Amid the coverage and self-congratulation analyses surrounding the Tampa GOP gathering, we were still able to find moments of levity. Things like learning that Romney is down with the Killers, or that big booty birthday cake from that 2Chainz and Kanye video, and Orbital performing with Stephen Hawking for the Paralympics Opening Ceremony. With a three day weekend ahead of us, you better believe we have a lot to cover to tide your over during the holiday, while take into account what you may have missed-in no particular order.
Having just released his new 12″ on Caribou's Jiaolong; Les Sins, the electro dance alter ego of Toro y Moi (aka Chaz Bundick) is crashing next Friday's edition of Push the Feeling with a DJ set plus a live performance from Silver Hands, residents YR SKULL and epicsauce DJs at Underground SF September 7. Fresh from the decks is the new Silver Hands track “Visions” of “wanting to be your girl” that will cover and surround you in a technicolor electric blanket of keyboard tones.
Next up is Thavius Beck's new instrumental cut “Imma Get So” which should get you grooving from the static zapped beats, keys, and bass bubbling like a boss frog belching on his lilypad. You will find Thavius's forthcoming LP, The Most Beautiful Ugly released September 11 from Plug Research, get your pre-order on here.
Elite Gymnastics rolled the dance beat dial from '12 to '92 on their hot new single “Andreja 4 Ever” fresh from the the Adult Swim single series. Dazzling us with elite time honed and honored production qualities that will make you yearn for a baggy fitted wardrobe and wondering whatever the hell you did those oversized Jncos and DIY houser cap freshly spray tagged from the mall.
Plastic Plates blew our board room discos up with the all sounds I didn't know I missed on the “Things I Didn't Know I Loved” Minimix from the debut EP under the same name, Things I Didn't Know I Loved, coming September 10 from Kitsuné.
Sic Alps are delivering their self-titled September 18 on Drag City but first made a pit stop to get their fab-four on with the video for “Glyphs”. Catch Sic Alps on tour with fellow Bay Area buddies Thee Oh Sees from September through November playing in your city or somewhere near there.
ESP's new video for “Serenade,” directed by the hyper-talented Alexandra Pelly pays homage to Yellow Magic Orchestra. Brother and sister duo Aska and Seiya Matsumiya recently released their 627 remix EP and have a split 10″ with friends UFO available now on Oh Wow. On their debut EP hot off the presses, the siblings enlist Bobby Evans to round up percussion and added electronics. Get in on all the bright lit stripes, disembodied singing lips, electrical pulses and Bobby's live drumming here.
Somewhere in the center of the space-time continuum 3:33 brings you the hallowed hip hop drums fuzzed and immmersed in spectral murmurs and sounds from the netherworlds. Or as the Robert W. Chambers quote goes; “There are ghosts of sound which return to haunt long after sound is dead.” Be afraid and plan your halloween accordingly as 3:33 will release In The Middle Of Infinity October 30 from Parallel Thought LTD/Alpha Pup.
The great Thrill Jockey has revealed the lineups for their 20th Anniversary Shows in LA and San Francisco featuring performances from Guardian Alien, White Hills, Man Forever, Hopscotch Festival appearances with more 20th Anniversary shows slated for both LA/SF this December.
Introduce yourselves to Atlanta's New Animal, with their new track “Falling Up” that has been on repeat here in the office. Kris Hermstad and Derek Burdette have been buds since middle school and began the creative process in 2010 where they assembled their first self-titled while continuing to work on their sound. On the B-side of their new single, the Southern duo take gravity's downward push and send it to space with a sound deserved of prime lineup placement in the festivals of fall. Their They Won’t Let Me Go single is out now on digital with the limited edition cassette coming soon with tape pre-orders available from Old Flame Records.
Bi-Polar Bear delivered the Mike & Lizzy directed video for “Been Hiding” with plush bear-headed adventures with paper hearts being held in hand. The duo is Gabe Karter, aka”Ug Orwell”, “Bum Uggy”, Andy Kaufman or “August” as he is known who are all bringing BPB's When Ledge is Home to you September 18 from Modern Shark.
Physical Therapy “Drone On (ft. Jamie Krasner)” gets the Supreme Cuts cut on the Supreme Cuts Mix. If you need more boss beats we highly advice the video for Krasner's original mix of “Drone On” here.
We have the first listen to Main Attrakionz's first joint off the new album, “Do it For the Bay” where they enlist fellow B'Area soldier DaVinci repping the Fillmore while big time producer Harry Fraud helps matters with horns, cascading organ vibes and more tricks. We are counting down the days until the “world's best duo” Main Attrakionz release the much talked about and prayed for, Bossalinis & Fooliyones on October 23 from Young One Records.
Mouse on Mars brought the visual treatment for “They Know Your Name” edited by Here's what MOM said about the video: “A few weeks ago, our friend Charles Baroud (Laboratoire d' Hydrodynamique (LadHyX) / Ecole Polytechnique) told us about his newest experiments: He is now able to color drops and stretch surfaces in a way that the colors don't leak and the drop keeps its form, even if mixed with other fluids. Those experiments are used for cell biology research, but also create – as a side effect – really esthetic and crazy patterns. When Charles sent us a few clips of his experiments, we immediately thought that those images would match our track “They Know Your Name” perfectly. Charles then bought a high res camera (he, as the boss of his lab, is allowed to do so) and recorded some really cool video clips of the red drop, which we lovingly babtized “Steve Verlaine”. We then asked Berlin based visual artists Pfadfinderei to get this material to swing.”
Melody's Echo Chamber, “I Follow You” directed by Laurie Lassalle giving some summer vibes to remember and hold on to as the seasons of harvest commence. Listen for track and more on MEC's self-titled album coming September 25 on Fat Possum and September 24 in the UK on Weird World.
Jacaszek drew the curtain and hit the play button on this previously unreleased number called “White Wind Dance”. An unreleased gem taken from the Glimmer sessions, it showcases Michal's ability to take stripped down bits of the victorian and the tragic opera baroque and record them as he moves them through the different rooms while continuing to channel classic samples through different broadbands of atmosphere. Glimmer is out now from Ghostly International.
Be a part of Prince Rama's upcoming video for “So Destroyed” by participating in a YouTube dance contest according to these rules from the Paw Tracks site: “Anyone can submit a youtube video of themselves dancing to the song. All videos will be reviewed by the band and the ones with the most destroyed dance moves will be compiled and featured in the official music video for the song. The grand prize winner will receive custom made Prince Rama dance shoes (designed by the band), a signed album, and a chance to perform the dance live on stage with the band.Please submit a private youtube link to:sodestroyed@paw-tracks.com.” Note that this contest ends September 24.
Get a listen to Lymbyc Systym's “Falling Together” get remixed by Zammuto with ak eyboard melding of the 8-bit fuzz and other assorted electrics. This is the second cut off of the forthcoming Symbolyst LP, coming September 18 from Western Vinyl.
Showbiz & AG “Every Time I Touch The Mic” featuring OC and Frank V with the first listen and fresh leak off their album “Mugshot Music”. Get a listen to the mic rocking legendary, unstoppable self-described world recognized team.
Eagle and Talon's Kim Talon is JAN, a solo outting that takes on the downtown 9 to 5 anxiety on “Work in the City”. For live appearances, Kim is backed by Smoosh's Chloe Saavedra and Har Mar's Melinda Parks and you will find the JAN self-titled album November 13 on Enclave.
LA trio Hello Echo just rolled through SF's Amnesia in support of their hot Coffee Cups EP on their West Coast tour. We invite those who don't 'get' the west coast garage scenes to listen further and challenge your preconceptions of what rocking out in 2012 going on 2013 is all about. We appreciate and dig what these dudes do.
Homeboy Sandman talks De La Soul, Tribe Called Quest, the state of radio today and an exploration of the semantics behind the slang of SWAG with a peep at his Queens with disc conductor and engineer ace Sosa. Homeboy Sandman's First of a Living Breed drops September 18 on Stones Throw.
Catch the macabre Screaming Females video for “Leave It All Up To Me” here off their new record Ugly out now from Don Giovani Records. Catch them on tour with fellow 90s sympathizers/survivors Garbage this late September onward.
Darkest Before Dawn is the Bay Area compilation that is bringing you the talent houses of Mistah Fab, The Jacka, Roach Gigz, DaVinci, DB The General, Erk Tha Jerk, iamsu!, Moe Green, Nio Tha Gift, Willie Joe, A-1, Young Gully, Shady Blaze, Symba, Zumbi, Richie Cunning & Cousin Fik, dropping October 4 as a partnership between hip hop site Thizzler On The Roof and C4 Belts. We got the Young Gully and Shady Blaze track here to hold you over through September featuring SMKA's smokey purple smoke beat with Gully racing Blaze's skills at rapid fire spit delivery.
7evenThirty rolls some truth with Erik L's beat bumping on “Mysterious Business (feat. Sleepy Will & Kamikaze)”. Heaven’s Computer arrives September 25 from your friends at the Mello Music Group.
Teen Daze remixed GRMLN's “Coral” this week with candy colored keys and lots of thumping synth bass, a few months ahead of GRMLN's debut EP Explore dropping October 23 on Carpark.
Now a word from Mr. MFN eXquire with “The Message” with production from with a sample cameo from NWA's “Dopeman” and some phat breaks produced by Blue Sky Black Death. Despite being a diamond in Brooklyn's rough and accusations of the media trying to suppress his message; Mr. eXquire includes the best sandwhich recipe we have heard in a long time with “lettuce, tomatoes melted pepper jack on top of salsalito turkey, mayo, mustard, fuck with that.”
Generationals have declared that their upcoming Lucky Numbers EP will grace our ears officially October 2 but present us with the title cut here. Despite the fact that both Grant Widmer and Ted Joyner grew up in New Orleans, this EP marks the first time they have recorded in their home town making this what many are calling their New Orleans record. On the Generationals homecoming we get some of the brightest glimpses of keys that are making our fall outlook looking very good indeed.
Almost inescapable from the mountains of buzz but EMI defector Sky Ferreira has been taking her sound into her own hands these days with a little help from a production team consisting of Dev Hynes and Ariel Rechtshaid, bringing you cuts to sum up the sentiments of the week with, “Everything Is Embarrassing”. Extra points for the slowed down vocal bits, built into the sparse production that gives this pop tune what we like to call arond the office, that 'trill-lite' quality.
Here we go again with more from our boy DaVinci bringing it back to '99 and sharing the paramount tri fecta on his mind with “Paper, Power, Pussy” off of D's upcoming LP, The MOEna Lisa coming October 17. Both the video and track were directed and produced by REL of Drums & Ammo as you get to kick it in the kichen, rooftop styles, downtown and studio wise with one SF's realest emcees.
With their new album around the corner, The Fresh & Onlys brings us their video for “Presence of Mind” directed by Dawn Carol Garcia. Not only is this one of our favorite new songs from SF's Onlys, and not only does it feature a green screened bus adventure of the surreal (with it's busl-line reading '7:30 yesterday') but wins a contender vote for the coveted best-puke-scene-in-a-music- video-from-2012 award. Look for the latest from the F&Os when Long Slow Dance gets released September 4 from Mexican Summer with a national tour beginning the day after running through the end of November.
Catch the video for John Cale's “Face to the Sky”, directed by Tom Scholefeild (aka KON OM PAX) from his forthcoming album Shifty Adventures in Nookie Wood coming October 2 on the Domino Records' imprint, Double Six. Trippy chess board visuals, exotic and/or interpretive dances and possibly one of the first times we have heard Mr. Cale treated with some slight vocal auto-tuning. But hey, who are we to judge or be mad at the alt-avante-master?
Frankie Rose's “The Fall” got the Fort Romeau remix treatment deluxe this week with some porchside faux marble hot tub dance track patterns. Frankie's new album Interstellar is out now from Slumberland / Memphis Industries.
Estonian songbird Maria Minerva dropped the classic sounding dub plate heavy weight “Fire” featuring a flow from Chase Royal that brings to mind 90s UK dancehall somehow. Ms. Minerva's Will Happiness Find Me is coming soon, specifically September 4 from Not Not Fun.
Get comfortable and get freash with the top ranking breakdancer Hurrikane breaking down 4 decades of dance in 2 minutes time. Despite this being a glorified Ubisoft game commercial, we here are just appreciative to catch moves like Skeeter Rabbit, Harlem Shake, Popping, the Dougie, Beat it Up and much more.
Julia Holter joins forces with visual director José Wolff again, who also worked on the visuals for “Sea Called Me Home”, crafts together the static faded video for “Goddess Eyes I”. In Wolff's own words, “The first thing that came to mind was an image that gradually deteriorates with visual noise, echoing the sonic noise present in the song, we go from lightness to darkness, away from a structured, fabricated place and into raw territory.” Julia Holter's Ekstasis is out now from RVNG Intl.
This just in, Blu & Exile are slated todo a live in-store performance at Stussy's Los Angeles store tomorrow, Saturday September 1. Limited edition B&E Stussy shirts will be on hand along with advanced copies of the upcoming album release of Give Me My Flowers While I Can Still Smell Them available everywhere officially September 4.
