Mastersystem is an exciting new supergroup comprised of two musical siblings–Scott & Grant Hutchinson of Scottish outfit Frightened Rabbit and Justin & James Lockey of Editors and another great supergroup Minor Victories. Mastersystem’s new single Old Team wasjust shared ahead of their debut album release on April 6th, via Physical Education. To add another fraternal element, Mogwai (Stuart Braithwaite is also a member of Minor Victories) remixed the single, which you can hear below. This new project is a good fit for Scott Hutchinson’s Scottish yawp. Listen below.
The press release provides the background of this project humorously:
The idea for the band came about on an uncomfortably hot day in Berlin, 2016. Discarding with pomp and ceremony – under the backdrop of warm Coca-Cola and incessant mosquitos - the conversation went something like this:
Justin: “So, Yer think, we should I dunno, maybe do something at some point, sometime… yer know, kinda heavy maybe, but still melodic…but a bit fuzzy/heavy?” Scott – “Aye.” Grant – “Aye…” Justin - “Nice one. I’ll email you’s”
As ground-breaking and poetic in its simplicity, as this conversation was, it tells only half the story. For that we need to rewind, four maybe five years. The story starts back when Frightened Rabbit recruited a couple of straight-up filmmakers and fine fellas from Yorkshire to follow them around on their tour of the Scottish Highlands. The two filmmakers spent time photographing mountains while Frightened Rabbit smashed out the classics to adoring crowds. The filmmakers were Justin and James Lockey and this trip would be the beginning of a long creative relationship between the two sets of brothers.
Due to the respective schedules of band members’, the album finally came together at the end of 2017. Produced by Justin Lockey, Dance Music is a dark, honest, soaring album, exactly what one might expect if Frightened Rabbit, Editors and Minor Victories combined forces.
The album is the story of four bearded men in their thirties, making an album they are immensely proud of, Scott Hutchinson adds, “I thought it would be interesting to play around with the themes of restlessness and dissatisfaction on this album, both as a counterpoint to the exuberance of the music and as an obvious reference to the angst and tension I heard in the grunge and fuzz of my teenage years. This is not the angst of a teenager, however. This is the anxiety of a man in his mid-30s, and for a lot of this record I found myself wrestling with the ways in which I am not quite doing life right, in spite of appearing to lead a relatively joyful, playful and artistic existence.
Echo Collective
Watch: Echo Collective “I Might Be Wrong” Cover - Animated Video
Mar 28, 2018
There have been plenty of Radiohead cover albums and somehow, no matter how good they are, you’re curious to listen just to hear the execution. Echo Collective out of Belgium is releasing a cover album of Amnesiac this Friday, Echo Collective Plays Amnesiac, on 7K. They have shared a video for their version of “I Might Be Wrong” in advance and judging by its minimal groove, this album should be a nice take on Amnesiac on whole.
Here is some background on their prolific work to date from the press release:
Over the past few years, orchestral instrumental music from outside the classical establishment has become huge, and Neil Leiter and Margaret Hermant of the Belgian Echo Collective have witnessed the evolution and extraordinary rise of this movement right up close. They’ve worked with some of the most important players, including Stars Of The Lid, Dustin O’Halloran and Adam Wiltze’s A Winged Victory For The Sullen and O’Halloran’s solo projects, as well as Jóhann Jóhannsson. And though the Echo Collective members themselves very much do come from within the classical music establishment, they don’t care which side of the fence they are seen to be on. As Leiter puts it: “we come at it from the classical side, we bring our understanding to the neo-classical world.”. And it’s precisely this sense that their musical training is a set of skills to be put to use in the service of the music – not a signifier of some culturally superior and impenetrable realm – that you can hear running through their own work, starting with their re-interpretation of Radiohead’s Amnesiac. The project came about thanks to a concert residency at the Brussels venue Ancienne Belgique. Part of the commission was to reinterpret either Kid A or Amnesiac. They chose the latter because as Leiter says it “had more layers, more complexity, was a little more esoteric, so there was more to chew on and add our sound to,” and arranged it for string trio, harp, piano, bassoon/contrabassoon, clarinet/bass, clarinet/baritone saxophone, and orchestral percussion.
Echo Collective is Margaret Hermant - violin, harp, Neil Leiter - viola, Charlotte Danhier - cello, Yann Lecollaire - clarinet, bass clarinet, baritone sax, Hélène Elst - bassoon, contra-bassoon, Gary De Cart - piano, and Antoine Dandoy - percussion.
Air Waves
Listen: Air Waves “Warrior” ft. Kevin Morby
Mar 27, 2018
Brooklyn based musician Nicole Schneit revealed the final single from her third full-length as Air Waves today. “Warriors” features Kevin Morby and follows the politically inspired “Blue Fire” and the buoyant lead-single - “Morro Bay”. All are taken from her third full-length Warrior, due April 6th on Western Vinyl.
Here’s some background on Air Waves:
Like many queer women, Nicole Schneit is a warrior by necessity, fighting for basic rights, dignity, and acceptance. Such determination in the face of hardship and injustice runs in Schneit’s family; her new album was inspired in part by her mom who was diagnosed with fallopian cancer last year. As she explains, “The doctor told her she had a fifteen to twenty percent chance, and her response was ‘I’m going to get this mother fucker. So the title ‘Warrior’ and the song are about her. After chemotherapy, surgery, and then more chemotherapy, all the cancer in her body has left and she’s currently in remission. I feel like most of the people in my life, including myself, are warriors and have overcome obstacles that seemed impossible to defeat.”
Sam Evian
Watch: Sam Evian “Health Machine” Video
Mar 26, 2018
New York based songwriter and producer Sam Owens is releasing his sophomore album You, Forever under the moniker Sam Evian. The second solo will be released June 1st on Saddle Creek and follows his 2016 debut album, Premium, and last year’s collaboration with Chris Cohen, “Need You.”. Today Owens shared the video for lead single “Health Machine”, created by Sam Evian, Brian Betancourt and Jadon Ulrich, “from footage collected on journeys through the American west that inspired and informed the new album”.
Here’s some more information about the new project from Owens from the press release:
As it has been said: no matter where you go, there you are. With You, Forever, Sam Evian is here to add some eternity to that sentiment. “This is you, forever,” he says. “It’s about accepting that you are responsible for you, that you’re in charge of your actions. Everything you do affects others and yourself, so, no matter what you choose to do, be there and learn from it.” It’s a mantra that powers Owens and is echoed across You, Forever.
You, Forever was written on the heels of touring Premium, including support runs with Whitney, Big Thief, Lucius, Luna, and Nick Hakim, all of which taught Owens much about feel and interaction. Further fueled by a desire to escape from the glow of screens and to embrace a sense of limitation, he wrote and initially recorded instrumental versions of the songs comprising You, Forever on a four-track cassette recorder using his family’s instruments in the garage where he grew up in North Carolina. He then rented a house in upstate New York with his band— Brian Betancourt (bass), Austin Vaughn (drums), Adam Brisbin (guitar), and Hannah Cohen (backup vocals)—to record on an eight-track reel-to-reel tape in July of 2017. Focusing on instrumental grooves and the vibe he had achieved on the original recordings, Owens found the process of limiting himself so enlightening he decided to up the ante again by banning tuning pedals from the house. “Tuning pedals make it so easy to sound good together, so when you eliminate them it takes everything back to the ’60s, which is when all my favorite records were born,” he says. “It makes everything more questionable, weird, and unruly in a really simple way.”
Sam Evian Tour Dates: Fri. Apr. 13 – Toronto, ON @ Monarch Tavern Fri. May 18 – Brighton, UK @ The Great Escape Sat. May 19 – Bristol, UK @ Rough Trade Mon. May 21 – Birmingham, UK @ Hare and Hounds Tue. May 22 – London, UK @ The Islington Thu. May 24 – Glasgow, UK @ The Hug and Pint Fri. May 25 – Leeds, UK @ Brudenell Social Club Sat. May 26 – Manchester, UK @ Albert Hall # Thu. June 7 – Boston, MA @ Great Scott *^ Fri. June 8 – Brooklyn, NY @ Rough Trade *^ Sat. June 9 – Washington, DC @ Songbyrd ^ Sun. June 10 – Durham, NC @ The Pinhook ^ Tue. June 12 – Nashville, TN @ The High Watt ^ Wed. June 13 – Bloomington, IN @ The Bishop Thu. June 14 – Chicago, IL @ Schubas Fri. June 15 – Millville, PA @ Mr. Small’s ^ Sat. June 16 – Philadelphia, PA @ Johnny Brenda’s ^ # = with Unknown Mortal Orchestra, Deerhunter and Khruangbin * = with Katie Von Schleicher ^ = with Buck Meek
Charlie MixwelH
Listen: Charlie MixwelH – “Get $$” and “Lyfted”
Mar 21, 2018
Music that ventures across many genre borders is always very hard to describe. But our ears are the ultimate decider of the final two categories to which the music belongs, good or bad. New Hampshire music producer/beat maker/DJ Charlie MixwelH skillfully incorporates elements of many genres into his catchy beats, ensuring his music lands in the good column.
Cleverly weaving short melodies over ambient keyboard washes with mellow hip-hop beats as a backbone, this bedroom producer manages to squeeze a lot of different styles into short and catchy instrumental pieces. But he’s especially adept at adding quirky little percussive sounds and pulsating bass lines that offer a counterbalance to the sublime harmonies and give the tracks depth.
What the tunes may lack in post-production mastering more than make up for in head-nodding noodling. Check out these two new tracks and visit Charlie MixwelH on Soundcloud to listen to his 2017 compilation, Instrumentals Vol. 1.
Gold Connections
Listen: Gold Connections “Bad Intentions”
Mar 20, 2018
Will Marsh emerged as Gold Connections with his Will Toledo produced self-titled EP last year. Marsh is now set to release his debut full-length Popular Fiction on May 11th via Egghunt Records and shared the first single “Bad Intentions” today with the album announcement. The new song taps into that blue collar, John Mellencamp, smalltown bar rock here and to good effect.
Here’s a little bit more about Marsh from the press release: “Gold Connections—once a scrappy sophomore-year passion project; now, aided by seasoned hometown producer Daniel Goans, a high-fidelity font of expression for the many lives he’s lived. We have a word for the kind of music Will makes, flush with heady, youthful firstness and stepped in the worn warmth of folk and blues. We call it timeless. These songs are a hundred years old, and they are brand new. Echoes of the Harry Smith anthology brush up against Big Star, Sonic Youth, R.E.M. When Will relates the facts of his life - his first loves, his fights, his late nights in hazy college bars…”
Moonface and Siinai
Listen: Moonface & Siinai “Run Through the Jungle” Cover
Mar 19, 2018
Spencer Krug’s project as Moonface with Helsinki band Siinai just resurfaced with a cover of the Creedence Clearwater Revival classic “Run Through the Jungle”. This is Spencer’s statement about the cover: “Don’t know why we did this, but we did. Recently learned this song isn’t actually about Vietnam, but gun control, so it seems apt as ever to bring a new version into the world, however untamed…This recording was originally 10 min long, a real jammer, so I cut out some middle chunks, which, if anything, is a testament to the steadiness of Markus’ drumming. No click track!” If you’ve ever listened to Moonface & Siinai, then you know they like psychedelic jamming. This one’s no different. Check it out:
Twin Shadow
Watch: Twin Shadow “Brace” Video
Mar 16, 2018
It’s funny how thin the margin is between spiritous and uplifting and melodramatic. Twin Shadow, (George Lewis Jr) is well aware of that thin line, evidenced by his new song “Brace” featuring Rainsford. The song follows “Little Woman” and “Saturdays” (the latter of which features Haim) as the latest offering from the new album, Caer (pronounced: ka-air), Twin Shadow’s fourth album to date, set to release on April 27th via Warner Bros. Records / Reprise. In less savvy hands “Brace” might be insufferable, but Twin Shadow’s delivery brings shivers. Watch and listen.
