Alexander Laurence's Blog, page 1185

June 18, 2020

Pixies + Bossanova 30th + Limited Red Vinyl Edition

PIXIES ANNOUNCE "BOSSANOVA"30TH ANNIVERSARY LIMITED RED VINYL EDITION Pre-Sales Begin Today LOS ANGELES, CA - Thursday, June 18, 2020 - 2020 marks the 30th anniversary of "Bossanova," the third studio album by Pixies, originally released on August 13, 1990.  To celebrate "Bossanova" hitting its third decade, 4AD will release a limited red vinyl edition on August 7, complete with the original 16-page booklet that was previously available only with the initial UK LP pressing.  Pre-orders can be placed now; go HERE for purchasing details.
Produced by Gil Norton, with whom the band - Black Francis (guitar, vocals), Joey Santiago (guitar), Kim Deal (bass, vocals), David Lovering(drums) - collaborated on their Platinum-selling second album  "Doolittle," "Bossanova" was recorded in Los Angeles as opposed to Pixies' Boston base (with the exception of the track "Blown Away" that was recorded at the Hansa Tonstudio in Berlin during a European tour in 1989).  The album features the singles "Allison" (a tribute to jazz and blues pianist Mose Allison), "Dig For Fire," and "Velouria" (#4 on Billboard's Alternative chart), plus the first cover to be included on a Pixies' album, "Cecilia Ann" (originally by The Surftones).  "Bossanova" showed a less primal side to the band, with surf and space rock rising to the fore.  Lyrically, Black Francis is even more cryptic with a recurring sci-fi theme running throughout, which in turn influenced Vaughan Oliver's classic planet design for the cover.
As one journalist put it, "'Bossanova' is a powerful time machine.  Listening to the album, one gets flashbacks of what the '90s sounded, looked and felt like.  Even though the decade was far from perfect, it was filled with a feeling of curiosity and optimism - especially regarding the future and its technology.  Listening to 'Bossanova,' one is reminded that the world is a more vital place when people are allowed to dream big, fantasize, and be a little bit crazy."
Pixies 1990
L-R:  Kim Deal, Joey Santiago,
David Lovering, Black Francis
Photo credit:  Kevin Westenberg














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Published on June 18, 2020 09:25

SOCCER MOMMY + MGMT’S ANDREW VANWYNGARDEN Release Remix + Cover for Singles Series

CONTINUES SOCCER MOMMY & FRIENDS SINGLES SERIESWITH MGMT’S ANDREW VANWYNGARDEN LISTEN:Gentle Dom (Andrew VanWyngarden of MGMT) “circle the drain” REMIXSOCCER MOMMY’S COVER OF “INDIE ROKKERS” All net profits from Bandcamp sales to National Bail Out & Oxfam’s COVID-19 Relief Fund(Soccer Mommy credit: Brian Ziff + Gentle Dom credit: Courtesy of Artist / download high res HERE)
Soccer Mommy—twenty-two year-old Sophie Allison—continues her Soccer Mommy & Friends Singles Series today with Gentle Dom, a.k.a. Andrew VanWyngarden of MGMT. Following releases with Jay Som and Beabadoobee, Gentle Dom remixes Soccer Mommy’s “circle the drain,” while Sophie covers MGMT’s “Indie Rokkers.” Check out the releases now HERE, and stay tuned for the final installment of the series, featuring SASAMI, out on July 2nd.
“I love MGMT so it was hard to pick a song to cover,” says Allison. “They have so many great ones. I ended up choosing ‘Indie Rokkers’ because I thought it would fit my voice and my style the best. I also just thought it’d be cool to do a deep cut since a lot of people have already covered some of the bigger MGMT songs.” VanWyngarden adds, “V psyched to try out adding some additional seasoning to the already tasteful sounds of Soccer Mommy. With the proceeds going to great organizations like Oxfam COVID relief and The National Bailout fund, it made it even more spicy"
The Bandcamp net profits from the​ Soccer Mommy & Friends Singles Series ​will go to ​Oxfam's COVID-19 relief fund​ and ​National Bail Out​, to help combat both Coronavirus and the important fight against police brutality and systematic racism. Oxfam has an anonymous donor who will match every dollar raised for them by this series, up to $5000, which will double the impact of your purchase.(Single artwork by Abigail Porter - download HERE)
Soccer Mommy released her triumphant sophomore album, color theory, earlier this year via Loma Vista Recordings. What followed was mass critical acclaim, performances opening for Bernie Sanders, numerous upcoming headline dates sold-out months in advance, confirmed festival slots at the likes of Glastonbury, and her late-night debut on Jimmy Kimmel Live! The album made it’s AAA Top 20 debut after release, was #1 NACC Top 200 for 4-weeks running, and debuted on the following Billboard charts: #1 Top New Artist Albums, #1 Alternative New Artist Albums, #4 Current Alternative Albums, #4 LP Vinyl Albums, #6 Current Rock Albums, #16 Top Current Albums and in the Billboard Top 200. The album is already appearing on mid-year lists, from the likes of Rolling Stone, Stereogum, Paste, Billboard, and more.
With touring at a halt for the entire music industry, Soccer Mommy has found remarkably inventive ways to stay busy during quarantine. Combining her love of video games and performing, Soccer Mommy held a digital concert on the online gaming platform Club Penguin Rewritten a few weeks ago, with 10,000+ attendees (who all had to make their own penguin avatars to attend). So many fans logged on originally that the game’s server *literally* crashed and the event had to be rescheduled. Soccer Mommy has also kicked off the NPR Tiny Desk At Home Series, performed on Pitchfork’s IG Live series, and released her very own Zoom backgrounds images. Soccer Mommy then embarked on another tour, of sorts: an 8-bit music video tour, hitting some of the cities she was meant to be currently passing through. See the rescheduled dates for Soccer Mommy’s UK/EU tour below.
EU Tour Dates:2/8/21 - Koln, Germany - Bumann & Sohn2/9/21 - Hamburg-St. Pauli, Germany - Molotow2/10/21 - Berlin, Germany - Frannz Club2/12/21 - Amsterdam, Netherlands - Paradiso2/13/21 - Nijmegen, Netherlands - Merleyn2/15/21 - Brussels, Belgium - Le Botanique2/16/21 - Paris, France - Petit Bain2/18/21 - London, United Kingdom - Electric Ballroom2/19/21 - Birmingham, United Kingdom - The Castle & Falcon2/20/21 - Brighton, United Kingdom - Concorde 22/21/21 - Bristol, United Kingdom - Trinity2/22/21 - Manchester, United Kingdom - Gorilla2/24/21 - Glasgow, United Kingdom - Oran Mor2/25/21 - Leeds, United Kingdom - Belgrave Music Hall

Purchase color theory on duo-tone vinyl with exclusive poster + sticker sheet, CD, cassette, and digital download HERE
LISTEN/WATCH:circle the drain | lucy | yellow is the color of her eyes | bloodstream
READ MORE ON COLOR THEORY HERE:The New York TimesRolling StoneBillboardEntertainment Weekly
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Published on June 18, 2020 09:20

Mirah announces 'You Think It's Like This...' re-issue & tribute album, listen to Mount Eerie's "Of Pressure" cover

MIRAH
ANNOUNCES YOU THINK IT'S LIKE THIS BUT REALLY IT'S LIKE THIS  RE-ISSUE AND TRIBUTE LP
OUT 7/31 VIA DOUBLE DOUBLE WHAMMY
LISTEN TO MOUNT EERIE'S "OF PRESSURE" COVER

Photo Credit: Meghan Marin   Today, Mirah has announced a 20th anniversary reissue of her seminal album,  You Think It's Like This But Really It's Like This . The double LP reissue includes a remastered version of the record as well as a tribute to the album that features covers by Mount EerieHand HabitsHalf WaifPalehoundShamirSad13Allison Crutchfield and more. You Think It's Like This But Really It's Like This is available for pre-order now and due July 31st via Double Double Whammy
"It was a joy to record my version of Mirah's song 'Of Pressure' using the old cassette 4 track and all the instruments we used to use together in the old days," said Mount Eerie's Phil Elverum, "Same air organ, same antique drum machine, same chaos. I remember when Mirah first recorded her original. It was part of a batch of songs that she worked on independently of our collaboration in Dub Narcotic studio. Her 4 track world. That one was a big built world of mounting layers, the feeling of pressure and depth. I loved it and I still do. I wanted to see if I could make it a little more oppressive even."
LISTEN TO MOUNT EERIE'S "OF PRESSURE" COVERLISTEN TO THE REMASTERED "OF PRESSURE"
Phil Elverum & Mirah, circa 1999, courtesy of the artists
In the last months of the 1990s, in the years after she graduated from Evergreen, Mirah would regularly walk from her apartment on 4th avenue in downtown Olympia five minutes up the block to her friends' place, the Track House. On one such occasion, she holed up in their garage all night long with her four-track cassette recorder and their broken, out-of-tune piano. "It's a small town," she sang, over crackly, creeping keys. "I'll see you around...I wish you'd move." 
It's sweet but sharp, like much of her expansive, decades-long catalog of beaming pop songs. And it's apt intro to the songs she was writing around that time, all laced with snapshots from small-town Oly: the railroad tracks that run through town, transient friends who'd come and go on tour, the feeling of being a million miles from the city. 
"I didn't know I was making a record," recalls the singer, songwriter, recording artist and producer, twenty years later, on the brink of the reissue of her now classic debut full-length, You Think It's Like This But Really It's Like This, released in 2000 by K Records. It was just that freedom, following her first couple of EPs and tours, that made the record gleam with possibility: the excitement of beginnings, of unfiltered long-distance longings, the miniature everyday epiphanies of becoming yourself. 
When it was written, Mirah was in her early 20s, immersed in a life of cheap rent, constant art-making, "distracting [herself] with the guitar and microphones" (as she sings on the album) and helping to run DIY cafes like the Secret Cafe at the Track House and the Red Horse Cafe out of her own apartment. Some days, she'd be at home experimenting with four-track home-recording. Other days, she'd be over at Dub Narcotic's giant warehouse space, in its wide open second floor studio, the Big Room, meeting up with friends like Phil Elverum (who she had collaborated with in The Microphones, and who co-produced the record), Khaela Maricich (of the Blow, who sings on some of the songs), and really, whichever cast of friends were around and wanted to play music. 
"Calvin had incredible equipment and was so generous and trusting," Mirah reflects, mentioning vintage gear like an old Hammond B3 organ with a Leslie speaker used on "Of Pressure". "He gave us all keys. Sometimes we'd go in there to record and Arrington [de Dionyso] would be asleep on a mattress on the floor because he had been recording all night. We didn't even have a schedule. We were all involved with each other's projects. If I needed a choir, we'd just call everybody up and they'd walk over. And a couple minutes later, 10 friends would be there." 
That's exactly what happened for "Person Person," a collective love letter to someone traveling far away, where Mirah sings over a dreamy guitar, before her whole friend group turns up for the perfectly messy chorus. It's a bit of an ode to chosen family, much like "La Familia," where interlocking vocal melodies stretch over sparks of subtle guitar noise. 
Elsewhere, there's also one of indie pop's most sweeping and visceral crush songs, "Sweepstakes Prize," a perfect encapsulation of Mirah and Elverum's collaborative ability to build sparse minimalism into clattering noise, to make the tension of the lyrics utterly inescapable. For its hooky drumbeats, Elverum set up two kits on opposite ends of the room. "We both played drums at the same time," Mirah remembers. "And had them mic-ed so that it gave a natural room delay. We just had a lot of fun." (It was written about the same person as "Small Town," she recounts, laughing, a testament to the album's rollercoaster of emotions.) 
Two decades later, You Think It's Like This... brims with timelessly necessary feelings: of dreaming in the moment, of not having expectations, making art because it's fun, unsupressable exuberance even when the songs are not joyful. "I just hope people can get there again," Mirah says. "My biggest hope with making music is that the music I make can do for other people what all the music I've listened to in my life has done for me. It helps me be alive. It helps me be a person. It helps me feel things. It helps me connect to myself and to other people."



MIRAH YOU THINK IT'S LIKE THIS BUT REALLY IT'S LIKE THIS DOUBLE DOUBLE WHAMMYJULY 31, 2020 PRE-ORDER
1. Million Miles 2. Sweepstakes Prize3. Of Pressure4. This Dance5. La Familia6. Gone Sugaring7. Person Person8. Engine Heart9. Archipelago10. 100 Knives11. Murphy Bed12. Pollen13. Small Town14. Water and Sleep15. Telephone Wires16. Words Cannot Describe17. Words Cannot Describe (2020 Version)
TRIBUTE LP
1. WHY? (Feat. Gabby's World) - Million Miles2. Y La Bamba - Sweepstakes Prize3. Mount Eerie - Of Pressure4. Sad13 & Mal Blum - This Dance5. Allison Crutchfield - La Familia6. Madeline Kenney - Gone Sugaring7. Maia Macdonald - Person Person8. Lauren Ruth Ward - Engine Heart9. Hand Habits - Archipelago10. Flock of Dimes - 100 Knives11. Half Waif - Murphy Bed12. Shamir - Pollen13. Palehound - Small Town14. Arthur Moon (Feat. Aviva Jaye) - Water and Sleep15. Night Shop & La Louma - Telephone Wires16. The Blow - Words Cannot Describe
mirahmusic.com | facebook.com/mirahmusicTwitter @mirahmusic | Instagram @mirahmusic
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Published on June 18, 2020 09:15

ALEX THE ASTRONAUT Performs at PRIDE: INSIDE Festival; Revisit Her LGBTQ+ Anthem 'Not Worth Hiding'


ALEX THE ASTRONAUTSET TO PERFORM THIS FRIDAY, JUNE 19TH DURING PRIDE.COM’S VIRTUAL MUSIC FESTIVAL ‘PRIDE: INSIDE’ 
WATCH HER RECENT PERFORMANCE DURING THE SMITHSONIAN’S ‘PROJECT PRIDE’ HERE
REVISIT HER LGBTQ+ ANTHEM “NOT WORTH HIDING Alex The Astronaut - Not Worth Hiding (Official Video) ‘THE THEORY OF ABSOLUTELY NOTHING’ Debut Album from the Australian Storyteller Out August 21

“so adept at writing pop songs that capture the rush of young love, friendship, confusion, sadness and all those messy situations that dominate your early 20s” - The Guardian 
“For fans of Courtney Barnett and positivity: this one from Australia's Alex the Astronaut is a song we all need on our playlist.” - Refinery29 re: “I Think You’re Great”

Alex the Astronaut will perform this Friday, June 19th as part of Pride.com’s virtual music festival PRIDE: INSIDE. She also recently shared her personal “Soundtrack of Pride” with the site, featuring music that reflects her formative years as an LGBTQ+ musician including tracks from Harry Styles, Janelle Monáe, Frank Ocean, Mary Lambert and more. Listen to the playlist HERE and tune into the PRIDE: INSIDE virtual festival, kicking off tomorrow at 2pm ET HERE
In 2017, Alex shared her single “Not Worth Hiding,” an open letter to her 16-year-old self that details the journey to owning her sexuality, which arrived as Australia was debating marriage equality and became the unofficial anthem of the Vote Yes movement. Revisit the song and video here: https://youtu.be/HHQ6ZZ0ePjk. Lynn also recently performed the song as part of the Smithsonian’s Project Pride virtual celebration of Pride month. The festival featured appearances from LGBTQ+ artists including Rufus Wainwright, Madame Gandhi, Indigo Girls, Pet Shop Boys, Roxane Gay and more and was hosted by NPR’s Ari Shapiro. Watch her performance of “Not Worth Hiding” HERE.  
A talented soccer player, Alex Lynn moved from Sydney to New York on a soccer scholarship and studied Math and Physics at Long Island University. It was while she was in the US that she turned a streak of bold new life experiences into heart-swelling, folk-inflected pop songs under the name Alex the Astronaut. She is set to release her debut album The Theory Of Absolutely Nothing on August 21 via Nettwerk. 
The Australian singer, songwriter and storyteller has always had a supernatural knack for capturing human experience in song. On the album, she grapples with the multitudes of life on a bigger scale than ever before and emerges optimistic. With her heart-swelling, folk-inflected pop, music’s bright-eyed anthropologist uses sprawling narratives and rich vignettes to unravel the joys and struggles of everyday life. The Theory Of Absolutely Nothing is the work of a storyteller attuned to the world around her, as heard on the album’s singles including “Banksia,” “Lost,” “Split the Sky” and “I Think You’re Great” which have received praise from the likes of NPR Music, The Guardian, Refinery29, Brooklyn Vegan and FLOOD Magazine. 

https://www.alextheastronaut.com Instagram | Facebook | Twitter
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Published on June 18, 2020 09:13

Genre-Bending Rapper CHAII Announces Her Debut EP + Added to Spotify's Global 'RADAR' Program + Signs to BMG

CHAIIGENRE-BENDING NEW ZEALAND-BASED PERSIAN RAPPER ANNOUNCES DEBUT EP & SIGNS TO BMG
‘LIGHTSWITCH’ EP DUE JULY 10 VIA BMG / BLACK LOTUS RECORDS
WATCH VIDEOS FOR HER VIBRANT TRILOGY OF VIDEOS FILMED IN OMAN  “TROUBLE,” “SOUTH” & “DIGEBASSE (FT. B WISE)”
SPOTIFY ADDS CHAII TO GLOBAL EMERGING-ARTIST PROGRAM ‘RADAR’
photo credit: Evan Xiao - Download HERE
CHAII is the genre-bending New Zealand/Persian rapper, producer and engineer pushing a bold creative vision. Her tracks channel southern-Iranian influenced drum patterns while her distinctive vocal delivers a dance floor commanding commentary on millennial social pressures. Today, CHAII announces that she has signed an exclusive global recordings and publishing deal with BMG as part of a broader partnership with Big Pop Publishing, welcoming a number of promising New Zealand artists to the fold. She also announced her debut EP, Lightswitch, set for release on July 10 via BMG / Black Lotus Records. 
The artist has previously released her vibrant video trilogy filmed in Oman including debut single “South,” which landed a global sync for internationally renowned luxury brand FENDI for their FENDIVA campaign; “Digebasse” featuring Australian-Nigerian rapper B Wise; and her most recent single “Trouble.” The self-directed videos were filmed guerrilla-style in Oman with a small crew made up of friends and cast of locals as extras, and are the perfect introduction to the Persian rapper’s D.I.Y ethos both sonically and visually. CHAII delivers an electric on-camera performance and showcases striking styling set amongst a Middle Eastern backdrop that hints at where things began for her. Lightswitch will include her Oman trilogy, as well as three new songs that hint at a compelling new direction for CHAII. 
This news coincides with CHAII’s launch as the newest face of Spotify’s RADAR campaign, an initiative announced in March this year. RADAR is Spotify’s global emerging-artist program that focuses on helping artists reach the next stage of their careers by highlighting their releases and connecting them with audiences around the world. CHAII is the first New Zealand artist to be supported by RADAR, after the initial announcement featured 36 artists across multiple territories.
“I’m so excited to be signed and teaming up with the amazing BMG family,” notes CHAII. “So happy to announce that my EP ‘Lightswitch’ will be released soon, alongside many more exciting things to come. Lessgo.” Heath Johns, BMG Managing Director Australia, adds “I cannot overemphasize how excited we are about CHAII – she is one of the most talented and charismatic artists I have ever met, and she has a powerful message that BMG will help amplify and take to the world. CHAII has arrived boldly to this party with the Lightswitch EP and she’s not politely knocking, she’s kicking down the door”.
If the strength of her early tracks are any indication, it’s where this young artist is heading that we should be most excited about. 

‘LIGHTSWITCH’ EP TRACKLIST01 - Lightswitch02 - Nobody Know03 - Middleground04 - South05 - Digebasse (ft. B. Wise)06 - Trouble

STREAM “TROUBLE” HERE + WATCH OFFICIAL MUSIC VIDEO CHAII - TROUBLE (OFFICIAL MUSIC VIDEO)
STREAM “DIGEBASSE (FT. B WISE)” HERE + OFFICIAL MUSIC VIDEO CHAII - Digebasse Feat. B Wise (Official Music Video)
STREAM “SOUTH” HERE + OFFICIAL MUSIC VIDEO CHAII - South (Official Music Video) FOLLOW CHAIIInstagram * Facebook
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Published on June 18, 2020 09:12

Private World announces debut LP 'Aleph' for Dais Records, shares first single / video

CARDIFF BASED POP OUTFIT PRIVATE WORLD ANNOUNCE DEBUT LP
ALEPH OUT AUGUST 28 ON DAIS RECORDS
WATCH THE VIDEO FOR HYPNAGOGIA  HERE
                                                                                                                                           photo courtesy of Tom Hughes

After announcing their signing to Dais Records last year with the addictive 'On The Run' single, Cardiff-based pop outfit Private World are announcing their debut LP entitled Aleph, due out August 28. Along with this news the band are sharing the first single from the album 'Hypnagogia' - a glacial, elegant piece of pop which evokes the grey area between wakefulness and sleep that the track is named after. The band had this to say of the track:

"Musically, the song is intended to ring like a sort of lullaby, or a mid-late 80's R&B/Madonna song, without sinking too far into a feeling of parody," the band say of the track. "I feel as though the main piano sound (Roland emulation of Fender Dyno-Rhodes Electric piano, or Yamaha DX7 sound) is very nostalgic for a generation of folks that grew up in the 1980s and & 90s - it was used on everything. I love the sound, so opted to make that a big blatant part of the song."

Listen here: 
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9fsgh0xrHGo&feature=youtu.be

Aleph is often defined as the “oneness of God”, and Cardiff, UK indie pop outfit Private World thematically embrace the sentiment on their debut album for Dais while eschewing pop conventions, simultaneously navigating and subverting its context. Rather than individual tracks that inform a greater narrative, Aleph finds members Harry Jowett and Tom Sanders weaving in and out of a space they call the “pop psyche,” where songs become scenes in a collective exploration of sentimentality and melody.

In a sense, the songs that comprise Aleph are soothing vehicles that dart about pop history, stopping at touch points throughout the ‘80s to borrow from jazz-tinged synth, ambient music, and even cinéma vérité. The plot twist is while weaving this tapestry, they omit the familiarity of chorus-driven song, allowing space and mood to build melancholy transitions that feel whole and floaty.

As much as their single “On the Run,” released with Dais in 2019, touched on this hushed world of memory, Aleph retains Private World’s DNA but tames the dynamics of pop with Eno-esque intention. Aleph is an album you can pick up at any entry point and loop into its conscious nostalgia. Rather than singular statements, each song on the album nods to Roxy Music, Peter Gabriel, Talk Talk, Spandau Ballet in tandem. In a sense, it’s a rolling piece that spans ten movements, each informing a sphere of culture. Though it’s not forward-facing lyrically, Aleph is a culture driven work, as the duo offers it as an equalizer that transcends social boundaries or divisions — united passages meant to be heard and immersed by all.

On its own, “Blue Spirit,” is very much the album’s mission statement, as vocal unapologetically indebted to Brian Ferry leads the way over a gated beat as instruments pulse in and out, punctuating the rhythm before disappearing into the echoes of the next moment. One second over five minutes in length, “Magic Lens,” is Aleph’s most direct and authoritative, without disrupting its tonality. As Tom Sanders delivers a syncopated vocal, the track lightly sprinkles synth washes and prominent bass accents that plod out atmospheric
pattern. Embracing the overarching north star for their sound to be a return to sophistication, Aleph embodies the sentiment by redefining it.

Yes, the album’s sounds work back to the masters of synth-pop but the actual journey bounds forward with vivid personality and contemporary control. Private World offers a singular embrace of the pop psyche – and a startlingly refreshing debut.

 Listen & Watch: Private World - Hypnagogia (Official Music Video)
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9fsgh0xrHGo&feature=youtu.be
Pre-Order: Private World - Aleph
http://smarturl.it/privateworld




Private World
Aleph
Dais Records
August 28, 2020


1. A Private World
2. Blue Spirit
3. Birdy
4. Hypnagogia
5. Magic Lens
6. Somethin' Special
7. Chasm
8. Spine
9. Alien Funeral
10. Jones to Engel (Pierrot)

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Published on June 18, 2020 09:07

Nana Adjoa Shares New Song "Throw Stones," Debut Album Out This Fall

NANA ADJOA RELEASES NEW SONG “THROW STONES” 
DEBUT ALBUM OUT THIS FALL (Credit: Latoya Van Der Meeren)Singer-songwriter Nana Adjoa is a sonic explorer, armed with a deft poeticism and a fierce sense of musicianship. Today she has released another track from her highly anticipated debut album which is due this fall. The new song is titled “Throw Stones.” Nana says, "This song is about me calming myself down in difficult times. To feel, regroup, and reflect. If you need that right now, to feel it to embrace it and slowly heal, you can listen to this song and count to 10. You don't always have to be 'on', you are allowed to take time, to rest and come back feeling refreshed, better and stronger. I hope this song gives you pause, time to breathe."
Born and raised in Amsterdam, Nana Adjoa is a multi-instrumentalist, producer, and singer with Ghanian roots. After studying jazz at the Amsterdam Conservatory, Nana started to release her poetic blend of soul, folk, and jazz. Tackling complicated questions of race, gender, religion, and sexuality, Nana often meditates on the meaning and make-up of one's identity. Her thoughtful music has already turned heads at Fader, Stereogum, KCRW, Refinery29 and landed her on stage with Benjamin Clementine, Neneh Cherry, among others.  Nana Adjoa - Throw Stones (Official Lyric Video) "Throw Stones" Lyric VideoPreviously she released “She’s Stronger” the song which KCRW made their Top Tune writing "The quietly confident multi-instrumentalist Nana Adjoa has contemplated the meaning of self-identity in her body of work.” FLOOD also rave the song "is a sweeping dream-pop-by-way-of-folk-rock cut contemplating the songwriter’s self worth.” Nana Adjoa - She's Stronger (Official Video) "She's Stronger" Video"powerful" - The FADER
"The music will envelop you like a warm hug while Adjoa's lyrics make you feel like you are loved and in the safest of places" - Refinery29
"It’s Joan Armatrading by way of Mazzy Star, intimate and glossy, simple and surreal." - Consequence of Sound 
"Her lyrics are honest and relatable” - Stereogum 
“Her resolute ballads wrestling with race, gender, and sexuality... accruing a well-earned audience along the way.” - FLOOD "Throw Stones" Single Artwork - download high res hereFollow Nana Adjoa:Website | Twitter | Facebook | Instagram
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Published on June 18, 2020 09:05

June 17, 2020

DEE MADDEN INTERVIEW 2020 Radio KAJW

DEE MADDEN INTERVIEW 2020 Radio KAJW

by Alexander Laurence



As part of the show Pioneers of Synthpop show 009, I talked to Dee Madden who has been doing music for years and is currently doing a fully synth project. Dee Madden is a musician and producer now based in Portland, Oregon. He was born in Los Angeles and played with bands like Ex-Voto and Penal Colony. He was associated with many bands and projects over 40 years. Since 2016, he has embraced the synthesizer again, and that evolved into a solo project Dee Madden “Nihilism Is Real.”


AL: How did you get involved with Penal Colony?


DM: I was playing with Ex-Voto, who our mutual friend Gregory Bevington was in. Larry Rainwater and Linda were married. They decided to go to New Orleans because Larry got a job there. They took the band over there. I couldn’t go. I had just had my son. I wanted to stay close to my family. I just floated around in the ether for a while. There were these guys from the Inland Empire called the Texas Vamps. I was told by a mutual friend that they were looking for a lead singer. They had opened for us Ex-Voto a few times and they were super cool and we had got on great. I auditioned a few times and played them stuff I had been working on. We changed the name to Penal Colony and the rest is history.


AL: When did Cleopatra Records get involved?


DM: That happened pretty quick. We played our first show on Halloween 1992, and we were signed by 1993. All this had happened in less than a year. We played our first show at the Whiskey and there was an A&R guy there from Cleopatra. He was there to see another band. He saw us and was blown away. We spoke to a few labels and Cleopatra seemed like the best fit.


AL: What did you think of Cleopatra? Now they are know for all these rock and goth re-issues.


DM: Yes. They had just started. It was Brian Perera and his wife. They didn’t have a big catalog. Brian re-released Kraftwork “The Model” and Motorhead. We were the first new band he signed. He then signed Spahn Ranch and others. They crazy back catalog stuff they are known for now happened a lot later.


AL: Penal Colony happened at a time in Los Angeles where there was a goth scene and industrial music was happening. Genesis P-Orridge did a remix of a Penal Colony song. How did you come from that era to what you are doing now?


DM: People knew Penal Colony from our former bands Ex-Voto and Texas Vamps, which were more extended into the 1980s. That was our calling card as Penal Colony. Goth clubs at the time were playing Front 242 and Skinny Puppy. In the late 1980s and early 1990s industrial music was mixed up with goth music and other stuff at clubs. The remixes reinforced that, but the four of us saw ourselves as a post punk band. If you listen to the first album, we tracked it live, and we were into post punk stuff like Killing Joke and Joy Division. Korn used to open for us at English Acid. We saw ourselves as a post punk band, even though we were associated with the scene.


AL: Your new album is called “Nihilism is Real.” Can you talk about how you came to do this record?


DM: I had been doing organic music for seven or eight years. I was ready to do electronic music again. I had been listening to a lot of Kraftwerk and Can. And then there was some of the early British stuff like Ultravox, Yaz, and Heaven 17. And the freestyle stuff coming from New York.


AL: You played everything yourself?


DM: I played everything myself. The female voice is my friend Jessica. She is in the live band. We played together in a previous band. I asked her if she wanted to contributed and she ended up being on seven or eight tracks. I love how we harmonize. She is great musician too.


AL: You did a performance at an artspace in Portland?


DM: It’s a gallery that I own with my wife called Natural Diszaztr. We have a done a few shows there. I recorded one show there which was released as a live album. We hope to more things at the gallery.


Interview with Dee Madden https://www.deemadden.com/
Bandcamp: https://deemadden.bandcamp.com/
Natural Diszaztr: https://www.instagram.com/naturaldizaztr/

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Published on June 17, 2020 11:36

The Streets Releases Second Single "I Wish You Loved You As Much As You Love Him" Featuring Donae'o & Greentea Peng

THE STREETS SHARE OFFICIAL VIDEO FOR NEW SINGLE“I WISH YOU LOVED YOU AS MUCH AS YOU LOVE HIM”FT. DONAE'O & GREENTEA PENGNONE OF US ARE GETTING OUT OF THIS LIFE ALIVEFEATURING IDLES, HAK BAKER, MS BANKS + MANY MOREOUT JULY 10 ON ISLAND RECORDS
Today, Mike Skinner has shared the official video to his new single ”I Wish You Loved You As Much As You Love Him” ft. Donae'o & Greentea Peng - the second track from his forthcoming mixtape None Of Us Are Getting Out Of This Life Alive. Made entirely by Mike himself, the video is a multi-faceted visual shot with an unmistakably British backdrop, featuring the two artists with whom he wrote the single. He says, "This video took me 6 weeks to make! I learned a new skill on this lockdown".Previously talking about the track, which premiered as Annie Mac's Hottest Record on BBC Radio 1, Mike explained, "This is a summer club song. Knowing that Donae'o is the king of UK Funky music - match made in heaven. Greentea Peng was the perfect foil for this, her melodies are unique and she's wicked".  The Streets - I Wish You Loved You As Much As You Love Him ft. Donae'O, Greentea Peng The original plan had been to release a TONGA album (the balloon filled rap, grime and dubstep party by Mike and Murkage Dave, which had been a series of shoobs to remember). Copenhagen to Manchester to Berlin. Brum to Brixton. Usually arriving with a coterie of legendary UK figureheads and gobby upcomers in tow, like Kano, Giggs, Jammer or Jaykae, the pulsating essence of the nights needed to be immortalized. But as night moved to day, and day moved along to night, it… just didn’t happen. Instead, a new mixtape None Of Us Are Getting Out Of This Life Alive steps up to take its place. Recorded between work on the accompanying film to The Streets new album, it is the unpredictable sonic continuation of those parties.Taking in UK Funky and twilight zone UK rap, and with guest spots ranging from Grammy nominated psychedelia sovereign Tame Impala to cult south London rapper Jesse James Solomon, as well as 2019's key-fiend-friendly drum’n’bass collab with Chris Lorenzo, None Of Us Are Getting Out Of This Life Alive is the most eclectic and highly collaborative collection of songs from The Streets yet. Or as Mike puts it with characteristic distinction: "it’s really just a rap duets album."The inclusion of, say, Mercury Prize nominated punk group IDLES (who perform what Mike describes as a sea-shanty tinged track inspired by an overnight ferry to Dover) and teenage wünderkind Jimothy Lacoste help ground things firmly in the here and now. But there are familiar faces of the past too. Birmingham legend, Dapz On The Map, pops up on merky rap track “Phone Is Always In My Hand.” While Rob Harvey, previously of The Music and Skinner collaboration The D.O.T, tunes into pensieve penultimate track “Conspiracy Theory Freestyle.” Previous Praise for “Call My Phone Thinking I'm Doing Nothing Better” ft. Tame Impala:“‘Call My Phone Thinking I’m Doing Nothing Better’ showcases Mike Skinner’s skilled wordplay." - Paste Magazine "Kevin Parker and The Streets’ Mike Skinner are getting through the isolation by calling loved ones. With washed-out synths and poignant backbeat, Parker sings of the anxiety that can be attached to facing a phone call." - UPROXXNONE OF US ARE GETTING OUT OF THIS LIFE ALIVE TRACKLISTING1. Call My Phone Thinking I'm Doing Nothing Better (ft. Tame Impala)2. None Of Us Are Getting Out Of This Life Alive (ft. IDLES)3. I Wish You Loved You As Much As You Love Him (ft. Donae’o and Greentea Peng)4. You Can't Afford Me (ft. Ms Banks)I Know Something You Did (ft. Jesse James Solomon)6. Eskimo Ice (ft. Kasien)7. Phone Is Always In My Hand (ft. Dapz on the Map)8. The Poison I Take Hoping You Will Suffer (ft. Oscar #Worldpeace)9. Same Direction (ft. Jimothy Lacoste)10. Falling Down (ft. Hak Baker)11. Conspiracy Theory Freestyle (ft. Rob Harvey)12. Take Me As I Am (with Chris Lorenzo)None Of Us Are Getting Out Of This Life Alive will be released via Island on July 10th and is available for pre-order here.Mixtape Art HERENone Of Us Are Getting Out Of This Life Alive - mixtape out April 17th - pre-orderCall My Phone Thinking I'm Doing Nothing Better ft. Tame Impala - single out nowWhere The F*&k Did April Go - b-side single out nowI Wish You Loved You As Much As You Love Him ft. Donae'o & Greentea Peng - single out nowConnect with The Streets: Instagram | Facebook | Twitter
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Published on June 17, 2020 11:33

Cypress Hill to perform virtual 360° livestream this Friday, June 19

HIP HOP LEGENDS CYPRESS HILL TO PERFORM LIVE FROM LA WITH MELODYVR THIS FRIDAY JUNE 19 AT 6PM PT/9PM ET
FIRST TIME THE BAND HAS PERFORMED TOGETHER SINCE LOCKDOWN VIEW THE 360° SHOW FOR FREE VIA MELODYVR APPON SMARTPHONES AND VR HEADSETSHip hop royalty Cypress Hill will perform live to fans around the world this Friday evening on MelodyVR. Synonymous with huge nights out and big nights in, this is an opportunity to witness the group up close and like never before. Cypress Hill’s Live from LA show will be free to view via the MelodyVR app on smartphones and VR headsets. Through MelodyVR’s world-class camera and production technology, viewers will be transported to the state-of-the-art studio space to experience the exclusive 360° performance, and virtually stand next to Cypress Hill while watching the story of the band told on bespoke video walls.  One of hip hop's biggest acts ever, Cypress Hill soundtracked a generation and continue to inspire artists and audiences alike. They have sold more than 20 million albums thanks to their masterful teaming of powerful lyrics and production. Their Live from LA performance is their first since the stay at home order was issued in early March, when the band was about to embark on a world tour. Cypress Hill say: “When we were approached to perform for our fans again, we jumped on it. We definitely wanted to give them a unique experience with this intimate show. Partnering with MelodyVR for Live from LA allowed us to do just that.” Cypress Hill’s Live from LA 360° appearance is a typically innovative move from the band. When they broke onto the scene in 1988, they didn’t look like any other hip hop collective or sound like anything on the radio. They made history as the first Latino American hip hop recording group to go platinum, with GRAMMY® Award nominations, acclaimed collaborations and sold out tours under their belt. Immortalized in everything from the Hollywood Walk of Fame to The Simpsons, Cypress Hill keep forging ahead, with their ninth full-length studio album, Elephants On Acid, released in 2018. MelodyVR’s Live from LA series has been developed to provide fans with incredible immersive sets from their favorite artists, while maintaining the highest levels of safety for both performers and crew. Artists featured so far include John Legend, The Score, Katelyn Tarver, DaniLeigh and Zella Day with many more yet to be announced. Cypress Hill’s Live from LA show will be available on demand from June 25 for those who miss the June 19 broadcast. Cypress Hill’s Live from LA Setlist:Ain’t Goin’ Out Like ThatReal EstateThe Phunky Feel OneHead On The PumpLatin ThugsWeed MedleyHow I Could Just Kill A ManInsane In The BrainRock Superstar About Cypress Hill:Cypress Hill's self-titled debut album came out in 1991 and sold over 2 million copies. They followed that with the release of Black Sunday, which debuted #1 on Billboard 200 in 1993 and recorded the highest Soundscan for a rap group up until that time. With their hit "Insane in the Brain" crossing over to mainstream, the album (Black Sunday) went triple platinum in the US and sold 3.5 million copies. As a result, Cypress Hill became the first rap group to have two albums in the top 10 of the Billboard 200 charts at the same time. They went on to release six more albums and sold over 20 million copies worldwide, becoming the first Latino-American hip hop group to achieve platinum and multi-platinum success. About MelodyVR:MelodyVR launched in 2018 with a simple mandate: not to replace the live music experience, but to harness the power of virtual reality to get people closer to the music they love. By using VR technology, the founders realized that they could place fans in the crowd or on stage with their favorite musicians at live events. From epic stadium shows to intimate studio performances, the possibilities are endless: capacity restrictions are eliminated, music lovers can attend otherwise sold-out dates, and the barriers (distance, age, cost, access) that might keep people from experiencing their heroes live are swept away. The result? Artists can reach more fans than ever before, with a level of intimacy which has previously not been possible.
MelodyVR is the only licensed VR music platform and has the world’s largest library of exclusive immersive and interactive music experiences from the likes of Post Malone, Lewis Capaldi, Blake Shelton, Wiz Khalifa, Kelly Clarkson, Niall Horan, Fall Out Boy, Julia Michaels, KISS, The Chainsmokers and Imagine Dragons.
Available on smartphones and VR headsets, the MelodyVR app can be downloaded at on melodyvr.com/App.
www.melodyvr.com / @melodyvirtual / on.melodyvr.com/App
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Published on June 17, 2020 09:04