San Francisco is again ready for that one week of the year in which the Deerhunters and No Ages of the world descend on the city for Noise Pop. And while we’re now getting scores of updates on the previously announced lineup, music isn’t the only thing the festival organizers have on the burner this year.
Noise Pop 2009 will also see musicians delving into the world of fine art at the Sights of Sounds exhibition. The festival hand-picked a number of familiar names—DJ Spooky, Hank Shocklee, and CocoRosie’s Bianca Casady, to name a few—and commissioned them to create original visual art pieces, which will show at the exhibition. Opening night is slated for February 25, but Sights and Sounds will show until March 4 at the park Life gallery in S.F.
Details on other visual-art events, including a Noise Pop retrospective exhibition, can be found here.
Noise Pop 2009 takes place February 24 – March 1.
Sights of Sounds Confirmed Artists Alissa Anderson, Joseph Arthur, Bianca Casady (CocoRosie), Harrison Haynes (Les Savy Fav), Jesse Michaels (Operation Ivy), Nate Manny (Murder City Devils), Mark Mothersbaugh (Devo), Sara Sanger (The New Trust), Hank Shocklee (Bomb Squad, Public Enemy), Paul Miller (DJ Spooky), and John Vanderslice.
On the music tip, Noise Pop has now posted its full schedule, which includes details on all film, art, music, and schmoozing-related activities.
Much like his friends from Trouble & Bass, AC Slater can keep the party going while simultaneously championing dance music’s low-end. Yet Slater (a.k.a. Aaron Clevenger) is more than a simple bass fanatic–his recent Palms Out Sounds single, “Jack Got Jacked,” flips Fingers Inc.’s classic house cut. Already turning heads with rave-tinged remixes for the likes of Moby, Freestylers, and Drop the Lime, this former happy hardcore producer is starting his own digital imprint called Party Like Us.
“Omen” is the first official single from The Prodigy’s fifth studio album, Invaders Must Die, and the track’s video is a place where rave and punk rock (and a very large crowd of people) come to converge.
Drum machines, keyboards, and electric guitar riffs collide on this track from Joel Peterson, the sole force behind his no-wave project, Broken Spindles project.
“Introvert” is off the album Kiss/Kick, out February 17.
Of all the acts currently pushing that future-bass-lazer-blap (whatever you prefer to call it) sound into the far reaches of today’s dancefloors, none is nearer and dearer to the heart of XLR8R than the Lazer Sword boys. Okay, that might have a little something to do with the fact that both Bryant Rutledge and Antaeus Roy are former employees of the magazine, but their time spent plugging away at subscriber emails and MP3s is hardly the reason these guys are blowing up club scenes from San Francisco to Scotland. With that in mind, we commissioned the duo to make us this hour-long mix to show off just exactly what Lazer Sword is about when it comes to music.
In true form, the boys didn’t hold back, delivering a 36-track set that features hip-hop, future-bass, electro, and more. Many of the tracks are remixes Rutledge and Roy have made themselves, and, in true Lazer Sword fashion, names like Dr. Dre and Keak Da Sneak crop up on the tracklisting.
We know Lazer Sword for its ability to bring a party with unbridled enthusiasm and a healthy sense of humor, whether that means DJing to a crowd dressed as a Jesus medallion and the Fresh Prince of Bel Air or taking one for the team and playing strange festivals populated by scary neo-hippies. See this mix for further affirmation. Photo by Jordan Fraker
Future Blappin’ 01 Oizo, Sebastian, & Sebastian Tellier – “Arrival (Lazers Word Quik Intro Edit)” 02 Lil’ Flip – “I’m a Balla (Low Limit Air Canada Remix)” 03 Cupp Cave – “Breech This Trust” 04 TI – “Big Thangs Poppin (Lando Kal Slumper Remix)” 05 Robot Koch vs. Cerebral Vortex – “Vortex Cookies (Lazer Sword White Chocolate Chip Remix)” 06 Modeselektor – “hmmmm” 07 Madlib the Beat Konducta – “Electric Company (Voltage-Watts)” 08 SS – “Mo’fucking Boss” 09 Low Limit – “Inspirational Jumpsuit” 10 Flying Lotus – “Melt” 11 Dr. Dre – “The Day The Niggaz Took Over (feat. RBX & Snoop Dogg)” 12 Badman LL – “Throw Me Out The Club” 13 Ultimate Spinach – “(Ballad Of The) Hip Death Goddess” 14 Ghosts On Tape – “Equator Jam” 15 Dwight Trible – “Eternal” 16 LL Ultimate Blapfuture – “Tits Money” 17 Keak Da Sneak – “X2” 18 Lone – “Fire Fly Rainbow” 19 Krazy Baldhead – “Revolution” 20 Djedjotronic – “Farandole” 21 Codebreaker – “We Don’t Need No (Miami Horror Remix)” 22 Sébastien Tellier – “Roche” 23 Lando Kal – “3D Action Jackson” 24 Mr. Oizo x Yuksek x Trick Daddy – “Hun / This Is Me / J.O.D.D. (Lando Kal edit)” 25 Restiform Bodies – “Interactive Holloween Bear (Lazer Sword Remix)” 26 Siriusmo – “Girls Rock” 27 Danger – “111 00h00 (ft. Vyle)” 28 Lemonade – “Realslime (Lazer Sword Remix)” 29 Jackson & His Computer Band – “Tropical Metal” 30 Lando Kal – “Exotic Jesus (w/ The Team “Hyphy Juice” a cappella)” 31 Laroo – “Money Ain’t Trippin (ft. E-40)” 32 Hudson Mohawk – “Track 12 (of Hudson’s Heaters)” 33 LL – “Drippinist (w/ Jay D & Jay-Z “Money Ain’t A Thang” a cappella)” 34 Lando Kal – “Issy edit” 35 Lando Kal Ultimate Blapfuture – “#11 (H.A.L. x A Millie edit)” 36 Para One – “Bobble”
Apparently re-imagining runs in the family. On the heels of his older brother Madlib’s recent reworking of the classic Madvillainy album, Oh No has gone and put a new spin on his debut album, The Disrupt. On My Way finds the Oxnard rapper laying his original rhymes over new beats assembled entirely from samples dug out of the Now-Again Records catalog. Mining classic funk and soul cuts, Oh No’s beatmaking prowess has come a long way since 2004, and his raps sound surprisingly fresh over the same kinds of cut-and-paste beats that made his brother famous. This may only be a must-listen for hardcore fans and beat junkies, but Oh No is on the way up.
“Before, all my music was purple,” says Zomby, explaining the synesthesia he gets while working on music. “Now the tunes are going neon, like odd Gameboy 2-step shit. I feel a lot more inspired, like chrysalis stages, no joke,” he continues. “It’s like I stayed with purple ’cause that’s what I knew, but now that my music is accepted I can go other ways.”
I’m interviewing the shadowy 28-year-old producer via Instant Messenger from his home in London, where–a bit like Edgar Allen Poe’s raven–he lives perched “on the top tier of Big Ben, flat six, sixth floor, right by the six on the clockface.” The details of his history are shady: a hardcore and jungle head since the age of 12 (“too young to get into raves but just old enough to buy records”), he grew up on a council estate, but has also lived in the South of France and Barcelona. In 2005, he fell in love with the stark sounds of Wiley’s Eski grime sound, and quit his job to make tracks. “I got Reason and a MacBook and cracked on,” he says. “I made ‘Spliff Dub’ by the end of that month and it was on.”
Zomby is reluctant to reveal his true identity, but he’s got his reasons. “I wanted to create a myth for Zomby artistically. I didn’t want it to be pinned to one person, but to be in the air of London as if it’s always been there.”
As it turns out, Zomby’s stats aren’t as important as his tunes, which carry so much emotion and weight they tell their own stories. The aforementioned “Spliff Dub” (check the massive Rustie remix), “The Lie,” and “Liquid Dancehall” are minimal, weeded dubstep cuts that curl around your brain like wisps of smoke. Haunting banger “Strange Fruit” traps your brain inside a deliciously endless loop that reminds of Nintendo’s Castlevania; a taster, no doubt, for his recent Hyperdub EP, where tracks like “Bubble Bobble” and “Aquafresh” bubble up from the 8-bit swamp like the mutated children of LFO and Count Chocula.
Mr. Zomby’s tried his hand (and succeeded) at multiple British bass genres, from his current obsession with ’94 amen jungle to a more tropical, spookier take on fidget that he calls “horror house,” but it’s his Werk full-length, Where Were You in ’92?, that shows where his heart’s really at. The album is an homage to early ’90s U.K. hardcore outfits like Manix, Altern8, and many other one-hit wonders whose gritty breakbeats, chipmunked soul samples, and soaring Casio riffs have faded into the fabric of rave history. Using the classic Atari and Akai MPC-2000 set-up “to get the crunch in the tunes,” Zomby has crafted a concept album that’s at once totally new (check the Gucci Mane-sampling 8-bit B-more of “Pillz”) and achingly familiar–it’s almost hard to believe that tracks like “Euphoria” and “Tears in the Rain” weren’t actually made in ’92.
“I love old-school,” he types, in between furiously sending me YouTube links to obscure rave records. “It’s my fave shit by far, musically, and this record was really the first time I’d allowed myself to really just make what I wanted. But nothing I would do is a remnant of old,” he’s quick to clarify. “Everything is in homage or directly forward.”
Upbeat electro synths are undercut by disturbing images on this Alex Jones-directed video from Montreal DJ/rapper CFCF—with results that are, perplexingly, humorous at times.
“Crystal Mines” is off CFCF’s full-length, Panesian Nights, out now via Paper Bag
Never mind waiting for an artist’s gratuitously decked-out MySpace page to load so you can peep their upcoming show dates. XLR8R already did the legwork on that, and below are six upcoming tours we’re more than looking forward to. This week: Dan Deacon, Sebastien Tellier, The Glitch Mob, Gui Boratto, Efterklang, and Evil Nine hit the road.
Sebastien Tellier Now that he’s told all, music’s self-proclaimed sex guru will take his gospel across North America.? myspace.com/sebastientellier
02/21 Guadalajara, Mexico – MX Beat Sound Fest 2009 ?04/01 New York, NY- LPR ?04/03 Washington, DC – 9:30 Club 04/05 Boston, MA – Paradise ? 04/07 Montreal, QC – Cabaret Music Hall ?04/08 Toronto, ON – The Mod Club ? 04/09 Chicago, IL – The Empty Bottle ? 04/10 Grinnell, IA – Grinnell College Gardner Lounge 04/13 Seattle, WA – Chop Suey * ? 04/14 Vancouver, BC – Richards On Richards * ?04/15 Portland, OR – Doug Fir Lounge * 04/17 San Francisco, CA – The Independent *
* = w/ Chairlift
Efterklang Seven members strong in 2009, this pack of acoustic-by-way-of-electronic experimentalists will head Stateside, where we can expect performances nothing short of dramatic. efterklang.net
03/05 Seattle, WA – Nectar Lounge * 03/06 Vancouver, BC – Media Club * 03/07 Portland, OR – Doug Fir Lounge * 03/08 San Francisco, CA – Bottom of the Hill * 03/09 Visalia, CA – The Cellar Door * 03/10 Los Angeles, CA – Spaceland * 03/11 Tucson, AZ – Plush * 03/13 Salt Lake City, UT – Urban Lounge * 03/14 Denver, CO – Larimer Lounge 03/16 Norman, OK – Opolis * 03/17 Denton, TX – Hailey’s * 03/18 – 03/21 Austin, TX – SXSW (TBA) 03/23 Tallahassee, FL – The Engine Room ^ 03/24 Atlanta, GA – The Earl ^ 03/25 Chapel Hill, NC – Local 506 ^ 03/26 Washington, DC – 9:30 Club * 03/27 Philadelphia, PA – First Unitarian Church * 03/28 New York, NY – Mercury Lounge * 03/30 Boston, MA – T.T. The Bears * 03/31 Montreal, QC – TBA * 04/01 Toronto, ON – El Mocambo * 04/02 Pittsburgh, PA – Artwork * 04/03 Cleveland, OH – Grog Shop * 04/04 Chicago, IL – Schubas *
* = w/ Peter Broderick ^ = w/ Canon Blue
Dan Deacon After playing a solo set at the end of this month, Carpark’s resident DIY don will embark on a spring tour in support of his forthcoming full-length, Bromst. myspace.com/dandeacon
01/30 Brooklyn, NY – Danbro Studios (solo set) 04/03 Philadelphia, PA – First Unitarian Church 04/05 Williamsburg, VA – The Little Theater 04/06 Asheville, NC – Orange Peel 04/07 Knoxville, TN – Catalyst 04/08 Birmingham, AL – Bottletree 04/09 Athens, GA – 88/cp 04/10 Atlanta, GA – Eyedrum 04/11 Tallahassee, FL – Club Downunder 04/13 New Orleans, LA – The Candle Factory 04/15 Baton Rouge, LA – Spanish Moon 04/16 Houston, TX – Orange Show 04/18 Ft. Worth, TX – The Ft. Worth Modern Museum 04/20 Tempe, AZ – The Clubhouse 04/21 San Diego, CA – The Che Cafe 04/22 Los Angeles, CA – Troubadour 04/23 San Francisco, CA – Great American Music Hall 04/24 Portland, OR – Wonder Ballroom 04/25 Seattle, WA – The Vera Project 04/26 Vancouver, BC – Richards on Richards 04/29 Salt Lake City, UT – Kilby Court 04/30 Denver, CO – Bluebird Theater 05/01 Kansas City, MO – Pistol Social Club 05/02 Minneapolis, MN – Triple Rock 05/04 Madison, WI – Majestic Theatre 05/05 Milwaukee, WI – Turner Hall Ballroom 05/06 Urbana, IL – Canopy Club/Club Void 05/07 Chicago, IL – The Metro 05/08 Mt. Pleasant, MI – The Wesley Foundation 05/09 Detroit, MI – Scrummage 05/10 Toronto, ON – The Deleon White Gallery 05/11 Montreal, QC – La Sala Rossa 05/12 South Burlington, VT – HG Showcase Lounge 05/13 Cambridge, MA – Middle East Downstairs 05/15 Brooklyn, NY – Danbro Studios 05/16 New York, NY – Bowery Ballroom 05/17 Washington, DC – 9:30 Club
Gui Boratto He has one hell of a creepy new album cover and a fresh batch of techno tunes to go with. Next, Brazilian-born Gui Boratto will take our collective breath away at these dates. guiboratto.com.br
04/01 Quebec, QC – Le Cercle 04/02 Montreal, QC – Club Parking 04/03 Chicago, IL – Spy Bar 04/04 New York, NY – Rebel 04/08 Seattle, WA – Nectar Lounge 04/10 San Francisco, CA – Paradise Lounge 04/11 Denver, CO – Beta
The Glitch Mob These guys are known for slaying crowds (not literally) and have an inexplicably large following in Colorado. The four-man future-bass force known as The Glitch Mob continues its never-ending tour this week. theglitchmob.com
01/30 Hollywood, CA – The Green Door 02/11 Boulder, CO – Fox Theatre 02/12 Denver, CO – The Church 02/14 Breckenridge, CO – three20south 02/15 Vail, CO – The Sandbar 02/17 Aspen, CO – Belly Up Aspen 03/21 Vancouver, BC – The Dollhouse Studios
Evil Nine DJ duo Tom Beaufoy and Pat Pardy dropped a new album, They Live!, in October 2008. Now, it’s back to the turntables, as these two begin a DJ tour of North America at the end of this month. myspace.com/evilnine
01/29 Toronto, ON – The Social 01/30 New York, NY – Sullivan Room 01/31 Montreal, QC – Igloofest 02/05 Baltimore, MD – Hour Haus 02/06 Austin, TX – Pangea 02/07 New Orleans, LA – Ampersand 02/08 Salt Lake City, UT – Club Sound 02/09 Calgary, AB – HiFi Club 02/10 Seattle, WA – Nectar Lounge 02/11 Los Angeles, CA – Viper Room 02/12 Vancouver, BC – Republic 03/13 San Francisco, CA – Mighty
Pictured above: Just another quiet night for Dan Deacon.
It’s a waterlogged November afternoon when I meet up with Cassie Ramone, Kickball Katy, and Ali Koehler of Vivian Girls at Atlas Café in Williamsburg, Brooklyn. We’re safe from the rain in this den of glowing laptops and frothy cappuccinos, but the vibe is clearly wrong for an interview. It’s far too quiet. Before we even sit down, everyone is already staring at us. “Want to just… do this in our car?” asks Katy.
Definitely.
Nestled among scattered jewel cases and pillows, it feels much more natural here in their tourmobile and occasional office, partly because Vivian Girls operate in a very DIY manner. Their self-titled 2007 album was restricted to just 500 self-released vinyl pressings before it found widespread love on the web and a reissue courtesy of L.A.-based garage-rock imprint In the Red. Now the group is creating their own label, Wild World, to peddle merch and limited-edition 7-inches. From recording to artwork to silkscreening to mail ordering, the Girls handle everything themselves. “Basically the only thing we don’t do ourselves is the [records ’] mastering,” explains Cassie.
It’s a refreshingly old-fashioned way of doing business. “From day one we all worked really hard on Vivian Girls,” says Cassie, who credits the band’s widened exposure to its punk-rock work ethic. The other half of that equation, of course, is their excellent (and equally efficient) material, which consists of brief, melodic tracks that marry interplaying vocal harmonies (’60s acts like The Shangri-Las are a touchstone) with the crunch and skronk of Nuggets-era garage-isms. Despite these often-cited influences (shoegaze is another), Vivian Girls are loath to reduce their music to simple building blocks. “Everyone always says we sound like The Jesus and Mary Chain, and they’re cool, but they’re not an influence at all,” says Cassie.
“I actually don’t like shoegaze at all,” echoes Ali from the backseat.
While playing to packed houses on the success of their debut 22-minute Vivian Girls record, the girls’ “number one priority” is their upcoming sophomore release, which is co-produced by the historic husband-and-wife rocker duo of Steve McDonald and Anna Waronker (of Redd Kross and That Dog fame, respectively). “Our band kind of sounds like a mixture [of those two bands], so we’re really psyched about that,” Katy mentions. As for the record’s direction, the group lets on that the new album is a slight departure from their first. “I feel like it’s definitely more intricate and the songs are a little spookier,” says Ali. “They’re a lot darker than the first album,” Cassie reiterates.
The girls would love to chat more about the record, but time is short–they’ve got a bunch of t-shirts to silkscreen. We part ways, but not before Katy offers: “Do you need a ride anywhere?”
