Oct 03, 2017

Sharon Van Etten will release (it was) because i was in love, a deluxe reissue of her debut album, because i was in love, on November 17 as a Vinyl Me Please exclusive. It will include deluxe vinyl packaging with new artwork and liner notes, as well as two bonus tracks. Quietly be somewhere and listen to ” I Wish I Knew” below. The song is a simple acoustic expression of Van Etten before the full embellishment of instrumental production and you really hear what it is that sets Van Etten in a class of her own. Her voice and words are arresting.

Says Van Etten of her first album: “It was an innocent and beautiful record, which some of my newer fans may not even know about. This seemed like the perfect time to remix and remaster it, and give it a new life.”

“Van Etten still imbues her songs with the naked emotion that other singer-songwriters might iron out of their recordings. She wants us to hear the humanity of her work, the imperfections that make it palpable, the longing and heartache we’ve all nursed at some point. because i was in love was the blueprint for what fans have grown to love about and expect from Van Etten.”

Sep 29, 2017

Brother-and-sister electro-pop duet Tennyson from Edmonton, Canada have released their new EP, Uh Oh!, out today via OWSLA, Skrillex’s label. The duo’s avant pop production is light, sprightly and ebullient and dances around in unexpected ways. The 6-track EP is their first full project and features all original production with a special guest appearance from Aloe Blacc.

The press release offered this background: “Tess & Luke (AKA Tennyson) began making music when they were kids. By age twelve Luke discovered his formidable talent as a keyboardist and released two albums. During high school they moonlighted playing Beatles covers while Luke refined his skill as a beat-maker. Today Luke uses everyday sounds to craft intricate electronic pop that is both catchy and daringly experimental, while Tess’s masterful drumming holds the songs in from floating away.”

This is welcome stimuli for the start of the weekend. Take it in like a breath of fresh air and check out their upcoming tour dates below:

TENNYSON TOUR DATES:

Sept 29th - The Roxy Theatre - West Hollywood, CA

Sept 30th - Great American Music Hall - San Francisco, CA

Oct 3rd - Kilby Court - Salt Lake City, UT

Oct 4th - Fox Theatre - Boulder, CO

Oct 5th - Globe Hall - Denver, CO

Oct 6th - Lake San Antonio South Shore - Bradley, CA

Sep 25, 2017

London Record Label Erased Tapes, founded by German-born Robert Raths in 2007, has been a home and champion of some of the most daring composers of the past decade, artists constantly searching for uncharted plains of aural evocation and expression. Their impressive roster includes Nils Frahm, Ólafur Arnalds, A Winged Victory for the Sullen, Kiasmos and Rival Consoles. They have also brought in and reinvigorated classic groups like Penguin Cafe while giving rise to new artists like Daniel Brandt (of Brandt Brauer Frick), Masayoshi Fujita, Douglas Dare, Ben Lukas Boysen and Dawn Of Midi. These forward thinking and traditionally rooted musicians often design through the modes of classical music and electronic modulation and nuance to discover the beauty in melancholy and energy in stillness and grace.

This month, the label is celebrating ten years of existence and the pursuit of their overarching philosophy. Spanning this time, Erased Tapes has nurtured its avant-garde artists from all around the world whilst remaining genre-defying and truly independent. On February 5th Erased Tapes opened the doors to its new East London home, marking the 10th anniversary by introducing fans and the public to the new Erased Tapes Sound Gallery. This month and next there are some great releases that are coinciding with the celebration. Before checking out what’ new, here are some examples to represent the ethos of Erased Tapes:

Here’s what’s new. Icelandic composer Ólafur Arnalds just released a ten year reissue of his record Eulogy for Evolution this past Friday just in time to ring in the 10 Year Anniversary. Originally put out during his teens, Eulogy For Evolution is a journey from birth to death, transporting the listener through life itself. The record has now been restored with the help of his friends, remixed by Ólafur himself and remastered by Nils Frahm.

Of the reissue, Ólafur says “I spent a couple of weeks in some sort of a time machine, opening up and working on 12-year-old recordings. There was noise in the microphones, some channels seemed accidentally muted, but sometimes I found myself admiring what my teenage self was capable of. It was somehow charming. Well, most of it. So I fixed the stuff that wasn’t before sending it off to Nils Frahm for remastering.”

Kiasmos is the duo of Olafur Arnalds and fellow Nordic composer/musician Janus Rasmussen and The Blurred Ep, arriving October 6th, is a continuation of the collaborative work that balances dance rhythm with gorgeous instrumental ambience. Their aesthetic tastes caused their individual musical paths to converge, leading to a working relationship that fertilized a strong friendship. The tandem has produced a string of tracks and EP’s, released periodically over the past few years when the two have found time to unite amidst their independent projects. Blurred provides further example of what can come from the common sensibility and profound harmony of artistic friends.

Erased Tapes is also releasing a new LP from Icelandic composer Högni with a collection of music that is dedicated to an important part of Icelandic history. His Two Trains LP arrives October 20th s dedicated to two Icelandic locomotives - the Minør & Pionér - that helped modernize the country in the early 20th Century. Högni is better known as the frontman of indie rock band Hjaltalín and previous member of electronic group GusGus, and is the newest addition to Erased Tapes.

The music in Two Trains embraces the spirit of the original European avant-garde and invokes these concepts in its chugging rhythms, metallic clangs and brooding choral arrangements (men’s choruses are a distinctly Icelandic phenomena related to the national/romantic politics of the 19th and 20th century) while the lyrics speak of ominous clouds on the war-ridden eastern horizon and freight cars filled with gravel and dreams.

Sep 18, 2017

“Heavenward” is the latest single off the new album from North London’s Wolf Alice. Visions of a Life is due out September 29th on Dirty Hit/RCA. The title tells you where they’re headed on this one, as their signature shoegaze bursts upward. Let it lift you.

Sep 15, 2017

Rostam has reemerged with quite the second run since departing Vampire Weekend. In fact, he’s killing it. Following his pronounced duet album with Hamilton Leithauser last year, he has delivered a swirling beauty of a solo record. Launching Half-Light, is “Sumer”, where Rostam channels Panda Bear to glorious effect. Check it out!

Sep 14, 2017

Over the course of their six albums in seven years, Brooklyn’s Monogold has embraced stylistic and conceptual change whenever it came naturally. The trio’s new album Babyfood comes out September 29th and Under the Radar is premiering the second single “Feelers”. Dialing back their instrumentation from their grandiose psych-pop days, Monogold has turned toward a bit of a raw, wild and sometimes minimal sort of sound. Their style and lyrical content have slowly evolved into something more than single-celled and “Feelers” is a glimmering track with a kinetic, new wave tempo.

Whereas the new album’s first single “Cinnamon” approaches the concept of one discovering another’s body, “Feelers” shows what it would be like to see sunshine for the first time…… if you were a newly born bug. Singer Keith Kelly’s lyrics now show an appreciation for the simpler side of life; celebrating the quirky simplicity of being alive on this strange mud ball flying through the sky.

“Feelers” is about all living things’ relationship with that crazy fire ball in the sky that we call the sun. Bugs, plants, birds and humans” states Kelly “That first time in a humans’ life of understanding what it is and how it feels on your naked skin and what it’s actually doing. Some sort of contained chaos that’s beckoning, inspiring and controlling life.”

The album release show for Babyfood is at Rough Trade Brooklyn on the 23rd: http://www.roughtradenyc.com/event/1533903-monogold-brooklyn

Monogold

Facebook: www.facebook.com/monogoldmusic

Sep 12, 2017

Matt Mondanile is returning with his latest Ducktails album Jersey Devil, October 6th on his own label New Images. “In The Hallway” is the latest song to be shared and true to form it’s a groovy hypnogogic pop tune. On his sixth release, it appears Mondinale has fine tuned his retro outfit of keyboards and is further homing his nostaligic emulation. Here’s hoping there’s more of this in store.