Rodrigo Leão announces new album, A Estranha Beleza; shares first single ‘Friend of a Friend’ feat. Michelle Gurevich

27 June 2021

Photo: Angela Muñoz

For over 25 years, Rodrigo Leão has drawn high praise as one of the most influential contemporary composers in his native Portugal. He has also cemented a reputation internationaly as an acclaimed composer, having collaborated with artists like Ryuichi Sakamoto, Ludovico Einaudi, Jóhann Jóhansson, Beth Gibbons, Neil Hannon of Divine Comedy, Scott Matthew, and Joan as Police Woman, amongst many more.

Rodrigo has announced the release of a new album, A Estranha Beleza, arriving on October 15th through BMG / Modern Recordings. Throughout his incredibly rich and singular career, Rodrigo told stories through his albums, composing them as if they were films. As the press release explains, Rodrigo “casts guest musicians who are right for each character, who then takes on a role in the narrative, which is complemented by locations, sets and moods created by music and sound design.” As with his previous records, A Estranha Beleza bears the same cinematic sentiment.

‘Friend of a Friend’ is first sublime single to be lifted from the album with voice and lyrics by Canadian singer-songwriter Michelle Gurevich. “It was a theme that initially started from the search for a happy rhythm, with some influence from the music of the 50s, and that gave me the enthusiasm I was looking for to find new ideas”, explained Rodrigo. “It takes us to a time very different from the one we live in today”.

’Friend Of A Friend’ comes paired with a video starring both Rodrigo in Lisbon and Michelle in Copenhagen. Watch it below.

Suuns set to release new album The Witness in September

27 June 2021

We’re big fans of Suuns, the Canadian band who boasts excellent musicianship, reflected and augmented on live shows. So we’re excited to know they have a new album on the way called The Witness. “There’s something interesting about the idea of a collective witness, being a witness to the time we’re living in now,” Ben Shemie notes. “And the connectedness of what we all have in common. But also, literally: bearing witness to all sorts of things and how that desensitises you. There’s a recurring line that comes back on the record: “I know that you’ve seen it too.” A song like ‘Clarity’ is also about pulling the veil off and seeing things for what they really are. It kind of comes down to being true to yourself and acknowledging what is and isn’t real.”

Now a trio following the amicable departure of Max Henry in 2018, and with Shemie living in Paris, Suuns had “to find each other again, both socially and creatively.” Suuns have been touring relentlessly in both Europe and North America in recent years and just like their live shows, the upcoming album sees them incorporate more spontaneous moments. “We just do that more improvised stuff so naturally live,” Joe Yarmush commented. “It’s kind of weird that it hasn’t been a big part of our albums up till now.. We’re trying to embrace that side of the band for sure. That’s also part of SUUNS just being the three of us now.”

The Witness arrives on September 3rd through Joyful Noise Recordings and Suuns are giving us the first taste from it with lead single ‘Witness Protection’. The track features Max Henry as studio collaborator and comes with an accompanying video directed by Antoine Dasseville. Take a look.

In support of The Witness, Suuns have announced tour dates in Canada and Europe throught September and October. Check all their stops and other info here.

Efterklang announce sixth studio album, Windflowers, and share first single ‘Living Other Lives’

27 June 2021

Photo: Dennis Morton

Longtime favourite band Efterklang are back with their sixth studio, following 2019´s stunning Altid Sammen. Entitled Windflowers, the new album sees the trio of Mads Brauer, Casper Clausen and Rasmus Stolberg continue to venture in new and thrilling musical territories, “embracing their distinct pop sensibilities and creating their finest melodic moments to date”, as the press release explains.

Windflowers will see the light of day on October 8th through City Slang and ahead of it they have shared the first gorgeous single, ‘Living Other Lives’. About this track Casper comments:

“Living other lives started out as a jam in my Lisbon studio during Spring 2020 lockdown. I was playing around with my 404 sampler and I found that kind of groove that makes my head bop – put some samples on it, and I could listen to it forever – a good sign. So I was just having that on loop while scrolling through my instagram feed. The lyrics sort of came out of that moment; living other lives, imagination jumping from one life/image to another, revisiting, updating myself, absolutely bodiless, while scrolling up and up with my thumb. It’s a fascinating world we’re living in, so strangely symbiotic and aware of what everybody’s doing, I feel I’m living multiple lives all at once. Watching all these people expressing and changing themselves far away, out there around the planet.”

‘Living Other Lives’ is offered with a video directed by Søren Lynggaard Andersen, who added:

“I visited Efterklang in the studio when they were in the process of recording their new album. I had packed this old russian 16mm camera and I wasn’t even sure if the camera actually worked, but thankfully it did (sort of). The video that came out of it I feel is a charming and genuine look at the band together in the studio and in the nature of the island of Møn in the south of Denmark.”

Watch the video now.

In other related news, Efterkland have also announced a live stream concert on June 27th as well as several live dates across Europe later this year and early 2022.

Typical Sisters unveil new single ‘Grains’

26 June 2021

Photo: Alexa Viscius

With only two weeks to go before Typical Sisters put out their third album, Love Beam, the trio are keeping us excited with new single ‘Grains’.  While guitarist Gregory Uhlmann lives in LA, bassist Clark Sommers in Chicago and drummer Matt Carroll in Copenhagen, the three have cultivated a creative and personal affinity for each other over the last decade, and the album celebrates their collaboration and friendship.

Listen to ‘Grain’ below and grab Love Beam when it’s out on July 9th through Joyful Noise Recordings.

Attacca Quartet share rework of Louis Cole’s ‘Real Life’, new album out next month

26 June 2021

Photo: David Goddard

Adventurous New York based Attacca Quartet, known for their daring and exhilarating interpretations of works from the realms of traditional and contemporary classical music, are set to release a new album next month. Entitled Real Life, the album sees the string collective of Amy Schroeder, Domenic Salerni, Nathan Schram, and Andrew Yee thrillingly fuse classical and electronic music. An album of electronic music arrangements, Real Life features reworks of tracks from a cast of impressive electronic artists, including Flying Lotus, Louis Cole, Anne Müller, Squarepusher, Daedelus, The Halluci Nation and Mid-Air Thief. To bring the album to life, the ensemble worked with composer, multi-instrumentalist, producer, and Snarky Puppy bandleader Michael League as well as co-producer Nic Hard. Violist Nathan Schram comments:

“We thought about what the dream album could be that we hadn’t been able to make until we got this opportunity and this idea just started to flower; to bring all the different electronic music we listen to, into our string quartet world and to collaborate with a lot of different musicians, particularly Mike League, while using all the possibilities of music technology to make the biggest string quartet album we could. We all dug really deep into our interests and abilities and created an amazing, experimental, rocking, touching album that is Real Life.”

Real Life precedes another album slated for release later in 2021 featuring music by Philip Glass, Arvo Pärt and a slew of Renaissance composers.

For now we can satiate ourselves with the latest single lifted from the forthcoming album, the title track by Louis Cole. Of the song, Attacca Quartet said:

“Who doesn’t love a little Louis Cole?! His music is zesty, humorous, and extremely satisfying. His song ‘Real Life’ encapsulates the wild and carefree feelings that we enjoyed so much while making this album.”

‘Real Life’ is offered with a video created by Calypo Spritz. Here it is.

Real Life is out on July 9th through Sony Classical

Listen to Liars’ new single ‘Big Appetite’

25 June 2021

With The Apple Drop on the way, and after sharing ‘Sekwar’, Liars have unveiled a new single from the upcoming album called ‘Big Appetite’. The track comes with an accompanying video, and as with the previous single, Clemens Habicht directed it as a sort of follow-up, pursuing Angus Andrew’s hallucinogenic trajectory. “I thought that spelunking with bats for the ‘Sekwar’ video tested the upper limits of my fear threshold”, Angus explained, “but it turns out having a revved up drill pointed close to my forehead for a day is truly the stuff of nightmares.

Clemens had this to say about it:

“The drill spun the camera at up to 2000rpm, and the very real potential for an accidental trepanation gave the filming an extra potency. The terror experienced by the almost broken but fiercely determined space traveller mixes with the candy colours of a delirious unhinged euphoria, with lucid recollections of band members Cameron Deyell and Laurence Pike joining a more fresh-faced Angus from a distant, optimistic and simpler past.”

Watch the video for ‘Big Appetite’ below.

The Apple Drop is out on August 6th through Mute.