Pelican Annouces Tour

The members of Pelican have proven over the years that their informed, nuanced instrumental metal is anything but ironic, though that fact might have been unclear at first. “I have to tell people that I don’t wear t-shirts as a joke,” guitarist Laurent Lebec once told an interviewer about a Def Leppard shirt fans kept asking about. Though their songs explored minor key melodies on 2005’s The Fire in Our Throats Will Beckon the Thaw, expect a heavy pummeling of the mind in the live sets they’ll be performing with over the next few months.

Dates
04/11 Iowa City, IA: The Picador
04/14 Albuquerque, NM: Rallis 4th St. Pub and Grill
04/15 Tucson, AZ: Plush
04/16 San Diego, CA: House of Blues San Diego*
04/17 San Diego, CA: House of Blues San Diego*
04/18 Las Vegas, NV: House of Blues*
04/19 Tempe, AZ: Marquee Theatre*
04/21 Houston, TX: Warehouse Live*
04/22 Dallas, TX: Palladium Ballroom*
04/23 Austin, TX: Stubbs BBQ*
04/25 Nashville, TN: Rocketown*
04/26 Atlanta, GA: The Masquerade*
04/27 Lake Buena Vista, FL: House of Blues*
04/29 Ft Lauderdale, FL: Revolution*
04/30 St Petersburg, FL: Jannus Landing*
05/01 Columbia, SC: New Brookland Tavern
05/02 Charlotte, NC: Amos’ Southend*
05/03 Richmond, VA: The National*
05/04 Brooklyn, NY: Music Hall of Williamsburg
05/06 Baltimore, MD: Ram’s Head Live!*
05/07 Hartford, CT: Webster Theatre*
05/08 Allentown, PA: Crocodile Rock*
05/09 Philadelphia, PA: Electric Factory*
05/10 Worcester, MA: Palladium*
05/11 Syracuse, NY: The Furnace
05/12 Clifton Park, NY: Northern Lights*
05/13 Buffalo, NY: Club Infinity*
05/14 Pittsburgh, PA: Club Zoo*
05/15 Pontiac, MI: Clutch Cargo’s*
05/16 Chicago, IL: Metro*
05/17 Chicago, IL: Metro*
05/18 Milwaukee, WI: The Rave*
05/20 Denver, CO: Ogden Theatre*
05/21 Salt Lake City, UT: In The Venue*
05/23 Seattle, WA: Showbox Showroom*
05/24 Portland, OR: Roseland Theatre*
05/25 San Francisco, CA: The Fillmore*
05/27 Anaheim, CA: House of Blues*
05/28 Anaheim, CA: House of Blues*
05/29 Los Angeles, CA: Avalon Hollywood*
05/30 Los Angeles, CA: Avalon Hollywood*

* w/ Thrice, Circa Survive

Pon Di Wire: Bass Odyssey Tops In U.K., Sizzla Sings On Mariah Cut

World Clash Jamaica winner Mighty Crown went down early. Killamanjaro, featuring Ricky Trooper, was voted out too. Matterhorn, Sentinel, and Black Kat nah mek it to the finale. When it came down to dub fi dub, it was two veterans, Jamaica’s Bass Odyssey and the U.K.’s David Rodigan, who stood across from each other in the last round of the seventh and final UK Cup Clash held Sunday, April 6 at the Stratford Rex in London. Bass Odyssey, known as “sound from country,” lead by selector Squingy, was victorious. More details soon. See pictures here.

The big buzz tune pon road right now is K-Salaam Presents Buju Banton and Trey Songz “Street Life.” The track versions’ The Police’s “Roxanne” as a gangsta lament tune, with a chorus that pleads, “You don’t have to bust your gun tonight…” PDW predicts this will be a major summer radio tune. K-Salaam’s Whose World Is This (VP/Universal) also drops this summer. Buju is meanwhile running hot with his single “Cowboys” on the 3 Blind Mice riddim, available as a digital download April 15.

Also on the unusual collabo tip: Mariah Carrey and Sizzla Kollanji have teamed up for the remix of Carey’s top-ten single, “Touch My Body.” Sizzla commented to Jamaica Star News, “Mi feel good ’bout it cause is another stepping stone, another mission accomplished. We all got goals in life that we want to reach and to unite in that way, mi really feel good and I’m gonna work towards more great things.” Sizzla also recently celebrated his 32nd birthday.

Cocoa Tea’s endorsement tune, “Barack Obama,” was featured prominently in a recent NPR report about Kenya’s feelings for the Democratic presidential hopeful.

Popular Jamaican beer Red Stripe is pulling its sponsorship from major JA concerts Sting and Sumfest, citing dancehall music’s increasing violence and vulgarity as its rationale. Meanwhile, commentator Maria Jackson has called on dancehall fans to boycott the brew until the company realizes its bad move.

Greensleeves will release a killer set, collecting producer Jah Thomas’s best 1980s rub-a-dub singles. The latest in Greensleeves 12” Rulers series, the Jah Thomas collection features discoplate versions by Little John, Billy Boyo, Anthony Johnson, Triston Palma, and Peter Metro.

L.A.’s Massive Productions presents its next big sound clash event titled Who Runs LA? So Cal sound men Quantegy Tazmania, Rok Steady Int’l, and Krossfayah will battle it out April 26 at The Joint, 8771 W. Pico Blvd in Los Angeles.

The 11th annual Jamrock Reggae Fest (formerly the Westchester Reggae Fest) will take place at the Hammerstein Ballroom, New York City, on Saturday, June 14. Beenie Man, Etana, Sanchez, and Third World will appear.

Jamaica’s Top Dancehall Ten Singles
1. Harry Toddler “Don’t Run In” (Truck Back)
2. Mykal Rose “Shoot Out” (John John)
3. Serani feat Bugle “Doh” (Daseca)
4. Demarco “Duppy Know Who Fi Frighten” (John John)
5. Busy Signal Pon Di Edge” (Star Kutt)
6. Vybz Kartel “Money Fi Spend” (Big Ship)
7. Erup “Click My Finger” (Truck Back)
8. Mavado “Touch Di Road” (Foota Hype)
9. Voicemail “Bembe” (Big Ship)
10. Bugle “Journey” (Daseca)

Above: Bass Odyssey, Sizzla.

Cirkus Laylower

Stockholm’s Cirkus are genre-bender Neneh Cherry’s latest inspired vessel. While Cherry’s passionate singing/rapping steals the spotlight, her talented cohorts are no slouches–acoustic guitar, turntablism, and teenager Lolita Moon’s rich vocals add color and depth to Laylower’s electronic singer-songwriter blend. Massive Attack, Groove Armada, and Psychonauts paved the way for Cirkus’ pop-dance hybrids, but like kindred spirit Me’Shell Ndegeocello, Cherry’s vocal delivery and provocative lyrics demand the listener’s attention. Wallpaper music this ain’t. Songs like “You’re Such An…” are as arresting as they are catchy. Still, you’ll have to skip over a few duds on Laylower to find the real gems as Cirkus negotiates its own stylistic high-wire act.

Artist Tips: Evol Intent

Sure, everyone’s been wowed by Propellerhead Reason’s rear-view: all simulated dangling patch cords that allow you to mix and match instruments, samplers, and EQs to your heart’s content. But there’s much more going on inside this fantastic all-in-one virtual workstation. Atlanta-based IDM/drum & bass heads Evol Intent, whose latest album, Era of Diversion (System), utilizes much of Reason’s deep capabilities, are superstars when it comes to pushing its limits. Here members Gigantor, Knick, and the Enemy tell us about their five favorite features in Reason 4.0.

NN-XT sampler and drums
The NN-XT sampler is excellent for making absolutely crushing drums. Our NN-XT drum technique is to load a REX drum loop into the sampler, and overlay kicks and snares with secondary drum hits to emphasize and power-up the original loop’s kick and snare. Since the NN-XT has multiple outs, we take the overlaid drum hits out on separate channels. If the main drums are on the NN-XT outs 1/2, we put our overlay kick on outs 3/4 and the overlay snare on outs 5/6, then route the hits to their own EQing/processing.

Scream 4 distortion box
We use the Scream box’s tape mode to death, which adds some very convincing phatness to almost any sound. Taking our drum example from above, we route our main loop, kick, and snare into their own scream boxes, and give everything a little analog punch and grit. The Scream is also fun when it comes to processing bass sounds and synths to put them a bit more “in the pocket.” Hit a filtered synth through the Scream on some intense settings and have fun!

MClass effects
The MClass effects were a necessary upgrade with Reason 3.0. The compressor adds sidechain capabilities, keeping drums punchy and more in the mix when faced with mastering through brickwall limiters. Also, the MClass Maximizer is a great plug-in for pushing a sound’s perceived volume. We like the “soft clip” mode. (Experiment with it while turning up the output.) The Stereo Imager is great for working with anything that goes to vinyl. You can effectively “mono out” bass frequencies, and avoid murdering your pressing. The MClass EQ is a great addition, too, especially for “pulling” frequencies (taking away sound via turning down unwanted frequencies).

Sequencer
The new sequencer might be a bit confusing if you’re a Reason veteran, but after getting acquainted with 4.0 it becomes much faster and more convenient than the original sequencer, especially when using key commands. Here are some features we like: control your cursor selector through the QWERTY keys; option-click on the knob or slider you want to automate, make a clip, and automate away; hit shift-tab to pull up your piano-roll view on your currently selected sequencer item. Dig into your manual or read up online to find out more and improve your workflow.

Combinator
This is an awesome device that’s rather unique to Reason. It lets you stack any other devices or effects together, and control them from one sequencer item. Instead of stacking MIDI events in the sequencer and devices, you can keep everything on Combinator to design your sound. We’ve found the Combinator to be great for making insane synths, basses, and effects. The Combinator can also be quite useful for making “mini-templates” to insert on a song, and to do this you may “uncombine” the device inside your track. We use this often with mixer templates.

Team Robespierre “Black Rainbow” from Everything’s Perfect

Four beats per chord, four chords per phrase, four phrases for each section. All repeated mechanically. Three sections, the third almost identical to the first, with an added keyboard layer. I wish I could tell if this song sounds so good because of or in spite of its rigid structure.

Various Body Language VI: Junior Boys

Junior Boys’ own music is so layered with nostalgia and longing that it’s fair to presume that they understand the emotive power of the mixtape: the C90 (and, subsequently, CD-R80) as not only an expression of aesthetics but also as a document of a time and place or a declaration of love or friendship. That they close their contribution to the Body Language series with the overt romanticism of Bill Nelson’s “When Your Dream of Perfect Beauty Comes True” might be taken as such an indication. In that context, tracks like Rework’s “Love Love Love Yeah (Chloe Remix)” and Chloe’s own “Be Kind to Me” sound deliciously, gloriously creepy. Nice, with a little more grit than you might expect.

Bird Peterson “Bills feat. Mugsy Flowz”

Bird Peterson is native Texan who’s been pushing tracks on blogs almost as hard as his B-more influenced beats, getting attention for a spread of leftfield remixes that include everyone from Lil Wayne to The Who. The internet has helped with more than just promoting his tracks though–Peterson learned his remix chops from the producers posting on Hollerboard. Though he lives in Austin, he speaks with a lot of respect for Maryland’s biggest export: “There is a real art behind making a really good Baltimore club track.” On “Bills,” Mugsy Flowz handles the mic duties while Peterson uses his art skills and makes this track a thick, stuttering banger. Wyatt Williams

Bills [feat] Mugsy Flowz

Top 10: Wighnomy Brothers, The Presets

Thank You
Terrible Two
Thrill Jockey
Release Date: April 22

I’ve been inexplicably bummed out for the last several days, and this bunch of skittish, freeform tracks seem the perfect companion to my bad mood. Chaos reigns on this latest release from the Baltimore-based trio, with guitar riffs, snare drums, organs, and percussion sounds bouncing off one another, accompanied by hyper-processed vocals that are deliciously cathartic. It’s like a teenager’s dream jam session in the parents’ garage, not to mention, a nice distraction from the harsh realities of life.

Samiyam
Rap Beats Vol. 1
Purchase
Release Date: Out Now

The first thing we did upon getting a copy of this in our hands was to post a track in our MP3 section and send 20 MySpace bulletins singing the praises of this sampler. Los Angeles-based Sam Baker has posted a slew of unreleased songs on his MySpace page and made them available for purchase via PayPal, but that’s not really what’s exciting here. What gets me moving are the finely crafted, dusty hip-hop rhythms on Rap Beats, the fact that Baker will custom-make the artwork for each CD-R he sells, and the fact that this kid is 23 years old.

I Love Math
Getting to the Point is Beside It
Glurp
Release Date: May 27

This one’s not going to help my bad mood either. I thought I Love Math would be some weirdo electronic-rock act. In reality, it’s the lush work of singer/songwriter John Dufilho, and he delivers a tear-jerker of an album in which guitars twang and basslines swing while he waxes poetic about burning bridges, chasing after unattainable dreams, and… clowns.

Manuel Tur
“Vabanque”
Freerange
Release Date: May 26 (Vinyl), June 19 (Digital)

There’s a reason Freerange has made the XLR8R Labels We Love feature year after year. It’s because the U.K.-based label consistently puts out solid dance tunes that encompass house, techno, minimal, and the like, and the latest single from Manuel Tur is no exception. On “Vabanque,” the über-prolific producer serves up a deep, dark house number complete with a rather hypnotizing vocal sample. For the flip, Germany-based producer/remixer Stimming adds a few elements of funk to the original.

Dominique
More Love Now
Dial
Release Date: May 13

Damn, here’s another melancholy album, this time courtesy of Berlin electronic act Dominique. With bandmember Thomas Goldhan’s beautiful string arrangements and Richard Davis’ superb production standing out, the album blends acoustics and electronics together with a slow, steady precision on some tracks and a grander, mildly psychedelic feel on others. The varieties of tempo and style here are joined by underlying minor chords and the vague and distant suspicion that the world could, in fact, end this afternoon.

The Notwist
The Devil, You + Me
Domino
Release Date:

The Notwist has dabbled in numerous musical styles throughout its two-decade-long career, from experimenting with grunge-metal in the ’90s to an electro-jazz-rock album to collaborations with Alias and Lali Puna. The Germany-based band is often labeled as indie rockers, though that doesn’t really encompass the whole of its releases, blends its older, heavier sound against a more minimal, electronic-driven one on The Devil, You + Me, for an album of gorgeously haunting songs, downplayed? vocals, and some rather pensive lyrics.

Dominique Leone
Dominique Leone
Strømland
Release Date: May 20

The first artist to be signed to Hans-Peter Lindstrøm’s and Smalltown Supersound’s Strømland Records, Dominique Leone delivers a self-titled album of unpredictable turns that cross many genres and often explodes into interludes of static feedback and what sounds like glass breaking. The Texan-born musician shows off his classical music training well here, with intricate string and piano arrangements, even more meticulous drum programming, but also manages to have fun on this release with some quirky samples.

Ryan Adams
“My Blog Foggy”
Download

Yes, the other members of the XLR8R staff will likely pelt last week’s cupcakes at me for putting this alt-country crooner on XLR8R.com, but come on. Dude wrote a song about his blog, and it’s actually a half-decent little ballad about how his blog is not, in fact, bi-polar, as fans apparently claim it to be. The track is even funnier if you actually visit the blog, a site that proves, beyond a doubt, that Adams going a little loony in his N.Y. apartment, reading the dictionary and watching Conan the Barbarian. At least we got a laugh from it.

Wighnomy Brothers
Metawuffmischfelge
Kompakt
Release Date: April 15

Patience is a virtue, and if you’re ADD like I am, you’ll find this compilation from the Germany-based duo a wonderful lesson in exercising some. The duo, which describes its music as “raving with reason,” has crafted a DJ mix that unwinds sparse, minimal compositions, slowly layering more samples and strength as the tempo increases. Though a musical explosion of the late-night rave kind never happens, tracks from the likes of Trentemøller, Mathias Kaden, and DJ Koze provide ample suspense, along with enough bounce to keep you moving.

The Presets
Apocalypso
Modular
Release Date:

Since this week’s Top 10 appears to be all about gloom, I might as well get a little more Doomsday on your asses and include the latest from Australian electro wizards The Presets. 2006’s Beams provided an apt introduction to a duo all about deep-throated vocals and heavy-handed synths. Apocalypso, as its name might suggest, takes these elements further, with tracks veering off on dark, ominous excursions into doom-pop. The energy here is incredible… it nearly put me in a good mood.

Photo of Thank You by Nate Dorr.

Last Week’s Top Ten

The Chap Signs to Ghostly for Third Album

U.K.-based weirdo-rock outfit The Chap has signed to Ann Arbor’s Ghostly International, on which the group will release its third album, Mega Breakfast. A quick trip to the band’s MySpace page tells us the group has expanded its sound since 2005’s Ham, adding choruses of vocals, samples galore, and some very danceable beats. And of course, there’s the odd, chugging guitar riff here and there that gives the tracks a little bit of much-needed edge. The album drops July 1 in the U.S. on the aforementioned Ghostly, and on May 12 elsewhere on Lo Recordings.

Prior to the U.S. release, the band will be touring around Europe throughout April, May, and June. Check them if you can.

Mega Breakfast Tracklisting
1. They Have a Name
2. Fun and Interesting
3. Caustion Me
4. Carlos Walter Wendy Stanley
5. Surgery
6. Take It In The Face
7. Ethnic Instrument
8. Proper Rock
9. The Health of Nations
10. Uss Wuss
11. I Saw Them

Tour Dates
04/09 London, U.K.: The Fly
04/14 London, U.K.: The End
04/17 Patras, Greece: Steps
04/20 Athens, Greece: An Club
05/01 Edinburgh, U.K.: Voodoo Rooms
05/02 Hull, U.K.: New Adelphi
05/03 Manchester, U.K.: Furturesonic Festival
05/04 Coventry, U.K. Taylor Johns
05/07 Bristol, U.K.: The Croft
05/13 London, U.K.: Hoxton Bar and Grill
05/17 Tunbridge Wells, U.K.: The Forum
05/20 Berlin, Germany: Privatclub
05/22 Leipzig, Germany: Conne Island
05/23 Hamburg, Germany: Astrastube
05/24 Trier, Germany: Exhaus
05/25 Darmstadt, Germany: Oetinger Villa
05/26 Koln, Germany: Tsunami
05/28 Brest, France: Salle du Clous
05/29 Paris, France: Batofar
05/30 St. Etienne, France: Festival des Musiques Innovatrices
06/01 Lille, France: La Malterie
06/02 Metz, France: Le Tunnel
06/05 Haarlem, Netherlands: Patronaat
06/06 Amsterdam, Netherlands: DNA
06/07 Antwerp, Belgium: Petrol

Photo by Sokratis Mitsios, 2006.

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