Alexander Laurence's Blog, page 1187
June 16, 2020
Desolation Center coming 6/23 - The acclaimed DIY desert festival documentary
With live music on lockdown for the forseeable future, this is the perfect time to catch up on some amazing, rarely seen footage of legendary outdoor shows.
Desolation Center
is the untold story of a series of guerrilla music and art performance happenings in the 80s which inspired the birth of contemporary festival culture including Burning Man, Lollapalooza, and Coachella.The documentary (originally released in November 2019, and clocking in at 94 minutes in length) combines interviews of punk and post-punk luminaries with rare performance footage of Sonic Youth, Minutemen, Meat Puppets, Perry Farrell, Redd Kross, Einstürzende Neubauten, Survival Research Laboratories, Savage Republic and more, giving viewers unprecedented access to a time when pushing the boundaries of music, art, and performance was like an unspoken obligation.
On Tuesday, June 23rd the film will be available digitally everywhere and the producers are giving people an added incentive to order early. They are giving away a Desolation Center button + sticker for every Apple TV / iTunes pre-order, plus a chance to win a signed movie poster or a massive merch bundle. See below and visit www.desolationcenter.com for complete details.
Mat Levy of the digital distributor Passion River Films pointed out to the Deadline site, "At a time where we need it most, Desolation Center celebrates radicalism at its finest. From the music, the movement, and the ultimate legacy these events have forever left us, we are absolutely thrilled to be a part of bringing Stuart Swezey's groundbreaking story (that critics and audiences already love) to an expansive audience that will hopefully be inspired to create something wonderfully disruptive for the love of artistic expression." Directed by the organizer of the original events and co-founder of Amok Books, Stuart Swezey, Desolation Center tells the true story of how the risky, and at times even reckless, actions of a few outsiders were able to incite seismic cultural shifts. Swezey says, "Taking the music that I found so inspiring and placing it into the wide-open spaces of the California desert or on a boat in the industrial wasteland of LA Harbor became a personal challenge for me. The story of the Desolation Center events is told in the film by eyewitnesses who were participants whether as musicians, artists, organizers or concert-goers."
Perry Farrell and Aaron Sherer, Mojave Auszug, near Mecca, CA 1984 - photo by Mariska LeyssiusThe cultural significance of Desolation Center has not been lost on today's top media outlets, with Rolling Stone calling it "a series of important but overlooked shows - nothing like it has been attempted since" and the New York Times declaring that: "Hundreds of punks hit the desert. The modern music festival was born." As Thurston Moore described to the New York Times, the mood was "one of complete joy and wonder at being together in a place that might as well have been another planet." He said the most radical attribute of Desolation Center was that "it asked no permission," and he called the show "one of the great moments" in the history of Sonic Youth
Audience members in Box Canyon, Mojave Auszug, near Mecca, CA 1984 - Photo by Scot Allen
Desolation Center
has screened across the globe including the prestigious European CPH:DOX Film Festival in Denmark, Sheffield Doc/Fest in the UK and its US premiere at Slamdance Film Festival in Park City, Utah. It brought home Audience Awards at SF Indiefest and Chicago Underground Film Festival and was a selection of the 2019 Smithsonian Year of Music, Smithsonian Hirshhorn Museum in Washington, DC. Beginning in Fall 2019,
Desolation Center
screened in over 60 cities in North America including sold-out screenings in New York, San Francisco, Portland and Seattle. Starting with the world premiere at CPH:DOX Festival in Copenhagen in March 2019, the response to the first festival screenings has been overwhelmingly positive. In advance of the Chicago Underground Film Festival, Rogerebert.com called Desolation Center "highly recommended . . . a comprehensive you-are-there recount of an unbelievable chapter in music history, made possible by the very facets that define punk rock. . .
Desolation Center
is like the anti-Fyre Festival doc: the music involved is anti-establishment as hell, the show is an art piece itself, and the whole DIY operation actually worked, a few times over." Additional acclaim has followed the doc since its release, including a 100% critics score on Rotten Tomatoes, and the Los Angeles Times adding that it is "A historical record of this short-lived time and this singularly L.A. scene...pure to the punk ethos."
Bus and audience members, Mojave Auszug, near Mecca, CA 1984 - Photo by Scot Allen
Sonic Youth setting up gear, Gila Monster Jamboree near Lucerne Valley, CA 1985 - Photo by Bob Durkee
QUOTES:
VICE :
"The Desolation Center shows managed to avoid the pivotal moment when festivals for the counterculture shift and become mainstream, inevitably altering their feel and purpose. In some ways, the magic of the shows is that they never had a chance to become diluted by money or time: they were raw, they were real, and, most importantly, they were completely original." Hollywood Reporter :"A fascinating glimpse at the emergence of a phenomenon" Kim Gordon (from her book Girl In A Band: A Memoir):"We played in the middle of the Mojave Desert at a festival called Gila Monster Jamboree ... It was a magical night, one of my favorite shows ever. " Austin Chronicle :"Stuart Swezey's important and electrifying documentary recounts the chaotic birth of what he dubbed the (now legendary) "Desolation Center" concerts-cum-happenings-cum-anarchy-crazed outings into the far backcountry of the Mojave Desert. They lasted for just two years but laid the foundations for those aforementioned music and art gargantuas. . . . Desolation Center illuminates a short-lived but absolutely momentous time when the Mojave beckoned, free of charge and front-loaded with anarchic artistic overload. Watching Sonic Youth blaze through their song "Death Valley 69" against the backdrop of disorganized yet ecstatic chaos, you're reminded that these desert micro-tests once upon a time had real teeth and zero air-conditioned VIP tents." Georgia Straight :"The greatest compliment one might pay Desolation Center is this: it somehow manages, against almost impossible odds, to capture the power of events that revolutionized pop music as we knew it. To watch director Stuart Swezey's essential documentary is to marvel at a dust-grimed Sonic Youth ripping through "Death Valley '69" in the California desert long before anyone had heard of Coachella. It's to sit there slack-jawed at the insanity of the Meat Puppets, caught losing their shit on a boat cruise a decade before Kurt Cobain tried to make them a household name with MTV Unplugged in New York. And it's to understand not only the revolutionary power of German noise pioneers Einstürzende Neubauten as they turn sheet metal into sonic art, but also the seeds of multimedia blowouts like Burning Man." Hyperallergic:"Between the utopian music festivals of the late 1960s and the corporate behemoths they've become, a series of site-specific concerts in Southern California once offered an alternative, wildly independent vision of what these types of events could be." KCET Artbound :"Continuing the DIY spirit of early California punk, Swezey set out to keep an emerging genre of alternative music out of nightclubs and inside mysterious warehouses and rehearsal places. This was in accordance with the principles of what would become known as Desolation Center, a consortium of post-punk aficionados who resisted the concept of money-making in favor of truly egalitarian experimental live shows with no guest lists, no paid advertising, and no solicitation of the press." Red Bull Music Academy interview
RIOTFEST Interview PLEASE KILL ME Interview
Feature story in UNCUT:
Savage Republic at Mojave Exodus near Lucerne Valley, CA 1983 - Photo by Scot AllenSee more at Desolationcenter.com
Diplo, BLOND:ISH, Nahko (Live), Themba, Nightmares On Wax, Guy Laliberté play ABRACADABRA 3 Day Festival
presents music (inc. Diplo, BLOND:ISH, Nahko (Live), Themba, Nightmares On Wax, Guy Laliberté) magic & more...
A 3-day Virtual Festival for Bye Bye Plastic, June 19th-21st LIVE on Twitch
ABRACADABRA & BLOND:ISH are also giving away 1 Bitcoin (worth around $9,500 at the time of announce) to a lucky winner
Hello! Thrilled to announce ABRACADABRA TV and their 3 day festival of music, (actual!) magic, self love and sustainability - artists include Diplo, Blond:ish, Nahko (Live), Themba, Pablo Fierro and many more, alongside roundtable chats with trailblazers in the sustainability sector; sessions with some incredible well-respected mentalist/illusionists; yoga, 3D sound exploration and meditation; neurological reprogramming sessions and advice, and plenty of surprises.
Hey presto, ABRACADABRA, the magic movement conjured up by Vivie-Ann Bakos aka BLOND:ISH and Liana Hillison, brings you music, magic, self love and sustainability roundtables in a festival to benefit Bye Bye Plastic Foundation. Get ready to depart; you are about to choose your own adventure…
What’s up their sleeve? Not just a highly curated mix of mindblowing sounds from Diplo, Nahko (Live), Nightmares on Wax, BLOND:ISH, Themba, Lunar Disco; not just magic from mentalist/illusionists; but an embodiment of our best possible selves, mirrored through self love, brain games, yoga, 3D sound exploration, meditation and more (‘The Class’’ Taryn Toomey and Jai Dev Singh will also feature)… with surprises to keep your inner child alive.
‘ABRA is all about creating your own reality, because magic is everywhere!’
Always forward thinking, ABRACADABRA is one of the first electronic music brands to run single-use plastic free events. Since 2017, their vibes have throbbed in Tulum, Tomorrowland, and Mykonos... Now they’re adapting their craft of putting on legendary parties in paradise and shifting to our current world; ABRA TV provides a one stop show to support artists and creatives, providing a space for them to connect and create magic with their talents and passions, ‘all around our beloved music, the glue that brings us all together.’
ABRACADABRA Virtual Festival has partnered with Bye Bye Plastic Foundation, the grass roots organisation on track to remove single-use plastic from the music industry by 2025. BBP, dreamed into being and led by Vivie-Ann, has inspired thousands of DJs and event promoters to join the #plasticfreeparty mission with their ‘Eco Rider’, onsite activations, beach cleans, and innovative research since launching in 2018. BBP officially became a Foundation in January 2020, and have partnered and consulted with industry giants such as International Music Summit (IMS) & SXM Festival and led sustainability panels at ADE Green, IMS, Brighton Music Conference and beyond.
Bye Bye Plastic will host experts and brands like Mogu's Maurizio Montalti (‘Mycelium Magic’) and industry trailblazers like Elektrik Fantasy Festival and Ultra Music Festival (‘Miami’s Sustainable Party Fairies’) to thrash out new ideas and set a path for sustainable raving.
This is only the beginning for this adventure, as the channel will be developing into something increasingly inclusive. ABRACADABRA TV will be a hub to show you magic exists and show you how to create it in your own life so you can spread it far and wide. ‘We’re starting with this festival, and the channel will constantly be evolving, and we’ll be inviting our community to share their own passions with us and each other.’
And! To celebrate its first virtual festival and to give back to the community ABRACADABRA is giving 1 Bitcoin and lifetime subscriptions to ABRA TV on Twitch to a group of lucky friends. To enter the contest, Instagram users can tag 2 or more friends in the comments on ABRA’s lineup announcement post (@welcometoabracadabra) and anyone can RSVP at https://www.abracadabra.life/rsvp to enter again for an extra chance to win. Winner will be announced live this Sunday June 21st.
Tune in to ABRACADABRA Festival on Twitch on Friday!
LEON BRIDGES RELEASES OFFICIAL VIDEO FOR “SWEETER” FEATURING TERRACE MARTIN
Today, Grammy Award winning R&B artist and songwriter Leon Bridges releases the official music video for “Sweeter” featuring Terrace Martin. Directed by his longtime photographer and collaborator Rambo, the video was filmed in Fort Worth, TX, in the neighborhood he grew up in and features his father and friends, including many from childhood. Filmed in a sun drenched hue, the video finds Leon celebrating life and community. Watch here. Says Leon, “I wanted to shine a light on the Black community in Fort Worth, and specifically my childhood community from the Southside of Fort Worth. I had my friends and family with me; this is a celebration of our Blackness.”
“Sweeter”, written from the perspective of a black man taking his last breath and feeling his spirit leave his body, was originally written and recorded for a future album, however, in light of current events, Leon and Terrace felt compelled to release the song at once. Listen to “Sweeter” here.
Says Leon, “Growing up in Texas I have personally experienced racism, my friends have experienced racism. From adolescence we are taught how to conduct ourselves when we encounter police to avoid the consequences of being racially profiled. I have been numb for too long, calloused when it came to the issues of police brutality. The death of George Floyd was the straw that broke the camel’s back for me. It was the first time I wept for a man I never met. I am George Floyd, my brothers are George Floyd, and my sisters are George Floyd. I cannot and will not be silent any longer. Just as Abel’s blood was crying out to God, George Floyd is crying out to me. So, I present to you Sweeter."
Adds Terrace, “It is always an honor to share a platform with my dear brother Leon Bridges. This is meditation music; it is not music for the ears but rather music for the heart. I truly believe that eyes have been deceiving us for so long but the heart always tells the truth. The heart needs to be repaired. Black folk have been deceived so many years, the only thing that can turn it around is a heart full of love.”
Lyrics:
Hoping for a life more sweeter,
Instead I’m just a story repeating.
Why do I fear with skin dark as night?
Can’t feel peace with those judging eyes.
I thought we moved on from the darker days.
Did the words of the King disappear in the air,
Like a butterfly?
Somebody should hand you a felony.
Because you stole from me,
My chance to be.
Hoping for a life more sweeter,
Instead I’m just a story repeating.
Why do I fear with skin dark as night?
Can’t feel peace with those judging eyes.
The tears of my Mother rain rain over me.
My sisters and my brothers sing sing over me.
And I wish I had another day, but it’s just another day.
Hoping for a life more sweeter,
Instead I’m just a story repeating.
Why do I fear with skin dark as night?
Can’t feel peace with those judging eyes.
High res photo, credit Rambo, here.Listen to “Sweeter”:Amazon | Apple Music | iTunes | Spotify | YouTube Music | YouTube
Connect with Leon Bridges
Website | Instagram | Twitter | Facebook
Connect with Terrace Martin
Adam Schlesinger tribute record out today
Saving for a Custom Van Out Now Exclusively via Bandcamp
100% of Compilation Proceeds Donated to MusiCares' COVID-19 Relief Fund
Adam Schlesinger was a prodigious and prolific songwriter, producer and multi-instrumentalist. He died on April 1 at the age of 52 as the result of complications from COVID-19. Not only was Schlesinger in multiple beloved bands—including the power-pop-leaning Fountains of Wayne and sophisticated electro-pop act Ivy—but he also collaborated on songs for movie soundtracks and the TV show Crazy Ex-Girlfriend.A wide array of artists touched by Schlesinger's life pay tribute to the many musical projects of which he was a part via a Bandcamp-exclusive benefit compilation, Saving for a Custom Van. The 31-song collection features collaborators, tourmates, friends, and fans putting their own spin on songs spanning his entire career.
Crazy Ex-Girlfriend co-creator, executive producer and star Rachel Bloom turns Fountains of Wayne's "Stacy's Mom" into a jazzy cabaret moodpiece, while Schlesinger's Fountains of Wayne bandmate Jody Porter contributes a melancholy, shimmering take on Ivy's "Four in the Morning." Sarah Silverman—who teamed up with Schlesinger on the upcoming musical The Bedwetter—joins with songwriter Ben Lee for a gorgeous, folk-leaning take on "Way Back Into Love," a Schlesinger song central to the 2007 film Music and Lyrics.
Other musicians on the compilation tackle Fountains of Wayne songs (Letters to Cleo's Kay Hanley, "Radiation Vibe"; Motion City Soundtrack, "Dip in the Ocean"; Nada Surf, "Sick Day"; Vivian Girls/Upset member Ali Koehler, "Hackensack"), while Ivy songs are also well-represented (Belly members Tanya Donelly and Gail Greenwood, "Undertow"; Ted Leo, "Everyday"; HUNNY, "Tess Don't Tell.") A full annotated tracklist is below.
LISTEN TO KAY HANLEY'S "RADIATION VIBE"
Saving for a Custom Van, which takes its title from a lyric in Fountains of Wayne's "Utopia Parkway," is co-curated and co-released by Father/Daughter Records and Wax Nine, the label/journal run by Speedy Ortiz’s Sadie Dupuis (who also contributes a FoW cover under her Sad13 moniker).
One-hundred percent of Saving for a Custom Van proceeds will be donated to MusiCares' COVID-19 Relief Fund, which is dedicated to helping music industry and community members affected by the COVID-19 pandemic.
Bandcamp link: https://fatherdaughterrecords.bandcamp.com/album/saving-for-a-custom-van
Track Listing:1. Apex Manor - Utopia Parkway2. Tanya Donelly and Gail Greenwood - Undertow3. Jeff Rosenstock - Please Don't Rock Me Tonight4. Kay Hanley - Radiation Vibe5. Ben Lee and Sarah Silverman - Way Back Into Love6. Remember Sports - Just the Girl7. Rachel Bloom - Stacy’s Mom8. Christian Lee Hutson - Red Dragon Tattoo9. Sad13 - A Fine Day For a Parade10. Jack Dolgen - What’ll It Be11. Motion City Soundtrack - A Dip in the Ocean12. Field Mouse - Valley Winter Song13. Cheekface - That Thing You Do14. Lucy Stone - I’ve Got a Flair15. Nada Surf - Sick Day16. Jody Porter - Four in the Morning17. Suzy Shinn and Charlie Brand - All Kinds of Time18. Ted Leo - Everyday19. Potty Mouth - I’ve Got A Feeling20. Cocktails - Sink to the Bottom21. Bree McKenna - Our Twisted Fate22. Ethan Eubanks - Troubled Times23. Ali Koehler - Hackensack24. Charly Bliss - Pretend to Be Nice25. Julian Velard and Alex Dezen - Michael and Heather at the Baggage Claim26. HUNNY - Tess Don’t Tell27. Mikey Erg - Hey Julie28. Off Book and the Family Band - Come On29. Prince Daddy & The Hyena and Just Friends - Mexican Wine30. Lisa Prank - Little Red Light31. Joshua Stoddard - Survival Car
# # #
Bio:Adam Schlesinger was known for juggling multiple projects at once. In 1996, the New York City native had an unexpected mainstream pop hit with the Wonders' "That Thing You Do!," an Academy Award-nominated, British Invasion throwback song he wrote for the Tom Hanks movie of the same name. During the same mid-'90s era, Schlesinger also became active with two bands: Ivy—which favored sophisticated, pristine indie-pop—and the insightful alt-rock act Fountains of Wayne, who found radio success with songs such as the power-pop classic "Radiation Vibe."
Over the years, he remained an active member of these groups even as his schedule grew ever busier: He wrote songs for and with other bands (Superdrag, Bowling for Soup, The Click Five) as well as for film soundtracks (Josie and The Pussycats, Music and Lyrics). Later in his career, even after becoming executive music producer and a prolific songwriter for the beloved TV show Crazy Ex-Girlfriend, Schlesinger continued balancing composition work with production jobs, including for the Monkees' 2016 album Good Times!
Schlesinger landed so many different gigs because of his versatility. He excelled at writing songs across a variety of styles—rock, power-pop, new wave, electro-pop, classic rock, folk, and Broadway, to name but a few. If anything, the main musical thread connecting Schlesinger's career was a good, solid hook—he didn't shy away from going full-on pop when the situation warranted—and a knack for surrounding himself with only the best creative talent. As a detailed NPR obituary pointed out, Schlesinger brought out the best in his collaborators—and they, in turn, also brought out the best in him.
Saving for a Custom Van features many musicians with whom Schlesinger worked closely—including Crazy Ex-Girlfriend co-creator, executive producer and star Rachel Bloom, who turns Fountains of Wayne's "Stacy's Mom" into a jazzy cabaret moodpiece; Crazy Ex-Girlfriend executive producer/composer Jack Dolgen, who envisions the show's "What'll It Be" as a muscular power-pop song; and Schlesinger's Fountains of Wayne bandmate Jody Porter, who contributes a melancholy, shimmering take on Ivy's "Four in the Morning." Sarah Silverman—who teamed up with Schlesinger for the upcoming musical The Bedwetter—joins with songwriter Ben Lee for a gorgeous, folk-leaning take on "Way Back Into Love," a Schlesinger song central to the 2007 film Music and Lyrics.
Fittingly, the compilation also shows off the breadth and depth of Schlesinger's many projects. Fountains of Wayne is, of course, well-represented, in the form of fizzy power-pop (Jeff Rosenstock, "Please Don't Rock Me Tonight"; Motion City Soundtrack, "Dip In the Ocean"), observant ballads (Nada Surf, "Sick Day"; Suzy Shinn, “All Kinds of Time”), buoyant sing-alongs (Mikey Erg "Hey Julie"; Lisa Prank, "Little Red Light"), and grungy garage (Cocktails, "Sink To The Bottom"; Sad13, “A Fine Day for a Parade”). Apex Manor also digs in for a soulful version of "Utopia Parkway," the song featuring the lyric that gives Saving for a Custom Van its name: "I've been saving for a custom van/And I've been playing for a cover band/And my baby doesn't understand/Why I never turned from boy to man."
Ivy is also covered multiple times on Saving for a Custom Van. Belly bandmates Tanya Donelly and Gail Greenwood team up for a dreamy "Undertow," while both Hunny ("Tess Don't Tell") and Potty Mouth ("I've Got a Feeling") capture the essence of Ivy's pop smarts. And the cult favorite Josie and the Pussycats soundtrack also gets much love: Letters to Cleo's Kay Hanley, who provided vocals for the soundtrack's songs, puts an '80s new wave spin on Fountains of Wayne's "Radiation Vibe." Elsewhere, the band and cast behind podcast Off Book: The Improvised Musical contribute a blazing version of the Pussycats’ "Come On," while Charly Bliss put their trademark driving synth-pop stamp on "Pretend To Be Nice."
But perhaps the biggest testament to Schlesinger's genius is how many artists on Saving for a Custom Van transform the songs with which he's associated. Two Fountains of Wayne tunes get complete makeovers: Field Mouse envisions "Valley Winter Song" not as a wistful folk-pop ballad, but as brisk, optimistic power-pop, while Christian Lee Hutson transforms the zippy "Red Dragon Tattoo" into a hushed indie-folk ballad.
Other songs allude to the wistfulness and nostalgia always present in Schlesinger's work. Ted Leo covers Ivy's soul-searching, uncertain "Everyday" as a jazz-influenced torch song, complete with string swells; Julian Velard and Alex Dezen reimagine "Michael and Heather at the Baggage Claim" as a hushed '70s-pop duet; and Ali Koehler (Upset/Vivian Girls) offers a minimal, synth-driven take on the fan-favorite "Hackensack."
Since Schlesinger's death, "Hackensack" in particular has been covered multiple times, as the song's heartbroken lyrics have taken on new meaning: "And I will wait for you/As long as I need to/And if you ever get back to Hackensack/I'll be here for you." Saving for a Custom Van illustrates that Schlesinger's many projects offer no shortage of emotional solace and comfort—and will continue to do so for years to come.
# # #
Daniel Blumberg Announces New Album "On&On"; Listen To The First Three Tracks
ANNOUNCES NEW ALBUM
ON&ON
OUT DIGITALLY JULY 31
VINYL AND CD AVAILABLE AUGUST 28
LISTEN TO THE FIRST THREE TRACKS
credit: Brigitte Lacombe (hi-res)“I hear a room, its air and the disturbances that ricochet between its surfaces, then I hear a song, as ifa ship has slowly emerged out of sea mist, its form coalescing into coherent shape for the sake of memory.” - David Toop on On&On
Daniel Blumberg has announced details of new album On&On , a 9-track song cycle that confirms the London musician and visual artist as a unique creative force, and pushes the art of song into expansive new territories. On&On is set for release July 31 on digital platforms via Mute with vinyl and CD formats to follow on August 28. The album is accompanied by an essay written by the author David Toop.
Watch the video for “On&On”, directed by Blumberg, here.
Listen to the album’s first three tracks here.
Read David Toop’s essay here.
Pre-order the album here.
On&On - which follows 2018’s Minus, Blumberg’s debut for Mute - is a consolidation of the deconstructed song aesthetic he has developed, operating at the intersection between conventional song structures and free improvisation. Now he takes this further, incorporating recurring, shape-shifting motifs and at times dissolving the boundaries between songs altogether. Title track “On&On” appears four times across the arc of the record as if coming in and out of focus, an infinite song that encapsulates the paradox of the circle, existing in a liminal space between perpetual motion and stasis, as Daniel sings: “On and on and on and on and on…”
The album was born out of live sessions with the same core group of players as Minus: Daniel Blumberg (vocals, guitar, harmonica), Ute Kanngiesser (cello), Billy Steiger (violin), Tom Wheatley (double bass) and Jim White (drums), with the addition of electronic maverick Elvin Brandhi (vocals). As such it represents a deepening of relationships and distillation of techniques for this tight-knit group of free-playing musicians, who are loosely based around Café OTO.
It was recorded by Peter Walsh (Scott Walker), who captures the group’s extraordinary performances - encompassing the full expressive range of their instruments from softly-bowed melodies and tender vocal harmonies to rough-hewn scrapes, plucks and rattles - while the sound of the room and the outside world spill naturally into the sound field, as Toop puts it “as if a window has opened”.
(hi-res)
ON&ON TRACKLISTING
1. On & On
2. Sidestep Summer
3. On&On&On
4. Bound
5. Silence Breaker
6. On&On&On&On
7. Teethgritter
8. On&On&On&On&On
9. Pillow
FURTHER LISTENING
Daniel Blumberg performing live at Café OTO (link)
Daniel Blumberg performing “The Bomb” on Later… with Jools Holland (link)
Daniel Blumberg & Keiji Haino present SILVER DINNER: (link)
RECENT QUOTES
"A modern masterpiece" - 5/5 The Times
"Minus is a statement of intent from an artist who has found his voice" - The Quietus
“Traces lines between drawing and improvised music” - The Wire
“One of London’s most exciting emerging artists” - Hans Ulrich Obrist
SELECTED DISCOGRAPHY
Daniel Blumberg: On&On (Mute, 2020)
GUO: GUO4 (Mute, 2019)
Daniel Blumberg: Minus (Mute, 2018)
Daniel Blumberg & Hebronix: Liv (Mute, 2018)
Daniel Blumberg: Live at Café OTO (OTOroku, 2018)
GUO: GUO2 (OTOroku, 2018)
GUO: GUO1 (self-released, 2017)
Daniel Blumberg & Neil Michael Hagerty: HEB-HEX (ATP Recordings, 2013)
Hebronix: Unreal (ATP Recordings, 2013)
SELECTED FILMOGRAPHY
The World To Come (dir. Mona Fastvold, 2020)
GUO4 (dir. Peter Strickland, 2019)
GYUTO (dir. Brady Corbet, 2019)
Brigitte (dir. Lynne Ramsey, 2019)
Gleaning Truths (dir. Agnes Varda, 2018)
SELECTED EXHIBITIONS
Black Album / White Cube, Kunsthall, Rotterdam (2020)
Dance, Stanley, Dance with Marianna Simnett, Matt’s Gallery, London (2020)
JOMO, Macro, Museum of Contemporary Art, Rome (2020)
MK Calling, MK Gallery, Milton Keynes (2020)
Hyper!: Deichtorhallen, Hamburg (2019)
Union Gallery, London (2019)
Ways of Listening with [Assemble]: British School at Rome (2018)
LINKS
boiledegg.org
http://mute.com
https://www.brigittelacombe.com
https://davidtoopblog.com/DANIEL BLUMBERG: WEBSITE | FACEBOOK | INSTAGRAM | SPOTIFY | APPLE MUSIC
MUTE: WEBSITE | FACEBOOK | TWITTER | INSTAGRAM | SOUNDCLOUD
THE SOUNDFLOWERS FEATURING PARIS JACKSON AND GABRIEL GLENN ANNOUNCES SELF-TITLED DEBUT EP
THE SOUNDFLOWERS SET FOR RELEASE ON JUNE 23rd
PRE-SAVE THE SUNFLOWERS EP HERE
NEW YORK, NY – June 16th – Today, The Soundflowers, featuring Paris Jackson and Gabriel Glenn, reveals their self-titled debut EP, The Soundflowers , is set for release on June 23rd via IMPERIAL—pre-save the EP now HERE .
The band’s five-track debut project eclectically blends indie acoustic and folk with influences of blues, soul, bluegrass country and beach reggae. The Soundflowers was produced by Mike Malchicoff (King Princess) with GRAMMY Award-winning mix engineer Rob Kinelski (Billie Eilish). The EP features lead single “Your Look (Glorious),” alongside four additional songs: “Geronimo,” “Notes On A Ghost,” “In The Blue” and “Best Version Of Myself.”
The Soundflowers will donate their net proceeds from merchandise sales to Black Women Lead, Black Voters Matter Fund and BEAM through July. Merchandise will launch alongside the EP on June 23rd via thesoundflowersmerch.com.
The Soundflowers was born after Jackson and Glenn first crossed paths at Los Angeles’ Rainbow Bar and Grill during a TrashDögs performance, the rock ‘n’ roll band fronted by Gabriel. They quickly realized that their musical energies and passions aligned, as Paris recalls, “I started writing around 13 when I bought myself a guitar; I didn’t really start sharing or recording it until I met Gabriel.” Of their first time working on music together at Gabriel’s band’s rehearsal studio, he says, “We showed each other songs and even wrote a few on the spot. Everything fit together so naturally, from our voices to our songwriting style. I had never met someone who fit so perfectly with my sound.”
Stay tuned for more from The Soundflowers!
ABOUT THE SOUNDFLOWERS
The sound behind The Soundflowers is an eclectic take on indie acoustic and folk music, as the band attributes their songwriting to influences like The Beatles, Joe Purdy, Ray LaMontagne, Radiohead and The Lumineers. While Paris Jackson hails from one of the most successful families in music history, she is best known for her activism, acting and modeling work, the latter of which has seen her front campaigns for international brands like Calvin Klein, gracing the cover of top fashion magazines, including Vogue and Harper’s Bazaar titles and making her runway debut earlier this year at Jean Paul Gaultier’s final show. On the acting front, Paris has taken on several TV and film roles, collaborating with acclaimed industry professionals, including Lee Daniels, Charlize Theron, Joel Edgerton and Rachel Winters. Aside from music, Paris’ biggest passion has always been in using her platform to shine light on causes important to her, notably going off-script while presenting at the GRAMMY Awards and MTV VMAs, to highlight the Dakota Access Pipeline and events of racial injustice in Charlottesville, respectably. Paris also serves as an Ambassador for the Elizabeth Taylor AIDS Foundation (ETAF) and is passionate about continuing her godmother’s legacy of ridding the stigma and finding a cure for the HIV/AIDS pandemic.
Gabriel Glenn has always leaned into his musical talents, which first emerged while singing in the car with his mom on the way to school and further cultivated by forming bands with friends in his youth and studying music at the collegiate level in his home state of Louisiana. Upon moving to Los Angeles several years ago, Gabriel and a couple close friends formed the “desert rock ‘n’ roll” band TrashDögs, which has found local success performing at popular haunts along the Sunset Strip. Upon meeting Paris and forming The Soundflowers, Gabriel feels more complete as an artist: “She creates so naturally and honestly; it inspires me to be a better songwriter. I think having a unique spirit like hers allows us to channel things we’d never receive on our own.”
THE SOUNDFLOWERS TRACKLIST:“Your Look (Glorious)”“Geronimo”“Notes On A Ghost”“In The Blue”“Best Version Of Myself”CONNECT WITH THE SOUNDFLOWERS: INSTAGRAM | FACEBOOK
June 15, 2020
Alessi’s Ark interview 2020 by Alexander Laurence RADIO KAJW 2020
Alessi’s Ark interview 2020
by Alexander Laurence
Alessi’s Ark is Alessi Laurent-Marke who is a musician who is still in her twenties. She is from West London and has released four full albums and a number of EPs over the past 15 years.
She has toured Europe and America several times. She has played shows with Laura Marling, Mumford and Sons, John Grant and Stereolab, among others.
Alessi’s Ark is a solo project and also a band. It has included several members, including Jason Santos, who has become a full time member. I saw them played in London at the Harrison in November 2019. They have released a new version of the song “Woman.” And there is a new EP called “Truth” released this year which takes us into a new decade.
A recent UK tour was canceled because of Corona Virus. But I was able to talk to the band earlier this year about their music and their lives. In the meantime, there have been several live streaming events and more to come for the rest of the year.
This interview was broadcast on Radio KAJW.
AL: I just played her song “Woman (2020).” Let me ask you about the song. You released this song in 2009. Now we have this new version.
Alessi: Yeah. It’s been a favorite for us to play live. Over the course of the last year and a half, some loyal listeners have asked if this song will ever come out again, because the way we played the song now was very different from the original recording. As you just heard there is percussion and synths. At the end of the song I emphasize the line “When I am looking at the moon, I am blinded by your light.” We thought “why not” because we haven’t recorded anything from Notes From the Treehouse. Now that we are out of the terms with EMI, it’s a record we can experiment with and re-record if we want to. Living with a song for ten years, and I actually wrote that song when I was 14, the meaning has change. Now I am approaching 30, I have come full circle. I haven’t become a mother yet, but I am reflecting on the idea of femininity and womanhood. Even down to the way seeds and plants grow, there are often female reproductive organs and things. I was thinking about ideas about women and womanhood throughout nature. I am just fascinated as I am getting older. I wrote the song before I was 15.
AL: Wow! Just drank some coffee of something? That is interesting that you mention the situation with EMI. I have just been hearing a lot about bands getting the rights back to their previous albums after ten years. So that happened to you too?
Alessi: It’s happened.
AL: There we have it. Let me ask you about what I mentioned in the email. There was this whole West London Folk Scene that happened around 2005 to 2010 when you first started to do music. It had something to do with Communion Music in Notting Hill?
Alessi: Yeah that was Communion. That was done by Ben Lovett of Mumford and Sons. Also Kevin Jones was involved, who was Ben’s best friend and bandmate. Kevin went on to form Bear’s Den with Andrew Davie. Andrew was in a band called Andrew Davie and the Lucky Egg. There was several bands with the same musicians. Bear’s Den went on brilliantly. As have Mumford and Sons who were like the Beatles at one point. Kevin and Ben set up a monthly night at Notting Hill Arts Club which is right in the center of West London. They sourced this community of musicians who were trying new things. I played there a few times. I met some lovely musicians there. It was the first place I was Mumford and Laura Marling.
AL: They have a lot of articles about Communion and Nu-Folk online. Was that ever a real scene? It’s ten years later, and you seemed to have more in common with Rilo Kiley and 1990s indie music possibly?
Alessi: Yeah. That was definitely the music that I lent to naturally. I didn’t listen to folk music per se. I was lumped in with that sound through press releases, and people saying “She has long hair and she plays guitar, so she must be folky and like Joni Mitchell.” It was an honor playing with Laura Marling and Mumford and Sons. Their music leans toward the traditional. It was lazy journalists who roped me in because I played shows with Laura Marling and others. My music stuck out like a sore thumb. You can listen to it. I don’t play folk music. I played acoustic guitar and sometimes I would play with a double bass. I wouldn’t describe it as folk music. There was a scene. I felt late to the game because these musicians knew each other and had gone to school with each other. I met Ben Lovett in 2009 after I had done Notes From the Treehouse. Since I had done that record in Omaha most of my first friends in music were in the states. When I got back to London, I didn’t know where to start. Previously I had been in school and I didn’t know any musicians. When I met Ben, he was encouraging and he introduced me to some of his bandmates. Through them I met several others. But that was a solidified group of friends. I never felt part of that group. I just orbited it for a while because Ben Lovett played with me for a while. He was kind enough to take me on board.
AL: You have four albums and many EPs. It seems like you have painted this unified picture: you have the treehouse, there are animals dancing around, you are looking at the solar system. Did you ever conceive of the whole Alessi’s Ark project of this complete description of the physical world?
Alessi: Wow! I never thought about it like that. But I suppose whether I have know it or not, maybe I was lead through the veil, because I fantasized the treehouse as a fantasy of living in London, which is a concrete jungle, aside from great river and parks. I was dreaming of somewhere that was calmer and quieter. The songs were the notes from this said treehouse. Sophisticated is quiet a compliment. I have just been traveling in my mind I suppose, working out different styles and genres. The music is informed by the musicians I have played with. The recent music I have created with Jason Santos is the most candid and autobiographical. It’s more “on the ground” and less esoteric and ethereal. I am talking about the grace and the power of the every day. Hiding behind less symbolism.
AL: Well let’s speak to Jason Santos. What sort of bands were you doing before you joined the Ark?
Jason: Quite a variety. There was some Pop Rock. How would you describe JD?
Alessi: JD was a political punk band.
AL: So you were a little like Crass? That is a little bit different from Alessi’s Ark.
Jason: I started playing on classical piano. I like what we are doing with Alessi’s Ark. It’s more about doing something that is beautiful and the arrangements and the melodies. If that makes sense.
AL: I saw the show at the Harrison. It seems like you are both playing different instruments. There is more musicianship. it’s more fun. You are both playing drums.
Alessi: Yes.
Jason: It’s more about trying different things without people judging you. It can be a nervous situation where people look at you weird because you can’t play so well. But it’s fun.
AL: Let me ask Jason about music in London. There are electronic musicians and there is this new jazz scene happening. We see a lot of these jazz bands playing in America recently. What do you think is going on in London right now?
Jason: Ooh!
Alessi: Idles are really big. The neo-jazz thing is moving very strong.
Jason: Jazz is not really my thing. I see a lot of bands at the rehearsal space.
AL: If people want to practice in East London, what is the website called again?
Jason: It’s called Arch 79 Studios. It’s in Bethnal Green.
AL: I am running out of time here. If people want to find music and merch for Alessi’s Ark, where do they go?
Alessi: Yes. They can go to Alessi’s Ark on Bandcamp for music and artwork. And all the usual suspects: Alessi’s Ark on Instagram. Alessi’s Ark Music on twitter and facebook.
INTERVIEW with Alessi's Ark (Alessi Laurent-Marke and Jason Santos)
Arch Studio: www.arch79studio.com/
Alessi's Ark info: alessisark.bandcamp.com/album/light-in-the-dark-ep
Honey Radar announce new Chunklet Industries compilation LP & share a Monkees cover via The Vinyl District
Honey Radar announce new Chunklet Industries compilation LP & share a Monkees cover via The Vinyl District
Sing the Snow Away: The Chunklet Years is due 6/20
pre-order the LP here
STREAM: "Wind-Up Man" -
The Vinyl District / bandcamp / SoundCloud
Today, Honey Radar have shared their take on The Monkees' "Wind-Up Man" & The Vinyl District has the premiere. Check out the premiere here. Along with the premiere is the announcement of Honey Radar's Sing the Snow Away: The Chunklet Years, a compilation of all of their Chunklet Industries material, which is due June 20th, 2020.
Regarding how the cover came to fruition, Jason from Honey Radar stated: "The Monkees were the first group I was obsessed with when I was a little kid. They had a bizarre TV special in 1969, after their show was canceled, called 33 1/3 Revolutions Per Monkee. It's almost unwatchable, worse than Magical Mystery Tour, but has some songs in it that I like, and "Wind-up Man" always sounded to me like it would make a good straight-forward rock song. I wanted to record it for years, and we played it live for a while in 2015 and 2016. When Henry asked us to do a split single, he explained that his side would be an impression of the band Slint, which--spoiler alert--is just three minutes of awkward silence. Apparently, there were some very long pauses between songs in their set at Primavera, and this was Henry's sort of Andy Kaufman take on it. We figured we should also do a cover for our side, and "Wind-up Man" was one we had down and could churn out pretty easily. The handful of times we played it, someone would usually ask about it afterward. One of our friends asked if it was a Wipers cover. I'm glad we were able to make it sound raw enough to get that reaction."
Bio:
“Honey Radar is an exceptional avant-pop band, currently based in Philadelphia, helmed by guitarist Jason Henn. This compilation pulls together material recorded for singles on Chunklet Industries, the Atlanta label run by Henry Owings. It represents what might be called Honey Radar’s second phase, which began when Henn left Indiana to settle in Sun Ra’s City of Brotherly Love.” - Byron Coley
“Gimme nothing but jams.” That was how Chunklet challenged Honey Radar upon the beginning of their long & torrid love affair back in 2015. What was turned in, and continues to be turned in, is nothing short of bedroom psych pop brilliance. Sing the Snow Away: The Chunklet Years shows a band that went from a one man recording project into the more sophisticated (yet still home recorded) band you hear on this album. Three proper singles, a smattering of split singles and some bonus tracks constitutes “Sing The Snow Away.” Covers by The Monkees and The Fall? Yep, we’ve got you. All mastered by Drew Crumbaugh and the artwork constructed by Jason and Chunklet. Liner notes by esteemed scribe Byron Coley. Let the love affair continue.
First edition of 210 copies. Test pressing copies are each unique and individually using collage material provided by Honey Radar’s Jason Henn and subsequently assembled by 9-year old artist and Chunklet shipping clerk, Charlotte.
Honey Radar
Sing the Snow Away: The Chunklet Years
(Chunklet Industries)
[pre-order the LP here]
Street Date: June 20, 2020
Track List:
1. Lilac Pharmacy
2. Orange Knife
3. A Trip To Belmoor Cottage
4. Kangaroo Court
5. Ink Circle
6. Telephone Betty’s Aneurysm
7. Paper Car
8. The Calvin Coolidge Clarion
9. Fan The Earthworm
10. Silver Strobe
11. Parrot (Theme From Kentucky Meat Shower)
12. Wind-Up Man
13. Spillman Was A Motorhead
14. United Fox
15. Knocked Out
16. Psychic Cruise
17. Medium Mary Todd
18. Moon Director (Version Three)
19. Rainbird/English Costume
20. Notes From The Cornell Forestry Club
21. Medium Mary Todd (Version Two)
22. Middle Class Revolt
23. Kangaroo Court (live on WFMU 5/28/16)
24. Lilac Pharmacy (live on WFMU 6/25/17)
25. Paper Car (live on WFMU 6/25/17)
26. The Calvin Coolidge Clarion (live on WFMU 6/25/17)
27. Medium Mary Todd (live on WFMU 12/10/19)
28. Prole Art Threat (live at H2O50, Athens 11/29/18)
HONEY RADAR LINKS:
Website
CHUNKLET INDUSTRIES LINKS:
YouTube
Website
bandcamp
Covet Release "Farewell" Video; New album, Technicolor, Out Now
COVET RELEASE "FAREWELL" VIDEO
TECHNICOLOR AVAILABLE NOW VIA TRIPLE CROWN RECORDS
Click the image above or follow this link to watch the video for "Farewell:" https://youtu.be/qaf1BDi5f3U
June 15, 2020 - SAN FRANCISCO – Covet, the Bay Area trio who just released their sophomore album, technicolor (Triple Crown Records), have unveiled a video for "Farewell" (https://youtu.be/qaf1BDi5f3U).
“When you listen to technicolor, I want you to be transported elsewhere,” says Young about the 10-song album. “My goal is to uplift and make you feel reflective of emotions and experience a whole spectrum.”
“I second that,” adds bass player David Adamiak. “For us, technicolor was a diverse statement. I hope listeners see there are so many facets to this collective and our songwriting. Maybe they’ll join us on the trip.”
Technicolor is the first music from Covet to include vocals, with Yvette lending her voice to: “Parachute” (https://youtu.be/V-lpxJA-AjA) and “Farewell” (https://youtu.be/qaf1BDi5f3U), a first for the band who have become well-known for their joyously tuneful instrumental tracks. Young said of the band’s decision to include vocals: “My whole rule for writing is to never rule anything out, as long as it serves the music.”
The album is available now via brick & mortar retailers, as well as through the Triple Crown Records webstore and digital service providers (https://smarturl.it/covetband). Two of the vinyl variants have already sold out with a purple variant remaining. A highly-limited (300 copies) transparent teal with orange splatter version has been made available via Record Store Day (https://recordstoreday.com/UPC/646920324101).
Photo credit: Connor Feimster Covet is David Adamiak (bass), Forrest Rice (drums) and Yvette Young (guitar/vocals). The band’s debut release, the 2015 EP Currents, cultivated a fluid style and faithful fanbase. The San Francisco-based band’s 2018 full-length debut, effloresce, elevated them to a new strata altogether. Powered by audience favorites such as “shibuya” [feat. San Holo] and “sea dragon” [feat. Mario Camarena], the record has cumulatively tallied over 10 million total streams to date - unprecedented for a primarily instrumental act. “The band’s music has some parallels with the classical-jazz fusion of Japanese pianist Hiromi,” said The Chicago Reader in a 2019 feature, continuing “but because front woman and guitarist Yvette Young provides its foundation with her intricate, liquid strings of notes, it has a welcome rock edge.” Gear Gods said upon the release of effloresce, “all three of these talented musicians form what is an incredibly musical, lush, and thoughtful sound,” while Brooklyn Vegan noted the band’s knack for writing “sugar sweet melodies.”
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