With the heavenly and contemplative The Blue of Distance just out in the tail end of January, Elori Saxl has now shared a beautiful new single from the album entitled ‘Before Blue’. The single comes paired with a stunning video directed by Emma Portner and features improvised choreography from Justin Dejager. Take a look.
The Blue of Distance is out now through Western Vinyl.
Avant-rock experimentalist outfit Xiu Xiu have a new album on the way entitled OH NO. Marking their 12th studio album, OH NO is a collection of duets and sees singer and songwriter Jamie Stewart collaborate with artists who have been influential for him, both personally and musically. The album features stellar guest contributions from an array of artists, including Circuit des Yeux’s Haley Fohr, Chelsea Wolfe, Owen Pallet, Deerhoof’s Greg Saunier, Liars’ Angus Andrew, Twin Shadow’s George Lewis Jr., Sharon Van Etten and many more. Speaking about these collaborations, Stewart explains:
“The guest stars of OH NO reflect the types of people, and many of the very same, who helped remind me that the ratio of beautiful humans to shitty humans is more like 60/40 rather than what I have always assumed was 1/99. Although there is an ‘I HATE PEOPLE’ pin on my guitar strap, I hate them less now.”
OH NO was produced by Xiu Xiu’s Angela Seo, Lawrence English, and Greg Saunier, and is set for release on March 26th via Polyvinyl. Ahead of it, they have shared the first taste of their forthcoming album, ‘A Bottle of Rum’, featuring Grouper’s Liz Harris. “I had asked Liz Harris, who is an old friend, if she would sing on this new record of duets,” Stewart said. “Initially I thought of her for another song but she specifically, although not knowing she had been the inspiration behind it in the first place, asked to be on this one. If the stars ever have aligned… well then.” ‘A Bottle of Rum’ comes with an accompanying video directed by band member Angela Seo. Watch it below.
Photo: Maya Dagmi
Portland-based producer and percussionist Barra Brown, known for his acoustic jazz band, Barra Brown Quintet, and as one half of beat-making duo Korgy & Bass, is gearing up to release his debut album, LFT:RT. With an ambitious approach to songwriting, and the ability to seamlessly move through a variety of genres and musical styles, Brown has crafted a wildly diverse and playful record. “I say I’m left-handed, yet I’m extremely ambidextrous,” Brown commented, in reference to his drumming and the album title which represents his “attempt to break down the binary thinking so often used to sort complex human life into simplified categories”.
To bring LFT:RT to life, he invited several artists to contribute, including Brubeck Institute fellow Tree Palmedo, who guests on trumpet on the latest single to emerge, ‘Woah hey!’. Brown commented on this collaboration:
“My friend Tree is an amazing trumpet player. His last jazz related album received four stars in Downbeat and was named #1 debut album on the NPR Jazz Critic’s Poll. It happened that he was back in town (Portland) visiting from his new home in NYC. We had about an hour together in my home studio and he took a few passes over my work in progress. I chopped some things he played to create a melody after our session. But the ripping solo at the end, I kept that one-take wonder! The guitar and bass sounds were taken from an improvised session I recorded with my former teacher and Oregon Hall of Fame guitarist, Dan Balmer. He didn’t know several seconds of our jam would become this sonic world and his guitar would also become a bass.”
‘Woah hey!’ comes with an accompanying video edited by Brown and featuring archival footage of astronauts training in the 60’s. Watch it below and grab the album when it’s out on March 5th through Cavity Search Records.
Next week will see the release of Glass Gallery, the second album from Montreal based musician Nick Schofield. Inspired by the architecture of Ottawa’s National Gallery of Canada, specifically its light and space, the album channels the feeling of “sunlight pouring down from high angles, large open spaces and enormous windows”, as the press release describes. A gorgeous and gentle ambient album, Glass Gallery was composed entirely on a vintage Prophet-600 Synth. Ahead of its release on February 5th through Backward Music, the artist, producer, radio host and community collaborator is enticing it with a second single, ‘Ambient Architect’. Speaking about the song, Schofield explained:
“Glass Gallery is my attempt to translate inspirational paintings into music. When visiting the National Gallery of Canada, I often interpret painterly gestures, shapes and forms as ways to approach composition. Ambient Architect in particular is lifting from a Paul Klee painting, which features an of combination of this abstract architectural form overlaid on a cloud of soft colours. If you listen closely, I hope the reverence I have for these paintings comes through the music.”
‘Ambient Architect’ comes paired with a video by Christopher Honeywell, whose credits also extend to the album photography. Watch it now.
At a time when positive energy is most needed, Mouse on Mars are generating it in the form of a new science-fiction album called AAI (Anarchic Artificial Intelligence). The upcoming album features writer and scholar Louis Chude-Sokei, percussionist Dodo NKishi, DJ/producer and programmer Yağmur Uçkunkaya and also saw the duo of Jan St. Werner and Andi Toma collaborate with tech collective Birds on Mars and former Soundcloud programmers Ranny Keddo and Derrek Kindle to create bespoke software capable of modelling speech. Central to AAI is the argument that we must embrace AI and technology as Werner exlains:
“AI is capable of developing qualities that we attach to humans, like empathy, imperfection and distraction, which are a big part of creativity. We need to get past the old paranoia that fears machines as the other, as competitors who will do things faster or better, because that just keeps us stuck in our selfishness, fear and xenophobia. Machines can open up new concepts of life, and expand our definitions of being human.“
Ahead of AAI‘s release on February 26th through Thrill Jockey, Mouse on Mars have shared a second single from it, the bouncy and blissful ‘Artificial Authentic’, featuring Louis Chude-Sokei and Yağmur Uçkunkaya. Here it is.
Vertigo Days, The Notwist´s long-awaited follow-up to 2014’s Close To The Glass, is nearing its release date. The iconic German indie trio of Markus and Micha Acher and Cico Beck invited an impressive list of artists to contribute to the album including American multi-instrumentalist Ben LaMar, Saya of Japanese pop duo Tenniscoats, American jazz clarinettist and composer Angel Bat Dawid and Tokyo based brass band ZayaendoGay. Another phenomenal guest contributing to Vertigo Days is Argentinian electronica songwriter Juana Molina, who features on the latest single, ‘Al Sur’. Take a listen below.
Vertigo Days is out on January 29th through Morr Music.
