A volcano of energy and creativity bursts out of Nils Frahm every time he touches a piano key. His amazing live album, Spaces, came out a couple of weeks ago via Erased Tapes Records. Frahm has just released a video for ‘For – Peter – Toilet Brushes – More’ off Spaces, filmed last summer at London’s St John-at-Hackney Church. The video is the cherry on top of this delicious musical cake.
Category Archives: Guest
Watch Littlebow perform an extended version of ‘The Pin Point Night’
Keiron Phelan and Katie English of London based duo Littlebow, doubled up on woodwind inviting Deborah Fether and Anne Garner to perform an extended flute version of ‘The Pin Point Night’. The song is taken from their second album Pi Magpie, released earlier this year through Second Language. Watch the video performance for this beautifully melodic and terribly enchanting track, and straight after listen to ‘For The Song’, also taken from Pi Magpie. Enjoy!
Devendra Banhart releases new video for track from latest album Mala
Just yesterday melancholy master Devendra Banhart honoured us with a new masterpiece video for ‘Fur Hildegard von Bingen’, a track featured on his most recent Nonesuch released album Mala. Visually clean frames paired with great cinematography skills set the background for a short and powerful song inspired by famous medieval philosopher and composer Saint Hildegard von Bingen. It’s thought provoking. And below is the video, directed by Isaiah Seret, with a small add-on, the still fresh remix of Devendra’s track ‘Golden Girls’ done by Hauschka – very good stuff indeed!
Next in line for ‘In C’ did their job
Terry Riley‘s legendary piece keeps inspiring and educating minimalists since 1968 when his first recording was out. Amongst many favourite versions are the ones performed by Steve Reich/Piano Circus, Bang on a Can and Acid Mothers Temple & The Melting Paraiso U.F.O., not to mention the ones orchestrated by Riley himself.
Yesterday Cast the Dice was a witness to a great spectacle at the Barbican when two other great musicians performed their interpretation of this crazy musical patchwork. First on the stage was Matthew Herbert & Stargaze and they were good. But when Pantha du Prince took to the stage with The Bell Laboratory they blew us away! Cymbals, Xylophones, Marimbas, Vibraphones and unnumbered crazy bells. All of that dressed with the legendary analogue king of psychedelic live AV shows – Joshua Light Show. Now waiting for the release!
Below is the official video for ‘Spectral Split’, a track Pantha du Prince & The Bell Laboratory played in the encore. They were so into it that they were asked by the venue to stop playing – the concert was getting too long! Shame!
Julianna Barwick speeds forward with live shows following the release of Nepenthe
After releasing her second studio LP Nepenthe under Dead Oceans at the end of August this year, Julianna Barwick didn’t waste time and hit the road with countless live shows around the world. She is still due to perform in six venues in the US in October and then comes back to Europe starting with Unsound Festival in Kraków, Poland. She will also visit Germany, Denmark, Portugal, Belgium and France. She teases us with the newly released video of her live performance at Judson Church in NY from the day Nepenthe was released. Calming sounds of her wondering notes peacefully executed by silent Icelanders makes everyone daydream about minimalistic mind escapades into the lands of harmony and reverie.
That Iron Taste by Marika Hackman
Very rarely there is a new artist with an ineffable quality that instantly registers strongly enough to make it seem obvious that they are on an unavoidable course towards doing some fantastic things. More scarce still is the artist that lives up to that initial impression.
With only one single and an ep of cover songs, strong as they may be, the jury was still out on Marika Hackman until the recent release of her first true album, That Iron Taste, and I’m more than pleased at the result, I feel like my hunch was steadfastly affirmed.
Opening at a jaunty pace that may cloak the darkness of the lyrics, though ultimately optimistic, “Bath Is Black” is fitting introduction to the Marika Hackman’s song-writting style. It’s this quality I value most in her songs: There is a constant self-assurance amongst much darkness.
Along with this release comes a video for “Cannibal”. On more than one occasion has someone mentioned “The Shining” while watching this video (and without fail how disgusting is it), but it is done in quite a beautiful way. Of the 7,000 views on YouTube, I can only guess at how many of them I am responsible for.
Closing out the album is the song that first caught my attention last summer, “You Come Down”. Seems she may appreciate cyclical themes as much as I do. I’ve been less than reserved about my appreciation and I feel it is a bit superfluous to suggest you give it a listen yourself but – you really should.
Honeybear (Aaron Meyer) is the founder of the blog Mouser at heymouser.com, updated every weekday with new music from great experimental-pop, dream-pop, folk, and electronic artists as well as alt-comedy.
