We’re very glad to hear about the good news surrounding Bibio lately. First, and as we had already mentioned, two of his marvellous albums, 2005’s Fi and 2009’s Ambivalence Avenue, are being reissued on Warp on November 27th.
Now, Bibio is teasing a new album due out in Spring 2016. It seems like a long wait till then but we can already wrap our ears around a beautiful brand new song called ‘Petals’.
We had already mentioned that Montreal based trio BIG|BRAVE are embarking on a European tour in support of their majestic, fierce and poignant second full-length album, Au De La, released earlier this Autumn. The tour, which kicks off next week, will take them across cities in Europe and the UK and will include a London show on November 25th at Birthdays. Check their full run of dates here.
Today they are sharing a video to accompany the album’s monumental track ‘Look At How The World Has Made A Change’. Watch it below and don’t miss the chance to see them in action.
Au De La is out now via Southern Lord.
There’s a release on Erased Tapes later this month that we’re really looking forward to – that of Ukranian composer and pianist extraordinaire Lubomyr Melnyk and his new full-length album Rivers and Streams. Known as one of the world’s fastest pianist, Melnyk employs a piano technique called ‘Continuous Music’, which he developed in the 1970s. Also referred to as the “kung fu” technique, it allows him to create an uninterrupted wave of notes that can reach 19 notes on each hand per second. In Rivers and Streams, Melnyk laces the flow of water with the flow of music. Here’s what said about it:
“In the body of the Continuous Piano Master, the fingers and the hands turn into Water, Air and Stone. These are the three manifestations of the Continuous Technique. And for the Continuous Pianist, the fingers physically transform the music into one of these three elements.
The greatest of all miracles in the universe is Water. It is also, I believe, the rarest of all physical things in the universe. Water is the most magical and the most mysterious of all things we know! And so I dedicate this album to the Rivers and Streams of this world – in gratitude for their Beauty!”
An excerpt of the magnificent opening track ‘Parasol’ is now available to stream. Listen to it below and grab Rivers and Streams when it drops on November 27th.
Fay Hield has announced the release of Old Adam, her third solo album of traditional music. The effort, due on February 12th via Soundpost Records, features 14 tracks, from the ‘The Hag in the Beck’ from the 1600s to a version of the Tom Waits’ song ‘The Briar and the Rose’. The press release describes Old Adam as “a fresh and original exploration of how we use stories and music to understand what it means to be human”.
The traditional singer and folklorist has shared ‘Green Gravel’, from Alice Gomme’s ‘Traditional Games of England, Scotland and Ireland’, as the first wonderful taste from the album. It comes with a video and you can watch it below.
Hot on the heels of the release of Foam Island, a new short film has emerged to accompany Darkstar‘s fantastic track ‘The Days Burn Blue’ off the same album. The video is part of Channel 4’s upcoming Random Acts series, consisting of collaborations between filmmakers and Warp artists and due to air later in the year. We had already seen the video for Battles’ ‘Dot Net’, and the series also features collaborations with Oneohtrix Point Never and Hudson Mohawke.
Shot in Huddersfield, the video portrays the everyday life of its residents, “detailing their hobbies, pastimes and encapsulating their sense of community and unity”. Director Lucy Luscombe said this about the experience:
“The talent, promise and character I encountered amongst the youth in Huddersfield was overwhelming. Really bright kids with big dreams and little infrastructure to realise them. It makes you the wonder what genius is slipping through the net.”
In other related news, the duo of James Young and Aiden Whalley will take part in the Barbican’s Panic!: What Happened to Social Mobility in the Arts?’ series, which includes a talk with 6Music’s Stuart Maconie, Jude Rogers (Guardian and music critic) and several others on Pop Culture & Privilege. The series also includes a show on December 4th at Oval Space with Darkstar, Richard Dawson, Sivu and Holly Macve.
The Marriage of True Minds, the last album released by Matmos, was one of our Album Picks of 2013. So we’re pleased to know the Baltimore based duo of M.C. Schmidt and Drew Daniel are ready to follow it up. They have just announced the release of Ultimate Care II, due on February 19th via Thrill Jockey. Matmos have been creating music using the most unusual sources and ways for over two decades, and the upcoming album remains in line with this approach. Ultimate Care II was recorded in their basement studio in Baltimore and all the sounds were generated by a Whirlpool Ultimate Care II model washing machine. “Funny and sad, bouncy and creepy, liquid and mechanical”, as the press release puts it, Matmos’ upcoming album “swirls with perverse paradox, but the agitation at its core offers vital evidence of Matmos’ abiding faith in the musical potential of sound”.
To bring the album to life, the pair invited a cast of guest contributors, including Dan Deacon, Max Eilbacher (Horse Lords), Sam Haberman (Horse Lords), Jason Willett (Half Japanese), and Duncan Moore (Needle Gun).
Matmos have shared an amazing album excerpt and it’s good reason to be excited. Here’s ‘Ultimate Care II Excerpt Eight’.
