Alexander Laurence's Blog, page 1872
May 16, 2017
WHAT THE HELL IS IT THIS TIME?... It's Sparks' latest single!
SPARKS RELEASE 2ND IG TRACK WITH
PRE-ORDER OF UPCOMING ALBUM HIPPOPOTAMUS
"WHAT THE HELL IS IT THIS TIME?"
IS AVAILABLE NOW FOR DOWNLOAD & STREAMINGPRE-ORDER THE ALBUM
“think Sesame Street brought to you by the letters L,S and D” -NME
“combining Dr Seuss whimsy, classical miniaturism and the archest humours – with an invitation to dance – Ron and Russel Mael return as only they can” -MOJO
“while it’s hard to 'miss' a phenomenon as eternally out of place as Sparks, it’s still good to have them back” -The Guardian ‘Track of the Week’
“Welcome back you lovely disco oddballs” -Music Week
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE New York, NY (May 16, 2017) - Sparks (featuring Californian brothers Ron and Russell Mael) have just released "What The Hell Is It This Time?", the new single from the highly-anticipated album Hippopotamus (due September 8, 2017). Sparks are famed for writing songs about unlikely subjects and do not disappoint with "What The Hell Is It This Time?" – “an often uttered phrase when people listen to a new Sparks song,” according to Ron Mael.
Recorded in Los Angeles, Hippopotamus sees Sparks take the pop form, shake it up, and create an album that is adventurous, fresh, and idiosyncratically ‘Sparks.' Described as “the smartest, most consistently evolving band in the history of rock”, and internationally-acclaimed as pop pioneers, Sparks’ music has always been innovative and instantly identifiable.
The title track "Hippopotamus" was first played on BBC Radio 6 Music after Sparks' set at the 6 Music Festival in Glasgow. The song was received with delight on its March 24 release. Together, the two songs "Hippopotamus" and "What The Hell Is It This Time?" are now available for instant download with the full album pre-order. CLICK HERE for all pre-order options.
You can watch the official "What The Hell Is It This Time?" music video below.
WATCH: Sparks - What The Hell Is It This Time? [official music video]
WATCH: Sparks - Hippopotamus [official music video]
“modern, sly and subversive. Still relevant” -Scottish Daily Mail
“some of the most life-affirming and attention-grabbing pop singles of all time….Sparks lyrics reach the parts which other bands wouldn’t even think to explore” -The Scotsman
“a fantastic set filled with quirky electronica” -Louder Than War
“The Mael Brothers’ talent never seems to wane” -The Sunday Herald
Official Artwork
Official Tracklist
01. Probably Nothing
02. Missionary Position
03. Edith Piaf (Said It Better Than Me)
04. Scandinavian Design
05. Giddy Giddy
06. What The Hell Is It This Time?
07. Unaware
08. Hippopotamus
09. Bummer
10. I Wish You Were Fun
11. So Tell Me Mrs. Lincoln Aside From That How Was The Play?
12. When You're A French Director (featuring Leos Carax)
13. The Amazing Mr. Repeat
14. A Little Bit Like Fun
15. Life With The Macbeths
Available now!
Tour Dates
8/07 - Vega Theater, Copenhagen
8/08 - Rockefeller, Oslo, Norway
8/10 - Cirkus, Stockholm, Sweden
8/12 - Flow Festival, Helsinki, Finland
9/11 - Lucerna Music Bar, Prague
9/12 - Columbia Theatre, Berlin
9/14 - Paard van Troje, Den Haag
9/15 - Den Atelier, Luxembourg
9/16 - Ancienne Belgique, Brussels
9/18 - Waterfront, Norwich
9/19 - The Boilershop, Newcastle
9/20 - Queens Hall, Edinburgh
9/22 - O2 Ritz, Manchester
9/23 - Rock City, Nottingham
9/24 - O2 Institute 1, Birmingham
9/26 - O2 Academy, Bristol
9/27 - O2 Shepherds Bush Empire, London
Tickets on sale now!
PRE-ORDER OF UPCOMING ALBUM HIPPOPOTAMUS
"WHAT THE HELL IS IT THIS TIME?"
IS AVAILABLE NOW FOR DOWNLOAD & STREAMINGPRE-ORDER THE ALBUM
“think Sesame Street brought to you by the letters L,S and D” -NME“combining Dr Seuss whimsy, classical miniaturism and the archest humours – with an invitation to dance – Ron and Russel Mael return as only they can” -MOJO
“while it’s hard to 'miss' a phenomenon as eternally out of place as Sparks, it’s still good to have them back” -The Guardian ‘Track of the Week’
“Welcome back you lovely disco oddballs” -Music Week
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE New York, NY (May 16, 2017) - Sparks (featuring Californian brothers Ron and Russell Mael) have just released "What The Hell Is It This Time?", the new single from the highly-anticipated album Hippopotamus (due September 8, 2017). Sparks are famed for writing songs about unlikely subjects and do not disappoint with "What The Hell Is It This Time?" – “an often uttered phrase when people listen to a new Sparks song,” according to Ron Mael.
Recorded in Los Angeles, Hippopotamus sees Sparks take the pop form, shake it up, and create an album that is adventurous, fresh, and idiosyncratically ‘Sparks.' Described as “the smartest, most consistently evolving band in the history of rock”, and internationally-acclaimed as pop pioneers, Sparks’ music has always been innovative and instantly identifiable.
The title track "Hippopotamus" was first played on BBC Radio 6 Music after Sparks' set at the 6 Music Festival in Glasgow. The song was received with delight on its March 24 release. Together, the two songs "Hippopotamus" and "What The Hell Is It This Time?" are now available for instant download with the full album pre-order. CLICK HERE for all pre-order options.
You can watch the official "What The Hell Is It This Time?" music video below.
WATCH: Sparks - What The Hell Is It This Time? [official music video]
WATCH: Sparks - Hippopotamus [official music video]
“modern, sly and subversive. Still relevant” -Scottish Daily Mail
“some of the most life-affirming and attention-grabbing pop singles of all time….Sparks lyrics reach the parts which other bands wouldn’t even think to explore” -The Scotsman
“a fantastic set filled with quirky electronica” -Louder Than War
“The Mael Brothers’ talent never seems to wane” -The Sunday Herald
Official Artwork
Official Tracklist
01. Probably Nothing
02. Missionary Position
03. Edith Piaf (Said It Better Than Me)
04. Scandinavian Design
05. Giddy Giddy
06. What The Hell Is It This Time?
07. Unaware
08. Hippopotamus
09. Bummer
10. I Wish You Were Fun
11. So Tell Me Mrs. Lincoln Aside From That How Was The Play?
12. When You're A French Director (featuring Leos Carax)
13. The Amazing Mr. Repeat
14. A Little Bit Like Fun
15. Life With The Macbeths
Available now!
Tour Dates
8/07 - Vega Theater, Copenhagen
8/08 - Rockefeller, Oslo, Norway
8/10 - Cirkus, Stockholm, Sweden
8/12 - Flow Festival, Helsinki, Finland
9/11 - Lucerna Music Bar, Prague
9/12 - Columbia Theatre, Berlin
9/14 - Paard van Troje, Den Haag
9/15 - Den Atelier, Luxembourg
9/16 - Ancienne Belgique, Brussels
9/18 - Waterfront, Norwich
9/19 - The Boilershop, Newcastle
9/20 - Queens Hall, Edinburgh
9/22 - O2 Ritz, Manchester
9/23 - Rock City, Nottingham
9/24 - O2 Institute 1, Birmingham
9/26 - O2 Academy, Bristol
9/27 - O2 Shepherds Bush Empire, London
Tickets on sale now!
May 15, 2017
The xx confirm fall U.S. headline dates To perform on “The Late Show with Stephen Colbert” Thursday, May 18
The xx confirm fall U.S. headline datesTo perform on “The Late Show with Stephen Colbert” Thursday, May 18Currently touring North AmericaOn the heels of their wildly successful ongoing U.S. tour, The xx will return stateside to play a very special, limited engagement of select headline dates and festival appearances this fall.
The fall dates include shows September 29 in Los Angeles, October 9 at Colorado’s iconic Red Rocks,Austin City Limits Festival, Life is Beautiful and more. Visit thexx.info/tour for presale and ticket information. Furthermore, the band will perform on “The Late Show with Stephen Colbert” this Thursday, May 18 ahead of two nights at Forest Hills Stadium in Queens, NY this Friday and Saturday, May 19 and 20. Meanwhile, The band has just announced a very special installment of their Night + Day festival, set for July 14-16 at Iceland’s Skogafoss waterfall outside of Reykjavik. The festival, capped at 6,000 tickets, follows a record-breaking seven-day festival in Brixton, London and will feature performances from The xx, Jamie xx, Kamasi Washington, Robyn, Warpaint, Sampha, Earl Sweatshirt, Benji B, GillesPeterson, Jagwar Ma, Floating Points (DJ set), Bjarki, Call Super, Hunee, Kria Brekkan, Gangly, Kelsey Lu, Orang Volante, Mr Silla, Högni, Pampa Showcase (Axel Boman & Robag Wruhme), JFDR &Marching Church. For full ticket details, head to thexxnightandday.com. The band is currently touring North America to great critical acclaim: “an impressive set…The xx hasn’t sacrificed the sense of intimacy — of two people exchanging confidences — that still defines songs sung in close harmony by
Sim and Madley Croft.”— Los Angeles Times “If fans were introduced to their shadows, it’s clear they’re ready to love them in the light. Much to their joy, the xx finally seems willing to
reveal themselves.” —The Washington Post “The xx is a rare group that appears to be playing for each other, as well as with each other. They reveal their innermost secrets within their music, and turn to each other for reassurance that they aren’t in this alone, while the music helps them try to make sense of it all.”— CityPages “They were masterful in delivering a new sound.”— The Oregonian “The London trio showed off their seasoned stage chops; the hit-packed show was so affecting and crisp it could’ve been a concert film.”—The Current The xx’s universally lauded new album, I See You , was released in January via Young Turks, debuting at #2 in the U.S. and #1 in the U.K. Germany, Portugal, The Netherlands, Ireland, Australia and Belgium.The xx LiveNewly announcedJuly 14-16 Night + Day—Skogafoss, IcelandSeptember 27 Santa Barbara Bowl—Santa Barbara, CASeptember 29 The Forum—Los Angeles, CAOctober 3 Starlight—Kansas City, MOOctober 9 Red Rocks—Morrison, COOctober 10 The Great Saltair—Magna, UTOctober 12 The Criterion—Oklahoma City, OKOctober 13-15 III Points/Wynwood—Miami, FLOctober 17 Coca-Cola Roxy Theatre—Atlanta, GAOctober 19 Champions Square—New Orleans, LA2017 tourMay 16 Stage AE—Pittsburgh, PAMay 17 Skyline Stage at the Mann—Philadelphia, PAMay 19 Forest Hills Stadium—New York, NY—SOLD OUTMay 20 Forest Hills Stadium—New York, NYMay 22 Echo Beach—Toronto, ONMay 23 Echo Beach—Toronto, ON—SOLD OUTMay 24 Parc Jean-Drapeau—Montreal, QCMay 26 Thompson’s Point—Portland, MEMay 27 Boston Calling—Boston, MAJune 2 Primavera Sound—Barcelona, SpainJune 9 Bonnaroo—Manchester, TNJune 21-25 Glastonbury—Pilton, U.K.June 29 Roskilde—Roskilde, DenmarkJuly 1 Open’er—Gdynia, PolandJuly 6 NOS Alive—Lisbon, PortugalJuly 8 Firenze Summer Festival—Florence, ItalyJuly 21 Splendour in the Grass—North Byron Parklands, AustraliaJuly 25 Singapore Indoor Stadium—Kallang, SingaporeJuly 28-30 Fuji Rock Festival—Niigata, JapanAugust 5 Lollapalooza—Chicago, ILAugust 10 Oya Festival—Oslo, NorwayAugust 10-12 Way Out West Festival—Gothenburg, SwedenAugust 12 Flow Festival—Helsinki, FinlandAugust 14 Sunset Festival—Tallinn, EstoniaAugust 15 Sunset Festival—Sigulda, LatviaAugust 17 Pukklepop Festival—Hasselt, BelgiumAugust 18-20 Lowlands Festival—Biddinghuizen, NetherlandsAugust 25 Zürich Openair—Zürich, SwitzerlandAugust 27 Rock En Seine—St. Cloud, FranceAugust 29 SWG3 Galvanizers Yard—Glasgow, United KingdomAugust 30 SWG3 Galvanizers Yard—Glasgow, United KingdomSeptember 1 Electric Picnic—Stradbally, IrelandSeptember 7-10 Bestival—Dorset, United KingdomSeptember 10 Lollapalooza Festival—Berlin, GermanySeptember 24 Life is Beautiful Festival—Las Vegas, NVOctober 6-8 Austin City Limits Festival—Austin, TXOctober 13-15 Austin City Limits Festival—Austin, TXNovember 17-19 Corona Capital Festival—Mexico City, Mexico
The xx online: Official / Instagram / Twitter / Facebook
The fall dates include shows September 29 in Los Angeles, October 9 at Colorado’s iconic Red Rocks,Austin City Limits Festival, Life is Beautiful and more. Visit thexx.info/tour for presale and ticket information. Furthermore, the band will perform on “The Late Show with Stephen Colbert” this Thursday, May 18 ahead of two nights at Forest Hills Stadium in Queens, NY this Friday and Saturday, May 19 and 20. Meanwhile, The band has just announced a very special installment of their Night + Day festival, set for July 14-16 at Iceland’s Skogafoss waterfall outside of Reykjavik. The festival, capped at 6,000 tickets, follows a record-breaking seven-day festival in Brixton, London and will feature performances from The xx, Jamie xx, Kamasi Washington, Robyn, Warpaint, Sampha, Earl Sweatshirt, Benji B, GillesPeterson, Jagwar Ma, Floating Points (DJ set), Bjarki, Call Super, Hunee, Kria Brekkan, Gangly, Kelsey Lu, Orang Volante, Mr Silla, Högni, Pampa Showcase (Axel Boman & Robag Wruhme), JFDR &Marching Church. For full ticket details, head to thexxnightandday.com. The band is currently touring North America to great critical acclaim: “an impressive set…The xx hasn’t sacrificed the sense of intimacy — of two people exchanging confidences — that still defines songs sung in close harmony by
Sim and Madley Croft.”— Los Angeles Times “If fans were introduced to their shadows, it’s clear they’re ready to love them in the light. Much to their joy, the xx finally seems willing to
reveal themselves.” —The Washington Post “The xx is a rare group that appears to be playing for each other, as well as with each other. They reveal their innermost secrets within their music, and turn to each other for reassurance that they aren’t in this alone, while the music helps them try to make sense of it all.”— CityPages “They were masterful in delivering a new sound.”— The Oregonian “The London trio showed off their seasoned stage chops; the hit-packed show was so affecting and crisp it could’ve been a concert film.”—The Current The xx’s universally lauded new album, I See You , was released in January via Young Turks, debuting at #2 in the U.S. and #1 in the U.K. Germany, Portugal, The Netherlands, Ireland, Australia and Belgium.The xx LiveNewly announcedJuly 14-16 Night + Day—Skogafoss, IcelandSeptember 27 Santa Barbara Bowl—Santa Barbara, CASeptember 29 The Forum—Los Angeles, CAOctober 3 Starlight—Kansas City, MOOctober 9 Red Rocks—Morrison, COOctober 10 The Great Saltair—Magna, UTOctober 12 The Criterion—Oklahoma City, OKOctober 13-15 III Points/Wynwood—Miami, FLOctober 17 Coca-Cola Roxy Theatre—Atlanta, GAOctober 19 Champions Square—New Orleans, LA2017 tourMay 16 Stage AE—Pittsburgh, PAMay 17 Skyline Stage at the Mann—Philadelphia, PAMay 19 Forest Hills Stadium—New York, NY—SOLD OUTMay 20 Forest Hills Stadium—New York, NYMay 22 Echo Beach—Toronto, ONMay 23 Echo Beach—Toronto, ON—SOLD OUTMay 24 Parc Jean-Drapeau—Montreal, QCMay 26 Thompson’s Point—Portland, MEMay 27 Boston Calling—Boston, MAJune 2 Primavera Sound—Barcelona, SpainJune 9 Bonnaroo—Manchester, TNJune 21-25 Glastonbury—Pilton, U.K.June 29 Roskilde—Roskilde, DenmarkJuly 1 Open’er—Gdynia, PolandJuly 6 NOS Alive—Lisbon, PortugalJuly 8 Firenze Summer Festival—Florence, ItalyJuly 21 Splendour in the Grass—North Byron Parklands, AustraliaJuly 25 Singapore Indoor Stadium—Kallang, SingaporeJuly 28-30 Fuji Rock Festival—Niigata, JapanAugust 5 Lollapalooza—Chicago, ILAugust 10 Oya Festival—Oslo, NorwayAugust 10-12 Way Out West Festival—Gothenburg, SwedenAugust 12 Flow Festival—Helsinki, FinlandAugust 14 Sunset Festival—Tallinn, EstoniaAugust 15 Sunset Festival—Sigulda, LatviaAugust 17 Pukklepop Festival—Hasselt, BelgiumAugust 18-20 Lowlands Festival—Biddinghuizen, NetherlandsAugust 25 Zürich Openair—Zürich, SwitzerlandAugust 27 Rock En Seine—St. Cloud, FranceAugust 29 SWG3 Galvanizers Yard—Glasgow, United KingdomAugust 30 SWG3 Galvanizers Yard—Glasgow, United KingdomSeptember 1 Electric Picnic—Stradbally, IrelandSeptember 7-10 Bestival—Dorset, United KingdomSeptember 10 Lollapalooza Festival—Berlin, GermanySeptember 24 Life is Beautiful Festival—Las Vegas, NVOctober 6-8 Austin City Limits Festival—Austin, TXOctober 13-15 Austin City Limits Festival—Austin, TXNovember 17-19 Corona Capital Festival—Mexico City, Mexico
The xx online: Official / Instagram / Twitter / Facebook
KATY PERRY ANNOUNCES NEW ALBUM, WITNESS, AND NORTH AMERICAN ARENA TOUR
KATY PERRY ANNOUNCES NEW ALBUM, WITNESS,AND NORTH AMERICAN ARENA TOUR Album Set For Release On June 9 On Capitol Records WITNESS: The Tour Kicks Off September 7 U.S. Tour Presented by Xfinity Tickets Will Be Available Through Ticketmaster Verified Fan ®Registration Now Through May 16 Ticketmaster Verified Fan Presale May 18 From 9 AM - 12 PMCiti® Cardmembers Ticket Pre-Sale Launches May 18 at 12 NoonTickets Go On Sale To General Public May 22 at 10 AM Each Ticket Purchase For WITNESS: The Tour Also Includes A Copy Of Her Album,
Witness
View tour announce video
HERE
Today, Katy Perry announced the June 9 release of her new album,
Witness
(Capitol Records), and an extensive arena tour. With
Witness
, Katy reflects on the changes in her own life and in the world around her, delivering songs that both challenge and inspire. The singles released thus far - the Platinum-certified
"Chained to the Rhythm"
featuring Skip Marley and the follow-up single,
"Bon App
é
tit"
featuring Migos - hint at the breadth of the musical and thematic elements found on
Witness
. Each ticket purchase for WITNESS: The Tour also includes a copy of her album, Witness.The North American leg of WITNESS: The Tour, produced by AEG Presents, will kick off on September 7 at Schottenstein Center in Columbus, OH. The run will include two New York City shows - October 2 at Madison Square Garden and October 11 at Barclays Center - plus an evening at STAPLES Center in Los Angeles on November 7 and a December 20 concert at American Airlines Arena in Miami. The tour will resume on January 5, 2018 at Smoothie King Center in New Orleans. Katy will be partnering with Boys & Girls Clubs of America to donate tickets to club members and volunteers. Additionally, fans can earn free tickets by joining Global Citizen and taking action to support Boys & Girls Clubs of America. $1 per every ticket sold will also be donated to Boys & Girls Clubs of America. Jim Clark, President and CEO, Boys & Girls Clubs of America said, "Katy Perry is one of the most powerful and famous entertainers in the world, and Boys & Girls Clubs of America is one of the most powerful youth development organizations in the country. We share a commitment to improving the lives of young people through education, empowerment, and demonstrating good citizenship, and are excited to provide her fans with the chance to connect with Clubs while giving them an opportunity to win a chance to see her in concert." Tickets for the U.S. dates go on sale to the general public on Monday May 22, at 10 AM with the Canadian dates on sale May 26. All U.S. concerts onWITNESS: The Tour are presented by Xfinity. Additional sponsors are Citi,COVERGIRL and KATY PERRY PARFUMS. See below for itinerary or visithttp://katyperry.com. Additional international tour dates will be announced in the coming weeks. "Katy is one of the most popular artists on the planet and her social media following is unrivaled," said Peter Intermaggio, SVP of Brand Marketing and Communications for Comcast. "Xfinity is proud to present 'WITNESS: The Tour' and we look forward to making a special collection of tour-related content available to millions of Xfinity TV customers, including Katy's videos and music on Xfinity X1 that her fans are going to love." WITNESS: The Tour Presale Powered By Ticketmaster Verified Fan Runs Thursday, May 18, from 9 AM - 12 PM in the US and in Canada runs Tuesday, May 23, from 10 AM - 10 PM local time. Tickets for the tour will be available through registration using Ticketmaster Verified Fan, an easy to use, fan-first technology that helps artists combat bots and get tickets into the hands of fans. Registration is open now and continues until Tuesday, May 16, at 10 PM PT. For more information and to register, visit
katyperry.com
. Citi is the official U.S. credit card of WITNESS: The Tour. Citi cardmembers will have access to U.S. pre-sale tickets beginning Thursday, May 18, at 12 PM local time through Saturday, May 20, at 10 PM local time through Citi's Private Pass® program. For complete pre-sale details visit www.citiprivatepass.com. "Having just launched a new national advertising campaign with Katy, we're thrilled to extend our relationship to encompass the upcoming Witness Tour," said Jennifer Breithaupt, Global Consumer Chief Marketing Officer, Citi. "Citi cardmembers will have exclusive access to pre-sale tickets for what promises to be one of the biggest and most memorable tours of the year."WITNESS: The Tour is Katy's first run since the sold-out, 151-date Prismatic World Tour, which concluded in 2015 and was hailed by Rolling Stone as "a show to damage retinas and blow minds."Katy, who will be the musical guest on "Saturday Night Live" on the May 20 season finale, made her Capitol Records debut with 2008's One of the Boys after signing to the label in 2007. She cemented her status as a global superstar with the follow-up album, Teenage Dream (2010). PRISM, her 2013 album, debuted at No. 1 on iTunes in 100 countries and has sold more than 12.5 million adjusted albums worldwide. With the singles "Firework" and "Dark Horse" each surpassing the 10 million threshold including song sales and streams, Katy is the first female artist to earn two RIAA Digital Single Diamond Awards. In her 10 years with Capitol, she has racked up a cumulative 18+ billion streams alongside worldwide sales of more than 40+ million adjusted albums and 125+ million tracks. She is the most-followed person globally on Twitter. AEG Presents is one of the largest live music companies in the world. The company is dedicated to all aspects of live contemporary music performances, including producing and promoting global and regional concert tours, music events and world-renowned festivals. AEG Presents promotes more than 8,000 shows annually worldwide. For more information visit www.aegpresents.com Katy Perry's WITNESS: The Tour - North American Leg 20179/7 - Columbus, OH @ Schottenstein Center9/9 - Montréal, QE @ Bell Centre9/12 - Toronto, ON @ Air Canada Centre9/18 - Philadelphia, PA @ Wells Fargo Center9/21 - Uncasville, CT @ Mohegan Sun Arena at Casey Plaza9/25 - Washington, DC @ Verizon Center9/29 - Boston, MA @ TD Garden10/2 - New York, NY @ Madison Square Garden10/3 - Uniondale, NY @ NYCB Live!: Home of the Nassau Veterans Memorial Coliseum10/8 - Newark, NJ @ Prudential Center10/11 - Brooklyn, NY @ Barclays Center10/15 - Nashville, TN @ Bridgestone Arena10/16 - Louisville, KY @ KFC Yum! Center10/19 - Pittsburgh, PA @ PPG Paints Arena10/22 - St. Louis, MO @ Scottrade Center10/24 - Chicago, IL @ United Center11/7 - Los Angeles, CA @ STAPLES Center11/14 - San Jose, CA @ SAP Center at San Jose11/24 - Salt Lake City, UT @ Vivint Smart Home Arena11/26 - Denver, CO @ Pepsi Center11/28 - Omaha, NE @ CenturyLink Center11/29 - Tulsa, OK @ BOK Center12/1 - St. Paul, MN @ Xcel Energy Center12/2 - Des Moines, IA @ Wells Fargo Arena12/4 - Milwaukee, WI @ BMO Harris Bradley Center12/6 - Detroit, MI @ Little Caesars Arena12/9 - Indianapolis, IN @ Bankers Life Fieldhouse12/10 - Cleveland, OH @ Quicken Loans Arena12/12 - Atlanta, GA @ Philips Arena12/15 - Tampa, FL @ Amalie Arena12/17 - Orlando, FL @ Amway Center12/20 - Miami, FL @ AmericanAirlines Arena 20181/5 - New Orleans, LA @ Smoothie King Center1/7 - Houston, TX @ Toyota Center1/10 - San Antonio, TX @ AT&T Center1/12 - Little Rock, AR @ Verizon Arena1/14 - Dallas, TX @ American Airlines Center1/19 - Phoenix, AZ @ Gila River Arena1/20 - Las Vegas, NV @ T-Mobile Arena1/31 - Sacramento, CA @ Golden1 Center2/2 - Portland, OR @ Moda Center at Rose Quarter2/3 - Tacoma, WA @ Tacoma Dome2/5 - Vancouver, BC @ Pepsi Live at Rogers Arena
View tour announce video
HERE
Today, Katy Perry announced the June 9 release of her new album,
Witness
(Capitol Records), and an extensive arena tour. With
Witness
, Katy reflects on the changes in her own life and in the world around her, delivering songs that both challenge and inspire. The singles released thus far - the Platinum-certified
"Chained to the Rhythm"
featuring Skip Marley and the follow-up single,
"Bon App
é
tit"
featuring Migos - hint at the breadth of the musical and thematic elements found on
Witness
. Each ticket purchase for WITNESS: The Tour also includes a copy of her album, Witness.The North American leg of WITNESS: The Tour, produced by AEG Presents, will kick off on September 7 at Schottenstein Center in Columbus, OH. The run will include two New York City shows - October 2 at Madison Square Garden and October 11 at Barclays Center - plus an evening at STAPLES Center in Los Angeles on November 7 and a December 20 concert at American Airlines Arena in Miami. The tour will resume on January 5, 2018 at Smoothie King Center in New Orleans. Katy will be partnering with Boys & Girls Clubs of America to donate tickets to club members and volunteers. Additionally, fans can earn free tickets by joining Global Citizen and taking action to support Boys & Girls Clubs of America. $1 per every ticket sold will also be donated to Boys & Girls Clubs of America. Jim Clark, President and CEO, Boys & Girls Clubs of America said, "Katy Perry is one of the most powerful and famous entertainers in the world, and Boys & Girls Clubs of America is one of the most powerful youth development organizations in the country. We share a commitment to improving the lives of young people through education, empowerment, and demonstrating good citizenship, and are excited to provide her fans with the chance to connect with Clubs while giving them an opportunity to win a chance to see her in concert." Tickets for the U.S. dates go on sale to the general public on Monday May 22, at 10 AM with the Canadian dates on sale May 26. All U.S. concerts onWITNESS: The Tour are presented by Xfinity. Additional sponsors are Citi,COVERGIRL and KATY PERRY PARFUMS. See below for itinerary or visithttp://katyperry.com. Additional international tour dates will be announced in the coming weeks. "Katy is one of the most popular artists on the planet and her social media following is unrivaled," said Peter Intermaggio, SVP of Brand Marketing and Communications for Comcast. "Xfinity is proud to present 'WITNESS: The Tour' and we look forward to making a special collection of tour-related content available to millions of Xfinity TV customers, including Katy's videos and music on Xfinity X1 that her fans are going to love." WITNESS: The Tour Presale Powered By Ticketmaster Verified Fan Runs Thursday, May 18, from 9 AM - 12 PM in the US and in Canada runs Tuesday, May 23, from 10 AM - 10 PM local time. Tickets for the tour will be available through registration using Ticketmaster Verified Fan, an easy to use, fan-first technology that helps artists combat bots and get tickets into the hands of fans. Registration is open now and continues until Tuesday, May 16, at 10 PM PT. For more information and to register, visit
katyperry.com
. Citi is the official U.S. credit card of WITNESS: The Tour. Citi cardmembers will have access to U.S. pre-sale tickets beginning Thursday, May 18, at 12 PM local time through Saturday, May 20, at 10 PM local time through Citi's Private Pass® program. For complete pre-sale details visit www.citiprivatepass.com. "Having just launched a new national advertising campaign with Katy, we're thrilled to extend our relationship to encompass the upcoming Witness Tour," said Jennifer Breithaupt, Global Consumer Chief Marketing Officer, Citi. "Citi cardmembers will have exclusive access to pre-sale tickets for what promises to be one of the biggest and most memorable tours of the year."WITNESS: The Tour is Katy's first run since the sold-out, 151-date Prismatic World Tour, which concluded in 2015 and was hailed by Rolling Stone as "a show to damage retinas and blow minds."Katy, who will be the musical guest on "Saturday Night Live" on the May 20 season finale, made her Capitol Records debut with 2008's One of the Boys after signing to the label in 2007. She cemented her status as a global superstar with the follow-up album, Teenage Dream (2010). PRISM, her 2013 album, debuted at No. 1 on iTunes in 100 countries and has sold more than 12.5 million adjusted albums worldwide. With the singles "Firework" and "Dark Horse" each surpassing the 10 million threshold including song sales and streams, Katy is the first female artist to earn two RIAA Digital Single Diamond Awards. In her 10 years with Capitol, she has racked up a cumulative 18+ billion streams alongside worldwide sales of more than 40+ million adjusted albums and 125+ million tracks. She is the most-followed person globally on Twitter. AEG Presents is one of the largest live music companies in the world. The company is dedicated to all aspects of live contemporary music performances, including producing and promoting global and regional concert tours, music events and world-renowned festivals. AEG Presents promotes more than 8,000 shows annually worldwide. For more information visit www.aegpresents.com Katy Perry's WITNESS: The Tour - North American Leg 20179/7 - Columbus, OH @ Schottenstein Center9/9 - Montréal, QE @ Bell Centre9/12 - Toronto, ON @ Air Canada Centre9/18 - Philadelphia, PA @ Wells Fargo Center9/21 - Uncasville, CT @ Mohegan Sun Arena at Casey Plaza9/25 - Washington, DC @ Verizon Center9/29 - Boston, MA @ TD Garden10/2 - New York, NY @ Madison Square Garden10/3 - Uniondale, NY @ NYCB Live!: Home of the Nassau Veterans Memorial Coliseum10/8 - Newark, NJ @ Prudential Center10/11 - Brooklyn, NY @ Barclays Center10/15 - Nashville, TN @ Bridgestone Arena10/16 - Louisville, KY @ KFC Yum! Center10/19 - Pittsburgh, PA @ PPG Paints Arena10/22 - St. Louis, MO @ Scottrade Center10/24 - Chicago, IL @ United Center11/7 - Los Angeles, CA @ STAPLES Center11/14 - San Jose, CA @ SAP Center at San Jose11/24 - Salt Lake City, UT @ Vivint Smart Home Arena11/26 - Denver, CO @ Pepsi Center11/28 - Omaha, NE @ CenturyLink Center11/29 - Tulsa, OK @ BOK Center12/1 - St. Paul, MN @ Xcel Energy Center12/2 - Des Moines, IA @ Wells Fargo Arena12/4 - Milwaukee, WI @ BMO Harris Bradley Center12/6 - Detroit, MI @ Little Caesars Arena12/9 - Indianapolis, IN @ Bankers Life Fieldhouse12/10 - Cleveland, OH @ Quicken Loans Arena12/12 - Atlanta, GA @ Philips Arena12/15 - Tampa, FL @ Amalie Arena12/17 - Orlando, FL @ Amway Center12/20 - Miami, FL @ AmericanAirlines Arena 20181/5 - New Orleans, LA @ Smoothie King Center1/7 - Houston, TX @ Toyota Center1/10 - San Antonio, TX @ AT&T Center1/12 - Little Rock, AR @ Verizon Arena1/14 - Dallas, TX @ American Airlines Center1/19 - Phoenix, AZ @ Gila River Arena1/20 - Las Vegas, NV @ T-Mobile Arena1/31 - Sacramento, CA @ Golden1 Center2/2 - Portland, OR @ Moda Center at Rose Quarter2/3 - Tacoma, WA @ Tacoma Dome2/5 - Vancouver, BC @ Pepsi Live at Rogers Arena
MOGWAI ANNOUNCE NEW ALBUM EVERY COUNTRY'S SUN COMING THIS SEPTEMBER
MOGWAI ANNOUNCE NEW ALBUM EVERY COUNTRY'S SUN COMING THIS SEPTEMBER LISTEN TO NEW SINGLE "COOLVERINE"https://youtu.be/Cu1UVzJYfao 
photo by Brian Sweeny Long-running Scottish art-rock institution Mogwai have announced a new album,
Every Country's Sun
, set for release September 1st on Temporary Residence Ltd. The new album takes two decades of the band's signature, contrasting sounds - towering intensity, pastoral introspection, synth-rock minimalism, DNA-detonating volume - and distills it, beautifully, into 56 concise minutes of gracious elegance, hymnal trance-rock, and transcendental euphoria. Produced by psych-rock luminary Dave Fridmann, it's a structural soundscape built from stark foundations; from a gentle, twinkling, synth-rock spectre to a solid, blown-out, skyward-thrusting obelisk. There's percussive, dream-state electronics ("Coolverine"), church organs as chariots of existential fire ("Brain Sweeties"), tremulous, foreboding bleeping - possibly from a dying android ("aka 47"). Their most transportive album yet, it also hosts their most fully realized art-pop sing-along of their storied history, "Party In The Dark," a head-spinning disco-dream double-helix echoing New Order and The Flaming Lips, featuring guitarist Stuart Braithwaite's seldom-heard melodic vocals declaring he's "directionless and innocent, searching for another piece of mind". "What's going on in the world politically and socially has to affect you," muses Braithwaite. "It was very much on our minds, especially in America. We were vaguely getting over the Scottish referendum, then the death of David Bowie, along comes Brexit, and then Trump. The album was written in a very turbulent, intense period so I think it maybe feels like some kind of shield from that? That's maybe just my take. Because it literally was for me." Work on the album began in the tumultuous year of 2016, the band submerged in individual demos, working for the first time without John Cummings (who left in late 2015); Stuart Braithwaite (guitar, vocals), Barry Burns (keyboards, computer, guitar), Dominic Aitchison (bass) and Martin Bulloch (drums) all pooling ideas via Dropbox. In October 2016 they took their glimmering bounty to Dave Fridmann - collaborator and friend since producing the band's sophomore album, Come On Die Young (1999) and follow-up, Rock Action (2001) - and his Tarbox Road Studios in Chautauqua County, New York State, surrounded by little more than woods, wild hounds and marauding deer hunters. Home to myriad recording greats over the past two decades - including The Flaming Lips, Mercury Rev, and Low - our Caledonian heroes were soon followed by Californians, Haim, to whom they bequeathed "a lot of beer". Full immersion ensued, "in a bubble," notes Braithwaite, emerging into the new world order in January 2017. Every Country's Sun became, subconsciously, a musical salve, a transportation sanctuary while the divisive bedlam of the wider world continued at ever-accelerating pace. This is music as a keep-out chrysalis, protective audio armor through exalting organs and portentous, dissonant guitar fuzz warping at the edges, bending the world inside-out into a reality in which you'd much rather live. 
EVERY COUNTRY'S SUN TRACK LISTING 1. Coolverine2. Party In The Dark3. Brain Sweeties4. Crossing The Road Material5. aka 476. 20 Size7. 1000 Foot Face8. Don't Believe The Fife9. Battered At The Scramble10. Old Poisons11. Every Country's Sun
MOGWAI US TOUR DATES 11/20 - Observatory N. Park - San Diego, CA11/21 - Belasco Theater - Los Angeles, CA11/22 - Regency Ballroom - San Francisco, CA11/23 - Roseland Theater - Portland, OR11/24 - The Showbox - Seattle, WA11/25 - Commodore Ballroom. Vancouver11/28 - Ogden Theatre - Denver, CO11/30 - The Waiting Room Omaha, NE12/1 - First Avenue - Minneapolis, MN12/2 - House of Blues Chicago, IL12/3 - Majestic Theatre - Detroit, MI12/5 - Danforth Music Hall - Toronto, ON12/6 - Corona Theatre - Montreal, QC12/7 - Royale Nightclub - Boston, MA12/8 - Terminal 5 - New York, NY12/9 - Theatre of Living Arts - Philadelphia, PA12/10 - 9:30 Club - Washington, DC
The Pains of Being Pure at Heart announces new album, The Echo of Pleasure, shares first single "Anymore"
The Pains of Being Pure at Heart announces new album, The Echo of Pleasure, shares first single "Anymore," plus updated tour dates
STREAM: "Anymore" -
SoundCloud / Spotify / Pitchfork
Today the Pains of Being Pure at Heart announces its fourth album, The Echo of Pleasure, due July 14 on the band's own Painbow label - you can hear "Anymore," the first single now and you can pre-order the album here in all formats. Limited edition (500 copies) gold metallic vinyl with gold foil stamped packaging available to pre-order exclusively from the band's website. The band has also announced extensive European and North American tour dates (see full list below).Bio:
The Pains of Being Pure at Heart have long set the benchmark for big-hearted, idealistic pop songs. With The Echo of Pleasure, The Pains push beyond their many inspirations and embrace their role as indiepop heroes in their own right. Showcasing the deft songwriting of frontman Kip Berman, The Pains’ fourth album is their most confident and accomplished. After three critically-acclaimed records, 2009’s The Pains of Being Pure at Heart, 2011’s Belong and 2014’s Days of Abandon received praise from The New York Times, Pitchfork, The Guardian and Rolling Stone, they have put together a collection of songs that possess a timeless grandeur, deeper and more satisfying than anything the band has done since their iconic debut. Berman enlisted Days of Abandon producer Andy Savours (My Bloody Valentine, The Killers) to help him record a Pains record like none-other. “The logistics of it were so different. When I recorded the record, my wife was six months pregnant. We only had a limited amount of time. There was an absolute uncertainty hanging over our heads, but it was also a kind of escape from worry for that time,” he explains. “What’s going to happen when I have a kid? Am I going to be able to go on tour? Is this the last record I’m going to get to make? It’s not a bad thing to be worried when you’re expecting this huge transition of life. If you didn’t feel scared, you’re probably not feeling the right emotion. I tried to make the best record I could, knowing it might be the last time.”The best moments on the album live in the space near fear but find comfort in the solace that follows giving into love. On the succulent cacophony of first single, “Anymore,” it’s the sweetly dark, double-edged resolution of “I couldn’t take anymore / I wanted to die with you.” Says Berman, “’Anymore’ is about a love that is extreme in its wonder and terror. 'I wanted to die with you' could mean either - and it probably means both.” The Echo of Pleasure navigates variability and safety without unraveling. Berman is no stranger to fragility; here, it’s structured with warmth, the kind found after life-altering moments. It’s reflected in the album title, too: “The Echo of Pleasure could be the near-symmetry of love,” he explains. “It’s the reflection back and forth, modulating over time, of two people who are together. It’s not a mirror - but a perpetual answering and asking. When one person is absent, that echo ceases or, as the title track laments, ‘fades into these silent days.’ In that sense, remembering is a kind of echo, each instance slightly less vivid than the one before.”The record is augmented by guest vocals featuring previous Pains collaborators: Jen Goma on “So True” (A Sunny Day in Glasgow), bass guitar by Jacob Danish Sloan (Dream Diary), and horns by Kelly Pratt (Beirut, David Byrne, St. Vincent). The Pains of Being Pure at Heart live band consists of long-time guitarist Christoph Hochheim (Ablebody, ex-Depreciation Guild), bassist Jacob Danish Sloan, drummer Chris Schackerman (ex-Mercury Girls, ex-Literature) and vocalist/keyboardist Jess Rojas. The band will tour the UK in late May, returning to New York for Northside Festival in June (see full list of dates below). The Echo of Pleasure arrives July 14.TOUR DATES:Wednesday, May 24 -- Bristol, UK -- Thekla @+
Thursday, May 25 -- Manchester, UK -- Night & Day Café @+
Saturday, May 27 -- Newcastle Upon Tyne, UK -- Think Tank? @+
Sunday, May 28 -- Glasgow, UK -- Stereo @+
Monday, May 29 -- Leeds, UK -- Brudenell @+
Tuesday, May 30 -- London, UK -- Oslo Hackney @+
Thursday, June 1 -- Leicester, UK -- The Cookie @
Friday, June 2 – Wolverhampton, UK -- Newhampton Arts Centre @
Saturday, June 3 -- Oxford, UK -- The Cellar @
Thursday, June 8 -- Hamden, CT -- The Outer Space *#
Friday, June 9 -- Brooklyn, NY -- Music Hall of Williamsburg *#
Wednesday, June 14 -- Boston, MA -- The Sinclair *%
Thursday, June 15 -- New Portsmouth, NH -- 3S Artspace *%
Friday, June 16 -- Montreal, Canada - Bar Le Ritz *%
Saturday, June 17 -- Toronto, Canada -- The Horseshoe Tavern *%
Monday, June 19 -- Cleveland, OH -- The Grog Shop *%
Tuesday, June 20 -- Detroit, MI -- El Club *%
Thursday, June 22 -- Minneapolis, MN -- 7th St Entry *^
Friday, June 23 -- Madison, WI -- High Noon Saloon *^
Saturday, June 24 -- Chicago, IL -- Lincoln Hall *^
Sunday, June 25 -- St Louis, MO -- The Firebird *^
Tuesday, June 27 -- Nashville, TN -- The High Watt *^
Wednesday, June 28 -- Atlanta, GA -- The Earl *^
Friday, June 30 -- Chapel Hill, NC -- Local 506 *^
Saturday, July 1 -- Washington D.C. -- Rock & Roll Hotel *^
Sunday, July 2 -- Philadelphia, PA -- World Cafe Live Downstairs *^
Friday, September 22 -- Vancouver, BC -- Biltmore Cabaret $&
Saturday, September 23 -- Seattle, WA -- Tractor Tavern $&
Sunday, September 24 -- Portland, OR -- Doug Fir Lounge $&
Tuesday, September 26 -- San Francisco, CA -- The Chapel $&
Wednesday, September 27 -- Los Angeles, CA -- Teragram Ballroom $&
Thursday, September 28 -- San Diego, CA - The Loft UC $&
Sunday, October 15 -- Madrid, Spain -- Joy Slava
Monday, October 16 -- Cordoba, Spain -- Sala Hanger
Tuesday, October 17 -- Granada, Spain -- Lemon Rock
Thursday, October 19 -- Valencia, Spain -- La Rambleta
Friday, October 20 -- Barcelona, Spain -- Bikini
Saturday, October 21 -- Santander, Spain -- Escenario
* = w/ Ablebody
# = w/ Beverly
% = w/ Frankie Rose
^ = w/ Tony Molina
$ = w/ The Courtneys
& = w/ The Prids
@ = w/ Night Flowers
+ = w/ Yoke LorePictured below: The Pains of Being Pure at Heart by Ebru Yildiz
The Pains of Being Pure at Heart
STREAM: "Anymore" -
SoundCloud / Spotify / Pitchfork
Today the Pains of Being Pure at Heart announces its fourth album, The Echo of Pleasure, due July 14 on the band's own Painbow label - you can hear "Anymore," the first single now and you can pre-order the album here in all formats. Limited edition (500 copies) gold metallic vinyl with gold foil stamped packaging available to pre-order exclusively from the band's website. The band has also announced extensive European and North American tour dates (see full list below).Bio:The Pains of Being Pure at Heart have long set the benchmark for big-hearted, idealistic pop songs. With The Echo of Pleasure, The Pains push beyond their many inspirations and embrace their role as indiepop heroes in their own right. Showcasing the deft songwriting of frontman Kip Berman, The Pains’ fourth album is their most confident and accomplished. After three critically-acclaimed records, 2009’s The Pains of Being Pure at Heart, 2011’s Belong and 2014’s Days of Abandon received praise from The New York Times, Pitchfork, The Guardian and Rolling Stone, they have put together a collection of songs that possess a timeless grandeur, deeper and more satisfying than anything the band has done since their iconic debut. Berman enlisted Days of Abandon producer Andy Savours (My Bloody Valentine, The Killers) to help him record a Pains record like none-other. “The logistics of it were so different. When I recorded the record, my wife was six months pregnant. We only had a limited amount of time. There was an absolute uncertainty hanging over our heads, but it was also a kind of escape from worry for that time,” he explains. “What’s going to happen when I have a kid? Am I going to be able to go on tour? Is this the last record I’m going to get to make? It’s not a bad thing to be worried when you’re expecting this huge transition of life. If you didn’t feel scared, you’re probably not feeling the right emotion. I tried to make the best record I could, knowing it might be the last time.”The best moments on the album live in the space near fear but find comfort in the solace that follows giving into love. On the succulent cacophony of first single, “Anymore,” it’s the sweetly dark, double-edged resolution of “I couldn’t take anymore / I wanted to die with you.” Says Berman, “’Anymore’ is about a love that is extreme in its wonder and terror. 'I wanted to die with you' could mean either - and it probably means both.” The Echo of Pleasure navigates variability and safety without unraveling. Berman is no stranger to fragility; here, it’s structured with warmth, the kind found after life-altering moments. It’s reflected in the album title, too: “The Echo of Pleasure could be the near-symmetry of love,” he explains. “It’s the reflection back and forth, modulating over time, of two people who are together. It’s not a mirror - but a perpetual answering and asking. When one person is absent, that echo ceases or, as the title track laments, ‘fades into these silent days.’ In that sense, remembering is a kind of echo, each instance slightly less vivid than the one before.”The record is augmented by guest vocals featuring previous Pains collaborators: Jen Goma on “So True” (A Sunny Day in Glasgow), bass guitar by Jacob Danish Sloan (Dream Diary), and horns by Kelly Pratt (Beirut, David Byrne, St. Vincent). The Pains of Being Pure at Heart live band consists of long-time guitarist Christoph Hochheim (Ablebody, ex-Depreciation Guild), bassist Jacob Danish Sloan, drummer Chris Schackerman (ex-Mercury Girls, ex-Literature) and vocalist/keyboardist Jess Rojas. The band will tour the UK in late May, returning to New York for Northside Festival in June (see full list of dates below). The Echo of Pleasure arrives July 14.TOUR DATES:Wednesday, May 24 -- Bristol, UK -- Thekla @+
Thursday, May 25 -- Manchester, UK -- Night & Day Café @+
Saturday, May 27 -- Newcastle Upon Tyne, UK -- Think Tank? @+
Sunday, May 28 -- Glasgow, UK -- Stereo @+
Monday, May 29 -- Leeds, UK -- Brudenell @+
Tuesday, May 30 -- London, UK -- Oslo Hackney @+
Thursday, June 1 -- Leicester, UK -- The Cookie @
Friday, June 2 – Wolverhampton, UK -- Newhampton Arts Centre @
Saturday, June 3 -- Oxford, UK -- The Cellar @
Thursday, June 8 -- Hamden, CT -- The Outer Space *#
Friday, June 9 -- Brooklyn, NY -- Music Hall of Williamsburg *#
Wednesday, June 14 -- Boston, MA -- The Sinclair *%
Thursday, June 15 -- New Portsmouth, NH -- 3S Artspace *%
Friday, June 16 -- Montreal, Canada - Bar Le Ritz *%
Saturday, June 17 -- Toronto, Canada -- The Horseshoe Tavern *%
Monday, June 19 -- Cleveland, OH -- The Grog Shop *%
Tuesday, June 20 -- Detroit, MI -- El Club *%
Thursday, June 22 -- Minneapolis, MN -- 7th St Entry *^
Friday, June 23 -- Madison, WI -- High Noon Saloon *^
Saturday, June 24 -- Chicago, IL -- Lincoln Hall *^
Sunday, June 25 -- St Louis, MO -- The Firebird *^
Tuesday, June 27 -- Nashville, TN -- The High Watt *^
Wednesday, June 28 -- Atlanta, GA -- The Earl *^
Friday, June 30 -- Chapel Hill, NC -- Local 506 *^
Saturday, July 1 -- Washington D.C. -- Rock & Roll Hotel *^
Sunday, July 2 -- Philadelphia, PA -- World Cafe Live Downstairs *^
Friday, September 22 -- Vancouver, BC -- Biltmore Cabaret $&
Saturday, September 23 -- Seattle, WA -- Tractor Tavern $&
Sunday, September 24 -- Portland, OR -- Doug Fir Lounge $&
Tuesday, September 26 -- San Francisco, CA -- The Chapel $&
Wednesday, September 27 -- Los Angeles, CA -- Teragram Ballroom $&
Thursday, September 28 -- San Diego, CA - The Loft UC $&
Sunday, October 15 -- Madrid, Spain -- Joy Slava
Monday, October 16 -- Cordoba, Spain -- Sala Hanger
Tuesday, October 17 -- Granada, Spain -- Lemon Rock
Thursday, October 19 -- Valencia, Spain -- La Rambleta
Friday, October 20 -- Barcelona, Spain -- Bikini
Saturday, October 21 -- Santander, Spain -- Escenario
* = w/ Ablebody
# = w/ Beverly
% = w/ Frankie Rose
^ = w/ Tony Molina
$ = w/ The Courtneys
& = w/ The Prids
@ = w/ Night Flowers
+ = w/ Yoke LorePictured below: The Pains of Being Pure at Heart by Ebru Yildiz
The Pains of Being Pure at Heart
Orchestral Manoeuvres In The Dark Announce New LP, Share Album Teaser Trailer | Announce Tour Dates | 'Punishment Of Luxury' Out 9/1 On White Noise
ORCHESTRAL MANOEUVRES IN THE DARK ANNOUNCE NEW LP
'THE PUNISHMENT OF LUXURY',
SHARE "LA MITRAILLEUSE" TEASER TRAILER
ANNOUNCE WORLD TOUR DATES
'THE PUNISHMENT OF LUXURY', OUT 9/1/2017 ON WHITE NOISE
Synth-pop pioneers OMD return with their dazzling 13th studio album ‘The Punishment of Luxury’ which sees them combine the wistful nostalgia and idealized romance of their previous work while stepping out of their comfort zone. The LP is out September 1st on White Noise Records.The follow up to the critically acclaimed ‘English Electric’ (released in 2013) ‘The Punishment Of Luxury’ is a daring collection of stylish synth pop and masterful songwriting which will certainly rank alongside their very best.
Written, recorded, produced and mixed by OMD – Andy McCluskey and Paul Humphreys – the album is the sound of a band in their prime. ‘On this album we have managed to make beautiful things out of noises and repetitive patterns’, explains Andy. ‘The trouble is, we just cant help but write a catchy melody!’
The album takes its name from an 1891 painting by the Italian Giovani Segantini and contains everything from the Kraftwerkian ‘Isotype’ and ‘Robot Man’ to the blue eyed soul ballads of ‘One More Time’ and ‘The View From Here’ as well as more traditional OMD songs like ‘Kiss Kiss Kiss Bang Bang Bang’ and the synth heavy title track.Described by The Quietus as “not just one of the best synth bands ever – they are one of the best bands ever”, OMD’s influence has become ubiquitous. The xx, the Killers and LCD Soundsystem’s James Murphy have cited OMD as an inspiration, and the likes of Future Islands and Chvrches show traces of OMD’s DNA.
View the beautiful animated video of the track‘La Mitrailleuse’ HERE
Pre-order the album HERE ! U.S., U.K & EU TOUR DATES:
July 2017
Fri 28th SAN FRANCISCO, Regency Ballroom
Sat 29th LOS ANGELES, Microsoft Theater
Sun 30th TIJUANA, El Foro
August 2017
Wed 2nd MEXICO CITY, Pepsi Centre
Sat 5th DOMINICAN REPUBLIC, Hard Rock Cafe
October 2017
Mon 23rd DUBLIN, Vicar street
Tue 24th BELFAST, Mandella Hall
Sun 29th LIVERPOOL, Empire
Mon 30th BRISTOL, Colston Hall November 2017
Wed 1st SOUTHEND, Cliffs Pavilion
Thur 2nd IPSWICH, Regent
Fri 3rd CAMBRIDGE, Corn Exchange
Sun 5th LEICESTER, De Montfort Hall
Mon 6th NOTTINGHAM, Royal Concert Hall
Tue 7th SHEFFIELD, City Hall
Thur 9th READING, Hexagon
Fri 10th SOUTHAMPTON, Guildhall
Sat 11th GUILDFORD, G Live
Mon 13th LONDON, Roundhouse
Wed 15th BEXHILL, De La Warr Pavilion
Fri 17th MANCHESTER, Academy
Sat 18th YORK, Barbican
Sun 19th GLASGOW, Royal Concert Hall
Tue 21st BIRMINGHAM, Symphony Hall
Wed 22nd GATESHEAD, Sage 1
Sat 25th ERFURT, Traum Hits Festival
Sun 26th HAMBURG, Grosse Freoheit
Tue 28th BERLIN, Huxleys
Wed 29th LEIPZIG, Taus Auenesse
Thur 30th MUNICH, Tonhalle
December 2017
Sat 2nd OFFENBACH, Stadhalle
Sun 3rd DUSSELDORF, Mitsubishi Electric Hall
Tue 5th TILBURG
Wed 6th ANTWERP, De Roma
Fri 8th LAUSANNE, Les Docks
'THE PUNISHMENT OF LUXURY',
SHARE "LA MITRAILLEUSE" TEASER TRAILER
ANNOUNCE WORLD TOUR DATES
'THE PUNISHMENT OF LUXURY', OUT 9/1/2017 ON WHITE NOISE
Synth-pop pioneers OMD return with their dazzling 13th studio album ‘The Punishment of Luxury’ which sees them combine the wistful nostalgia and idealized romance of their previous work while stepping out of their comfort zone. The LP is out September 1st on White Noise Records.The follow up to the critically acclaimed ‘English Electric’ (released in 2013) ‘The Punishment Of Luxury’ is a daring collection of stylish synth pop and masterful songwriting which will certainly rank alongside their very best. Written, recorded, produced and mixed by OMD – Andy McCluskey and Paul Humphreys – the album is the sound of a band in their prime. ‘On this album we have managed to make beautiful things out of noises and repetitive patterns’, explains Andy. ‘The trouble is, we just cant help but write a catchy melody!’
The album takes its name from an 1891 painting by the Italian Giovani Segantini and contains everything from the Kraftwerkian ‘Isotype’ and ‘Robot Man’ to the blue eyed soul ballads of ‘One More Time’ and ‘The View From Here’ as well as more traditional OMD songs like ‘Kiss Kiss Kiss Bang Bang Bang’ and the synth heavy title track.Described by The Quietus as “not just one of the best synth bands ever – they are one of the best bands ever”, OMD’s influence has become ubiquitous. The xx, the Killers and LCD Soundsystem’s James Murphy have cited OMD as an inspiration, and the likes of Future Islands and Chvrches show traces of OMD’s DNA.
View the beautiful animated video of the track‘La Mitrailleuse’ HERE
Pre-order the album HERE ! U.S., U.K & EU TOUR DATES:
July 2017
Fri 28th SAN FRANCISCO, Regency Ballroom
Sat 29th LOS ANGELES, Microsoft Theater
Sun 30th TIJUANA, El Foro
August 2017
Wed 2nd MEXICO CITY, Pepsi Centre
Sat 5th DOMINICAN REPUBLIC, Hard Rock Cafe
October 2017
Mon 23rd DUBLIN, Vicar street
Tue 24th BELFAST, Mandella Hall
Sun 29th LIVERPOOL, Empire
Mon 30th BRISTOL, Colston Hall November 2017
Wed 1st SOUTHEND, Cliffs Pavilion
Thur 2nd IPSWICH, Regent
Fri 3rd CAMBRIDGE, Corn Exchange
Sun 5th LEICESTER, De Montfort Hall
Mon 6th NOTTINGHAM, Royal Concert Hall
Tue 7th SHEFFIELD, City Hall
Thur 9th READING, Hexagon
Fri 10th SOUTHAMPTON, Guildhall
Sat 11th GUILDFORD, G Live
Mon 13th LONDON, Roundhouse
Wed 15th BEXHILL, De La Warr Pavilion
Fri 17th MANCHESTER, Academy
Sat 18th YORK, Barbican
Sun 19th GLASGOW, Royal Concert Hall
Tue 21st BIRMINGHAM, Symphony Hall
Wed 22nd GATESHEAD, Sage 1
Sat 25th ERFURT, Traum Hits Festival
Sun 26th HAMBURG, Grosse Freoheit
Tue 28th BERLIN, Huxleys
Wed 29th LEIPZIG, Taus Auenesse
Thur 30th MUNICH, Tonhalle
December 2017
Sat 2nd OFFENBACH, Stadhalle
Sun 3rd DUSSELDORF, Mitsubishi Electric Hall
Tue 5th TILBURG
Wed 6th ANTWERP, De Roma
Fri 8th LAUSANNE, Les Docks
DAN AUERBACH PERFORMS “SHINE ON ME” ON THE LATE SHOW WITH STEPHEN COLBERT
DAN AUERBACH PERFORMS “SHINE ON ME” ON THE LATE SHOW WITH STEPHEN COLBERT
NEW ALBUM WAITING ON A SONG , JUNE 2
ON EASY EYE SOUND
"Auerbach’s second solo album confirms The Black Keys’ leader as a craftsman of rare skill and few equals. As lush, escapist pop, Waiting On A Song is a triumph."
– Mojo (★★★★)
On Friday, Nine-time GRAMMY–winner Dan Auerbach appeared on The Late Show With Stephen Colbert to perform the songs “Shine On Me” and “King Of A One Horse Town” (an online exclusive) off his forthcoming album, Waiting On A Song . Watch both performances here.
Dan Auerbach will release Waiting On A Song, his second solo album, on June 2 via his new label, Easy Eye Sound. The album is Auerbach’s follow-up to 2009’s Keep It Hid and is a love letter to Nashville. As such, he recruited some of Nashville’s most respected players to write and record his latest, including John Prine, Duane Eddy, Jerry Douglas, Pat McLaughlin as well as Bobby Wood and Gene Chrisman of the Memphis Boys. Auerbach said about working with his musical heroes: “Living in Nashville has definitely changed the way I think about music and the way that I record it. I didn’t have all of these resources before. I am working with some of the greatest musicians that ever lived.” Waiting On A Song is available for pre-order on CD, vinyl, and digitally. The album will also be available in limited-edition bundles, including an exclusive 8 track and a vintage 8 track player signed and customized by Auerbach, a seat cushion and various autographed and colored vinyl sets. Pre-order the album on all formats here.
Recently, NPR Music premiered the video for Waiting On A Song’s first single, “Shine on Me”. Auerbach also shared the music video for “King of a One Horse Town” via Pitchfork.
Dan Auerbach moved to Nashville from his native Akron, Ohio in 2010 and with this release, his first solo album in eight years, it is clear that he has made Music City his home. During the summer of 2016, taking a break from the non-stop touring he’d done with The Black Keys and the Arcs, he finally got acquainted with the city he loves so much, as well as the world-class musicians who live there, and subsequently collaborated with some of Nashville’s heavyweights. Of the process he reveals, “They’d come over, and we’d be in a little room in my house with the door closed, and we’d just write. Monday through Wednesday we’d write, and then Thursday through Sunday we’d record, every week.” Auerbach wrote seven songs with John Prine, one of which is the title track of the album. Mark Knopfler’s immediately identifiable guitar elevates “Shine on Me” into an anthem. Iconic guitarist Duane Eddy is featured on “Livin’ in Sin” and the cinematic “King of a One Horse Town.”
Waiting On A Song is the debut release, and marks the launch of Easy Eye Sound, Dan Auerbach’s new record label which will feature soon-to-be-announced releases from other artists and is distributed by Auerbach's longtime label Nonesuch Records. The new label is built equally around Auerbach’s Easy Eye Studio in Nashville, where The Black Keys recorded their last two albums, as well as the collection of famous session musicians that have come to call the studio home. Auerbach says, “Sometimes I feel I created my own Field of Dreams. I built the studio because I knew something was going to happen. I built it to accommodate live musicians playing, and then all of a sudden the best musicians in Nashville show up, and it’s happening.”
Dan Auerbach - Waiting On A Song Track List
1. Waiting On A Song
2. Malibu Man
3. Livin' In Sin
4. Shine On Me
5. King Of A One Horse Town
6. Never In My Wildest Dreams
7. Cherrybomb
8. Stand By My Girl
9. Undertow
10. Show Me
http://easyeyesound.com/
https://www.facebook.com/danauerbachmusic/
https://www.facebook.com/easyeyesound
https://twitter.com/danauerbach
https://twitter.com/easyeyesound
NEW ALBUM WAITING ON A SONG , JUNE 2
ON EASY EYE SOUND
"Auerbach’s second solo album confirms The Black Keys’ leader as a craftsman of rare skill and few equals. As lush, escapist pop, Waiting On A Song is a triumph."– Mojo (★★★★)
On Friday, Nine-time GRAMMY–winner Dan Auerbach appeared on The Late Show With Stephen Colbert to perform the songs “Shine On Me” and “King Of A One Horse Town” (an online exclusive) off his forthcoming album, Waiting On A Song . Watch both performances here.
Dan Auerbach will release Waiting On A Song, his second solo album, on June 2 via his new label, Easy Eye Sound. The album is Auerbach’s follow-up to 2009’s Keep It Hid and is a love letter to Nashville. As such, he recruited some of Nashville’s most respected players to write and record his latest, including John Prine, Duane Eddy, Jerry Douglas, Pat McLaughlin as well as Bobby Wood and Gene Chrisman of the Memphis Boys. Auerbach said about working with his musical heroes: “Living in Nashville has definitely changed the way I think about music and the way that I record it. I didn’t have all of these resources before. I am working with some of the greatest musicians that ever lived.” Waiting On A Song is available for pre-order on CD, vinyl, and digitally. The album will also be available in limited-edition bundles, including an exclusive 8 track and a vintage 8 track player signed and customized by Auerbach, a seat cushion and various autographed and colored vinyl sets. Pre-order the album on all formats here.
Recently, NPR Music premiered the video for Waiting On A Song’s first single, “Shine on Me”. Auerbach also shared the music video for “King of a One Horse Town” via Pitchfork.
Dan Auerbach moved to Nashville from his native Akron, Ohio in 2010 and with this release, his first solo album in eight years, it is clear that he has made Music City his home. During the summer of 2016, taking a break from the non-stop touring he’d done with The Black Keys and the Arcs, he finally got acquainted with the city he loves so much, as well as the world-class musicians who live there, and subsequently collaborated with some of Nashville’s heavyweights. Of the process he reveals, “They’d come over, and we’d be in a little room in my house with the door closed, and we’d just write. Monday through Wednesday we’d write, and then Thursday through Sunday we’d record, every week.” Auerbach wrote seven songs with John Prine, one of which is the title track of the album. Mark Knopfler’s immediately identifiable guitar elevates “Shine on Me” into an anthem. Iconic guitarist Duane Eddy is featured on “Livin’ in Sin” and the cinematic “King of a One Horse Town.”Waiting On A Song is the debut release, and marks the launch of Easy Eye Sound, Dan Auerbach’s new record label which will feature soon-to-be-announced releases from other artists and is distributed by Auerbach's longtime label Nonesuch Records. The new label is built equally around Auerbach’s Easy Eye Studio in Nashville, where The Black Keys recorded their last two albums, as well as the collection of famous session musicians that have come to call the studio home. Auerbach says, “Sometimes I feel I created my own Field of Dreams. I built the studio because I knew something was going to happen. I built it to accommodate live musicians playing, and then all of a sudden the best musicians in Nashville show up, and it’s happening.”
Dan Auerbach - Waiting On A Song Track List
1. Waiting On A Song
2. Malibu Man
3. Livin' In Sin
4. Shine On Me
5. King Of A One Horse Town
6. Never In My Wildest Dreams
7. Cherrybomb
8. Stand By My Girl
9. Undertow
10. Show Me
http://easyeyesound.com/
https://www.facebook.com/danauerbachmusic/
https://www.facebook.com/easyeyesound
https://twitter.com/danauerbach
https://twitter.com/easyeyesound
Broken Social Scene - 'Hug of Thunder' out July 7th, Listen To Title Track Now
BROKEN SOCIAL SCENE
Hug Of Thunder
(July 7th, 2017; Arts & Crafts)
Listen to Title Track NOW
(Photo credit: Norman Wong)
"Broken Social Scene - bruised, beautiful and chaotically epic...Theirs is a breathtaking display of controlled euphoria." -- The Guardian, September 2016Toronto's Broken Social Scene recently detailed their first album in seven years, Hug Of Thunder , out July 7th, 2017 on their label Arts & Crafts. Produced by Joe Chiccarelli and mixed by Shawn Everett, Hug Of Thunder includes contributions from all fifteen original members of Broken Social Scene (see full list below), as well as new guest vocalist Ariel Engle. Today, the title track of the album has been revealed via Zane Lowe's show on Beats 1; click HERE to listen to it. "Hug Of Thunder" follows the release of the song "Halfway Home," which the band performed to rapturous response on The Late Show with Stephen Colbert at the end of March.
Broken Social Scene are also thrilled to announce their first full U.S. tour since 2011. Frightened Rabbit will support on select dates, as well as The Belle Game; tour dates are listed below. For these dates, Broken Social Scene are partnering with Plus 1 so that $1 from every ticket goes towards providing access to arts education for young people in disadvantaged communities. Tickets for all the band's headlining shows will go on sale Wednesday, May 17th, via the Broken Social Scene website. Additional dates will be announced soon.
Hug Of Thunder is everything BSS fans love from the Canadian collective and then some, an album overflowing with glorious open chords, multi-voice harmonies, spacious psychedelia-tinted breakdowns, and more. It is a panoramic, expansive album that manages to be both epic and intimate; and like all things BSS, in troubled times, it offers a serotonin rush of positivity. Since their inception in the early Aughts, BSS have always pushed sonic boundaries while remaining reverent of a perfect chorus; almost twenty years down the line, Hug Of Thunder sharpens that balance. The record's twelve songs refract the band's varying emotions, methods, and techniques in ways that not only reference their other albums, but surpass them. Hug Of Thunder is righteous but warm, angry but loving, melodic but uncompromising. And if you've ever fallen in love with Broken Social Scene - as many of us have - it is a perfect return that was truly worth the wait.
Pre-order the physical album // Pre-order the digital album
A beautiful, limited edition vinyl version of the record is also available for pre-order. It's available in Coke bottle clear vinyl (Limited to 500, exclusive to pre-order purchases), 140g double-LP, gatefold jacket (matte UV), printed vinyl sleeves (matte UV), and a 28 page booklet with stitched spine affixed to jacket. Artwork layout and design for the vinyl were done by two-time JUNO Award-winner (and Broken Social Scene's drummer) Justin Peroff and kimikimo. LP includes the vinyl-only bonus track "Old Dead Young."
Broken Social Scene is:Kevin Drew John CrossinghamBrendan Canning Sam GoldbergCharles Spearin Ariel EngleJustin Peroff Leslie FeistAndrew Whiteman Emily HainesEvan Cranley Amy MillanJimmy Shaw Lisa LobsingerDavid French Ohad BenchetritJason Collett
Hug Of Thunder album cover:
Hug Of Thunder track listing:1. Sol Luna2. Halfway Home3. Protest Song4. Skyline5. Stay Happy6. Vanity Pail Kids7. Hug Of Thunder8. Towers and Masons9. Victim Lover10. Please Take Me With You11. Gonna Get Better12. Mouth Guards of the Apocalypse
Tour dates:05-23-17 Manchester, United Kingdom @ Albert Hall05-24-17 London, United Kingdom @ Brixton Academy05-26-17 Neustrelitz, Germany @ Immergut Festival05-28-17 Antwerp, Belgium @ Trix Club05-29-17 Amsterdam, Netherlands @ Paradiso05-30-17 Paris, France @ Alhambra06-01-17 Barcelona, Spain @ Primavera Sound06-03-17 Toronto, Ontario @ Field Trip06-24-17 Pasadena, CA @ Arroyo Seco Weekend07-21-23-17 Edmonton, AB @ Interstellar Rodeo08-05-17 Montreal, Quebec @ Osheaga9/16/17 Ithaca, NY @ State Theatre ~9/17/17 New York, NY @ Meadows Music & Art festival9/19/17 Washington, DC @ 9:30 Club ~9/21/17 Asheville, NC @ Orange Peel ~9/22/17 Atlanta, GA @ Tabernacle *9/24/17 St. Louis, MO @ The Pageant *9/26/17 Des Moines, IA @ Hoyt Sherman *9/27/17 Milwaukee, WI @ Pabst Theater *9/28/17 St. Paul, MN @ The Palace *9/29/17 Chicago, IL @ Aragon Ballroom *9/30/17 Detroit, MI @ The Fillmore *10/1/17 Pittsburgh, PA @ Byham Theater *10/3/17 Philadelphia, PA @ The Fillmore10/5/17 Portland, ME @ State Theater *10/6/17 New Haven, CT @ College Street *10/7/17 Boston, MA @ House of Blues
~ - with The Belle Game* - with Frightened Rabbit
BROKEN SOCIAL SCENE:
Website * Facebook * Twitter * Instagram
Listen to Title Track NOW
(Photo credit: Norman Wong)
"Broken Social Scene - bruised, beautiful and chaotically epic...Theirs is a breathtaking display of controlled euphoria." -- The Guardian, September 2016Toronto's Broken Social Scene recently detailed their first album in seven years, Hug Of Thunder , out July 7th, 2017 on their label Arts & Crafts. Produced by Joe Chiccarelli and mixed by Shawn Everett, Hug Of Thunder includes contributions from all fifteen original members of Broken Social Scene (see full list below), as well as new guest vocalist Ariel Engle. Today, the title track of the album has been revealed via Zane Lowe's show on Beats 1; click HERE to listen to it. "Hug Of Thunder" follows the release of the song "Halfway Home," which the band performed to rapturous response on The Late Show with Stephen Colbert at the end of March.
Broken Social Scene are also thrilled to announce their first full U.S. tour since 2011. Frightened Rabbit will support on select dates, as well as The Belle Game; tour dates are listed below. For these dates, Broken Social Scene are partnering with Plus 1 so that $1 from every ticket goes towards providing access to arts education for young people in disadvantaged communities. Tickets for all the band's headlining shows will go on sale Wednesday, May 17th, via the Broken Social Scene website. Additional dates will be announced soon.
Hug Of Thunder is everything BSS fans love from the Canadian collective and then some, an album overflowing with glorious open chords, multi-voice harmonies, spacious psychedelia-tinted breakdowns, and more. It is a panoramic, expansive album that manages to be both epic and intimate; and like all things BSS, in troubled times, it offers a serotonin rush of positivity. Since their inception in the early Aughts, BSS have always pushed sonic boundaries while remaining reverent of a perfect chorus; almost twenty years down the line, Hug Of Thunder sharpens that balance. The record's twelve songs refract the band's varying emotions, methods, and techniques in ways that not only reference their other albums, but surpass them. Hug Of Thunder is righteous but warm, angry but loving, melodic but uncompromising. And if you've ever fallen in love with Broken Social Scene - as many of us have - it is a perfect return that was truly worth the wait.
Pre-order the physical album // Pre-order the digital album
A beautiful, limited edition vinyl version of the record is also available for pre-order. It's available in Coke bottle clear vinyl (Limited to 500, exclusive to pre-order purchases), 140g double-LP, gatefold jacket (matte UV), printed vinyl sleeves (matte UV), and a 28 page booklet with stitched spine affixed to jacket. Artwork layout and design for the vinyl were done by two-time JUNO Award-winner (and Broken Social Scene's drummer) Justin Peroff and kimikimo. LP includes the vinyl-only bonus track "Old Dead Young."
Broken Social Scene is:Kevin Drew John CrossinghamBrendan Canning Sam GoldbergCharles Spearin Ariel EngleJustin Peroff Leslie FeistAndrew Whiteman Emily HainesEvan Cranley Amy MillanJimmy Shaw Lisa LobsingerDavid French Ohad BenchetritJason Collett
Hug Of Thunder album cover:
Hug Of Thunder track listing:1. Sol Luna2. Halfway Home3. Protest Song4. Skyline5. Stay Happy6. Vanity Pail Kids7. Hug Of Thunder8. Towers and Masons9. Victim Lover10. Please Take Me With You11. Gonna Get Better12. Mouth Guards of the Apocalypse
Tour dates:05-23-17 Manchester, United Kingdom @ Albert Hall05-24-17 London, United Kingdom @ Brixton Academy05-26-17 Neustrelitz, Germany @ Immergut Festival05-28-17 Antwerp, Belgium @ Trix Club05-29-17 Amsterdam, Netherlands @ Paradiso05-30-17 Paris, France @ Alhambra06-01-17 Barcelona, Spain @ Primavera Sound06-03-17 Toronto, Ontario @ Field Trip06-24-17 Pasadena, CA @ Arroyo Seco Weekend07-21-23-17 Edmonton, AB @ Interstellar Rodeo08-05-17 Montreal, Quebec @ Osheaga9/16/17 Ithaca, NY @ State Theatre ~9/17/17 New York, NY @ Meadows Music & Art festival9/19/17 Washington, DC @ 9:30 Club ~9/21/17 Asheville, NC @ Orange Peel ~9/22/17 Atlanta, GA @ Tabernacle *9/24/17 St. Louis, MO @ The Pageant *9/26/17 Des Moines, IA @ Hoyt Sherman *9/27/17 Milwaukee, WI @ Pabst Theater *9/28/17 St. Paul, MN @ The Palace *9/29/17 Chicago, IL @ Aragon Ballroom *9/30/17 Detroit, MI @ The Fillmore *10/1/17 Pittsburgh, PA @ Byham Theater *10/3/17 Philadelphia, PA @ The Fillmore10/5/17 Portland, ME @ State Theater *10/6/17 New Haven, CT @ College Street *10/7/17 Boston, MA @ House of Blues
~ - with The Belle Game* - with Frightened Rabbit
BROKEN SOCIAL SCENE:
Website * Facebook * Twitter * Instagram
Miranda Lee Richards interview
Miranda Lee Richards interview
By Alexander Laurence
I first became aware of Miranda Lee Richards about ten years ago. Itwas a much different time. The music scene was not very interesting.The record companies were very self-indulgent. Most female musiciansat the time aspired to be a new Janis Joplin or some punk rock /rocker chick. I can’t even remember the hundred of acts that I cameacross in those years. But Miranda’s first record, The Herethereafter(2001), was a breath of fresh air. It pointed back to a rich past, andpath to the future.
I had found out that we had traveled in similar circles in SanFrancisco. She was even a member of Brian Jonestown Massacre (as canbe seen in Dig! The Movie). She moved to Los Angeles at some point andcreated a neo-folk scene of her own. When I listened to her firstrecord, I could imagine hanging out in the desert, and Joshua Tree,with my hippie friends. Or having a guitar circle in Laurel Canyon,and playing songs by Neil Young. Or perhaps sitting on a chair in ahouse in Topanga Canyon watching the stars. Of course you can imaginedoing that now, but Miranda put out this record many years ago, inanticipation of any such scene.
In recent years, Miranda has done tours of America, England, andJapan. She has played shows with Neil Halstead, Joe Firstman, and NeilFinn. Miranda has also recently performed as a member of GoodListeners and the Jesus and Mary Chain.
I got to talk to her recently. Her second album, LIGHT OF X (2009)will be coming out on February 10th, 2009. This record is amazing andwill grow on you in time. She will be doing a residency at Spacelandin February 2009.
AL: The first album came out in 2001. It's almost seven years later.What have you been doing?
Miranda: After the release of my first record, I felt I needed tore-approach the business in a way that was more enjoyable, and Iwanted to make music on my own terms. It took me a lot longer thanexpected to get into another good label situation as the business hadbasically died and re-birthed during that time! I actually wentthrough a rough period there for a while, and some of the songs onLight of X reflect that struggle. Without getting too personal, orreferring to this period entirely as ‘the lost years’, here are someof the things that occurred: I finally finished the record, wrotematerial for my next albums, worked a day job for a while, built myindependent Miranda Lee Richards empire, did a fair amount ofsoul-searching, maintained my garden of close friends and familymembers, wrote songs for film and TV, sang on commercials as a sessionsinger, did an assortment of photo shoots and creative ventures,worked on my house, performed fifty or more shows, and did quite a fewof collaborations in the studio with other musicians. DIG! Came outduring this ‘seven years,’ and I performed at Sundance in 2004 - I’vealso done some touring since the release of my last album (more onthat later). The rest of this year has been dedicated to other aspectsof the release (artwork, videos, etc.), handling music businessmatters, and rehearsing, all of which has kept me really busy.
AL: How does a song begin for you? Is it music first or lyrics and melody first?
Miranda: I love this question. I could answer it over and over againfor the rest of my life! Definitely music first, unless I hear amelody in my head with a little lyric line attached to it. I writepoetry independently of music, but I rarely think it’s any good unlessI’m in ‘the zone.’ The music helps me to extract the words as poetryand helps me to express what’s going on at any given point in my life.That’s why I always try and get a first draft down when I first comeup with a song idea - It helps me document where my heart and mind areat the time and gives me at least an outline for what the song will beabout for when I revisit it later.
AL: There seems like there was a different approach to making “LIGHTof X”. Can you talk about the creation?
Miranda: Well, on The Herethereafter, there was a large amount ofinput from the label and other outside sources. Some of that input Ipraise in retrospect, some of it I do not, which of course is theparadox of the collaboration. By comparison, Light of X was madewithout the initial help of a label, so there was very little creativeinput other than from myself and Rick Parker, who produced,engineered, and mixed the record. One of the upsides of collaborationwas that on The Herethereafter, I had the luxury of working withtremendously talented individuals every step of the way: Jon Brion didsome additional production; David Campbell arranged the strings, andChad Blake mixed the album. These were incredibly well establishedindividuals who made it a stronger record than it otherwise would havebeen. On Light of X, we had more of a creative luxury, but less of afeedback luxury - it was just Rick (who is ‘tremendously talented’himself, by the way) and I working together, and while that producedand undeniable sense freedom, it was also an unbelievably daunting toproduce an album of this quality on such a tight budget. Forget thebudget, it was a challenge to wear so many hats! We were up for thechallenge, however, and I ended up arranging the strings, and Rick andI played most of the overdubs. What we were missing with Light of Xwas objectivity, but in retrospect, perhaps that’s not what I wantedas I am very proud of the result. I can back this record 100% even ifit’s not perfect, it’s almost perfect in my eyes...
AL: Who played on this album and how did you choose the musicians?
Miranda: This question segways perfectly from the one above. KeithMitchell (Mazzy Star/Green on Red) played drums and Eva Gardner(former Mars Volta member) played base for most of the album. Keithhas a unique style and naturally feels the pocket in a very slow, downtempo way, which heavily influenced the sound of this record. That wasmy one reservation at times, I was worried that album was too mellowfor people’s tastes, but at the same time, that was what gave thesongs their atmosphere and most closely emulated how they sound to meat home, without any accompaniment. Another contributor to theminimalist sound on the record is Eva Gardner who plays clean, simplebase lines; she doesn’t overplay and has an awesome pocket and tone.Other songs were from other sessions: John Wilmer (The Shore), playeddrums on “Pictures of You” and “Life Boat”, and co-produced “LifeBoat”. (OK, I lied – there were some other collaborators!) One of myjazzier rhythm sections played on “Olive Tree”; Derek Syverud on drumsand Ryan Feves (Eleni Mandel) on stand up base. Ben Peeler (ShelbyLynn) played all the lap steel on the record, and Josh Schwartz(former Beachwood Sparks member) played great guitar on a couplesongs.
AL: Are there any "new" influences on this record?
Miranda: Basically, I have my same bag of tricks I like to use, my‘paints’ I call them from the last record to this one, but one of thebiggest differences may have been that there was more piano basedmaterial on this record than the last. The music I write on pianotends to have a more classical and ballad influence to it, vs. myguitar material which is more folk and rock inspired. I think thesetwo styles wield nicely together and compliment one another like agood recipe. A little sweet offsets the salt for example, a littledark brings forth the light...
AL: How do you feel about people downloading your music?
Miranda: I have mixed feelings about it, but on a primal level, I amagainst my work being available totally for free, just for the merefact that is costs money to make an album and let people know aboutit! Besides, nothing ever truly for free, you can’t just take and takewithout there ever being any consequences. I mostly agree with thatanarchistic attitude of downloading in the sense that there wereextraordinary excesses happening in the music business, and thatneeded to come to an end. Now that all that’s crumbled, and out of theashes needs to emerge a new way to protect copyrights and revenuestreams. Artists will have to do even more self-promotion and out ofpocket funding as labels disappear, and that is damaging to theircreative work because it takes time and recourses they don’t alwayshave. I could go on and on, but if you do manage to avoid these pitfalls, one simple fact remains: to have a lasting career in music, youstill need to produce high quality work over a long period of time, sosomething’s never change.
AL: Can you talk about some of the tours you did in the past two years?
Miranda: I went on a solo acoustic tour of U.K. in November of 2007; Idid a few dates with The Jesus and Mary Chain on part of their WestCoast tour in 2007 as a guest vocalist; I toured with Tim Finn inJanuary of 2008 and I toured with Neil Halstead the early fall of2008, all amazing experiences.
AL: Did you make some videos, which songs, and what are they like?
Miranda: We’re just about to release the video for “Early November”from Light of X directed by Piper Ferguson which I’m really excitedabout. It’s a French New Wave cinema/Ciao Manhattan-themed video, aportion of which was shot on 16mm. I also plan to do videos for a fewmore songs from the album TBA, and I will be adding lot’s of liveclips and things to You Tube this year.
AL: Do you have any other hobbies?
Miranda: Well, before the release of this album took over, lol, I usedto like to fix up my pad and garden and try new recipes in the kitchen– all very domestic, I know, but when my home’s a wreck, I feel like asub-par human being. I also enjoy meditation and reading, and try tofind the time for that in order to stay more grounded and joyful in myapproach. I have a background in fine art/painting and drawing and Ithought it would be healthy for me to take up drawing again – perhapsI could draw a record cover one day, that would be really cool.
AL: What other new bands do you like?
Miranda: I am really digging Beach House right now.
AL: What should people expect in the shows in February 2009?
Miranda: Well, I always strive to give a soulful performance, andbesides that and the accompaniment of my usual band members (base,drums, and guitar), I would love to add another keyboard player, pedalsteel, and strings. Hopefully as we build momentum, we can afford amore elaborate live set up; that’s my dream anyway, as I want to puton the most beautiful performance imaginable for people.
