Matthew Herbert Big Band There’s Me and There’s You

Billed as a jazzy assemblage of protest songs, Matthew Herbert’s latest is a hybrid. Working again with his Big Band, the decorated British producer, avant-jazz arranger, and field recorder (samples here include condoms dragged, nails hammered, matches struck, and a host of other sonic clippings culled from the House of Parliament and Mickey D‘s) has crafted a period-pop album capable of doubling as a musical for people that hate show tunes. The result is anything but snoozy. Herbert’s horn arrangements are particularly kinetic on songs like “Battery” and “The Yesness,” brass lending a layer of bombast that counteracts the more subversive elements spelled out by Eska Mtungwazi’s vibrant, smokebomb vocals.

Lykke Li “Little Bit (Aether Remix)”

Up-and-coming producer Aether‘s got a solo album in the works, Artifacts, due out November 25, but in the meantime, the San Diego beat-maker who doesn’t sleep has remixed Swedish future-pop queen Lykke Li for fun. “Little Bit” saw an earlier reworking from DFA’s Tim Goldsworthy, under his Loving Hand guise, which was a minimal and very electronic affair. Aether’s chosen a somewhat different route here, opting for heavier drum sounds, airy synths, and lots of reverb added to Ms. Li’s sugar-sweet vocals. Photo by Andy Eisberg.

Lykke Li – Little Bit (Aether Remix) 1

Secret Spaces: The Bus

In another spotlight on unusual music venues, XLR8R TV introduces you to John Benson and his Bus. John transformed a former Oakland Police street command unit into a veggie-oil/solar powered mobile and all ages performance space. Since he bought the Bus in 2006, he and his motley crew have put on over 120 shows around the country that feature bands from around the world, and, despite constant vandalism to the bus, he has no plans to stop. This episode includes footage from a Bus show featuring Finnish psych-metal genius weirdos Circle.

Editor’s Picks! Glitch Mob Street Warfare

The Glitch Mob is notorious for its live shows—they remix on the fly and seamlessly finish each others’ basslines. Here, the crew takes it up a notch by setting up speakers and a generator renegade-style in the crowded streets of San Francisco for full-scale guerrilla beat warfare on the public. What they weren’t expecting was that San Franciscans prove themselves up to the attack—in a way that only San Franciscans can.

Lars Horntveth Readies Second Album

Always ready to bend and tweak musical formulas, Jaga Jazzist frontman Lars Horntveth has announced a follow-up to his 2004 debut solo album–and it’s a single track long.

Joined by 34 string players, three percussionists, a harpist, flute player, and trombone player (all of whom are collectively known as the Latvian National Orchestra), the Norwegian producer–who started Jagga Jazzist at the tender age of 15–has crafted a 37-minute-long trip through about 20 different musical moods on Kaleidoscopic. He’s citing everyone from Stereolab to Hitchcock composer Bernard Herrmann as influences for the album, if that’s anything to go by. The album drops January 27 on Smalltown Supersound.

Photo by Andreas Froland.

Mike Slott “Deux Three”

Just released last week is Heralds of Change/Lucky Me member Mike Slott‘s second solo 45 this year for Dublin’s All City Records. As with his previous endeavor for the label, Slott rolls a whole bunch of soul up with the hip-hop beats on this release. “Flunky” is definitely the bouncier number of the two, while “Deux Three” features some smooth vocals and futuristic synths. Preview the latter here.

Mike Slott – Deux Three

Marnie Stern Preps Tour Dates

Femme fatale and absolute guitar wizard Marnie Stern has announced more tour dates for the fall, in addition to the previously announced batch with Gang Gang Dance. She’ll be showcasing songs from her elaborately named sophomore album and showing off those shred skills through the end of November.

11/03 Chicago, IL – Empty Bottle*
11/04 Minneapolis, MN – 7th St Entry*
11/05 Milwaukee, WI – Turner Hall*
11/07 Denver, CO – Larimer Lounge*
11/08 Salt Lake City, UT – Kilby Court*
11/10 Seattle, WA – Triple Door*
11/11 Vancouver, British Columbia – Biltmore Theater*
11/12 Portland, OR – Berbati’s Pan*
11/14 San Francisco, CA – Bimbo’s 365 Club*
11/15 Los Angeles, CA – El Rey Theatre*
11/16 Tucson, AZ – Solar Culture
11/18 Austin, TX – Mohawk
11/21 St. Louis, MO – Billiken Club
11/22 Bloomington, IN – The Lodge
11/23 Columbus, OH – The Summit
11/24 Pontiac, MI – Pike Room
11/25 Cleveland, OH – Beachland Tavern
11/26 Washington, DC – DC9
11/28 Brooklyn, NY – Music Hall of Williamsburg*
11/29 New York, NY – Santos Party House*
11/30 Milford, CT – Daniel Street
12/01 Boston, MA – Church

* = w/ Gang Gang Dance

The Presets “Kicking and Screaming (Bang Gang’s E is for Edit)”

If its preview, which we ran earlier this year, is anything to go by, the squad of electro hooligans that are the Bang Gang Deejays cover quite a bit of ground on their just-released remix album, D is for Disco, E is for Dancing. The double-disc set finds the crew reworking everything from A-Trak to Ghostface Killah, and here, they taken on Modular labelmates The Presets, reworking the opening track from this year’s Apocalypso release. It certainly is a track for dancing–with or without the E involved. Maverick Newberry

The Presets – Kicking and Screaming (Bang Gang’s E is for edit)

Large Professor Main Source

William Paul Mitchell got cracking with his Large Professor alias as part of early-’90s hip-hop trio Main Source, and went on to construct beats for Nas, Kool G Rap, Cormega, A Tribe Called Quest, plus dozens more. Like fellow ’90s greats Masta Ace, Pete Rock, or Gang Starr, Mitchell’s soul-sampling boom-bap blueprint has been modernized but remains largely unchanged. That’s a plus on infectious party tracks like “Pump Ya Fist” and “Hardcore Hip-Hop,” which rumble and rattle with funky loops and starchy-crisp beats. Jeru Tha Damaja, Styles P, AZ, and Big Noyd add some memorable bars, but Mitchell is musically and lyrically front-and-center throughout. With a title referencing his roots, Main Source is proof that Mitchell is still a pro.

Termanology Politics As Usual

Armed with beats from DJ Premier, Pete Rock, Large Professor, and Easy Mo Bee, and cameos from Bun B, Freeway, and Prodigy, Termanology’s Politics as Usual has all the makings of a great album in the classic East Coast boom-bap tradition. The problem? Termanology, with his mediocre flow and lack of gravitas, is not capable of holding his own next to his time-tested heroes. His shortcomings as an MC are particularly apparent on the Premier-produced, Bun-aided “How We Rock.” Despite the fact that Term’s Big Pun-invoking verse is his best performance on the album it’s Premo’s beat and Bun’s verse that really make the track pop.

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