Sugar-coated crooner Pop Levi has created a dynamic video for his latest single, “Semi Babe.” For those who have the patience to line them up correctly, this video, along with its counterpart, will create a layered, private concert effect. Madness!
Prefuse 73 “Preperation’s Kids Choir”
Everything She Touched Turned Ampexian—the latest album from Prefuse 73—garnered its name from the fact that Scott Herren recorded tracks straight to an analog Ampex tape, thereby giving his trademark avant-hop a grainy, somewhat nostalgic feel.
Everything She Touched Turned Ampexian will be out April 14 on Warp.
So Fine
“So Fine” is off of Brooklyn-based duo Telepathe‘s latest offering, Dance Mother. The video for the song follows bandmembers Busy Gangnes and Melissa Livaudais, and will please anyone who’s a fan of heavy synths, strange breakfasts, and interludes of street dancing.
A Shoreline Dream Feat. Ulrich Schnauss “Hypermode”
Self-proclaimed “melodi-psych” rockers, A Shoreline Dream, has just released its second full-length, Recollections of Memory. The haunting, echoed vocals and cloud-like composition of this psychedelic, chord-rippled first single feel like a winter snowstorm.
Recollections of Memory is out now on Late Night Weeknight Records.
Madlib Beat Konducta Vol. 5-6
Once a Beat Konducta, always a Beat Konducta. Madlib’s fifth and sixth installment of the Beat Konducta series most definitely delivers, especially to fans of the producer’s ongoing beat-tape opus. Produced with the help of Stones Throw comrade J Rocc as a tribute to the late J Dilla, the 42-track album comes exactly three years after Dilla’s death and sounds like it could have been an addition to his 2006 epic, Donuts. Characterized by Madlib’s witty arrangements and sample choices, Beat Konducta Vol. 5-6 is loaded with all the grimy charm, dusty string sections, and ’70s slow-jam interludes one would expect—it’s more of the same from Madlib, but that’s not a bad thing.
The Week in Tours: The Prodigy, A-Trak
Whether you love to rave or prefer to rock, there’s something for (almost) everyone in this week’s slew of current and upcoming tour dates. Ergo, we present the latest round-up of shows currently compelling us to leave our drafty S.F. houses and hear some music.
The Prodigy
They only have three North American dates so far, one of which involves taking on the mayhem that is Winter Music Conference. Those eager to see Liam Howlett and Co as they tour in support of a new album should snag a ticket soon. theprodigy.com
03/25 Toronto, ON – Kool Haus
03/26 New York, NY – Roseland Ballroom
03/28 Miami, FL – Ultra Music Festival @ WMC
Pelican
Of course, if you prefer to rock rather than rave, Chicago instrumental post-rockers Pelican might be more to your liking. March will see the band take a break from the studio, where its been putting the finishing touches on a new EP, to tour the U.S alongside Southern Lord labelmates Wolves in the Throne Room. myspace.com/pelican
03/15 Iowa City, IA – The Picador *
03/16 Kansas City, KS – Riot Room *
03/17 Tulsa, OK – The Marquee *
03/18 San Antonio, TX – Scout Bar *
03/19 Little Rock, AR – Vino’s ^
03/20 Austin, TX – Emo’s
03/22 Austin, TX Red 7 ^
03/25 Tempe, AZ – The Sets ^
03/26 San Diego, CA – The Casbah ^
03/27 West Hollywood, CA – The Troubadour ^
03/28 San Francisco, CA -Slim’s ^
03/29 Portland, OR – Hawthorne Theatre ^
03/30 Bellingham, WA – Nightlight ^
03/31 Seattle, WA – Neumo’s ^
04/02 Salt Lake City, UT -Club Vegas ^
04/0 Denver, CO -The Marquis Theatre ^
04/05 Chicago, IL – Empty Bottle ^
* = w/ Tombs, Dredg
^ = w/Tombs, Wolves in the Throne Room
P.O.S
Meanwhile, conscious MC P.O.S. is currently traipsing the country with his hip-hop beats and heated rhymes in support of his recently released album, Never Better. myspace.com/pos
02/11 Phoenix, AZ – Clubhouse
02/13 Salt Lake City, UT – Kilby Court
02/14 Denver, CO – Marquis
02/15 Omaha, NE – Slowdown Jr.
02/16 Madison, WI – High Noon
02/17 Chicago, IL – Reggie’s
02/18 Columbus, OH – Skully’s Music Diner
02/20 Washington, DC – Rock and Roll Hotel
02/21 New York, NY – Mercury Lounge
02/22 Boston, MA – Harper’s Ferry
02/23 Burlington, VT – Higher Ground
02/25 Cleveland, OH – Grog Shop
02/26 Champaign, IL – Canopy
02/27 Eau Claire, WI – Stones Throw
02/28 Minneapolis, MN – First Ave
A-Trak
With Infinity +1 set to drop April 14 on Thrive Records, Fool’s Gold impresario and Brooklyn-by-way-of-Canada DJ/producer A-Trak is set to support the release with these North American dates. myspace.com/djatrak
02/14 Vancouver, BC – International Mountain Film Festival
03/01 Toronto, ON – Circa
03/14 Brooklyn, NY – Studio B *
03/17 Boston, MA – The Estate
03/19 Austin, TX – Palm Door ^
03/20 Los Angeles, CA – Avalon Hollywood #
03/21 San Francisco, CA – Paradise Lounge
03/22 Los Angeles, CA – LAX
03/26 Miami, FL – Beatport Pool Party
03/26 Miami, FL – Louis Club
03/28 Miami, FL – Raleigh Club
03/28 Miami, FL – White Room ^
* = w/ DJ Mehdi
^ = w/ Fool’s Gold
# = w/ Sinden
Ariel Pink’s Haunted Graffiti
Idiosyncratic songwriter and visual artist Ariel Pink is hitting the road with Gang Gang Dance, Nite Jewel, Animal Collective, and Duchess Says in the coming months. arielpink.com
02/26 Los Angeles, CA – Henry Fonda Theater ^
03/17 San Francisco, CA – Bottom of the Hill #
03/19 Portland, OR – Holocene #
03/20 Seattle, WA – El Corazon #
03/21 Vancouver, BC – Media Club #
03/22 Missoula, MT – The Palace #
03/24 Salt Lake City, UT – Urban Lounge #
03/25 Denver, CO – Hi-Dive #
03/27 Minneapolis, MN – Triple Rock #
03/28 Chicago, IL – Empty Bottle #
03/30 Toronto, ONT – El Mocambo #
03/31 Montreal, PQ – Zoobizarre #
04/01 Boston, MA – TT the Bear’s Place #
04/02 New York, NY – Music Hall of Williamsburg @
04/03 Philadelphia, PA – Johnny Brenda’s @
04/04 Baltimore, MD – Ottobar @
04/05 Chapel Hill, NC – Local 506 @
04/06 Knoxville, TN – The Pilot Light @
04/07 Atlanta, GA – The Earl @
04/08 New Orleans, LA – The Parish @
04/09 Houston, TX – Walter’s on Washington @
04/10 Austin, TX – The Mohawk @
04/11 Dallas, TX – Hailey’s @
04/13 Phoenix, AZ – Modified @
04/14 Tucson, AZ – Plush @
04/15 San Diego, CA – The Casbah @
04/19 Indio, CA – Coachella Music & Arts Festival @
* = w/ Gang Gang Dance, Nite Jewel
^ = w/ Animal Collective
# = w/ Duchess Says
@ = w/ Vivian Girls
Pictured: The Prodigy
Chloe Live at Robert Johnson
It starts with a Teutonic cover of a Smog song (Gudrun Gut’s interpretation of “Rock Bottom Riser”) and ends with a track that likens music to an intoxicant (Seventeen Evergreen’s “The Music Is The Wine”). In between, Kill the DJ-affiliated DJ/producer Chloe spans the breadth of a decade of music (from Larry Heard to Kalabrese) in search of thrills, for the first in a quartet of releases celebrating the legendary Offenbach-based club’s 10th anniversary. As ever, Chloe’s take on house is an endearingly rough-edged one, with highlights such as DJ Koze’s “Mariposa,” Samim & Michal’s “Circles,” and her own “Casus Belli”—a collaboration with Krikor under the Plein Soleil moniker—cutting through with just the right level of grit and dirt. Like Chloe’s polemically named last mix album, I Hate Dancing, this is thrilling stuff, full of personality and character; more than anything, it makes you want to be there.
Exclusive: Mux Mool “End Guy (Radio Edit)”
The historically sinister Mux Mool (Brian Lindgren) is back with a new EP that, if “End Guy” is an indicator, sounds like he employed a 30-member choir and as many synths for production purposes on the new release.
Lindgren made this Radio Edit of the track exclusively for XLR8R, while meanwhile, the Just Saying is All EP will be out March 17 on iTunes and March 31 elsewhere.
Daft Punk China Show is a Scam
Bad news for Daft Punk fans in China, particularly those who paid for a ticket to the rumored “secret show” that was announced yesterday via a now-defunct Facebook message.
The Shanghaiist website reports that a performance was planned for Friday, February 13, in which the famed French duo would give a special, one-off performance showcasing material from a new album. Fans were encouraged to pay 500RMB ($73 USD), despite the fact that anyone who pre-ordered a ticket wouldn’t have a clue where they were headed until the morning of the show. Which means that, in addition to forking over nearly $100, fans would also be issuing their personal phone numbers, to receive venue information via SMS.
An alarming 3800 tickets sold for the event, but it looks like, as of this morning, no one in Shanghai will be seeing Daft Punk any time soon. Daft Punk’s PR agency—not to mention, a host of other sources—has denied that there are any performances slated for Friday night, in China or in the rest of the world.
Suffice to say, the rumors are flying right now.
Pfunkt “Against All Evens”
Warped synth lines, quivering electronics, and guest vocals by French Horn Rebellion’s Robert Perlick-Molinari converge on the first single from Pfunkt‘s self-titled debut longplayer, and it’s a rather brooding affair.
Pfunkt will be available as a pay-what-you-want download on February 14.
Pfunkt – Against All Evens ( featuring Robert Molinari of French Horn Rebellion ) 1
