The poor guy is probably sick of references to his work in the now-defunct dance-punk band Death from Above 1979, but it’s hard not to be curious just how much Sebastien Grainger‘s live sound has changed since the group split and he went solo. If the forthcoming Sebastien Grainger and The Mountains, out October 21, is any indication, the compulsion to shred a soundsystem is still there, just wrapped in a slightly more refined package.
Grainger will do three performances at next week’s CMJ Marathon, then will hit the road proper at the end of November.
Dates 10/22 New York, NY – Levi’s Fader Fort NYC 10/22 New York, NY – Mercury Lounge 10/23 New York, NY – Pianos 11/20 Buffalo, NY – Mohawk Place 11/21 Cleveland, OH – Grog Shop 11/22 Chicago, IL – Beat Kitchen 11/24 Minneapolis, MN – 7th Street Entry 11/25 Omaha, NE – Slowdown 11/26 Lawrence, KS – Raplay Lounge 11/29 Pittsburgh, PA – Garfield Artworks 11/30 Washington, DC – DC9 12/01 Philadelphia, PA – Johnny Brenda’s 12/02 Brooklyn, NY – Union Hall 12/03 New York, NY – Mercury Lounge 12/04 Boston, MA – TT the Bears
While it’s a trend we’ve seen for years, indie rock bands teaming up with orchestras is nonetheless something that always gets our attention–and apparently Michael Christie’s too. The Brooklyn Philharmonic Music Director first grabbed the (non-classical) music world’s attention two years ago, when he collaborated with Antony & The Johnsons. Now he turns his attention towards the members of Grizzly Bear and Owen Pallett’s Final Fantasy project.
Christie will lead the two parties through a performance on February 28, 2009 at the Howard Gilman Opera House that involves performing new orchestrations of their songs alongside Brooklyn Philharmonic musicians. As these things go, it’s hard to predict what the outcome of this collaboration will sound like, but with the young, hip, and talented composer Nico Muhly re-orchestrating Grizzly Bear’s songs and whiz kid Pallett doing his own arrangements, the evening should be worth dusting off your best skinny jeans and heading down to the opera house for.
Tickets go on sale October 20 at 10 a.m. Pick them up at the Brooklyn Philharmonic website or by calling 718-636-4100.
On his new album, London Zoo, Kevin Martin (a.k.a. The Bug) retooled dubstep and dancehall into something bleak, apocalyptic, and jaw-dropping. His gritty, bass-heavy assault on the future is helmed by an all-star squad of MCs, from Flowdan and The Spaceape to his current touring partner Warrior Queen. Here, The Bug and Warrior Queen talk about their flow, both on and offstage—how she’s a split personality while The Bug will always remain The Bug.
Well known for functional and visually appealing art products, design company Poketo has partnered with Dave Eggers’ non-profit youth writing program, 826LA, to create an exclusive new series of wallets.
The project arose from a recent workshop conducted at 826LA by screenwriter James Ponsoldt. Participants of When Wallets Eat Words wrote creative short stories that were then given to a group of international visual artists, who interpreted the words into design. The outcome of this collaboration is this new series of limited-edition wallets bearing the work of Tim Biskup, Esther Pearl Watson, Mark Todd, Martha Rich, John Pham, Rama Hughes, Christine Castro, Leah Chun, Chris Bettig, and Keith Knueven. Each wallet design also features its corresponding short story lining the inside of the wallet.
Funds from purchases go towards further support for 826LA. Wallets can be bought directly from Poketo’s site.
Polish-bred, classically trained minimal house and techno produce, Marcin Czubala recently released his first full-length album since 2001, the Chronicles of Never. In his most comprehensive artistic proclamation yet, Marcin’s creations stay true to the fundamentals of minimal, while donning an expanded, highly evolved sound where each track generates its own distinctive, supple ambiance. With “Berolina,” he drops a buoyant number that features a barrage of animated percussion, lustrous synth elements, a sensual, distant female voice, and evocative climaxes that spawn a dynamic minimal masterpiece.
Chronicles of Never 01 Daybreak 02 Berolina 03 Los Companeros 04 Pravda 05 Alibi Room 06 Dazed And Confused 07 Spectacles For Humans 08 30th May 09 At The Beach In San Foca 10 Be Water
On their third album, Brooklyn art-rockers TV on the Radio do what they do best, which seems to be just about everything. Whether crafting wistful neo-soul ballads (“Family Tree”), distortion-tinged political rockers (“Dancing Choose,” “Red Dress”), or 21st-century funk jams (“Golden Age,” “Crying”), the band simply shines. With Dave Sitek’s knob-twiddling flourishes, horn sections courtesy of the Antibalas Afrobeat Orchestra, and the melodic vocal interplay of frontmen Tunde Adebimpe and Kyp Malone, Dear Science is easily the group’s most accessible and fully realized album to date, although listeners won’t find any saccharine pop moments here. This is intelligent and complex music, and even the “bah bah bah” chorus of stellar album opener “Halfway Home” can’t hide the fact that these boys are operating on another level.
More than a decade after their earth-shattering debut, Mogwai remains victims of high expectations. Young Team was a game-changer in 1997, and fans have yet to stop clamoring for another “Like Herod.” But instead of straining to break their own rules, Mogwai has quietly gone on to perfect them. The Hawk is Howling, Mogwai’s sixth LP and their first with no vocals, is the band’s most generous offering in years–essentially 2006’s Mr. Beast with room to breath. Unlike most of their post-rock peers, Mogwai avoids obvious moods, never leaning too heavily toward apocalyptic (Godspeed You! Black Emperor) or transcendent (Explosions in the Sky). Which gives song like “Local Authority”–maybe the loveliest thing Mogwai has committed to tape–a tense, unsettling beauty.
Mat Ranson, well-known for his work under his Fisk Industries moniker, diverges from his usual dubbed-out hip-hop styled productions for a slow, synth-heavy techno-meets-dubstep sound as Kwaidan, his one-off project stimulated by watching a movie of the same name by Masaki Kobayashi. In this slowly evolving exclusive excerpt from Masaki, hard-hitting drum programming coupled with a cavernous, multi-faceted low-end lays the groundwork for profoundly eerie, shrieking effects and spacey, dithering synths. The track is saturated with ethereal, textured sounds that create a paranormal sense akin to Kobayashi’s original ghost stories.
Working under the name APAK, husband-and-wife team Aaron and Ayumi Piland’s super-adorable art pieces reflect their youthful outlook, love of nature, and all-encompassing affection for one another. They met back in 1997, when Ayumi was working at a Japanese restaurant–for just three days–and Aaron came in to cop some sushi. “Ayumi poured tea for Aaron while he ate, secretly checking each other out,” they recount in the third person. A natural bond formed after discovering they were both studying illustration at Kendall College of Art & Design in Grand Rapids, Michigan. The pair began making plush toys and eventually started painting together, playing to their strengths by having Aaron create environments for Ayumi’s creatures to frolic in. What results are friendly-looking faraway lands, rendered in pastel and neon, populated by organisms both real and imagined. “For us making art is a small but real way of creating positive change,” they confess. “We all have the power to create the kind of world we want to live in.”
In 2005, APAK settled in a red cottage on the outskirts of Portland and met Bwana Spoons, who introduced them to the area’s thriving gallery scene. They have since become integral to this group of self-starting artists, showing their work at venues like Grass Hut, Together Gallery, and Pony Club. It makes sense that APAK’s aesthetic thrives in the Rose City, since they are heavily influenced by the natural world: “Stars, planets, trees, bugs, flowers, fire, and crystals are pretty much masterpieces to us,” they say, via email. This viewpoint is echoed by their personal brand of pop surrealism, constructed using materials that won’t harm the planet, such as paper, clay, sticks, yarn, fabric, felt, and live plants. No matter what medium Aaron and Ayumi are working with, their childlike perspective comes across. “Maybe growing up with the idealism and creativity of the ’80s has something to do with it,” they offer.
Aaron and Ayumi are fitting playmates. “We pretty much do everything except go to the bathroom together,” they say. “We are together so much that we can read each others’ minds.” As if reality wasn’t sweet enough, the two also have alter egos, the Happy Hermits–a tiny orange monster and a tiny yellow monster who roam woodland areas gathering cupcakes, feeding birds, and playing tennis while merrily enjoying each other’s company. Sometimes the couple paints the Hermits, sometimes they sculpt them, sometimes they sew them into plush toys–and sometimes they realize that the line between reality and fantasy is more than a little blurry…
Favorite Portland artist: Justin “Scrappers” Morrison, Bwana Spoons, Martin Ontiveros, Le Merde, Evan Harris, Jill Bliss, Amy Ruppel, Hooliganship, Mumbleboy, E*Rock, Yacht, Betsy Walton, and the list keeps growing–it seems like there is another artist moving to town everyday!
The Whip first caught our attention in 2006, when the song “Trash” appeared as one of the standouts on Paris-based label Kitsuné’s Maison 3 compilation. The Manchester, U.K.-based four-piece has been carrying the rave/rock torch ever since, most notably in the form of its debut full-length, X Marks Destination.
The band brightened up the week by announcing a long-awaited U.S. release for the album, which means a couple things: Firstly, come winter 2009, Stateside fans won’t have to fork over 30-plus bucks to pay for the import price of the disc. The release also means we can hopefully expect some shows on North American soil next year.
The Whip is currently gearing up for some dates in Japan and the U.K., but will cross the Atlantic for a couple CMJ parties next week. Hopefully they’ve left the rave zombies at home.
X Marks Destination 01 Trash 02 Frustration 03 Fire 04 Save My Soul 05 Sirens 06 Divebomb 07 Blackout 08 Muzzle #1 09 Sister Siam 10 Dubsex
Dates 10/22 Brooklyn, NY – Music Hall of Williamsburg (CMJ) 10/24 New York, NY – Irving Plaza (CMJ) 11/08 Tokyo, Japan – Studio Coast 11/09 Tokyo, Japan – Studio Coast 11/10 Tokyo, Japan – Astro Hall 11/12 Bristol, U.K. – Thekla 11/13 Leeds, U.K. – Cockpit 11/14 Glasgow, U.K. – Small Arch 11/15 Newcastle, U.K. – Other Rooms 11/18 Brighton, U.K. – Concorde 2 11/19 London, U.K. – Scala 11/20 Oxford, U.K. – Academy 3 11/21 Manchester, U.K. – Academy 2 11/22 Liverpool, U.K. – Chibuku 12/03 Oslo, Norway – John Dee 12/04 Copenhagen, Denmark – Loppen 12/05 Amsterdam, Netherlands – Melkweg 12/06 Brussels, Belgium – Botanique 12/09 Clermont Ferrand, France – Cooperative De Mai 12/10 Zurich, Switzerland – Abart 12/12 Paris, France – Showcase 12/15 Barcelona, Spain – Apolo 12/16 Madrid, Spain – Caracol 12/18 Dublin, Ireland – The Hub 12/19 Belfast, Ireland – Stiff Kitten 12/2 Galway, Ireland – Cuba
