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Explaining the song’s conception, the band explains, “The first verse of ’Bayside Suicide’ is based off a dream one of our band-members had, it’s not exactly a story or one solid idea that’s been finalised, rather it’s the journey through the curious and odd parts of perception. When it came time to shoot the video, we wanted to follow on with the abstract ideas and dive right into that distorted reality while truly reflecting our musical style and us as a band – so we chose to convey a feeling of psychedelia, allowing the viewer to perceive and explore their senses aided by a cacophony of UV colour, dance and movement.”
Canberra four-piece Young Monks – Matt Santos (vocals), Sam Koster (guitar, vocals, production),Stephen Reinhart (guitar, keys, vocals), Tommy Caldwell (bass) – have spent the past three years creating and refining their infectious blend of neo-psychedelic rock, crafting trippy and adventurous musical odysseys influenced by artists such as Tame Impala, Glass Animals and The Avalanches. Amassing over 2.1 million streams and 50,000+ monthly Spotify listeners with fan-favourites ‘Bad Bad Freddy’ and ‘Jarmin In The Dark’, Young Monks have shared the stage with standout local artists including Ocean Alley, Hands Like Houses and Saskwatch.
South London’s Margot emerge with strikingly accomplished debut single Desensitised, a dream-pop lament to the repetitious nature of modern capital-city life.
From the opening guitar chimes onwards the touchstones to dream-pop artists old and new are apparent, yet there’s a unique thread running throughout, generated by the collective way the quintet create not only their music, but art and visuals as well.
Throwing their concrete surroundings into the hazy sounds, Margot bring routine realism to life: “Desensitised is about the commute to office blocks, and how its oppressive nature, from the geography to the lonely crowds, can infiltrate, misdirect and dowse appetite and ambition” explains vocalist Alex Hannaway “Writing the song was cathartic, an act of strength and perseverance, a determination not to become desensitised.”
Making a decision to be completely self-sufficient through the creative process, Margot record over long weekends at drummer Ben Andrewes’ place, in between working weeks. This DIY approach and the autobiographical realism are reflected in the subject matter of the songs.
Hannaway and Andrewes are joined by Albi Cleghorn (guitar), Rob Fenner (Guitar) and Michael Webb (bass).
Margot Online
Facebook // Instagram // SoundCloud
Kedr Livanskiy (real name Yana Kedrina) released her critically acclaimed debut full-length Ariadna via 2MR in the autumn of last year. The album is Kedr’s escape from reality. She was born into a shifting and critical time for Russia’s Soviet Union – old values had been exhausted and were anathematized because of reconstruction. A sense of displacement drove Kedr to find herself. ‘Ariadna’ repeatedly explores the imagery and ideas of romanticism, mythical and fairytale themes.
Her inspiration for this record comes from the Izhevsk (sometimes referred to as “the capital of Russian electronic music”) sound of the 80s, including groups like Stuk Bambuka V XI Chasov (Bamboo Crash at 11AM) and Samtsy Dronta. The movement in Russian experimental music is especially inspiring, with acts likes Valery Chkalov, Sergey Kuryokhin and Pop Mechanica; in general, the late-Soviet period was very inspiring with all its figures in music, cinema, their energy and their approach towards life and art.
Altopalo are an enigmatic new band opening fresh new avenues for music through their dizzying experimentalism. A foursome comprised of singer Rahm Silverglade, a solo artist in his own right releasing material through Terrible Records, and guitarist Mike Haldeman who’s cut his teeth in Moses Sumney’s band. In the rhythm section, Jesse Bielenberg and Dillon Treacy have played with Kevin Garrett and Amber Mark respectively, making Altopalo already sometime veterans of the New York underground scene.
Now they’re gearing up to release their debut album ‘frozenthere’ later this year, and it’s assuredly unlike anything else in the commercial landscape. They teased it with the release of their ‘Blur/FrozenAway’ single which was included in Pitchfork’s What’s Good playlist. A daring record which throws all caution to the wind to achieve its distinctive artistic vision. On their new single ‘(Head in a) Cloche/Pulp’ they’re continuing the steady pre-emptive rollout of their unearthly sound whilst reclaiming New York as the home of the avant garde.
Having started its life essentially as a full-throttle rock performance, the final cut of A-side ‘(Head in a) Cloche’ is a swarming five minute leviathan of sound and silence performed by a group who understand the spaces between sounds, and the protean and unworldly journeys music can take us on. ‘Pulp’ is even harder to categorise. Rahm’s pained and technically brilliant vocal never achieves a resolution, it withholds the satisfaction of a chorus or even a straightforward meaning to make for a raw and deeply haunting piece of music.
Altopalo explore the social anxieties around cutting-edge technology and further our understanding of the possibilities of music as a technological art. Their world is a strange and discomforting one, a mirror of our own, but through their incisive lyricism and freeform musical experimentation they open up rich and thought-provoking new prospects for contemporary music.
‘Cloche/Pulp‘ is out now on Samedi Records.
News on debut shows in New York and LA to follow shortly.
Cover art by Jackson Bernard // @felon_degenerate
altopalo: Facebook
Snail Mail today shares new single and accompanying video ‘Heat Wave’, taken from her hotly anticipated debut album Lush, out June 8th on Matador Records / Remote Control Records. “I’m not into sometimes”, sings 18-year-old songwriter and guitar virtuoso Lindsey Jordan in this show-stopping tour-de-force of infectious and affecting guitar pop. The video, directed by Brandon Herman, showcases Jordan’s formidable ice hockey rink chops, picked up during her days on the high-school team, while delving hauntingly into the psyche of growing up – with its paralysing insecurities, crushing lows and defiant highs. “I hadn’t actually been on skates since I quit the high school team junior year, so immediately jumping into shooting this was equal parts difficult and super fun”, Jordan says.
‘Heat Wave’ follows on the heels of the still-sizzling ‘Pristine’, which has garnered plays across BBC Radio 1 from Annie Mac (highlighting it as her ‘New Name’) and Huw Stephens (calling Snail Mail “one of the most talked about artists of this year’s SXSW”), 6 Music, Radio 2 and Beats 1, and selected by Pitchfork as their #5 track of 2018 so far. Tips by The Sunday Times ‘Breaking Act’ and The Observer ‘One To Watch’, profiles by the Washington Post, Billboard and Stereogum, and song picks in the cross-section of The Guardian, New York Times, Esquire, Dazed, i-D, Teen Vogue, Refinery29, Wonderland and many others – have further cemented Snail Mail as one of 2018’s hottest new artists.
Lush is a debut for the record books — a refreshing marvel of songwriting and technical composition, that’s both cohesive and explosive — from a white-hot young artist on the brink of something huge (and she’s only just graduated high school!).
Recorded with producer Jake Aron and engineer Johnny Schenke, with contributions from touring bandmates drummer Ray Brown and bassist Alex Bass as well, Lush sounds cinematic, yet still perfectly homemade.
Snail Mail – Lush is out Friday 8 June via Matador Records / Remote Control Records.
Following the release of the hypnotically crafted ‘Thus Must Rust’, Melbourne’s Lehmann B. Smithreturns with his uniquely romantic new single & video ‘Tropical’, featuring the effortlessly charming vocals of Sarah Farquharson, of The Finks. ‘Tropical’ is the second single to be lifted from Lehmann B. Smith’s forthcoming new record Poplar Music out Friday 25th May via Bedroom Suck / Remote Control Records.
Speaking of ‘Tropical’ Smith divulges “I wrote the music with Caetano Veloso’s ‘Tu Me Acostumbraste’ in mind, and then the lyrics in bed while it rained and I sat up in bed listening to it in the house alone. I took some trinkets from Joao Gilberto for the arrangement, and got Sarah to sing it to me. After that I tried to copy Serge Gainsbourg’s video clip for “Couleur Cafe”. Otherwise it’s one from the heart.”
Finding his greatest success as a sideman for bands like Totally Mild and Kes Band, Smith has often been described as a musician’s musician, an undiscovered talent. He is a prodigious songwriter, laboriously notating album after album of unreleased material and storing these away in his home studio for a rainy day.
With six diverse and critically acclaimed albums under his belt from The Big Dry (2009) to Thank God For My Body (2015), Smith is now gearing up to release his seventh album Poplar Music – written, arranged, recorded and played almost entirely by himself at this studio (reportedly somewhere in Ascot Vale). Praised as the suburban version of Prince on the outskirts of an Australian city, Lehmann B. Smith is a mystery, an enigma, something of a genius; his music will resonate in your head for days, and should you be lucky enough to witness a live performance – save that story for your children. You’ve heard ‘Thus Must Rust’, now lose yourself in Smith’s captivating second offering ‘Tropical’.
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Three years after presenting an original idea of arranging his own music live by using a standard DJ setup and a drum machine, Strahil Velchev alias KiNK is ready to premiere the very first EP-outing of his new project entitled kirilik.
Created with obscure studio equipment and backed by an array of sonics out of his extensive line-up of machinery, Kirilik successfully transfers to the record that unique level of levity and immediacy that his live act has already become renowned for. Loopy and thus infinite in nature, sometimes seemingly spiraling themselves out of control even, these tracks are as versatile as they are just fun to play around with!
Patrice Bäumel on April 29th
Berlin-based Mobilee Records, propierty of Ralf Kollmann, returns to Barcelonaon April 29th with its acclaimed annual rooftop event series, which will run through October 7th with highlight events during Sonar week in June.
Ralf Kollmann shared a few thoughts on Mobilee’s upcoming rooftop summer series:
“I am very excited for the next rooftop season in Barcelona. We have been coming back every summer for over a decade now and have seen the city’s face and party culture changing over the years. No doubt this city is the hot spot for electronic music on a same level as Berlin or London- just with better weather, view, spirit and architecture.
For the Mobilee events we decided to just bring one headliner DJ and let him take the audience on a journey in a very special and intimate environment. It’s gonna be an experience for the DJ´s and audience at the same time in this very special location on the top of The Gates Diagonal.”
The Gates Diagonal venue (formerly known as the Silken Diagonal) has undergone a complete renovation and will open its doors to the public first time on April 29. The parties are always intimate as the wood-paneled rooftop location includes a small pool and room for about 250 people.
Regarding the line-up Mobilee has announced that Patrice Bäumel, the renowned Dutch DJ and producer, will kick off annual rooftop series accompanied by Ralf Kollmann on April 29th. Patrice Bäumel will be followed by other outstanding artists such as Tim Green, Rodriguez Jr. -live-, Steve Bug, Radio Slave, Holmar, GHEIST, Timo Maas, dOP -live-, Matthias Meyer with more DJs to be announced soon.
Taking into account all what has been said, and waiting for news to come, there is no doubt that Mobilee rooftop series 2018 season will be the best.
All Sumer dates including Sonar 2018 specials at The Gates Diagonal Barcelona:
https://www.residentadvisor.
Tickets are also available on Xceed:
https://xceed.me/tickets-club/
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Photo Credit: Justin Singer
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“Children” leads off Chastity’s debut album, Death Lust, with a guitar tone that swims through concrete walls like liquefied stone. This is the kind of monotonic and massive riff that commands a legion to the front of the stage, raging in slow motion, as Williams coos over the beautiful bombast.” – NPR
Chastity (aka Brandon Williams) has released the politically charged video for “Children,” taken from the upcoming album Death Lust, to be released Friday, July 13th via Captured Tracks.
NPR premiered the powerful video for the song, saying “‘Children’ channels the outrage of a community into a beautifully shot video that spotlights both the vulnerability and the solidarity of youth.” The video is centered around an incident and events that followed in Williams home town of Whitby. An off-duty police officer named Michael Theriualt and his brother allegedly beat a young black man, Dafonte Miller, with a steel pipe while he was walking near his home which left the victim blind in one eye.
Speaking on the origin of and inspiration for the Justin Singer-directed clip, Williams (who wrote, cast and produced the video) reveals that “This is a close up on the practice of institutional racism that’s revealed itself in my hometown by members of the police. John, Christian and Michael Theriault, Toronto and Durham police are a threat to public safety. Black Lives Matter. How much do black lives matter to police?“
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Title: Worry ft. Victoria Zaro
Label: Physical Presents
Release date: 20 April 2018
A master at creating dreamy and meaningful dance music, Felix Cartal has done it again with his new track “Worry,” featuring Victoria Zaro. “It’s a slow day, running in place, trying to stay sane…” begin the lyrics, a phrase that continues on to the triumphant resolution “don’t let my worry’s weight hold me down“. Seemingly radiating summer vibes, “Worry” is the perfect vacation song or every day pick me up this season; empowering listeners as Felix says to “Embrace your worries as a sign that you care deeply about what you’re doing and move forward.” “Worry” is the track is the latest off of Felix‘s upcoming album, “Next Season,” and is out on Physical Presents. With his preceding hit “Faces,” the album is highly anticipated, so stay tuned for its release May 4th.
With his uniquely melancholic, yet dance-floor friendly sound, Felix Cartal has established himself as a force to be reckoned with in modern dance music. 2017 proved to be a monumental year for the songwriter and producer, who was included in Billboard‘s “13 Dance Artists Who Dominated 2017” feature and whose Spotify channel has amassed over 100 million streams. Felix‘s appeal lies in his ability to convey complex emotions through his music, like the hopeful angst of “Get What You Give,” leaving listeners with a positive emotional catharsis. To this effect, “Get What You Give” has soared to the #1 spot on Sirius XM Chill and rapidly climbed the US and international charts, becoming a Certified Gold record in Canada and named one of Billboard‘s “50 Best Dance/Electronic Songs of 2017.” The track recently earned nominations at the prestigious Canadian Juno Awards, for Dance Recording of the Year as well as Producer of the Year. Already in 2018, Felix has released 3 singles and an official remix for Wafia, all of which have topped the Hype Machine charts. With such immense recent successes, we can’t wait to see what’s next for Felix Cartal. Catch him live during his new residency at the famed Drai’s Beach Club in Las Vegas this spring and summer!
Jaala has today released her new record Joonya Spirit via Bedroom Suck / Remote Control Records. Catch her celebrate the album release tomorrow as she plays a whopping four in-stores for Record Store Day in Melbourne. Full details below.
Through your ears, deep in your mind, down in your heart, in a way you never knew you wanted, Jaalawill caress you and Jaala will entice you. Like the roots of a tree Jaala is ever growing, pruned only by themselves and never by the expectations of the public.
Since the release of Hard Hold they have transformed into a completely new animal, stylistically and literally. The addition of Carolyn Schofield (synth) of Fia Fiell has moved the band towards a more haunting, dreamy experimental pop movement as opposed to the guitar shredding melt your face prog rock vibes of yesteryear.
Vocalist/guitarist Cosima pay and drummer/genius Maria Moles stand firm with their intricately woven telepathy. The ornate and ever flowing creativity is still ubiquitous, only it feels different now, rather than falling down a beautiful waterfall into a pit of demons that become your mates it’s more like your feet have been confiscated at the same time as you’ve been given the ability to fly.
Keep your ears peeled for news on when their new album Joonya Spirit is taken live across Australia.
Purchase / Stream Joonya Spirit: https://jaala.lnk.to/
JAALA’S MELBOURNE RECORD STORE DAY TOUR
1.30pm – Greville Records
152 Greville St, Prahran
3.30pm – poison city records
400 Brunswick St, Fitzroy
4.30pm – Northside Records
236 Gertrude St, Fitzroy
6.00pm – Record Paradise
15 Union St, Brunswick
Jaala – Joonya Spirit is out now via Bedroom Suck / Remote Control Records.
French artist Brawther and his upcoming tour in Australia which also coincides with the release of his debut LP ‘Transient States’ at the end of this month.
April 27 – Revolver – Melbourne
April 28 – Sly Fox – Sydney
April 29 – Greenwood Hotel – Sydney
You may be more familiar Brawther’s dancefloor-focused collaborations with Tristan Da Cunha as Dungeon Meat. Outside of this, Brawther has built up a certified reputation via My Love is Underground, Secretsundaze, Cabinet, and his A&R skills for Chez Damier’s Courtesy of Balance Recordings.
‘Transient States’ is his first studio full length, and marks a decade of him making music. It ranges from house to dub, broken beat and downtempo, showcasing a concoction of deeply rooted works that journey through his influences. It’s a true labour of love, and marks the next stage in his ever evolving journey.
https://www.facebook.com/brawther/
“An intense performance that channelled parts of Tracy Chapman, Newton Faulkner and Benjamin Clementine.” – Secret Sessions
Listen To ‘Sunkissed’ here:
https://soundcloud.com/
Jay life has been far from ordinary. Not many people can say they spent 7 hours playing the guitar every day for an entire summer, but this is exactly what Jay did. Growing up in the cultural hub of South East London provided him with the inspiration he needed to kick-start his music career.
Jay left home at 17. Now 19, he lives on his own in Shoreditch. He was recently chosen as the face of Gibson Guitars latest campaign promoting busking in partnership with the Mayor of London.
But its live performance that really sees Jay come into his own. Monthly Airbnb events hosted by Jay have been selling out (he was the first ever artist to host and perform at ‘experiences’ for Airbnb travellers). Catch him live at the next event on April 26th, or at Pizza Express Soho on April 29th.
