Category Archives: Blog

Watch Kalbells’ video for new song ‘Hump The Beach’

20 October 2020

Following the Mothertime EP released last April, Kalbells has shared a new track called ‘Hump The Beach’. Kalmia Traver, the multi-instrumentalist and songwriter behind the project, co-produced the track with Luke Temple (Art Feynman, Here We Go Magic). ‘Hump The Beach’ comes with an accompanying video directed collectively by Traver and her bandmates Zoë Brecher (Hush Puppy, Sad13), Sarah Pedinotti (LipTalk, Okkervil River), and Angelica Bess (Body Language), who all star in the video both as themselves and as characters. Traver commented on the making of the video:

“We co-directed & created this video as a band and used emergent strategy (a philosophy explored by one of our heroes, writer Adrienne Maree Brown) to create the treatment. It was our first time being all in one place together since the beginning of COVID and being, dreaming & creating together was a healing explosion of joy. We have always loved styling ourselves and each other for photo shoots and live shows, and we knew we wanted a beach involved, and plenty of humping, and so the treatment emerged from there. During the making of this song and video we have been employing a technique we call the “radical love experiment” to communicate our desires and get to a better place where we all feel heard and held. The only rule of the experiment (so far – it’s an experiment!) is that we are each allowed to say how we feel and the other person/people must listen. So far so good!”

Watch the video below.

Grandbrothers announce third album, All The Unknown

17 October 2020

News of 2021 releases are starting to prick our ears. One album that we’re excited about is All The Unknown, the upcoming third album from German duo Grandbrothers. It follows two spellbinding albums, 2017’s Open and 2015’s Dilation, and is set for release on January 15th through City Slang.
The album sees them further expand their exploratory and open approach to music, with the grand piano, up until now their only centrepiece, now paired with electronics. German-Turkish pianist Erol Sarp and Swiss engineer/mechanic/sofware designer Lukas Vogel, who make up the duo, crafted the record also using self-built computer-controlled mechanics. “The main difference compared to the last two albums, is that we set ourselves a rule that everything needed to be created on the instrument in that moment,” Vogel explained. “But now that this rule is gone, we’ve started to produce or record things on the computer which means we can stack up more layers” Sarp added. “Previously, it has always just been me sitting at the piano playing, but now we have three or four piano parts together, which I wouldn’t be able to play at once as it’s too many notes; it just wouldn’t be possible as I only have ten fingers. This new method has opened up worlds and given so many more opportunities to write music.”

It seems like a long wait until the album arrives in January but they are already enticing us with title track, ‘All The Unknown’. Take a listen below.

Le Guess Who? unveils new hybrid event ON/OFF

12 October 2020

Following the postponement of Le Guess Who?’s 14th edition to 2021, the festival has reshaped itself within the current pandemic boundaries. The organizers unveiled last week a new hybrid event called ON/OFF, taking place from 13-15 November.

Next month, Le Guess Who?’s 14th edition would have taken place, and as we’ve personally experienced in the last 3 years, Utrecht would undoubtedly become the most wondrous place on earth. Every year, around 200 diverse and cutting-edge artists from across the globe, spanning genres and generations, grace one of the many stages in venues scattered throughout Utrecht, gifting audiences with mesmerizing experiences and unforgettable memories. The global pandemic has prevented the festival from happening in its regular format this year, but the organizers channelled their adventurous and bold musical and artistic vision into a new event called ON/OFF. A 2-part program, ON/OFF has a plethora of treats in store to be enjoyed both online and offline.

LGW ON will offer a rich variety of programming initiatives through a freely accessible online TV channel, broadcasting 13-15 November via leguesswho.com. Matana Roberts, John Dwyer (Thee Oh Sees), Phil Elverum (Mount Eerie), Lucrecia Dalt and The Bug, who have all performed in past editions, will co-curate LGW ON, hand-picking their favourite videos, films and documentaries for the channel. LGW ON will also be streaming for the first time live recordings of unique performances by Mary Margaret O’Hara, Sons of Kemet XL and Circuit des Yeux Ensemble, as well as live sessions with Dutch artists, Zoom interviews, a documentary about Le Guess Who? and highlights from last year’s edition. An alternative way to continue being a vital avenue of cultural discovery, LGW ON will present ‘Reports from Other Continents’, a specially commissioned program where people from all over the world will share video reports introducing audiences to the art, culture and music of their homelands. ‘Reports from Other Continents’ will feature video reports from countries like Colombia, Democratic Republic of the Congo, Ghana, India, Iraq, Mexico, Nepal, South Africa, Tanzania, Turkey, and Venezuela.

LGW OFF will take place on 14 and 15 November in both new and familiar venues throughout Utrecht, presenting a 100% Dutch program, featuring over 50 artists “with a strong urge to innovate”. The full program is yet to be announced and tickets for each show will be available then.

Whilst we’re obviously extremely sad not to be heading to Utrecht next month for a weekend of discoveries and delights, we are also very excited with the online extravanga Le Guess Who? has cooked up for us. We’re sure we won’t be alone devouring it from the comfort of our homes.

To get you in the mood, here’s the trailer for Le Guess Who? presents ON/OFF.

The Notwist share new song ‘Oh Sweet Fire’ feat. Ben LaMar Gay

11 October 2020

The Notwist returned this summer with an EP, Ship, marking their first new music since 2014’s album Close To The Glass. Now the German indie band are working on a full-length album, and ahead of it, they have shared a brand new song, ‘Oh Sweet Fire’. It features guest vocals by American multi-instrumentalist Ben LaMar Gay, who also coined the lyrics for the song. Take a listen below.

Bandler Ching set to release debut EP Sub Surface later this month

05 October 2020

With a superb jazz scene flourishing in Belgium in recent years, the emergence of Brussels quartet Bandler Ching comes as no surprise. Led by composer and saxophonist Ambroos De Schepper, Bandler Ching sweep the listener away with thrilling compositions blending an array of genres, from contemporary jazz, electronics and hip-hop to noise and global beats, while remaining free of stylistic constraints. Their first offering comes in the form of an EP entitled Sub Surface and will be released on October 23rd through Sdban Ultra. In advance of the release, Bandler Ching are giving us an incredible taster of what to expect with the first single ‘Pousmousse’. They comment:

“’Pousmousse’ originated from the need for space in music. The title has the same name as a laundromat in Saint-Josse (Brussels). The name is pleasant yet uncomfortable at the same time. Likewise, the song flirts with consonance and dissonance.”

‘Pousmousse’ comes with an accompanying video. Check it out below.


Keeley Forsyth announces Photograph EP and shares title track

01 October 2020

2020 kicked off with Debris, the phenomenal debut album from English actress and musician Keeley Forsyth. As we approach the tail end of the year, she is back to dazzle us again with a follow-up EP entitled Photograph. With a striking vocal delivery, Forsyth’s powerful an otherworldly baritone voice remains centre stage, supported again by label mate and composer Matthew Bourne. She has also recruited the help of Trestle Records’ Ross Downes to bring the EP to life.

Photograph EP is set for release on November 20th through The Leaf Label and ahead of it Forsyth has shared the beautiful, haunting and poignant title track. It comes with an accompanying video directed by Ross Downes, with whom she collaborated closely. She commented:

“We discussed the absurdism of Samuel Beckett,Eugène Ionescu and Antonin Artaud and the movements of the Tanztheater tradition, all of which has influenced the music I’ve been writing. We were working towards a place where archetypes, expectations and behaviour are unclear – a woman feeds her family with soil while digging her grave”.

Watch the video for ‘Photograph’ below.