Alexander Laurence's Blog, page 1843

Tei Shi Announces North American Fall Tour

TEI SHI ANNOUNCES NORTH AMERICAN FALL TOUR
DEBUT ALBUM CRAWL SPACE OUT NOW ON DOWNTOWN / INTERSCOPE RECORDS
Photo Credit: JJ MedinaTei Shi has been non stop since releasing her critically acclaimed debut album this spring, touring and wowing crowds around the world with her distinctly sensual brand of R&B pop. The New York Times recently included her in their "30 Under 30" special, Billboard named Crawl Space as one of the Top 50 Albums of 2017 So Far, and The New Yorker also featured her, writing, "The spindly compositions that Valerie Teicher records as Tei Shi are fierce in their modesty, making spare use of whispered high notes and loud screams." Tei Shi will be hitting the road this fall, all dates are listed below.  Don't miss a chance to check out this incredible artist. 
KCRW recently featured the track "How Far" as their Top Tune, describing the New York based artist as "... a fast-rising star, and her debut album documents her evolution as she comes into her own. "How Far" is a personal song, as she explores what to do when a relationship falls apart."
Watch the video for "Keep Running"
Purchase Crawl Space now via RetailiTunesApple MusicAmazon MP3SpotifyNapster

Tour Dates:9/8/2017 - Washington, DC - U Street Music Hall9/9/2017 - Raleigh, NC - Hopscotch Festival9/10/2017 - Atlanta, GA - Aisle 59/12/2017 - Dallas, TX - Club Dada9/13/2017 - Houston, TX - White Oak Music Hall9/14/2017 - Austin, TX - Stubb's JR9/16/2017 - St. Louis, MO - Fubar 9/17/2017 - Columbus, OH - Rumba Cafe9/19/2017 - Allston, MA - Great Scott9/20/2017 - Brooklyn, NY - Music Hall of Williamsburg9/22/2017 - Philadelphia, PA - Foundry @ Fillmore9/23/2017 - Ithaca, NY - Cayuga Sound Festival9/24/2017 - Pittsburgh, PA - Cattivo9/26/2017 - Ottawa, ON - Mavericks9/27/2017 - Montreal, QC - Cafe Campus9/28/2017 - Toronto, ON - The Mod Club9/29/2017 - Detroit, MI - El Club9/30/2017 - Chicago, IL - Schubas10/3/2017 - Minneapolis, WI - 7th StreetEntry10/4/2017 - Winnipeg, MB - The Park10/5/2017 - Saskatoon, SK - Amigo's10/6/2017 - Edmonton, AB - The Needle10/7/2017 - Calgary, AB - Commonwealth10/11/2017 - Victoria, BC - Sugar10/12/2017 - Vancouver, BC - Biltmore10/14/2017 - Seattle, WA - Barboza10/15/2017 - Portland, OR - Holocene10/17/2017 - San Francisco, CA - Popscene @ Rickshaw Stop10/18/2017 - Santa Barbara, CA - SOHO Music Club10/20/2017 - Los Angeles, CA - Popshop @ Echoplex10/21/2017 - San Diego, CA - Soda Bar10/23/2017 - Salt Lake City, UT - Kilby Court10/24/2017 - Denver, CO - Larimer Lounge

MYRKUR unveils first single "Måneblôt" from 'Mareridt' coming Sept 15 on Relapse

   

MYRKUR Unveils "Måneblôt"
Debut Single From Forthcoming Album 'Mareridt' 
Out September 15 via Relapse Records
Announces European Tour SolstafirPlus Special Performance in NYC 


Renowned Danish composer and classically trained multi-instrumentalist, MYRKUR, ascends with 'Mareridt's debut single today. "Måneblôt" is a tale which portrays a nightmare engaging a woman, girl, animal, violence, sun and fire worship and the pagan ritual, Blót," MYRKUR explains. 
'Mareridt' (translation: Nightmare) is a rich juxtaposition of the dark and the light; the moon and the mother earth; the witch and the saint. MYRKUR explores deeper into the mysterious and the feminine with 11 tracks that further progress her visionary blend of metal with gorgeous, stirring melodies, dark folk passages, choral arrangements and superb, horrific beauty. 
Further taking MYRKUR to new artistic heights are lyrics in multiple languages, an unforgettable collaboration with Chelsea Wolfe and an array of special instrumentation including violin, mandola, folk drums, nyckelharpa (an ancient Swedish key harp), and Kulning (an ancient Scandinavian herding call). 'Mareridt' is a profound manifestation of nightmares that demonstrates MYRKUR as one of the truly exceptional artists of our time. 
"I wanted to make an album that I always needed to exist but never did," she explains. "So, I wrote it myself." 
MYRKUR found herself plagued by insufferable nightmares and sleep paralysis. "I was in one of the worst times of my life," she recalls. "I was afraid to sleep."  She reluctantly lived in her subconscious and tried all the movements that would normally center her: being in nature, swimming, sitting outside and carving wood, but nothing changed.

"You know how they say that when you have been through trauma or abuse, you tend to recreate the situation in an attempt to take ownership of it?" she says. "I think I was doing that. I was trying to solve things [in my nightmares] that I could not solve in real life. Things I could not run away from."
MYRKUR knew she had to start listening. She stopped trying to shove the nightmares away, and embraced them. She kept a notebook by her bed and documented everything from the recurring symbols, archetypes and animals that crawled around her head. She obsessed over Nordic fairy tales, mythology and folklore. She pulled meaning from Hans Christian Andersen's Little Mermaid to verses from the Bible, and connected these stories to the spiritual solace she found outside her house. Once the songs started coming, they didn't stop. MYRKUR would bring a small, string instrument into the forest to write. "It's very giving," she says. "Your environment becomes part of the song, and the songwriting. I just love that. Nature changed this record." She was manic, writing any moment she was awake, expelling the subliminal material like an exorcism.
"This record is very connected to my true self, without an ego or persona," MYRKUR says. "I am interested in human spirit, when it goes beyond the layers. When I get to that place, I feel invincible."
'Mareridt' was recorded between Copenhagen and Seattle with producer, Randall Dunn (Earth, Marissa Nadler, Sun O))), Boris). Like a marriage of King Diamond's 'Them' with Tchaikovsky's 'Swan Lake', 'Mareridt' is a carefully composed concept freed from genre. It flows between English and Danish, from guttural growls charged with testosterone, to emotive feminine hymns and Kulning. The compositions sweep into one another like a soundtrack designed to guide the listener through emotional turmoil. One minute the songs are fighting back, the next lulling you to submission. Lyrically, MYRKUR hatches open the folklore of her Nordic heritage, applying the ancient fables to her personal piety. 'Mareridt' toys with juxtaposition and finds life between theoretical opposites. Timeless, triumphant, powerful and hypnotic, 'Mareridt' is a sonic nightmare that you never want to escape.   
Relapse offers an exclusive, one time pressing deluxe 2LP on red inside clear with blue splatter and custom MYRKUR logo etching on side D; limited to 900.  The deluxe version also features alternate cover art painted by Norwegian painter Odd Nerdrum and contains core album on LP 1 plus 5 bonus tracks on LP 2 (not available on CD or single LP versions). Pre-order 'Mareridt' now via Relapse.com.
MYRKUR is:Amalie Bruun - all instruments and composition.

Photo: Daria Endresen
Mareridt MYRKURRelapse RecordsSeptember 15, 2017Pre-order: Digital | Physical
1. Mareridt 
2.  
Måneblôt   
3. The Serpent 
4. Crown 
5. Elleskudt 
6. De Tre Piker 
7. Funeral (featuring Chelsea Wolfe) 
8. Ulvinde  
9. Gladiatrix  
10. Kætteren 
11. Børnehjem 
12. Death of Days *
13. Kvindelil * (featuring Chelsea Wolfe)
14. Løven * 
15. Himlen blev sort *
16. Två Konungabarn *
*(Digital / Deluxe 2xLP Bonus Track)



MYRKUR LIVE DATES:
NORTH AMERICAAugust 17: Brooklyn, NY - Saint Vitus August 18: Las Vegas, NV - Psycho Las VegasEUROPEJuly 21: Katowice (PL) - Metal Hammer FestivalJuly 22: Sheffield (UK) - Tramlines FestivalOctober 26: Stockholm (SE) - Close-Up Baten CruiseNovember 4: Leeds (UK) - Damnation FestivalNovember 17 - London (UK) - Heaven #November 18 - Leeuwarden (NL) - Neushoorn #November 19 - Lille (FR) - Maison Folie Beaulieu #November 20 - Paris (FR) - Alhambra #November 21 - Rennes (FR) - Antipode MJC #November 23 - Bilbao (ES) - Santana27 #November 24 - Madrid (ES) - Caracol #November 25 - Barcelona (ES) - Razzmatazz2 #November 27 - Milan (IT) - Circolo Magnolia #November 29 - Munich (DE) - Theaterfabrik #November 30 - Salzburg (AT) - Rockhouse #December 1 - Bologna (IT) - Locomotiv #December 7 - Budapest (HU) - A38 #December 8 - Vienna (AT) - Arena #December 11 - Prague (CZ) - Roxy #December 12 - Berlin (DE) - Heimathafen #December 13 - Cologne (DE) - Kantine #December 15 - Rotterdam (NL) - maasSilo #December 16 - Brussels (BE) - VK #December 18 - Copenhagen (DK) - Pumpehuset #December 20 - Stockholm (SE) - Debaser Strand #
# - w/ Solstafir

Bust Premiered Kim Boekbinder's "Head Bitch In Charge" Video! (Album Out On 9/8)

Watch Bust's Premiere of Kim Boekbinder's "Head Bitch In Charge"
  Kim Boekbinder  is a noise witch, casting neon spells over shadowed rooms with her hypnotic synth incantations and pulsating basslines. Following up the success of 2013’s electro alt-pop space epic The Sky is Calling, Kim will release NOISEWITCH  on September 8, 2017. Mixed by Joel Hamilton (Highly Suspect, Pretty Lights, The Black Keys) at Studio G in Brooklyn, the new album is danceable witch-pop, each song is a spell cast on the audience.

Kim has spent the last few years compelling audiences the world over with hypnotic video installations that complement her music, using looping, throbbing, layered soundscapes to craft a live show that was described by the peerlessPeaches as “intense!” She’s performed to loyal fans in Australia, Russia, Portugal, Belgium, Finland, Germany, France, England and the United States at such iconic venues as the Sydney Opera House, Caesar’s Palace Grand Ballroom, the Great American Music Hall, Webster Hall, and The Fillmore.

Originally from Canada but now a full-fledged New Yorker, Kim has been releasing music since 2006, starting as the duo Vermillion Lies. Her first full-length solo album, The Impossible Girl, released in 2010, was produced by legendary Boston producer Sean Slade. Kim has worked with Amnesty International, Fusion.net, The Equal Justice Initiative, PBS Space Time and most recently landed on the front page of the New York Times website with a Jay Z/Molly Crabapple collaboration she directed and did sound design for. She has also recorded music for book trailers, created commissioned songs for art shows, composed short film soundtracks, had her songs licensed by So You Think You Can Dance, the very popular Welcome to Nightvale podcast, independent films, and has written the music for an Official Selection at Sydney Film Festival and Annecy Animation Festival.

Kim has spoken at Ignite NYC, SXSW Interactive, and TEDxNYC about art and creative anarchy.
Kim is highly regarded as an artist developing innovative new ways for musicians to capitalize on the changing dynamics of an imploding music industry and exploding technology sector. She ran a subscription service before Patreon existed, inviting hundreds of fans to support her on a monthly basis, and she has successfully crowdfunded her three full solo albums as well as several tours and side projects. She just launched a new record label, Golden Glow Records, and looks forward to releasing new music by the talented and hard-working artists she knows and loves.

Credit for top photo: Clayton Cubitt

Tour Dates:

September 7
Somerville, MA at P.A’s Lounge

September 13
Buffalo, NY at Mohawk Place

September 14
Toronto, ON at Bovine Sex Club

September 15
Detroit, MI at Trumbull Plex

September 16
Cleveland, OH at CODA

September 17
Pittsburgh, PA at Smiling Moose

September 20
St Louis, MO at Blank Space

September 21
Indianapolis, IN at Melody Inn

September 22
Chicago, IL at Underground Lounge

September 24
St Paul, MN at Amsterdam Bar

September 30
Phoenix, AZ at Lost Leaf

October 4
Los Angeles, CA at El Cid

Erasure Release New Single "World Be Gone"

ERASURE

NEW SINGLE “ WORLD BE GONE ”
OUT JULY 28, 2017

NEW ALBUM  WORLD BE GONE  OUT NOW
Photo by Doron Gild “…tragic and triumphant…” – Stereogum

"...topical, poignant tunes worried about the state of the world but hopeful love can still make a difference." – Associated Press

“A triumph of achingly beautiful pop protest music.” – MOJO
 ERASURE – currently on tour with Robbie Williams – have announced details of “World Be Gone,” their new single out via digital EP on July 28, 2017.

The new “World Be Gone” single aches with gorgeous melancholy for “the loss of our souls” and finds Andy Bell and Vince Clarke, the BRIT and Ivor Novello winning songwriting duo, in a reflective mood, giving the world and recent political upheavals a thoughtful examination.

Listen to a new single mix of “World Be Gone” here.

World Be Gone is Erasure’s seventeenth studio album and was released last month, entering the UK Official Album Chart at Number 6 and is the band’s first Top 10 studio album in 20 years.

The digital EP will feature remixes of “World Be Gone” from producer Gareth Jones and Boxed In, plus “Oh What A World” remixes by fan favorites GRN and Manhattan Clique as well as House of Labs’s take on “Just A Little Love.”

Andy Bell recently created a very special playlist in honor of Pride 2017. He told OUT, “The experience of coming out for any young gay person is probably one of the most exciting, exhilarating times of their entire life. For me, it was no different in the heady, fairly desolate, landscape of London in the mid '80’s. These songs are a reflection of those times: drag queens making do, tarting themselves up for the evening and us going out into the night, not quite old enough to understand the power of beauty and youth." Listen to the playlist here.

Erasure’s current stadium tour with Robbie Williams continues throughout the summer and a recently announced headline tour of the UK and Europe – many of the dates sold out on the day of release – starts in Dublin in January 2018. February will see Erasure travel throughout the UK, finishing up with a return to London’s Hammersmith Eventim Apollo, before heading to Germany, full details below.

WORLD BE GONE DIGITAL TRACKLISTING World Be Gone - Single MixI Need You NowWorld Be Gone - Giant Mix by Gareth JonesWorld Be Gone - Boxed In RemixOh What A World - GRN RemixOh What A World - Manhattan Clique RemixJust A Little Love - House Of Labs Club Remix ERASURE TOUR DATES
June 28 – Dusseldorf, Germany – Espirit Arena *
June 29 – Roskilde, Denmark – Roskilde Festival
July 1 – Paris, France – AccorHotels Arena *
July 4 – Nijmegen, Netherlands – Goffertpark *   
July 8 – Werchter, Belgium – Festivalpark *   
July 11 – Hannover, Germany – HDI Arena *          
July 14 – Verona, Italy – Stadio Bentegodi *                 
July 15 – Lucca, Italy – Summer Festival *   
July 17 – Barolo, Italy – Collisioni Festival *   
July 19 – Frankfurt, Germany – Commerzbank Arena *   
July 22 – Munich, Germany – Olympiastadion *   
July 25 – Berlin, Germany – Waldbühne *   
July 26 – Berlin, Germany – Waldbühne *   
July 29 – Stockholm, Sweden – Tele2 Arena *   
August 1 – Trondheim, Norway – Granåsan Arena *   
August 4 – Bergen, Norway – Bergenhus Fortress *            
August 7 – Copenhagen, Denmark – Telia Parken *   
August 10 – Tampere, Finland – Ratina Stadium *   
August 16 – Vilnius, Lithuania – Vingis Park *   
August 19 – Prague, Czech Republic – Airport Letnany *   
August 23 – Budapest, Hungary – Groupama Arena *   
August 26 – Vienna, Austria – Ernst Happel Stadium *         
August 29 – Klagenfurt, Austria – Wörthersee Stadium *   
September 2 – Zurich, Switzerland – Letzigrund Stadium *   
September 7 – St. Petersburg, Russia – Ledovi Dvorets Palace *   
September 10 – Moscow, Russia – Olympiski *
January 29 – Dublin, Ireland – Olympia
January 30 – Dublin, Ireland – Olympia (SOLD OUT)
January 31 – Dublin, Ireland – Olympia (SOLD OUT)
February 2 – Dundee, Scotland – Caird Hall (SOLD OUT)
February 3 – Edinburgh, Scotland – Usher Hall (SOLD OUT)
February 4 – Newcastle, England – City Hall (SOLD OUT)
February 6 – Liverpool, England – Philharmonic (SOLD OUT)
February 7 – Hull, England – City Hall (SOLD OUT)
February 8 – Manchester, England – O2 Apollo (SOLD OUT)
February 10 – Cambridge, England – Corn Exchange (SOLD OUT)
February 11 – Birmingham, England – O2 Academy (SOLD OUT)
February 12 – Nottingham, England – Royal Concert Hall (SOLD OUT)
February 14 – Ipswich, England – Regent
February 15 – Southampton, England – O2 Guildhall (SOLD OUT)
February 16 – Cardiff, Wales – St David’s Hall (SOLD OUT)
February 18 – Aylesbury, England – Friars Waterside Theatre
February 19 – Brighton, England – Dome
February 20 – Guildford, England – G Live
February 22 – Norwich, England – UEA
February 23 – London, England – Eventim Apollo
February 24 – London, England – Eventim Apollo
February 27 – Cologne, Germany – E-Werk
February 28 – Hamburg, Germany – Mehr Theater
March 1 – Berlin, Germany – Columbiahalle
March 3 – Leipzig, Germany – Haus Auensee
March 4 – Munich, Germany – Tonhalle
March 5 – Frankfurt, Germany – Batschkapp
March 7 – Hanover, Germany – Capitol

* with Robbie Williams
 Stream World Be Gone here.
Listen to “World Be Gone” here.
Listen to “Love You To The Sky” here.
Listen to “Love You To The Sky” (Matt Pop Remix) here.
Listen to “Love You To The Sky” (Adam Turner Remix) here.

"Space Dubs" by Spacewave coming August 4th

Space Dubs by Spacewavecoming to CD Digipack and Digital Formats on August 4thThis instrumental album was recorded as backing tracks for reggae dub legend Lee "Scratch" Perry and his album Must Be Free. This instrumental album from Spacewave has ska, reggae, dub, dubstep, acid jazz, and electronic music influences and was recorded as backing tracks for reggae dub legend Lee "Scratch" Perry and his album Must Be Free. Spacewave, the stage name of long-time recording and mastering engineer and producer John Palmer, runs down the production approach he took...  
"I wanted to capture as much of Lee's lyrical flow as I could without boxing him in with pre-arranged song structures, so we tracked his vocals at his place in Jamaica, starting in late 2012 with only 2 1/2 completed instrumental tracks."
Palmer continues: 
"The rest of the backing tracks started out as basic rhythms, built from loops.  While I play a bit of electric bass and synthesizer, I used a lot of sample and loop libraries to add different sounds and snippets, slicing and dicing, changing the feel and the key where needed.  I left enough of some familiar riffs there to pull the ear in.  They are generally dense mixes, so more than once I had to pare back to keep things from turning into mush."
Palmer concludes: "Lee is a phenomenal artist.  He doesn't suffer fools gladly, so I'm glad our sessions went easily.  I prefer to stay busy in the background, but the intensity of unsettled times that inspired this music gave it a life that I didn't expect, so I felt that people should be able to hear the instrumentals, too."More info, hi res cover art, etc: https://mvdb2b.com/s/SpacewaveSpaceDubs/MEGW0472
Pre-order: https://mvdshop.com/products/spacewave-space-dubs-cd 

Together Pangea Announces North American Tour

TOGETHER PANGEA ANNOUNCES NORTH AMERICAN TOURNEW ALBUM BULLS AND ROOSTERS DUE OUT AUGUST 25TH
 
Photo credit: Derek Perlman
Los Angeles, CA - June 27, 2017 - LA rock quartet Together Pangea today announced a North American tour in support of their forthcoming album Bulls and Roosters, due out August 25th via Nettwerk. The Bulls and Roosters Tour will kick off on September 14th in San Diego, CA and wrap on October 22nd, and feature support from Tall Juan and  Daddy Issues. Tickets for the tour are available now HERE.

Earlier this month, Stereogum broke news of the release of Bulls and Roosters and premiered a music video for the album's infectious lead single "Better Find Out". Directed by Steele O'Neal, the video can be seen HERE. Lauded as a "vibrant one-minute-forty-second slice of scratchy garage punk" by Consequence of Sound, "Better Find Out" is available to download/stream now HERE.

Co-produced by Together Pangea and longtime collaborator Andrew Schubert, and mixed by Chris Coady (TV On The Radio, Beach House, The Black Lips), Bulls and Roosters was recorded to two-inch tape at Golden Beat studios in Los Angeles and showcases a more matured sound than prior efforts. "It's important to never make the same album twice... if there's any ncerted effort from us, that's it. We wanted to try new things and experiment with making music that wasn't so aggressive or fast," said singer/guitarist William Keegan. "Rather than worrying about any expectations, we were like,'Fuck all that. Let's be as honest as we can possibly be.' Sure it's growth, but there's still a brattiness to it."
Bulls and Roosters TourSeptember 14 - San Diego, CA @ The IrenicSeptember 15 - Los Angeles, CA @ El Rey TheatreSeptember 16 - Las Vegas, NV @Bunkhouse SaloonSeptember 17 - Phoenix, AZ @ The Rebel LoungeSeptember 19 - Austin, TX @ Stubb's Bar-B-Q / IndoorsSeptember 20 - Dallas, TX @ Three LinksSeptember 21 - Houston, TX @ White Oak Music HallSeptember 22 - New Orleans, LA @ SiberiaSeptember 23 - Atlanta, GA @ Drunken UnicornSeptember 24 - Orlando, FL @ The SocialSeptember 26 - Nashville, TN @ The EndSeptember 27 - Carrboro, NC @ Cat's Cradle - Back RoomSeptember 28 - Baltimore, MD @ Metro GallerySeptember 29 - Philadelphia, PA @ Voltage LoungeSeptember 30 - Brooklyn, NY @ Music Hall of Williamsburg*October 01 - Boston, MA @ Sonia's NightclubOctober 03 - Montreal, QC @ L'EscogriffeOctober 04 - Toronto, ON @ The Hard LuckOctober 05 - Cleveland, OH @ Mahall'sOctober 06 - Chicago, IL @ Bottom LoungeOctober 07 - Madison, WI @ The FrequencyOctober 08 - Minneapolis, MN @ 7th St EntryOctober 10 - St. Louis, MO @ FirebirdOctober 11 - Ames, IA @ Iowa State University - The Maintenance Shop October 12 - Omaha, NE @ ShowdownOctober 13 - Denver, CO @ Larimer LoungeOctober 14 - Salt Lake City, UT @ Kilby CourtOctober 16 - Seattle, WA @ The Vera ProjectOctober 17 - Vancouver, BC @ Biltmore CabaretOctober 18 - Portland, OR @ Analog TheaterOctober 20 - Sacramento, CA @ Harlow's Night ClubOctober 21 - San Francisco, CA @ The ChapelOctober 22 - Santa Cruz, CA @ The Catalyst - Atrium*On sale June 28
 

THE PYGMALION FESTIVAL September 20-24. 2017 Lineup Includes Animal Collective, SuperDuperKyle, Thundercat, Noname and more

ARTISTS AND AUTHORS INCLUDE ANIMAL COLLECTIVE, GEORGE SAUNDERS, THUNDERCAT, SUPERDUPERKYLE, BADBADNOTGOOD, JAVAKA STEPTOE, NONAME,  JULIEN BAKER, SHLOHMO, BIG THIEF, WILD BELLE + MORE
PASSES ON SALE FRIDAY JUNE 30, 2017 12:00 PM CDT https://www.ticketfly.com/purchase/event/1514551?utm_medium=bks
FESTIVAL TAKES PLACE SEPTEMBER 20 - 24, 2017 in CHAMPAIGN-URBANA, ILLINOIS


Now in it's 13th year, the organizers of PYGMALION have released the lineup for 2017. The festival will take place September 20 through September 24 in Champaign-Urbana, IL. Tickets go on sale Friday, June 30 and can be purchased here. 
With a lineup featuring a diverse array of indie rock, hip hop, EDM, Americana, jazz, and experimental acts, PYGMALION remains one of the most engaging and progressive events worldwide, relative to the size of its host community.  PYGMALION 2017 is the culmination of five years of expansion into four new components, including TECH, LITERATURE, FOOD, and a CRAFT FAIR, simply referred to as The Made Fest.
The festival kicks off on the 20th with a PechaKucha presentation that will tap the five components of the event. On Thursday September 21, the festival centers on Krannert Center for the Performing Arts, a five-theatre, multi-use facility and learning laboratory. Headlining performances by Julien Baker and Thundercat will be paired with a featured reading by author George Saunders, whose novel, Lincoln in the Bardo, was released earlier this year to world-wide critical acclaim. As is now tradition, these performances will be placed against the backdrop of a building-wide TECH Demo and Human Library, where innovators and engineers will showcase everything from virtual reality to robotics to modern 3-D printing, and fellow humans will tell stories to each other based upon particular subjects and topic matters.
Starting on Friday, September 22 and running through Saturday, September 23, PYGMALION returns to the heart of Downtown Champaign, and will combine the Music, Lit, Made, and Food components on one block, with five stages, indoor and out. Featuring nine local restaurants, over forty handmade craft vendors, multiple readings from authors and poets, and headline performances from Animal Collective, Thundercat SuperDuperKyle, BadBadNotGood, Noname and more - PYGMALION will take over the center of the city, and serve as a showcase to an event that has arrived at a turning point in its long and illustrious history. The full lineup can be viewed at www.thepygmalionfestival.com.
For the first time in its existence, PYGMALION will be organizing and running a Hackathon on-site at Research Park at UIUC.  The event takes place September 23 and 24 and is being run with support from tech companies located in Champaign-Urbana including Wolfram Research, Deep Silver Volition, and Pixo. The inaugural 24-hour event will challenge coders, designers, engineers, and dreamers to build something that will affect change for social good in the local community. This type of interactive engagement is consistent with PYGMALION's progressive approach to the development of its programming over the course of 13 years.  More information about the scope of the event can be found here.
Support for The Pygmalion Festival comes from a wide range of organizations, businesses, and municipalities, including Krannert Center for the Performing Arts, City of Champaign, Goose Island Brewing Co., City of Urbana, Smile Politely Magazine, Research Park at UIUC, Mailchimp, and Ninth Letter, a literary journal published by University of Illinois Department of English.  
Champaign-Urbana, Illinois is home to the state's land grant, The University of Illinois, one of the largest research universities in the world, and has a prolific history of spawning an array of artists, record labels, industry professionals, and the like.  http://thepygmalionfestival.com/ https://twitter.com/ThePygFest https://www.facebook.com/thepygmalionfestival

Rainer Maria announce Fall 2017 tour dates

RAINER MARIA ANNOUNCE FALL TOUR DATESACROSS US AND CANADA
NEW ALBUM S/T OUT AUGUST 18TH ON POLYVINYL RECORDS
“LOWER WORLDS” EARNS CRITICAL PRAISE AS RAINER MARIA’S FIRST NEW SINGLE IN OVER A DECADE
“‘Lower Worlds’ rumbles and surges at an even pace, as the vocals of De Marrais and Fischer deliver welcome jolts en route to a furious finish. It’s an ideal comeback vehicle - familiar enough for those who’ve missed the band dearly, but fresh enough to tread new ground.” - NPR Music
“Regrouped for an album due in August, Rainer Maria has released ‘Lower Worlds,’ a steadier but no less insistent song. Guitar and drums bears down relentlessly on a droning riff, hinting at Can, as Caithlin De Marrais and Kaia Fischer sing about ‘love lust and fire,’ working up to shared shouts and an unanswered question: ‘Will you be mine?’” - The New York Times
“[The] first single is a big, hypnotic, riff-driven ass-kicker called ‘Lower Worlds’... it sounds fucking awesome.” - StereogumPhoto Credit: Shawn Brackbill
Rainer Maria is thrilled to be hitting the road this fall, embarking on their first full tour in over a decade. The band will be playing dates across the US and Canada in support of their highly-anticipated forthcoming album, S/T, which is due out August 18th via Polyvinyl Records. Lead single “Lower Worlds,” the first new music released by the band since 2006, has been receiving praise from the likes of The New York Times, NPR Music, Stereogum, Paste and more. Stay tuned for further releases and announcements. All upcoming tour dates are listed below.
Stream “Lower Worlds” on NPR Music via YouTubePre-Order S/T via Polyvinyl Records
Rainer Maria came up in the idealistic confines of Madison, WI, and the fertile incubator that was the Midwest’s ‘90s indie rock scene. During the summer of 1995, Kaia Fischer, William Kuehn, and Caithlin De Marrais, collectively Rainer Maria, were getting their start as a band. A self-titled EP released in 1996 would be followed by signing to the then nascent Polyvinyl Records and the release of their first full-length albums, Past Worn Searching and Look Now, Look Again.
Those first releases, paired with an ambitious amount of time spent in DIY spaces, basement shows, and rock clubs throughout the US, fostered a dedicated following for the trio while connecting them to other scenes and musicians throughout the country. Rainer Maria, likely without realizing it at the time, were on their way to cementing themselves as an early cornerstone for Polyvinyl, and as ambassadors of the midwest indie rock scene now so revered by later day musicians and fans. In 1999 they moved to New York City, in part to be closer to family and loved ones, but with the added effect of further unconsciously spreading that gospel.
Throughout the first half of the aughts, Rainer Maria would release three more full-length albums. Evolving their sound as they tightened their craft, the band continued to hit the road with opening acts ranging from Ted Leo and Rilo Kiley to the Yeah Yeah Yeahs, whom Rainer Maria took out on tour for the then young band’s first string of East Coast dates outside of New York. By 2006, however, Rainer Maria were feeling the strain of having spent life since their late teens as part of the same band. Collectively, they felt a desire to explore other avenues of living, and so, after a few rapturous farewell shows attended by fans from around the world, Rainer Maria hung up their hats.
De Marrais moved out of the City, releasing two well-regarded solo records of intricate, meticulously crafted pop. Kuehn spent time living in Syria and Yemen, studying and playing music with a variety of artists with all sorts of different approaches and ideas. Fischer studied Tibetan language and Tibetan Buddhism at Union Theological Seminary and Columbia University, a journey that brought her into a traditional-style Tibetan apprenticeship and eventually to living in Asia. (During this time, she also came out as a trans person.)
Over the years that followed, offers for shows would come in every so often, but the band were neither emotionally nor geographically prepared to seriously entertain them. Slowly but surely though, they migrated back to the New York City area, and perhaps more importantly, had moved further along on their own personal journeys. So when the latest offer came in a few years ago, the three got together for dinner to catch up and feel out where they all were both personally and musically. While none of them yet felt the allure of the stage, all three were excited with the idea of writing and recording together again, and so in lieu of any new shows, they began the process of writing the songs that would become S/T.
Guided by their shared history as songwriters, and buoyed by their recent adventures and explorations in music and life as individuals, S/T fits like well worn boots with the spring of new soles. Intuitively written without much post-mortem intellectualization, the album benefits from its origin as an exercise in fun between old friends who didn’t necessarily have the intention of releasing a new record when they started down the path.
The lyrics are full of natural imagery, influenced by the more pastoral setting outside De Marrais’ window—soil and greenery, weather patterns, and other markers of country life. While sonically, S/T retains and even amplifies the core grit and vigor that Rainer Maria has always had as a band. The album also benefits mightily from Kuehn’s hand at production, his first time doing so for a Rainer Maria release. His bandmates implicit trust in him is a guiding force allowing each song to take on its own distinct life without losing a sense of overall cohesion. Upcoming Tour Dates Below
rainermaria.comfacebook.com/rainermariamusicinstagram.com/rainermariamusic
S/T Album ArtUpcoming Tour Dates:*w/ Mates of State and Selector Dub Narcotic
SEPTEMBER13 - Cleveland Heights, OH - Grog Shop14 - Chicago, IL - Lincoln Hall15 - Milwaukee, WI - Colectivo16 - Minneapolis, MN - Triple Rock Social Club17 - Iowa City, IA - The Mill19 - Bloomington, IN - The Bishop20 - Columbus, OH - Ace of Cups21 - Detroit, MI - El Club22 - Toronto, ON - The Garrison23 - Montreal, QC - Bar Le Ritz PDB24 - Boston, MA - The Sinclair27 - New York, NY - Bowery Ballroom28 - Washington, DC - Rock & Roll Hotel29 - Philadelphia, PA - Underground Arts30 - Hamden, CT - The Space*
OCTOBER05 - Seattle, WA - Neumos06 - Vancouver, BC - The Cobalt07 - Portland, OR - Doug Fir Lounge11 - San Francisco, CA - The Chapel13 - San Diego, CA - The Casbah14 - Los Angeles, CA - The Echo25-26 - Ybor City, FL - PRE FEST 527-29 - Gainesville, FL - FEST 16

Palehound NYC Album Release Show Tonight, Reddit AMA 6/30 + Nat'l Tour w/ Waxahatchee

Palehound
 
NYC Record Release Show @ Baby’s All Right Tonight
+ National Summer Tour w/ Waxahatchee 
+ New Headlining Dates, Pygmalian Festival,
Dates w/ Jay Som and more
(all tour dates below)

Reddit /r/indieheads AMA  This Friday, June 30 @ 1pmEST

Sophomore Album A Place I’ll Always Go 
Out Now  via Polyvinyl Record Co.
 
Purchase A Place I’ll Always Go  |  Stream A Place I’ll Always Go
“Flowing Over” Video  |  “If You Met Her” Video 
 

Photo by: Shervin Lainez
 
“scrappy and buzzy guitar rock, bolstered by Kempner's dexterous riffs … also offers some darker, nuanced shades that evoke the album's themes." -  NPR

“The 2015 album “Dry Food” marked Ellen Kempner as a bright new talent to watch, with a winning combination of quick guitar instincts and languorous vocals. The group’s latest release, “A Place I’ll Always Go,” is even better.” -  The New York Times

“A Dazed-Sounding Tribute To The Magic Of Queer Love” -  The Fader

“There are echoes of earlier bands, with songs that brings to mind Smith Westerns, Beach House, the Strokes, or Wilco... arranged around Kempner’s unique whisper of a voice and way of seeing the world that draws out the moodiness. This undercurrent distinguishes the project, and makes Kempner worth following." -  Pitchfork

“There's a distinct '90s sound, a channelling of Pavement complete with head-swaying riffs..."
-  Under The Radar

“guitar licks that build a permanent home in your head.” -  New York Magazine’s “The Cut”
 
Boston’s Palehound recently released the highly anticipated, acclaimed sophomore album,  A Place I'll Always Go , on Polyvinyl Record Co.. The band will celebrate with a NYC record release show tonight at Baby’s All Right before hitting the road for a slew of headlining dates followed by a national summer tour with Waxahatchee. Ellen will also do a  Reddit /r/indieheads AMA  this Friday, June 30 at 1pmEST.

A Place I’ll Always Go is a frank look at love and loss, cushioned by indelible hooks and gently propulsive, fuzzed-out rock. Lead by fierce vocalist and prolific creative force Ellen Kempner, A Place I’ll Always Go has a DigBostoncover story feature, and was recently included in Stereogum’s 50 Best Albums of 2017 So Far and Vulture’s Best New Albums. The record has received glowing accolades from The New York Times, Pitchfork, NY Mag, FADER, NPR First Listen, NYLON, Bandcamp, Stereogum, Rookie, ELLE, Philadelphia Inquirer, early support from KCRW, KEXP & WXRT, and much more rolling in.

Palehound will celebrate the record’s release in NYC tonight at Baby’s All Right and, following a handful of headlining dates, will kick off a national tour with Waxahatchee in August. Full list of dates  HERE  or see below.

Palehound National Tour Dates
# = with Waxahatchee

6/27: Brooklyn, NY @ Baby’s All Right (tickets)
6/28: Philadelphia, PA @ Boot & Saddle (tickets)
7/6: Lakewood, OH @ Mahall’s (tickets)
7/7: Chicago, IL @ Empty Bottle (tickets)
7/9: Chicago, IL @ West Fest (tickets)
7/10: Indianapolis, IN @ The Hi-Fi (tickets)
7/11: Millvale, PA @ The Funhouse at Mr.Smalls (tickets)
8/04: Dallas, TX @ Club Dada # (tickets)
8/05: Austin, TX @ The Mohawk # (tickets)
8/06: Houston, TX @ White Oak Music Hall # (tickets)
8/07: New Orleans, LA @ One Eyed Jacks # (tickets)
8/09: Birmingham, AL @ Saturn # (tickets)
8/10: Athens, GA @ Athens Popfest # (tickets)
8/11: Atlanta, GA @ Terminal West # (tickets)
8/13: Asheville, NC @ Grey Eagle Tavern & Music Hall # (tickets)
8/14: Nashville, TN @ Third Man Records # (tickets)
8/15: Columbus, OH @ Park Street Saloon # (tickets)
8/16: Detroit, MI @ El Club # (tickets)
8/17: Toronto, ON @ Lee’s Palace # (tickets)
8/18: Montreal, QC @ Theatre Fairmount # (tickets)
8/19: Boston, MA @ Royale # (tickets)
8/21: Washington, DC @ 9:30 Club # (tickets)
9/21-23: Champaign, IL @ Pygmalion Festival
10/20: San Francisco, CA @ Great American Music Hall w/ Jay Som (tickets)
 

Skating Polly Announce More Dates on X’s 40th Anniversary Tour This Fall

Skating Polly Announce More Dates on 
X’s 40th Anniversary Tour This Fall



New York, NY – June 26th, 2017 – Skating Polly are stoked to announce they’ll be joining legendary punk band X in September for another leg of their 40th anniversary tour.  The Tacoma, WA based, Oklahoma City, OK born trio first joined X in May directly following the April 28th release of their  New Trick  EP (feat. Louis Post and Nina Gordan ofVeruca Salt) on El Camino and ahead of their Spring US headline tour.  The Fall tour kicks off on September 6th at Brooklyn Bowl in Las Vegas before hitting the historic First Avenue in Minneapolis, and NYC’s Stage48 - among others.

X lead singer Exene Cervenka and Skating Polly have a rich history together, as Cervenka produced the 2013 album  Lost Wonderfuls , after first meeting the band in 2010 during a show in Oklahoma City.  In a recent interview, Cervenka gushed over the band, saying “I met Skating Polly when they were 9 and 14, right before their first record came out.  Now their brother is in the band too — it’s Kelli, Peyton and Kurtis.  They are just amazing and they were amazing when they were little children.  They can play all these different instruments and they are self-taught.  They just live and breathe music.  In addition to being sweet and intelligent people, they are so hardworking.”  It’s safe to say that 7 years later, the bond between the two acts is stronger than ever.

The April release of Skating Polly’s New Trick EP saw the band team up several other influential music makers; as they wrote and recorded the 3 tracks with Louise and Nina of Veruca Salt, while Brad Wood (Smashing Pumpkins, Liz Phair, Sunny Day Real Estate) engineered and produced the set.   NPR  describes the EP as featuring “songs that veer between sweet and catchy and full-throated screams with distorted, chug-a-lug guitar,” while  Stereogum  says the band embraces “some of the grand, large-scale fuzzy melodicism that’s largely gone extinct from the ’90s.”

Skating Polly will hit the road this fall on the second leg of X’s 40th anniversary tour, following an appearance at Seattle’s Capitol Hill Block Party on July 22nd, an extensive UK & European run with Kate Nash, and a performance at It’s Not Dead Festival in San Bernardino on August 26th where they play alongside The Buzzcocks, Rancid, The Selecter, Kevin Seconds and GBH.  The band’s New Trick EP is available now via El Camino on all DSPs and vinyl (which includes a special b-side etching hand-drawn by the band).  All tour dates can be found below, and for up-to-date information, please stay tuned to www.skatingpolly.com!

These Female Artists Are Using Music to Get Political



Whether it’s Bob Marley’s rally cry “Get Up Stand Up,” John Lennon’s peace anthem “Imagine,” or Patti Smith’s self-explanatory hit “People Have the Power,” music and politics have always been inextricably linked (just look at a little festival called Woodstock if you don’t believe us). But since the November 2016 presidential election, more and more musicians have been, to quote Marley, getting up, standing up, and...speaking out against Donald Trump and his agenda.

As Kelli Mayo of Oklahoma rockers Skating Polly explained, “It’s weird because there are so many political things that I am against right now—terrified of, frankly—so I can’t not speak out.” Others (so many others!) feel the same way. Check out more female music stars using their voices in powerful ways, then add them to your playlist asap. The resistance is only beginning.

Click HERE or on the photo above to check out Skating Polly's
feature in Clover Letter!  Skating Polly's New Trick EP featuring Louise Post and Nina Gordon of Veruca Salt is out NOW via El Camino Records and can be purchased  HERE .

  Skating Polly
(^ - w/ Kate Nash, # - w/ Hands Off Gretel, * - w/ X)

July 22nd @ Capitol Hill Block Party in Seattle, WA
July 25th @ The Academy in Dublin, UK ^
July 26th @ The Limelight 2 in The Limelight, UK ^
July 27th @ The Moon Club in Cardiff, UK #
July 28th@ Cavern Club in Exeter, UK #
July 29th @ Cookie in Leicester, UK
July 31st @ Broadcast in Glasgow, UK #
August 1st @ Queen’s Hall in Edinburgh, UK ^
August 2nd @ Thunderbolt in Bristol, UK #
August 3rd @ Church in Leeds, UK ^
August 4th @ O2 Ritz in Manchester, UK ^
August 5th @ Rock City in Nottingham, UK ^
August 6th @ O2 Academy in Bristol, UK ^
August 8th @ Concorde 2 in Brighton, UK ^
August 9th @ O2 Sheperd’s Bush Empire in London, UK ^
August 10th @ O2 Sheperd’s Bush Empire in London, UK ^
August 11th @ Sebright Arms (VICE) in London, UK
August 12th @ The Prince Albert in Stroud, UK
August 14th @ Der Manheim Kult in Mannheim, DE
August 15th @ K4 in Nurnberg, DE
August 16th @ Zoom in Frankfurt, DE ^
August 17th @ Zakk in Dusseldorf, DE ^
August 18th @ Uebel & Gefaehrlich in Hamburg, DE ^
August 19th @ Festaal in Berlin, DE ^
August 20th @ Monkey’s Music Club in Hamburg, DE
August 21st @ Melkweg in Amsterdam, NL ^
August 26th @ It’s Not Dead Festival in San Bernardino, CA
September 6th @ Brooklyn Bowl in Las Vegas, NV *
September 8th @ Complex in Salt Lake City, UT *
September 9th @ The Summit in Denver, CO *
September 11th @ The Waiting Room in Omaha, NE *
September 13th @ First Avenue in Minneapolis, MN *
September 14th @ Turner Ballroom in Milwaukee, WI *
September 15th @ Riot Fest in Chicago, IL
September 16th @ El Club in Detroit, MI *
September 17th @ Town Ballroom in Buffalo, NY *
September 19th @ Port City Music Hall in Portland, ME *
September 20th @ Brighton Music Hall in Boston, MA *
September 21st @ Stage48 in New York, NY *
September 22nd @ Underground Arts in Philadelphia, PA *
September 23rd @ State Theater in Falls Church, VA *
September 25th @ Rex Theater in Pittsburgh, PA *
September 26th @ Kent Stage in Kent, OH *
September 27th @ Skully’s Music Diner in Columbus, OH *