I wanted a lean-but-rich sound, where different elements would pop in and out, but as soon as one entered, the previous disappeared as to not muddy things. I think this song in particular had a kind of somber, Late Nite feel, but most people find it upbeat and sunny. Kind of frustrating for me, a decidedly Late Nite and not at all upbeat/sunny dude.
“Charles II” is my fave of the bunch. Like the other two, it’s in a weird tuning, so some of the chords are strange, but I still throw in a few Beatle ones for the chorus. The lyrics reference my dog Charlie (RIP), as well Charles II’s years in exile. I honestly hate when people say stuff like that—”This song’s about the Civil War and tennis,” and hate even more when they add, “but ultimately, it’s about me.” But what can ya do.
Next moves for Miracle Sweepstakes and what miracles should we be looking out for next from you all?
We’re playing around Manhattan and Brooklyn as much as possible, starting next Tuesday at Pianos, while we ready our first full length. I’ve also written two dozen new songs that put the old ones to shame.
Vinyl Williams
Unless you have secluded yourself in the residency of under a rock, most certainly you have witnessed the visual & audio arts from the prolific Lionel “Vinyl” Williams. He has made music videos for some of your favorite artists, and has been making a barrage of meditative, psychotropic melodies with friends released through Chaz Bundick’s (of Toro Y Moi, Les Sins) imprint Company Records. With word that the new album Brunei will be available August 26 via Company, the Utah raised artist draws upon a childhood fascination with the look of the Brunei dollar that would later inspire an audio utopian odyssey that fuses metaphysical zones with the fabrics of dreams & religious like experiences. This undertaking is achieved through instrumental support from Chaz, Ian Gibbs, and Brad Laner of Medicine where Williams weaves a revolves around the Alnilam star and a being from the gravity cluster of Xol.
Presenting a listen to “Riddles Of The Sphinx”, Vinyl Williams takes us all through a time warp where we witness the rise and fall of ancient empires while pondering their greatest conundrums left behind. Taking on a Sophoclean style narrative, Willaims & crew create a sound to get lost in as if the time machine made a detour while en route to the age of Phaorohs & Caesars. “Riddles” provides ripples & ripcurls in the time/space continuum that Doc Brown himself would find himself befuddled by. Following the listen, read our recent conversation with Lionel himself after the jump.
Interested in hearing about how you began to go about bringing your own impression of Brunei into a musical state of being and harmony on Riddle of the Sphinx.
For the longest time Brunei appeared to be a sanctuary on Earth, riddled with empyrean utopic qualities. But as we always find out, utopia only really functions for the small class of people who created it. There is a strong lack of knowledge about this country in general. It’s a land of paradoxes, which fits perfectly with my musical & artistic practice of illuminating invisible qualities that underlie the material world.
Riddles Of The Sphinx became a statement of the extreme lack of objectivity surrounding all knowledge. The surface of Brunei appears like a serenely magical place, akin to how my music might appear. But underneath is the almost unknowable reality. The Sultan of Brunei has imposed Sharia law into its penal code, which was fully implemented this year, drawing deep concern for anybody with normal human rights standards. The music I’ve been making is a simulation of what Brunei could be if its inner reality was a true expression of its outer beauty.
Where did the narrative come from for this album, dealing with Xol, orbiting the Alnilam star at the center of the constellation Orion, and more all evolve into these concepts of universal struggle?
I’ve been focusing on Alnilam for a while, even before I knew what it was, or what it was called, I had thought that the source of my entire practice comes from there. The reason being is that many ancient monuments, such as the placement of The Great Pyramid of Giza, in relationship to the other two large pyramids on the Giza plateau, point to the center star of Orion as being a very important place in the cosmos–possibly the heavenly center of our local universe. In my imagination, I’ve formed an entire civilization orbiting the enormous star of Alnilam. Because of the density of gravity around the star, I imagine the civilizations being gravity clusters instead of planets, which consist of spherically arranged modular architecture, that change form and placement every instant. The beings that inhabit this land are immaterial, and intentionally bound by pure cosmic morality. The album was written from the perspective of these beings, talking to mankind about the struggle and limitations that we endure, to become aware of these struggles and to overcome them–not to push them under the rug, but to address and cooperatively solve them.
Describe the creative connection between you and Chaz, Ian Gibbs, and the legendary Brad Laner of Medicine.
We all seem to be big fans of each other, which is concerted in our smooth collaborations. Ian keeps me level-headed and always provides the perfect lush ambiance that I need. Him & I are huge fans of Brad Laner–working with him was a dream come true. Chaz supports every idea we have, helping us along the way to make our music more approachable and blissfully concentrated in the right ways. His feedback is true & honest, and it really really helps. Brad Laner has also given amazing feedback, especially with where vocals should sit in a mix.
What sorts of discoveries did you make along the way when making this record?
I had discovered the hidden world beyond Brunei’s politics, which was a necessary breakthrough to crack my aloofness. In the process of recording the album, I stumbled upon a mix & mastering setup that produces sounds nearly as hi-fi as they are lo-fi. And that really excited me to find a sound that is agelessly balanced.
How has your grandfather John Williams inspired your own creative works, and what have his responses been like in to your own multimedia work, and your recent albums for Bundick’s Company Records?
He has constantly inspired me, I’ve been uncovering more & more of his elusive works. One of my favorites is his soundtrack to Images (1972, Robert Altman)–it truly sounds like another dimension to me, fitting with the storyline of the main character who experiences strange delusional anomalies throughout the movie. I have yet to show him any of my work. Someday soon!
Can you give us some insights into what other projects and pieces you’ve been working on?
Working on a 360º video for Winter, Los Angeles/Brazil-based dream pop band. Also working on a video for Morgan Delt’s next single, and a custom made pyramidion video game console, made up of dozens of explorable [sic] worlds for Meow Wolf, experiential art collective in Santa Fe, New Mexico; check them out!
Parting thoughts, advice, etc?
Pure sound is so under-exposed. Just sound itself can do incredible things for all living organisms. The only way for me to know what’s good beyond my associations is what gives me fission, the tingling sensations. Let it be known that whatever gives you fission is exactly what you should be making.
Vinyl William’s forthcoming album Brunei will be available August 26 from Company Records.
Valley Hush
Introducing Detroit’s Valley Hush, comprised of Lianna Vanicelli on vocals & Alex Kaye on production who ignited our interest & senses with the super-summer single “Ice Cream”. Having emerged onto the scenes around 2014, Alex & Lianna make music that delights in all the various things that make life worthwhile & exciting. Vanicelli signals the start of summer as Alex initiates the glimmering synths of wonder that frame the ecstatic electro touches that make for an experience where surprises sprout everywhere like daisies & blossoms brought up to the green & sunny surface of illumination. Lianna & Alex provided the following insights on their new single:
“Iced Cream” translates the feeling of existing somewhere between two drastically different life paths. It’s about knowing what you want and what’s best for your soul but having no idea if anything will work out.
Wildfires
Wildfires lit a match on some dried-driftwood as heard on their single “The Lame” taken from their album Aguas Frescas (Part II). The Austin group makes music that encapsulates the weirdness & wonder experienced along the dusty & winding trails. The band embodies the live for today feeling, celebrating the sweetness of colors seen & places been, mixing the agony & the ecstacy, sweetness & sour bitters, & more that make for an all around transcendental listening experience. Life is observed like something of a psychotropic journey where notions of “we destroy and we dethrone” are seen like mirages of a miraculous nature appearing before all like an apparition that materializes within an arid & barren landscape. Wildfires shared some exclusive thoughts with us, reflecting on the making of Aguas Frescas (Part II):
When it came time to record Aguas Frecsas Part II, we knew we wanted to work with Erik Wofford at Cacophony Recorders. We were blown away by his handling of Part I and were excited to keep a good thing going. This time things got pretty intense. We tackled six songs in three days. There wasn’t much room for error so I think we felt a little pressure. We recorded Part I and Part II over a year apart so there was always a fear about continuity. We wanted the two EPs to be solid records on their own, but to also relate to each other as two parts of one grand concept. We felt really comfortable at Cacophony but there’s always a bit of alchemy involved in crafting a good record. We were really pleased to end up with a recording that builds upon the sound of our previous EP but also takes us into new territory.
Jónó Mí Ló
Jónó Mí Ló on photographed by Walter Wlodarczyk.
Jónó Mí Ló’s upcoming release HD Ghetto will be available July 22 via Pastel Voids and we have the wild video for next level d & b banger, “Theme from New Wprld”. Featuring visuals provided Party Trash that depict the 1992 Rodney King riots in Los Angeles, it stands as part of the vision & mission statement of HD Ghetto where the resolution, clarity, & definition are presented in states of analog visual decay to match the chaotic visuals. Scenes of destruction, dissolution & all around fallout are set to Jónó’s analog-ambient electronic soundtrack that tackles the high definition concept with an antithesis to an anachronistic event that continues to have socio-economic-cultural-racial-political implications of justice & truths to this very day. As Jónó put it:
HD Ghetto is about limitations, destiny and the rising of the dead. Alchemy and sorcery engaged in war. The rain on judgement day.
Babygirl
Kirsten Clark and Cameron Breithaupt are Babygirl who delivered their debut single “Overbored” that takes all the ennui & cooped up sentiments and sets it into pop overdrive. Taken off their As You Wish EP, the David Bedford video revels in a minimalist vibe that features the two performing choreographed hand and arm gesticulations that go in time to the progressions, rhythms, & Kirsten’s recitations of, “I’m over you, I’m overbored, I’m surrounded by people who are hoping for more…” The earnest & melancholic aesthetic of Babygirl is one that is sure to speak to all who feel consumed by the weight of their own boredom, or as Kirsten describes:
“A lot of pressure is put on us to be extraordinary, especially when we’re young and beginning to figure out who we are and what we want. We wanted to write a song that celebrated those who were unsure, uninspired, bored.
Fovea
Brooklyn’s Fovea were heard recently covering David Bowie’s “Heroes” and today they bring us the beautiful vocal tapestry that is “Puppy” that brings to mind the kind of doting, affectionate dispositions that many of us can connect to in one sense or another. The gentle restraint in the band’s arrangement allows for a generosity of earnest feelings to permeate the song’s four minutes run time. The feelings here continue to cascade like the most romantic of notions & connections that words themselves rarely can contain, let alone relay in full.
Pastel
Gabriel Brenner, aka Pastel, has been working on his anticipated & just released EP Bone-Weary for a hot minute and we have had the pleasure in providing step-by-step coverage along the way. Available via the imprint Very Jazzed, Brenner brings us to the intimate chambers of reflective verses & personal hymns that ponder issues of identity, sexuality, and connective bonds that exist within the ether of the sublime & beyond the pale of sentimentality.
Lingering thoughts that cause the surrounding crowd to blur & fade can be heard on the interior thought stream of observations & heart-crushing feelings of “Loose Ends”. These moments are further highlighted on the subtle & sparse “Touched”, that moves toward the inward re-connection that is reiterated in the refrain of “I just want to feel like myself again…” The culmination of agony & ecstasy draws the EP & aesthetic curtains to a close on “I Ache” that reveals a choral hymn of a hurt that exists deep within the most sacred places of the body, soul, mind, & overall being. Pastel provided the following preface for Bone-Weary:
I finished up this EP quite a while ago, so I’ve had a bit of time to develop some distance towards these songs. They definitely function, at least for me personally, much like a timeline: little markers of events from the past year, or specific ways I was feeling during a given time period. I don’t really listen to my own music, but if a song from Bone-Weary comes on shuffle, an immediate rush of memories and emotions hits me. I find myself being very aware of why I made that song, as if my body is telling myself, This is how you felt about this person/thing then, and it’s different from how you feel now. My music is pretty diaristic in nature, but it’s always a wild experience when I become genuinely aware of that aspect of it myself.
Pastel’s Bone-Weary EP is available now via Very Jazzed.
Spritzer
Matt Meade (of Friend Roulette fame) released a new single from his offshoot project Spritzer that tackles the life & death continuum concepts with “Dead”. In perfect M. Meade fashion, the single spins on accord of its own axis where everything from vintage organs, anxious rhythms & brass are contributed to an arrangement that makes for a full-on frenetic good time. Spritzer, not unlike Friend Roulette is a musical outlet that concerns itself not with imitations or comparative creative studies-but Meade & company seek instead to push all musical possibilities & capabilities further into the fray that has yet to be discovered by the rest of the music world. In a recent discussion, Matt shared the following exclusive insights on the making of the new Spritzer single, “Dead”:
“Dead” came out of some conversations with an artist friend of mine, Gary Rough. We were talking about collaborating on a piece that I can’t give too many details about, but somehow that’s how I got the chord structure. After that, the band played it live almost every show before I even had lyrics written. I would just make them up on stage for most shows. “Dead” is the end of a five song EP that we just finished. This song kind of wraps up this strange story about someone going through hard times that gets too drunk at the bar and eventually lured and captured by some type of psycho to live out the rest of existence in the dark with the psycho as his only friend, enemy, love and caretaker. The lyrics for “Dead” are, more or less, a message to the psycho from the victim.
Japanese Wallpapaer
Don’t miss the single that the entire world is already talking about, “Cocoon” via Zero Through Nine, an emerald of bliss-pop audio created by Australian artist Gab Strum, aka Japanese Wallpaper. Gab spins about textures that loop like poly-chromatic blends of bright hues that wrap around the listener with ascending keys and synths that creates the sensation of a thousand, dearest embraces occurring all at one beautiful outpour of affection.
Writing music is a deeply cathartic and calming process for me, spending hours building up melodies and textures without ever really thinking too deeply about it or second guessing myself. The idea of recording myself singing always terrified me—it made me feel vulnerable and exposed, and seemed counter intuitive to the self-assuredness [sic] and fulfillment I sought while making music. I guess “Cocoon” is me beginning to feel less scared of putting myself out there.
Fire Talk sent us word that Turnip King’s debut album Laika will be available August 19, delivering some sounds and vocals to springboard you into a world of dreams, courtesy of Lucia Arias, enjoyed on the vintage alternative-aesthetic video from Christian Billard and Cal Fish for “Carsong”. From their high school Sea Cliff, NY founding; the result of the album that almost was never made due to life getting in the way (Cal Fish & Christian Billard departed to go to BARD up north, & Nick Kivien went off to form Sunflower Bean) now is about to see it’s awaited release that is poised to be one of the most ethereal, & anticipated release of the summer—if not all year.
Adam Payne’s upcoming eclectic/free-wheeling new album Famous Blondes will be available July 22 from Selection Records, and we have your lead-in listen with the track “Tell Me”. Payne works in a creative conversational manner where he builds together a sound machine made from the pastiche pieces of pop’s past with what we feel might be a keen clairvoyant cut-up of what the future of singer-songwriters might sound like. Adam throws in everything & the kitchen sink in what makes for a wholly immersive experience.
Joshua Tree’s Chelan gave us the ray of synthesizer light with “Beams” featured off their upcoming album Vultures available October 26 from Something In Stereo. The talents of Jennifer Grady, Justin Hosford & Chad Austinson combine their crafts & visions to follow up their 2014 album Equal Under Press that chase after the rays of light that haunt the displays of shadows cast across the ground.
Behold the Andrey Smirny for Sherbert Gang’s “Far Away” that follows an animated protagonist going about their day, met with a barrage of effects & bright colors & shapes to compliment the electric brew of beats. With an upcoming EP later this month, the Gang is made up of Brian Brater’s (UPROXX co-founder, Rawkus Records, etc) collective alongside Amir H. Fallah that creates a compendium of the most mellow and kinetic textures you might experience all week.
Warhaus released the arty & glamorous Wouter Bouvijn video for “The Good Lie” that offers up some b/w film noir visuals to compliment the duet found off the forthcoming album We F***ed A Flame Into Being available September 2 from Play It Again Sam / [PIAS]. Late evening mysteries bring about strange revelations that are sure to twist the mind & soul as their sound takes us to their derelict patches & places that Lee Hazlewood & company always warned us about.
We have been saying it all along, and now Jay Som (aka Melina Duterte) is effectively taking over the entire world of innovative pop. Currently touring with contemporaries Mitski & Japanese Breakfast, Duterte recently shared a listen to the b-side from her much lauded single “I Think You’re Alright” from Fat Possum with the timeless turbine engine turning rock of “Rush”. As if the a-side, along with her opus Turn Into, or her work in Summer Peaks; “Rush” is the single that should signal to even the most uptight of music critic-cynics that Jay Som is poised to be one of the world’s soon to be leading talents.
SAINt JHN with his GØDD COMPLEXx are getting ready for their big live debut later this month at LA’s HARD Summer Festival and we present a look at JHN & company cruising about Coney Island in the Maria Juranic video for “1999”. Having written Usher’s latest cut “Crash“, SAINt turns back the nostalgic clocks to ’99 while turning the vibe & feels all the way up to the nines as the production rises & falls along according to the emcee’s slightly tuned (yet turnt) delivery.
Broken Social Scene’s Brendan Canning readies his solo album Home Wrecking Yearsfor release August 12 from Arts and Crafts, sharing the road-riding single “Book It To Fresno”. This is one of those festival-lamp-lit tracks for all those cooped up in the van and trucking their way along the I-5 making their tour itinerary rounds.
Featured off JoLivi’s new Just for You EP, hear the MyKill remix of the Hawaiin pop star’s single “Games” where the stems are spun to a new dance regiment. Bigger synths & an expanded sequence extends the sport & variety of leagues of the original that pulses to the timings of a new type of tournament.
Emily Jane White presented the b/w Dan Jenkins video for “Pallid Eyes” that provides candid visuals to compliment the rumbling strums, heard off the holistic album They Moved in Shadow All Together available July 8 from Talitres Records. Reflections on backward glances give further meaning to modern day feelings & observations seen like the shifting of seasons in the Bay Area to the traffic frequencies that occupy the busy streets.
Heliotropes this week dropped the prom-style performance pop video for “Wherever You Live” taken from their forthcoming Over There That Way available July 15 from The End Records. The band of Jessica Numsuwankijkul, Gregg Giuffré, Richard Thomas, & Ricci Swift return with a sound that turns back the clocks to a time when rock was young that will take some of you back to the awkward moments of your first prep school dance.
Semi Precious just released one of the smoothest & silkiest electro-cuts ever with “Sun Lounger”, available today via London’s squareglass. Also found on the forthcoming album Ultimate Lounge available July 22, South-East London’s Guy Baron manages to live up to not just the gem-like nature of his own chosen moniker, but “Sun Lounger” is every bit of UV ray summer bliss that you could ever imagine.
Meet the latest big pop champions Dreamers who give us a wish to dream on with the catastrophic cool of “Sweet Disaster” that brings about all that big bright FM razzle-dazzle created by that perfect radio production. Recorded at the former Soundcity Studios, now known as Fairfax Recordings; listen for more from Dreamers with their debut album slated for August 26.
NJ emcee Eloh Kush along with producer DUS (of Brothers Grimm) recently released their album ANGELDUS via Water the Plants and we present a listen to the full album that features folks from A.G. (Show & AG), John Robinson, A.G., El Da Sensei, and more. The result consists of east coast centered celestial rhymes and production that gives you something to pump a fist too with power as together this crew takes the backpack classic to the new post-boom bap schools of style, new systems of thought & rhyme.
Oxblood reached out to his hero Korallreven to express an affinity for the artist’s music, that ultimately lead to a collaboration between the two as heard on the single “Teenage Crush IV” courtesy of Cascine & Gold River Entertainment. And while Korallreven would break up, the creativity shared between the two musicians can be heard here, as well as on Oxblood’s other single “How Long Is Forever”. The result is what we imagine nostalgic infatuations to sound like.
Yeesh’s new album Confirmation Bias will be available July 22 from Tiny Engines, and we give you a listen to the sweet sounding skronk from the band with a few of their singles off the new album. “World Building” shreds out enough licks to knock over a skyscraper like a domino as “End Results” rip enough blissful scuzz pop that will keep all potential doubters believing in the healing power of rock & roll.
For those in need of some deep beat electro-edification, then you need not look or listen further than Tourist’s single & video for “Too Late” ripped from the new album U. Catch Tourist on a tour through December 2 at a town near you.
Joe Michelini from River City Extension has launched American Trappist with the release of the In Satan’s Kingdom National Park EP available now from Death Salon Records featuring a look at the Brian L. Tice Jr. video for “No Bibles”. Watch Joe get weird about the good book in an arty baptismal session to remember.
San Francisco artist Duncan Nielsen is DONCAT who shared a strumming single of fallacy & truths with “Untrue”, taken from his second album Easy Cowboy available September 9 through Creature. Nielsen taps into that Americana sense of drifter as songwriter where all instruments move about in a balladeering search for that certain set of mythic truths & beauty that is yet to be found.
Rae Fitzgerald prepares the upcoming album self-released album Popular Songs for Wholesome Families for June 3, sharing the candid DIY video for “Jackal II”. The St. Louis by Muscle Shoals, Alabama who has traversed roads from Bakersfield through Austin before moving to Columbia, MO (where Fitzgerald currently resides); Rae’s narratives spring to emotive & visceral life like diary pages transformed into a series of short stories.
Uni Ika Ai is lead by Maia Friedman who started a creative correspondence with Lucius’s Peter Lalish that would lay down the groundwork for their forth album Keeping A Golden Bullseye In The Corner of My Mind available in early October, sharing the “I would never want to miss you” sentiments on the illustrious single “Make You Better”. Uni Ika Ai invites the listener to stay a while in a jungle gym of joy where every heavenly instrumental item is thrown into the fray to make for an ecstatic occasion worthy of multiple listens in order to fully absorb the bouquets of bliss.
Following up her debut album After for ANTI-, hear the new atmospheric single “Voice” from Doe Paoro that provides a new sort of voice from what we imagine the new electro-ambient audio artifices of the future will most likely sound like.
Vancouver’s Lie dropped the megaton heavy-weight of “Failed Visions” from their upcoming album Truth or Consequences available August 12 from Austin imprint Monofonus Press. Visions of grandeur can be seen here being fed via XLR cables into the amps and then are blasted out as distorted particles of shock & awe-audio.
The Coathangers dropped the Matt Odom video for “Down Down” that takes it back to the vintage girl group scene of yesterday, hurdled to today’s reigning queens of the noise scenes. Find this and other radical numbers on their new album Nosebleed Weekend available now from Suicide Squeeze Records.
In case you were running late to the Lina Tullgren party, fret no more as we bring you the beautiful, heart-strummed single “Older” taken off the forthcoming EP Wishlist, available now from Captured Tracks. Listen as the New England artist provides organic narratives that glance at all the comfort found in the sanctuary of a childhood home, a holiday wish, or a vision that has stayed with you from only the wildest and most beautiful of dreams.
Katie Eastburn (fka Young People) just released her debut album Out All Night under the moniker Katiee, presenting a look at the video for “Could” feat. Ryan Heffington, filmed at The Smell and directed by Joe Denardo (Growing, Gun Outfit). The raw b/w video pays homage to the endangered DIY video that provides some kinetic moves done to Eastburn’s own moody blend of electronic & distorted components with acoustic plinks & plunks of piano notes littered throughout.
Milwaukee, Wisconsin’s Sat. Nite Duets has been prepping the world to get ready for their forthcoming Air Guitar available September 16 from Father/Daughter Records sharing jangle-core gems & jewels on “St. Yuppie”. This is one for the DIY crowds that lampoon the yippy & techie hordes of the establishment, elevating the technocratic ruling class on a pedestal made of their own hubris.
SmCity rolled up from the DMV with another listen & look from his album Empire Falls with the video for “MIA” ft. Maimouna Youssef & DJ Toomp on the ones & twos. SmCity & Maimouna take an introspective stroll around the cemetery headstones to give a toast up to all those that have gone missing in action as Youssef sings out the question of “tell me where they are now…”
Our good pal Evan Ønly (oka Underwater Peoples co-founder Evan Brody, also of Family Portrait) just released his new EP /\/\ARBLE released in conjunction with his own fashion line /\/\ARBLE SS16. Evan continues a treatise that examines the depths of a technological singularity where the promises and premises of today & tomorrow are tied up into the programmed algorithms and consoles that provide everything from technocratic governance to sustenance.
Melbourne’s high flyers Flyying Colours announced their forthcoming album Mindfulness available September 23 from Club AC30, sharing a listen to the gaze-glazed single “It’s Tomorrow Now”. Flyying’s vision of tomorrow here makes it sound like 2016 is the new 1991 as the most dreamiest effects recall all your favorite sneaker-staring idols of yore that still remain deep in heart.
NOTHING’s album Tired of Tomorrow is available now through Relapse and we got the Ryan Hemsworth remix of “Nineteen Ninety Heaven” that takes the tension to new echelons of celestial electronic atmospheres. Catch the band’s stateside tour happening now through August 7 with Euro dates spanning September 9 through October 15.
Ranch Ghost released their album Lookin today via Rough Beast Records, dropping some down & out & dirty blues with the “Bleu” about the psychotropic adventures of a wayward cat.
Dave Moisan recently dropped his album Heavyweight and in case you have yet to tune in, we got the mechanized pop jam “Animal”. Moisan works within a zoological simile where the rules of attraction & courting games becomes something of a Nat Geo / Discovery Channel type of phenomenon.
Just in time for all the fireworks, hot dogs & suds; Van William sets off some demolition derby bottle rockets to celebrate the day of independence with a whole lot of passionate pop sentiment.
HØØNCH bust out some of that bright summer festival goodness with “Lost 2.0” for all those who have found themselves lost again for whatever reason. Like the conundrums of Web 2.0, HØØNCH celebrates the art of getting lost as a treat to discover a formerly forgotten paradise of pop to last all night.
Vacances dropped by this week to put a no-vacancy sign on our collective hearts with their big single “Only You” that will possibly never leave your dome after the first listen. A romantic song of unabashed devotion arranged with that wall of sentiment & sound style; Vacances put it best in the song’s refrain of “this is the sound of love.”
Signals Midwest delivered some dazzling riffs & ripping power chord pop with sun-dripping joy of “West Side Summer”, found off their upcoming album At This Age available September 2 from Tiny Engines that sports production by Into It. Over It.’s Evan Weiss. The Cleveland group musters up a fury of percussive rhythm that strikes a chord & nerve core with every bar.
VARA’s track “Break Down The Walls” got the Yacht Club. remix treatment that brings you a little something for that super star-studded sailboat party that you have been planning since the summer of 2015.
Melbourne’s Soft Corporate (fka When Were Young) just provided a listen to the emotive textures of “Slipped”, found off their forthcoming EP Good Things Will Happen available later in July. The result is a slice of pensive pop where thoughts are exhibited into the atmosphere in the most soothing & reflective of manners.
Also don’t miss Soft Corporate’s “Boats” that rows about a tumultuous stream in search for answers and discovering a bevy of sonic experiences along the way.
Njomza who you might know from Mac Miller’s imprint Remember just dropped the single “Talk About It” made with UK duo The Code on the production chops. The result is the invitation to a conversation that is met with a cloudy-trap-esque blender of production that keeps the mind floating & reflecting.
LA rising star Jordan Raf brought some of that signature crooning delivery with the track “Frame”, produced by John War. Found off the forthcoming album Double Negative available August 19 from POW Recordings, the song of endearment, sweetness & light gets even lifted with a production that provides all the proper framing, & arranged textures that ultimately contribute to the glistening effervescent effects heard throughout.
Kansas Bible Company recently dropped their Hotel Records album Paper Moon, and we have their riff rocking tribute to none other than the modern living legend “Ty Segall”. With a big sound full of life, fun & brass; the cult of the Laguna Beach by Bay Area icon is glorified and immortalized as an icon that will be remembered for eons to follow.
Catching up with NOLA’s Luxley, we bring you the latest listen from the upcoming Spirits EP available July 22 with the reflective single “Mirrors”. Luxley continues crafting sophisti-pop that sparkles like the image that gazes back from the glass or the rippling surface of water.
Having been given the blessing of the electro-tastemakers Kitsuné, Hush Moss today releases the single “Slowly Disappear” that brings about the most smooth & chill sounds imaginable. Taken off the forthcoming album It Takes A Lot available September 16 from Average Negative; there is absolutely nothing average happening here as the Berlin artist taps into all those tropes that made your parents’ adult contemporary music collection sound oh so sensual & sultry.
Former TOPS bassist Alana Marta DeVito has started the Bobbypin outfit, sharing the Adrienne Chalaturnyk animated video for “Consequences” that brings about relaxing paradigms that showcase the art of cause & effects. The sounds of a thousand relaxing days can further be heard on the forthcoming Bobbypin EP Sketches from a Terrace available this fall with European dates this month and August with a North American tour also slated this fall. Bobbypin celebrates the consequential effects of beloved ones that have appeared in our lives by virtue of happenstance, chance meetings & more. Catch Bobbypin abroad August 26 in Berlin (venue TBA), September 9 in Hamilton, ONat the Baltimore House for Hamilton Supercrawl Art fest, and September 23 in NYC at Berlin Club.
Total Slacker has a big album on the way, and we got one of the first listens with “Turn on the Lights” that casts a glow of illumination & some larger pop production from the group. With word that their new album Parallels will be available August 19 from ONErpm/Verge Records, the Brooklyn’s band’s front dude Tucker Roundtree described the new single as “working with writing in contrast. The lyrics are about introspection and searching for a deeper meaning with someone you love.”
Check out Video Age’s Harry Bartle headphone-hopped video for “Dance Square” that illustrates the benefits of dancing by yourself in abandoned spaces, taken off their debut album Living Alone available July 29 from Inflated Records. For everyone that prefers to dance by their lonesome to the beat of their own playlist; this single & video was made just for you.
Hoops self-titled Fat Possum EP will be available August 26, and we got the super-chill summer cooler with “Cool 2”. This is the perfect sun-dazed barbecued soundtrack that reeks of sweet-mesquite and some of that SPF-40 to soak the sun rays in safely.
Peep Faulkner’s LA rooftop video for “These Kids Nowadays” that is hosted by Jason Bentley that comes through with the real big, bright lit pop goods taken off their RZA/Mark Needham/JP Bowerstock produced Revanchrist EP out now.
Stella dropped the Conzo Throb drawn graphic novel video for “Burn”, bringing metropolitan-noir values taken from her upcoming album Selfish available July 29 with a release gig in NYC July 27 at Bowery Electric.
Watch the Sivan Talmor’s Noam Sharon & Tal Rosenthal video for “I’ll Be”, featuring special effects from BlackBoard Studios where Talmor explores surrounding natural environments with an eco-hazardous beast that she befriends, and ultimately finds her world consumed & spent by human hubris & waste. In Sivan’s own words on the song & video:
I am passionate about my music but equal to that is my passion for environmental causes, and I know in my soul that like all relationships, our relationship to the Earth must be a give and take if we are to survive.
Oklahoma’s The Bourgeois tackle the discreet millennial charm of the new ruling class of weirdos on the single “Designer Genes” that takes the piss out of whatever it takes to succeed in this current climate with a “no future” kinda heaviness that greets futile ambitions with a shrug.
Rolling with folks like Donnie Trumpet, Noname, Sean Deaux, etc; theMIND, oka Zarif Wilder just presented us with a chill & sunny listen to his THEMpeople produced (along with assists from Carter Lang, Knox Fortune, & Beatmachinearon) Summer Camp album. The opening title track brings about a warm electric breeze before getting wavy on “Pale Rose”, reeling in the lovers’ rock narratives on the silky “Sa Ve Thewo Rld” ft. crooning from Michael Anthony, to marinating on the tranquility of being on “In Peace”. The cycles are heard in atmospheric ebbs & tide flows like “Mercury Rising”, or the flashy interludes of “Fox Fur Lining”, kicking it smooth on “Come Home”, moving that prodigal son pop over to “Purple Fox Fur” ft. Donnie Trumpet, Towkio & Sean Deaux, keeping it trippy on “Only The Begining” ft. tuned-up testaments from Noname, dropping journal entry exposition on “Log Entry #23”, before you are left gazing with introspective thoughts on “Sand Dunes”. Make this full-length one of your summer’s must hear listens.
Hear the sun-kissed single “Give Me Something To Love” from Kid Runner’s upcoming album Body Language available August 12, that has all the big festival vibes to keep your heads ringing & hands clapping in unison. Kid Runner makes sounds made to fill forests, fields, beaches, deserts, basements, warehouses, and anywhere you can throwing a festival.
The Cult Of Dom Keller’s third album Goodbye To The Light will be available July 22 from Fuzz Club, and today they brought us to the very doors of perception with the heavy frontal lobe exploding “Shambhala Is On Fire”. The band brings about the big lead weight pyrotechnic menacers with the high octane flame glow, burn & boil.
Introduce yourself to Swan Lingo from Washington, D.C. who just released his Spirit Plug EP that delivers some home grown, bedroom born feelings and thoughts that come from personal places & guarded spaces. The heartbreak can be heard like a lump in the throad on the inviting opener “Fidelity”, that follows through with diligence & desires on “luv is tru”, the chills & piano bare bones heard on “i be in da cold”, right before leaving you with the meditations of “meditacion” that continues to marinate in the heart & mind long after the EP has concluded.
Ahead of the upcoming When You Realise People Are Not One Dimensional Characters In A Movie Of Your Life EP, MODEL 86 presented the head-tripping cut “Fake Life Jakets” that flips all instrumental elements forward in a stew of sounds, and instrumental track edits that are all brewed together in a flurry of feels & bright lit digital botanicals.
From Negative Gemini’s forthcoming album BODY WORK available August 12, we bring you the single “Don’t Worry Bout the Fuck I’m Doing” that drops a little don’t you go worrying about me type of hazy dream ballad that reinforces & reiterates the importances of autonomy & boundaries.
Brooklyn’s Ben Seretan just released the album Bowl of Plums that serves as your ticket out of the scorching hot city & for the joyous country comforts heard on angular-jangling jams like “Cottonwood Tree” to the feelings of home elicited on the title track and more. Soak your summer blues in this beautiful full-length to soothe what ails you.
Check out the Sam Travis animated figure dancing video for Adult Jazz’s Pumped From Above that showcases their po-mo approach to brass-beat arts of the acoustic and electronic variety. Stay tuned though after, as AJ prepares to take over Week in Pop…
Adult Jazz’s Week in Pop
Adult Jazz recently released their new album Earrings Off! via Tri Angle Records, and we are thrilled to bring you the following Week in Pop guest selections from the group’s own Tim Slater, Harry Burgess, & Tom Howe.
Tim
John Cage, “Seven”
Got to see the London Contemporary Orchestra perform John Cage’s “Twenty-Three” last week, but to be honest I couldn’t find a link to it. This one—”Seven”—is also lovely. A bit of a doomy thing, full of snorting, scraping strings and jarring piano.
Jon Hassell, “Chor Moiré”
I am always returning to this track. He cut up some really breathy trumpet stems and made the most amazing textures here. Headphones for the full FX!
PJ Harvey, “Let England Shake”
She’s been reading John Donne’s No Man Is An Island at her shows in the wake of Britain’s vote to leave. Pretty devastating. This is a beautiful song from a favourite album. “England’s dancing days are done // Another day, Bobby, for you to come // Home and tell me indifference // Is won, won, won”
Harry
Nozinja feat Tirzah, Mica Levi, & Mumdance, “Thinking Of You”
Sammy Bananas, “My Body”
Willem Dafoe, “Dress Rehearsal for Life And Death Of Marina Abramovic II”
I’m going to level with you I’m not entirely sure whether this feature is meant to be current to my week, orthe week—our week. Or tied together in some thematic way or whatever. What I’m going to do is share things that either are currently on a lot, or that crop up like totems throughout the years. The Nozinja track was introduced to me by my friend Alex recently, been a fan of Tirza for a while—love how she toys with the same line, and also love the Mica she’s been thinking of you line. Kind of like a musical-style conspiratorial, narrative chorus line. A saying-what-they’re-doing line. I’m trying my best (they point) He’s trying his best. The Sammy Bananas track is a super fun remix that has been a track for dancing in kitchens for years now—it’s goofy and silly and lots of fun. The video clip is from a rehearsal of that opera about Marina Abramovic that Anohni did the music for. It is William Dafoe singing a sad song of longing and pain, like a cat, over William Basinski’s Disintegration Loops. I like the way the peaks in his singing are tacked to an exaggerated hand motion. Good floor smoke too!
—Harry
Tom
Kanye West, “Through The Wire”
Oliver Coates, “Innocent Love”
AS Atlas, Amnesia Scanner
Follow Adult Jazz via Twitter.
