Life is full of big decisions. Should you follow your favorite buzzsters from festival to festival or resign from it all and become a roadie for Dave Matthews? If Coachella's double weekend lineup bummer failed to excite, how about the Burning Man midlife crisis commune or an eye-opening journey to the Gathering of the Juggalos? The Paid Dues Festival presented by Living Legend Murs sounds happening as a post-SXSW party, but let us keep our focus on the big decisions of dropping tunes that the folowing people made in no particular order.
As Gauntlet Hair prepares to tour, they had their official tour song “Keep Time” remixed by Pressed And. Andrew Hamlet and Mat Jones are the remixing duo that latched onto the original track's tonal qualities to chop them into new sequences, making new utterances from tail ends of vocal deliveries and ultimately providing a fresh built structure that sounds like the support beams clanging into place at a construction site-turned-venue. Check your listings for Gauntlet Hair on the road and in a town near you.
photo by Eliot Lee Hazel
Light Asylum dropped their 12″ single for “Shallow Tears” this past Tuesday. The duo featuring Shannon Funchess and Bruno Coviello have worked with the likes of !!!, Teengirl Fantasy, Telepathe and are now getting their time to shine in the spotlitght. Big sentimental keys, kettle-barreled drums and over the top emotional deliveries. Light Asylum's self-titled debut comes out May 1 on Mexican Summer.
Autolux presents us with both a video and an art book while working hard in the studio on the follow up to Transit, Transit. The book contains stills from the featured Kill Pixie Art and Thomas McMahan animated video “The Science of Imaginary Solutions” released through All Tomorrow's Parties. Supplies are limited, explore ATP for further inquiries and enjoy the video here.
Orcas is the new collaboration from the Sight Below with Benoît Pioulard and Rafael Anton Irisarri and they are preparing their debut self-titled album on Morr Music. The two have released tracks and albums on Kranky, Ghostly, Miasmah, Room40, Touch and have arrived at Morr to make more electric-organic sounds for the thinking person. Listen to their track “Carrion” with the sparse piano, slow thumping beats on a low burn and ambient keys that lift upward along with the sleepy vocals. Orcas' self-titled comes out April 24 on Morr.
Young Magic's track “You With Air” got chopped up with the Galapagoose and Wooshie's Helium Flip remix. With their album Melt out this week, the Magic are preparing to take to their music to the roads including stops in Austin for SXSW. Check out how Galapagoose and Wooshie transform “You With Air” into steam driven beats that stomp as they are compressed amid slowed and sped up vocals.
Also get a listen to Young Magic's” Night In The Ocean (S.Maharba Serpent Love Song Remix)” that has been turning ears this week. The UK producer's remix turns the track into a clouded ambience that is begging to be rapped over by your favorite imaginary indie-alt-emcee.
Speaking of bands with 'Young' as prefix, Kanine records released the track leak “Four Hours(Away)” from Young Prisms a few days back with hype for their upcoming March 27 album release of In Between. Catch them headling at Cafe Du Nord February 22 with Melted Toys, Tambo Rays and Preteen as part of SF's Noise Pop festival.
Courtesy of Richard Perkins
And for your Valentine's Day hangover of sleeping with the laptop here is Mr. Muthafuckin' eXquire's “Unthinkable remeX.” Rapping about love lost next to Alicia Key's “Unthinkable” on Valentines along with giving us holiday gifts like that Merry eX-mas mixtape last year. Mr. eXquire proves that an emcee who keeps his fans in mind when ever a holiday rools around is an emcee that cares.
With the arrival of the second single “Break My Heart” from Katy Goodman's La Sera, Sees the Light is sounding like a wonderful, noisy affair. But rest assured that all the racket is from the guitars while Goodman's voice remain's unscathed by the treble wail or any effect nuisance. Sees the Light will be here March 27 from Hardly Art.
A.Dd+ released the ode to night before amnesia called “Shit Got Crazy” with word of a North American tour.
Paris Pershun and Slim Gravy are spreading the love of last year's When Pigs Fly and are coming to a town to a town year to keep 'ish nuts.
With the release of Fatal Lucciauno's Respect around the corner on February 21 from Sportin' Life Records, what better way to get in the Seattle swagger with “Reflection featuring the Good Sin.”
And if you need more of Mr. Lucciauno in your life, follow the flow of his “Disrespectful” freestyle here:
The 6 year wait for a new Mouse on Mars album is almost over – Parastrophics will be released February 28 on Monkeytown Records. Back in the day when the glitch movement was still just an oddity at the drum & bass farm, it is good to hear MOM still following their own electronic protocols to make music that sounds nothing like anything before it or perhaps after. Better still, Jan St. Werner and Andi Toma will be releasing 2 more songs before Parastrophics drops on the 28th, so keep your ears to the ground.
Pete Rock, Smif-N-Wessun featuring Memphis Bleek dropped a feel good video for “Top of the World.” Even if the week's end has you questioning your own game and baller status, let this collaborative trio boost your self-esteem to help you shine. Pete and SNW's Monumental is out now on Duck Down Records.
Because everyone likes something you can dance to on a Friday, here is Panama's track “Magic” remixed by Midnight Magic. Formerly The Dirty Secrets, the Australian quintet is releasing their debut single Magic March 2 digitally with another remix from Crystal Ark's Gavin Russom. All tracks were mixed by DFA's Eric Broucek.
In case you didn't get the tweet, the Rapture are back and just released this video for “In the Grace of Your Love.”
League510 gave us the valentine mixtape LoveMeSoSlowlyTenderKnockinCupcakinMusic through their Bandcamp. This is good for those that forgot to pick up a box of chocolates or rose bouquet, because what significant other would not what some East Bay area code swag in their life?
Tacocat lives the fancy free life of making music us folks outside of their Seattle home never get to touch. The single “Spring Break Up” comes just in time for our annual spring cleaning. The art of dumping the significant other should come equipped with that proper exit CD mix that includes frank and to-the-point lyrics like “Things fall apart, sometimes right from the start, it's sad but true, it's not me it's you.” Tacocat's newest EP Take Me To Your Dealer is slated for release March 13 from Hardly Art.
Alexander Spit released Mansions from his website post-Valentine's, which includes a host of atmospheric moods for you to select and enjoy in your everyday spaces. Recorded in Spit's apartment, he commands you all to listen, get on the wave, get trippy and vibe out to Mansions.
The new Selebrities 7-inch Night Heat has been given the release date of March 20 on Cascine with cinematic fanfair. The Brooklyn based Selebs take their sound back to the dawn of the blockbuster feature and the sounds surrounding them from that dawning of the '80s era. The bass keys, the illuminating taps of future keys, long distance guitars, and Maria Usbeck's vocals of carnal immediacy create the analogous elements for today's latenight newcomers lusty, hungry and looking for after-hours tunes in earnesty of uncontrollable urges.
Watch the Robert Paulin video for “Night Heat” featuring a kaleidescope of neon colors, lights and designs.
Evans the Death delivered a listen to “Telling Lies” a forthcoming single from their self titled due April 3 on Slumberland. Guitarist Dan Moss describes the back story to the song as a weird row over a friend's dishonesty over the contents of their breakfast: “Telling Lies' is about having such an inflated sense of self-importance that you relish deceiving others about things that make no difference whatsoever to their lives. I wrote it after a friend told me that he had eaten cereal for breakfast that morning, but later found the remnants of toast and scrambled eggs in his room and brought him up on it which lead to the admission that he was lying all along. I found this bizarre but then realized that I did it all the time too.” Both this 7-inch single and the band's self-titled are due April 3 from Slumblerland.
If electro remixes set to animated shorts sound like a good time, then we invite you to watch the Anthony Schepperd video for the Machinedrum remix of Bonobo's “Eyesdown.” This remix throws the original down a drum & bass tunnel while Schepperd's video creates an animated Gordon R. Dickson nightmare world. Bonobo's Black Sands Remixed is available now in the UK and arrives in North America February 21 on Ninja Tune.
Stalley released “97 Regal” this week as his fifth and final part of the series Songs by Me, Stalley. With Block Beattaz at the production helm, the beats stays smokey and is what you want to be bumping while pulling up to the valet at the club. Stalley will provide the release date for Savage Journey to the American Dream once he gets 50,000 followers on Twitter, from what we understand, so be a friend and a follower of the good man.
Fans of classical/psych guitar rejoice because Drag City will be releasing Sandy Bull & The Rhythm Ace, Live 1976 on March 27. If Sandy's progressive instrumental blends from Inventions, Fantasias to Demolition Derby have always left you wondering what more could have come from this extraordinary talent, then this is what you have been waiting for.
Lee Fields released his first single “You're the Kind of Girl” with the Expressions to start your weekend on a soulful, 'feel good' note. His up and coming record Faithful Man comes out March 13 on Truth & Soul Records but you can enjoy Fields' spring time breeze music now.
