We fell for Berlin based three-piece Cavern of Anti-Matter when we first heard the stunning ‘Melody In High Feedback Tones’, off their upcoming debut album void beats / invocation trex. The trio, headed by Stereolab’s co-founder Tim Gane, and also comprising former Stereolab drummer Joe Dillworth and synth master Holger Zapf, are teasing the album again with the epic opening track ‘Tardis Cymbals’. Clocking in at nearly thirteen minutes, the track is described as a “journey deep into a kaleidoscopic synth vortex”. We are in for a treat with void beats / invocation trex so make sure you nab it when it drops on February 19th via Duophonic. Now listen to ‘Tardis Cymbals’.
Category Archives: Blog
Listen to Za!’s single ‘Badulake’ off upcoming album Loloismo
ZA!, the Spanish duo of multi-instrumentalists Spazzfrica Ehd and Papa duPau, have a new album on the way called Loloismo. It follows their 2013’s Wanananai and arrives on January 29th via Sheffield DIY collective The Audacious Art Experiment and Hot Salvation Records.
The pair are known for experimenting and crossing boundaries between many genres. On Loloismo, ZA! take on new ways of playing and even more styles, explains the press release. “Industrial meets dubstep, hip hop, clicks n’cuts electronic music, math-rock – from the old-shool hardcore clichés to Asian, Arabic or invented landscapes”. As ZA! put it, it’s “Loloizable experimental music with a chorus”, with ‘Loloiza’ referring to the Spanish phrase for the chants heard echoing out of football pitches, and its emphasis on the collective act of singing, rather than the lyrics. The pair’s lyrics “had never evolved beyond a concept or a single word” until Loloismo.
ZA! had previously shared the album’s phenomenal lead track ‘Badulake’. If you haven’t heard it, you’re missing out.
In other related good news, and in support of the album, ZA! are embarking on a UK tour in February with NOPE. Check all their stops below:
Atlanter’s second album Jewels of Crime out this month
Three years on from the release of Vidde, Norwegian quartet Atlanter are ready to drop their second album later this month. Entitled Jewels of Crime, the effort is a conceptual album about diamonds and pearls. “Even though things are shining, it doesn’t mean they’re working”, said the band’s Jens J Carelius Krogsveen. “We wanted to present such an old-fashioned thing like a rock band in a kitschy, glossy and gaudy universe”. Krogsveen explains further how the album was conceived:
“Before the studio recordings, we listened to loads of jams and rehearsals, picking out compositions, intensity and, not least, ensemble playing, which we thought could become songs. I think we had up to 250 recordings which altogether formed the basis of the songs. Because that’s still the key to why this band works so well: People with different approaches and musical tastes who love playing together.”
On Jewels of Crime, Arild Hammerø, Jens J Carelius Krogsveen, Jonas Barsten and Morten Kvam, who make up the band, collaborated with some guests including the group Imarhan from Mali, with Iyad Moussa Ben Abderahmane a.k.a. Sadam on vocals and Hanne Kolstø.
The album’s first excellent single ‘Jareeze’ has been paired with a short film directed by Frode Fjerdingstad. Watch it below and watch out for the release of Jewels of Crime on January 22nd via Jansen Plateproduksjon.
Diminished Men set to release third album Vision In Crime in February
Welcome to 2016. We’re kicking the year off big, with Seattle based trio Diminished Men, consisting of Steve Schmitt on guitars, Simon Henneman on bass and drummer Dave Abramson, who is also a member of Master Musicians of Bukkake and has collaborated with Eyvind Kang, Secret Chiefs 3, Climax Golden Twins and Grails, to name but a few.
Comes February 26th, the band will release their third album, Vision In Crime, via Sun City Girl’s label Abduction Records. The album “unfolds like a paranormal detective story full of delinquent exotica, deranged noir, hyperventilating surf, and shortwave radio nightmares”, says the press release. It continues to describe the album as “a feature length escapade that sidewinds through jazz and soundtrack territories, as well as the outer reaches of the experimental satellite genres, retaining the unmistakeable character of the band so far, while also evoking a premonition more sinister than ever before”.
Ahead of its release, Diminished Men have shared the stunning and enigmatic Aegean Sea inspired ‘Oistros Dolorous’. It calls for repeated listens and leave us salivating for more.
Listen to Yann Tiersen’s ‘Porz Goret’ from his upcoming book of sheet music Eusa
Just before the year draws to a close, Yann Tiersen is following up last year’s outstanding album ∞ (Infinity). Eusa, an album in the form of a book of sheet music, will see the light of day tomorrow. Named after the island of Ushant off the coast of Tiersen’s native Brittany, the effort features ten brand new piano pieces, each related to a specific location in Ushant. Here’s what the French composer said about it:
“Ushant is more than just a home – it’s a part of me. The idea was to make a map of the island and, by extension, a map of who I am. To begin with I chose ten locations on the island and made a series of field recordings at each of them. The pieces of piano music I then went on to write are named after these locations, and the sheet music for each piece is accompanied by a GPS coordinate and a photograph of the site taken by Emilie Quinquis.”
Tiersen has also created a website to accompany this release with photographs and field recordings from each location.
And to entice us further, Tiersen has shared an excerpt from the beautiful ‘Porz Goret’, with a video filmed and recorded at Porz Goret. Here it is.
Yann Tiersen is set to perform a series of live shows in May 2016, including two dates at London’s Barbican on May 7th and May 10th. Consisting of a collection of solo piano and violin works, Eusa’s ten new piano pieces will be the core of these performances.
Watch the video for Anna Meredith’s ‘R-Type’
The amazing rave of a song that is ‘R-Type’ has been given the visual treatment. ‘R-Type’ is the second single lifted from Anna Meredith’s forthcoming debut album, Varmints, due out on March 4th via Moshi Moshi. Watch the fittingly kaleidoscopic video below, directed by Jonny Sanders.
In other related news, and in support of Varmints, Anna Meredith has announced her first UK/European tour, including a show at London’s ICA on March 29th.
