Forest Swords to Tour with How to Dress Well and Mogwai

Burgeoning UK artist Forest Swords (a.k.a. Matthew Barnes, pictured above), who just last year released his debut album Engravings via Tri Angle, announced today that he’ll be combining forces with Chicago singer/producer How to Dress Well (a.k.a Tom Krell) and the Glaswegian stalwarts of Mogwai for an extensive tour. After making his way through Europe with the seminal Scottish band for the next handful of weeks, Barnes will kick off the North American leg of his tour with How to Dress Well on March 17 in San Francisco. The two artists will then make their way down to LA the next night, jump over to the East Coast for several shows, and cap everything off with a final show together in Krell’s hometown of Chicago. Afterwards, Forest Swords will head back to Europe for a few dates in April.

The full list of Forest Swords’ upcoming tour dates, including his performances with How to Dress Well and Mogwai, can be found below, and more information on dates and tickets is available here. (via Pitchfork)

01-24 Oslo, Norway – Blå
01-25 Stockholm, Sweden – Södra Teatern
01-30 Amsterdam, Netherlands – Paradiso *
02-01 Brussels, Belgium – Ancienne Belgique *
02-03 Paris, France – Olympia *
02-04 Frankfurt, Germany – Batschkapp *
02-05 Munich, Germany – Backstage Werk *
02-06 Berlin, Germany – Tempodrom *
02-08 Manchester, England – The Deaf Institute
02-11 Brighton, England – The Green Door Store
02-12 Bristol, England – Thekla
02-14 Leeds, England – Belgrave Music Hall
02-15 Dublin, Ireland – Button Factory
02-20 Malmo, Sweden – Babel
02-21 Aarhus, Denmark – Radar
02-22 Copenhagen, Denmark – Jazzhouse
02-28 Barcelona, Spain – Caixaforum
03-01 Zurich, Switzerland – Rotefabrik
03-03 Hamburg, Germany – Kampnagel
03-04 Leipzig, Germany – Ut Connewitz
03-05 Berlin, Germany – Berghain
03-06 Cologne, Germany – Baustelle Kalk
03-07 Prague, Czech Republic – MeetFactory
03-17 San Francisco, CA – The Independent #
03-18 Los Angeles, CA – The Roxy Theatre #
03-21 Brooklyn, NY – Rough Trade NYC #
03-22 Washington, DC – U Street Music Hall #
03-24 Philadelphia, PA – First Unitarian Church #
03-26 New York, NY – Le Poisson Rouge #
03-27 Cambridge, MA – T.T. the Bear’s Place #
03-29 Toronto, Ontario – Mod Club #
03-30 Chicago, IL – Lincoln Hall #
04-03 Amsterdam, Netherlands – OT301
04-04 London, England – LSO St. Luke’s
04-05 Paris, France – Le Point Ephemere
04-06 Brussels, Belgium – Ancienne Belgique
04-16 Rome, Italy – Circolo degli Artisti
04-17 Modena, Italy – Mattatoio Club
04-18 Padova, Italy – Movement
07-10 Keflavik, Iceland – ATP Iceland

* with Mogwai
# with How to Dress Well

IYDES “Call To Reason (feat. Danglo)”

Next month, London up-and-comer Joe Brooks is set to drop his debut EP as IYDES via the Dandelion Lotus imprint. In anticipation of the upcoming four-track effort, Brooks has offered up “Call To Reason,” a reinterpretation of a tune of the same title from labelmate Danglo. As our first introduction to Iydes’ sound, the tune holds no punches, taking on an unmistakably dark atmosphere from its opening before revealing itself to be a strong-armed, machine-minded production that weaves together garage rhythms, industrial percussion, and mutated vocal samples into a curiously club-friendly concoction. Before Iydes’ Phase EP drops on February 3, its vinyl can be pre-ordered through the label’s Bandcamp, here.

Call To Reason

Nord Reveals New Analog-Modelling Synth Lead A1

Getting in on the pre-NAMM action (the conference officially gets underway tomorrow), Swedish gear manufacturer Nord has introduced the Lead A1, a new analog-modelling synthesizer. The Lead A1 is said to be built with Nord’s “best-ever analog modeling”—which “recreates a total analog signal path with uncanny realism and is capable of immense sonic variety,” and features “24-voice polyphony and four simultaneous synthesizer parts.” In addition to the powerful level of sound control Nord is known for giving its users, the Lead A1 also features transistor- and diode-ladder filter simulations which can emulate the sound of Minimoog and TB-303 filters.

Aside from its sonic qualities, the Lead A1 seems to focus on the speed with which one can customize the keyboard’s sound, with a newly redesigned oscillator section allowing for easy programming without excessive routing and patching. The full specifications of Nord’s new synth can be found here, while a few examples of the sounds the Lead A1 can create are available to stream below.

Video Premiere: Sano “Contone?ate”

An affably funky groove backed by a strong four-to-the-floor beat helps generate a suave atmosphere that the video for “Contone?ate”—a track from Columbian producer Sano‘s self-titled debut LP for Cómeme, the same one we posted as a free download back in October—does not fail to emulate. Directed by Kingababy and Julia “Yula” Kasprzak, the piece features interchanging black-and-white shots of the artist himself and extreme angular shots of dancing shadows, inspiring a spiral motion that translates through the camera’s movements and the quick, synchronized editing. With accents of yellow-tinted texture and distorted images interspersed throughout Sano’s new video, “Contone?ate” has been given a visual treatment perfectly fitting for its lively and percussive dancefloor sounds.

Jon Phonics “Mind Games (Pedestrian Remix)”

Glasgow-based artist Jon Phonics lends a sensual approach to dusty textures, warping them around his funky and slack hip-hop rhythms. Pairing with Trinidadian Londoner Tabanca for the Domino Effect EP (out now via Push & Run), the producer’s collaboration with the singer on “Mind Games” is a heady, atmospheric R&B piece with pulsing low-end synths and misty percussion, anchored by Tabanca’s yearning vocals. Pedestrian, a rising UK artist who reworks “Mind Games” for the remix-only second half of Domino Effect, transforms the original song into an easygoing, orchestral cut of jungle-referencing music, stretching out Tabanca’s vocals until they smear with reverb. The three original tracks from Jon Phonics’ and Tabanca’s Domino Effect EP can be streamed after the jump.

Mind Games (Pedestrian Remix)

Mind Games (Pedestrian Remix)

Download a New Mix of Original Productions from Helix’s DJ Vague Project

It was only a couple of weeks ago when we discovered that Night Slugs upstart Helix would soon issue an EP under new handle DJ Vague. And with that record’s release upon us this week, the artist born Beau Thigpen has shared a fresh mix of entirely original productions as a free download. Premiering today over on Dummy, DJ Vague’s 25-minute podcast is said to “[slay] through what seems like a million pumping tracks at rocket speed (well, 140bpm), drawing immediate and obvious comparisons to the likes of Jeff Mills, or Daft Punk back in their great pre-Homework days.” Dummy Mix 194 // DJ Vague can be streamed in full and downloaded for free below.

Untold Announces New Live A/V Show

Now with the details of his forthcomingBlack Light Spiral LP released into the world, Hemlock label boss and consistently forward-thinking DJ/producer Untold (a.k.a. Jack Dunning) has another project ready to unveil, a brand-new live A/V performance appropriately called Black Light Spiral Live. Dunning will embark on the first exhibition of his new stage show at La Machine Du Moulin Rouge in Paris on February 22, before moving on to share the experience with fans in London and Amsterdam. All performances will feature visuals from music/art collective Current Current and new music from Untold’s forthcoming album. A teaser video for Black Light Spiral Live can be watched below, where the details of the forthcoming A/V sets are also available.

22 February – Paris @ La Machine Du Moulin Rouge w/ Mount Kimbie (DJ set), Joe, Randomer (Tickets)

28 February – London @ Autumn St Studios w/ 2562 (Live A/V), Vester Koza, Special Guest (Tickets)

1 March – Amsterdam @ Dekmantel Anniversary (Tickets)

Container Adhesive

It shouldn’t surprise anyone familiar with Ren Schofield’s musical output that Adhesive, his new four-track EP under his current Container moniker, makes a wicked racket. After all, Schofield has been producing some variation on experimental noise since 2005. That said, the Container project is arguably his most focused attempt at music making, one that reassembles his influences into a propulsive industrial-noise-techno package. The first two Container LPs (each confusingly called LP) and the Treatment EP placed Schofield within a larger global movement, alongside artists like Regis (a.k.a. Karl O’Connor of British Murder Boys), Function, Cut Hands, and more minimal outliers like Silent Servant and Powell. Now, he’s returned with Adhesive, the most hard-charging and brutal Container outing to date.

The EP blasts off with the title track, led by crispy drum programming and bass hum that begins to intensify, mutate, and distort as it rolls forward. Up next is “Complex,” which features a thicker, more layered bass and a drum intro that hints at speed metal, only the anticipated rock guitars never materialize (at least not in the conventional sense; underpinnings of treated guitar sounds are apparent here and throughout the EP).

Schofield saves his best productions for the second half of the roughly 20-minute release. “Glaze,” a companion piece to “Complex,” stands out, adding texture, tone, and splashes of muted color to what is a largely monochromatic soundscape. The razor-sharp “Slush” wraps up the EP, utilizing elements of acid, punk, and dark techno-fuzz effects to build the track.

As the EP comes to a close, it’s not entirely clear exactly what Adhesive represents. Whether it’s a step forward, a step back, or merely a holding pattern, there is something admirable about Schofield’s dedication to what amounts to a single, fiercely realized idea. However, as the Container project moves into the future, more innovation and evolution will be necessary.

Rainbow Chan “Milk (Cassius Select Remix)”

Sydney-based singer and producer Rainbow Chan (pictured above) has forged a career out crafting keenly forward-thinking pop music, which will be expanded on by a handful of artists for a remix collection due out on February 18 via the Silo Arts imprint. Ahead of the Long Vacation Remix EP, Rainbow Chan has shared a version of her “Milk” song by fellow Austrialian producer Cassius Select. The remixer’s brand of percussive techno is employed in full force here, as Rainbow Chan’s vocals are reduced to phased incidentals that slide up against and bounce off of the percussive patterns. A serene vibraphone melody weaves through the highs of Chan’s voice and the lows of the beat, driving the sublime half-time rhythm through warping pads, sparse trumpets, vaporous harmonies, and smoothly textured bass.

Milk (Cassius Select Remix)

Baths Announces Extended Tour Dates

After finishing off a banner year in 2013, LA singer/producer Baths (a.k.a. Will Wiesenfeld) will launch an extended tour in support of sophomore album Obsidian, with Anticon label mates Young Fathers opening on select North American shows. Though Wiesenfeld began working on Obsidian after recovering from an E. Coli bacterial infection, he’s since explained how he wants people to “understand that I’m not the depressed, suicidal, and death-obsessed person the record may paint me as being,” something which could very well be made apparent during his forthcoming string of performances. The full list of Baths’ tour dates through New Zealand, Australia, and North America can be found below, and more information on dates and tickets can be found here.

2/7 – Los Angeles, CA @ Natural History Museum
2/15 – Tlaltizapan, MX @ Parque Natural Las Estacas
3/14 – Wellington, NZ @ Bodega
3/15 – Auckland, NZ @ The Kings Arms
3/16 – Adelaide, SA @ Rocket Bar
3/20 – Brisbane, OLD @ Alhambra Lounge
3/21 – Sydney, NSW @ Oxford Art Factory
3/22 – Melbourne, VIC @ Corner Hotel
3/23 – Perth, WA @ The Bakery
3/26 – Honolulu, HI @ The Republik
3/28 – Fresno, CA @ Strummers
3/29 – Pomona, CA @ The Glass House
4/3 – Santa Cruz, CA @ The Catalyst Atrium
4/4 – San Luis Obispo, CA @ SLO Brew
4/5 – Santa Barbara, CA @ Velvet Jones

With Support From Young Fathers:
4/11 – Phoenix, AZ @ The Crescent Ballroom
4/12 – Flagstaff, AZ @ Green Room
4/14 – El Paso, TX @ The Lowbrow Palace
4/16 – Dallas, TX @ Club Dada
4/17 – Austin, TX @ The Mohawk
4/18 – Houston, TX @ Fitzgerald’s
4/19 – Baton Rouge, LA @ Spanish Moon
4/22 – Washington, DC @ U Street Music Hall
4/23 – Philadelphia, PA @ Union Transfer
4/24 – Hamden, CT @ The Space
4/25 – New York, NY @ The Bowery Ballroom
4/27 – Portland, ME @ Port City Music Hall
4/30 – Hanover, NH @ Bones Gate Fraternity
5/1 – Montreal, OC @ S.A.T
5/2 – Ottawa, ON @ Ritual
5/3 – Toronto, ON @ Horseshoe Tavern
5/4 – Detroit, MI @ Magic Stick
5/5 – Grand Rapids, MI @ Pyramid Scheme
5/8 – Indianapolis, IN @ The Vogue
5/9 – Chicago, IL @ Concord Music Hall
5/10 – Minneapolis, MN @ Triple Rock Social Club
5/11 – Fargo, ND @ The Aquarium
5/13 – Edmonton, AB @ The Starlite
5/14 – Calgary, AB @ Commonwealth Bar & Stage
5/15 – Vancouver, BC @ Fortune Sound Club
5/16 – Seattle, WA @ Neumo’s Crystal Ball
5/17 – Portland, OR @Rotture
5/18 – Eugene, OR @ WOW Hall
5/21 – San Francisco, CA @ The Independent
5/22 – Visalia, CA @ Cellar Door
5/24 – San Diego, CA @ Casbah

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