Category Archives: Blog

Mouse On The Keys release new album The Flowers of Romance

08 October 2015

Mouse On The Keys - The Flowers Of Romance

With two outstanding albums under their belt since their inception in 2006, Tokyo based trio Mouse On The Keys released earlier this year their magnificent third album, The Flowers Of Romance. The compositions of Akira Kawasaki (drum, keyboards), Atsushi Kiyota (piano, keyboards) and Daisuke Niitome (piano, keyboards), who make up the trio, exhibit far-flung influences from Burt Bacharach to Claude Debussy, from Johann Sebastian Bach to Beastie Boys, from Napalm Death to Steve Reich. Mouse On The Keys also cited western philosophers like Ferdinand de Saussure, Sigmund Freud or Karl Marx as important influences on the album.

“When I joined Mouse On The Keys”, said Kawasaki, “I envisioned a concept that mixes diverse elements of contemporary music, such as dynamic hardcore drumming and modern French harmony with the feeling of a Detroit techno follower”.

Unlike previous efforts written together, The Flowers Of Romance saw each member writing songs themselves, before teaming up with collaborative guests, including violin player Atsuko Hatano, trumpetist Daisuke Sasaki and guitarist Masahiro Tobita, amongst many other musicians.
The press release describes the album as “an exhilarating utopian masterpiece of venturesome music made for ears with a deep sense of intense and playful radicalness, precision, fidelity and frankness.”

The Flowers of Romance is out now worldwide via Mule Musiq. To get you enticed for this release, here’s the video for the tremendous album track ‘leviathan’.

Public Service Broadcasting share brand track from upcoming EP

07 October 2015

Public Service Broadcasting - Sputnik / Korolev EP

The Race For Space, Public Service Broadcasting‘s second album, come out earlier this year and they continue to keep us excited. The London based duo have announced a new EP release, Sputnik/Korolev EP, slated for a November 20th release. It features the album track ‘Sputnik’ along with four remixes from Blond:ish, Petar Dundov, Eagles & Butterflies & Plugger. The EP also comes with a brand new track, ‘Korolev’, named after the legendary Russian rocket engineer who was responsible for the creation of the Soviet space program and also the lead designer of Sputnik. Take a listen to ‘Korolev’ now.

BIG|BRAVE’s second album Au De La out now, European tour starts in November

06 October 2015

Big Brave - Au De La

Last month, Montreal based trio BIG|BRAVE released Au De La, their second full-length album, via Southern Lord. The effort was recorded with Efrim Menuck (Godspeed You! Black Emperor/Thee Silver Mt Zion Memorial Orchestra) and it also features Jessica Moss (Thee Silver Mt Zion Memorial Orchestra) adding violin to their usual core of two guitars and a drum set.
The album “lulls and lurches between passages of rhythmic noise pollution and vocal led awe, using considered juxtapositions of force and restraint to warp the senses across the forty-five minute playing time”, notes the press release. “Remarkably quiet at times, their ambience is not one of minimalism, but of dawning, foreboding power with the need to be vented, and when the hot flushes of blighted percussion and monochromatic guitar scrapes arrive, they arrive with triumphant force.”

In support of the album, BIG|BRAVE are embarking on a European tour in November, with a show in London at Birthdays on November 25th. You can check all their other dates here.

Listen to Au De La‘s dark and profound opening track ‘On The By And By And Thereon’ to see what you’re in for.

Irmin Schmidt’s retrospective box set out next month

05 October 2015
Photo: Steve Gullick

Photo: Steve Gullick

Brace yourself for Electro Violet, a retrospective 12 CD box set from avant-garde composer and one of Can’s founding members Irmin Schmidt. Due out on November 20th via Mute / Spoon Records, Electro Violet compiles Schmidt’s solo work from 1981 to today. It includes his film soundtrack work and theatre compositions, his Gormenghast opera, collaborations with Kumo (Jono Podmore) and Duncan Fallowell and his first solo album, Toy Planet from 1981, as well as other solo albums.

Take a listen to the previously unreleased track ‘Why Not’ featuring Markus Stockhausen on trumpet. Schmidt composed it for the soundtrack of Stephan Wagner’s 2012 film Lösegeld.

Listen to Roots Manuva’s ‘Don’t Breathe Out’ from forthcoming sixth album

05 October 2015

Roots Manuva - Bleeds

October 30th will see the release of Bleeds, the sixth full-length album from the mighty British rapper/producer Roots Manuva. The man already got us salivating throughout the year with a series of singles, including ‘One Thing’ and ‘Facety 2.11’, which are part of the album. ‘Don’t Breathe Out’ is the latest single taken from Bleeds. Manuva said this of the track:

“Lyrical rogue values in neo spiritual rare groove, re hash bash on the edge of the funk that made the soul, but seek to refine a modern approximation of “Gospel for the out of box thinkers” Let the funk forgive us for failing to work with the basic mechanism of “clap, sing, rap celebrate in the mutated shades of ragga funk, dub funk, techno funk future timeless travel on the lay lines of soul hip hop fascination.”

Now enjoy ‘Don’t Breathe Out’.

To celebrate the release, Roots Manuva will perform in London at Islington Assembly Rooms on November 5th.

Bleeds is now available to pre-order through Big Dada.