NOMO Invisible Cities

Dumpster diving pays. Producer Warren Defever (of His Name is Alive) used street-sweeper tines and donated hardwood scraps to create kalimbas used throughout this sister album to last year’s Ghost Rock. While the word funk often conjures up images of Daptone-style revivalism, NOMO requires an adjustment of definitions. Yes, NOMO is funky—check their Afrobeat-inspired groove and tight horns—but they’ve got the experimentation of electronic music and the exploratory restlessness of jazz, creating an unfolding sense of discovery. There’s broad range here, with tracks leaning toward jazz (“Invisible Cities”), funk (“Waiting”), and just plain loveliness (the flute-laced “Crescent”), although it’s fair to say that no song here is simply one thing. Scraps, fashioned into something much more.

Steve Bug Readies Fourth Full-Length

Steve Bug has been in the business of making and releasing music for more than 15 years, but Collaboratory, which he’ll release via his own Poker Flat imprint June 8, is only his fourth artist full-length to date.

No mystery as to what the Germany-based DJ/producer has up his sleeve for this release. As its title indicates, Collaboratory is conceptualized around shared ideas and collaborations, and the list of vocalists and producers on the new album includes Martini Bros member Clé, techno DJ/producer Cassy, Paris the Black Fu (of Detroit Grand Pubahs, and several others.

Bug is promising not just club bangers this time around, but also several mellower tracks better suited to the quiet nights at home. “Two of a Kind” is the first single off the album, and is available now.

Festivities for his Poker Flat label’s 10th Anniversary continue, with Bug holding several performances around Europe in the company of his roster. He’s sandwiched some of his own dates in between those, including a few North American shows.

05/08 Vienna, Austria – Club Camera
05/09 London, England – Cable
05/16 Erfurt, Germany – Centrum
05/23 Detroit, MI – Movement Festival 2009
05/29 El Paso, TX – The News
05/30 Guadalajara, Mexico – For Alterno
06/06 New York, NY – Rebel
06/10 Munich, Germany – Die Registratur *
06/11 Rome, Italy – Purple
06/12 Bristol, England – Just Jack
06/13 Toulouse, France – Inox
06/27 Leeds, England – Mint Club
06/27 Leipzig, Germany – Destillery ^
06/28 Vienna, Austria – Flex #
08/15 Zurich, Switzerland – Hive

* = Poker Flat 10th Anniversary w/ Clé, Patrick Chardronnet
^ = Poker Flat 10th Anniversary w/ Clé, Matthias Tanzmann
# = Poker Flat 10th Anniversary w/ Argy, Martin Landsky
† = Poker Flat 10th Anniversary w/ D’julz

Fischerspooner Entertainment

Nearly a decade removed from being tagged as the face of the electroclash movement, NY duo Fischerspooner has withstood the backlash and actually aged quite nicely. Entertainment is their third album, and although the over-the-top grandeur of “Emerge” may be a thing of a past, the guys still know how to craft glamorous synth-pop. “The Best Revenge” and “In a Modern World” pleasantly channel the subdued sounds of Bronski Beat and Spandau Ballet, while “Supply & Demand” adds in some Prince-style funkiness to its dancefloor vibe. Cleanly produced and bathed in glistening ’80s opulence, Entertainment just might be Fischerspooner’s best album yet—apparently the boys have learned that you don’t need to get in people’s faces to be fabulous.

Double Dagger More

Double Dagger has been rocking the Baltimore DIY circuit with its bass-and-drums assault for years, but this is the closest the punk trio has come to capturing the raucous energy of its live show on record. Recorded in an abandoned office building slated for demolition—the trio literally ran extension cords out the windows to plug in their gear—More’s kinetic energy reflects that raw environment. Songs like “We Are the Ones” and “The Lie/The Truth” are exuberant, would-be basement anthems that bring to mind the late ’80s/early ‘90s heyday of labels like Dischord and Touch and Go. More may not be the most original outing, but Double Dagger could do worse than taking notes from The Jesus Lizard.

Tiga Plots North American Tour

Montrealer Tiga will cross the (Canadian) border this month for a handful of tour dates around the U.S. Shows are in support of his forthcoming Ciao! album, set for release on May 19 (digital) and May 26 (physical) via Last Gang. Armed with his trusty shoes, he’ll make an appearance at this year’s Movement Festival in Detroit before heading to the West Coast and then back over the border for a few shows on his home turf.

05/22 New York, NY – Webster Hall
05/23 Chicago, IL – Congress Theater
05/25 Detroit, MI – Movement Festival
05/28 San Francisco, CA – The Independent
05/29 Los Angeles, CA – Avalon
05/30 Denver, CO – Beta
06/05 Toronto, ON – Circa
06/06 Montreal, QC – Neon
08/07 Vancouver, BC – Celebrities
08/08 Los Angeles, CA – HARD Summer Festival

Photo by Qarim Brown.

Tanya Morgan “Morgan Blu Feat. Blu”

With less than two weeks to go before their sophomore album, Brooklynati, is released, the Tanya Morgan boys unveil another track off the record. “Morgan Blu” is a far more soulful affair than the last song we heard from the trio, no doubt largely due to the contributions of hip-hop/gospel singer Blu.

Brooklynati is out May 12.

Tanya_Morgan-Morgan_Blu_ft_Blu

Bronnt Industries Kapital Hard for Justice

Without the aid of a single lyric, U.K. producer and multi-instrumentalist Guy Bartell has crafted an emotive masterpiece. Hard for Justice is Bartell’s third album as Bronnt Industries Kapital, and he spends it effortlessly hopping from one smoothly produced electronic sound to the next. Synthesizers play a major role here, but the album retains a live and organic sensibility, especially on funkier tracks such as “Streets of Fury.” The shimmering sonics of “Threnody for the Victims of Lucio Fulci” and “European Male” are nicely accented by horns, and “Knights of Vipco” sports the same kind of analog Krautrock that made Neu! famous. Those sounds continue on the housier “Objects & Purpose” and “Unbelievable Computer of Love,” both of which feature synths that appear to have been inspired by the early Nintendo catalog. “S.T.R.Y.K.E.R.” has more of a relaxed disco groove, yet its synths would have made Moroder himself jealous.

Mixtape: Erol Alkan

A mixtape of current favorites by Beyond the Wizard’s Sleeve’s Erol Alkan.

1. A. Vuolo & E. Grande “Drops in the Wind”
One of the most wonderful pieces of music I have heard in years.

2. Mount Kimbie “Maybes”
Fresh new talent, fresh beats—pretty much fresh everything.

3. Conan Mockasin “It’s Choad My Dear”
Untapped genius.

4. Soft Machine “We Did It Again”
A staple of all future Beyond the Wizard’s Sleeve DJ sets.

5. Mystery Jets “Alice Springs (Demo)”
The new MJ demos are a major step forward from “21.” This is a standout track.

6. The Beat Club “Security”
I’m completely and utterly in love with this.

7. Boys Noize “Transmischen”
From his new record.

8. Errorsmith “In a Sweat”
PA personal favorite of face-melting techno.

9. Spaceman 3 “Revolution”
I used to play this all the time at Trash—time for a revisit.

10. Deee-Lite “What Is Love?”
Still sounds so fresh.

Photo by Ro.

Kush Arora The Dread Bass Chronicles

San Francisco producer Kush Arora makes digital dancehall for us to dance to in 2012—a futuristic, globalized, bhangra-infused ragga built for the impending eco-disaster foretold by the Mayan calendar. Together with a series of vocalists hand picked from the finest in the global dub club—MC Zulu, Warrior Queen, N4SA—Arora effortlessly splices together Asian and digital-dancehall dub. Proof positive that global bass has progressed far beyond mere genre-mashing, Dread Bass is concerned with aesthetics and textures. “11th Hour Escape” is a broken-dub hybrid with a bass so palpable you can trace its outline in the air, just underneath the high-tension strings.

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