Alexander Laurence's Blog, page 1852
June 15, 2017
QUEENS OF THE STONE AGE VILLAINS OUT AUGUST 25 ON MATADOR RECORDS
QUEENS OF THE STONE AGEVILLAINSOUT AUGUST 25 ON MATADOR RECORDSPreorders Live Now Including Instant Grat First Single “TheWay You Used To Do”
North American Tour Dates Announced—Including HeadlineStops At Madison Square Garden, Red Rocks & More
Tickets On Sale To The Public June 22
Face The Truth At http://www.qotsa.com
“The title Villains isn’t a political statement. It has nothing to do with Trump or any of that shit. It’s simply 1) a word that looks fantastic and 2) a comment on the three versions of every scenario: yours, mine and what actually happened… Everyone needs someone or something to rail against—their villain—same as it ever was. You can’t control that. The only thing you can really control is when you let go.”—Joshua HommeHundreds of epic shows, memory lapses, unexplained injuries, one yearlong detour with Iggy Pop and multiple Grammy nominations later, Queens Of The Stone Age reemerge from the desert newly scarred and somehow strangely prettier with lucky seventh album, Villains, out August 25 on Matador Records. Now available forpreorder on deluxe vinyl, standard vinyl, CD and digital (all formats include an instant download of first single “The Way You Used To Do”), Villains consists of the following songs:1. Feet Don’t Fail Me
2. The Way You Used To Do
3. Domesticated Animals
4. Fortress
5. Head Like A Haunted House
6. Un-Reborn Again
7. Hideaway
8. The Evil Has Landed
9. Villains Of CircumstanceProduced by Mark Ronson and co-produced by Mark Rankin and mixed by Alan Moulder, Villains is the first full album offering from Queens Of The Stone Age since 2013’s …Like Clockwork gave the band its first #1 album in the U.S. (and #1s in Australia, Belgium, Ireland, Portugal, Scotland, #2s in the UK, Canada, Switzerland, Norway, New Zealand, Finland… but really, who’s counting?). Like the stunning artwork of returning illustrator Boneface, the sonic signatures of the lineup that took …Like Clockwork around the world and back—Founder/guitarist/ vocalist/lyricist Joshua Homme, Troy Van Leeuwen (guitar, keys), Michael Shuman (bass), Dean Fertita (keys, guitar), Jon Theodore (drums)—are as unmistakable as ever, though coexisting with sufficient new twists to induce recurring double takes. As Homme himself puts it, “The most important aspect of making this record was redefining our sound, asking and answering the question ‘what do we sound like now?’ If you can’t make a great first record, you should just stop—but if you can make a great record but you keep making records and your sound doesn’t evolve, you become a parody of that original sound.”Of his role working within such a closed and confident ecosystem as Queens Of The Stone Age, Ronson says, “Queens are and have always been my favorite rock n roll band ever since I walked into Tower on Sunset and bought Rated R in the summer of 2000, so it was incredibly surreal to be welcomed into their secret, pirate clan—or the ‘jacuzzi’ as Josh likes to call it. I also knew that my super fandom alone would not keep me in the jacuzzi. There were moments during the making of the album in which i was aware i was watching my musical heroes craft something that was sure to become one of my favorite moments on any Queens album. And to have some part in that felt like being in a dream–a very heavy, dark, wonderful dream.”Longtime Queens cohort co-producer Mark Rankin added, “After the baptism of fire that was …Like Clockwork, I was excited to get into the studio again with the challenge of pushing the sound for this record, especially with the the addition of Ronson into the creative mix. We wanted to evolve the production to be processed in a modern way yet be totally organic and still performed fully live, like lifting a veil and what you thought was electronic is actually live and things are not as they first appear… What we’ve made is forward looking yet unmistakably Queens.”Queens Of The Stone Age have also confirmed a slew of North American dates filling in the space between and beyond their previously announced appearances at Outside Lands and Riot Fest. The new shows, which include Queens’ first ever Madison Square Garden headline, are detailed below. For tour dates and tickets, head over to http://smarturl.it/QOTSALive.For further information, keep an eye on Queens Of The Stone Age sites and socials and just let go. QUEENS OF THE STONE AGE
VILLAINS North American Tour
with Special Guests ROYAL BLOOD (Sept. 6 through Oct. 24 Headline Dates) June 22 — Rapids Theater — Niagara Falls, NY
June 24 — Amnesia Rockfest 2017 — Montebello, QC
August 10 – Majestic Ventura Theater – Ventura, CA
August 12 – Outside Lands – San Francisco, CA
September 6 – Capitol Theatre – Port Chester, NY
September 7 – Festival Pier – Philadelphia, PA
September 9 – Budweiser Stage – Toronto, ON
September 10 – 20 Monroe Live – Grand Rapids, MI
September 12 – Express Live! Outdoor Pavilion – Columbus, OH
September 13 – Stage AE (Outdoors) – Pittsburgh, PA
September 15 – Agora Theater – Cleveland, OH
September 16 – Riot Fest – Chicago, IL
October 9 – The Complex – Salt Lake City, UT
October 10 – Red Rocks – Morrison, CO
October 12 – Peabody – St. Louis, MO
October 13 – Crossroads KC – Kansas City, MO
October 14 – Roy Wilkins Auditorium – Saint Paul, MN
October 15 – Eagles Ballroom – Milwaukee, WI
October 17 – Fox Theatre – Detroit, MI
October 18 – Old National Centre – Murat Theatre – Indianapolis, IN
October 20 – TBC – Washington, DC
October 21 – Agganis Arena – Boston, MA
October 22 – State Theatre – Portland, ME
October 24 – Madison Square Garden – New York, NYMatador store: http://smarturl.it/Villains_ Matador
QOTSA store: http://smarturl.it/ QOTSAOnlineStore
Google Play: http://smarturl.it/Villains_ GooglePlay
Amazon physical: http://smarturl.it/Villains_ Amazon
Amazon digital: http://smarturl.it/Villains_ AmazonMusic
iTunes: http://smarturl.it/Villains_ iTunes
Apple Music: http://smarturl.it/Villains_ Apple
Spotify: http://smarturl.it/Villains_ Spotify
Deezer: http://smarturl.it/Villains_ Deezer
Photo: Andreas Neumann
North American Tour Dates Announced—Including HeadlineStops At Madison Square Garden, Red Rocks & More
Tickets On Sale To The Public June 22
Face The Truth At http://www.qotsa.com
“The title Villains isn’t a political statement. It has nothing to do with Trump or any of that shit. It’s simply 1) a word that looks fantastic and 2) a comment on the three versions of every scenario: yours, mine and what actually happened… Everyone needs someone or something to rail against—their villain—same as it ever was. You can’t control that. The only thing you can really control is when you let go.”—Joshua HommeHundreds of epic shows, memory lapses, unexplained injuries, one yearlong detour with Iggy Pop and multiple Grammy nominations later, Queens Of The Stone Age reemerge from the desert newly scarred and somehow strangely prettier with lucky seventh album, Villains, out August 25 on Matador Records. Now available forpreorder on deluxe vinyl, standard vinyl, CD and digital (all formats include an instant download of first single “The Way You Used To Do”), Villains consists of the following songs:1. Feet Don’t Fail Me2. The Way You Used To Do
3. Domesticated Animals
4. Fortress
5. Head Like A Haunted House
6. Un-Reborn Again
7. Hideaway
8. The Evil Has Landed
9. Villains Of CircumstanceProduced by Mark Ronson and co-produced by Mark Rankin and mixed by Alan Moulder, Villains is the first full album offering from Queens Of The Stone Age since 2013’s …Like Clockwork gave the band its first #1 album in the U.S. (and #1s in Australia, Belgium, Ireland, Portugal, Scotland, #2s in the UK, Canada, Switzerland, Norway, New Zealand, Finland… but really, who’s counting?). Like the stunning artwork of returning illustrator Boneface, the sonic signatures of the lineup that took …Like Clockwork around the world and back—Founder/guitarist/ vocalist/lyricist Joshua Homme, Troy Van Leeuwen (guitar, keys), Michael Shuman (bass), Dean Fertita (keys, guitar), Jon Theodore (drums)—are as unmistakable as ever, though coexisting with sufficient new twists to induce recurring double takes. As Homme himself puts it, “The most important aspect of making this record was redefining our sound, asking and answering the question ‘what do we sound like now?’ If you can’t make a great first record, you should just stop—but if you can make a great record but you keep making records and your sound doesn’t evolve, you become a parody of that original sound.”Of his role working within such a closed and confident ecosystem as Queens Of The Stone Age, Ronson says, “Queens are and have always been my favorite rock n roll band ever since I walked into Tower on Sunset and bought Rated R in the summer of 2000, so it was incredibly surreal to be welcomed into their secret, pirate clan—or the ‘jacuzzi’ as Josh likes to call it. I also knew that my super fandom alone would not keep me in the jacuzzi. There were moments during the making of the album in which i was aware i was watching my musical heroes craft something that was sure to become one of my favorite moments on any Queens album. And to have some part in that felt like being in a dream–a very heavy, dark, wonderful dream.”Longtime Queens cohort co-producer Mark Rankin added, “After the baptism of fire that was …Like Clockwork, I was excited to get into the studio again with the challenge of pushing the sound for this record, especially with the the addition of Ronson into the creative mix. We wanted to evolve the production to be processed in a modern way yet be totally organic and still performed fully live, like lifting a veil and what you thought was electronic is actually live and things are not as they first appear… What we’ve made is forward looking yet unmistakably Queens.”Queens Of The Stone Age have also confirmed a slew of North American dates filling in the space between and beyond their previously announced appearances at Outside Lands and Riot Fest. The new shows, which include Queens’ first ever Madison Square Garden headline, are detailed below. For tour dates and tickets, head over to http://smarturl.it/QOTSALive.For further information, keep an eye on Queens Of The Stone Age sites and socials and just let go. QUEENS OF THE STONE AGE
VILLAINS North American Tour
with Special Guests ROYAL BLOOD (Sept. 6 through Oct. 24 Headline Dates) June 22 — Rapids Theater — Niagara Falls, NY
June 24 — Amnesia Rockfest 2017 — Montebello, QC
August 10 – Majestic Ventura Theater – Ventura, CA
August 12 – Outside Lands – San Francisco, CA
September 6 – Capitol Theatre – Port Chester, NY
September 7 – Festival Pier – Philadelphia, PA
September 9 – Budweiser Stage – Toronto, ON
September 10 – 20 Monroe Live – Grand Rapids, MI
September 12 – Express Live! Outdoor Pavilion – Columbus, OH
September 13 – Stage AE (Outdoors) – Pittsburgh, PA
September 15 – Agora Theater – Cleveland, OH
September 16 – Riot Fest – Chicago, IL
October 9 – The Complex – Salt Lake City, UT
October 10 – Red Rocks – Morrison, CO
October 12 – Peabody – St. Louis, MO
October 13 – Crossroads KC – Kansas City, MO
October 14 – Roy Wilkins Auditorium – Saint Paul, MN
October 15 – Eagles Ballroom – Milwaukee, WI
October 17 – Fox Theatre – Detroit, MI
October 18 – Old National Centre – Murat Theatre – Indianapolis, IN
October 20 – TBC – Washington, DC
October 21 – Agganis Arena – Boston, MA
October 22 – State Theatre – Portland, ME
October 24 – Madison Square Garden – New York, NYMatador store: http://smarturl.it/Villains_ Matador
QOTSA store: http://smarturl.it/ QOTSAOnlineStore
Google Play: http://smarturl.it/Villains_ GooglePlay
Amazon physical: http://smarturl.it/Villains_ Amazon
Amazon digital: http://smarturl.it/Villains_ AmazonMusic
iTunes: http://smarturl.it/Villains_ iTunes
Apple Music: http://smarturl.it/Villains_ Apple
Spotify: http://smarturl.it/Villains_ Spotify
Deezer: http://smarturl.it/Villains_ Deezer
Photo: Andreas Neumann
Julie Byrne announces summer tour dates, 'Not Even Happiness' out now
JULIE BYRNE ANNOUNCES SUMMER TOUR
DATES WITH KURT VILE AND JOHANNA WARREN
NOT EVEN HAPPINESS OUT NOW
Photo Credit: Tonje ThilesenFresh from a sold out headline jaunt across Europe and US dates supporting Whitney and Kevin Morby, Julie Byrne has announced a summer tour that include some shows with Kurt Vile before a headlining run with Johanna Warren in July that ends with a homecoming show in Buffalo. Warren is an ideal touring partner, having guested on Byrne's latest album Not Even Happiness, providing backing vocals on three album cuts.
In the live arena Byrne enchants, leaving rooms and festival crowds mesmerized by her voice and warm presence, who find a real connection with her intimate songs. This feeling is often shared: "When the show has that magical spirit every person has contributed, even unknowingly, in creating a space of responsiveness to each other through vulnerability, through our unified experience and honesty about our sorrow and our emergence."
Her acclaimed sophomore album, Not Even Happiness, is available now via Ba Da Bing Records in North America and Basin Rock in Europe.
LISTEN TO NOT EVEN HAPPINESSTOUR DATES:6/21 - Portsmouth, NH @ Prescott Parks Arts Festival ^6/22 - Providence, RI @ Columbus Theater ^6/23 - Rockville Centre, NY @ Cannon's Blackthorn ^6/26 - Brooklyn, NY @ The Park Church Co-op7/15 - Boston, MA @ Cafe 939 *7/16 - Burlington, VT @ High Ground *7/17 - Montreal, QC @ Divan Orange *7/18 - Toronto, ON @ Great Hall *7/20 - Chicago, IL @ Schuba's *7/21 - Detroit, MI @ El Club (Waking Windows Detroit)7/23 - Seattle, WA @ Capitol Hill Block Party7/25 - Portland, OR @ Old Church *7/28 - Buffalo, NY @ Silo City
^ w/ Kurt Vile* w/ Johanna Warren
HUNDRED WATERS SHARE LIVE VIDEOS FROM FORM ARCOSANTI
Following the unexpected release of their Currency EP last month and the success of their self-curated FORM Arcosanti, Hundred Waters have shared two new videos featuring live performances of EP songs "Currency" and "Takeover" filmed at the unique festival.
"Currency": https://youtu.be/hSmIUTkuvGo"Takeover": https://youtu.be/yZE1tGWXLws
The performances were a part of a special set (including debuts of new material) at the fourth annual FORM Arcosanti last month, the music & arts festival they founded and curate in Arizona. The festival's 2017 headliners included Solange, James Blake, Father John Misty and Future Islands.
The Currency EP was generated during the same fertile recording sessions as the band's forthcoming third album, which is due for release this Autumn on OWSLA. The new album will be the trio's first full length since 2014's critically lauded The Moon Rang Like a Bell, whose glowing response led to worldwide tours with the likes of The xx and multiple late night TV appearances (including a collaborative performance with Skrillex and Chance The Rapper on Late Night with Stephen Colbert).
Listen to the previously shared "Particle" here: https://youtu.be/PEkng2Un5n8
Listen to the full Currency EP here: https://soundcloud.com/hundredwaters/sets/currency-ep-1
"Currency": https://youtu.be/hSmIUTkuvGo"Takeover": https://youtu.be/yZE1tGWXLws
The performances were a part of a special set (including debuts of new material) at the fourth annual FORM Arcosanti last month, the music & arts festival they founded and curate in Arizona. The festival's 2017 headliners included Solange, James Blake, Father John Misty and Future Islands.
The Currency EP was generated during the same fertile recording sessions as the band's forthcoming third album, which is due for release this Autumn on OWSLA. The new album will be the trio's first full length since 2014's critically lauded The Moon Rang Like a Bell, whose glowing response led to worldwide tours with the likes of The xx and multiple late night TV appearances (including a collaborative performance with Skrillex and Chance The Rapper on Late Night with Stephen Colbert).
Listen to the previously shared "Particle" here: https://youtu.be/PEkng2Un5n8
Listen to the full Currency EP here: https://soundcloud.com/hundredwaters/sets/currency-ep-1
Nosaj Thing - New Album + Lead Single feat. Steve Spacek
NOSAJ THING ANNOUNCES NEW ALBUM AND STREAMS LEAD SINGLE ‘ALL POINTS BACK TO U’ FEAT. STEVE SPACEK‘PARALLELS’ IS SET FOR RELEASE ON SEPTEMBER 8TH VIA INNOVATIVE LEISURE
“An overwhelmingly pleasant listen” Pitchfork
“A low bubbling haunter filled with paranoia and condemnation" Consequence of Sound
‘All Point Back to U’ feat. Steve Spacek -
Stream - https://nosajthingil.bandcamp.com/album/parallels
‘Parallels' is the fourth full album released under Jason Chung’s distinctive moniker, Nosaj Thing. Masterfully dimensional, it represents the acclaimed Los Angeles-based electronic producer/composer/performer’s most diverse, vital work yet. As such, Chung sees ‘Parallels' represents a kind of redemptive rebirth. The album’s compellingly elusive, uncategorizable sonics developed out of what he terms a personal & musical “identity crisis.”
According to Chung, working with a group of collaborators on ‘Parallels' that combined both longtime friends and new creative partners added “new energy which pushed me not to limit myself. Everything felt fresh and alive.” The title in fact evokes the intense, intimate duality Nosaj Thing and his collaborators share. Chung is known specifically for his innovative, unexpected musical pairings: Kid Cudi hit up on Nosaj Thing via his MySpace page in 2006, resulting in Chung producing Cudi’s autobiographical classic “The Man on the Moon.” Kendrick Lamar flowed over Nosaj’s ethereal boom bap to create the YouTube gem “Cloud 10”; Chance the Rapper, meanwhile, freaked a Nosaj beat for his 2013 breakout masterpiece “Paranoia” and appeared on Nosaj Thing’s previous LP, 2015’s Fated. Chung and Blonde Redhead vocalist Kazu Makino are also longtime creative partners on each other’s work; her voice appears on Parallels as an otherworldly spirit animating the icily ‘80s-synthetic “How We Do.”
The enigmatic revenge fantasy “All Point Back to U,” represents Nosaj Thing’s first joint effort with iconoclastic London producer/singer Steve Spacek – who delivers an astonishing vocal & lyric dripping with sinister soul over the tense John Carpenter analog synths and dazed 4/4 kicks. “As a fan already, a few mutual friends of ours had the idea of Spacek and I working together over the years,” says Nosaj. ‘Once we finally connected, we got this song done in 72 hours.”
European Live dates:15 June - Sonar Barcelona 22 June - Mystic Bounce w/ Nosaj Thing, XOYO London23 June - Paradise City Festival, Belgium
“An overwhelmingly pleasant listen” Pitchfork
“A low bubbling haunter filled with paranoia and condemnation" Consequence of Sound
‘All Point Back to U’ feat. Steve Spacek -
Stream - https://nosajthingil.bandcamp.com/album/parallels
‘Parallels' is the fourth full album released under Jason Chung’s distinctive moniker, Nosaj Thing. Masterfully dimensional, it represents the acclaimed Los Angeles-based electronic producer/composer/performer’s most diverse, vital work yet. As such, Chung sees ‘Parallels' represents a kind of redemptive rebirth. The album’s compellingly elusive, uncategorizable sonics developed out of what he terms a personal & musical “identity crisis.”
According to Chung, working with a group of collaborators on ‘Parallels' that combined both longtime friends and new creative partners added “new energy which pushed me not to limit myself. Everything felt fresh and alive.” The title in fact evokes the intense, intimate duality Nosaj Thing and his collaborators share. Chung is known specifically for his innovative, unexpected musical pairings: Kid Cudi hit up on Nosaj Thing via his MySpace page in 2006, resulting in Chung producing Cudi’s autobiographical classic “The Man on the Moon.” Kendrick Lamar flowed over Nosaj’s ethereal boom bap to create the YouTube gem “Cloud 10”; Chance the Rapper, meanwhile, freaked a Nosaj beat for his 2013 breakout masterpiece “Paranoia” and appeared on Nosaj Thing’s previous LP, 2015’s Fated. Chung and Blonde Redhead vocalist Kazu Makino are also longtime creative partners on each other’s work; her voice appears on Parallels as an otherworldly spirit animating the icily ‘80s-synthetic “How We Do.”
The enigmatic revenge fantasy “All Point Back to U,” represents Nosaj Thing’s first joint effort with iconoclastic London producer/singer Steve Spacek – who delivers an astonishing vocal & lyric dripping with sinister soul over the tense John Carpenter analog synths and dazed 4/4 kicks. “As a fan already, a few mutual friends of ours had the idea of Spacek and I working together over the years,” says Nosaj. ‘Once we finally connected, we got this song done in 72 hours.”
European Live dates:15 June - Sonar Barcelona 22 June - Mystic Bounce w/ Nosaj Thing, XOYO London23 June - Paradise City Festival, Belgium
The Clientele return with new studio album and autumn tour, share lyric video for “Lunar Days"
A warm welcome back to The Clientele, who have announced the September 22 release of
Music for the Age of Miracles
, their first new album in seven years! Check out the lyric video for “Lunar Days” below, which paints a picture of London’s Russell Square at twilight and “things on the edge of sight” according to frontman Alasdair MacLean. In other words: quintessential Clientele.Watch and share the lyric video for “Lunar Days” now
Music for the Age of Miracles features cover art by renowned British artist Carel Weight. Over in the Merge store, the album is available on CD and standard black vinyl, as well as a deluxe edition on blue swirl vinyl that is paired with the new “All Alone” b/w “Lyra in August” 7-inch. All three options can be pre-ordered and bundled with an exclusive t-shirt. The album is also available digitally here.
After the release of Minotaur in 2010, Alasdair made two wonderful albums with Lupe Núñez-Fernández as Amor de Días, issued a Clientele best-of called Alone and Unreal , oversaw reissues of Suburban Light and Strange Geometry and played shows solo or as part of Amor de Días or The Clientele. He and Lupe have also been raising a family; according to its author ‘The Age of Miracles’ here is partly a song about fatherhood: as he says, “the empty house being filled, the weird sleeplessness, the seasons sneaking up on you.” But the prospect of a new Clientele record seemed to be diminishing.
It seems fitting, then, that a chance meeting with a ghost from the past/future is what led to Music for the Age of Miracles, the first album of new Clientele songs in seven years. Alasdair and Anthony Harmer knew one another and played music together in the mid-1990s but had lost touch.
“I had often wondered what had happened to Anthony since,” recalls Alasdair. “It turned out—he told me—he’d studied the Santoor, an Iranian version of the dulcimer, and over decades become a virtuoso, at least by my standards. He suggested we have a jam together. Ant and I now lived three streets away from each other, it turned out. He started to arrange my songs. He let me write and sing them and he came up with ideas for how they should sound. This carried on until we had an album. I called up James and Mark and asked them if they wanted to make another Clientele record. They did, and this is it.”
So, a new collaboration with an old acquaintance led to a new Clientele album. Anthony Harmer joins the line-up of Alasdair, James Hornsey (bass) and Mark Keen (drums, piano, percussion), contributing string and brass arrangements as well as guitars, vocals, keyboards, saz and, yes, Santoor.
God save the Clientele and welcome back. See them when they tour this fall; dates below.
The Clientele on tour:
Sep 22 London, UK - Oslo
Oct 31 Toronto, ON - Great Hall
Nov 02 Washington, DC - Rock & Roll Hotel
Nov 03 Philadelphia, PA - Boot & Saddle
Nov 04 Boston, MA - The Sinclair
Nov 05 Brooklyn, NY - The Bell House
Nov 07 Chicago, IL - Subterranean
Nov 09 Seattle, WA - Neumos
Nov 10 Portland, OR - Mississippi Studios
Nov 12 San Francisco, CA - The Chapel
Nov 14 Los Angeles, CA - Teragram Ballroom
MYRKUR to release new album 'Mareridt' 9.15 on Relapse. Shares trailer and announces debut headlining NYC show
MYRKUR's New Album 'Mareridt'Coming September 15 via Relapse
Announces First Headlining North American Show August 17 at Saint Vitus in NYC
Watch 'Mareridt' Album Trailer Now
Photo: Daria Endresen
'Mareridt' (translation: Nightmare) is the highly anticipated sophomore full-length from renowned Danish composer and multi-instrumentalist MYRKUR. Recorded between Copenhagen and Seattle with producer Randall Dunn (Marissa Nadler, Earth, Sunn O))), Boris, Wolves In The Throne Room), 'Mareridt' 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 compositions that further progress her visionary blend of metal with gorgeous, stirring melodies, dark folk passages, choral arrangements and superb, horrific beauty. Today MYRKUR gives us a glimpse behind the scenes and of what is to come this fall in the album trailer for 'Mareridt'; view here.
Further taking MYRKUR to new artistic heights are lyrics in multiple languages and an array of special instrumentation including violin, mandola, folk drums, nyckelharpa (an ancient Swedish key harp), and Kulning (an ancient Scandinavian herding call). MYRKURwas recently captured at home in Copenhagen playing Scandinavian Folk on her nyckelharpa. Check out the video here on Facebook (now at almost 10 million plays) orYouTube .
'Mareridt' is a profound manifestation of nightmares that demonstrates MYRKUR as one of the truly exceptional artists of our time. In August she will perform her first ever North American headlining show in NYC at Saint Vitus before heading to this year's Psycho Las Vegas Festival. Tickets and more info are available here and stay tuned for more details to come on 'Mareridt'.
MYRKUR LIVE DATES:
June 22: Halden, NO - Tons of Rock 2017June 24: Copenhagen, DK - CopenhellJune 25: Bucharest, RO - Metalhead MeetingJuly 21: Katowice, PL - Metal Hammer FestivalJuly 22: Sheffield, UK - Tramlines FestivalAugust 17: Brooklyn, NY - Saint Vitus August 18: Las Vegas, NV - Psycho Las VegasOctober 26: Stockholm, SE - Close-Up Baten CruiseNovember 4: Leeds, UK - Damnation Festival
BRIAN ENO: deluxe vinyl remasters: ‘HERE COME THE WARM JETS’, TAKING TIGER MOUNTAIN (BY STRATEGY), ‘ANOTHER GREEN WORLD’, ‘BEFORE AND AFTER SCIENCE’
Brian Eno
1. ‘Here Come The Warm Jets’2. ‘Taking Tiger Mountain (By Strategy)’3. ‘Another Green World’4. ‘Before and after Science’
Deluxe limited edition gatefold, 2LP heavyweight vinyl. Remastered at half-speed for 45RPM.4th August 2017UMC / Virgin EMI
Watch a trailer here
Artwork herePre-order here
On 4th August 2017 UMC / Virgin EMI present deluxe gatefold, 2LP heavyweight vinyl editions of the Brian Eno classics ‘Here Come The Warm Jets’, ‘Taking Tiger Mountain (By Strategy)’, ‘Another Green World’ and ‘Before and after Science’.
Each album is now spread over 2 vinyl discs, which play at 45 RPM and were mastered at half-speed by Miles Showell at Abbey Road Studios, ensuring these seminal works sound better than ever before.
While Eno’s current output as a musical and visual artist and writer of philosophy, science and socio- political theory is still prolific, his illustrious back catalogue holds as much influence as ever.
With experimentalism, conceptual art theory and use of the accidental as a foundation, these albums broke through the boundaries of popular music at the time. Elements of prog/psych/art rock, avant garde and 50s rock ‘n’ roll were combined with an array of cultural and philosophical ideas to create fresh sounding music, that was both visionary and captivating.
Alongside George Martin and The Beatles’ work on ‘Sgt. Pepper’s.’,Eno is arguably the other most pre-eminent practitioner of ‘studio as instrument’ ever. His unconventional recording techniques have resulted in a canon of work that places him alongside other iconic producers like Brian Wilson, Lee Scratch Perry and Phil Spector.
As these albums progress chronologically, a nascent form of music begins to emerge. The ideas we hear in this early work continue to reveal themselves in Eno’s later ambient and electronic experiments.
‘Here Come The Warm Jets’ , 1974
“His mesmerizing solo debut, a landmark in his career, and arguably his greatest album. A master sound manipulator, he indulges all of his just-skewed pop theories and techniques, creating not only vibrant, unique songs, but some beautiful sounds besides. With Eno's biting wit and singular innovation at an all-time high, this album is too purely enjoyable to ignore.” – Pitchfork‘Here Come The Warm Jets’’ hybrid of glam, prog and art rock continued in a vein similar to Eno's previous albums with Roxy Music, but further upped the experimental ante. In developing the album's words and music, Eno used unusual methods, including dancing for his band members - having them play accordingly, and singing nonsense syllables to himself, then forming those into actual words, phrases and meaning – a technique revisited across all these albums. The lyrics on ‘Here Come The Warm Jets’ are macabre with an underlying sense of humour. They are mostly free-associative and have no particular meaning – another recurring method.Eno enlisted sixteen guest musicians to play on the album, including Robert Fripp and John Wetton of King Crimson, Simon King from Hawkwind, Bill MacCormick of Matching Mole and Quiet Sun, Paul Rudolph of Pink Fairies, Phil Manzanera and Andy MacKay from Roxy Music and Chris Spedding. Eno selected them on the basis that he thought they were incompatible with each other musically. He stated that he "got them together merely because I wanted to see what happens when you combine different identities with the knowledge that there might be accidents, accidents which will be more interesting than what I had intended.” ‘Taking Tiger Mountain (By Strategy) ’, 1974 ”When Brian Eno calls himself a non-musician, he isn't confessing a fault or admitting a deficiency. His self-evaluation is a proud stroke against obsolete concepts in rock and roll. He is a madcap ringmaster in the centre ring, introducing an act that will not only make music sound different, but change what it means.” – original press release‘Taking Tiger Mountain (By Strategy)’ is a loose concept album with topics ranging from espionage to the Chinese Communist revolution. To help guide production of the album, Eno and the album’s cover artist Peter Schmidt developed the highly influential Oblique Strategies cards which proffered instructions intended to aid creativity. They were also used on subsequent albums and are still consulted by Eno and many others to this day.Unlike ‘Here Come the Warm Jets’ Eno used fewer guest musicians, instead opting for a core band consisting of Phil Manzanera, Andy Mackey, Brian Turrington and Freddie Smith of The Winkies, Robert Wyatt, Phil Collins of Genesis and Brand X, members of Randi & The Pyramids, The Simplistics and Portsmouth Sinfonia (an orchestra in which Eno had once played clarinet.) ‘Another Green World’ , 1975From its release in 1975 to today, ‘Another Green World’ has been heaped with accolades. At the time, Village Voice described "the aural equivalent of a park on the moon” and Rolling Stone called it “a major triumph, an important record - and also a brilliant one”, whilst recently Q dubbed it "breathtakingly ahead of its time” and Pitchfork hailed “one of Eno's most important albums”, placing it at # 10 in their Greatest Albums of the 1970s list, also scoring it 10 /10.
The album's music veers from the experimental sounds of Eno's previous albums - based loosely around rock - to the more meditative, synth-oriented instrumental minimalism of his subsequent work. Produced by Eno and Rhett Davies, like his previous solo efforts, Eno had several guest musicians contribute to Another Green World: Robert Fripp, John Cale, Phil Collins and his fellow brand X member Percy Jones.
Unlike his previous albums, Eno worked on more solo material, including 6 songs in which he plays all the instruments himself; ‘In Dark Trees’, ‘The Big Ship’, ‘Another Green World’, ‘Sombre Reptiles’, ‘Little Fishes’ and ‘Spirits Drifting’.‘Before and after Science’, 1977 ”He continually questions his activity. Intellect and senses question each other. He files in unexpected categories. He examines what he is taking for grated and stops. He acquires skills when they are needed, discards skills when they begin to stifle. He undoes what he has done, throwing away as much as possible. He does what is not done, regards nothing as insufficiently important. Turns even the smallest stone. He acts as an engineer, a servant to the music he is making. He uses himself as an orchestra, giving each element, even the least serious a worthwhile part. He breaks demarcations: sensual technology, mathematical lyricism, precise haziness, machine-like irregularity, moody arithmetic, surprising unexpectedness, exotic reasonableness.” – Peter Schmidt, on “Why is Eno's Music Interesting” and “Why is ‘Before and after Science’ the way it is”?’Produced by Eno and Rhett Davies, over 100 tracks were written with only 10 making the album's final cut. The musical styles featured range from energetic and jagged to more languid and ethereal. The album marks Eno's last foray into rock music in the ‘70s as a solo artist, with all his remaining records of the decade showcasing more of his ambient music, which was hinted at on the second half of ‘Before and after Science’.Unlike Eno's previous albums, which were recorded in a very short time, ‘Before and after Science’ was two years in the making. During this two-year period, Eno was busy working on his solo ambient albums ‘Music for Films’ and ‘Discreet Music’, as well as Bowie’s ‘Heroes’ and ‘Low’.On ‘Before and after Science’ Eno worked with Fred Frith, Jaki Liebezeit of Can, Cluster, Dave Mattacks of Fairport Convention, Andy Fraser of Free, Percy Jones, Phil Collins, Robert Fripp, Paul Rudolph of Hawkwind, Bill MacCormick from Matching Mole / Quiet Sun , Phil Manzanera and Robert Wyatt who went under the pseudonym of Shirley Williams.
Peaking Lights > new LP 'The Fifth State Of Consciousness' out tomorrow > listen in full here
Peaking Lights'The Fifth State Of Consciousness'out 16th June 2017 on Two Flowers Records
stream the album in full here:
https://soundcloud.com/peakinglights/sets/fifthstateofconsciousnesspremiered on Gorilla Vs Bear here
new EU & UK tour dates belowPeaking Lights have shared a full stream of their fifth studio album, released this Friday. "The Fifth State Of Consciousness" is a 12-track, double LP produced in the band’s Dreamfuzz studio over the course of the last two years.
Following 2014’s Cosmic Logic LP on Weird World, it marks both a departure from the new and a return to the old, with a whole new twist on the psychedelic dub-pop they’ve become revered for, a listening experience of otherworldly sounds. Through all its peaks and valleys, the larger arc of themes within “The Fifth State Of Consciousness” surround dreams, strength, a loss of innocence, and seeking an enlightened state of being after overcoming life’s trials and tribulations.
Musically, the album shifts through many states from beginning to end, resembling a car journey through foreign landscapes. A sense of wonderment flows with each track and with every listen, new sounds and eccentricities begin to surface. Bringing together their love of Psychedelic music, House, Electronic and Reggae, each song lives and breathes it’s own life but as an album, remains knitted together by Peaking Lights’ tight, conceptual writing.
Produced by Aaron Coyes, the creative process was filled with odd gadgetry, playful experimentation and deep, alchemical soul. Dreamfuzz studio, designed by Coyes who describes it as “a small junkyard with many happy mistakes”, formed the hub for a host of one-of-a-kind recording methods including using tape machines to record melodies backwards before playing them in reverse, breaking electronic gear to create their own sounds and layering sounds to create ‘pads’.
The sounds were also run through Peaking Lights’ 1976 16/8 Soundcraft Series Two mixing console — the same type of board used by Lee ‘Scratch’ Perry at Black Ark and at the infamous Cargo Studios, where many of the early Factory Records bands were recorded.
“The Fifth State Of Consciousness” is released on June 16 via Two Flower Records.
Tracklisting:
01. Dreaming Outside
02. Coyote Ghost Melodies
03. Everytime I See The Light
04. I’ll Be In The Sky
05. Love Can Move The Mountains
06. Sweetness Isn’t Far Away
07. Que Du Bon
08. A Phoenix and a Fish
09. Eclipse Of The Heart
10. In My Disguise
11. Put Down Your Guns
12. Wild Paradise
New EU & UK tour dates
JUNE 23rd : IndieRocket Festival - Pescara, Italy
JUNE 24th : Glastonbury Festival – Pilton, UK (“PLSD” - AARON SOLO)**
JUNE 25th :Soupkitchen – Manchester, UK
JUNE 26th :Moth club – London, UK
JUNE 30th:Beursschouwburg – Brussels, Belgium
JULY 1 : Le Batofar - Paris, France
JULY 2nd: De School – Amsterdam, Netherlands (“PLSD” - AARON SOLO)**
JULY 3rd: Simplon - Groningen, Netherlands (“PLSD” - AARON SOLO)**
JULY 8th: Gagnef Festival - Gagnef, Sweden
JULY 9th:Korjaamo – Helsinki, Finland
JULY 10th: Tradgarden – Stockholm, Sweden (“PLSD” - AARON SOLO)**
JULY 11th:Loppen – Copenhagen, Denmark
JULY 12th: Kantine am Berghain – Berlin, Germany
JULY 16th: Benicassim Festival - Benicassim, Spain
Peaking Lights online
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Wolf Alice share new single "Yuk Foo" / Announce sophomore album Visions of a Life
WOLF ALICE RELEASE NEW TRACK "YUK FOO" TODAY-CLICKHERE TO WATCH THE LYRIC VIDEO SOPHOMORE ALBUM VISIONS OF A LIFE SET FOR RELEASE SEPTEMBER 29TH, 2017 U.S. UNDERPLAY TOUR DATES ANNOUNCED 
(Los Angeles, CA)-Today, London-based rock band, Wolf Alice releases their brand-new track "Yuk Foo". The track, produced by Justin Meldal-Johnsen and mixed by Tom Elmhirst, is the first song off of their upcoming sophomore album entitled Visions Of A Life, which is set for release September 29th, 2017 via Dirty Hit/RCA Records. The band has also released a lyric video to accompany the new track. "Yuk Foo" is available now at all digital retail providers. Click HERE to watch the lyric video. Wolf Alice also reveals the track listing for Visions Of A Life. See full track listing below. 1. Heavenward2. Yuk Foo3. Beautifully Unconventional4. Don't Delete The Kisses5. Planet Hunter6. Sky Musings7. Formidable Cool8. Space & Time9. Sadboy10. St. Purple & Green11. After The Zero Hour12. Visions Of A Life Additionally, the foursome announce their U.S. underplay tour dates, which will take place throughout July. The tour will be making stops in a number of major cities across the U.S. including Chicago, Brooklyn, Los Angeles, and an already sold out show in Columbus. Tickets for the U.S. tour on sale on Tuesday, June 13 at 10am local time here. See full list of tour dates below. U.S. Underplay Tour DatesWED7/5Chicago, ILSchubasTHU7/6Columbus, OHThe BasementFRI7/7Washington, D.C.Rock & Roll HotelSAT7/8Philadelphia, PAThe FoundryMON7/10Boston, MAGreat ScottTUE7/11Brooklyn, NYRough TradeTHU7/13Pittsburgh, PAClub AESAT7/15St. Louis, MOOff BroadwaySUN7/16Kansas City, MOThe Riot Room TUE7/18Denver, COGlobe HallFRI7/21Seattle, WASunset TavernSAT7/22Portland, ORStar TheaterMON7/24San Francisco, CARickshaw StopWED7/26Los Angeles, CAThe Echo
(Los Angeles, CA)-Today, London-based rock band, Wolf Alice releases their brand-new track "Yuk Foo". The track, produced by Justin Meldal-Johnsen and mixed by Tom Elmhirst, is the first song off of their upcoming sophomore album entitled Visions Of A Life, which is set for release September 29th, 2017 via Dirty Hit/RCA Records. The band has also released a lyric video to accompany the new track. "Yuk Foo" is available now at all digital retail providers. Click HERE to watch the lyric video. Wolf Alice also reveals the track listing for Visions Of A Life. See full track listing below. 1. Heavenward2. Yuk Foo3. Beautifully Unconventional4. Don't Delete The Kisses5. Planet Hunter6. Sky Musings7. Formidable Cool8. Space & Time9. Sadboy10. St. Purple & Green11. After The Zero Hour12. Visions Of A Life Additionally, the foursome announce their U.S. underplay tour dates, which will take place throughout July. The tour will be making stops in a number of major cities across the U.S. including Chicago, Brooklyn, Los Angeles, and an already sold out show in Columbus. Tickets for the U.S. tour on sale on Tuesday, June 13 at 10am local time here. See full list of tour dates below. U.S. Underplay Tour DatesWED7/5Chicago, ILSchubasTHU7/6Columbus, OHThe BasementFRI7/7Washington, D.C.Rock & Roll HotelSAT7/8Philadelphia, PAThe FoundryMON7/10Boston, MAGreat ScottTUE7/11Brooklyn, NYRough TradeTHU7/13Pittsburgh, PAClub AESAT7/15St. Louis, MOOff BroadwaySUN7/16Kansas City, MOThe Riot Room TUE7/18Denver, COGlobe HallFRI7/21Seattle, WASunset TavernSAT7/22Portland, ORStar TheaterMON7/24San Francisco, CARickshaw StopWED7/26Los Angeles, CAThe Echo
