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In 1973 Pacha landed in Ibiza during the much documented hippie movement- a small Ibizan finca located on the outskirts of the island’s original urban core and capital Ibiza Town. From a converted farmhouse to super club, Pacha humbly began life as the disco that soon became Ibiza’s most recognised and iconic club – a true dance music mecca and beacon of global bohemia.
Since the original boom of dance music in the mid 1980’s and transformation of the island into the ultimate clubbing destination it is known for today – Pacha’s brand has evolved immensely and embraced longevity with unrelenting passion. While the iconic red cherries can be seen around the world through hotels, restaurants and even its own record label, it is undoubtedly at its finest in its spiritual home of Ibiza.
Closing for the first time in decades this past winter to remodel, Pacha will pull down the curtain and reopen its doors on Friday May 4th. After months of suspense, a total of 6 opening parties are to be held during the first 3 weekends of May under the concept: All night long featuring headliners: Hot Since 82, Sven Väth, Seth Troxler, Dixon, Fatboy Slim and Solomun.
The many corridors, courtyards and dancefloors that make up one of the worlds most iconic clubbing complexes, complete with whitewashed walls and palm trees, have always referenced back to its routes as an Ibiza finca. As the 2018 season awaits, Pacha would like to dedicate this new era, above all, to the residents of the island. On May 4th, 5h, 11th, 12th and 18th the entrance will be free for them until 2:30AM. (With valid ID or residence certificate)
Pacha Ibiza’s redesign seeks to capture the excitement and experience between clubber and DJ; modifications including bringing the DJ booth to the dance-floor, simple in practice yet monumental in feel.
With the help of celebrated and awarded architect Juli Capella, the historic venue’s spaces, passageways and bar areas have been redesigned to operate smoother, while retaining the structures original opulent grandeur with a new sensitivity to the values of eco-design and sustainability. The clubs welcoming interior tone has been also restored with luminous Mediterranean colors, and other physical works, inspired by some of the most simple forms of the Ibizan constructions.
Most notably, the barrier of the clubs original elevated DJ booth has been overcome with a new position, now located in the middle of the dance floor. While this layout was presented during the Sunday residence of Solomun+1 last year, it is now a permanent change.
The architect Capella commented that “centering the cabin is the most natural way for the public and DJ to feel the greatest connection.”
During the first 3 weekends of May, in the company of Hot Since 82, Sven Väth, Seth Troxler, Dixon, Fatboy Slim and Solomun, Pacha invites you to experience the real essence and authenticity of Ibiza.
Pacha opens Friday, May 4th with Hot Since 82 all night long.
With their debut LP Their Prime due out May 25th via Sub Pop Records (Royal Mountain Records in Canada), Vancouver-based indie-punk quartet Jo Passed are sharing a new single & video for “Glass“.
Director John Mutter offers this of the video: “Members of Jo Passed’s lives are turned upside down when they receive some unwanted news. Can they conquer their fears and face their conflict head on?”
Jo has been part of the DIY music scene since his late teens. Initially it was just him and his high school best friend Elliot Langford against the world. They were the “freaky music weirdos” and they began their own band projects. Jo was pretty sure that it would be two of them riding into the sunset – or maybe the gloom – together. Personal circumstances and the phenomenon of the late 20s return of Saturn (for those who believe in astrology) got in the way. Their band Sprïng called it a day. That’s where the life of Jo Passed began. The idea of a band dynamic is far more appealing to Jo than solo projects, and the current incarnation of Jo Passed feels like its most robust yet.
Jo, along with his friend and drummer Mac Lawrie, moved across the country from Vancouver to Montreal. The two would play shows in Montreal and eventually tour the far right corner of North America. Upon Jo’s return to the west coast, multi-instrumentalist Bella Bébé officially joined the band in January of 2016, expanding Jo Passed from trio to a full quartet. Multimedia artist Megan-Magdalena Bourne began working with Jo Passed on a video project for the song “Rage” (from the Out EP). This creative partnership would eventually lead to her taking on the role of bassist for the band.
Their Prime is a record about identity and the loss of time that happens as a direct consequence of being in the city with nowhere to rent, no time outside of employment and no realistic expectations to live up to. It encompasses that fear of being beyond the glory years, the most creatively fruitful period of one’s life. Those years were lost to contemporary struggles for working relationships, home, identity and space. “It’s me owning my worst nightmare,” he admits. “A lot of the Jo Passed project has been about confronting fears. I was afraid to move away from Vancouver to Montreal on my own. Afraid to leave musical relationships I had. Afraid to bare the full responsibility of a project. I’ve been putting out records and not ones anyone’s necessarily heard. Being open about those fears is a good way of dealing with them. You end up at this point where you hit 30 and you’re like, ‘Oh what happened? Am I done? Did I not activate my main creative energy?’ It’s a ridiculous idea but 30 feels a little like 1000 in rock n roll terms.” You can hear the frustrations and the jitters in the crashing loud-and-quiet motifs throughout the album’s twelve tracks, which offer up a patchwork quilt of sound, similar to Faust’s IV or Fugazi’s Red Medicine.
Preorders for Their Prime are now available through Sub Pop and Royal Mountain Records. LP purchases in North America through https://megamart.
See Jo Passed live:
May 12 – Toronto, ON – The Garrison / CMW (Royal Mtn. Records showcase)
May 25 – Vancouver, BC – Red Gate Arts Society
May 27 – Oakland, CA – Starline Social Club
May 28 – Los Angeles, CA – Moroccan Lounge
May 30 – Phoenix, AZ – Valley Bar
May 31 – El Paso, TX – Lowbrow Palace
Jun. 01 – Austin, TX – The Sidewinder
Jun. 02 – Fort Worth, TX – MASS
Jun. 04 – Nashville, TN – The End
Jun. 05 – Durham, NC – The Pinhook
Jun. 06 – Washington, DC – DC9*
Jun. 07 – Philadelphia, PA – Boot & Saddle*
Jun. 09 – Allston, MA – Great Scott*
Jun. 10 – Providence, RI – Fete Music Hall*
Jun. 11 – Montreal, QC – Bar Le Ritz*
Jun. 12 – Ottawa, ON – Makerspace North*
Jun. 13 – Detroit, MI – Marble Bar*
Jun. 14 – Columbus, OH – Ace of Cups*
Jun. 15 – Cincinnati, OH – TBC*
Jun. 16 – Chicago, IL – Sleeping Village*
Jun. 17 – Milwaukee, WI – The Cactus Club*
Jun. 18 – St. Paul, MN – Turf Club*
Jun. 19 – Winnipeg, MB – The Good Will Social Club
Jun. 20 – Saskatoon, SK – Amigos
Jun. 21-23 – Calgary, AB – Sled Island Festival
Jun. 27 – Portland, OR – Mississippi Studios
Jun. 29 – Seattle, WA – Barboza
*w/ Dick Stusso
Jo Passed on Bandcamp
Jo Passed on Facebook
Jo Passed on Twitter
Jo Passed on Instagram
Jo Passed on Sub Pop Records
head’s a target
actin’ real feminine
make ’em vomit
‘Power’ is the debut album from Lotic, due for release on July 13th via Tri Angle Records. It is an expansive exploration of the many ways in which power can be expressed and experienced.
Today we share the first track “Hunted,” quoted above, which returns the colonial gaze with an arched eyebrow and a hushed chant in one of the more pop-leaning moments on the album.
Those familiar with Lotic’s two 2015 EPs — ‘Heterocetera’ (Tri Angle) and ‘Agitations’ (Janus) — will trace a warm-blooded evolution: ‘Power’ retains the Berlin musician’s inquisitive intensity, while mining the depths of nuance like never before. Across its 11 songs, Lotic stretches their wings into unexpected new spaces, both compositionally, and, for the first time, vocally.
“It originally started as an empowerment album,” says Lotic. “I felt that I needed to offer something outside of myself, as sort of a healing moment. And then I lost my apartment. Mentally, I could only work on music once every three months or something. The question of what would be empowering — the answer to that changed so often over a two-year period. I had to figure out who I was all over again. With this record, I went back and incorporated all of my musical selves.”
Lotic was born in Houston and studied electronic music composition and saxophone at university. They moved to Berlin in 2012, where they helped form the Janus club collective. In 2015, they were commissioned to create two remixes for Björk’s ‘Vulnicura’, and subsequently were invited to be the opening act at her live show in Berlin.
‘Power’ is grounded by Lotic’s love of Texan marching bands — “Beats and drumming are so integral to black culture,” they explain — and was in part inspired by Ta-Nehisi Coates’s Between The World And Me.
As well as being available digitally, ‘Power’ will also be released on limited edition vinyl, housed in a die cut sleeve designed by Marwan Kaabour, and will feature a vinyl only exclusive track called ‘Burn A Print’. The album artwork was shot my acclaimed director and photographer Matt Lambert, styled by Rich Aybar and features Lotic wearing clothes designed by Iris Van Herpen.
Per a recent announcement, Lotic’s pronouns are they/them.
‘Power’ track list:
1. Love and Light
2. Hunted (Soundcloud)
3. Bulletproof
4. Distribution of Care
5. The Warp and the Weft
6. Resilience
7. Fragility
8. Nerve
9. Heart
10. Power
11. Solace
Vinyl-only bonus track: Burn A Print.
‘POWER’ album artwork: pictured above. Higher res here.
Links:
‘Power’ iTunes: https://
‘Power’ Bandcamp: https://
‘Power’ Spotify: http://open.
Lotic on Facebook
Lotic on Twitter
Lotic on Instagram
LONDON – KOKO, 19TH JUNE
MANCHESTER – GORILLA, 20TH JUNE
plus
DOWNLOAD FESTIVAL – 9TH JUNE
SUPPORTING GUNS N’ ROSES ON THE MAIN STAGE
PLAYING FOUR SOLD OUT HEADLINE SHOWS
AT THE ROXY, LOS ANGELES IN MAY
SUPPORT ON FOO FIGHTERS’ CONCRETE AND GOLD TOUR
WATCH THE VIDEO FOR ‘ONE NIGHT ONLY’ HERE
Having sold-out their forthcoming four-night residency at the legendary Sunset Strip venue The Roxy in L.A. at the end of May in just a matter of hours, British rockers The Struts have now announced two shows in London and Manchester this June, alongside their long-awaited return to Download Festival.
The explosive four-piece last played in the UK in September 2017, to a packed-out Electric Ballroom in London, with rave reviews from the likes of Kerrang who described the gig as“a real turning point in the glistening rockers’ career”, and the Daily Star who claimed that“singer Luke Spiller certainly does have moves like Jagger, and gives him a run for his money in the costume change stakes too.”
And now – following their main stage slot at Download Festival on June 9th supporting Guns N’ Roses, who they have played many shows with around the world previously – they will play London’s KOKO on June 19th and Manchester’s Gorilla on June 20th.
Frontman Luke Spiller said of the upcoming shows, “Can’t wait to be playing in our native country to give our fans what they deserve. The best show they will see all year. This one’s for you. See you there x.”
Tickets for the headline shows go on sale on Friday 20th April at 9am viahttps://www.livenation.co.uk/
The Struts head off on their second run of dates with Foo Fighters in the US on the band’s Concrete And Gold tour this week and running throughout April, before they start their own headline tour of the US culminating in their four sold out shows at The Roxy in L.A. They then head to Europe for high-profile festival appearances in France, Norway, Belgium and Austria alongside their UK performances.
The band’s highly anticipated second album will be announced soon.
‘SKYLINE’
FEATURING:
JAY AJAYI | JAY PRINCE | RENZ | FAYE MEANA
Stream on Audiomack
*Also available on all other major streaming platforms
“Called SKYLINE, the short and sweet new project features four brand new tracks from four artists creating waves in the UK.”
-GRM DAILY
“Produced by Audiomack Creative Director TGUT, Jay Prince’s ‘Tell Me’ is a slow-burning rap anthem with a sunny disposition, perfectly suited to counteracting the winter freeze.”
-COMPLEX
“Audiomack is overflowing with would-be-stars”
-FADER
“While Audiomack lacks the name recognition and overall brand awareness, high profile and fully sanctioned features involving known quantities like Chief Keef and Migos undeniably help that cause.”
-FORBES
Earlier this year, New York based music platform Audiomack introduced the first glimpse into an international music series with new single “Tell Me” Ft. Jay Prince off the ‘Skyline’ EP. Out today, the ‘Skyline’ EP was produced in London by Audiomack Creative Director and rising NYC producer,TGUT. Audiomack reached out to their favorite artists from the London community to collaborate on the four-track EP that features Jay Prince, RENZ, Faye Meana, and a drop from 2018 NFL Super Bowl Champion Jay Ajayi.
Opening with London-born Ajayi, the star Eagles Running Back introduces the listener to the project with a set of bars that channel his experiences growing up in the UK. Delving into the remainder of the record, Jay Price hops on TGUT’s downtempo production “Tell Me” that splices trap music inspired 808 and a heavy bass low-end, and ultimately infuses the project with its underlying American Hip-Hop sound. Up next, South-London rapper Renz jumps onto transnational dance-hall and afrobeat single “3am” whose wine-encouraging bass line proves worthy of worldwide club play. Closing out the record, 20-year-old singer / songwriter Faye Meana taps into her renowned vocal chops for a poignant performance on the soul influenced R&B slow jam.
The ‘Skyline’ EP represents the first piece of a to-be-continued international music series were Audiomack will tap up and coming local artists to compile unique projects around the world.
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Bury Tomorrow have announced the release of their fifth album (and first for Music For Nations / Sony Music Australia), Black Flame, on July 13th.
The band, who have this week been inviting fans to ‘Claim Their Flame’ via http://www.bury-tomorrow.com.
By whatever measure you care to use, Bury Tomorrow are among modern British metal’s upper echelon.
Long since established as one of the UK’s most successful heavy exports, the Hampshire quintet have performed on main stages at virtually every major European festival you care to name, racked up millions of YouTube views, scored two top 40 UK albums and sold tens of thousands of tickets to their incendiary live shows in the process. Shows which combine a passion, precision and uncompromising aggression that has become both a trademark and a badge of honour.
That they have achieved all of this, and much more besides, not by following trends or jumping from bandwagon to bandwagon, but by sharpening to a diamond-cut point their brand of punishing, yet effortlessly melodic heaviness, speaks of a character that few bands of any genre could hope to match.
Indeed, it is this character, this unwavering spirit, that has earned them one of the most rabidly dedicated, dye-in-the-wool fanbases in the whole of rock music. A fanbase which has seen the band grow steadily across four pulverising records of unerring quality and ever-expanding ambition.
But something is about to change for Bury Tomorrow – the embers of steady growth are about to ignite into something much, much larger. The band pouring petrol on the blaze and starting an out and out inferno. ‘Black Flame’ is here, and it’s a record, and a movement, that’s going to spread like wildfire.
NICOLE MILLAR announces debut album ‘Excuse Me’
Released June 1 – Pre-order HERE
National tour through June
Nicole Millar is ready to unveil Excuse Me, her much anticipated debut album, on June 1st. It’s the product of two years of life, a whole lot of growth and a rollercoaster of emotions. Excuse Me charts everything from admitting your faults and owning your shit to wild nights with best friends and the bittersweet parts of love, lust and relationships.
The album features Nicole’s hit singles ‘Signals’ and ‘Blindfolded’ as well as her new 80s-inspired release ‘Gimme A Break’, an anthem-in-wait for women who want to go their own way and won’t be tied down. Excuse Me also features collaborations with two of music’s best upcoming names, Sydney pop identity Muki (who features on ‘Pink Sundae’) and Bay Area’s HENO (on ‘Sign Me Up’).
Pop music with bite and electronic production collide on Excuse Me – some of the tracks are tributes to getting rowdy with girlfriends or daydreams about wanting to be rich in New York, others are eyerolls at fake people, button-pushing boyfriends and ex-lovers. They’re all feisty, fun and made up of real, relatable feelings.
Nicole wrote on every song on the album, working with producers Sable, Dan Farber, Hoodboi, xSDTRK and Kyle Shearer to bring her words to life in studios between Sydney, Stockholm and L.A. Every song is a piece of her history, the work of a woman who’s found her sound and is sure of herself. For Nicole, the vision was to create music that’s “pop, but not”.
“I can’t help it, but I write about boys and love and problems,” Nicole laughs. “But I’ve had so many EPs where it’s mainly just me writing about boys, so I wanted to write some songs about other fun stuff too. I’m confident with myself on the album, and even the love songs are a bit cheekier … I had a lot more fun with these songs.”
Things have been non-stop for Nicole Millar since she broke through as the voice of Peking Duk’s ARIA-Winning, triple j-conquering, three times Platinum hit ‘High’ in 2014 and stepped out as a solo artist. Her debut EP release, 2016’s Tremble, went Gold in Australia and amassed a cool 8 million spins on Spotify. As well as scoring massive radio play with ‘Signals’ and ‘Blindfolded’, Nicole’s been picked to tour with Troye Sivan, support SZA and fit in sets at Splendour in the Grass. 2018 is sure to be her biggest year yet!
‘EXCUSE ME’ TRACKLISTING
- Signals
- All My Issues
- Buttons
- No Strings
- Gimme A Break
- Pink Sundae (feat. MUKI)
- Blindfolded
- Money
- Real Connection
- Sign Me Up (feat. Heno)
- No Tears For Free
DELUXE TRACKS
- Dot
- Secret
- Tremble
- On Rewind
To celebrate the release of ‘Excuse Me’, Nicole will be taking the album on the road with her live band through June, presented by triple j, dates as follows:
FRI 8 JUNE – KAROVA LOUNGE, BALLARAT
Tickets available from www.oztix.com.au | 1300 762 545 | All Oztix Outlets
SAT 9 JUNE – NORTHCOTE SOCIAL CLUB, MELBOURNE
Tickets available from www.eventbrite.com.au | All Eventbrite Outlets
SUN 10 JUNE – WRANGLER STUDIOS, MELBOURNE [U18’S MATINEE]
Tickets available from www.oztix.com.au | 1300 762 545 | All Oztix Outlets
SAT 16 JUNE – THE FOUNDRY, BRISBANE [U18 MATINEE]
Tickets available from www.oztix.com.au | 1300 762 545 | All Oztix Outlets
SAT 16 JUNE – THE FOUNDRY, BRISBANE
Tickets available from www.oztix.com.au | 1300 762 545 | All Oztix Outlets
FRI 22 JUNE – THE BEERY, TERRIGAL
Tickets available from www.eventbrite.com.au | All Eventbrite Outlets
SAT 23 JUNE – OXFORD ART FACTORY, SYDNEY [U18’S MATINEE]
Tickets available from www.moshtix.com.au | 1300 GET TIX | All Moshtix Outlets
SAT 23 JUNE – OXFORD ART FACTORY, SYDNEY
Tickets available from www.moshtix.com.au | 1300 GET TIX | All Moshtix Outlets
FRI 29 JUNE – ADELAIDE UNI, ADELAIDE [LIC/AA]
Tickets available from www.oztix.com.au | 1300 762 545 | All Oztix Outlets
SAT 30 JUNE – JACK RABBIT SLIMS, PERTH
Tickets available from www.ticketbooth.com.au | All Ticketbooth Outlets
For tickets and touring information head to www.nicolemillar.com.au
Download / stream ‘Gimme A Break’ HERE
Pre-order deluxe version of ‘Excuse Me’ HERE
Access media assets HERE
FOLLOW NICOLE MILLAR:
Instagram: @NicoleMillar
Facebook: @NicoleMillar
Twitter: @nicolemillar
Photo Credit: Ali Lander
ANNOUNCE THIRD ALBUM LO LA RU OUT JUNE 29TH
NEW SINGLE OUT NOW ‘NEVER EVER (FEAT. SARAH)’
The Rubens have announced their third album, LO LA RU – a bold and confident record that effortlessly picks up from where their worldwide hit single ‘Hoops’ left off. The album is out Friday June 29th and is available to pre-order now.
To coincide with the announcement, the group are incredibly excited to release the powerful new single, premiered via triple j’s DRIVE program, titled ‘Never Ever’ featuring Sarah Aarons – a relatable and heart wrenching tale with Sam Margin and Sarah’s voices acting as yin and yang, so different, but so perfectly matched and harmonious within the track.
When Elliott and Sam Margin got an email letting them know that ARIA Award winning, Grammy Award nominated songwriter Sarah Aarons was going to be in Sydney for the holidays, was a fan of theirs and was keen to write a song with them, the guys thought“why not”. At that point, they were on their way to Brooklyn to put the finishing touches on their highly anticipated third album.
The band went into the studio with no expectations. In their mind, the album was done and whatever came out of the session would be an experiment in collaboration, something new for the band, or, much like Sarah’s long list of songwriting credits (LDRU/ZEDD & Alessia Cara/Dua Lipa/Jesse Ware), something for another artist to use.
Elliott said of the collaboration: “The day we met Sarah in the studio, she told us that her Grade 10 teacher introduced her to our song ‘Lay It Down’ and that is what inspired her to do music in Year 11 & 12. We were pretty blown away with that; a good sentiment to start writing a song together.
We actually thought with the album completed we would be writing a song for someone else. The main chord structure and melody was something I had been fiddling with for a while but couldn’t find the words or story for. After meeting Sarah and having a chat we got stuck into the song, started throwing ideas around. Pretty quickly we realised it needed to be a duet and from there the story started to take shape.
The song became about these two lovers caught in the moment as their relationship drops away. There’s to-ing and fro-ing as they pass blame and second guess their actions before they realise that what they had is already over.”
It wasn’t until the song sat with the band for a few days that they realised just how ‘Rubens’ the track was, and just how much they wanted it on their third record, LO LA RU.
On LO LA RU The Rubens used the success of single ‘Hoops’ as an opportunity to spread their creative wings, pushing their music into new territory that is exciting for them, and hopefully by extension, their audience as well.
The story of the album began at the 2013 Laneway Music Festival, where The Rubens befriended NYC rapper EL-P (Run The Jewels) and his band, which included his Run The Jewels producers/collaborators, brothers Wilder Zoby and Lil’ Shalimar (aka Torbitt Schwartz). In 2017, this friendship turned into a musical collaboration when both producers flew out from the bustling streets of New York City to the band’s newly created recording studio, housed in a World War II communications bunker in the outskirts of Camden in Sydney’s deep South West. It was here that LO LA RU came to life.
Indeed, LO LA RU presents a fully realised sound that picks up on the r ‘n b and hip hop influence that was hinted at on songs like ‘Hoops’, ‘Bitter End’, bringing those stylistic references to the fore, without losing any of the soulful warmth that typified their earliest tracks like ‘Lay It Down’ and ‘My Gun’ and won them the adoration of fans all over Australia and the world.
2018 has already been a huge year for the group. After last year’s October release of the exuberant party jam ‘Million Man’, the first taste of LO LA RU, the band played to local audiences at the likes of The Sydney Opera House and The Forum before embarking on a global tour – one that saw the band sell out shows in Vancouver, Toronto, and Chicago. At the beginning of this month, the band played the London date of their tour to a packed out and ecstatic The Scala.
Indeed, the band are back and eager to build on the excitement of their first two albums,The Rubens & Hoops, that have gone Platinum and Gold respectively in Australia. 2018 is set to be a big one for The Rubens – with more exciting news to be revealed soon!
| Listen here: https://ffm.to/sweetdecay
A beautifully wholesome homage to love in its purest and fullest form Billboard Ciaran Lavery has released his new album Sweet Decay, via AllPoints (James Vincent McMorrow, Novo Amor, Anna Leone). The album includes the singles 13 and To Chicago. A master of music and words that sear into where it hurts the most, (No Depression) Lavery has already become an acclaimed singer-songwriter in his native Ireland. Hailing from Aghagallon in County Antrim, he received the Northern Ireland Music Prize for his 2016 album Let Bad In. This years follow up Sweet Decay is a self-reflection on personal growth. Featuring performances by Saint Sister (vocals), Rory Doyle (drums Hozier, Bell X1), Joe Furlong (bass James Vincent McMorrow) and more, and produced by GRAMMY Award winner Ruadhri Cushnan (Mumford & Sons, Luke Sital-Singh, Half Moon Run, Ed Sheeran), Lavery describes the album as the sound of pure catharsis. Since the release of the latest single 13, Laverys total Spotify stream count has surpassed 80 million, as the song has amassed over 170,000 streams to date. Consistently hailed as an artist defying the stereotypical singer-songwriter archetype… [with] glints of brilliance (Irish Times), Lavery will be touring the UK and Europe throughout April and May in support of Sweet Decay. For more information please visit www.ciaranlaverymusic.com Sweet Decay track listing: 1. Everything Is Made To Last |
With their new album ‘Panic Blooms’ due out on May 4th via Rad Cult, Black Moth Super Rainbow, fronted by TOBACCO, are sharing a new video & single “Backwash“. The band have also just announced their first ever UK lives shows where they will be supporting Nine Inch Nails in London at Meltdown Festival & at the Royal Albert Hall.
A limited editon 7” of the new single “Backwash” is out this week for Record Store Day, which also features Mike Watt & Flea and K doing a cover of BMSR’s song “Drippy Eye”.
BMSR frontman TOBACCO, also known as Tom Fec, shared the following on the visuals for “Backwash“, “The story is a super typical display of the relationship cycle in america. It’s how everyone I know got together so just wanted to honor them.”
If you haven’t panicked lately, you’re either blissfully ignorant or have gone completely clear. For the rest of us attempting to navigate the political, economical, and cultural carnage, Edvard Munch’s “The Scream” succinctly captures the statue of psychic dislocation. Or N.W.A.’s “The Panic Zone.” Or Black Moth Super Rainbow’s Panic Blooms, the latest disorienting dystopian masterpiece from the experimental pop arsonists that haunt the black-leaved Pennsylvania woods.
For the last decade, BMSR and frontman TOBACCO have explored the periphery of evil and extreme color, alternating between absurdly bright beauty and the slashed throat sinister. A sound impossible to replicate, as though it burst fully formed from a paisley-painted fire hydrant stationed in hell. They combine the aesthetically gorgeous with the hideously ugly to create a psychedelic uneasiness usually only seen in old oil paintings. What if Goya or Bosch made ravaged vocoder pop? Or a neo-impressionist painter committed himself to creating slow woozy earworms so iridian and vivid you’d think he sliced off an ear in the process.
We know scarcely anything personal about TOBACCO. There’s his government name, Tom Fec. A few photos if you want to Google, most of them in a mask. He’s done enough interviews where he patiently breaks down the creative process and the ideas espoused, but has mostly resisted the soul-snuffing admissions expected from contemporary musicians. In that vein, he’s closer to a Boards of Canada, DOOM, or Aphex Twin—periodically visible but opaque—emotional but unwilling to exploit the self-mythology and cult that cropped up around him.
So maybe this is why Panic Blooms is slightly startling. Never before has TOBACCO been so raw or direct in his lyrics. It’s a fucked up and bleeding account of depression and the shadow side of human frailty, full of gorgeous warped melodies that exist as their own genre, somewhere between late 90s Warp Records, dub, and chopped and screwed codeine drip. It’s not drug music, it’s dragged music, oozing through the muck of the present moment, past mutating the present, demon melodies filtered through the vain search for light.
Encoded in a syrupy fog, TOBACCO’s lines stab with more ferocity than ever before. From the first track, the knives are out and slashing with chimerical violent imagery: mouths bleeding from razor blades stashed in tangerines and the ominous sensation of feeling haunted. There are sunset curses and diseased plants, sunburn fevers and doomsday downgrades, pink apocalyptic suns and sinister omens. It’s reminiscent of the phrase used to describe surrealism: as beautiful as the chance encounter of a sewing machine and an umbrella on an operating table.
Here we are in 2018, inhabiting a tumorous wasteland with singed nerves and synapses fried from scrolling for far too long. This is what the fear sounds like in its most pristine form. The floral bloom and the toxic wilt, the sound of dreams and nightmares reaching détente, a ride through the void, where the fumes offer all the anesthetic you need.
See BMSR live:
31/5 WASHINGTON, DC Black Cat
1/6 PHILADELPHIA, PA Union Transfer
2/6 NEW YORK, NY Music Hall of Williamsburg
3/6 BOSTON, MA Brighton Music Hall
14/6 CINCINNATI, OH Urban Artifact
15/6 DETROIT, MI El Club
16/6 CHICAGO, IL Metro
17/6 COLUMBUS, OH Skully’s Music Diner
22/6 – LONDON, UK, Royal Festival Hall – Meltdown Festival*
24/6 – LONDON, UK Royal Albert Hall*
25/6 – Paris, FR Olympia*
27/6 – Amsterdam, NL AFAS Live*
10/8 PITTSBURGH, PA Mr. Smalls
11/8 LOUISVILLE, KY Headliners
12/8 ASHEVILLE, NC Orange Peel
14/8 AUSTIN, TX Mohawk
15/8 HOUSTON, TX White Oak Music Hall
17/8 ATLANTA, GA Masquerade (Hell)
18/8 NASHVILLE, TN Mercy Lounge
* – supporting Nine Inch Nails
‘Panic Blooms’ artwork:
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Good Morning – ‘Just A Man’
Stream / Download via https://goodmorning.lnk.
Good Morning – Prize // Reward is out Friday 11th May via Bedroom Suck / Remote Control Records.
Been Djing for nearly two years at the time I was opening my horizons to lots of house music and electro beats. So very housey drum beats and staby chord lines were things that influenced me from the dj side of things but before I started listening to house music I really enjoyed some ambient and moody tracks from producers like Taylor Mcferrin, King Kurle and Tame Impala so there is some influences from these acts I still listen to all the time.
HomeTurf started after seeing a bunch of local talent around me not getting gigs because they didn’t know how to get bookings or where not involved in crews. So I just started running events with my friends and local artists. Then we went a step further doing free mixtapes of producers tracks as a hub to support and showcase some of their talent.
What do you have planned for the rest of 2018?
Melbourne is overfilled with places to hang out and eat but I’d say Favourite bar : Palm Royale – Little cocktail bar in richmond that plays some disco tunes, knows my drink orders ( A Harvey Wallbanger with pineapple Juice) and has a tiki theme decor. Very Van Oasis style. Favourite club : New Guernica – a cozy and interesting club with decor that changes as you walk through. One room is a Carnaval theme dance floor the other a Kitchen rave room, another a private country club quarters where you can have private conversations and relax, and favourite Food spot in Melbourne : Lazer Pig – Wood fire pizza with amazing choices I go there maybe every month with my girlfriend.